A Tearful Game of Hide-and-Seek (1)
"A wager where the loser has to eat all the vegetables?"
"Yes. Does that sound appealing to Your Highness?"
I decided to capitalize on his burning desire to see me brought down a peg. Edwin cocked his head, clearly enticed by the proposal.
"What kind of wager? Not Monte, though. I'm not playing that."
He cast a wary eye in my direction, yesterday's humiliation still fresh in his mind. He was evidently convinced he could never best me at Monte—which implied he believed he stood a chance at anything else. Quite the ambitious little thinker.
Dabbing the corners of my mouth with a napkin, I offered mildly, "How about a game of hide-and-seek?"
Hide-and-seek.
At that single phrase, the prince's eyes sparkled like lanterns.
"Now that's my specialty!" He sprang from his chair as though ready to bolt that very second.
"Hide-an'-seek? Lia wants to play, too! Lia too!" Sitting beside him, Emilia caught the infectious excitement, drumming her spoon enthusiastically against the tabletop.
Lifting the young princess into my arms, I said, "Her Highness and I shall be 'it'."
"Eeeeek!" Overjoyed, Emilia threw both hands into the air with a gleeful squeal.
Edwin, on the other hand, arched a haughty brow, dripping with unearned confidence.
"Hmph. You're going to regret this."
"On the condition that the game is confined strictly to the first floor, where the dining hall is located."
"Fine by me. Wouldn't want you getting hopelessly lost when you can't find me." Edwin shrugged with magnanimous condescension, as though granting a great favor.
Watching him preen, I added in an even tone, "If I find Your Highness, I win. If I cannot, victory is yours."
"And the loser cleans their plate of every last vegetable. Right?" Edwin double-checked the terms before flashing a broad, smug grin. "Just don't come crying to me when you lose."
The Ventrum Empire’s Third Prince, Edwin Anaxinian Ventrum.
Having turned eleven this year, he had known precious few opportunities to play with children his own age. No noble family in their right mind would send their offspring to play with an imperial prince whose favor carried zero political benefit. He had never belonged anywhere, and aside from the late Emma, not a soul paid him any real attention.
Perhaps that was why Edwin rarely opened his heart to others; yet, paradoxically, the faintest scrap of warmth was enough to dissolve his defenses entirely. It was that very vulnerability that had led him to gamble away his mother's keepsake bracelet against Gale's pack of bullies. An invitation from someone his own age to join in a game was simply too rare a temptation to resist.
"Tch, not here either."
In any case, the young prince seemed remarkably energized today. He crept through the storage room connected to the kitchens, scanning his surroundings with calculating eyes.
Where could I hide that she'd never look?
After much deliberation, the prince set his sights on an enormous vegetable crate. Half-filled with carrots, the wooden bin was more than deep enough to conceal his slight frame. Clambering inside, Edwin pulled the lid securely shut above him.
Perfect. She'll never find me in a million years.
Curled tightly inside the box, he stifled a breathless chuckle.
Just then, approaching footsteps rustled outside. Edwin pressed his eye against a narrow crack between the wooden slats. Fortunately, it was not Rachel.
"I swear, I've never seen such a gorgeous man in all my life."
Two maids slipped into the pantry, immediately launching into hushed chatter.
"Really? The King of Adamant is that handsome?"
"I'm telling you! Everyone called him the Wolf King, so I expected some terrifying brute, but he's nothing like that!"
Hair as pitch-black as the night sky, smooth sun-kissed skin, and amber eyes that gleamed like stars—the maid twisted with giddy delight as she poured out every breathless superlative she could think of.
"And his build! Heavens, I thought a divine statue had walked right out of a temple!"
"Oh, listen to you reciting poetry. As if anyone in the world looks like that."
"They do! He does! I saw him with my own two eyes!" The maid practically barked at her skeptical companion before hugging her own arms dreamily. "Ah, if only I could be held in those broad arms just once, I could die happy."
"Get a grip. Why would the sovereign of an entire kingdom spare a glance for a lowly maid like you? Hurry up, let's get out of here."
"You never know how to play along, do you?"
Grumbling under her breath, the maid moved toward the doorway before suddenly pivoting back.
"Oh, right! I almost forgot to put this on top. The rats have been awful lately; that would've been a disaster. Hey, don't just leave me here—give me a hand!"
"Always acting so fragile!"
The two maids drew close to the very crate where Edwin lay tucked away.
Thud—
A heavy weight dropped directly onto the lid above his head, followed by the fading scuff of departing footsteps. Silence settled over the storeroom once more.
Clapping both hands over his mouth to muffle his breathing, Edwin released a quiet sigh of relief once the room emptied. Whew, that was close. I almost got caught by the maids before the game even started. His pride as a self-anointed master of hide-and-seek had narrowly escaped disgrace.
Within the suffocating confines of the wooden box, Edwin sat quietly, hugging his knees to his chest.
"Urrgh..."
How much time had passed?
Even as other servants bustled in and out of the pantry later on, his nanny was nowhere to be found. Restless prickles ran through his limbs, and Edwin shifted uncomfortably against the wooden boards. It was growing harder to breathe, and his legs had started to go numb with pins and needles.
I feel like I've been in here forever.
Edwin’s expression darkened by degrees. Without warning, a venomous memory resurfaced from the depths of the young prince's mind.
—Want us to let you play, little brother?
Second Prince Lloyd’s sneering face, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Emperor, rose unbidden. Flanking him were the smirking sons of influential high nobility. In those days, before he even understood what malice looked like, Edwin had eagerly trailed after them, simply overjoyed to be included.
—Nobody will ever find you if you hide in here. Stay right inside, Edwin.
—What about you, Brother Lloyd?
—I have another hiding spot. So if you get found first, shout as loud as you can to warn me. Got it? That’s how "we" win.
Resting a heavy hand on the younger boy's shoulder as Edwin looked up at him with unadulterated admiration, Lloyd had curled his lips into a sly smirk.
—Just remember: you're not allowed to come out until the seeker finds you. If you step out early, we lose, and it’ll all be your fault.
Perhaps because the storage chest had been located in such a forsaken, out-of-the-way corner, or perhaps because Lloyd and his cronies had told no one...
Hours had dragged on, yet neither seeker nor savior ever arrived. Bound by Lloyd’s threatening decree, Edwin hadn't dared to push open the lid and step out on his own. If Emma, his nanny, hadn't caught wind of the rumors late that night and come searching frantically, he might have spent the entire night abandoned in that pitch-black chest.
—Your Highness!
When the lid was finally thrown back, Emma’s tear-stained face had appeared before him. Yet what the young prince noticed first was not her sorrowful expression. It was the faces of the palace attendants standing in the shadows behind her. Summoned out into the dead of night, torches flickering in their hands, their eyes had laid bare their unvarnished resentment:
A troublesome little nuisance.
A half-witted prince.
A selfish, spoiled brat who only thinks of himself.
Edwin's royal pride had been ruthlessly shattered that night.
Trapped in the present, the prince bit his quivering lip.
...This isn't fun at all.
He raised his hands to push open the crate and crawl out.
Rattle, thud.
The wooden lid rattled against its frame, but refused to budge.
"Wh-what?"
A wave of panic surged through Edwin. The lid was pinned down solid, as if anchored by a massive stone. Wait... Did those maids earlier...?
Remembering the heavy thud that had vibrated over his head, the color drained from Edwin’s face. Servants often weighted down storage bins with heavy rocks to keep rodents and stray cats from raiding the supplies.
Does that mean... I can't get out?
Edwin's small heart began to pound against his ribs like a frantic war drum. The thumping rang so loudly in his ears that it drowned out the world. Squeezing his eyes shut, Edwin clamped his hands over his ears.
Emma was no longer here to come running. No one in this palace knew he was inside this box.
No... they won't even realize I'm gone.
Perhaps this time, he would remain trapped in the dark forever. Just as that suffocating dread threatened to consume him whole—
Bang!
The wooden lid was torn open.
"There you are, Your Highness."
Hovering above him was the face of his nanny, Rachel.
A detached expression, an indifferent tone, and dispassionate movements. A woman who possessed not an ounce of apparent warmth—so why did Emma's gentle silhouette seem to overlap with hers? The moment that ache of longing struck his heart, tears burst from Edwin’s eyes and poured down his cheeks like rain.
I will never understand children.
Why on earth was this boy weeping his heart out while buried knee-deep in carrots? Though caught off guard, I forced my expression to remain perfectly serene.
"Well then, it appears I have won our wag—"
Before I could finish declaring my victory, Edwin let out an ear-splitting howl.
"Why—why did you take so long?! You idiot! Waaaaah!"
Truly an incomprehensible little creature. After spending all of yesterday scrambling to avoid me, today he was throwing a furious tantrum because I hadn't found him fast enough.
"Big brother, why are you crying? Don't cryyy!"
To make matters worse, Emilia, who had been riding comfortably on my back, heard her brother wailing and immediately dissolved into sympathetic sniffling.
Lord help me. What am I supposed to do with them?
Swallowing an inward sigh, I slid both hands beneath Edwin's armpits and hoisted him cleanly out of the crate.
"Please, both of you, cease your tears."
It was utterly absurd: climbing into a box entirely of his own accord, only to weep and wail until someone dragged him out. Even after being rescued, Edwin stood trembling, fat tears rolling down his cheeks in steady streams.
This is tricky.
A weeping adult could be silenced in seconds with a well-placed threat, but children did not respond to such logic. That was precisely why I had always found them so exhausting. A creature that could not be reasoned with could neither be predicted nor controlled.
Nothing for it.
Soothing children was hardly my forte, but I couldn't simply ignore him. If I let him cry until he collapsed from dehydration, the responsibility would land squarely on my shoulders. After a moment’s hesitation, I raised my sleeve and gently dabbed away his tears.
"I apologize for arriving late."
It was a clumsy apology that sounded nothing like comfort, delivered with the stiffest of intentions.