* * *

Thinking about it now, I couldn’t understand it.

If he were preparing a rebellion, shouldn’t he have kept his head down?

Why resort to something so outrageous?

Of course, it was the kind of trouble that always stayed within certain boundaries.

Just enough to provoke but not enough to truly ignite anyone’s fury or draw undue attention.

This incident was no different.

People whispered that the unruly Fourth Prince was at it again, acting as if he had no sense of propriety.

But that was the extent of it.

Even the Emperor and the Fourth Prince’s stepmother, the Empress, only clicked their tongues in mild disapproval.

Perhaps, on occasion, he simply wanted to remind people of his existence.

Maybe he felt restless.

Who knows?

It wasn’t something I could ever confirm unless I asked the Fourth Prince himself—a conversation that would surely never happen.

Standing at the center of the chaos, the Fourth Prince looked unbothered, even faintly foolish, as he gave a sweeping bow, his cloak billowing dramatically.

“Then, I shall take my leave now. I will commission the finest artisan to craft the pelt. …Ah.”

His gaze landed on me.

That same infuriating smile, as though he believed he had done absolutely nothing wrong, spread across his face.

With that smile intact, he inclined his head toward me in greeting.

“It has been a long time since I’ve had the honor of seeing you, Master of the Highest Tower.”

At that moment, I froze, unable to say anything.

Back then, it had been because a golden-haired man had suddenly appeared in front of me with a wolf’s head (though he hadn’t been holding it directly).

Now, it was for an entirely different reason.

I was scared. Terrified of the Fourth Prince.

“Drink it. It is the most humane thing I can offer you.”

Back then, too, the Fourth Prince had smiled in exactly the same way.

He had held a goblet of poison in his hand, and I’d had no choice but to drink it.

His left hand, gripping a sword, made it clear that refusal would mean losing my head.

With no better option, I had drunk the poison, thinking it was better than being beheaded.

The memory of that impeccable, handsome face urging me toward death overlapped with the face smiling at me now.

“…….”

“Then, I shall truly take my leave.”

The Fourth Prince didn’t seem to expect any response from me.

He simply turned and strode off.

Ah. I can’t let him go like this.

After offering a brief bow to the Emperor and Empress, I followed him.

I could practically hear the metaphorical sound of a gauge ticking down in my mind.

Too afraid to openly follow him, I slinked along the shadows of the corridor, quietly matching his pace.

The knight accompanying the Fourth Prince, perhaps finding the platter too cumbersome, shifted to hold the wolf’s head in one hand while carrying the platter in the other.

The sight of the severed head, its fur sticking out between his fingers, and the jagged cut of its neck was grotesque.

Drawing closer to the prince, the knight chuckled softly.

“Did you see their faces? I think I’ll laugh about it in my sleep.”

“Shh. The ballroom is still close by. And besides…”

The Fourth Prince clicked his tongue, pretending to scold the knight, but there was no hiding the amusement in his voice.

It wasn’t ignorance of decorum—it was deliberate, a calculated move to unsettle the Emperor and Empress.

What do I even say to someone like him?

Since the day I returned, I’d agonized over this moment, trying to find the right words.

But nothing had come to mind.

Ah, how am I supposed to deal with this?

What’s this unsettling atmosphere?

I froze, feeling the chill of the moment.

What had the Fourth Prince said just now?

“And besides…”

What came after that?

His voice, low and deliberate, reached me.

“We have a rat eavesdropping on us.”

“Ah.”

Both men turned slowly to look at me.

Behind them, the entrance to the corridor was bathed in moonlight.

A man, a woman, and the wolf’s head stood silhouetted.

… I wanted to run.

If their gazes hadn’t landed so squarely on the spot where I was hiding, I might have.

But running was pointless—it would only make me look pathetic.

Besides, my inner gauge, which had been dropping ever since the prince appeared, had stopped decreasing.

A sign that now was the right moment.

In the end, I timidly stepped out.

It was hardly dignified—more like a clumsy ostrich revealing its head after hiding it.

Predictably, both the Fourth Prince and his knight smirked knowingly before bowing their heads in mock politeness.

“What brings you here, Tower Master?”

Not even a flicker of surprise crossed their faces.

Their nonchalance confirmed it—the prince had known it was me all along when he called me a “rat.”

But what could I do?

He was terrifying.

I tried to stay composed, and with an effort, I called out.

“Fourth Prince.”

It was a start—anything to establish a connection.

The prince placed a hand on his chest and bowed again, looking at me with eyes lowered in an act of humility.

He was much taller than me, and despite the distance, the angle naturally made it feel like he was looking down.

But his demeanor was so courteous and gentle that I barely noticed.

Fortunately, the next words slipped from my mouth.

“Uh, um… would you like to… take a walk?”

Anything would be better than standing there like a statue.

“It would be an unparalleled honor if the Tower Master would spare their precious time for me.”

The prince responded smoothly, showing no hint of hesitation.

Meanwhile, the knight gave me a peculiar look, as if trying to decipher my intentions.

It was the more natural reaction, but she quickly masked her expression and stepped aside.

“I shall wait here.”

Hiding the wolf’s head behind her back, she adopted a formal posture, her earlier laughter nowhere to be found.

The prince smiled at me.

“This way, Tower Master. The flowers in the garden are quite beautiful under the late evening sky.”

I couldn’t care less about the flowers.

Where exactly was this garden connected to the prince’s residence?

I couldn’t even recall.

Hesitating without realizing it, I saw the prince motion toward the garden again.

He was persistent.

As I followed him past the knight, I felt her gaze flicker toward me.

Brushing off the unease, I trailed behind the prince into the garden.

Soft, velvety grass muffled our steps, producing a faint rustling sound with each step.

How long had we been walking?

“Does it not please you?”

Startled by his sudden question, I jumped.

“What, what doesn’t?”

“This place. You used to take walks here, didn’t you?”

“…….”

So that’s how it was, the fake Tower Master…

“…How do you know that?”

“It’s a coincidence, but my palace is nearby.”

If I recall correctly, the Fourth Prince’s palace was tucked away in some remote corner.

Is that close to here?

And the fake Tower Master often took walks around here?

So the Fourth Prince knew about it.

This was entirely new information—something I didn’t know but the Fourth Prince did.

Hmm…?

The confusion in my head suddenly cleared, like a light bulb turning on.

“I don’t know.”

The Fourth Prince tilted his head slightly to one side.

“I have a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“I lost my memory.”

“…”

His expression shifted, becoming strange.

The statement “he often took walks here” could be just a meaningless fact.

But it was also possible that it was a cleverly crafted leading question—something the fake Tower Master and the Fourth Prince alone knew about.

So, I decided to preempt him entirely, by claiming I had lost my memory.

It was a spur-of-the-moment thought, but it sounded immensely plausible.

So much so that I wanted to applaud myself.

* * *