The Princess Who Wants a Friend (4)

Apart from whatever Benelia felt, the audience chamber had fallen silent.

It was unthinkable for a mere butler to point out the Emperor's faults in the name of defending a princess. Even the Emperor, who had been berating Benelia a moment earlier, was at a loss for words.

Theorad could still have withdrawn his objection and begged forgiveness for speaking recklessly. Instead, he stared at the throne, his eyes burning.

“Your Majesty. Honored ministers.”

He straightened his back and looked around the chamber.

The highest officials of the Empire were watching him. Not the slightest tremor entered his voice.

“I know very little of imperial politics. To be frank, I have no wish to learn.”

The ministers clicked their tongues. Some muttered to one another; others frowned openly.

Even in a room where each breath seemed subject to judgment, Theorad did not waver.

He stood among those hostile men like a lone wolf surrounded by lions, accepting the danger without lowering his head.

“But precisely because I know nothing of politics, I can see where the wrongdoing lies. Your Majesty, I beg you not to turn away from the truth.”

The Emperor remained silent. Whatever he thought of the impertinent servant, he appeared willing to hear the rest.

Theorad continued.

“Her Highness was only six years old. How could a child half Prince Leonhard's age overpower him, even by surprise? She was unarmed. What fool would attempt a plan so certain to fail?”

“And what reason would Her Highness have to try to kill Prince Leonhard? She was frightened even of insects.”

“Yet Prince Leonhard strangled her until she nearly died. Even if she had struck first, surely that would not absolve him of all wrongdoing.”

It was obvious—perhaps painfully so.

“Your Majesty. Please instruct the appropriate military authorities to summon the guards who were present. Before deciding this matter, call the officials responsible for investigating such incidents and question the witnesses.”

The argument was simple and direct. Its logic was difficult to fault. Unfortunately, politics held greater power than logic within the imperial family.

The minister standing behind the throne shouted furiously.

“You insolent bastard! What sort of place do you think this is, to wag your filthy tongue?”

The man was thin, with a short beard.

Duke Brylt Adenoel…

Benelia clenched her teeth. She knew how thoroughly that man worked to bend the Emperor to his will and consume the Empire's power for himself.

“Your Majesty!” the duke cried. “This is sophistry unworthy of your attention! Simply listening to him diminishes the imperial family's dignity. I beg you to carry out your original decision!”

The Emperor sat with his chin in his hand for a long while. At last, he nodded, rose to his imposing height, and looked down coldly at Theorad.

“Seeking to overturn my judgment is, in essence, treason. I am not so generous that I will tolerate your insolent mouth.”

“Your Majesty—”

“Royal Guards! Seize him and throw him into prison!”

The waiting guards drew their swords and advanced.

Theorad did not kneel or beg for mercy. As though he had expected this outcome, he closed his eyes and spoke quietly.

“I'm sorry, Your Highness.”

His voice trembled with resignation.

“I'm sorry I must leave you alone in this terrible hell… truly.”

It sounded like a farewell from a man who knew he would die.

Benelia knew this chamber was only part of a hallucination. Even so, she could not bring herself to abandon him.

“If you leave like that, I'll still be trapped in hell,” she said. “So…”

With her small hand, she caught two of Theorad's fingers.

He looked down. Benelia gave him a mischievous smile.

“Pick me up, butler.”

Her grip tightened.

“Carry me and run away.”

“Where to, Your Highness?”

“Anywhere.”

Theorad didn't understand the sudden order, but he did not question it. As the guards closed in, he lifted Benelia into his arms and bolted toward the open door.

“They're escaping! Guards, catch him!”

“Don't let them leave the palace!”

He ran with all his strength, ignoring the cries behind him.

He turned through corridors, tipped cabinets into the guards' path, hurried down staircases and hid in underground waterways, never stopping long enough for the pursuit to close.

Sweat soaked his clothes and dripped onto the princess in his arms. Benelia did not mind. In the strange world of her memories, that sweat seemed to measure the concern and loyalty he was giving her.

Their escape could not last.

Within the hallucination, Theorad had no superhuman strength that might allow him to elude the Royal Guards indefinitely. However desperately he ran, the Emperor's forces could corner him.

“Forgive me… Your Highness…”

At last, breathless, he staggered into the imperial palace garden.

Flowers bloomed throughout the garden, and butterflies floated between them. Theorad stood amid that beauty with despair on his face.

“Theorad Deharem! You're surrounded! Release Her Highness and surrender!”

“Cooperate now and we'll spare you the death penalty!”

“Do you understand what you've done, taking a member of the imperial family hostage?”

The amplified voices came from every direction. Soldiers filled every escape route.

They believed Theorad was using Benelia as a hostage and were reluctant to approach. Their hesitation came less from concern for her welfare than from fear of the disgrace the royal family would suffer if its princess died at a servant's hands.

Neither Theorad nor Benelia cared about that distinction now.

What mattered was the feeling they had, however foolishly, come to hold for each other.

“This is as far as I can go,” Theorad admitted. “I don't think I can carry Your Highness any farther.”

“I see. You've worked hard. Put me down.”

He set her carefully on the path. Benelia looked up at him with genuine curiosity.

“You really are strange. Why have you done so much for me?”

Theorad pushed his sweaty hair away from his forehead and caught his breath.

“May I speak honestly?”

“Of course.”

“Because the way Your Highness was treated was unjust.”

Benelia held back a smile.

“Unjust? What do you mean?”

“You were treated differently in everything—your meals, your clothing, the things you were allowed to possess, even your education. All because people called you a child born outside marriage. When I learned that, I applied to serve you.”

“You applied to be my butler?”

“Yes. Fortunately, no one else wanted the position, so I was allowed to remain at your side.”

Benelia was taken aback by his sad little smile. She had never imagined anyone would deliberately seek the position everyone else shunned.

Even if this is only a hallucination, he chose it.

And now she understood.

So that's why he's my butler here.

Of all the roles available in the palace, the one Theorad had taken in the illusion reflected an unconscious choice made after experiencing her memories.

“What a fool,” she murmured.

The warmth of that thought was almost painful. She gave a small, hollow laugh.

“Kneel. You're too tall for me to see your face properly.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

He lowered himself onto one knee. Benelia took a handkerchief from his clothing and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Your kindness frightens me,” she said. “If I'd had a butler like you when I was young, perhaps I would have hanged myself because I could never forget such warmth.”

“Your Highness?”

“So don't risk your life merely to defend me. Sacrificing yourself isn't the only way to be loyal.”

“I understand, Your Highness. But there won't be a next time.”

“Oh, there will.”

To wake from the hallucination, Benelia had needed to meet the Emperor, speak with him, and leave the audience chamber. They had done all three. Even now, the illusion was collapsing at its edges.

The blue sky cracked like glass. Fragments began to fall.

Theorad, unaware of the illusion's true nature, looked bewildered.

“A next time… Do you mean in the afterlife?”

Benelia found the idea amusing and nodded.

“Yes. In our next life, let's have a more comfortable relationship. For instance…”

The falling shards multiplied. The guards, only figures within the hallucination, cried out in confusion.

Theorad did not look away. His light-brown eyes were fixed on the princess before him.

Benelia hesitated, then pursed her lips.

“Friends.”

It was something she had never been able to have and had long yearned for.

“Yes,” Theorad said. “Being friends would be wonderful.”

With a soft rush, the soldiers and flowers crumbled to dust. White light seeped through the disintegrating world.

Theorad only nodded, keeping his gaze on Benelia.

“I swear it. In our next life, I'll be an irreplaceable friend to Your Highness.”

It was exactly the answer Benelia had wanted.

Satisfied, she let the handkerchief fall. Without quite realizing what she was doing, she caught a handful of Theorad's hair and pressed a brief kiss to his forehead.

He looked startled. Benelia was unconcerned. In any case, he would not remember it.

She leaned close enough to whisper in his ear.

“Thank you for turning a nightmare into a lucid dream. I'll see you in the next life.”

It was time to return to reality.

The world was pure white now, everything else falling apart around them. Benelia leaned back and smiled as beautifully as a flower.

“My butler.”

For the first time in her life, it was a smile that came entirely from the heart.