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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: The Boss of Two Heroes
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‘Why are these kids so damn annoying….’
Annoying. So annoying I could scream.
‘I will have absolutely nothing to do with you!’
That was what happened the very next day, right after I’d made that firm resolution.
‘Ugh…!’
Lellia clutched her hair in anguish as she watched the children gather and whisper.
A small, delicate boy with silver hair.
Oscar Hresvelg was shaking uncontrollably. And the other children were just watching him from a distance.
Honestly, Lellia could have just ignored it or called a priest.
‘But… if this isn’t corrected when he’s young, Oscar will be tormented by it forever….’
Whatever. I shouldn’t get involved.
Don’t get involved… I said don’t…!
If she hadn’t remembered her past life, she could have ignored him with a clear conscience. At the very least, she would have been whispering and staring in fear like the other children.
But Lellia, with the memories of her past life, was capable of more mature thinking.
Though, it was only to the extent of being slightly more mature than her peers. Still.
She couldn’t bring herself to ignore a poor child trembling in fear.
At least, she couldn’t.
‘…Ah, whatever!’
Unable to bear it any longer, Lellia pushed through the crowd of children.
“What are you all doing? Go get the priests, quickly!”
Lellia shouted at the gawking children before quickly removing Oscar’s monastic hood and robe.
Then she unbuttoned the inner garment that was constricting his neck and cupped his cheeks.
“Oscar Hresvelg. Snap out of it. The visions you’re seeing are all fake. Calm down. You’re safe here, and you’re unharmed. Don’t listen to what that person is telling you!”
“Hngh… sob….”
“Look at my eyes. Listen to me, Oscar!”
“Hahh….”
Oscar’s pupils were dilated. When he was even younger than he was now, he had witnessed the horrific sight of dozens of people being cut down by swords right before his eyes.
Since then, he had been plagued by occasional hallucinations drenched in blood.
‘The novel said it was a hallucination of blood-drenched corpses screaming for help.’
Perhaps that trauma was what turned him into a madman who flew into a rage at the mere sight of blood.
Lellia kept talking to Oscar, whose pupils were slowly returning to normal as he broke out in a cold sweat.
“Everything that person is telling you is complete garbage, Oscar. You’re safe. Everything you’re seeing is a hallucination. So….”
Those words Oscar was likely hearing.
Lellia remembered the scene from the original novel where the adult Oscar calmly spoke of his wounds.
“Do you know why your eyes are red? It’s because the blood of those who died before you splattered into them. Otherwise, why would your eyes be the only ones so grotesque in this imperial family? You are a monster. A monster!”
Oscar grew up hearing such things from his own father, the Emperor. Lellia found it absurd.
‘He’s the one who killed people in front of his son, that psycho!’
That Emperor was even a psychopath who had killed Oscar’s mother.
The voice of that shameless Emperor would torment Oscar for the rest of his life. The child with the only red eyes among the Hresvelg imperial family.
Those eyes were a curse and a shackle that tormented Oscar his entire life.
But with a single sentence from the original story’s heroine.
“Your eyes are truly beautiful.”
With those words, Oscar was able to forget his unhappy childhood and find salvation.
‘When I read it in the novel, I just thought, ‘Oh, I see…’.’
But seeing Oscar in person, she couldn’t just stand by and watch.
Unlike in the novel, the Oscar before her now was too small, too thin, and too young.
She had never imagined he would have had such a hopelessly fragile childhood. That’s why she couldn’t turn away.
Lellia grabbed Oscar’s slender shoulders and held him steady. She met his eyes and continued to speak to him, telling him he was okay.
Thankfully, it was working.
His ragged breathing gradually calmed, and his dilated pupils were returning to focus.
“What is going on!”
“His Highness, Crown Prince Oscar!”
The priests, summoned by the children, quickly appeared and checked on Oscar’s condition.
The priests infused him with holy power, but this wasn’t an ailment that could be cured by it.
‘Still, it should calm him down a bit.’
Lellia watched the priests carry Oscar away and let out a sigh of relief.
Held in a priest’s arms, Oscar blinked slowly as if about to faint, his eyes fixed on Lellia.
“Are you a heretic, by any chance?”
It was then.
Romeo Rosebery whispered from over her shoulder in a very sweet voice, as if sharing a secret.
“……”
Lellia turned to him with an annoyed expression.
“I’ll keep your secret.”
Romeo glanced at the children around them and said it again.
‘I want to punch him.’
Lellia clenched her fists and stood up. She started to walk away, intending to go anywhere else, but she felt a presence following her.
“Why are you following me?”
“I was thinking of converting.”
“I don’t believe in any heresy, you know?”
“Then what was that back there? What kind of spell did you cast?”
Romeo asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
“I just calmed him down. It was a simple panic attack.”
“Isn’t he possessed by a demon?”
That was the common perception. The Emperor who sent Oscar here probably knew it too.
‘He knew what kind of nickname and distorted reputation Oscar would gain here.’
If it happened once or twice, it might be overlooked, but if the seizures repeated over the three years he was to spend here…
Even the temple would begin to suspect Oscar. They might think he was possessed by a demon.
Besides, the dozens of witnesses were all royalty and nobility from various countries.
‘Oscar’s father wants to make another prince his heir instead of Oscar, so he’s trying to ruin his public reputation.’
But in the original novel, Oscar ends up killing his own father and becoming emperor. It served him right, honestly.
Lellia spoke to Romeo nonchalantly.
“There are no demons. He just saw something shocking and is having hallucinations. You have nightmares, don’t you? It’s like that.”
“Who has nightmares with their eyes open?”
“…Some people do.”
“Resorting to stubbornness because you have no logic? The Crown Prince of Auraria is a bit lacking.”
Lellia bit her lip hard. She felt like she would start swearing if she wasn't careful.
‘What a rotten little bastard.’
She had a feeling about it yesterday, but now she felt completely tricked.
‘In the original story, he acted so kind and gentle in front of the heroine. Was it all fake?’
Lellia glared at Romeo as if he were detestable.
‘He has similar scars of his own.’
Lellia stomped her feet to show she was upset and walked away.
She had planned to go to the library, but in this mood, she felt she needed a walk.
As she stomped off towards the garden, she turned her head at one point and saw Romeo Rosebery still following her.
Lellia shouted at him, trying to sound intimidating.
“Hey, get lost!”
“Oh. Showing your true colors, are we?”
Romeo acted surprised, but his reaction was one of amusement.
“I don’t think I need to be polite to a guy like you.”
“Ooh. How thrilling.”
Despite his words, Romeo approached her with an expression that was anything but thrilled.
He then sat Lellia down on a nearby bench and sat down next to her.
Lellia brushed off her arm where Romeo’s hand had touched. Though it should have been offensive, Romeo paid it no mind and spoke.
“Tell me more.”
“About what?”
“About people who have nightmares with their eyes open. Tell me more.”
Romeo asked in a threatening tone.
‘Right, you would be curious.’
He was still just a kid. Lellia scoffed internally.
She could see the corner of Romeo’s eye twitching as he waited for an answer. Lellia spoke as if granting a favor.
“The human mind is very fragile. This head is fragile.”
“……”
She pointed to her own head with her index finger.
“What’s inside here is so fragile, persistent, and wicked that if you witness a slightly shocking scene? It remembers it. Then, when your body is weak or tired, it keeps making you recall that memory.”
“…So?”
“What do you think happens when that repeats over and over? It would be really hard, right? That’s why that shocking scene keeps reappearing in your head. You even start to mistake it for something you’re actually seeing with your eyes.”
“……”
“You even start to hear things. Fragile people suffer their whole lives and sometimes end up dying. Some even take their own lives.”
At those words, Romeo’s expression twisted. He spoke slowly.
“Suicide… is a terrible sin.”
It was one of the most important doctrines of the Creutz faith.
The temple strictly forbade the act of taking one’s own life, considering it a horrific sin that could not be forgiven even after countless reincarnations.
It was a treacherous act of offering one’s own soul to a demon.
Everyone on the continent knew this. Lellia didn’t deny it.
“It is a sin. But there are people like that. People who keep seeing horrific scenes, hearing frightening voices….”
“That’s being possessed by a demon….”
“It’s not a demon. They’re just in so much pain. When you’re tormented like this, you can’t think straight, and you start to feel like it will only end if you die.”
“…Have you ever felt like that?”
“No? I’m very mentally healthy. I’ve never seen anything particularly shocking….”
She had hallucinated food when she was starving. She’d gobble it down only to realize it was dirt or snow….
“Anyway, it’s not demonic possession. I’m not even sure if demons really exist….”
“…If you say that to the priests or adults, you’ll be treated as a heretic.”
“Ah.”
Right.
I have to behave myself here….
‘If a rumor spreads that the Crown Prince of Auraria is a heretic? The Emperor might strangle me to death.’
Lellia thought for a moment, then glared at Romeo.
Romeo’s face was slightly shaken by what Lellia had said. He looked somewhat excited, sad, and scared all at once.
Lellia puffed out her chest and thrust a clenched fist forward.
“If you tell anyone, you’re dead.”
“…Are you threatening me now? So crudely?”
“Yeah. I’ll kill you. Got it?”
“……”
Romeo looked a little scared. Seeing that expression, Lellia gained confidence.
‘Yeah, at the end of the day, you’re just a ten-year-old kid.’
Lellia tapped her chest with a haughty expression and said.
“From now on, call me si—no, call me big bro.”
Romeo’s face crumpled.
“…What? No way! Why should I? I’m the one who has dirt on you!”
“Then call me boss.”
“……”
Romeo scowled. His expression clearly said he didn’t understand why he should.
And yet, in the end, he nodded.
It seemed he decided that ‘boss’ was at least better than ‘big bro.’
“Then… tell me more about that stuff in the future. I won’t tell anyone.”
“……”
“I won’t suspect you of being a heretic either.”
“Well… if that’s the case. You mean the stories about people like Oscar not being possessed by demons, right? I can tell you as many as you want.”
Lellia knew why Romeo was interested in this story.
But she managed her expression to look as if she knew nothing.
In the original story, Romeo confessed his story to the heroine himself. So she couldn’t act like she already knew.
‘The day will come when Romeo will pour his heart out to the heroine and heal his wounds.’
Lellia glanced at Romeo.
Romeo looked a little desperate. Recalling his circumstances from the original story, she felt a little sorry for him.
“……”
As Lellia stared at him, Romeo’s expression soured slightly.
He probably thought she was pressing him to call her ‘boss’ already.
“Thanks… boss….”
“…Right. From now on, you’re my subordinate.”
“……”
Romeo scowled, looking displeased, but he kept his mouth shut.
“I’m going for a walk, so follow me.”
After saying that, Lellia got up from the bench and began to stroll through the garden. Romeo trailed obediently behind her.
‘He’s quite obedient. He was so sharp-tongued just a moment ago.’
Lellia glanced at the docile Romeo and smiled to herself. At the same time, she looked at him with a hint of pity.
In truth, Romeo’s birth mother had passed away when he was young.
‘The cause of death… was suicide.’
The Rosebery Empire had desperately hidden that fact, but they couldn’t prevent young Romeo from witnessing the scene himself.
If one were to pinpoint the cause of the suicide, her parents—that is, Romeo’s maternal grandmother and grandfather—were largely to blame.
‘For parents to drive their own child to her death.’
Romeo’s mother had been in love with someone else, but she was forced to marry the Emperor due to her family’s pressure.
But even after becoming Empress, she couldn’t let go of her lingering feelings for the man she loved and was tormented by them.
Her parents had gotten their wish of making their daughter an empress, but they soon learned that the imperial couple’s relationship was distant.
Enraged, they found out the reason through the maids.
“The reason for the strained relationship between the Emperor and Empress is that the Empress rejects the Emperor. That is why.”
The real reason was something else, but the Empress’s parents only listened to the maids and were disappointed and angry with their daughter.
They set out to find a solution, but unfortunately, that solution was…
‘To threaten their own daughter.’
They held the life of the man their daughter loved over her head and threatened her. They told her to fulfill her duties as Empress, to bear the Emperor’s child.
Unable to withstand the threats, she conceived Romeo.
The only fortunate thing was that the Emperor did not blame her and waited patiently for her heart to open.
Despite it being a political marriage, the Emperor treated her with sincerity and tried to love her.
‘He was a gentle father to Romeo, too.’
But the misfortune began there.
The Empress’s parents, Romeo’s maternal grandparents, continued to exploit their daughter’s weakness.
Whenever they wanted something, they would threaten her with the life of the man she had loved.
One day, during one of these repeated conflicts.
The man, realizing his life was a weakness for the woman he loved, took his own life.
‘He probably couldn’t bear knowing that the Empress would suffer for as long as he was alive.’
After that, Romeo’s mother grew ill and suffered. She began to see hallucinations of her beloved dying before her eyes and hear auditory hallucinations of him pleading for his life.
Her condition worsened, and on top of seizures, she even began to suffer from sleepwalking.
Rumors that the Empress was possessed by a demon spread in an instant.
In her torment, she chose freedom by taking her own life, just as the man she loved had.
Never imagining that young Romeo would witness the scene.
As she lay dying and bleeding, she saw the crying Romeo, said “I’m sorry,” and passed away.
Romeo must still carry the shock from that time.
‘At least he has a slightly healthier mind than Oscar, so it seems he doesn’t see visions or hear voices.’
The new empress who ascended after Romeo’s mother’s death cherished and raised Romeo as her own son.
Although she wasn’t his birth mother, Romeo grew up receiving the love of a kind stepmother and a gentle father.
‘But he gave up the throne because of his maternal grandparents, the poor thing.’
After Romeo’s stepmother gave birth to a son, Romeo’s maternal grandparents began to tremble with anxiety, fearing that their grandson, their only remaining hope, would not become emperor.
They even planned to kill the new empress’s son, but young Romeo suddenly renounced the throne himself.
In truth, Romeo had overheard the nobles who frequented the imperial palace whispering and pointing fingers.
“The former Empress was surely possessed by a demon. Who knows when her son, Crown Prince Romeo, will become a demon too.”
Perhaps that was why he was afraid. Afraid that he too would be possessed by a demon.
Romeo used his maternal grandparents as an excuse and begged his father to allow him to renounce the throne, and the Emperor, understanding Romeo’s deep intentions, accepted his wish.
He then sent Romeo’s maternal grandparents far away, to prevent them from reaching Romeo.
‘He’s actually a very deep person, this kid.’
Though he has a foul mouth….
Anyway.
‘I was trying to avoid getting involved as much as possible.’
Somehow, she had ended up making one of the heroes who would defeat the Mad Dragon in the future her subordinate.
‘Well, it’s probably fine. Just this one.’
Lellia thought something felt wrong, but it was already too late.
The next day.
Lellia stared at Romeo, who had come to visit her room, and pondered seriously.
Something was very, very wrong.
“Why are you here?”
“To hang out with my boss.”
When she woke up, washed up, and came out, Romeo was there.
Romeo was lying on the sofa reading a book. When she got closer to check, she saw it was a joke book, the kind you’d find in a downtown bookstore.
‘Phew. I thought he was looking at something weird….’
She was startled, thinking he was reading some kind of lewd book.
‘Then again, he’s only a ten-year-old kid… I’m the one with the dirty mind.’
Lellia sheepishly reached for the snacks on the table. It seemed Romeo had brought them.
“You find that stuff funny?”
“Want to read one too, boss?”
Romeo handed her another book that was next to him, and Lellia opened it as if she had no choice.
“How childish, what’s so funny about this….”
A moment later, Lellia’s peals of laughter filled the room.
“……”
Romeo looked at her with an expression that said she was pathetic.
Just then.
Knock, knock.
A knock sounded on Lellia’s door.
‘Who could it be?’
The only people who would visit her room were the priests. The person outside was quiet, as if waiting for Lellia’s permission to enter.
Lellia looked blankly at Romeo sitting across from her. After a moment’s hesitation, Romeo sighed, then promptly stood up and headed for the door.
‘Hmm. He does it without being told. He’s really like a subordinate, isn’t he? This is kind of convenient…?’
Well, she had to live here for at least three years. Having a subordinate would be quite convenient from now on.
“Huh?”
But the person who opened the door and entered was unexpected.
‘I thought the priests were here to tell me to pray….’
The children living here were royalty, or at least nobility, so even the priests treated them with a degree of deference.
Unless they were fighting or going outside, their activities weren’t heavily forced or controlled.
‘Except for certain activities, that is.’
Those certain activities were things the temple deliberately organized to help the children get along and unite… in short, things like sports days.
In any case, it was certain that most of their time was free time. Though they would sometimes tell her to come out and pray if she holed up in her room.
“What do you want?”
“……”
The one who had come to Lellia’s room was Oscar. Oscar Hresvelg, the one who had collapsed from a seizure yesterday.
“I asked what you want. Why are you here, pipsqueak? Is your mouth sewn shut? Want me to open it for you?”
‘That little bastard Romeo is really….’
Lellia was flustered.
‘He was raised by such kind parents… where on earth did he learn to talk like that?’
But even though Romeo asked with a scowl, Oscar just stared back at him with a blank expression.
Oscar was so small and thin that he was still smaller than Romeo.
‘He’s even smaller than me.’
Of course, in the future, he would grow big enough to hold the original heroine in one embrace, with a formidable physique similar to Romeo’s.
But for now, he was very small.
Even so, he showed no sign of being intimidated by Romeo.
‘Well, he is the one who will become emperor. And… he’ll have a reputation as a fearsome emperor. He must have a strong will.’
Lellia stepped in before Romeo could spew any more harsh words.
“Hey, Romeo. Don’t scare a kid who came to visit.”
“…Alright, boss.”
At Lellia’s words, Romeo’s lips twitched, but he obediently stepped aside. He really was very obedient.
Oscar slowly walked into the room and came to stand in front of Lellia.
“Hello. What brings you here?”
“Th-that is….”
“Have a seat first.”
Lellia kindly patted the seat next to her. Oscar hesitated for a moment before sitting where she had indicated.
“S-so… y-yesterday, th-thank you… for h-helping me…. I-I came… to say that….”
“Don’t mention it. It’s okay.”
Lellia replied with a slightly embarrassed look.
‘I was actually going to ignore you….’
She had agonized over it for a while before helping, so being thanked made her feel awkward and guilty.
‘Being thanked like this makes me feel sorry.’
Lellia pointed to the snacks on the table for Oscar.
“Aren’t you hungry? Want a snack?”
Even though Romeo had brought them.
Lellia kindly placed a cookie in Oscar’s hand. It was a ploy to alleviate her guilt by offering him food.
“Th-thank you…. I-I’ll eat it well.”
Romeo, who had closed the door and returned, had an expression that said he had a lot to say but was holding it in.
He then sat across from them and looked Oscar up and down with a displeased gaze.
It was an overtly offensive stare. But Oscar acted as if he didn’t mind at all.
“Do you stutter, too?”
“……”
Romeo asked Oscar.
Lellia glared at him, but Romeo quickly averted his gaze. Oscar, holding the cookie, said.
“O-only sometimes, when I-I’m nervous… or s-startled….”
“S-seems l-like you do it e-every day.”
Romeo deliberately stuttered to mock Oscar. His taunting attitude was utterly shameless.
“Hey, that’s enough.”
When Lellia finally intervened, Romeo’s lips twitched.
“It’s not nice to tease your friends.”
“Who said we’re friends! Who would be friends with a stutterer like him?”
Romeo shrieked and shot up from his seat, fuming. He then stormed off, not into the living room where they were, but into Lellia’s study.
The room Lellia was staying in was like a small house, divided into a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and even a study. It was clear she was receiving special treatment as a crown prince.
Of course, the other children’s rooms were divided similarly, but hers was a bit larger.
‘That little brat…. Well, he is ten, so he is a brat.’
Lellia sighed at Romeo’s retreating back and apologized to Oscar on his behalf.
“I’m sorry, Oscar. I apologize for him. He may seem like that… but he’s not that bad of a guy… I think. He’s not rotten by nature.”
“I-it’s okay. I-it’s not like he’s wrong…. I-I don’t have any friends.”
“What?”
“W-who would l-like a… stuttering kid l-like me.”
Lellia frowned at Oscar’s words. Oscar’s expression showed he wasn’t hurt at all.
It made her heart ache for some reason. Why would a child accept something like that as a matter of course?
“Hey, what are you talking about? Why wouldn’t you have friends? You can be friends with me! I even helped you…. Would I have helped you if I disliked you? So don’t think like that.”
“E-even if you knew I-I stuttered… w-would you have helped me?”
“Hey, of course!”
“Th-thank you….”
At Lellia’s firm answer, Oscar briefly lowered his head and fiddled with his fingers shyly.
Then he looked up with an “Ah!” and asked.
“B-but you k-know my n-name?”
“Yeah. You’re the crown prince of the Hresvelg Empire.”
“I-I saw you for the f-first time yesterday.”
“…That’s probably true. I’ve been living very quietly, as if I didn’t exist, until now.”
She had intended to keep living that way… but she just couldn’t pretend she hadn’t seen Oscar.
Seeing Lellia sigh, Oscar pointed to the room Romeo had entered.
“B-but why does he c-call you… boss?”
“Ah… um… well, because I’m so cool? He said he was filled with respect after seeing me calm you down.”
Lellia lied with a straight face. At the same time, she kept glancing towards the study, afraid Romeo would burst out shouting, “What? What kind of bullshit is that! Want me to shut that mouth of yours?”
“I-I see….”
“Yep.”
“Th-then can I call you boss… too?”
It was clear that he only stuttered when he was nervous, as his speech was improving the more they talked.
But what did you just say?
“Me?”
Lellia froze for a moment, just blinking.
Suddenly, a line and a scene she had read in the original novel came to mind.
Oscar was a character who would kill his own father and become emperor.
After that, he was called the Bloody Emperor, the cruel patricide….
In fact, that scene was also when Oscar overcame his childhood trauma and avenged his mother.
And Oscar… as he killed his own father, he said this.
“Father, from now on, I will cut down anyone who stands above me. You will be the first.”
As Lellia stared blankly, recalling the original story, Oscar spoke again.
“I-I want to call you b-boss, too….”
“……”
Uh… um….
Lellia hesitated for a moment.
“P-please let me….”
She wanted to say absolutely not… but Oscar’s eyes as he pleaded with her looked so desperate.
Honestly, Oscar was too small and fragile; in a word, he was born to evoke protective instincts.
His fine silver hair, his pale white skin, and his red eyes were all pure and delicate.
Even in the original novel, the adult Oscar was said to have a beauty that could bewitch people with his looks.
Indeed, even though he was still young, his beauty was extraordinary.
Honestly, Lellia had been worried about being found out as a girl, but when she arrived, she saw that Romeo, and now Oscar, and many other boys were so pretty they looked like girls, so she was able to relax a little.
“…Am I not allowed? B-because you saw me like that yesterday… and I s-stutter?”
“No… that’s not it….”
It’s because I’m afraid you’ll kill me later for being called boss….
‘My goal is to survive….’
As she hesitated, tears began to well up in Oscar’s eyes.
Seeing that adorable sight, like a baby kitten crying, her lips moved on their own.
“You can! You can! Why not! You can! Call me it, call me it!”
Just as a tear was about to fall, Lellia managed to shout.
“R-really?”
Oscar blinked. A clear tear rolled down his cheek. Lellia hastily wiped it away with the tip of her thumb.
‘He’s only ten… why is he so small?’
Is it because he lived without spirit due to his father? Oscar was so pitiful.
In fact, among the children from various countries who came to the temple, the officially youngest was nine years old.
Since Lellia was actually seven, technically, they were all her older sisters or brothers.
But Oscar felt like a younger brother.
‘For some reason, I feel like I need to protect him.’
The desire to play the role of an older sister surged within her.
With memories of her past life, she could think maturely to some extent, but there was a limit to what she could do in a seven-year-old’s body.
In the end, Lellia was just a little kid herself. A child who wanted to act like a big brother or sister.
‘He wouldn’t kill me, would he? I should be as nice to him as possible….’
Unaware of the resolution Lellia was making internally, Oscar smiled bashfully, tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes.
“I-I thought you disliked me, t-too.”
“……”
His smile was so bright and beautiful that Lellia held her breath for a moment. He looked like a winter fairy.
“D-do you… dislike me…?”
When Lellia didn’t answer, Oscar asked anxiously.
“No? Of course not. I don’t dislike you at all.”
At her firm answer, Oscar smiled shyly.
‘Well, whatever. If you’re happy, that’s all that matters….’
But is this really okay?
Lellia blinked blankly for a moment.
‘You never know how things will turn out in life, but….’
And so, somehow… she had ended up making two of the heroes who would defeat the Mad Dragon in the future her subordinates.
‘Well… up to two should be fine, right?’
It’ll be fine….
