Between Courage and Lingering Regrets, Part II
"I hate to break it to you, but your dear older brother has never been haunted by a ghost."
At my dry response, Selos bit his lip hard. I stroked my chin as I watched him. It wasn't that such entities didn't exist in the original novel, Dark Header. But they certainly weren't supposed to appear this early in the timeline. Whatever the case, there was no need to share my internal musings with Selos. I spoke quickly, brushing it off as if it were nothing.
"It doesn't seem to have anything to do with your abilities, so just leave it alone. It's not like a ghost can actually do anything to you anyway."
"What do you mean, 'leave it alone'?" He glared at me with a furious face, as if outraged that this was the best advice I could offer.
"Aren't ghosts usually just spirits lingering because they want to visit their beloved family or seek revenge? Since none of our immediate imperial family members have died recently, it's highly unlikely to be a loving relative."
"Well... I suppose so." I gave him a knowing look as he nodded, leaning back in my chair.
"And if it's looking for revenge... well, considering your usual behavior, I'd say you probably deserve whatever you get."
"Don't make light of this. It shows up every single night at dawn!"
"Are you even sure it's a ghost in the first place? Maybe you just mistook one of the servants."
Frustrated by my nonchalant reaction, he pressed on.
"It paces in front of my door, and then suddenly vanishes at the end of the hallway! Without a trace! And no one else has seen it. Everyone says there was nobody there at that hour. How could that possibly be a human?!" He grew increasingly agitated, his bloodshot, sleep-deprived eyes flashing wildly.
Appearing at dawn and vanishing at the end of the hallway, huh... Now that I knew the timing and the location, there was no need to tease him any further. I smiled faintly and shrugged.
"Even if it is a ghost, as I said, there's nothing it can do, and nothing you need to do about it. Fortunately, those things can't cause physical harm."
"Well, that's true, but..." Realizing that throwing a tantrum wouldn't change my attitude, his fire quickly fizzled out.
"If you're still anxious, the only thing you can do is try performing a few good deeds. Now, on that note..." I flung open the closed screen door. Anna was still lying unconscious on the sofa, completely out cold.
"Take that girl to the infirmary. And make sure she doesn't wake up—seeing your face will only throw her into another fit."
At my sudden proposal, Selos's face crumpled in sheer disbelief.
"What?! Why on earth should I do that?!"
Why? Because if I helped her, it would crack the carefully built reputation of the cruel Seventh Prince. Besides, I wanted Selos Abaran to take responsibility for his own actions, even if only a little. As he opened his mouth to spew another stream of awkward, forced polite speech, I cut him off.
"I told you. Do some good deeds. Who knows? Maybe the ghost will be so touched that it'll leave you alone."
He stared at me as if I were speaking absolute gibberish. I entirely agreed with his silent assessment. However, I was also shameless.
"Or, you could go and ask the servants to move her. Politely and with manners, of course."
"Why would I ask them?! I can just order them to do it!"
In his agitation, he tacked on the polite verb endings again, but I didn't care.
"Then it wouldn't count as a good deed, would it?"
Catching the drift that I wouldn't let him off the hook no matter what, he gnashed his teeth.
"Go quietly so you don't wake her."
"Damn it, I should never have come to this place!" Selos muttered as he scooped Anna up. I watched his retreating figure until he vanished from sight, then quickly shut the door. Tonight was going to be a very long night.
Selos Abaran carried Anna toward the infirmary—more gently than Ran had expected, but far more carelessly than an average person would. While it was true he was mindful of the Seventh Prince's warning not to wake her, his compliance was mostly due to a lack of energy, brought on by the self-loathing of having swallowed his pride to visit this wretched palace in the first place.
I must have lost my mind from all these sleepless nights. The reason he had sought out the cursed Seventh Prince's Palace again was because he believed it was the quietest way to resolve his problem out of the two options left to him. Though, calling them "two options" was generous; it was merely a choice of who to confide in.
Honestly, he would rather die than talk to either of them, but coming to the Seventh Prince at least guaranteed the matter wouldn't blow up. The Seventh Prince was an insufferable bastard, but seeing how he had kept his mouth shut so far, he seemed tight-lipped enough.
An imperial prince haunted by a ghost. It was a pathetic state of affairs, unheard of and utterly humiliating. If anyone found out, they would immediately look down on him. A pathetic prince with no real power.
Selos tightened his grip on the scruff of Anna's collar as if he could hear that cold, mocking voice whispering in his ear. The contemptuous gazes that had always been directed at the Seventh Prince might very well shift to him. Selos knew all too well how humiliating that would be. To be reduced to the same level as that worthless half-breed... It was intolerable.
Yet, paradoxically, a thought crossed his mind: perhaps the Seventh Prince might actually know how to solve this. If a half-baked prince who only held the imperial name by a thread had gone through the same thing... If a ghost can torment me because my Manis is weak, then that bastard must have suffered from them too. He's far more deficient than I am, so he must be even more miserable.
Furthermore, an unfounded belief welled up inside him that the owner of that smug, shameless face would have handled the situation with absolute composure. It was an incredibly generous assessment—one he would have found unthinkable in the past—but the feeling persisted. If a ghost appeared before that half-breed, he would probably just snort and kick the spirit out.
That train of thought was what had driven Selos to the Seventh Prince's Palace. Yet, all he had gained was a load of nonsense and this dead weight of a girl. Selos glanced down at the maid dangling from his arms. A mere slip of a girl, nothing special. It was true he had been furious when she got bitten by that rat, and he had intended to punish her for daring to hide it. But wasn't that only natural? To Selos, such cruelty was ordinary. Why had the Seventh Prince been so angry? Did he feel some sort of kinship with her because they were both weak, powerless losers?
Though his pride had kept him from showing it, Selos had been deeply rattled by the Seventh Prince's cold reaction, which was a far cry from his usual indifference. He couldn't understand why his chest had tightened when the Seventh Prince opened the door, cast a single glance at the shivering girl, and looked at him with eyes colder than ever before.
The Eighth Prince would never admit it, but Ran's unusual aura had thoroughly intimidated him. Throughout their encounter, the immature Selos had been as tense as a young boy getting scolded by his older brother. It was humiliating, but it was also the reason he had meekly carried this burden out of the room. He felt that if he mistreated the girl any further, the Seventh Prince would look at him as if he were something lower than a brainless beast.
"Hey! Is anyone here?" Having arrived at the infirmary, the Eighth Prince kicked the door open and called out for the physician.
"Yes, what is—gasp! Y-Y-Your Highness the E-Eighth Prince...!" The old doctor, who had been shuffling out at a leisurely pace, gasped for breath and began to stutter violently the moment he saw the Eighth Prince.
Sick of hearing yet another stuttering rendition of his title, Selos waved his hand dismissively. The doctor, overwhelmed with terror, clutched his chest and panted heavily. Why is everyone working here like this? Unaware that the only people willing to endure the Seventh Prince's notorious temper for meager pay were the elderly, the destitute, and the cowardly, the Eighth Prince scowled. He hated this dump even more now.
Selos dumped Anna onto a small cot that looked barely clean.
"She fainted. Deal with her." Since the Seventh Prince had only ordered him to bring her to the infirmary, his job was done. Having delivered his command, he turned on his heel and left without a backward glance, vowing never to set foot in this palace again.
"P-Please go safely, Your Highness." The old doctor bowed so low his crooked back almost touched the floor, but the Eighth Prince didn't even look back. It was only when his footsteps had completely faded into the distance that a sudden sound broke the silence.
"Gasp!" Anna bolted upright on the cot, letting out the breath she had been desperately holding. Thanks to her sudden resurrection, the frail-hearted doctor had to survive his second near-heart attack of the day.
"Oh, my goodness! You scared the life out of me!"
"Haa, haa... Is the prince completely gone?"
"I-I believe so. What on earth is going on?"
"I'm... I'm still alive, right?"
Though she was pale as a sheet, the doctor looked at her with pity, relieved she was breathing. Even without her explaining, the old man could guess that a young maid having to play dead to be carried into the infirmary in this terrifying imperial palace was a sign of nothing good.
The doctor, who shared Anna's philosophy that discarding useless curiosity was the key to a long life, asked no further questions. Instead, he quietly handed her a cup of warm water mixed with a pinch of salt.
"Thank you." Taking the cup, Anna shuddered as she recalled the surreal events of the past hour.
Anna had actually regained consciousness around the time Ran ordered Selos to carry her gently so she wouldn't wake. However, knowing she wouldn't be able to hold back a scream if she opened her eyes and saw the terrifying Eighth Prince, she had stubbornly played dead and held her breath the entire way. When Prince Selos had tightened his grip on the scruff of her neck, she had to use every ounce of her strength to suppress a cough. Fortunately, he seemed to have forgotten his anger toward her, dumping her on the bed before leaving. Anna was profoundly grateful for that much.
She had almost lost her life just trying to save a single squirrel. Her life was precious, and she couldn't bear to lose it so pointlessly. Recalling the reddish-blonde-haired prince, she shuddered once more. Until now, Anna had believed the Seventh Prince was the most terrifying being in the world, but she had been gravely mistaken. The way Selos had approached her, looking down at her like a mere pest, made her feel as if he would truly crush her under his heel. She never wanted to experience that again. Anna made a firm vow to herself: the moment she saw even a single strand of reddish-blonde hair, she would run for her life. Unfortunately, it wouldn't take long for the girl's resolute vow to crumble.
Chirp, chirp. The sound of crickets filled the midnight silence.
Squeak! The chirping abruptly cut short. Having snatched up a plump cricket in the blink of an eye, the squirrel turned the pitiful insect over and over, as if deciding which part to eat first.
"I'll give you this, so let that thing go."
Not wanting to witness such a gruesome sight before setting off, I pulled a glossy acorn from my pocket and offered it to the creature. Preferring acorns to insects, the squirrel quickly released the struggling cricket and stuffed the acorn into its cheek.
"Yes, eat up. It's going to be a long night."
The wind was cold. The palace where the Eighth Prince resided was quite a distance from my own. In times like this, it was best to transform into the form I was most familiar with. Spreading my black wings, I soared out into the night sky.