T K H C

🍁 Chapter 36

I was worried that he might have been hurt.

I could protect Carol since I was always around her, but that wasn’t the case for the prince. Julien was exposed to a difficult environment without me.

To satisfy the Empress’s expectations, he had to endure harsh lessons for his crown prince education. He lived on thin ice and was always careful of the area around him.  

How admirable, my baby! Goochie goochie goo!

“That’s right. You barely have time to care about the people who like you. So you can just ignore those guys.”

“……”

"Your hair is pretty. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen such a beautiful red color. Your hair is like the sun, so you’ll become an awesome sun!”

In my arms, the prince laughed at my cheering.

He became prettier when he smiled, but I was only telling the truth. The natural vivid red was beautiful. It was like a flame or a flower petal, and the color was endlessly passionate and tender.

I hugged the prince a little tighter.

"I’ll be your backer."

“Backer…?”

“Yeah… Your background. So you just need to trust me!”

"Even though you’re smaller than me…” The voice mixed with quiet laughter and was released into the air.

Hey, I was an adult!

I held onto Julien until he let go by himself.

I was thankful that he grew up well. He didn’t become an emotionless doll made of ice like in the original nor some blood-crazed killer.

It felt like I was one step closer to the happy ending I was aiming for.

Then, I heard a voice that I had forgotten.

“Hey, I’m here too!"

From the side, Carol lifted her head.

“…Why did you come?” asked Julien.

"I came because I missed you."

The prince’s face twisted as he saw Carol smile. He must have been embarrassed.

Ah, what a shy kid!

***

After Sharon went back, the world reflected in Julien’s eyes turned colorless.

“Sharon.”

But just by saying her name, the world again filled with the colors of the rainbow.

‘Isn’t this a severe condition…?'

Even though his heart was suffering like this, he couldn’t even confess his feelings to himself.

At this point, Sharon wouldn’t accept his feelings. It was bitter to think about, but he had to admit that reality.

It was thanks to Sharon that he wanted to live.

Sharon appeared while he was going insane between his mothers and his half-brothers. Julien wanted to stand at the top so that he wouldn’t suffer from the racket anymore.

But now, he wanted to become emperor so he could have Sharon by his side.

He wanted to be able to love Sharon as much as he desired.

'I’ll never let them take away the warmth I felt today…'

Julien made a pledge as he held the sound marble in his hand, one that overlapped with the promise he always made.