His hands were deathly pale, nearly as white as her own, and shaped with an incredible, elegant grace.
Talia, who had reflexively reached out to him, felt the bird huddled in her palm twitch and hastily shook her head.
“No. I’m holding something.”
She saw the boy’s eyes narrow beneath a hood, soaked and drooping from the downpour. He lowered his gaze to her cupped hands, pressed against her chest.
“Is it important?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Talia shook her head.
“No. It’s not important.”
“Then throw it away.”
“Even if it isn’t, I can’t just abandon it.”
At her sharp retort, a wrinkle formed between the boy’s smooth brows. He looked annoyed, and she suddenly feared he might simply turn and walk away.
Instead, he did something entirely unsuited to his cold, indifferent demeanor. He bent down and scooped her—muddy and filthy from the rain—into his arms.
Talia let out a soft cry of surprise. The boy merely wrapped his arms firmly around her struggling back and said bluntly,
“Stay still.”
Talia obeyed at once.
She loosened her grip to ensure the bird in her chest remained safe, while he moved with steady, rhythmic strides, climbing the sodden slope. His gait was as nimble as a cat’s.
Yet, for all his agility, he could not avoid the mire. He glanced down at his ruined trousers, boots, and the sodden hem of his robe, his brow furrowing.
“The worst.”
“……It’s my fault you’re like that for helping me, so I’ll pay for the damages. I can buy you clothes far finer than those. I am the daughter of someone very important, after all. I’ll tell my attendant to prepare a generous reward.”
It was intended as an apology, but he seemed offended.
He took a few more steps to skirt the piles of earth near the pit and said, with a blunt edge to his voice,
“You’re quite impudent for a little thing.”
Talia’s face flushed red. Under normal circumstances, she would have slapped the face of any boy who dared speak to her so cheekily; one simply did not address the daughter of the Emperor that way.
But for some reason, she couldn’t utter a word. Even as the cold rain lashed at her forehead and cheeks, her face burned.
The boy stopped beneath a large, thick tree that Imperial Princess Talia Roem Gwirta hadn’t yet managed to have removed. Just then, the bird let out a faint cry.
The boy, who had been lowering her to the ground, paused and dropped his gaze to her hands.
“What are you holding?”
He was curious, after all.
After a moment’s hesitation, she carefully opened her palms.
“A bird?”
He muttered the words in disbelief.
That was understandable. With its shabby wings matted in mud and its bare, pink chest exposed, the tiny creature looked more like a sewer rat than a bird.
Talia felt her cheeks flush again. The bird looked horribly unsightly, yet she felt somehow pathetic herself.
“It fell into the mud. Originally, it was……”
*Maybe it was prettier.*
She almost said it, but stopped. The brown, skeletal creature probably hadn’t been very pretty to begin with; it was likely just an ordinary, common starling.
Yet, the boy seemed inclined to show it kindness.
Supporting her with one arm, he pulled the hand holding the bird inside his hood.
Talia’s eyes widened. His skin, where it touched her fingers, was as warm as the light of a hearth. The bird, seeking refuge, pressed its body tightly against the hollow below the boy’s collarbone.
“Your fingers are like ice. How long have you been standing out there?”
The boy, who had been peering down at the bird under his chin, turned his head toward her. Talia found herself looking directly into blue eyes, set beneath long, rain-drenched lashes.
Seen up close, they were truly unique—as if small silver fragments had been scattered across a clear winter sky.
Watching them intently, Talia murmured, without thinking,
“You know…… you have a silver crown in your eyes.”
The boy’s eyes widened slightly.
His lips parted as if to speak, then closed. Talia realized he was looking into her eyes as well.
What did he see?
Just as she wondered, a familiar voice drifted from afar.
“My Lady!”
It was the nanny.
She hadn’t yet grown accustomed to using the proper title, ‘Your Highness,’ despite the Empress’s reprimands. The desperate cry echoed from the distance like a chime.
“I have to go now,” Talia murmured softly.
She didn’t know why, but she hated the words. Perhaps the boy didn’t want to hear them either.
He stood motionless for a long moment before, as if reluctantly, he lowered her to the ground.
As his arms left her, Talia felt a chill seep into her very bones. Only then did she realize how warm his embrace had been.
After a moment’s hesitation, she held the baby bird out toward him.
“Could you take it with you?”
*Because my hands are too cold, and you are warm.*
She meant to say it, but he simply bent down and carefully took the bird. He held it against his snow-white cheek and pulled his hood forward, shielding it from the rain.
Watching, Talia asked,
“That bird…… will it survive?”
“……Yes.”
The blue eyes holding a silver crown lingered on her face.
“It will survive.”
His expression remained emotionless, but for some reason, Talia felt as though he had smiled.
She turned and began to run through the rain-drenched garden. She dashed past uprooted rose bushes and mounds of dirt that resembled small graves, but as if drawn by a tether, she looked back.
He was still standing quietly under the large tree.
*Why isn’t he leaving?*
Perhaps he was waiting for the rain to let up. Perhaps he was watching her go.
Talia was overcome by an impulse to return, to take shelter with him, to sit side by side in front of a warm fireplace and watch the bird recover.
But as she hesitated, the nanny burst out from the building, her round face beet-red from her frantic search.
“Where on earth have you been! Do you have any idea how much Imperial Princess Talia Roem Gwirta has been looking for you?”
The nanny grabbed her hand with plump, rough fingers and dragged her toward the annex.
“And look at this mess! You are to meet His Majesty soon—how could you let your clothes get this dirty?”
“……I fell while I was taking a walk.”
“Goodness, what kind of walk are you taking in this weather!”
The nanny cried out in disbelief and strode toward the corridor connected to the annex palace.
As she was pulled away, Talia looked back one last time. But he was no longer there.
His hands were deathly pale, nearly as white as her own, and shaped with an incredible, elegant grace.
Talia, who had reflexively reached out to him, felt the bird huddled in her palm twitch and hastily shook her head.
“No. I’m holding something.”
She saw the boy’s eyes narrow beneath a hood, soaked and drooping from the downpour. He lowered his gaze to her cupped hands, pressed against her chest.
“Is it important?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Talia shook her head.
“No. It’s not important.”
“Then throw it away.”
“Even if it isn’t, I can’t just abandon it.”
At her sharp retort, a wrinkle formed between the boy’s smooth brows. He looked annoyed, and she suddenly feared he might simply turn and walk away.
Instead, he did something entirely unsuited to his cold, indifferent demeanor. He bent down and scooped her—muddy and filthy from the rain—into his arms.
Talia let out a soft cry of surprise. The boy merely wrapped his arms firmly around her struggling back and said bluntly,
“Stay still.”
Talia obeyed at once.
She loosened her grip to ensure the bird in her chest remained safe, while he moved with steady, rhythmic strides, climbing the sodden slope. His gait was as nimble as a cat’s.
Yet, for all his agility, he could not avoid the mire. He glanced down at his ruined trousers, boots, and the sodden hem of his robe, his brow furrowing.
“The worst.”
“……It’s my fault you’re like that for helping me, so I’ll pay for the damages. I can buy you clothes far finer than those. I am the daughter of someone very important, after all. I’ll tell my attendant to prepare a generous reward.”
It was intended as an apology, but he seemed offended.
He took a few more steps to skirt the piles of earth near the pit and said, with a blunt edge to his voice,
“You’re quite impudent for a little thing.”
Talia’s face flushed red. Under normal circumstances, she would have slapped the face of any boy who dared speak to her so cheekily; one simply did not address the daughter of the Emperor that way.
But for some reason, she couldn’t utter a word. Even as the cold rain lashed at her forehead and cheeks, her face burned.
The boy stopped beneath a large, thick tree that Imperial Princess Talia Roem Gwirta hadn’t yet managed to have removed. Just then, the bird let out a faint cry.
The boy, who had been lowering her to the ground, paused and dropped his gaze to her hands.
“What are you holding?”
He was curious, after all.
After a moment’s hesitation, she carefully opened her palms.
“A bird?”
He muttered the words in disbelief.
That was understandable. With its shabby wings matted in mud and its bare, pink chest exposed, the tiny creature looked more like a sewer rat than a bird.
Talia felt her cheeks flush again. The bird looked horribly unsightly, yet she felt somehow pathetic herself.
“It fell into the mud. Originally, it was……”
*Maybe it was prettier.*
She almost said it, but stopped. The brown, skeletal creature probably hadn’t been very pretty to begin with; it was likely just an ordinary, common starling.
Yet, the boy seemed inclined to show it kindness.
Supporting her with one arm, he pulled the hand holding the bird inside his hood.
Talia’s eyes widened. His skin, where it touched her fingers, was as warm as the light of a hearth. The bird, seeking refuge, pressed its body tightly against the hollow below the boy’s collarbone.
“Your fingers are like ice. How long have you been standing out there?”
The boy, who had been peering down at the bird under his chin, turned his head toward her. Talia found herself looking directly into blue eyes, set beneath long, rain-drenched lashes.
Seen up close, they were truly unique—as if small silver fragments had been scattered across a clear winter sky.
Watching them intently, Talia murmured, without thinking,
“You know…… you have a silver crown in your eyes.”
The boy’s eyes widened slightly.
His lips parted as if to speak, then closed. Talia realized he was looking into her eyes as well.
What did he see?
Just as she wondered, a familiar voice drifted from afar.
“My Lady!”
It was the nanny.
She hadn’t yet grown accustomed to using the proper title, ‘Your Highness,’ despite the Empress’s reprimands. The desperate cry echoed from the distance like a chime.
“I have to go now,” Talia murmured softly.
She didn’t know why, but she hated the words. Perhaps the boy didn’t want to hear them either.
He stood motionless for a long moment before, as if reluctantly, he lowered her to the ground.
As his arms left her, Talia felt a chill seep into her very bones. Only then did she realize how warm his embrace had been.
After a moment’s hesitation, she held the baby bird out toward him.
“Could you take it with you?”
*Because my hands are too cold, and you are warm.*
She meant to say it, but he simply bent down and carefully took the bird. He held it against his snow-white cheek and pulled his hood forward, shielding it from the rain.
Watching, Talia asked,
“That bird…… will it survive?”
“……Yes.”
The blue eyes holding a silver crown lingered on her face.
“It will survive.”
His expression remained emotionless, but for some reason, Talia felt as though he had smiled.
She turned and began to run through the rain-drenched garden. She dashed past uprooted rose bushes and mounds of dirt that resembled small graves, but as if drawn by a tether, she looked back.
He was still standing quietly under the large tree.
*Why isn’t he leaving?*
Perhaps he was waiting for the rain to let up. Perhaps he was watching her go.
Talia was overcome by an impulse to return, to take shelter with him, to sit side by side in front of a warm fireplace and watch the bird recover.
But as she hesitated, the nanny burst out from the building, her round face beet-red from her frantic search.
“Where on earth have you been! Do you have any idea how much Imperial Princess Talia Roem Gwirta has been looking for you?”
The nanny grabbed her hand with plump, rough fingers and dragged her toward the annex.
“And look at this mess! You are to meet His Majesty soon—how could you let your clothes get this dirty?”
“……I fell while I was taking a walk.”
“Goodness, what kind of walk are you taking in this weather!”
The nanny cried out in disbelief and strode toward the corridor connected to the annex palace.
As she was pulled away, Talia looked back one last time. But he was no longer there.