“Huh?”
After a while, Isaac opened his eyes.
However, what he saw wasn’t the gentle smile of Lepeter, the God of Love and Family.
Isaac blinked in confusion, sitting up straight.
‘Where am I? Why am I standing here? I was just lying down in a bed in the Duke’s mansion…’
Isaac looked around, bewildered.
The scene before him was familiar, yet strange.
“…A garden?”
It was some kind of garden.
And it was a bright, sunny afternoon.
Isaac lifted his gaze to the sky.
The blazing sun stabbed at his eyes.
It felt too vivid to be a dream.
It felt so real that the sunlight felt this intense.
Isaac squinted and turned his head.
“Where exactly am I…”
From the sight of all the grass and flowers, it didn’t seem like the cold Duke’s mansion.
Could this be the Duke’s garden?
Was he suffering from some kind of sleepwalking disorder?
Isaac frowned and continued walking.
“The maintenance is… lacking.”
But for it to be the Duke’s garden, it seemed too neglected.
The Duke’s garden had always seemed neatly maintained.
But this place felt more like a wild forest.
“Tch, ridiculous.”
Isaac muttered under his breath as he was scratched on the cheek by a branch.
He lifted his hand to rub the sore spot.
Though he initially felt the pain, it gradually faded.
He glanced down at the tip of his finger, where a small amount of blood had oozed out, before continuing his steps.
Is this a dream?
Or is it reality?
The boundary felt unclear.
Isaac just focused on the thought of getting out of this forest-like place.
“Eh?”
Eventually, Isaac reached a point where the forest seemed to end.
He cleared the bushes blocking his path and his eyes widened in surprise.
He had faintly heard the sound of water, and sure enough, an old fountain stood before him.
But its Status wasn’t great.
There were cracks and breaks all over it, and the water flow seemed damaged, leaking out in small spurts.
“Ugh, huff…”
“…?”
But then, a strange sound caught his attention. Isaac turned his head in confusion.
Along with the water sound, there was a faint sound of someone sobbing.
Judging by the distance, it wasn’t far. Isaac cautiously walked toward the sound.
Though it was a strange place, meeting someone suspicious might be better than wandering alone.
After all, he needed to figure out where he was. Isaac carefully circled the fountain.
“…!”
“Sniff…!”
Suddenly, he came face to face with someone.
A small child, hiding behind the crumbled stone wall of the fountain, looked up at Isaac with wide eyes.
Tears streamed down the child’s face.
Isaac wasn’t surprised because the child was crying.
It was because the child’s hair and eyes were so strikingly similar to someone Isaac knew.
“…Duke, your Grace?”
“…Huh?”
The child widened their eyes in shock. Isaac also froze, scanning the child’s face from top to bottom.
Silver hair shining brightly in the sunlight, and sapphire-like blue eyes.
The child looked younger than Luinael, but just as beautiful.
Though the child still had baby fat, making them chubby and cute, Isaac couldn’t help but feel that the child’s face strongly resembled Luinael’s.
What is going on here?
This can’t be Luinael, could it?
Was there another hidden prince from the imperial family?
But, for this child to exist, the late empress would have to have been alive for at least ten more years…
Or maybe, is this another child with silver hair unrelated to Luinael or the late empress?
Silver hair is rare in the empire, but it’s not completely unheard of.
“Wh-who are you?”
“…”
Still taken aback, Isaac gathered his thoughts and spoke to the child.
The child stared at Isaac in silence for a while before speaking in a quiet voice.
“My name is… Luinael.”
“…What?”
Isaac’s face scrunched up in disbelief.
“Your name is Luinael…?”
“Yes, yes…”
“…”
Isaac was utterly confused.
A child who looked exactly like Luinael, with the same name?
Could this be a coincidence?
“Where’s esteemed brother?”
“What?”
Isaac jumped, startled by the child’s question.
He stared at the child’s innocent face.
Brother?
A brother?
And in formal speech?
Even if the child was young, Luinael was a prince.
Would he be speaking so formally?
Now that Luinael had become the Duke, he likely spoke in such a way out of respect for Isaac, but this child probably didn’t even know who Isaac was.
“…!”
Isaac suddenly recalled the story of the original novel.
Gabriella, the former Empress who gave birth to Luinael and the protagonist, Maximilian, hadn’t simply passed away.
She had been falsely accused through the schemes of Veronica, who was then the Imperial Consort.
As a result, Gabriella was imprisoned in the Cold Palace, where she fell ill and eventually succumbed to her illness.
A garden overgrown with weeds and a crumbling, aged fountain—if this place was indeed the Cold Palace where the former Empress had been confined, it all made sense.
Kneeling down, Isaac met young Luinael’s gaze and spoke softly.
“Are you hurt?”
“Huh?”
“You have a scratch on your face…”
“Ah!”
“Ah, sorry.”
Luinael had a small scratch on his cheek, likely from wandering through the overgrown garden.
Seeing Luinael flinch in pain, Isaac quickly searched his pockets and found a clean white handkerchief.
“This might sting a bit, but bear with me.”
“Mm…”
“We’ll apply some ointment when we get back.”
“…Alright.”
Isaac gently pressed the handkerchief to Luinael’s cheek.
For now, he only wiped away the blood, planning to treat the wound properly later.
Looking at Luinael, who seemed frightened, Isaac felt a pang of unease.
Gabriella wasn’t the only one confined to the Cold Palace—Luinael had been there with her.
Veronica had spread rumors that Luinael might not be the former Emperor’s child, leading to their exile.
Luinael bore no resemblance to the late Emperor from head to toe.
His pristine silver hair mirrored his mother Gabriella’s, and his striking blue eyes, though a symbol of the royal family, did not match the Emperor’s, who lacked blue eyes altogether.
Already displeased with Luinael, the Emperor was easily swayed by such malicious gossip.
“No, Your Majesty! Luinael is your child!”
Gabriella had desperately defended her son, but the Emperor refused to believe her.
The temple’s tests could only confirm that Luinael carried royal blood, not that he was the Emperor’s biological son.
The Emperor’s suspicion wasn’t unfounded.
Gabriella had originally been engaged to the Emperor’s half-brother, a Grand Duke.
As Crown Prince, the Emperor had forcibly taken Gabriella as his wife, driven by jealousy.
Gabriella had loved the Grand Duke, who had the same vivid blue eyes as Luinael.
Seeing Luinael only reminded the Emperor of his half-brother, fueling his certainty about Gabriella’s supposed infidelity.
‘Of course, Luinael was the Emperor’s child all along…’
When the Emperor finally learned the truth, it was too late—Gabriella had already succumbed to her illness.
After her death, the Emperor fell into despair and eventually succumbed himself, allegedly poisoned by Veronica.
Isaac felt little pity for him, even so.
Before the Emperor’s death, the protagonist had transmigrated into Maximilian, the deposed Crown Prince.
Using his wit, Maximilian reclaimed his title, cleared Gabriella’s name, and brought Luinael out of the Cold Palace, returning him to the Prince’s residence.
To win Luinael’s loyalty, Maximilian had pretended to be a kind older brother.
But for years, Luinael had remained trapped in the desolate Cold Palace, abandoned and terrified.
Isaac clicked his tongue, carefully wiping Luinael’s cheek.
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