His Royal Highness's cats are very hairy.

"Rut... your... your real father... is not His Majesty Richard, but His Majesty the former King of Albuquerque?

I felt cold water covered in my head. Even when his heart stood still, Rutvias thought.

"... at least that's what you think. No?"

Rutvias can't even reply to Adeline's calm voice. No matter how much you deviate from your eyes, Adeline's eyes peek into Rutvias' heart.

-... please don't...

I don't want Adeline to see such a weak heart.

I still think of her as showing all the pity, but the man's crap was scratching his feet to keep his face even beyond this period.

But there's nothing more I can do with that kind of insistence.

Struck by huge anxiety like a monster lurking in the shadow beneath his feet, Rutvias is also finally standing.

I pretended not to see it. I was, and will always be, supposed to keep looking away.

They finally caught me.

The upset makes my pharynx, which means my breathing is shallow.

"Rut?"

In a voice that Adeline seemed worried about, she called Rutvias.

To Adeline, Rutvias likes to be called that.

As prompted by the change in the way he called his name to Rutvias, Adeline's firm language gradually softened and his reluctance to Rutvias disappeared.

That seemed to diminish my mind's distance, and Rutvias couldn't help but be happy, but the closer Adeline gave me, the greater my anxiety.

If she can do it.

I don't want them to know.

Some nights I couldn't sleep because of anxiety.

- The unjust child.

I wonder how Rutvias will appear in Adeline's eyes when she learns the truth.

Adeline told me that she loved Rutvias, but even if she knew everything, would she fulfill and stay by her side in the same way?

Will they not be scorned? Wouldn't they be spooked?

-... no, it's natural to be scorned.

Akahara chick growing up in a blue twig's nest. That's Rutvias.

Richield is also generously called the Father, loving, protected, and trying to stand up as his son.

Besides, falling in love with a crowd and devouring the luxury of having that opponent as his wife...

You can't be qualified for that.

"Rut, look at me"

Called, Rutvias raised his fearful gaze, which he was dropping on the floor.

Adeline's night-colored eyes.

In front of that, Rutvias was powerless. The silence of the night envelops everything.

"... ade... line..."

The eyes of the deep night were neither contemptuous nor averse to Rutvias.

I'm terribly relieved by that.

The heartbeat, which was loud in his ear, calmed loose.

"... I saw it. My mother... is crying..."

Rutvias opened his mouth, feeling like making excuses.

Still a young day. Night without the moon.

Worried about Shiva, who had just hatched from an egg, Rutvias secretly slipped out of her bedroom. Scared of dark nights, stroking and hugging Shiva like a jealous dog who kept crying in the stables, walking down the hallway on a quiet night, back again.

The samurai made me cry not to let Tenma into my bedroom, but is it okay? I can't leave Shiva alone.

But there were signs of men, and Rutvias rushed to hide himself in the shadows. When I looked softly at the sobbing appearance, it was my mother. I don't wear a flower hat, my hair is messy, my white cheeks are wet and glowing in tears. Leena ran off into the hallway to escape without noticing her hidden son.

Rutvias still doesn't know what happened to her.

At that time, I was just worried that something was going on, and the next morning I asked my mother. "Why, were you crying? '.

Then Leena changed her complexion and reprimanded Rutvias.

Never say that to anyone. Never leave the bedroom at night again.

Rutvias just nodded at the crap out of his usual reprimand.

But another night without the next month. Rutvias broke his promise to his mother and snuck up to Shiva's stables.

You can't leave Shiva alone, and I just thought I should go back to my room right away. And on his way back to the room, when the door sounded open, Rutvias heard his mother.

'Please, forgive me already!! When Your Highness finds out... eh'

'Let me tell you to wait!

Rutvias shook up at his grandfather's voice, which could not have been misheard.

How could my grandfather and mother be seeing each other at night like this? Besides, isn't that door that the two of them came out of, that leads to my grandfather's bedroom? I wonder why my mother was in such a place.

Though young Rutvias did not know what the matter was, he knew that only a couple would be sleeping together at night. Even Rutvias can't get into his parents' bedroom at night.

Then why was my mother in my grandfather's room? Isn't that unacceptable?

Rutvias noticed something odd at that time.

There's nobody in the hallway. I don't see any night samurai, female officers, or knights.

The samurai can think of something being ordered out of their seats, but it's strange that there's not even a knight of the king's escort.

Unless the king pays, someone should be holding back in front of the door.

-... why, I can't believe I'm paying...

Did my grandfather have a story he didn't want the samurai to hear? Or did you try to hide meeting with who (...)?

Albuquerque and Leena had been hissing and arguing about something for a while, but eventually Leena ran off into the hallway crying again. To Rutvias, who was hiding, still unaware.

By the time Rutvias peered from the shadows, Albuquerque had already entered the room and the hallway was quiet.

In front of the door, something glowing white is rolling. Whatever it is, Rutvias kills the footsteps and goes down the corridor, picking it up. It was star sugar.

"Nothing… I didn't see or hear anything direct. It's just that the star sugar... the star sugar was falling in front of Grandpa's room.... that's all."

Leena preferred sugar confectionery.

A fancy treat. Not something anyone can get.

And why was it falling in front of my grandfather's room where he was supposed to hate sweets?

-... for your mother... prepared by your uncle...?

Someone knew that my mother would be scolded, and Rutvias shut his mouth.

But like Rutvias, I guess someone saw Leena in the middle of the night.

Eventually, 'Rumors' began to be whispered.

"Her Royal Highness Lady Leena has betrayed Her Royal Highness Richard and has been in contact with His Majesty Albuquerque."

"His Royal Highness Rutvias is, in fact, His Majesty's son."

"It is not unusual to expect His Majesty Albuquerque's expectations of His Highness Rutvias."

The shock of listening to the ladies whisper is still unforgettable.

"I heard rumors... I didn't think so. But I was also convinced that I didn't look like my father.... I did."

Always smile quietly, gently and intelligently Richard. Rutvias, by contrast, is emotional and active. Unlike a sick Richard, his body is also sturdy, and he often behaves selfishly, contrary to a concerted Richard. There is only one element in Rutvias that resembles his father, including his mother's similar face.

"I was conscious... that I looked like my grandfather..."

Albuquerque was originally direct and authoritarian. Ever since I got older, I couldn't seem to control my personality traits with reason. Everyone spared Albuquerque acting like a selfish child.

-... too similar...

Rutvias fought at the appearance of his grandfather slapping Richard with his sheath.

Because he overlapped with his own appearance, which gave rise to eclampsia in his grandfather's appearance. I look too much like my grandfather.

Adeline's fingers stroked Rutvias' hand.

"... your laughter in a cat. You look just like His Majesty Richard's laugh. That was... more like a cat... you were imitating it, right? Your Majesty."

"... to my father, I thought I had to look alike. I... am your father's child. It should be your father's child. I don't believe in rumors."

The young Rutvias told himself. Over and over again.

And I imitated my father.

I laughed, I talked, I imitated my father for everything he did. But that rumor didn't go away. And wonder and no one said Rutvias looked like his father. It may also have been due to the fact that the appearance features were too different. It could simply have been because Richard and Rutvias, often lying down, rarely went out in public side by side.

But Rutvias was in a hurry. We need to be more alike. It has to be similar. I have to make Richield think that he looks more like me than anyone else, and that he's my son.

My favorite father. My father who loves my mother. If I found out my mother betrayed me, how much would it hurt?

If I found out Rutvias wasn't my own child, I'm sure he'd no longer be walking with me or reading books with me.

"... a child's shallow wisdom. You must be an idiot.

Self-derisively, Rutvias' lips are distorted.

But Adeline didn't laugh. Painfully straight, I look up at Rutvias.

"No, rut. No."

"... When he was to be taken hostage, I wondered if Father might know something. I don't think I can get away with it because I'm not my real son..."

In fact, Richard was just purely protecting Rutvias.

But the confused Rutvias no longer knew what the hell was true.

I don't even know who to believe anymore.

Believing in something was just scary.

"... I... I... can I... follow the throne?

Rutvias exhales anxiety so that what was stuck in his throat spills from his flabby mouth.

Richield told Rutvias that he was ready to let go of his inheritance rights, in front of the reality that he might lose Adeline.

"Whatever happens, it doesn't matter that you're my son."

Glad to hear it. And I felt so guilty.

Richield, who believes and loves Rutvias as his son, was pitiful, admirable, and Rutvias wanted to repent for everything.

-... even me, if I wasn't born...

Had it not been for Rutvias, Richield would have been able to do more than he is now.

If it weren't for Rutvias, maybe the parent-child relationship between Richard and Albuquerque wouldn't have gotten any worse.

Without Rutvias, Richard could have definitely held my son, whose blood was connected, in his hands.

Had it not been for Rutvias, Leena might not have lost her life.

Rutvias had always had the thought that everything would have worked out if it hadn't been for him.

Above all, I hated myself, I was neglected, I was nasty.

Can such a filthy self succeed my father? It is also an act against the usurper.

Originally, Rutvias shouldn't even be allowed to touch Adeline this way.

"... hey, rut"

Adeline's eyes were quiet.

With Rutvias' hands wrapped in those white hands, she began to speak.

It's like telling a toddler.

"I checked with my mother. My mother was in the royal palace in the service of Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess, so I wondered if she knew anything. That rumor… rumors of your birth were circulating just when Leena had you caged, because Her Royal Highness Richard was going away to quiet herself. Because the Empire wanted a goodwill ambassador, the Leena style did not go away from the palace, but was left in court as the King Prince's name, and you two were separated."

That was information that Rutvias also knew. Fragments of the past gathered with deafening ears at whispering rumors without being able to talk to or ask anyone.

"The problem is that when you were caged... everyone guessed when you were caged backwards from the day you were born. But did you know you were born a little premature?

"... Huh?

Rutvias looked at Adeline. I've never heard of it, like it was premature. Adeline makes me snort.

"My mother offered Leena a celebration in the name of the Crown Princess... remember?

"... that's what you said"

To Rutvias, who said it was a pleasure to meet you, Lady Chancellor said it was not. I once held up my baby Rutvias, he said.

"That's when I met you. You were born, and you said you were a little baby. Leena said she was worried because she had labor pains a long time ago. From the original month of birth, His Majesty Richard and Lady Leena will all be in court, but it seems that during that time, His Majesty Albuquerque was often turned by domestic patrols on official business to leave the court."

From Adeline, Rutvias turned a blind eye again.

-... and still... I can't tell you that I'm... your father's child...

I'm sure Adeline is desperately trying to clear Rutvias' mind. That was a delightful half-side, and honestly annoying. Rutvias has his hands on his forehead.

"... Enough. Let's not talk about this anymore."

I want you to leave me alone. Whether you continue to feel a loss to Richield your whole life or be annoyed by a heavy throne, that has nothing to do with Adeline because of Rutvias' problems.

If you know the truth and Adeline doesn't leave, that's fine. If only Adeline could stay next to me, I'd be able to enjoy everything.

But Adaline didn't want to talk about it. I take Rutvias' hand on my forehead, and Rutvias glances straight at me, trying to turn away.

"I know. I know. So you can't say enough about the parent-child relationship between you and Your Majesty. In the end, only Master Leena will know.... but there is no Master Leena. No one can be sure of Master Leena. Then... it's the same thing, no matter what the truth is."

Rutvias was unwittingly exasperated by the words of Adeline, which also sounded sloppy.

"Same? Same!? No way!? You, how much I..."

"There's no way His Majesty wouldn't know!

Adeline comes back unbeaten. Strong eyes and a Rin voice.

The shadows that atrophied in front of Rutvias and searched for an escape place with most can no longer be found anywhere in her.

"Rumor has it that you... are the child of His Majesty Albuquerque... and even you know it, but His Majesty Richard can't possibly not. But Your Majesty... at the Bow Club... when you were attacked, he didn't skip your body and tried to help you."

…

After being attacked at the Bow Club that day, Richard smiled as if he had been heartily relieved when Rutvias looked safe. But the face remained bright blue, telling the story of how much he had guided his son. Yes, he was, Richard, seriously worried about Rutvias.

Adeline's little white hand gently accompanies Rutvias' cheek. Encouraged gently by that hand, Adeline was smiling quietly as Rutvias looked back at him, frightened but slowly.

"His Majesty Richard loves you. I'm sure I've never even suspected that he might not be my son. Really, you're cute and important and I can't help it. Can't you do that? Rut. No?

………

As I looked into my night-colored eyes, deep in Rutvias' heart, something sank.

Adeline is right. There is no Leena. There is no way to know the truth about the past. Then there's no point in the truth or anything.

The important thing is that Richard loves Rutvias as his son, and Rutvias admires Richard as his father, that's all.

Even though I could see that, Rutvias wanted something. From the depths of my heart, I want 'something', I want it...

"... adeline..."

Rutvias fell for Adeline.

She would surely give me what Rutvias wants.

Adeline will give you what no one else can give Rutvias. No, only Adeline can do it.

Adeline stroked Rutvias' cheek, as she said she knew everything.

"Rut. I can... I can only tell you to rest, but I'll tell you as many times as I can if that's what's bothering you"

and the heart pulses.

Rutvias knew what she was going to say and why. Words Rutvias wanted from the depths of his heart.

Slight force on Adaline's fingertips. There is a strength that cannot be resisted by the black eye, and Rutvias cannot even blink.

"You are the child of His Majesty Richard."

Strong and clear, Adeline ran out of words.

How can you say it so confidently that this one makes me wonder?

-... I...

I always wanted someone to say that.

I just wanted you to be clear and assertive, even if there was no basis for it. I wanted you to say it out loud. Richard said he was Rutvias' father.

The monstrous anxiety that was about to devour Rutvias spreads like salad and sand.

The days I kept deceiving people, myself. Everything becomes a grain of light and dissolves in the air.

Adeline laughs. My black eyes glowed and it seemed like the morning sun would rise even though it was.

"You resemble His Majesty Albuquerque because you are the son of His Majesty Richard and grandson of His Majesty Albuquerque. It wouldn't be weird or anything for my grandson to look like my grandfather, would it?

Rutvias laid his eyes down. Hot emotions burn my eyelids. Swallow something up and Rutvias tried to laugh. Though unclean, the attempt was barely successful.

"... right"

"Right?"

To Adeline's soft smile, from Rutvias' right eye, tears finally spilled.

I can't stop crying and whimper.

Fuwari and Adeline hugged Rutvias in the neck.

-... the truth is... I wanted you to tell me...

In a distant shadow, Rutvias speaks.

-... Mother...

I wanted you to tell Leena. You can lie, I wanted you to say it out. Rutvias said he was Richard's son.

Then I believed it. No matter what anyone else said, I believed only my mother's words. But Rutvias didn't have the courage to ask.

She was a sweet mother. Mother who likes sweet things, loves star sugar, seems solid, somewhere in love.

My mother may have betrayed my father - - heavily precipitated in Rutvias' heart, suspicion of my mother.

And hindsight to doubt.

Furthermore, when I thought that my mother might have given birth to herself after an unwanted pregnancy, I could only keep a decent eye on Leena.

If you think about it, that's the last time. Engagement ceremony with Adeline.

At that time, Rutvias noticed Adeline, who kept putting up with the rubbing of her shoes, and asked Her Ladyship to take care of her. That's the last time Rutvias talked to Leena properly, albeit briefly.

When he traveled to the Empire, Rutvias did not look back on Leena, who cried and spared his farewell. I'm sure Leena would have missed Rutvias' relative attitude.

-... I wanted to believe it.

But I couldn't do it. All Rutvias can do now is pray for her mother's blessings, and repent.

In my ear, I hear Adaline's gentle voice.

"It's okay, you're the rightful heir to the throne of this country and you'll be a wonderful king. Because it drains the blood of a great king like your grandfather and your father."

The whimpering gets worse.

Like a child, Rutvias cried.

I can't stop crying for what I've endured since I was a young child, as if my body were about to let it all out.

Rutvias held Adeline tight. But on the contrary, I feel like I'm being held by her. Why is this when Adeline's body is smaller and thinner than Rutvias's?

"... adeline"

Rutvias squeezed the words out of his throat where the whimper still wouldn't subside.

"Thanks"

Behind the overlapping smudges, he found Rutvias, anxiously frightened and helplessly nodded.

"... thanks... eh"

For the first time in my life, I thanked my grandfather.

The bride you decided to bring you luck, he said.