"Why?"
Ian Dross was the Crown Prince of Crassion.
There was no reason for him to be excluded from an official event like this.
So why had the Emperor prevented him from attending?
Ferdie, Ludian, and Olivierâs expressions shifted instantly, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
Instead of answering immediately, Ian lifted his right hand.
It looked completely normal.
Spotless.
There was nothing to seeâor so it seemed.
But thenâ
"â¦Huh?"
Tiel let out a small noise of surprise.
The others saw nothing unusual about Ianâs hand.
But Tiel alone could see itâ
A thick, sticky darkness clinging all over his skin, dense and suffocating.
"Ian-nim⦠what is that?"
Tielâs face twisted in discomfort as she squinted at it.
Ian met her gaze.
"You can see it, canât you?"
"Huh? Yes⦠I can. Canât you guys see it?"
"See what?"
Ludianâs expression crumpled in confusion.
Olivier even grabbed Ianâs wrist, turning his hand this way and that, searching for anything unusual.
"Did you just not wash your hands? What are we supposed to be looking at?"
"Is there something on them?"
As Ferdie, Olivier, and Ludian mumbled among themselves, Ian swatted Olivierâs hand away.
"At some point⦠my ability stopped working properly."
His voice was calmâ
But his expression was not.
Ian Dross was never flustered.
Yet now, there was something unsettling in his eyes.
"Even when I try to use my ability," he continued, "the dimensional rift distorts. Or the entrance just wonât stay stable."
Despite his neutral tone, Tiel could hear the weight behind his words.
Without thinking, she reached out and gently grasped Ianâs hand.
The darkness wrapped around his skinâ
It didnât disappear.
Insteadâ
It tightened, clinging even harder.
Tiel gasped, jerking her hand away.
"This⦠I think Iâve seen this beforeâ¦"
A feeling of unease crawled down her spine.
Where? Where had she felt this before?
It was a sensation that was deeply familiarâ
Something that had left a lingering, disgusting presence on her skinâ
"Ah!"
Tielâs golden eyes widened, lips parting in shock.
The other children immediately fell silent, their gazes snapping toward her.
"Tiel?"
"Do you know something?"
"Where did you see it?"
"I mean, how are we supposed to understand when we canât even see it?"
"Shut up, Ludian."
Olivier slapped a hand over Ludianâs mouth, cutting him off.
Tiel hesitated for a momentâthen, slowly, she nodded.
"I felt this before⦠when we were walking through the festival streets."
"â¦â¦What?"
Ferdieâs gaze sharpened.
Tiel squeezed her eyes shut for a second, retracing her memories.
She could still feel itâ
That moment when she had snapped her head around, golden eyes gleaming in the dark.
The feeling of something sickly, sticky, clinging to herâ
Just like stepping into a swamp and pulling your foot back out, feeling the thick mud still dragging at your skin.
Her small frame trembled.
Ianâs hand wasnât even the worst of it.
The thing she had sensed back then had been far worseâso much worse.
"I felt it when we were out in the city. It was so quick that I didnât even realize what I was sensing, so I never said anything, butâ"
Tielâs eyes widened further.
She grabbed Ianâs hand firmly, her small fingers pressing against his skin.
"This is the same thing!"
At those wordsâ
Ian, Ferdie, Ludian, and Olivierâs expressions turned deadly serious.
"Then that meansâ¦" Ferdieâs voice dropped coldly.
"Someone who wants to assassinate you is at this festival."
"Waitâ" Ludian scoffed. "We just thought Ianâs ability was acting up, but youâre saying itâs actually an attack?"
"This isnât just some random issue," Olivier muttered. "We should inform His Majesty immediately."
One by one, each of them spokeâ
Ian nodded grimly.
"â¦If thatâs true, thenâ¦"
He trailed off, eyes narrowing.
Up until now, he had assumed that his ability was unstable due to its inherent volatility.
There were times when his dimensional rift acted upâ
But never had it felt like this.
Never had he felt like his ability was being completely sealed off.
âIf someone really tampered with itâ¦â
Then this situation was far worse than he thought.@@novelbin@@
But stillâ
He looked at Tiel.
"What exactly did you see?"
Tiel bowed her head, looking troubled.
"I⦠I canât say that I actually saw anything specific. I didnât see any suspicious person⦠I just had a brief moment of discomfort."
Olivier shouted immediately, snapping at Ian.
"Why are you making our baby feel bad?!"
She yanked Tiel into her arms, hugging her tightly.
"Tiel, itâs not your fault, okay? You didnât do anything wrong."
"Exactly. Letâs just make Ian handle his own problems," Ludian added.
And just like that, Ferdie, Ludian, and Olivier all gathered around Tiel, comforting herâ
Leaving Ian looking like some cruel villain who had just bullied a small girl.
"â¦Huh?"
"Eh?! No! I-I wasnât feeling bad at all! O-Oraboni!"
"My little sister, bullied by Ian Dross? I will ensure he is never allowed to step foot in Asterian againâ"
Ludian dramatically declared, but before he could finish, Olivier smacked him upside the head.
"Cut it out!"
Ian exhaled sharply, rubbing his temples.
"Look," he said flatly. "There are no eyewitnesses, no evidence, and we canât ruin Luminarie over something uncertain."
Much as it pained him to admit it, Ian was right.
Luminarie was the greatest festival of the beastkin.
There were people who had waited three whole years just for this event.
If they put the entire celebration on hold over a vague feeling, it could become a disaster.
In the end, the best they could do was increase security around the Imperial Palace and be more cautious.
"Thatâs⦠youâre right, Ian-nim," Tiel murmured, nodding reluctantly.
Ian turned to her.
"I wasnât blaming you, you know that, right? Just ignore your brothers."
He jerked his chin toward Olivier.
"And definitely donât listen to her."
Ian sighed as the three older kids glared daggers at him.
They never used to be this bad.
But ever since Tiel arrived, they had completely regressed into overprotective idiots.
Tiel glanced at them, then whispered softly, as if she were defending them.
"Itâs just because my orabonis and unni love me so muchâ¦"
At thatâ
Olivier couldnât hold back anymore.
She snatched Tiel up and rubbed her cheek against Tielâs soft hair, nuzzling wildly.
"AAAH!! Too cute!! Where did this adorable little thing come from?! Huh?! Thatâs itâyouâre coming to Wolfgang with me!!"
Still blushing, Tiel giggled in her arms.
Ian watched, a faint smirk tugging at his lips.
Why Ian Dross Had to Sneak Out
When Ian had told the Emperor about his unstable ability, the reaction had been swift and decisive.
The Emperor immediately ordered him to stay inside the palace, forbidding him from stepping outside.
Not only thatâ
All the servants in his residence had been removed, leaving behind only the absolute minimum number of knights for security.
Of course, Ianâs ability was stronger than any knight, but stillâ
They couldnât just leave the Crown Prince unguarded.
The problem?
Ian hated being alone.
Or ratherâ
He had been used to being alone before.
But ever sinceâ
"Ian-nim!"
"What are you doing? Why are you just standing there?"
"Ugh, not you again. I see you every day."
"Hey, this isnât even your house! Why are you acting like you own it?"
"Actually, that partâs true."
Ever since he had started hanging around these noisy people, he couldnât stand silence anymore.
Whenever he was alone in his dark, empty palace, it felt suffocating.
A tsunami of loneliness, anxiety, and even fear would crash over him.
And now?
He couldnât even use his ability to escape into the dimensional riftâ
Which meant he couldnât even see the relic Tiel had given him.
So Ian had defied the Emperorâs ordersâ
And snuck out to find his friends.
âWell, at least it wasnât a waste.â
Ian glanced at Tiel.
He hadnât been expecting to find anything usefulâ
But he did.
In fact, every time he was with Tiel, something unexpected always seemed to happen.
From the very first moment they metâ
Every moment since had been full of surprises.
Ian liked it here.
In the empty halls of the palace, surrounded by only the bare minimum of people, it felt like he was being denied his own existence.
He didnât want to go back.
But hereâ
No one treated him differently.
No one cared if he was the Crown Prince or not.
And when Tiel looked at himâ
Her golden eyes never wavered.
She always looked at him the same way.
And thatâ
That made staying here all the more worth it.
So Ian had disobeyed the Emperorâs orders.
Without knowing what would happen because of it.
The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!