TCNS 09

Chapter 9: Hide and Seek of Tears (1)

“A bet where the loser has to eat all the vegetables?”

“Yes, do you like it?”

I decided to use his desire to make a fool of me to my advantage.

Edwin seemed quite intrigued by the conditions of the bet and asked again, “What are we betting on? I don’t want Monte.”

He seemed wary, recalling what had happened yesterday. It looked like he believed he couldn’t beat me at Monte. Did he think he could win at something else?

‘Quite a cheeky thought.’

I tapped my lips lightly with a napkin and continued, “How about hide and seek?”

Hide and seek. Just hearing those words made the prince’s eyes sparkle.

“That’s my specialty!”

He immediately jumped up from his seat, as if ready to dash outside.

“Hide and seek? Lia wants to play too!”

Emilia, sitting beside him, joined in the excitement, tapping the table with her spoon.

Lifting the princess, I continued, “Emilia and I will be the seekers.”

“Yay!”

Emilia raised her hands over her head, cheering. Meanwhile, Edwin raised an eyebrow confidently.

“Hmph, you’ll regret it.”

“The location will be limited to the first floor, where the dining room is.”

“Fine. It would be hard for you to find me otherwise.”

Edwin shrugged as if giving me a generous advantage.

I looked at him indifferently and added, “If I find you, I win. If I can’t find you, you win.”

“And the loser eats all the leftover vegetables, right?”

Edwin confirmed the terms of the bet once more, then grinned.

“Don’t come crying to me later.”

***

Edwin Anaxinian Ventrume, the third prince of the Ventrume Empire. He had just turned eleven this year and rarely had the opportunity to play with others his age. There were no noble families willing to send their children to play with a prince who brought no benefit to them.

He never fit in with anyone, and besides the late Emma, there had been no one who showed him any care. Perhaps that was why Edwin never opened his heart to anyone easily. Ironically, even the smallest bit of attention could make his defenses crumble completely.

That was why he had agreed to play Monte with Gale’s gang, even at the cost of his bracelet. It was rare for a peer to ask to play with him first.

“Ugh, this place won’t do.”

Today, that same prince seemed unusually excited. Edwin was peeking into the storage room next to the kitchen.

‘Where could I hide so that she won’t find me?’

After much thought, Edwin chose a large vegetable box.

The box, half-filled with carrots, was big enough to easily fit him inside. Edwin climbed into the box and closed the lid.

‘Perfect. She’ll never find me in here.’

The young prince squatted down inside the box, holding his breath, giggling.

At that moment, footsteps approached. He peeked out through a crack in the box. Fortunately, it wasn’t Rachel.

“I’ve never seen such a handsome man in my life.”

Two maids who had entered the storage room started chatting.

“Really? Is the King of Adamant that handsome?”

“Yes! With a title like the ‘Wolf King,’ I thought he’d look scary, but I was wrong!”

With jet-black hair like the night sky, perfectly tanned smooth skin, and amber eyes that shone like stars—

The maid wriggled in excitement as she rattled off her praises.

“And his physique! He looked like a sculpture straight out of a temple.”

“Why don’t you write a poem about him? Seriously, where in the world would you find someone like that?”

“He exists! I saw him myself!”

The maid practically shouted at her companion, hugging her own arms.

“Oh, if only I could be held in those broad arms, I’d have no other wish.”

“Stop it. Do you really think a king would pay attention to a mere maid? Let’s just go.”

“You never know how to agree with people, do you?”

The complaining maid headed towards the door but then returned.

“Oh, I forgot to put this up. With all these mice lately, it would have been a disaster if I hadn’t. Hey, don’t leave without me—help out!”

“Stop pretending to be weak!”

The maids approached the box Edwin was hiding in.

Thud—

There was a heavy sound above him, followed by the fading footsteps of the maids.

The storage room fell silent once again. Edwin, who had been holding his breath, finally exhaled when he was sure they were gone.

‘Phew, that was close. Almost got caught by those maids.’

His pride as a hide-and-seek master had nearly taken a hit.

Curled up inside the cramped box, Edwin hugged his knees to his chest.

“Ugh.”

Time passed slowly. Other maids came and went, but his nanny never appeared. Edwin wiggled his hips restlessly, feeling discomfort growing.

‘It’s so uncomfortable.’

He was having trouble breathing, and his legs were going numb.

‘I’ve been in here for a long time now.’

The young prince’s expression grew darker. Suddenly, an unpleasant memory resurfaced in his mind.

“Should we let you join in?”

Lloyd, the second prince who bore an uncanny resemblance to the Emperor, had an insidious smile on his face. Around him were the young children of noble families, laughing behind Lloyd’s back.

Back when Edwin hadn’t yet understood what hostility was, he had followed them around happily.

“If you hide here, no one will find you. Edwin, you stay here.”

“What about you, Brother Lloyd?”

“I have another hiding spot. So if you get caught, you have to scream and let me know, alright? That way, ‘we’ can win.”

Lloyd had placed his hand on Edwin’s shoulder, smiling.

“But you absolutely cannot leave this spot until you’re found, okay? Otherwise, we’ll lose because of you.”

Perhaps it was because the chest had been placed in such a remote area, or perhaps Lloyd and his group hadn’t told anyone about it.

Hours passed, but no one came looking for Edwin.

Because of Lloyd’s threatening words, Edwin couldn’t even think of coming out by himself.

Had it not been for his nanny, Emma, who rushed in after hearing the news late, he might have had to spend the entire night in that chest.

“Your Highness!”

The chest had opened, and there was Emma’s tearful face. But the first thing that caught Edwin’s eye wasn’t her face. It was the attendants’ faces behind her.

Summoned in the middle of the night, they held torches in their hands. Thanks to that, Edwin could see all their emotions reflected in their eyes.

‘A bothersome burden.’

‘A useless prince.’

‘A selfish child who thinks only of himself.’

On that day, Edwin’s pride as a prince had been utterly shattered.

Recalling that memory, the young prince bit his lip.

‘…This isn’t fun anymore.’

Just as he was about to open the lid and climb out—

Clunk, clunk.

The lid made a rattling noise but wouldn’t open.

“What, what’s going on?”

Panic began to set in.

It was as if something heavy had been placed on the lid—it wouldn’t budge.

‘Could it be those maids from earlier?’

Remembering the loud noise above his head, Edwin’s face turned pale.

Come to think of it, they sometimes put heavy rocks on top of the storage box to prevent mice and cats from spoiling the ingredients.

‘Does that mean I can’t get out either?’

Edwin’s small heart began to pound fiercely. His ears rang with the sound of his own heartbeat. Shutting his eyes tight, Edwin covered his ears.

Emma wasn’t here anymore to come find him. No one knew he was here.

‘No one will even know I’m missing.’

Maybe this time, he’d be stuck in here forever. As fear from the past slowly swallowed him—

The lid suddenly opened.

“There you are, Your Highness.”

Above him, his nanny Rachel’s face appeared. Her expression, her tone, her actions—all indifferent. Yet somehow, he saw Emma’s face overlapping with hers.

In that instant, thinking of the one he missed, tears poured from Edwin’s eyes like rain.

***

‘Kids are impossible to understand.’

Why on earth was this boy crying, buried among carrots? I was taken aback but tried to keep a calm expression.

“So, it seems I win the bet—”

Just as I was about to declare victory, Edwin suddenly began wailing loudly.

“Why, why did you come so late, you idiot! Waaah—!”

I couldn’t understand him at all. Yesterday, he had run away from me, yet today he was making a scene about me being late.

“Brother, why are you crying? Don’t cry!”

Hearing her brother’s sobs, Emilia, who was on my back, also began to tear up.

‘This is driving me mad. What am I supposed to do?’

I sighed inwardly and slipped my hands under Edwin’s armpits to lift him out of the box.

“Both of you, please stop crying.”

The situation of him crawling in and then crying to be let out was ridiculous. Even after I got Edwin out, he continued to shed tears.

‘This is frustrating.’

An adult would quiet down with a bit of intimidation, but children weren’t like that. That’s why I found them difficult. You couldn’t understand or reason with them.

‘No choice, then.’

Though I was terrible at comforting, I couldn’t just leave him crying like that. If he kept crying and became dehydrated, it would fall on me again.

Hesitating, I used my sleeve to wipe his tears.

“Sorry for being late.”

A clumsy apology that didn’t sound comforting at all.