T K H C

🍁 Chapter 8

Come to think of it, it was clear that the Empress was obsessed with Julien being perfect because she was projecting her eldest son onto him.

If her eldest were alive now, he would have been 14 years old. With his age, he would have had the time to grow into the role of the crown prince and act according to his station.

It wasn’t that I didn’t pity the Empress, but… she shouldn’t be doing this.

“The Empress often pinches him, and she sometimes beats him as well… They say that there are times when she crosses the line with her punishment. This happens whenever he can’t keep up with the harsh education and schedule she demands of him. The servants and maids have to pretend they don’t know, so they can’t even provide him medicine at night.”

Madame DeJoue looked miserable as she said this.

The duchess who neglected her child to drown herself in luxury, or the Empress who was obsessed with her child to the point of abuse… I couldn’t tell which one was worse. Neglect and obsession were both so harmful.

I kept thinking about Julien, whose face was cold and stern unlike that of his peers, and how he struggled to keep his mother’s abuse a secret. Despite it all, he was still protecting her, saying that she was sad.

…My goal was to survive, but seeing how my favorite character was being hurt, I couldn’t turn away.

Also… If I could save Julien from this hell, I would be one step further from the guillotine.

Even in this wretched situation, I was calculating.

It left a bad taste in my mouth. While living as Nara Lee, I had wanted to cast aside this ruthlessness, but it seemed that this cold side of me still remained.

What should I do, though?

I had learned the reason why Julien was forced to act so mature and why he had colder eyes than other kids. What could I do for him?

The prince who had to hide his tears behind an expressionless face settled into a corner of my heart.

However, it was absurd to think I could get him out of there. A prince could not live outside of the palace. And, even if I somehow managed to drive the Empress away, Julien wouldn’t be able to survive in the palace without her protection.

Did this mean… I had to leave him in that hell?

My mind continued to loop around these unsolvable questions like a Mobius strip.

The problems didn’t end with just helping Carol. Carol wasn’t the only one who was getting hurt.

Madame DeJoue smiled at me uncertainly as I had begun to murmur without realizing. “Are you all right?” she asked.

From the start, it had been me who pressed her to tell me all this. Madame DeJoue had been hesitant to tell me, saying that it wasn’t something a child should hear.

I couldn’t get Julien out of that hell right now.

“I have a favor to ask you, Madame DeJoue.”

“…I’m beginning to be scared of your favors now, Lady Sharon.” Madame DeJoue smiled faintly at her joke, trying to release the tense air.

“Could you plant people around the crown prince?”

“What are you planning…?”

“I can’t leave the prince alone, in case something like this happens again.”

“What are you going to do about it?” she asked.

“I can’t take the prince out of the palace, nor can I stay by his side. But I can still comfort him. I could lend him my shoulder and my support. So, wouldn’t it be okay to visit the palace in secret sometimes?”