Chapter 51 – Red Eye (3)

“See you next week, Arthur!”

When the sun began to sink, Henry waved to me and went home.

I watched as his back disappeared behind the gate of the castle. Then, I myself returned to my chamber.

I went up the stairs, as my room was located on the east side of the third floor and down a long corridor.

Once I opened the door, a warm breeze greeted me.

“—huh?”

How strange. The window was open. Even though I remembered that I had shut it properly.

I entered the room and closed the door behind me. I began inspecting my surroundings—nothing is out of the ordinary…—the table, sofa, bookshelf, small shelf, the glass door leading to the balcony…

…that was when I noticed it—

—the door to my private chamber was slightly ajar.

Did someone come in?

No, that area was off-limit. Even my personal maids dared not to venture past this room.

I quickly approached the slightly open door and peeked inside. The room was illuminated with faint orange light. At the first glance, nothing seemed to be amiss.

Relieved, I slowly stepped into the room.

“—eh?”

I finally saw it—

—at the king-sized bed that was currently too spacious for me, there was a girl lying there.

A beautiful girl, with long golden locks, was napping there. The girl, who appeared to be a little older than me, was wearing a dark, plain dress that was unbefitting of her appearance.

“…who?”

I approached the bed and inquired. But the girl didn’t stir.

“…~”

I was baffled.

I had never seen her before.

Either she was a servant, or an aristocrat—however, her attire didn’t suggest the latter. She was also too young to be a servant. Besides, I had already memorized all the faces of the palace’s servants.

Therefore, this girl was none of the above.

“…”

I felt lost, before finally deciding to leave her be. I thought it was a pity to wake her up, since she was sleeping so comfortably.

I opened the window, letting refreshing wind blow into the room.

I dragged a chair to the bedroom’s edge and sat there—

—I thought as I watched the girl’s sleeping face—

—she’s quite cute.

“Her eyelashes… are long.”

…Why, I wonder?

Usually, around people—especially those that I met for the first time—I always felt wary and suspicious. However, this time, I felt no such thing. I only felt at rest when I was with my cousin, Henry—but why, with this particular sleeping girl…

…when Henry’s gone… what am I supposed to do?

I kept being anxious about such things… gradually, the thoughts drove me to sleep.

With a hazy head, I slowly leaned on my chair and closed my eyes…

The dusk wind blowing through the window caressed my cheeks. I silently sank into my dreams.

A few hours later, when a maid woke me up, the bed was already empty.

I was utterly shocked by that—more than I was when Henry announced he was leaving for school this afternoon. At the same time, I was surprised by the extent of my shock.

Why do I feel this way…?

Then I immediately found out the reason why—

—maybe, yes, I fell in love with her.

I fell in love with her at first sight.

Her shiny golden hair and her lovely sleeping face…

But I didn’t dare ask anyone in the castle who she was. If it was found out that she was sleeping on my bed, she would be punished, for sure. Just like that maid who got beheaded seven years ago.

So, I decided to give up on her.

The girl that I had met only once, whose name I didn’t even know.

I convinced myself that our meeting was but a dream, so I could move on.

—but,

We met again.

She became the apprentice maid of the castle.

No one could imagine the trembling of my heart when I found her again—

—my feelings when I saw her profile besides the vase in my room, as she replaced the flowers.

“—you!”

Her surprised face, as I stood up and almost caused my chair to topple over, was filled with fear.

“What is your name…?”

She looked troubled, and stared at her senior, asking for help. When her senior gave a consenting nod, a smile appeared on her pretty face and soon enough—

“My name is Violet, Prince Arthur.”

“—!”

A pretty smile that was actually directed at me—the yearning that I felt made me grasp for breath.

Her voice was as gentle as a bell and her eyes cool—

—both her voice and her smile alone had seized my heart.

…Aah, Violet, Violet…

I had never felt like this before—this was a first for me. My chest screamed—almost as if my heart was going to explode. Almost as if my brain was about to melt.

“…Vio, let.”

I repeated her name.

“Yes, Your Highness?”

She grinned at me.

Oh… what a wonderful person she was.

Up until this point, I had already given up on the notion of ever loving somebody and to be loved by somebody. Even I, myself, wasn’t able to love myself—

—I thought this day would never come.

But now, that kind of mindset was over—

—I want to love you. I want to be loved you.

I… want you, for myself…

I kept staring at Violet.

The fact that you were a maid—it didn’t matter in the slightest.

I swore upon my heart, that I would surely claim you.

That was the meeting between me and Violet. It was just another ordinary day in autumn, when I was ten years old, and Violet was twelve.