345. Childhood Ep – Nangharang

Rev was crossing the palace following Eric’s lead.

Since there was no welcoming party, I thought it would take some time to meet the king, but for some reason, whether Eric used some trick or just got lucky, the meeting date was arranged immediately. However, due to restrictions on the accompanying persons, only Rev, the captain of the guard, was allowed to accompany him.

[ Achievement: First Entry into the Royal Palace – You will become stronger in the Royal Palace. ]

Clack, clack, as the prince’s footsteps echoed against the floor, Rev focused on his guard duty. The Opontis Royal Palace was structured quite differently from any palace he had ever seen, so he needed to stay alert.

First off, the Opontis Royal Palace wasn’t tall. Normally, the height of a palace symbolizes the king’s authority.

There were only a few three-story pavilions at most, but it was spread out so widely that crossing from one end of the palace to the other could take half a day.

Moreover, there were a lot of square rooms here. The corridors were even more numerous, so there were hardly any rooms that shared walls.

The compactly arranged rooms reminded him of a chessboard, some large enough to accommodate an entire battalion, while others were just big enough for a person to barely squeeze in. Generally, sliding doors were used, leading to dizzying crossways and rooms of various sizes.

Of course, dizziness is something only those who have yet to adapt might feel; objectively speaking, the Opontis Royal Palace was a marvelous blend of confinement and openness.

In many places, the square area where a room should be was wide open, allowing the sky to be seen above and the lower floors below. The corridor Rev was passing through was just like that, transforming from an enclosed corridor into a balcony with railings, revealing a lovely garden below that pleased the eyes.

A garden one floor below the palace.

This design was possible because the Opontis Royal Palace floated in mid-air. Of course, that doesn’t mean the building is levitating!

In other words, the first floor has very few walls, just lots of columns, giving the palace the feel of floating in midair. This was likely due to the climate.

Situated on damp land, it was built with an empty lower floor, making the second floor the first. After spending two days here, Rev found this structure quite unpleasant.

Down there, at the 0th floor.

Not underground, but not even qualifying as the first floor; this place was called ‘Nangharang.’

The term ‘nang’ has two meanings.

It can mean a corridor or a hallway. So, ‘Nangha’ can mean ‘a room built inside the door mainly for servants’ or ‘a passage created for movement within a building.’

Nangharang merged both meanings.

‘Nangha’ + ‘rang.’

It means ‘a hallway below the hallway’ and also ‘the lower room where servants reside.’ Rev frowned at the arrogance implied by this word.

His assigned room was on the first floor, but it had a terrace. It overlooked the Nangharang. The structures of the Opontis Palace allowed views of the Nangharang from basically anywhere in the building.

What bothered him was that the handmaidens, servants, and soldiers could be seen moving about in the Nangharang. Not only could he see them working, chatting, and living their lives, but he could also command them at any moment if they raised their voices.

There. “Don’t just stand around, go fetch me a glass of water.”

It wasn’t far, yet it wasn’t so close either—making it somewhat awkward for those below to look up while those above enjoyed the voyeuristic pleasure and sense of superiority.

Noticing this, Rev didn’t call for a handmaiden but went down himself to fetch a towel, fulfilling the etiquette expected of a commoner.

No kingdom treated commoners like this.

Hahaha… The soldiers and handmaidens beneath regarded Rev’s actions with curiosity, awkward smiles spreading across their faces, so accustomed they were to the structural disdain of the Aisel Kingdom and Opontis Palace.

At that moment, an attendant broke Rev’s chain of thoughts with a loud announcement.

“From the Conrad Kingdom, Prince Eric de Yeriel is here~”

After walking until his feet ached, they finally arrived at their destination. The area used by the Isadora Royal Family was located in the southwestern section of the Opontis Palace, which was somewhat distanced from where the guests stayed.

It was, in fact, a problem easily solved by taking a carriage to the Nangharang, but Prince Eric chose to walk instead. He was mindful of how he was perceived, whether others knew or not.

Then the door opened.

With a soft sliding sound as if enchanted, the enormous sliding doors opened smoothly, and when Eric and Rev crossed the threshold, it closed silently behind them. And…

[ Achievement: King 5/6 ]

One of the objectives for coming to the Aisel Kingdom was achieved. Rev thought he had easily accomplished this thanks to Lean’s help while surveying his surroundings.

He saw the king seated on his throne and the queen sitting gracefully half a step lower.

Along with them were Prince Vivian de Isadora, Concubine Aria de Isadora, and Prince Oscar de Isadora—all members of the royal family gathered today, as the main character, Princess Elika, sat patiently waiting for her future husband. Eric paused, suddenly stopping in his tracks.

Regardless, whatever feelings Eric may have harbored toward her, they were of no concern to Rev. Having achieved his objective, he was free to look around with new interest.

The seating arrangement was peculiar. The red wooden throne resembled both a multi-layered platform and a large dais with stairs.

King Alexander de Isadora sat at the highest point, followed by the royal family members in descending order of importance, with a half step or full step of distance between them. Among them, Rev spotted an unexpected figure.

Gilbert Forte. The only son of the Swordmaster and a notorious wastrel from the Belita Kingdom was here, looking rather glum.

‘Ah, right. He said he fled following Iina de Isadora.’

Lean mentioned that he hadn’t prevented Gilbert from kissing Princess Chloe. Trying to stop him would have been pointless.

However, if the result was Gilbert being sent to the Monastery Church, then the next instance might trouble Leah, so Lean had played a little trick beforehand.

He had told Prince Vivian, the outer cousin, and pinned the blame on Princess Chloe, so ultimately, Gilbert would have been recognized as a victim, allowing him to seek refuge here.

Yet, despite all that, Gilbert still wore a pale expression. It seemed that even after being sent to the Monastery Church, he felt some shred of guilt about his fondness for women.

Rev thought of dismissing it lightly, but…

– “Lena!”

– “Leo!”

At that moment, the bakery. A cloud of doughy flour smoke and dough-covered Leah, followed by the musty smell of the tiny room.

Even the view of her back, gazing blankly at the Monastery Church during sunset.

This was the first time Rev had seen Gilbert Forte in person. He’d only ever seen him through Lean’s eyes and remembered him by Lean’s memories.

So he forgot. How much he hated that guy.

A surge of old emotions welled up inside him. Just once, for revenge. Right. He had taken revenge on that guy. But I couldn’t do it myself.

Rev imagined tearing off Gilbert Forte’s head. Shoving both hands into his mouth and ripping his upper and lower jaws apart.

Even so, it didn’t satisfy him. Lean had killed him too indifferently. If it were me. If it had been me…

Rev turned his head.

If he kept staring any longer, he might truly go through with it, so he shifted his gaze elsewhere. Next to Gilbert Forte sat Princess Iina de Isadora, the king’s sister and Gilbert’s mother.

Though he had seen her before, she was a rare sight with glasses. And yet, as if she couldn’t see well, she squinted, wearing a thirsty expression… staring at me.

Without realizing it, Rev turned around.

“?”

No one was there.

That creepy lady must have confused me with Prince Eric. Then suddenly… Rev had a revelation.

‘That lady’s eye color. I’ve seen it somewhere before.’

A murky gray mixed with the color of dried leaves. When he concentrated, bubbles seemed to be forming in her pupils.

“Excuse me for interrupting, but Prince Eric, you need to introduce your companion as well.”

Rev snapped back to reality as he sensed everyone’s attention focusing on him.

He lost track of how long he had been immersed in thought and imagination, only to find that Eric had already seated himself before Princess Elika de Isadora, chatting and smiling with her mother, Concubine Aria de Isadora.

In the midst of it all, Prince Vivian de Isadora ruined the atmosphere by speaking up.

He was fixated on Rev as though it were impossible to misunderstand.

Only then did Eric introduce Rev.

“My apologies for being hasty. This is Sir Rev. He has safely escorted me here.”

“Yes. I was actually already aware. I received a message from my cousin Lean de Yeriel letting me know. Father, this is the knight I mentioned earlier.”

“…Hmm. But isn’t he a bit too young?”

Both the king and Prince Vivian seemed indifferent to Eric. This was a moment when the soon-to-be husband was meeting the daughter for the first time, yet…

It made sense as the factions had already clearly divided.

The faction centered around Concubine Aria de Isadora and Prince Oscar de Isadora was something to be excluded from the Isadora royal family, with Princess Elika being a looming burden for them.

The Gaidan House was trying to use her to cast a line to the Yeriel household.

From the perspective of the Isadora royal family, which had maintained friendships with the Yeriel household through marriages like that of Princess Ainass (mother of Lean and Reriana), this was shocking news.

Especially now, right before an all-out war with the Belita Kingdom. It seemed the Yeriel household had indeed decided to accept that invitation.

Hence, the arriving prince was Eric de Yeriel. The gazes upon him were hardly warm.

It was fortunate that the first heir, Prince Lean de Yeriel, had not come, but the king was quite worried that Vivian would be unable to ascend to the throne due to this incident. One piece of good news was that Lean de Yeriel was actively reaching out to Prince Vivian to build rapport…

‘To think that the knight sent by Lean would be such a feeble one… Should I contact my younger brother and ask what he’s up to? I don’t know what he’s plotting with my son.’

King Alexander quietly grumbled to himself, thinking of his younger sister who married long ago, Ainass de Yeriel. However, Prince Vivian, perhaps reassured by something, introduced Rev cheerfully.

“Please don’t judge this gentleman’s abilities based on appearances. Amazingly, he is the only one capable of going up against Count Hermann Forte.”

He was the one who had foreseen Princess Chloe de Tatalia’s unusual actions. Vivian would trust Lean’s words as if they could turn worthless metal into gold.

Vivian declared, “This gentleman will join the war to assist me,” and upon hearing her husband’s name, Princess Iina de Isadora looked at Rev with greater urgency.

And unrelated to this, Prince Eric de Yeriel seemed utterly smitten with Princess Elika. Rev briefly felt light-headed from the swirling information.

He realized that a tiny, barely perceptible thread of fate was asking something of him as this moment came to an end…