Prologue
Francis, a botanist from Tateito, was drawing a distribution map of thorny water lilies when a sudden question crossed his mind.
‘Is it possible to color every map using only four colors, ensuring that adjacent countries have different colors?’
…And this became an unsolved problem for a hundred years.
‘Finally, I’ve solved it.’
The problem posed by Francis was by no means an easy one, even for me, who is considered the greatest scholar in Leahian. I dedicated all my time, except for sleeping, eating, and washing, to solving this problem. Even so, it took me three years.
‘I’ve finally solved it!’
It took 500 sheets of paper just to assume all possible cases and work through the solution. Submitting the compiled results to the academic conference brought me such joy that the three years felt worthwhile.
On the way out, basking in the sunlight for the first time in three years, I sat in a café and drank coffee made by someone else for the first time in three years. I couldn’t help but purr like a cat.
‘Ah, photosynthesis is the best.’
As I sat there blankly, I naturally began to hear the murmurs around me.
“That crazy king has a maid again…”
“An entire domain has vanished…”
“If only someone could do something about that crazy tyrant…”
‘Huh? Crazy tyrant?’
My ears perked up involuntarily. I blinked rapidly. I couldn’t help it. After all, the current king of Leahian was Erich, whom I had raised with utmost care!
‘Erich has become a tyrant?’
I couldn’t believe what they were saying. In my memory, Erich was taciturn and not good at expressing emotions, but he was as gentle as a puppy.
How could he become a tyrant in the three years since I left the secular world?!
‘I need to write a letter to Erich. What is he doing, letting such absurd rumors spread.’
With that thought, I left my half-finished coffee and hurried home.
‘Our Erich isn’t that kind of person!’
Still fuming, I was huffing as I reached for the door handle.
The door slid open easily. My body froze as I was searching for the key in my pocket with my other hand.
‘Huh? Did I leave without locking?’
That couldn’t be. I cautiously opened the door, on alert. The room, orderly to my eyes but chaotic to others, spread out familiarly before me.
Except for one thing. The tall man standing in the middle of it.
He was a man with a beautiful face that shone brilliantly even in the dim light streaming into the dark room.
With broad shoulders and lean muscles, he somehow gave off a delicate impression despite his strength. Perhaps it was due to his silvery hair, as white and fine as the moon in the sky.
His grayish-blue eyes, reminiscent of a snowy sky, scanned the room gloomily before settling on me as I entered. Suddenly, life flooded into those previously emotionless eyes.
“Master.”
The man strode over. His eye level, much higher than when we parted three years ago, made me realize how much time had passed.
I smiled brightly at the familiar face I hadn’t seen in so long.
“Erich.”
As I called his name, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
Then, just as he always did three years ago, he bent his waist and lowered his head as if asking to be patted. It felt like looking at a hunting dog deeply attached to its owner.
I reached out and stroked his silky silver hair.
—Rustle
The cool sensation of his hair sliding through my fingers was pleasant.
‘How could our puppy-like Erich be called a tyrant!’
Clearly, the people didn’t understand. Tyrant? There must be some misunderstanding.
‘Why on earth would such a misunderstanding arise.’
As I pondered, I naturally recalled the day we parted. Surely, it was…
That day, three years ago.
“I love you.”
My younger sister, Karla, the pride of Adelbar and revered as a saint, confessed her love to Erich.
Having dozed off in Erich’s study, I inadvertently overheard her secret confession of love.
Karla’s coral-colored lips parted, and her nightingale-like voice flowed out.
“I’ve never met anyone who has captured my heart like you. I promise to make you happy.”
The moment I heard those words, I unconsciously clenched my fist, then let it fall limply.
‘It’s over.’
It had always been like this since childhood. There was nothing beautiful Karla wanted but couldn’t get.
Parents’ love, friends’ affection, admiration from many… No matter how hard I tried, none of these were mine.
But after nearly ten years of leaving home, abandoning my birthplace and country, and running aimlessly, I never thought I’d taste this sense of defeat again today.
‘In the end, was everything I did just for Karla again?’
I quietly peeked over the back of the sofa to look at the back of the man’s head as he faced Karla’s confession.
Though I could only see his neatly arranged silver hair, I knew what expression he’d have without looking. As always, he’d have a stoic face with tightly pressed lips.
The pitiful king I had discovered and raised was someone who could only express joy in that way.
But that too would change. Just as everyone who came to know Karla happily and voluntarily offered their everything to her.
How happy must he be to receive Karla’s love, which so many had longed for.
‘…My job is done.’
The reason I had circled around Erich was ultimately to make him happy. And now that someone who could bring him that happiness had appeared, my task was complete.
That day, I immediately submitted my resignation to the Lion Palace. And I returned to the path of scholarship I had always yearned for.
Three years passed like that.
“Why did you leave my side?”
His gloomy eyes met mine. I scratched my cheek with my index finger.
“Well, I thought you’d be married to Karla, and there was nothing more I could do for you. I’m the one with many questions. Why are they calling you a tyrant in the capital? Is it because of Karla?”
Karla, being a perfect saint, often made those around her appear wicked, regardless of her intentions.
I too had faced such predicaments several times. As I frowned, thinking it might be something like that—
—Touch
Soft lips touched my forehead and then pulled away.
I looked up at Erich with wide eyes. Erich’s warm touch passed over my eyes, caressed my cheek, and gripped my shoulder tightly.
As if to say I couldn’t escape.
“You won’t be able to retreat anymore.”
“What?”
Before I could grasp the meaning of those words, a commotion broke out behind me. The door opened, and light flooded in. Familiar voices followed.
“Can’t you let go? What if you hurt them, dragging them so roughly?”
“You damned fools!”
Soldiers brought in two people. A plump elderly woman and a grumpy-looking old man. They were my mentor, Von Neumann, and his wife, Marsha.
The elderly woman, Marsha, saw me, then Erich, and turned pale.
“Oh, oh no, what’s this?”
It felt like a tight net had caught me. A chill ran down my spine. When I turned around, the still expressionless Erich was standing there.
But was it my imagination that his eyes seemed to burn like a candle in the darkness?
“…Shall we hear the story now?”
Erich said in a voice so polite it was chilling. I gulped.
‘Damn, I solved a century-old problem and thought today was my lucky day.’
It’s all ruined.
“Alright. I’ll come quietly.”
I sighed and took Erich’s cold hand extended to me. His face, smiling at me, was as beautiful as a flower.
So, this whole story goes back over a decade. To a time when I was very young and couldn’t do anything on my own.
The homeland where I was born was a country on the other side of the continent.
The Reason She Left Home
So, our household revolved around Karla, a single lily, the flower of the capital, a kind and gentle saint, and my dear younger sister.
Even if I fell ill,
“Oh, we can’t let it spread to our lovely Karla, so don’t take a single step out of your room.”
Proper care was out of the question so I was often confined to my room.
“Share some of your food! Can’t you see how thin Karla’s ribs are?”
It was natural to give up tasty things to Karla.
“How could such an item suit you? It’s like putting pearls on a pig! This only suits Karla.”
Even gifts I received had to be given to Karla.
Karla grew up like a flower nourished by our parents’ favoritism, blooming even more beautifully.
Her hair, shimmering in the sunlight, made people’s hearts race, and her lake-blue eyes were pure and clear. She was truly born with natural beauty.
God is truly unfair. As if not satisfied with Karla growing up to be just a beautiful woman, God bestowed another blessing upon her.
At the age of thirteen, her holy power manifested.
The royal family, engaged in a power struggle with the temple, reacted sensitively to this.
They calculated that if they could draw in a beautiful woman with holy power, a saint, to the royal side, the balance of power would instantly tilt in their favor.
“Our Karla will become a prince’s consort. In the future, she’ll be the queen!”
I wanted to tell them to wake up from their dream, but my parents’ delusions were endless.
Looking at people who, like moths to a flame, were drawn to Karla’s beauty and offered all sorts of treasures, and the temple people lining up with precious items saying they would serve the saint, it wasn’t entirely a vain delusion.
But my sister’s life is her life, and my life is my life.
So? What was I doing in this crazy household that only looked at Karla?
No matter what I did, even if I did nothing, our parents wouldn’t have paid attention to me. They wouldn’t have noticed my special qualities either.
From birth, I just studied hard, consistently.
Leave a Reply