Upon receiving the empress’s letter, Edan went out and did not return for several days.

He said he would be back soon, but it’s hard to see his face. While thinking that, I fell asleep at some point.

“Lati.”

I rubbed my eyes and woke up to a familiar voice, and Edan was in front of me. It had been three days.

“Edan?”

“Yes.”

“Did you have a good trip?”

“Yes. I’m back.”

Sitting on the desk, he brushed back my hair from my forehead.

“It took a long time.”

“It just happened that way. By the way, how much have you been searching?”

Edan picked up one of the books spread out on the desk and looked at me as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Take it easy, princess.”

With that, he flicked his index finger, lightly tapping my forehead.

Fortunately, it felt like our relationship had returned to how it was before, perhaps because we had a conversation.

I smiled at Edan with half-closed eyes, “Heh.”

I should tell him clearly that it’s okay to heal only you when the time is right. So I should tell him not to worry about anything.

“I haven’t seen much. What I want doesn’t even come up.”

I expected it wouldn’t be easy, but there were many magic books, and the information I wanted was still nowhere to be seen.

I was looking for a spell similar to the one I used with Ivy, but it didn’t appear at all.

I thought I might be able to use it if I adapted it well, but it seems that taking someone else’s power is only allowed in dark magic like black magic.

Honestly, last night I even thought it would be nice if the great mage were still alive.

I’m sorry for secretly searching the secret space, but I wanted to ask him to share some wisdom.

“But is there information about healing power in the magic books?”

“Probably not. That kind of thing is in the temple archives.”

“Then what exactly are you looking for?”

“Well. There’s something like that.”

But Edan looks handsome even when he’s sitting casually.

My goodness, I wonder if it’s okay for his arm muscles to be so sexy while reading a book.

It was a thousand blessings that Edan couldn’t read my thoughts.

“Even if you can’t find a way, you won’t have to go to the temple. I won’t send you.”

Edan loosened his shoulders and turned the page. I, who had been blankly appreciating him, suddenly stood up from the desk.

“Ah!”

Edan, who was looking down at the book with an indifferent face, turned his head towards me.

“What.”

“What’s that?”

We clearly made eye contact, but Edan turned his head to the opposite side.

“What.”

At Edan’s pretending not to know, I grabbed his face and turned it back towards me.

“What happened to your lip?”

I thought I was finally seeing his face after three days, but the corner of his handsome lip was split.

It doesn’t look like a fresh wound, and seeing that it’s almost healed, it must be a wound that’s a few days old.

Roughly two or three days…

“Ah.”

A voice as if he just realized it, even though he was deliberately trying to hide it from me.

He put down the book he was holding. I frowned and let go of his cheek.

“It’s nothing.”

Edan lightly touched the wound with his hand.

I couldn’t ask more.

Three days ago, Edan had left after receiving a letter from the empress.

She hit him. There’s no one brave enough to hit Edan, and he’s not the type to just stand still if hit.

Unless Edan deliberately let himself be hit, it doesn’t make sense.

“I’ll bring some medicine.”

“Lati.”

“Wait.”

“……”

Before Edan could stop me, I quickly slipped out into the reception room.

Empress Henzela. Is that woman crazy!

The empress disliked Edan’s mother. It wasn’t just because she was a concubine.

It was because Edan’s mother was of such lowly birth that she couldn’t be recognized as the emperor’s concubine.

The emperor claimed she was the daughter of a fallen noble, but there was no evidence to support it. Edan’s mother was a pretty doll the emperor had picked up from the slave market.

The empress’s position was that she would have understood if he had chosen a noble daughter as a concubine or brought a noble from another empire.

Because the emperor’s dignity was also her dignity, she found the existence of a slave-born concubine horrifying.

As if she and the concubine were being compared on the same level.

Moreover, Edan’s ability as a power user was superior to Killian’s.

But that’s a story from when they were young. Edan is no longer a child.

He was called the hero guarding the north.

Although the imperial family uses Edan as they please, everyone in the empire knows that without him, it would be difficult to protect the unbreakable wall.

That’s why in the original story, even when Edan dabbled in black magic and went crazy until he became a monster, there were numerous subordinates who stayed by his side.

Such a person…

She recklessly hit his face.

How much are you looking down on people!

There was lip medicine in the console that Edan had applied to me.

I tightly held the medicine in my hand, took a moment to catch my breath, and then entered the secret space again.

Edan was still in the same position without moving.

Wondering if he might have been hit elsewhere, I stood at the entrance observing him intently.

Then Edan patted his thigh.

“Want to be a chair?”

The corner of his injured mouth slightly turned up as he spoke. You can laugh in this situation?

“No. Come here.”

I grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the chair. Edan, who wouldn’t have budged before, let himself be pulled to the chair like a light doll and sat down as I instructed.

“Stay still.”

“Okay.”

With our eye levels similar, I could easily touch his face without having to stand on tiptoes.

“Excuse me.”

“Gladly.”

I opened the lid and applied it to my pinky finger. I carefully stroked his lip to apply the medicine, trying not to hurt him. The corner of Edan’s mouth twitched as if it tickled.

“Hey. Stay still.”

“Scary.”

“Should I really scare you? Do you know how careful I’m being? What if it leaves a scar?”

“That would be troublesome. I need to be pretty for someone.”

Then don’t come back after being hit. I swallowed those words and focused on applying the medicine.

Did I apply too much? I stopped when I thought that.

“Edan, I have something I’m curious about. Can I ask?”

“Sure.”

Click. I closed the lid and put it down on the desk.

“Why do you protect the north?”

Because I went to the festival, I knew that Edan was working hard to protect the people of the northern territory and the northern land.

But fundamentally, it was a bit difficult to understand why he went to such lengths.

Was it difficult to give up the position of prince?

Seeing Edan’s personality, it doesn’t seem like it.

Honestly, if it were me, with this level of ability and this level of looks, I think I would have abandoned the empire and left.

If you don’t use your power, you don’t have to suffer from side effects.

You might need some healing power periodically, but it means you don’t have to struggle every day like now.

Killian was actually doing that.

Although Killian had strong powers like Edan, Hillstain, and Dante, he hardly used his power because he was the crown prince.

It’s understandable that the crown prince should be cautious and protected by those around him, but from a third-party perspective, it was unfairly disproportionate.

Logically, considering the power level, Edan should have been the first person to be taken care of in terms of going to the temple.

Only Edan was banned from entering the temple, while the crown prince, who used his power the least, came and went as he pleased.

So I couldn’t understand.

Why Edan remained loyal to the imperial family despite such discrimination.

Was it because he had grown attached to the north where he had lived for a long time? Seeing his appearance at the northern festival, there was a slight possibility of that.

Or was he aiming for the throne later? Planning to get rid of Killian and ascend to the emperor’s seat when the time comes?

I thought of several hypotheses, but an unexpected answer came from Edan’s mouth.

“If I protect the most dangerous land in the empire, the empire will become safer.”

“…? I suppose so?”

“Then it will be easier for elder brother Killian to rule the empire when he ascends to the throne.”

“What?”

“I want elder brother Killian to become emperor. That’s why I’m protecting it.”

Words casually spilled out, just as he had been thinking.

What does that mean?

I asked in bewilderment with my eyes wide open.

“Why?”

“It’s kind of funny to ask why.”

“Weren’t you on bad terms with His Highness the Crown Prince?”

“Well.”

Tilting his head, Edan naturally entwined his fingers with mine.

“I’m not well-liked, so we’re not on good terms, but I don’t particularly dislike elder brother.”

What? It was a huge shock.

What is this? Did Edan have this much love for humanity? Brotherly love? Or is it self-sacrifice for the empire? Something like that?

Why doesn’t he dislike him?

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t speak. Edan spoke slowly as if he had read my mind.

“When I was young, after my mother passed away, I was locked up in the most remote part of the palace.”

“……”

A story I know.

“It was a very remote place where only Ruben’s father and Ruben came.”

I pretended not to know and listened carefully to his words.

“Were you lonely?”

“Well, a little.”

Edan closed his eyes tightly and then opened them.

“Knowing that I had to live there alone for the rest of my life and die, I was quite lonely.”

I tightly held his hand as he spoke calmly.

“At that time, elder brother came to see me once a week with a whip.”

That’s right. This is also a story I know.

The crown prince secretly visiting Edan to torment him.

Whip… Ruben came to mind.

The scar on Ruben’s eye was from taking the whip blow meant for Edan from Killian.

Because I knew the story, I almost mentioned Ruben’s scar out loud, but I held back and waited for his next words.

“Elder brother cried every time.”

Edan smiled bitterly with his eyes.

Killian Dietrich. The crown prince of pure blood, incomparable to Edan who was called an illegitimate child.

Edan thought such an elder brother was cool.

Due to the conflicting relationship between the empress and his mother, they couldn’t meet often, but occasionally they would look at each other and laugh playfully in secret.

The imperial palace was full of Empress Henzela’s confidants and filled with critical looks towards Edan’s mother.

As time passed, a group following Edan’s mother did emerge, but the nobles with bloodlines were on Empress Henzela’s side.

At every imperial event, the two women faced each other with sharp tension, and each time, Edan had to be like a ghost in the corner.

Killian would always smile playfully towards Edan at those times.

“At least help yourself to some snacks.”

“Thanks, elder brother.”

“Don’t call me that in front of my mother.”

“I understand, elder brother.”

Although born from different wombs, they were brothers much closer than other families, if not for their mothers’ relationship.