The Northern Empire., which boasts a cool atmosphere throughout even the southernmost city on the continent.

The solid black castle in the middle of the capital, Alin, overwhelmed the people. Although it is actually gray in color, it looks dark as if it was coated in black, so it was nicknamed 'Black Castle'.

Euseniel Hardland crossed the castle as heavy and quiet as the color it had.

"Isn't it crazy?"

There was no one to stop me as I crossed the castle, and also the Emperor's residence, Hill Palace. Even the knights as well as the chief attendant at the entrance of Hill Palace.

Thump.

I opened the door to the familiar Emperor's quarter.

I couldn't see anyone in the achromatic room, so I headed to the office next to the bedroom.

A tall man was standing there leaning against the window.

A book was held in the large hand of the man dressed in black with a matching top and bottom. He didn't move even when I went in, but he looked like he was concentrating on a book, but I know.

All of this was made up by him.

Long eyelashes, a smooth nose that runs under the sharp nose, and red lips that captivated people's attention despite the side profile.

I opened my mouth to look at the face that was terribly to my taste.

"Tess."

"… Euseniel?"

As if surprised at the sound of my calling, my childhood friend who was the Emperor turned his head towards me. Then his black hair moved softly.

Even my favorite soft hair was abominable at this moment.

"I can't believe Euseniel came to see me first."

Tess, who put the closed book down on the wooden desk with a popping sound, came to me with his eyes wide open.

"I'm happy."

The slightly trembling voice sounded thrilled, but I am not deceived.

"I missed you, Euseniel."

His cold hands, compared to the others, wrapped around my cheeks.

"What are you trying to do?"

"What?"

"Son of Marquis Gilber."

"Are you talking about another man as soon as you arrive?"

Tess's voice, which was smiling, subsided. His black eyes grew even darker.

"I don't want to."

Tess slowly lowered his head, and then his high nose tip touched the tip of my nose. I seemed to feel a hot breath.

"You're here to see me, so look at me, Euseniel."

"Tess."

A scent that made me hazy filled my nostrils.

"Don't talk about other people, just tell me your questions."

The low, subdued voice scratched my eardrums in a tone that I couldn't tell if it was a threat or a plea.

As always, I shouted before things went haywire.

"Don't play with me!"

"I'm serious."

The tip of his nose looked a little crushed. Our lips are about to collide soon, so I shake off the large hand that was holding my cheek. And I grabbed Tess by the collar.

"Don't play with me and tell me. What are you going to do this time again? What did I do to have Marquis Gilber come to me and beg? It's not even the first time something like this has happened."

"Ah, the son is stupid, but the father is quick-witted."

"Tessvalun Neussville!"

I called him by his full name only when I was really angry, but my childhood friend was still smiling. Rather, he wanted to release my wrist that had grabbed his collar, so he interlocked his fingers on it.

"Why, Euseniel?"

"It's strange that everyone's been sentenced to death penalty out of the blue."

"Why?"

As Tess tilted his head, his fine hair flew down. There was an urge to tidy up his hair, but I tried to focus on the conversation.

"The eldest son of the Marquis. You said you ordered the man to be put to death. Marquis Gilber is a man who works tirelessly for the country. Suddenly, why?"

The son of Marquis Gilber could have been guilty. However, considering this, his usual conduct was always neat.

Moreover, unfortunately, my childhood friend was one who suddenly gave orders such as 'Cut that bastard's head off!'

"That guy, he did something wrong."

"What is wrong with that man? Did he plot treason? Did he extort taxes?"

"No."

"Then?"

"It's not like that, but… His sin, there's definitely a price for it."

What the hell is he trying to say?

Tess slowly rubbed the back of my hand with the tip of his finger, and I bit my teeth in the unsuitable heat.

You always try to get over the situation like this.

I tried to get my gripped hand out, but it didn't come off as if it was clinging to him. I was going to try to take it off by force for a while, but if I did, I'd be caught again, so I left it alone.

Instead, I stared at his black eyes. As if to absorb the light, I was reflected in the black eyes.

I made a face that I didn't like him very much.

"What sin? Tell me."

"He proposed to you."

"Huh?"

I frowned at the incomprehensible words.

"Son of Marquis Gilber, he proposed to you."

"… How do you know that?"

I didn't get a big proposal, but the son of the Marquis quietly asked me to marry him.

Instead of answering, my friend raised his red lips and smiled.

"You!"

"There's nothing I don't know about Euseniel."

I was trying to argue if that was something to be proud of, but I decided to stick to the urgent topic.

"He's proposing to me and you're going to kill him?"

"Yes."

"He just proposed to me?"

"Then I must kill him."

The black eyes twinkled.

"How dare he propose to Euseniel."

"What...?"

"The sin of proposing to Euseniel without knowing his place."

I was speechless.

"That's his sin."

So, it meant that, in the end, Marquis Gilber's son was going to die because of me.

At my age, I would have received enough proposals, and it was not at all strange that the son of the Marquis sent a proposal to me, since I have no one to date.

In this way he came to hold me tight. Please dig a hole for me to escape.

But I am unable to leave this place to save the son of Marquis Gilber who will die because of me.

"Tess."

"Euseniel is going to marry me."

As he smiled after speaking, Tess seemed to really believe that.

"What nonsense."

"Why, we decided to do that when we were young."

"I never agreed."

As a child, Tess, who was always in the habit of making arbitrary decisions without asking for my permission, continued to insist.

"You should marry me. Or don't tell me."

Tess, who suddenly opened his eyes, whispered sharply.

"You're going to marry him… ?"

"It's not like that."

"I should have killed him sooner. Before proposing to Euseniel. I didn't like the way he looked at Euseniel."

Contrary to his smiling mouth, his eyes were full of murderous energy. I took the hand of the man who was about to move away from me, fearing that he might decapitate the innocent man at any moment.

"Why, Euseniel?"

Tess bent his eyes in arc and began to caress my cheeks with one hand.

"Euseniel."

My friend's voice cracked.

"Euseniel, let's get married. Yes?"

I thought to carefully pull out the hand that was holding me, but then he grabbed my waist. My childhood friend whispered into my ear.

"Then we can get up in the same bed, share the same space...."

The sweet smell of heat tickled my ears and neck.

"We can see each other at any time. Yes?"

The hand on my waist began to draw a large circle. As if the flame that had been staying on the back of my hand had moved, my back began to ache.

"Look at me, Euseniel."

I think I will fall into the hands of temptation.

I tried to step back, but my feet didn't move, as if I had fallen into a sticky swamp. It's invisible, but it's like being caught.

"Look at me, Euseniel...."

Eventually, I let go of the large hand that was holding me. Then the hand that ran from my ankle to my calf disappeared.

"Euseniel?"

I calmly pushed the hand that was trying to catch me again and started to tidy up Tess's bangs, which I had been worried about for a long time.

Then Tess meekly put his hand down and started savoring my touch instead. His eyelashes were long enough to allow even raindrops to rest.

"I love you, Euseniel."

He whispered softly and hugged my waist tightly.

My hand, which had been touching his silky hair, passed through his pretty ears and stretched out into the air. In the end, my arm rested on a hard shoulder, and the broad back.

The little boy of the same age, who was smaller than me, suddenly was one head bigger than me, and the small body I could hold in my arms was wide enough to hold me in his arms instead.

Actually, Tess's hair was not originally black. The same goes for his eyes.

The Northern Empire's imperial family's main line of descent is born with bright blonde hair and blue eyes for generations. No, they must have that appearance to qualify for the next Emperor's position.

"Tess."

"Yes?"

"How… Did you change your hair and eye color?"

The six-year-old boy who remained in my memory was saying with his whole body that he was a member of the imperial family. The kid with pure gold hair and blue eyes like sapphires was like the bright sun.

But he has now turned into a man who has sunk deep and dark, hugging me so tightly that my breath suffocated.

"You want to know?"

"Yes."

"If you want to know, you should marry me."

"It's fine then."

"Why, don't you want to know?"

Normally, he would have told me without me having to ask, but seeing that he keeps his mouth shut, it seems like it's a really big secret for Tess too.

"I want Euseniel to ask a lot of questions about me."

I had to run away right away.

"It's proof that Euseniel is interested in me."

When did I have to run away?

When my immature childhood friend asked me to marry him because he loved me? Or when I see him who has changed like this?

Or, at any moment.

"Aren't you curious why I changed my appearance like this?"

"I'm not curious."

Tess, who heard what I said with one ear, answered arbitrarily. There was a smile on his lips, as innocent as that of a child, yet trying to seduce the other.

"Because it's Euseniel's taste."

I couldn't say anything.

"Because I like you, Euseniel."

"There are many worlds in the universe. The worlds are separated from each other, so most of them are unaware of each other's existence, but very rarely, sometimes, there are those who cross the world... I know that."

So tell me how to travel back and forth between worlds.

This book was also a failure.

"Heave-ho."

I struggled to close the book the size of my body and looked up at the sky. This was a watchtower in the corner of our mansion- that's how it's named but I called it a small castle. I used it as a shelter today since this was the day the leech was coming, but I liked it quite a lot.

The unique coolness of the stone-built building, it was taller than the surroundings, and it felt as if you were close to the sky.

"If you cross that sky, will another world come out?"

Then it's a problem in it's way. Because there's no way to get through the atmosphere. Shall I read another book?

"Euseniel!"

I didn't hear anything.

"Gasp gasp, Euseniel! I'm here!"

Yes, I didn't hear anything.

"Hey Euseniel!"

But I had to lower my gaze from the book because of the bright blonde haired boy who flashed his greetings through the dark walls.

"… Hello, Crown Prince."

"No one is around!"

The boy whispered secretly, as if telling a very important story, and then I nodded.

"Hi, Tess."

When there were only the two of us, we should call each other's name and talk casually. This was my promise to him.

"Hehe. Hello Euseniel! I miss you!"

The boy, the Crown Prince of this country, Tessvalun, hugged me tight.

I failed to leave him out today.

Tess, unaware of my complicated feelings, muttered in a cute voice.

"Euseniel, I missed you. I missed you so much that I dreamed of Euseniel last night!"

Didn't we see each other yesterday too?

Tess pulled himself away from me and clasped his hands together and asked with twinkling eyes.

"It was really hard coming all the way here because I missed Euseniel. Euseniel, would you like to live with us?"

"No."

Your house is the Imperial Palace. If I, the only daughter of Duke Hardland, live in you, the Crown Prince's house, everyone will think that I am the future Empress. That's a no.

"Hngg… why? There are so many books that Euseniel likes in the Imperial Palace?"

… Well, it was a little tempting , but no.

"By the way, you came yesterday, why did you come again today?"

You said you would only come to my house three days a week. But if you count in today, it seems like the 5th day, oh God.

I knew the answer, but I asked just in case.

"I miss Euseniel!"

I knew it. Still, the twinkling boy with his blonde hair and blue eyes moved his shoulders more dazzlingly.

"Why don't you make friends other than me, Tess? You are the Crown Prince. A Crown Prince should know how to treat everyone equally."

"I don't know. I don't know!"

Tess hugged me tighter again.

"It hurts my eyes with other people."

… Did other people have more eyes and noses?

It's not the first time I've heard of this, so I've asked several times, but Tess never told me.

"My eyes hurt so much."

"… But you're saying it doesn't hurt to see me?"

"Yes!"

The child raised his head and smiled happily, revealing all of his teeth. I don't know why, but it's pretty hard to show hostility to someone who blindly trusts you.

In the end, I had no choice but to talk while stroking his fine blonde hair.

"Sit down, Tess. Should you be quiet while I read?"

"Yes! But can't you play with me for a little bit?"

The round eyes stared intently at me.

In my mind, the answer was already 'No,' but, as always, I was weak against Tess.

"Okay. I'll just read this book quickly."

I pointed to the thick book, and Tess smiled happily. So I grabbed one of the books I had piled up next to me, and Tess sat down next to me.

Maybe it's good to gaze at me from the side. I could pretend to not know the gaze, but I had to ask once in a while.

"Do you like looking at me that much?"

"Yes! I really like it. It's fascinating."

… What's fascinating about the number of eyes, nose and mouth that were properly adjusted?

"I really like Euseniel. So live with me. I heard from Father that I can marry a very nice person. Shall we get married?"

What on earth did His Majesty the Emperor say to this little boy?

"Tess, we are six years old. Marriage usually takes place beyond the age of adulthood. Do you understand?"

"Adulthood… Twenty? Oh my God!"

Tess, who was astonished and covered his mouth with his small hand, was pretty cute, but I held back my laughter. If I laughed here, Tess would say, 'Euseniel, do you like it? Let's live together!'. The probability of saying something like this would be 100 out of 100.

"Then, can't we get engaged before then? Engaged now and married later. Stamping that Euseniel and I belong to each other."

… I always thought, where did his vocabulary come from? He is only six years old now.

Tess' full name is Tessvalun Neussville. He was the only prince of the Empire, and he was more famous by his nickname.

'Coward'.

When he saw people, he would cry or run away with all his might and confined himself to the Crown Prince's Palace. A child of this age was unable to make the friendships that he should have, and was confined to the Imperial Palace.

Then it turned out that he did not cry when he saw me, so I was selected as the friend of the crybaby Prince.

"Uhh, Tess. No."

"Euseniel always says no!"

After all, there was a reason why I became the test subject.

The Northern Empire, where I was now, was a large country occupying half of a large continent. For reference, the country at the bottom was the Southern Empire, and in addition to it, there were several small principalities and kingdoms.

In the Northern Empire, there was the imperial family, which was the center of the Empire, and the four Grand Duchies, including the imperial family. All of them contributed to the founding of the country, and I, Euseniel, was the only daughter of the Hardland family among these four Grand Duchies.

I was famous even before I was born because of having a Duke father and an elf mother, and I became even more famous after birth.

The child who doesn't cry, Euseniel Hardland.

When you were born, you should cry, but instead of crying, I looked at my parents. Not only did I start to speak faster than my peers, I also excelled at learning.

Actually I remembered the moment I was born.

I tried to pretend I was a child, but I was rumored to be weird because of my calmness and my mental development much faster than my peers.

In a sense, Tess was also a strange child, so maybe the Emperor thought that I, another strange child, might be able to be his friend. So the Emperor gave me an access plate to the Imperial Palace and made me come to the Imperial Palace.

Since the first Emperor, the Imperial Palace has been shielded by the power of the Emperor from generation to generation. So, if you don't get an access plate with the Emperor's permission, you can't enter at all. Thanks to that, even thieves can't steal.

Anyway, the Emperor who invited me to the Imperial Palace like this and presented me to the apple of his eyes, and to his surprise, the Crown Prince....

Didn't cry.

"But Tess, why didn't you cry when you first saw me?"

"That-"

Tess smiled broadly, perhaps glad that I spoke to him, and grabbed my hand.

"Because it's Euseniel."

What, what kind of tone like talking about my destiny? In fact, it was a question that had already been asked hundreds of times, so I gave up Tess's hand and immersed myself in the book again.

After a while, my shoulders gradually get heavy. As expected, Tess leaned on my shoulder and fell asleep.

… Was it okay for a growing child to fall asleep anywhere, Tess?

"Sigh...."

If the child was left sitting on the cold floor for a long time, he would definitely catch a cold. I brought a cushion, so it was no problem, but this wasn't the case.

"You are disturbing me again today like this."

After carefully putting the book I was reading down on the floor, I pricked his white, puffy cheeks.

""Uh, ung…?"

"Get up, Tess, let's go to the main building to eat."

"Uhh...."

It was pretty cute to watch the angelic-looking kid chewing his mouth and raising his body. Pulling his messy hair over, I stood up.

Oh, my shoulder was numb.

"Let's go, Tess."

Tess, who looked at my outstretched hand, smiled softly and grabbed it.

"Yes!"

While eating, Tess made a bombshell declaration.

"Duchess, I will marry Euseniel."

The escort knight, Sir Guard, standing behind Tess raised his eyebrows slightly, but didn't say anything in return. There used to be a maid who followed Tess, but she secretly said to Tess that she didn't like me, so Tess sent her away.

"I heard that Euseniel has no intention of marrying the Crown Prince."

Mother answered without a change of expression on my behalf, and Tess dropped the tableware he was holding.

"Why? Why? Why doesn't Euseniel want to marry me all the time? Is the Duchess against me and Euseniel getting married?"

His teary form was not unusual, so I quickly said something.

"Are you going to cry, Your Highness?"

"Hiccup. No. I won't."

With tears in his blue eyes, and while sniffling, he winced when I said 'Your Highness'.

Yes, when there were other people besides the two of us, I should use his proper title. Because I didn't want to be arrested for blasphemy of the imperial family.

Tess hated his title being used.

Even now, he must have wanted to grunt because he hated it, but it was a little sad to see that he was not holding back and crying, so he wiped his tears with the napkin that he had placed on his lap.

Then Tess asked with his nose red.

"Euseniel, why don't you marry me?"

"It's because Your Highness is not my cup of tea."

"Are you talking about that?"

Tess, who had already asked me to marry him hundreds of times and got the same answer, listed my preferences one by one.

"A person who doesn't cry, who is taller than Euseniel, should be able to hug you and be smarter than Euseniel. A person who understands everything Euseniel is saying and can be a conversational partner, must use magic well even if he is not an archmage, and has a good body through regular exercise. The swordsmanship is also top-notch."

Nodding my head delightfully, Tess crunched his eyes and continued speaking.

"A person with dark black hair and dark eyes like the night sky. A person with soft double eyelids, and a pretty smile. Someone who looks very good in black."

"That's right, Your Highness."

As soon as I clapped as if he did a good job, Tess had tears again at the corners of his eyes that he had wiped thoroughly.

"But I don't have black hair...."

It was. The part that made Tess despair was none other than the appearance.

"Yes, so stop thinking about marrying me and have dinner."

In a respectful but rude tone.

Sir Guard didn't care, as always, and neither did my family. My exclusive handmaid, Mei, behind me would probably be restless.

"Euseniel, can you change your taste? To me."

"My taste is naturally good, and it is not something that can be changed."

"Can't you still love me?"

I turned away from his hazy eyes and spoke softly.

"Won't you eat, Your Highness?"

Tess began to focus on his meal as if he understood that it meant to stop talking nonsense and eat. The blue eyes seemed wet, but I couldn't accept everything.

"Because we ate, let's exercise!"

Tess, who had finished eating, ran to the training hall with strength, but that was the end of it. He collapsed on the floor and shouted loudly.

"My stomach hurts!"

Who told you to eat and run?

In the meantime, I changed into my sportswear and went past Tess and headed to the corner of the training hall.

"Welcome, Miss Euseniel."

The knights of the passing family gave some greetings, and I responded in accordance with the etiquette.

Because of that stupid Tess, I couldn't digest everything and came to exercise, so I could only do stretching. I have to run in the evening.

Exercise was as important to me as reading a book. After all, I was chased and killed by some freaking jerks in my previous life. I tried to run away, but I was caught and dragged away.

-My daughter…!

My accident happened in the middle of a big city, so I was quickly taken to the hospital because I was quickly discovered by people. My mom could see me too, but alas, I ended up closing my eyes in front of her.

-My daughter, what about my daughter? Don't leave Mom alone. Open your eyes, huh?

In my fading consciousness, the thing that pierced me until the end was a mournful, wet voice. Mom, whose nerves were weak and sensitive, suffered from all kinds of diseases.

Then she eventually fell ill.

I regretted that I died before Mom. It's my last memory to think that maybe Mom might just collapse as well.

I thought I was dead, I was quite surprised when I was able to open my eyes, but I was grateful that I had been reborn.

The first memory in this world was of a beautiful woman. My mother right now, Ciel. She rejoiced, saying to my father, Millen, 'a cute child has been born'.

Obviously I died, but I was born as a completely different baby.

At first I thought it was a dream and denied reality, but by the time I took a step, I decided to admit it.

A dream wouldn't be so vivid and unpredictable.

After acknowledging my rebirth, the goal I set was to find Mom.

This was possible because they acknowledged that there was another world out there. There must be a way to go to another world. I had to find it.

"Euseniel."

This means that there was no room to take care of the little boy who was whining next to me.

"Yes, Your Highness. I'm going to run."

I was just trying to stretch because I was afraid of a pain in my stomach, but I ended up running away from Tess who was approaching my side.

"Euseniel."

Then, little Tess gasped and started following me. This was a huge growth.

The movement I did to break off from Tess peacefully had now become a routine for Tess. At first, he collapsed before he even went halfway around this large training hall, but now he can run about one lap.

Of course, it was far from me, who started running here as soon as I started taking my steps.

After one lap, Tess was already sitting under the tree, looking at me.

"Euseniel, I have a scratch here. Blow it for me."

"If you're hurt, you should tell Sir Guard or someone else… !"

You damn prince, do you want to see who gets scolded? I was stunned, so I almost spoke rudely. I glanced at Sir Guard, but he didn't seem to mind.

What was important to me right now was to live like invisible dust. First of all, I was rumored to be a strange child, and I was the only daughter of the famous Hardland family, so I didn't know what to expect, but anyway!

It's just annoying to get involved in a troublesome thing for hurting the Crown Prince.

His knee was bruised and bleeding. Tess didn't budge when I told him to go to the main building, and in the end I had someone bring me a box containing items to treat the wounds.

"It will sting."

I wiped the area around the wound familiarly.

When I was applying the disinfectant, Tess clenched his hand and frowned. I put some medicine on the wound and even put gauze on it.

Up to this point, Tess kept his mouth shut as if in pain, so I stroked his head.

"Euseniel is kind."

"So suddenly?"

"You played with me, treated my wounds."

"That would be so with everyone. Well, it's done. Stand up."

I took Tess's hand and lifted him up.

"You were injured today, so go early and rest."

Tess grabbed my hand and limped, ignoring Sir Guard's offer to hold him. He wanted to hold my hand and walk.

Tess stood in front of the carriage and looked up at me. I was on the big side for a six-year-old, while Tess was on the small side for his age.

I opened my mouth to ask if he was going, but he spoke his words first.

"Euseniel is not nice to me just because I am the Crown Prince."

It was so close to a whisper that I couldn't hear it, so before I could ask what he had said, Tess hugged me.

And he kissed my cheek. I became sad that people around me were not surprised at how often he was like this.

"I like you, Euseniel."

Tess, who moved away as quickly as he approached, quickly got into the carriage. No, he was going to get on, but it was so high that Sir Guard put his hand around his armpit and put him inside the carriage.

"See you again, Euseniel."

The boy greeted me like that before the door closed.

Why did Tess like me so blindly? This kind of favor was unfamiliar, so it was difficult to cut it carelessly.

No matter how Tess was the Crown Prince, there was a way to prevent Hardland from coming to play. Our family was a powerful family, and other families did not like our family to monopolize the Crown Prince.

Using this, I was able to shake off Tess.

But he sometimes had a face so lonely that I doubted whether he was a child, so I couldn't bring myself to do it.