0&1 Ch 5.4

“Are the servants still looking for him?”
“Yes. I’ll urge them to hurry a bit more.”

I was about to tell them to stop searching but held back.

Not if Alex didn’t leave on his own accord.

I don’t know why I thought that. When I stared at him, the servant’s shoulders stiffened. He was nervous.

“Your Highness?”

It’s not good to suspect that all the attendants are on the Queen’s side.

“Then let’s check the places we haven’t looked yet. He’s just a child, he could have gotten lost. You never know.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” The attendant disappeared.

The sun was setting and candles were lit on every wall.

The faint flames grew brighter as I passed through the corridor and headed to my bedroom.

The evening breeze cooled my sweat.

The market where Dot had been pickpocketed wasn’t far from the castle. It was a distance that could be covered by carriage, but it was too far for a child to walk alone.

Did he really leave the castle gates?

The gates close at sunset. If Alex had planned to escape the castle, he chose his timing well.

Dot returned while I was washing. He asked from behind the curtain, “Shall I attend to your bath, Your Highness?”

“No, it’s fine. What did you find out?”

Dot spoke smoothly: “It was a strange orphanage. It looked like a haunted house, and the fence was in disrepair. The director’s eyes were strange too. I said I wanted to donate, but when I asked to see the room where the children were staying before deciding, he reacted badly. He said there was a sick child and I shouldn’t go in. I asked why they didn’t send the sick child to the hospital, but he said it was a poor orphanage and there was nothing they could do.”

“Did you see the children?”

“I insisted on seeing them. Then they said it was playtime and everyone was outside. They said they would bring them if I waited, so I waited for a long time. Then they brought out two boys who looked like they’d just been washed, but both of them… something about them… they looked suspicious!”

I couldn’t help but laugh. I got out of the bathtub, roughly dried myself with a large towel and went out, where Dot was waiting with a shirt.

“What did they look suspicious about?”
“Their eyes, they were just…”
“Yes. Their eyes?”

“I don’t know.” Dot’s face flushed.

“Did you ask around the neighborhood?”

“Yes. I asked, but…” Dot’s brow furrowed. “Someone said the orphanage owner was a junk dealer. They laughed strangely.”

It was an openly suspicious nickname.

It seemed like this game liked to give characters all sorts of backstories.

My guess was that Alex Baumkuchen was an orphan who became the adopted son of Sir Baumkuchen after going through various trials and tribulations.

If I had played Alex’s route, I would have known the inside story. When I played Joffrey’s route, I realized that he wasn’t just a prince with a good personality, as he appeared to be.

Yoo Yeon-ho said that game strategies are similar to solving problems. He was good at games and got good grades.

Yoo Yeon-ho asked how he could get bad grades when he spent so much money on private lessons, but I thought he was just smart.

When you dig deeper into characters who seem normal on the surface, they all have their own problems, and the heroine solves them.

I should have played the game that way. I shouldn’t have brushed off Joffrey’s inferiority complex as just a character trait.

But it’s too late now.

“Did you thank the captain of the guard?”

I didn’t send Dot alone because I was afraid something dangerous might happen. The captain of the guard promised to send a few men with him. The guards would escort Dot.

Dot replied with a reddened face. “Yes. I’m sorry for causing you trouble. Oh, and the captain said he would take care of the orphanage if the Prince gave his permission.”

“No. Tell him to stay put and not to do anything suspicious.”

It was a terrifying thought that a single word from a child could cause a place to be destroyed. 

However, Dot didn’t seem to think so, and the captain of the guard, who had made the suggestion in the first place, probably felt the same way.

Dot buttoned my shirt, put on my trousers, and then my socks. I let him do as he pleased.

In the original game, how did Alex and Sir Baumkuchen meet?

Dinner was served, with turkey on the table. The white plates were decorated, making it feel like a holiday.

The chef carved a well-roasted leg and put it on my plate.

“We should give it to Her Majesty first,” I said this cautiously and the Queen smiled.

“No, Prince. I told him to give it to you.” The dining room lighting was dimmer than usual. “Since the Prince doesn’t value himself, shouldn’t his mother take care of him?”
“……”

The candlelight cast shadows. The Queen’s face didn’t look angry. But the next moment, when the candles flickered, the Queen’s expression turned cold.

“That’s not true, Mother.”
“Are you saying I am wrong, my Prince?”
“No…”

Without even thinking about it, I had treated Joffrey’s body carelessly, and often did. It started with running around the training grounds out of stubbornness. Even when the Queen scolded me, I had no words to say.

Why did I chase after a servant on a horse I couldn’t control? Edward could have caught him on his own.

“Are Sir Baumkuchen’s lessons helpful to the prince?”
“Yes, Mother.”
“I see.”

The Queen smiled. I felt like I had missed something again.

Why can’t I read her mind?

“This mother can only see what is right in front of her, but the prince can see much more. How could a foolish person like me understand what the prince is doing? There’s no need to explain it to me.“

I was dumbfounded. The Queen seemed determined to criticize Joffrey at a level even I could understand.

”So no matter how worried I am, even if I can’t stand properly because I’m shaking all over after hearing the news of the prince’s accident, the prince doesn’t care, right?”

“That’s not true, Mother.”
“Is that so? The prince is right. I was concerned, but not enough to come and comfort me.”
“I’m sorry, Mother. I was foolish. I didn’t know you would worry so much.”
“I see. You didn’t even imagine me worrying.”
“Mother…”

I wish she would just get angry. I don’t know what to do with myself. I longed for the Queen’s fiery temper.

“Hurry and eat. It’s getting cold.”
“I was wrong, Mother.”
“No. Even if the prince keeps a secret from his mother, does someone who can’t even worry about the prince have the right to feel hurt?”

So you mean you’re hurt?

The Queen’s young face came into view. She was trying hard not to show her hurt feelings.

“If you had told me about Sir Baumkuchen, I would have taken action.”

So she knew. She knew that Sir Baumkuchen didn’t come to class.

It didn’t matter when she found out. The Queen must have been waiting for Joffrey to tell her. She didn’t take matters into her own hands.

The Queen had exercised patience in her own way.

“I didn’t want you to worry, Mother. I could have handled it myself.”

The Queen did not reply. 

I stood up and went to the queen. I embraced her shoulders first.

“Next time, I will definitely tell you.”
“No, my Prince. This mother is truly foolish. Even though you’ve grown up like this…”

The Queen’s hair tickled my neck. It was black and smooth. Just like Joffrey’s.

“That Baumkuchen fellow was a nuisance until he was demoted to the border. But now he is called a hero, so he will be helpful to my Prince. My Prince is right,” The Queen said. “Don’t mind this mother. Do what you think is right. My Prince will become King. A wise and benevolent one.”

The Queen didn’t embrace me like before. Yet, I still felt suffocated.

Why? I had no intention of becoming a benevolent King, and the Queen wasn’t my Queen, so I didn’t need to feel burdened.

It felt as if a large stone had settled in my chest. I didn’t want to be someone’s everything. I had never wanted to be that.