“Simply put, if it weren’t for Aunt Treya’s decision, I would have probably died outside long ago,” the girl said, scratching her head. She lifted the cloth covering the basket, carefully checked its contents, and then handed it to Treya.
“You… are the Fifth Prince’s… youngest daughter?”
“You recognize me, Treya?”
“Your hair color,” Treya replied faintly, pointing to the pale red hair of the child before her. Such a striking hair color was indeed rare among commoners. “The Fifth Prince also had this hair color before.”
“So, your royal family’s hair color is really only inherited from the mother’s side, one by one?”
“Because of the demons? If you consider the color of those infected by nightmares as transparent, then they can only be dyed by the other party’s color, can’t they?”
“You explaining the reason so seriously makes my complaint sound stupid.”
“I… I don’t quite understand,” the girl said, pulling a strand of her own hair and examining it carefully. “Anyway, I saw Aunt Treya on the street. I thought I was mistaken, but when I got closer, it really was you. That’s great.”
“Thank you. This bread was made by our family’s new bakery. Although it doesn’t quite match the taste from the palace before, I’m sure Aunt Treya would be willing to try a new flavor, right?” the girl said, handing the basket of bread over again.
Will glanced at Treya, then at the little girl before him. The girl’s pale red hair was messy and didn’t match her noble clothes. Treya had won the struggle within the royal family, so theoretically, she should…
“Why… do you thank me?”
“Eh? Because if it weren’t for Aunt Treya…”
“If it weren’t for me, you might still be living in the palace, seeing your father, and… your mother, and being a carefree little princess,” Treya said, her voice growing exceptionally cold, as if a barrage of icy words were being fired.
“Treya, you don’t need to explain to a child…”
“I do. They understand everything.”
It was at this moment, as Treya spoke, that Will sensed something was off about her. She wasn’t coldly calling the child “naive”… but rather seemed to be blaming herself. Come to think of it, before he came here, he hadn’t noticed any severe attacks or excessive erosion from the demons of Zero Demon City on her. Perhaps Treya had experienced something in the past few days that allowed the demons of Zero Demon City to find a loophole?
“If… if they didn’t understand, then they wouldn’t…” Treya trailed off, glancing at Will. As if afraid of Will’s concern, she stopped herself. What had Treya gone through before he arrived? After all, it was the royal palace; he didn’t know all the intelligence. But could it be that… intelligence that was difficult to obtain even from within the palace…
“Hmm? So, Aunt Treya, you think I don’t know anything?” The little girl reached out, tiptoed, and gently touched Treya’s cheek. She then pried open Treya’s clenched fist and placed the basket of bread into her hands.
“Hmm?”
“The Entak royal family has always faced endless internal strife. I don’t know why, but only one of the siblings ascends to the throne.” The girl’s eyes, similar to Treya’s, sparkled. Although she stated this cruel fact, her tone was light and carried the innocence of a child. “Even if my father won, I would still face such struggles. But…”
She tiptoed, as if determined to make Treya hear, and leaned closer, speaking, “Since Aunt Treya brought us back, it proves that… starting from this generation, Aunt Treya won’t let the Entak family’s internal conflicts repeat themselves. Although we can no longer be royalty, we don’t have to face a future where we might die without becoming king.”
The girl’s voice was clear, speaking profound truths with an underlying innocent charm. “I really like this bright world that Aunt Treya created.”
“…!” Treya, rarely distracted from her melancholy by anyone other than Will, looked up at her. Will felt… this girl indeed had something about her. She looked much younger than Treya had at the birthday banquet, but seemed more mature than she was then. Perhaps it was because, at her age, she had personally experienced a major coup within the royal family?
“I…” Treya seemed about to say something, but hesitated, the words catching in her throat. Will saw this and, taking the basket of bread for Treya, spoke, “Yes, I’ll promise you on Treya’s behalf, that won’t happen.” Will felt his timing was impeccable, and his smile was perfect for coaxing a child! However, the little girl’s previously cute and obedient expression turned into one of disdain and fear – “Who… who is this uncle?”
“How can I be considered an uncle at my age?! I’m still considered young!” This child was mature, but her maturity was also somewhat annoying! Will suddenly felt the urge to bicker with a child. He’d teach her a lesson! “Listen up. I am Treya’s fiancé, her most reliable strategist in the future, and the one who personally helped her reach this position…”
“Didn’t you die already?”
“Hey, you little girl, since you know that, aren’t you afraid?”
“What’s there to be afraid of? There are plenty of novel characters who are written as dying and coming back to life, and then dying again. You’re just one of them.”
“You…” Will realized that the most difficult aspect of a “precocious child” was… she was sensible in some ways, but her understanding of the world was still that of a “child.” Trying to reason with her like an adult wouldn’t work.
“Haha.”
“?” At that moment, Will looked at Treya in disbelief. She had actually chuckled.
“Alright. It’s getting late. I’ll accept this gift, and you should hurry home now, okay?”
“The capital’s nightlife is just beginning. Don’t worry, Aunt Treya—hey, speaking of which, since I call you Aunt Treya, calling you uncle is completely accurate, isn’t it?”
“Completely inaccurate.”
He wanted to argue further, but Will indeed didn’t want to be demoted in seniority by Treya for no reason. “Okay, okay. If children sleep past nine, they’ll be taken away by the witch Liya.”
“Th-there’s such a thing?! Then… then I’ll be going. Aunt Treya, if there’s another chance, please come see me again!”
The little girl, who had given Will a headache, finally left. Now it was time for Will’s headache… Had Treya possibly heard her say, “Didn’t you die already”? Would this break her…
“Will, before we go back, let’s see what kind of bread it is and sneakily eat it.” Treya curiously leaned in and carefully lifted the cover of the basket Will was carrying.
“That’s your first reaction…?”
“The palace has strict restrictions on my food. Although there are demon’s eyes, ordinary poisons can be detected at a glance. But the security department won’t allow me to eat anything else.” Treya crouched down, and as she did, the black stockings at her knees stretched thin, revealing faint scars from previous training.
“Okay. Let’s see, it’s not just freshly baked toast, but also a small box of fresh tomato sauce… It looks like enough for two people for dinner, and snacks won’t fill you up. After eating, go turn yourself in to the guards who are chasing you.”
“Mhm.” She nodded, then proceeded to slice the bread piece by piece. “Speaking of which, Treya… did something happen in the palace that I don’t know about?”
“……” Treya was silent for a moment, then quietly picked up a piece of bread without tomato sauce, hesitating whether to eat it or to speak.
“I see. You weren’t here at that time.”
“……?” Hearing this, Will felt a little relieved. At least Treya seemed to still believe he hadn’t “died” and was simply absent.
“I was assassinated.” Treya spoke with a calmness as if she were saying, “I had some delicious bread today.” After speaking, she actually rolled up the toast in her hand and put it in her mouth.
“Well… it’s not surprising. Was his body intact when he died? How many pieces did you cut him into?”
“That’s a question only Will would ask. He was just pierced through the heart, and blood sprayed everywhere… Was the body quite intact?”
“Mhm, quick and accurate—” Mid-sentence, Will felt this method of counterattack sounded familiar. “Did you treat him like a monster from the Dungeon?”
“But later I found out. He was… the Third Prince’s son. He said he wanted me to return his father…” Treya spoke while chewing. Will sensed a hint of sadness from her. So that was it, no wonder she had reacted so intensely to that girl who had almost the same identity and stance earlier. Meaning… Will looked at her, picked up a piece of toast from the basket, and twisted open the bottle of tomato sauce. Although bread with tomato sauce felt a bit strange, both smelled delicious individually.
“I’m thinking… have I already become the person I hate the most, or should I have admitted it long ago?” From her squatting position, Treya changed to sitting with her knees hugged, not caring if the ground was dirty. “Someone like me, who has become black and white, should also be… the one that can be abandoned at any time.” She suddenly seemed like a homeless girl, shedding the “nobility” of royalty and, of course, some of her aggressiveness as the Empress of Zero Demon City. Now she looked like a girl one would want to pity. However, Will didn’t want to pity her. Because he knew Treya well. She was different from others; what she needed least was pity. She was so strong and brave, needing only a little light to drive away the darkness.
“That’s where the second lesson comes in. Treya, after learning to let go, you need to learn… ‘greed’.” Will interrupted Treya, not letting her finish her self-reflection. Then, he calmly picked up the tomato sauce and toast. “I told you before, when you are not capable of having everything, you must, absolutely must choose… what you want most.” Treya was about to reach out, and by her nature, she would choose the most suitable bread that would fill her stomach and satisfy her hunger, but Will directly—violently poured the tomato sauce onto the toast.
The small jar of fresh tomato sauce was instantly emptied by him. “But. When you are already standing at the highest point… what you need is to be ‘greedy’ enough, ‘selfish’ enough, ‘self-serving’ enough… you need it all.” Will turned, shoved the entire piece of bread, still covered in a good amount of tomato sauce, into Treya’s open mouth.
“?!”
“Because you’re not greedy enough. You’ll feel that if you can’t control my thoughts, you can’t keep me by your side. But in reality, with your strength, you can completely win my heart, can’t you?”
“Because you’re not greedy enough. You fear the so-called ‘revenge’ of those children, and you feel you can never achieve the future they desire.”
“Because you’re not greedy enough. You are forced by these people to put more and more pressure on yourself, leading to this point.”
“Be greedy enough, insatiably greedy, desire everything—” “The whole world should be colored with this dream-like hue of mine, let it all belong to you.”
“Do you understand? This is not the end.”
“Not the end of your life, not the end of your beautiful dream, and certainly not the end of you and me.”
“……?” Treya held one end of the bread with her hand and devoured all the bread Will gave her as if she were gobbling. Looking at her expression, Will wasn’t sure if she had truly understood his words. “It seems, it seems I’ve said too much, anyway… what’s more important for you now is what you want to gain, rather than ‘what you need to lose’—no, it should have been like this from the beginning.” She hugged her knees, her fair elven face resting against the stockings that revealed a faint pink hue.
“What… to gain…” Treya’s eyes seemed to light up.
“Alright. It’s almost time to go back…” Will clapped his hands, still sticky with some bread oil. But…
“You haven’t eaten a single slice yet.” Gulp. Will’s stomach growled. After all, he was still mortal, not an illusion; he couldn’t fill his stomach just by imagining it.
“Then have a piece.” He still wanted to try the wonderful taste of fresh tomato sauce and toast, but… “Eh, there’s no tomato sauce left, uh… I wanted you to be greedy, but there’s none here…” While he was lamenting not being able to taste the tomato sauce, he suddenly felt his tie being grabbed by Treya and pulled forcefully towards her—
“Nnnh…?!” First, he felt something soft like it was trying to convey its scent, swirling around. Then… he felt… a faint sourness spread on his tongue, followed by a hint of sweetness. A slightly forceful kiss, yet with an exceptionally “pure” purpose.
“Tasted it? It tastes very good,” Treya said plainly, a faint blush visible under the light. It seemed she had indeed kissed Will just to let him taste the tomato sauce.
“What you want to gain…” Treya stood up, and because she had been kneeling to kiss Will, her stockings were a bit dusty. She brushed them off with her hand. “It must be something… that can be ‘shared’ with you.”
