“What is the issue?”

I heard a sharp lower voice right next to me. I flinched and looked up at him. Two small suns were floating during the hottest night of the desert. His black hair fluttered like a portion of the night sky underneath his luxurious turban.

I finally felt like I could focus again after exchanging glances with him. I took a deep breath and honestly answered. “……I thought I saw someone I knew, but I wasn’t sure, your Royal Highness.”

There was no way I would know anybody here. I was all by myself aside from my friends.

“……” The Imperial Crown Prince openly looked disgruntled.

I was surprised, because I had not expected such a reaction. Even Christelle, who was walking ahead of us, turned around to look at me. The rest of my friends did not seem to hear, but the Holy Knights clearly heard me. They were not very far away from me after all.

“Maybe it was a friend of yours from the Holy Kingdom, your highness?” The MC handed me a piece of delicious simit and asked.

Isabelle offered up a glass of ayran to the crown prince. They must have already bought some late night snacks. The street food you eat in places like this was bound to be multiple times more delicious than others.

“Thank you very much. That…… I don’t really know. Maybe I was mistaken,” I commented.

It really was the case. The sorrow-like emotion instantly disappeared to the point I was wondering if it was even real. It felt extremely intense for a moment but now there were no traces left of it. It did continue to tickle my mind with concern, but that was about all. It was impossible to find someone I didn’t even get a clear look at in a crowded area with thousands of people.

I shook my head and smiled. ‘I’m sure it’s not a big deal.’

“Please don’t worry about it. Ah, over there!” I then pointed to a spot.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!” A crowd gathered in a circle were cheering and clapping. I could see even more people starting to gather around. Joanne whistled. I had no idea what was going on, but it looked like an amazing show.

I sent a gaze that said I wanted to go and crown prince Cédric silently sighed.

‘I know you’re curious too, you little punk.’

*

The Giegold Night Market was basically heaven for a child. It being a ‘transformation walk’ with her daddy made it the best night ever.

– Craaaackle!

“Gaaaaaaaaasp!”

“Wow!” Cornelisse’s large eyes sparkled as she ran. Her heart was beating wildly after seeing a person breathing fire. It reminded her of a dragon she saw in a fairy tale.

The child was only eight years old. She was at an age where she was busy running around playing without worrying or thinking about anything else. Furthermore, this was her first trip ever in her entire life. The excited princess was tightly hugging snacks and toys as she ran into the crowd.

“Amy!” Her Royal Father screamed her alias but she did not pay it any attention. Cornelisse had never been lost in her entire life. She grew up surrounded by people who loved and protected her, truly like a princess. That was why it was normal for her not to be scared in this place. A treasure that had never been in danger did not know what was dangerous. She was just mesmerized seeing so many people and the fact that nobody was sleeping. It was a world of stars with everything sparkling in all directions.

“One more time! One more time! One more time!”

“Ugh, ahh.”

Cornelisse squirmed her way to the front. She had no idea at first about how to get past this heavy and large crowd, but everybody started to move a bit after they saw her. These people were so nice. Her older brother had been right. He had told her that there were lots of kind people outside the Royal Palace as well.

The princess snickered as she pushed her way to the front.

– Clap clap clap clap!

“My goodness! Honey, look at that!”

Then her eyes, which had been dyed black, opened as wide as they could go. She even forgot to breathe. Clowns wearing red and white outfits were using only their bodies to create a tower. It was completely different from the acts she had seen in the Venetiaan Royal Palace. They were already on the second floor, third floor…… They were challenging reaching a fourth floor now!

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Unbelievable……”

– Crackle!

A different clown started breathing fire. “Wooooooooooooooooow!” The atmosphere became even more heated.

‘I wonder if he is a fire attribute Holy Knight? Do Holy Knights do acts like this out in the desert?’ She had never heard about something like that. Cornelisse blanked out as she watched. The last clown was jumping up and down. He seemed to be attempting to create a fifth floor. Everybody’s hands were clammy from anticipation. Colorfully dressed acrobats at the back were standing like flowers, waiting for the results. The crown princess gulped. She had never been so nervous about someone else’s affairs in her life. Actually, she had never been so nervous about anything she had to do either!

– Boom boom boom boom……!

The musician started beating on the shabby-looking drum. The crowd became completely silent as if they had frozen. Cornelisse tightly clenched the items she had bought as gifts and nervously watched.

– Boboboom!

– Taaaat!

The acrobat jumped up. Jump, jump, jump! Swish, thud!

“Woooooooooooo!”

The five-story tower was completed. The woman who jumped to the top started throwing a few lemons and playing!

“Ahahaha! This is so great!”

“That’s amazing! So unbelievable!”

“How can the human body do that?!”

An extremely loud cheer burst out. Applause as loud as when her older sister returned from the battlefield filled the area as well. It was so loud that the young princess felt like her ears might fall off, but she just stiffly stood there blinking. She had never seen such a shocking sight before. To be completely honest, the performance by that clown just now was cooler than her older sister’s golden flame or her mother’s greatsword!

“So amazing!”

-♪♬♩!

The child smiled brightly. The elderly musicians started playing their instruments at the same time. The acrobats who had been all around the area used feather-like movements to come up very close. They were barefoot and their arms and legs were fully visible, but nobody was pointing fingers at them. Such dancing was a new experience for Cornelisse as well.

Clang clang! The extremely excited audience started throwing some shiny things into the center of the stage. Taking a closer look, she noticed they were coins.

‘Ah, you give money when you watch cool performances.’ The crown princess nodded her head. Everything was unfamiliar, but that was something she could do as well. She had been taught that benevolent acknowledgment was basic manners for a member of the Royal Family. The little kid immediately started rummaging through her pocket.

‘I had a gold coin that Royal Father gave me in here……’

– Plop, thud! Splash!

“Ah!”

She ended up dropping all of the presents in her arm. Cornelisse started tearing up and curled down. Honestly speaking, she had never held so many things in her hands before. She had also never tried to look for something else while holding those things either. But she had been doing well until now, until this suddenly happened.

The child flailed her arms and quickly gathered the horn flute and bracelet closest to her. She had to throw away the snacks she had yet to try.

– Plop!

– Thud!

“Umm, excuse me!”

But the situation was getting worse. After the show was over, the crowd started to scatter and kicked the child’s presents. She knew it was not intentional, but she still felt upset. The flowers she had planned on gifting to her brother were already pushed far away. Her eyes started tearing up after seeing them half smashed. It looked like grey clouds gathered on her small face.

“Royal Father……” Her voice sounded teary as well. Cornelisse finally looked around.

They were all unfamiliar faces. The people quickly moving around were all much taller than her and looked scary. She could not see her Royal Father or her attendants or guards.

Her mind blanked out as soon as she realized that. She did not remember how to return to their lodging. She also did not remember the last place she had been with her father. Her hands and feet suddenly went cold.

She was all by herself right now.

“Royal Mother……” She got scared. Small tears started falling from her eyes. “Big sister……!”

“Oh dear. You must be lost.”

She heard an extremely familiar voice coming from the sky. Cornelisse slowly raised her head. No. There was no need to do that. The other person knelt down to make eye contact with her.

“You must have been very surprised. Did you come here with your older sister?” He warmly asked. In his arm was the bouquet of flowers that were smashed and bent.

“Ah……”

She could not believe it. It was the face she had longed to see for so long. It was the person she had seen in her dreams every night. Her heart hurt every morning because she did not remember anything when she woke up. She was sure that they drew together, ate delicious food together, and even played hide-and-seek, but nobody was there when she woke up in the morning. Only the fact that they did all those things remained in her heart. The details disappeared as if they were all just lies, and that made her angry at herself in the beginning. She felt so stupid, not even being able to remember those things.

That was the reason she started leaving a diary by her head before going to sleep. She was writing down anything she remembered. No matter what it was… It didn’t matter if it was just the smallest thing…

“Big bro……”

But he was right in front of her right now. Cornelisse started crying and jumped into her older brother’s arms.

“Soooooob……!”

Her Royal Mother had told her something. She said that the Almighty God listens if you desperately pray to her. The crown princess finally realized that her mother had not lied to her.

“The Marquis made her cry even more!”

“No, that……”

“Soooooob, soooooob…… Sooooooooooooooob!” Cornelisse started crying out loud. She thought that her brother might disappear if she let go of him, so she tightly clenched his shoulder to the point that her fingertips were going white.

Her older brother was the same as the last time she saw him. His consoling hand and gentle voice had not changed. His clothes were different, but it was fine since she had ‘transformed’ as well. His glasses and light pink eyes were foreign but it was fine because she put some dye in her eyes as well. He didn’t give her a tight hug or call her by his nickname for her, but……

“She must have lost her companions. Would it be okay to take her to the lodging and ask for help?”

“…….How cumbersome.”

“Please don’t be like that. We should be able to find her guardian quickly with the manager’s help.”

“……”

She had an extremely, extremely weird feeling. Cornelisse stopped crying. She then slowly raised her wet cheek. The older brother who did not come even after one hundred, no, long after two hundred days…… She was finally seeing him after one year.

“Should we wait here a bit longer? Uncle has a lot of time. I can stay here with you until your older sister shows up.”

Her tears continued to drip without stopping. Her eyes repeatedly cleared up and then became blurry again. The familiar blonde hair and beautiful eyes were clearly the same as the person the child remembered. This was her favorite person in the whole wide world.

“Oh dear, the tears just keep coming. The child must be really scared.”

“That does seem to be the case. You dropped this bouquet, right? They are very pretty. Do you remember where you bought them?” He smiled awkwardly. She could tell he was trying very hard to console her. The man was now taking a handkerchief out of his bag. The warm gaze he kept throwing at her was the same as a year ago. However……

“Uncle is, umm… You can call me Sérénité. I came from a place with a beautiful lake. Can you tell me your name?”

‘Liar.’

“No.” Cornelisse sharply answered. The man immediately became flustered.

“Hmm?”

“Liar.”

“Are you talking about me……?”

“That’s not your name! I hate you!”

Pow! The child tried her best to push her brother away. He was extremely shocked and fell on his butt. The princess cried as she glared at the handkerchief that fell to the ground. She also glared at the bouquet that her brother dropped, as well as her snacks that were now covered in sand. It was very hard to breathe, as if she fell into water. She was so so sad, and more than that, she was very scared.

Cornelisse glared at the people guarding the man’s side. The little girl’s sharp shout had pierced through all of their ears.

“Don’t play such weird games!”

Thieves. They were all clearly thieves. These thieves stole her brother’s memories.

“Go away! Get away from me!”

– Pow! Pow!

The child attacked the largest man of the group. She then started punching his leg. His orange eyes were burning intensely at an extremely high spot.

Her older brother gasped and grabbed her. “Umm, I’m sorry! Uncle is very sorry. We’ll just watch from a distance, so-”

– Push!

“No! You’re not an uncle!” Screech! She screamed again. She then started to run without looking back. She was scared that she would hear a response, so she clenched her eyes shut and covered her ears. She then moved her legs much faster than she usually did as she ran down the hallways of the Royal Palace.

She heard a gentle scolding somewhere in her mind. ‘You’re going to fall and get hurt. Don’t run.’

‘Amy!’

‘Okay. I’m done putting some ointment on it.’

‘Don’t act like a little horse when you are indoors. Promise me.’

She was scared. More than the wars that the attendants whispered about, more than the death that the Count Palatine explained to her…… The fact that he did not recognize her was scarier than anything else. It felt like a nightmare. She promised not to cry while waiting for her brother, but she kept crying.

“Sob. Sob! Ugh.”

– Grab!

Her small body suddenly flew up at that moment. Cornelisse became surprised and started to flail.

Beautiful chocolate-colored eyes looked at her and smiled. “My dear dandelion. What happened? Why are you crying?”

“Sooooooooob, Royal Father……!” The child urgently hugged her father’s neck and started to cry. It was as if he was her final lifeline. It was as if he was her final hope.

“Shhhhh…… Why did you leave your father’s side without saying anything? I was so scared.”

“Soooob, ugh, sniff, sooooob……!”

“Did you get hurt? I am very concerned.”

Shake shake. The princess shook her buried face. Werner warmly patted his daughter’s back and closed his eyes. He slowly opened them back. His sharp gaze was directed in one direction.

A blonde man.

“Then everything is fine. I’m just happy that you are safe……” His narrow pupils started shaking. A chill traveled down his entire body.

Werner motioned to the Chief Attendant with his eyes and immediately started heading toward the caravanserai. He almost tripped over his own foot a few times, but he was just happy. He planned on leaving this place immediately. He needed to act quickly now that he clearly had the upper hand. He finally found a way to be happy.

“Sooob……”

“It is a blessing from the Almighty God.”

The bastard child did not recognize Cornelisse. A blinding fate was helping him.

—
Translator’s Comments

Come on author! Why you gotta give that vermin a win?!