Chapter 130
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 130
“Your Grace.”
“Is that you, Max?”
Max, the trusted subordinate and chief aide to Marquis Aster Frezier, bowed his head politely.
“The Marquis sent this separately as a gift for the Founding Festival.”
“Throw it away.”
“Lady Tulia said it was so beautiful that she wrapped it herself…”
“Give it here.”
Grand Duke Asis rose from his seat and took the heavy gift.
He didn't open it immediately, spending a long moment admiring the wrapping before finally undoing the ribbon.
And then, a rare sight occurred.
His dark green eyes widened.
“This is…”
Inside the box lay a large Conch Pearl with a mysterious, ethereal pink hue.
It was perfectly smooth without a single blemish, and its color was hauntingly beautiful. It wasn't just a unique shade.
This pink…
Suddenly, Grand Duke Asis felt a heart-wrenching pain in his chest.
“Your Grace! Your Highness! It’s an emergency! The young lady is in critical condition!”
That frantic news from the past.
Asis and Lisiyan, who had been together at the time, had rushed out so quickly they knocked over a beautiful bust they had been admiring.
The bust was modeled after Grand Duchess Lisiyan’s face—a work of art Asis had secretly commissioned for her birthday.
The bust had shattered upon hitting the floor. Though he later summoned master artisans and spent a fortune to restore it, one eye could never be fixed.
They could no longer find a Conch Pearl that perfectly matched the color of Grand Duchess Lisiyan’s eyes.
And so, the bust of the Grand Duchess, with one eye socket left empty, remained forever in the family storehouse.
Neither of them ever looked at it again.
Because their eldest daughter, Hyacinthia—one of their very lives—had passed away just like that.
Because their world had collapsed along with her.
“He also asked me to ensure you had these gloves.”
Max quickly pulled a pair of white gloves from his coat.
Grand Duke Asis clicked his tongue.
“Did that grown man think I’d find this charming? How revolting.”
Max simply smiled.
Despite his words, the Grand Duke put on the gloves and carefully picked up the pearl.
It was the jewel that would finally fill the eye of the bust that had remained empty for half a lifetime.
‘Lisiyan.’
Our end was never bitter or sour.
The fruit left behind by the withered plum blossoms… our granddaughter eventually turned it into sweet juice.
“…You would have surely liked the taste of the plum juice as well.”
Grand Duke Asis muttered as he gazed at the plum trees filling the distant plains.
The moonlight of a spring day and the breeze of a spring night.
From the distant Grand Banquet Hall, sweet and joyful melodies drifted over.
Since Tulia loved inviting orchestras to parties, she had arranged for one to play at this Founding Festival banquet as well.
The music was so beautiful it reached even this far-off spot.
“A wonderful Founding Festival.”
Grand Duke Asis closed his eyes and enjoyed the melody, a sigh-laden smile touching his lips.
“Goodness, I miss you dearly.”
*
“You son of a bitch!”
Benjamin, kicked hard in the stomach, gasped for air. Scrawny as he was, he couldn't even stand up.
As the 1st and 2nd Princes fumed and stepped forward to deliver another kick, the other princes nearby hurried to stop them.
“B-brothers, stop.”
“That’s right. The ambassadors are still staying at the palace.”
“Father is already furious as it is…”
The princes flinched, hesitating to kick Benjamin again. Instead, they grabbed him by the collar and screamed.
“You sly, snake-like bastard!”
“You fell in front of the ambassadors on purpose today, didn't you?! Huh?!”
Earlier that day.
At the Sorsen Royal Palace.
Since it was an important gathering of ambassadors from various countries, the King had ordered not only the Queen and concubines but also all the princes and princesses to attend.
It was common knowledge that the King of Sorsen was a womanizer. Consequently, he had well over ten children.
The princes and princesses greeted the ambassadors in small groups. Prince Benjamin was no exception.
The problem was that Benjamin, who was poorly fed yet forced to follow a grueling schedule, collapsed right in front of the ambassadors.
As he fell, his emaciated legs, covered in all sorts of dark bruises, were exposed through his loose trousers.
While the other princes, cared for by their concubine mothers, wore formal wear tailored to their measurements, Benjamin was wearing a massive outfit discarded by another prince, which a servant had hurriedly brought him the day before the banquet.
Naturally, the ambassadors from every nation fell silent in an instant.
“W-why does the Prince look like that! Summon the imperial physicians at once!”
The flustered King had hurriedly called for every physician available, ordering them to spare no expense in treating him.
“The Prince is naturally frail and prone to falling.”
He tried to make excuses, but anyone with eyes could see the truth.
Those were clear marks of violence.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Please do not hit me!”
“Father, I was wrong! I’m sorry! Mother! Save me! Waaaaah!”
The King, utterly humiliated, had stormed into the concubines' quarters that night to interrogate them and mercilessly whipped the princes who had laid hands on Benjamin.
The princes, beaten until they were bruised, had then swarmed Benjamin to hit him again.
“B-brothers…”
Benjamin managed to squeeze out a raspy voice.
“Father said he would send the imperial physicians again later.”
“…!”
“…!”
“…!”
At those words, the princes all turned pale and hurriedly let go of Benjamin’s collar.
“I-I don’t know anything about this.”
“I-I didn’t hit him. It was my brother who…”
“You cowardly bastard!”
In the end, they cursed and grabbed each other's collars before scurrying away, terrified of when the King’s physicians might burst in.
“…Haa.”
Benjamin stood up, wiping the blood from his mouth.
“You did well.”
“…Yeah.”
A man appeared from the shadows by the wall, where he had been holding his breath.
He was Benjamin’s only servant and the only person still ‘alive’ by his side.
Benjamin’s servants—or more accurately, his mother Iris’s servants—had always been picked off by the poison of other concubines. It had been quite a while since he’d had anyone to attend to him.
But this man—Trini—was still alive. The princes, who kicked Benjamin around like a ball every day, had no idea he even had a servant.
Benjamin watched Trini treat his scraped knees and stomach and asked, “Did my mother really send you?”
“Yes, Prince.”
‘Liar.’
Benjamin muttered to himself.
Trini had come to be his servant shortly after his mother died.
He was different from the servants before him.
In the way he saved, watched over, and cared for him, he truly seemed like a servant, yet he also seemed like a knight of immense martial prowess. One could tell by his disciplined physique and the occasional murderous glint in his eyes.
Furthermore, he brought plenty of expensive medicinal herbs that could never be obtained on a mere servant’s wages.
He even replenished the herbs periodically.
Though he had been caring for him for months now, Benjamin knew nothing about the man named Trini.
‘…Still.’
Even if everything about him was a lie.
Compared to the night he was left alone after his mother died.
He would rather cling to that lie.
If not for him, the only thing by Benjamin’s side would have been a small, fragile pink tulip kept breathing by preservation magic.
“Drink slowly, Prince.”
The medicinal decoction Trini brought today was bitter as well. Any normal child would have cried and made a fuss about not wanting to take it.
But for Benjamin, who couldn't eat proper meals, even this was food to fill his hunger.
One spoonful because it was precious, two spoonfuls because of the sorrow.
As he forced the bitter medicine down his throat, Benjamin belatedly realized tears were dripping into the bowl.
“…You won’t go anywhere, right?”
Trini nodded.
“Of course. I was told to protect you.”
‘Who is it? That person…’
What was the reason for showing him such kindness?
Why reach out a hand to a discarded boy?
Was it the whim of some wealthy benefactor with too much time on their hands?
Or did they want him to submit like a dog?
Benjamin had once overheard the concubines whispering that he would grow up to be a strikingly handsome man.
If the reason they were protecting him now was because they wanted his body in the future…
Then he would gladly sell his soul and body to that person. The noble prince swallowed his tears, which were tinged with a sense of self-abasement.
*
[…Consequently, the bullying from the other princes has decreased slightly but noticeably. Fortunately, Prince Benjamin has no permanent disabilities or injuries as of yet…]
“Seriously, why are all these male leads so pitiful? They’re getting beaten up every single day.”
Though I grumbled like that.
My heart grew heavier as I read Trini’s letter.
‘That medicine is so bitter, yet he ate it frantically just to fill his stomach… that’s just too much…’
Just how much had he been starved since he was a child for him to act like that?
How cruelly must he have been beaten for his entire body to be covered in yellow bruises?
As I heard the vivid details of the severe abuse Benjamin suffered—details I hadn't known before—my eyes began to sting.
Just as tears welled up in my eyes involuntarily.
“…!”
“…!”
I felt the atmosphere suddenly shift and lifted my head.
The servants nearby were looking at me with terrified eyes before quickly bowing their heads.
‘Sigh, seriously.’
Maintaining an image is exhausting. Truly exhausting.