64
===
It was because Cesare was wasting his precious time on a mere child.
Of course, the child was quite adorable. Especially her piebald eyes, a mix of green and gold, were beyond unique, almost mystical. Her babbling voice was as pleasant to hear as the chirping of a lark.
But still, she was just a child. Even if she was the nanny's daughter, Cesare's attention to such a young child was incomprehensible. It was even more so because she was the daughter of a humble family with not even a speck of potential help to offer.
He was destined to walk only a glorious path. The worry that this child might become an obstacle for Cesare gnawed at Senon. Every time, he was tormented by the urge to pluck the little one out like a weed and throw her away.
Rohan and Diego, who liked children, shared similar opinions. They found Aileen cute, but they agreed with Senon's assessment that Cesare was paying her unnecessarily excessive attention.
How could he remove that annoying little thing from Cesare's sight? He spent his days pondering this.
"How many times have I told you that the Fifth Imperial Prince is a discarded pawn!"
His father threw the documents he was holding at Senon. His father, visible through the scattering papers, pounded his chest with a frustrated expression.
"Another Imperial Prince will take the throne. And you insist on becoming that guy's knight. You fool."
As the second son, Senon would not inherit the title. The breakthrough he found to make a living was Cesare. After swearing allegiance to him and becoming a knight, Senon had never once regretted his choice. The more he trusted and followed him, the stronger his conviction grew.
But his parents vehemently criticized Senon. They constantly berated him for not making a choice that would benefit the family and for doing foolish things.
This time was no different. He had brought them a neatly organized report, hoping that showing them Cesare's tremendous victory would change their minds even a little, but it only backfired.
Senon returned to the capital with a gloomy feeling. As he entered the Imperial Palace and headed towards the Imperial Palace, his eyes suddenly welled up.
Tilting his head back, Senon ran to the garden, making sure no one was watching. As soon as he reached a place where he felt no one was around, he plopped down on the ground. The tears he had been holding back burst forth.
"Hic, sob…. Huhu…."
He thought it was okay if his parents didn't understand, that he could trust his choice and move forward. But it seemed that there was still a childish part of him that craved recognition and praise. He was shedding tears just from a little scolding.
He loathed his weak self, but he didn't know how to stop the tears. Senon huddled in a corner of the Imperial Palace garden, sobbing quietly in a pathetic state. It was when he had been shedding tears for quite some time.
Rustle, there was a sound of leaves rustling. Hurriedly wiping away his tears with the back of his hand, he turned his head sharply and saw a small child standing there with wide eyes. Her hair and clothes were covered in grass, as if she had been running around the garden just now.
Of all people, he had to be caught crying by this annoying little thing. Senon avoided her gaze, staring at the golden-green eyes that sparkled in the sunlight.
At least it wasn't Cesare or his fellow knights, but he couldn't help but feel twisted inside for revealing his weakness. He silently stared at the grass, hoping she would just disappear without saying anything foolish.
But he felt her approaching him cautiously. Ignoring her, a white handkerchief landed softly on his lap like a butterfly.
That was all. Aileen didn't say a word, just left a handkerchief and trotted back into the bushes. Senon looked at the handkerchief on his lap.
The crude handkerchief, made of cheap cloth, had frayed edges. It didn't even have any embroidery, so it was more like a piece of cloth than a handkerchief. Senon stared blankly at the old but clean handkerchief and wiped away his tears, sniffling pathetically. He even blew his nose out of spite.
That day, Senon washed the child's handkerchief and bought a new one. He also bought a box of cookies and wrapped them nicely with the handkerchief.
A few days later, he handed the prepared handkerchief and cookies to Aileen, who had come to play at the Imperial Palace. Then, in a seemingly cold voice, he asked.
"Why did you give me the handkerchief?"
Aileen just looked up at Senon with her lips slightly parted. He snapped at the child, who didn't understand his words, more specifically.
"I mean, why did you give me the handkerchief even though you know I don't like you? Did you want to pity me or something?"
Aileen made a surprised sound, "Uh, uh." Then she rolled her eyes and muttered.
"I didn't know…. You've always been so nice to me……."
I've been nice to you? Senon, who only remembered being sarcastic to the little one, was very embarrassed. He had been mocking and sneering at her, but Aileen was so oblivious that she hadn't noticed at all.
Aileen smiled brightly, holding the gifts Senon had given her in her arms.
"But you like me now, right? You gave me so many gifts."
Her innocent smile was full of pure affection for Senon. For the child, the most special thing was not her rare eye color. It was the pure goodness that he had not easily seen in the Imperial Palace, in society, or on the battlefield.
Senon could understand a little why Cesare cherished this child so much. And not long after, Aileen, who had been invited back to the Imperial Palace, came to see Senon before meeting Cesare.
As soon as she saw Senon in the hallway, she smiled brightly and ran towards him with her little feet. Aileen shouted from afar, waving something in her hand.
"Sir Senon! These are dried flowers I made…, Ack!"
But before she could reach Senon, she tripped and fell. Senon quickly ran over and helped her up, but Aileen was already teary-eyed.
Dried flower crumbs were scattered all around Aileen. All that was left in her small hand was the stem. Aileen looked back and forth between the stem and the flower crumbs with her big eyes, and eventually began to shed tears of frustration.
"I, I wanted to, to repay you for the, the gift you gave me before……."
The child, holding only a stick-like stem, cried with red cheeks and hugged him. Senon, who was holding her small body in his arms and patting her, burst out laughing. He had to comfort the crying child, but he couldn't stop laughing.
After laughing for so long that tears welled up in his eyes, Senon had to admit it. The wall of his heart that he had built to keep the child away had completely collapsed.
From then on, he spoke politely to Aileen and treated her with respect as a noble lady. He waited for the days when Aileen visited the Imperial Palace and gave her gifts, pretending it was nothing special.
Every time he saw Aileen's smiling face, he felt like he had the whole world. By the time he realized that his heart was throbbing because she was so cute, he had already fallen deeply in love.
Senon became a knight who cherished and valued Aileen more than anyone else.
"It feels like just yesterday that you were holding a flower stem and crying, 'Aang.'"
Senon, lost in memories, turned to Rohan. Rohan, who had already finished his cigarette and cleaned up neatly, smiled faintly and added.
"Now she is the Grand Duchess."
Senon, who had only smoked half of his cigarette, put it out and brushed the smoke-stained clothes with his hands, asking.
"So, did you find out anything?"
"Of course not."
The two knights exchanged a brief conversation and gave a bitter laugh. Due to Cesare's recent strange behavior, the knights were feeling the seriousness of the situation. They had been trying to resolve the situation in their own way, but they were floundering, digging into nothing but intangible illusions.
However, they had made a clear judgment about the current situation. It was truly absurd, but perhaps Cesare was…….
As if he had different memories alone.
If someone else had acted like Cesare, they would have dismissed it as a mental illness. But because they knew Cesare so well, the knights were able to be certain of a judgment that was nothing more than a futile delusion.
"It's definitely something related to Aileen."
Senon stopped talking and shuddered for a moment. Cesare's red eyes, mentioning execution and taverns, were still vivid in his mind. It was a memory that sent chills down his spine every time he recalled it.
As they speculated on the reasons for Cesare's change in various ways, they naturally considered superstitious aspects such as Sorcery. But it was Cesare, of all people.
Due to his mother's obsession with Sorcery, Cesare had a deep contempt for unscientific things. There was no way that someone who didn't even believe in God would have reached out to petty Sorcery.
Unless he had experienced an event that drastically changed his life.
