BRRC CH 48

Chapter 48 – A Shared Boat

“Is that really all the people he has? For a Crown Prince’s procession?”

As I waved both hands toward the distant figure of Tian, Owen murmured under his breath.

I glanced at him and replied, “That’s already more than last time. When he visited a few months ago, he didn’t have a single guard.”

“Are you serious?”

“Master, do you live your life getting fooled by everything?”

“No, but come on. Even if he’s a puppet crown prince, walking around that unguarded doesn’t make sense.”

I sighed deeply.
Then I turned back toward the laboratory, and Owen quickly followed me.

“My student,” he said, frowning, “I have no idea what’s going on in your head.”

“Adults can’t understand what’s in a child’s heart,” I answered calmly.

“What nonsense. You’re just an adult wearing a kid’s face.”

I glared at him.
“I wasn’t even an adult before! I died at seventeen, so technically I was still a teenager.”

He raised a brow.

“And that’s still a sore subject for me, so stop teasing me about it.”

Owen chuckled quietly.

I ignored him and kept walking.
After a moment, he let out a thoughtful hum.

“I was thinking last night. About why you specifically asked the Crown Prince for that recommendation letter. You could’ve asked the Dowager Empress instead—your connection with her is much stronger. It would’ve been faster and easier.”

“…”

“Unless…” He squinted suspiciously. “Don’t tell me you actually like that softhearted prince? Because honestly, I think our Arwyn is way—”

I froze mid-step.
Owen stopped too.

Then I slowly looked up at him with the most disappointed expression I could muster.

“Master.”

“…Uh?”

“Do I look like someone who has time for romance? Especially with someone I have zero chance with?”

He shut his mouth.

“I get it—you’re at that age where you can’t stop thinking about love or whatever. But I’m not interested in boys. That kind of thing is for people who have nothing better to do.”

“…”

“I’m busy trying to survive. I can’t even use my powers freely because people might mistake me for a dark sorcerer.”

Owen’s eyes widened.

Then he waved his hands in disbelief. “Wait, wait. I was just saying you’re really nice to the Crown Prince—”

“That’s only because there’s no reason to be mean to him.”

“Then why bother asking him for the letter?”

“Because helping the Crown Prince strengthen his position means strengthening mine as well.”

That answer stunned him.

As I started walking again, he rushed after me.

“What’s that supposed to mean? You sound like you two are partners in some grand destiny.”

We reached the hidden stone staircase leading down to the underground lab.

I stopped, made sure no one else was around, and said quietly,

“Master, I don’t want to die again.”

Owen fell silent.

“This time, I decided I’d live longer. Do everything I want to do.”

“And?” he asked softly.

“But this place… doesn’t feel very safe.”

I was thinking about the assassin from two months ago—and everything I’d observed since then while living here.

‘Sharon Abner’s position is a lot weaker than I thought.’

After my birthday party and the attack, many visitors had come and gone from the mansion.

Of course, they weren’t here to see me.
The attack had been kept secret.

And honestly, most of the guests were far too high-ranking to visit a sick child anyway.

Right—
Nine out of ten of them were Abner relatives.

‘Is the Madam still in a meeting?’

‘Y-yes, I think so. The elders from the Senate aren’t easy people to deal with.’

While I was recovering, I often pretended to sleep and listened to Miel and Soya talk.
Sometimes I eavesdropped on Mrs. Marenes and Uncle Phil too.

‘Ugh, that Lady Larien! Complaining about food when it’s not even her house!’

‘She’s always been impossible. Just ignore her.’

‘How? She keeps picking fights with the Duchess during every meal! I was so mad I nearly exploded!’

From all the gossip I heard, it was obvious why the branch family members kept visiting

‘They say they can’t stand that the Duchess took in a sponsored orphan. They think the Abner budget is being wasted on a child from an orphanage!’

‘Those idiots don’t even realize the air they breathe is a bigger waste.’

‘And get this—one of them said if the Duchess wanted to invite the Dowager Empress, she should’ve also invited their children to the party! Can you believe that?’

At this point, Sharon Abner was being completely torn apart by her greedy relatives.

They found every excuse to criticize her—and I was their favorite target.

Among everything the Duchess had done, sponsoring me was the easiest to attack.

But even so, none of them dared to openly demand that she send me away.

Because she always gave them the same sharp answer.

‘The child is smarter and more capable than any of you lot. If you have complaints, go find a child more mature than her and then come talk to me.’

Honestly, I couldn’t imagine Sharon Abner saying something like that.
But hearing it still made my shoulders lift proudly.

And that wasn’t all.

‘The Dowager Empress and Crown Prince only visited because of the child. If it weren’t for her, they’d have no reason to step into the Abner mansion.’

Mrs. Marenes told that story so vividly that I almost forgot to breathe under my blanket.

“Tian needs to become stronger—much, much more influential,” I said seriously.

Owen tilted his head.

“I didn’t plan it this way, but right now, Abner and Tian are tied together.”

The Dowager Empress hadn’t left her palace in years.
So when she did—for my birthday, of all things—it became the talk of the entire capital.

Everyone was wondering why she’d come out all of a sudden.

And when they learned her destination was a common orphan’s birthday party, the rumors exploded.

“You asked earlier if the Crown Prince should really be walking around with so few guards.”

“I did.”

“Well, of course he shouldn’t! Are you dumb, Master? The fact that he has so few people around him just proves how weak his power base is!”

When I first met Tian, I had only given him advice out of pity.

He was still a child—shaking in fear, face pale, and cowering before a servant.
I just couldn’t watch that without saying something.

‘At first, that was all it was.’

I had no time to worry about anyone else when I was barely surviving myself.

‘But things are different now.’

By chance, I had earned the Dowager Empress’s help—
And unexpectedly, Tian had grown very attached to me.

‘Though I don’t think too much of it.’

He’d been lonely in the palace all his life, and I was probably the first person who ever reached out to him.
Of course he’d like me.

The real problem was that, unintentionally, he had become my shield.

According to the newspaper Miss Anne brought me, I was now quite famous in the capital.

And honestly, it made sense.

Publicly, I was known as the exceptionally gifted child who became the first ever sponsored orphan of House Abner.

But after the birthday party, another fact became public:
that I was close with the Crown Prince and favored by the Dowager Empress herself.

‘A brilliant, talented commoner girl who made the Crown Prince her friend and even drew the Dowager Empress out of her palace.’

That extraordinary girl was me.

…Yeah. Me.

***

“Well, at this point, there’s no choice.”

I looked at Owen with a deadly serious face.

“Before I knew it, I ended up on the same boat as the Crown Prince.”

“…”

“So until we reach our destination, I have to make sure that boat doesn’t sink.”

The more I thought back to the attack, the clearer my plan became.

‘Duke Longtern wants me dead.’

The assassin I saw that day—he was definitely Brooke, one of the Duke’s closest men.

Knowing his personality, it was obvious.
If he couldn’t have me as his daughter, he’d rather destroy me.

And that made things even more dangerous.

Because no one knew better than I did how relentless Lambert Longtern could be.

‘Lubarina and Lubawen are going to be a massive success.’

They had been in my previous life—and this time, their spread would happen ten years earlier.

‘If Tian signs the recommendation letter, we’ll both benefit. His reputation will rise, and mine will too.’

Like I said, we were in the same boat now.

And my goal was simple—
to safely earn my independence from the Abner mansion.

‘But for that, Tian can’t be dethroned.’

At least not until I’ve achieved my goal.

Now that everyone saw House Abner as an ally of the Crown Prince and the Dowager Empress,
Tian’s downfall would only drag Abner—and me—down with him.