“I have to go back.”

　　Luana slowly took a step backward.

　　She needed to hide quickly, but her body wouldn’t obey. Stumbling, she trembled all over.

　　The moment Liliana stabbed her replayed over and over in her head.

　　“Ah!”

　　“Shh.”

　　Someone suddenly pulled her backward. Just as she was about to scream in surprise, his voice stopped her.

　　He didn’t sound dangerous, so Luana obeyed and stayed quiet.

　　“Where’d he go?”

　　A bright, innocent voice drifted from where Luana had been standing just moments ago.

　　Though Luana flinched, she stayed still. The person holding her loosened his grip slightly.

　　But Luana had no time to worry about that. It was too dark to see clearly, but Luana knew who the boy was at once.

　　Louis.

　　She didn’t remember ever seeing him before, yet somehow she knew who he was. He had Liliana’s crimson hair and crimson eyes, and the same striking beauty. Anyone who knew Liliana would immediately take him for her son.

　　But Luana hadn’t recognized him as Louis simply because of the resemblance.

　　A fragment of memory surfaced: Louis as an adult. For a moment, that older face seemed to overlap the boy before her. Grown-up Louis looked even more like Liliana than he did now.

　　Wait.

　　Luana paled as a sudden realization hit her. If Louis was here, Liliana had to be nearby.

　　This wasn’t just a wrong turn. She’d wandered into the one place she should never have come.

　　“Ugh, I can’t believe he followed me all the way here.”

　　Just as Luana recognized Louis, a whisper reached her ear. The boy holding her was grumbling under his breath.

　　“What?”

　　“Shh. Quiet.”

　　Luana stared at him, confused. She had no idea who this could be, sneaking all the way in here just to shake off Louis.

　　“She’s here.”

　　Before Luana could make sense of it, she fell silent at his warning.

　　“Louis. It’s about time we head back.”

　　Liliana’s voice drifted through the darkness.

　　The faint rose scent that had lingered around Louis was nothing compared to the suffocating fragrance that now filled the air.

　　Luana bit her lip to endure the sharp pain in her heart.

　　Liliana’s laughter merged with the memory of her radiant smile.

　　Recalling how Liliana had plunged the blade into her heart without a moment’s hesitation made it impossible for Luana to breathe.

　　“But this place is so neat! Can’t I look around a little more? It’s pitch-black, like a secret hideout!”

　　“If you want a secret hideout, I’ll show you a proper one, my sweet boy. This isn’t the sort of place you should be interested in.”

　　Liliana raised her head and looked off into the distance.

　　She seemed to be staring down an empty path beyond, but somehow Luana felt as though Liliana was looking toward her palace.

　　“Isn’t this your palace too, Mommy?”

　　“Louie. Everything here belongs to you, but beyond this point isn’t worth your time.”

　　Liliana offered an affectionate smile and lifted Louis into her arms.

　　It was the exact same smile Liliana had worn the moment she killed Luana.

　　Only then did it become abundantly clear. Liliana had never loved Luana. Not even once.

　　Maybe the only time Liliana had ever loved Luana was the moment she killed her. The smile she gave Louis now was exactly the same as the one she’d worn then.

　　“She’s finally gone. Ah, sorry. I was in such a rush… Huh?”

　　Not long after Liliana departed, the boy holding Luana released his grip.

　　The moment he let go, Luana crumpled to the ground. Startled, he caught her again.

　　“Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

　　Even though Liliana was gone, Luana couldn’t catch her breath.

　　The world was spinning around her.

　　“Calm down. Look at me.”

　　Luana barely managed to open her eyes. A boy about her age stood in front of her, holding her by the shoulders. Luana blinked several times, trying to clear her vision.

　　“On one, breathe in, and on two, breathe out. Can you do that?”

　　The boy counted slowly. One, two. One, two. Luana tried to breathe along with him.

　　“Are you okay?”

　　He was definitely a stranger, yet he didn’t feel unfamiliar.

　　Perhaps he was someone she’d met in her dream. Regaining her breath as she gradually calmed down, Luana lifted her head. But her memories of the dream were hazy, and the garden was too dark to make out his face clearly.

　　“Sorry. I was in a hurry. I’m glad you’re okay now. I saw something like this once when the knights were sparring, so I thought it might work.”

　　Luana kept listening to the boy talk.

At first, she had been too startled to suspect anything, but now that she thought about it, this boy was a bit suspicious too. If she’d seen him before her death, he might be connected to Liliana.

　　As Luana quietly backed away, the boy began to stammer.

　　“I… I get why you’d misunderstand, but I’m not a bad person… Um…”

　　Hesitating, the boy finally let out a sigh.

　　“Honestly, I came to the party with my parents, but Lady Liliana kept pestering me, so I slipped away. She keeps trying to make me spend time with her son.”

　　“Her son…?”

　　“Yeah. Prince Louis. Did you see him following me all the way here just now? He just won’t leave me alone. If it weren’t for Her Majesty’s orders, I wouldn’t have even come here. Anyway… I barely managed to slip away when His Highness the Crown Prince arrived and drew everyone’s attention…”

　　The boy let out a sigh and flopped down onto the ground.

　　“This whole thing is such a hassle. His Highness came all this way, and the princess didn’t even show up. Why invite everyone if you’re not even going to be there?”

　　The boy clicked his tongue, as if that settled the matter. But Luana wasn’t ready to let the subject drop.

　　“What about the princess?”

　　“Huh? Didn’t you come for the party too?”

　　“Well…”

　　As Luana hesitated, the boy nodded, seemingly coming to his own conclusion. Then he took her hand and gave it an enthusiastic shake.

　　“And here I thought I was the only one bored! Looks like I’m not alone after all. Don’t worry, I snuck out too. Let’s keep it a secret between us.”

　　The boy gave a wink and released her hand. Flustered, she carefully hid her frayed sleeve behind her back.

　　It was too dark for anyone to see her sleeves clearly, but she still felt embarrassed.

　　“Well, I guess it doesn’t matter. Her Majesty gave special orders to the nobles, so almost everyone attended today, but the princess didn’t show up in the end.”

　　“Why?”

　　“Who knows? She’s that Liliana’s daughter, so does there need to be any other reason?”

　　Luana couldn’t say a word. Hearing her own story, details she hadn’t known, from someone else’s mouth was a strange feeling.

　　“Still, it’s her eighth birthday, so I really don’t get it. I mean, even putting that aside, it’s her own birthday… She should at least come out to receive congratulations.”

　　In the Empire, children were allowed to enter society at eight. That made an eighth birthday especially important, marking their formal debut.

“…Oh.”

　　Only then did Luana realize something she had forgotten.

　　My birthday…

　　That was right. She had known today was Louis’s birthday, but it hadn’t occurred to her that it was her birthday too.

　　Until the boy said it, she’d never even thought of today as a day meant to celebrate her.

　　But…

　　Yes, the boy was right. If today was Louis’s birthday, then it was her birthday as well. She had just as much right to be celebrated as Louis did.

　　“Are you okay?”

　　“Hmm?”

　　“You keep staring off into space.”

　　The boy waved his hand back and forth in front of Luana’s eyes. But Luana still couldn’t quite snap out of it.

　　“Are you still not feeling well? Should I call someone?”

　　“I think today is my birthday…”

　　“Huh?”

　　Luana murmured in a small voice.

　　My birthday.

　　A light flush rose on Luana’s cheeks. Saying the words aloud for the first time stirred a strange new feeling inside her.

　　“Hmm.”

　　The boy hesitated. Now that he knew it was her birthday, simply walking away didn’t feel right. If she’d come here to celebrate someone else without even having a party of her own, he couldn’t help feeling sorry for her.

　　Luana watched him nervously. By now, he might have figured out she was the princess. Luckily, though, he seemed completely oblivious.

　　Then the boy pulled something out of his pocket. Without hesitation, he unwrapped the neatly packaged box. Inside was an expensive-looking bracelet that gleamed silver. He took it out and held it toward Luana.

　　“Here. It’s a present.”

　　“Huh?”

　　At his words, Luana finally snapped back to reality.

　　“I actually brought this for the princess. But it doesn’t look like I’ll meet her anyway, so you can have it.”

　　“What?”

　　“My parents brought a separate gift. This is just the one I was supposed to give her, so it’s nothing special.”

　　Contrary to the boy’s words, the bracelet was quite valuable. It was actually a custom-made platinum bracelet set with sapphires.

　　Well, it should be fine.

　　To him, it wasn’t a big deal. He held the bracelet out casually.