Note: This is still the same story, guys
Inside a large room, two men sat beside an enormous, luxurious bed where a small boy lay sleeping.
Deep wrinkles formed on the older man's forehead as he studied the child's condition. He then turned to the man beside him.
"Xaviar, what exactly happened to Ren?"
The younger man hesitated to lift his head. Guilt still weighed heavily on his mind.
But he had to answer the man next to him, the man dressed in a golden robe with a crown atop his head.
"Your Majesty, I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing. And I've told you, no need to be so formal when it's just the two of us. Tell me everything, clearly." Emperor Julius spoke firmly.
Xaviar finally raised his face, revealing the dark circles under his eyes that showed how little he had slept.
He took a breath and began his story.
Everything started six months ago, when the Empress passed away. The Crown Prince, Emperor Julius's only child with the late Empress, was devastated.
The seven-year-old boy lost his appetite, stopped smiling, and refused to speak.
Month after month went by, yet Ren hadn't recovered. The Emperor was deeply worried.
Xaviar, as the Emperor's younger brother and Ren's uncle, was also concerned. He suggested taking Ren outside the Empire so he could see new things, anything other than reminders of his late mother.
Coincidentally, Xaviar was close friends with a prince from a small kingdom at the edge of human territory. That friend always bragged about the beautiful scenery in his homeland.
So Xaviar decided to take Ren to that kingdom, the Pelestria Kingdom. He didn't tell anyone he was bringing the Crown Prince, to avoid attracting unwanted attention.
Once they arrived, he also refused to stay in the palace. He wasn't there for political reasons, and staying in the palace would mean dealing with the king and nobles.
Everything went smoothly… until the day they took a walk through the west forest.
That day, Xaviar was accompanied by two princesses— the eldest, Fiora Pierce, and the second, Evelyn Pierce.
He originally didn't want to get involved with the royal household, but his friend had said his younger sister, Fiora, knew the most beautiful spots in the forest.
So he agreed to let Princess Fiora guide him… though somehow Princess Evelyn tagged along.
The moment he met them, Xaviar immediately noticed Evelyn's intent to pursue him. But, since the two princesses were already there, he reluctantly joined the them.
He planned to return quickly and instructed the knights to wait with Ren at the inn.
But while he was away, Ren insisted on following them. The knights had no choice but to accompany him and follow into the forest.
They ended up in a different part of the woods, but Ren seemed fine. He played by himself while the knights watched over him.
What they didn't know was that several vine plants growing on the trees had a sedative effect. Within half an hour, all the knights standing under the tree fell asleep.
Ren wasn't directly under the tree. He was only digging up some wild flowers.
When the knights woke up, Ren was gone. They immediately spread out to search for him.
One knight eventually found a woman drenched in blood carrying Ren out of a ravine. Ren was also covered in blood. No one could tell whose blood it was.
They rescued Ren at once and informed Xaviar.
After examination, Ren was found to have many scratches, consistent with falling down a ravine.
There were also severe wounds on his head, but strangely, those wounds appeared to be in the middle of healing.
"The Crown Prince will wake up once his blood levels stabilize. He lost a lot of blood recently. The scratches alone wouldn't have caused this. He must have been gravely injured, but something—or someone—saved him. This seems like a miracle. The late Empress must still be protecting him."
It didn't make sense, but if Ren only had scratches, he should have awakened yesterday.
Yet even now, he still hadn't opened his eyes.
"Where is the woman who carried Ren out of the ravine? She might know what truly happened," Emperor Julius asked after hearing the full story.
"Well… after the knight saved Ren, he returned to the ravine's edge, but the woman was already gone."
"He didn't know who she was? Or any of her features?"
Xaviar shook his head. "Her entire body was covered in blood, from her hair to her feet."
The Emperor shuddered. Xaviar had felt the same horror when he first heard the report. Ren alone, with blood on several parts of his body, had already looked terrible, what more the woman who carried him.
"Keep searching for her. If necessary, inform the Pelestria Kingdom," the Emperor ordered.
Xaviar nodded. He hadn't told the Pelestria royal family yet, worried the news would spread too quickly. He didn't want to attract more trouble.
"As for the knights who were on duty that day, you must punish—"
"Father…"
Julius froze. He turned sharply toward his son.
Ren was awake.
"…please don't punish the knights, Father. They did nothing wrong," Ren whispered weakly.
Julius immediately nodded. "Of course. If that's what you want."
A healer was summoned to check on Ren's condition.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince simply needs rest to recover from the scratches. Everything else is fine. Truly, this is a miracle," the healer repeated, looking genuinely amazed.
"It must be because of that sister," Ren murmured.
"What sister, Ren?" the Emperor asked.
"The sister who saved me. I woke up because of her. I thought… I thought I was about to meet Mother…"
A brief, heavy silence fell over the room.
Then Ren spoke again. "Where is that sister, Father? Uncle Xaviar?"
"We couldn't find her, Ren. Do you remember what she looked like?" Xaviar asked gently.
"She had red hair…"
"What?!" Xaviar suddenly realized the knight must have mistaken her red hair for blood.
"…blue eyes, and she was beautiful."
"Red hair, blue eyes… beautiful?" One person immediately came to Xaviar's mind.
"Before the knight came to inform me about Ren, the eldest princess of Pelestria had gone out to gather herbs. She must have been the one who saved Ren.
Fiora Pierce."
...