Agreeing to rush Damian into an engagement in the first place meant he was dancing right in the palm of Callix’s hand.
Even if he brought it up, the Duke likely wouldn’t believe him.
If so, he had to step in himself and protect Damian.
The one silver lining was that he wasn’t just some ordinary fifteen-year-old noble boy—he was the Crown Prince.
He would beg the Emperor to send the Grand Duke and the Young Grand Duke back to the front lines.
If he did that, at least Callix’s demonic clutches wouldn’t be able to reach Damian, who was left alone in the castle.
Clutching the single shoe in his hand, Leonhardt led his retinue back onto their horses and returned to the imperial palace.
He reported to the Emperor that the shoe he returned to Damian had been discarded, described Callix’s excessive and guarded attitude toward him, and shared the news of the sudden engagement, begging the Emperor to dispatch the Grand Duke and Young Grand Duke to the front lines where the battle against the Solemio Empire was raging.
Reluctant and worried that this might earn him the enmity of Callix, a 9th-circle mage, the Emperor hesitated.
“If he dies on the battlefield, it’s like killing two birds with one stone without lifting a finger. As long as Callix Vesper is alive, I am nothing more to the nobles than an inferior crown prince compared to him. So Your Majesty, please grant my request—not only to rescue Damian, but to solidify the imperial authority as well.”
Pondering the matter, the Emperor finally caved after a month of persistent persuasion from the Crown Prince.
Consequently, an imperial decree ordering Duke Maldini and Callix to conclude the battle with the Solemio Empire and return was dispatched to Wintergarden.
A change began to occur in Shushu’s body after his engagement to Cain.
Trying to fall asleep early just like any other day, he felt an itchy sensation around his shoulder blade.
Wondering if he had been bitten by a bug, he went into the bathroom and checked his back using the mirror.
There, as if punishing him for getting engaged to another alpha despite technically belonging to Callix, a name had manifested.
“Callix Vesper.”
Shushu muttered his full name, which felt unfamiliar because he always called him ‘Big Brother.’
“Ah-ah, what do I do? I’m finished now.”
He felt intensely anxious at carrying a walking time bomb on his body.
Shushu decided he needed to tell Melissa right then and there and run away.
If he stayed here and a name bound to Callix appeared on him, he was a dead man.
She needed to know that truth now, too.
Armed at last with a solid reason to persuade her and flee the castle, Shushu changed into outdoor clothing.
Dressed in the plainest clothes possible without any crests, he gathered the gemstone rings and brooches his brother had gifted him every birthday and stuffed them into his pockets.
Knowing his pink hair would stand out anywhere in the North, he pulled his cloak hood up over his head.
Fetching the map of the castle he had drawn when he was little, he visited the servants’ quarters where Melissa stayed.
Opening the window and sneaking into her room, he found her embroidering the word ‘Shushu’ onto the inside of his underwear.
Both Shushu and Melissa froze in shock, staring at each other.
“What are you doing there?”
“What about you, Melissa, what are you doing?”
“You keep washing the Young Master’s underwear and when they dry, they somehow turn into brand new ones. So I’m embroidering names on the inside to figure out if I’m just imagining things or if they’re actually getting swapped out.”
Underwear was the least of his concerns right now.
“…Mom, we need to run away right now.”
“There you go again! I told you not to talk like that.”
Melissa remained steadfast in her refusal.
Stripping off his robe, Shushu lifted his shirt to show her his back.
She fetched an oil lamp, inspected his back, and let out a soft gasp.
Lowering his shirt, Shushu urged her to quickly pack a simple bundle of luggage.
“Shushu, even if a name has appeared, nothing changes.”
“My name is going to appear on Big Brother, too. If that happens, both Mom and I are going to die.”
“No, why would you die? You’re Damian. So even if the Young Grand Duke’s name appears with yours, there’s no way he’ll know it’s you. Shushu? What kind of proof is that? It’s just a nickname people use when talking about a puppy a noble young lady raises, a cute baby, or a lover they adore.”
Melissa took a pair of small scissors and cut away the threads she had embroidered into the underwear, pulling them out.
It was as if doing so would somehow make Shushu stop being Shushu.
“Mom will cover your back with makeup every single morning. Then you won’t be Shushu.”
“Mom, please. Let’s please leave. Huh? This place was never my place to begin with, anyway.”
Shushu felt suffocated.
Living as the Grand Duke’s son was nice, but it wasn’t worth risking his life over.
He missed the small workshop where he and his mom used to live during his childhood days.
He wanted to become an ordinary boy and live there together with her again.
“Mom, let’s go back home. Just the two of us, you and me, let’s live happily again.”
Taking her hand, Shushu recalled the small workshop they had first acquired, his large eyes sparkling with happiness.
But unlike a child who had only ever been protected, Melissa—who had taken over a crumbling workshop, worked her fingers to the bone cleaning it, and spun the sewing machine all day through grueling labor—saw her eyes sink darkly into the past at the thought of those days.
“Will you stop that! Y-You’re saying that because you don’t realize how huge of an opportunity this is. Why are you acting so childish?”
Seizing Shushu’s terrified shoulders, Melissa shook him roughly.
“How could you even think about going back to those terrible times! Do you have any idea what it was like for your mother, spinning the sewing machine all day until her fingers swelled up just to support you in a completely crumbling workshop?”
Shocked by her words, tears welled up and dangled precariously at the corners of Shushu’s eyes.
“On top of that, if you disappear, the ducal estate will track you down. Do you want to wander all over the country again? And, ugh. How hard it was for me back then. Why should I have to go through that kind of thing all over again because of you! Sob. Why on earth were you born as a Gem? Because of you, I even had to resort to forced prostitution. You should be old enough to realize it by now. You ruined my life.”
He had always assumed his mom was strong.
He used to think that as long as he was with her, everything would be fine, and that she felt the same way.
But the mother who had fled everywhere dragging a child who was a Gem had been protecting him while pushing her own limits to the absolute brink.
Back then, his happiness hadn’t been something that was just naturally guaranteed.
It had been made possible only by his mother’s blood, sweat, and tears.
“Hic. Sob. Ugh. M-Mom. I’m sorry. I won’t run away.”
Pulling the crying Shushu into a tight embrace, Melissa wept for a long time.
