"...."
Calyx Ascard sat in the carriage returning to his homeland, eyes closed in thought.
He too felt the lingering traces of parting. However, they would meet again in a few years anyway, in the Glorious Dragon Subjugation Force.
In truth, something else weighed more heavily on his mind.
It was strange no matter how he looked at it.
'What on earth was that dream?'
Last night, Calyx had a strange dream.
It was vivid, as if it were reality rather than a dream. It was that day.
The day he first met Leo, the Crown Prince of Auraria. It was also the first time in his life he had been carried on someone's back.
But in the dream, that child did not appear.
He was alone in the mountains, and a wolf suddenly appeared and lunged at him. Though he managed to subdue the wolf, in the process....
He lost one arm.
Though it was clearly a dream, the pain was so vivid it felt like something that had actually happened.
After that, a sorcerer appeared amidst the sand and imprisoned him somewhere.
When he came to his senses, it was morning, and he had been discovered by the priests. He also saw Griffith with a shocked face.
But that child was not there. That child, small and tiny compared to himself, who had carried him up and down the mountain despite meeting him for the first time.
He had never once thought he would grow close to anyone, yet that child had given him four friends.
"...."
A strange one.
Calyx thought of Crown Prince Leo, who had been hovering around him for days before he left for his homeland.
A few days ago, Leo had even thrust that small face right in front of his nose.
Leo grabbed both of Calyx's cheeks and said:
"Remember my face clearly, Calyx."
"What, what are you doing! Are you crazy?"
"Look properly, you bastard!"
Calyx blinked in bewilderment. A pale, small face. Pretty light green eyes, a pretty nose, and pink lips were visible.
Leo was unusually pretty for a man.
The others also had refined appearances, but perhaps because Leo was small and delicate in build, that impression felt even stronger.
"I saw you, so what?"
Even after he said that, Leo didn't leave his side.
So he asked jokingly:
"What the hell are you trying to do? Are my eyes that pretty?"
Was he trying to seduce him? Calyx pushed away the clingy Leo.
However, Leo gave an unexpected answer.
"Yes, they're pretty. Your eyes are really pretty. They're pretty now, but they'll be even prettier later."
"What... are, are you crazy?"
It was enough to make him wonder if Leo had eaten something wrong. But Leo casually patted his head and walked away.
Remembering that moment, a strange feeling came over him.
And perhaps because of the dream he had yesterday, an absurd thought occurred to him—that maybe thanks to Leo, this arm of his was still intact.
'What kind of dream was that?'
Calyx looked out the window with a peculiar expression.
In his homeland, there were his uncle and aunt who were desperate to drive him out, and their children.
They wanted to push him aside since he had rights to succession.
'I'll leave on my own two feet.'
He had no desire to become royalty anyway.
When he told them he would leave the imperial palace and become a mercenary upon returning to his homeland, the four of them were dumbfounded.
All of them were opposed, but Leo alone had a different reaction.
"Calyx, you're going to be a mercenary? Good thinking! You'll become a more outstanding mercenary than anyone!"
Perhaps thanks to those words.
In the past, he would have felt some fear, but for some reason, he felt none at all.
Not his uncle who wanted to kill him, not his aunt, nor their children.
Now there was no need to fear any of it.
Because if it was for his sake, there was that guy who would carry him on his back and walk endlessly through the dark mountains on a pitch-black night, along with the others.
'And that stupid doll is there too.'
Calyx smiled as he thought of the small rabbit doll that would be in his bag. It was his first time in his life. Owning a doll.
Calyx gave a small smile and looked out the carriage window. The sun was rising.
02. The Ten-Year-Old's Rabbit Doll
She had returned.
"It's just the same..."
Lellia looked up at the small tower, seized by a strange feeling. This was where she had spent her short entire life until three years ago.
The tower had a very narrow area. Up to the second floor, it was the size of an ordinary cabin, and above that, a spiral staircase led to the top.
However, the door leading upward had been locked since long ago. She had never gone up, but it probably boasted quite a beautiful view.
Originally, this tower was said to have been built long ago by someone among the royalty to observe the stars.
However, one could easily see the stars without going very high. This was the only place in the middle of the forest without trees, so the sky was directly visible.
When she was young, she once thought it would be nice if she could eat the stars filling the sky, looking as if they might pour down.
'Anyway... it seems no one has maintained it.'
Weeds were growing abundantly around the small tower. The inside would probably be even more terrible.
'I should start by cleaning.'
Lellia kicked the door open and went inside with energy.
"Ugh."
As expected, the inside was a den of dust. First opening the windows, Lellia moved diligently.
She dusted, swept, wiped, and drew water from the well using a hand pump.
The old bedding was washed clean and hung in the sunlight. After climbing a ladder to hang it, water dripped steadily from the bedding.
It seemed it would need to hang for a full day to dry.
'I guess I'll have to sleep without bedding today.'
A ten-year-old girl busily ran here and there around the tower.
After a while. Lellia wiped the sweat from her forehead and let out a sigh.
When she finished cleaning, a sense of accomplishment washed over her. This much could be said to be even cleaner than when she used to live here.
Perhaps because she had grown taller and stronger during her time at the temple, cleaning was easier too.
For Lellia, this place was the home she returned to, her hometown, and the sanctuary where she would have to live from now on.
'Until I go into exile, that is.'
From her earliest memories, Lellia had lived here.
Probably until Princess Iris was alive, Lellia too had lived as an ordinary royal. However, that changed after Princess Iris died and the rebellion broke out.
The people of the imperial palace were largely replaced and died, and the current Emperor Laidios had no interest whatsoever in his niece Lellia.
Emperor Laidios decided to completely renovate the building where the deceased princess had lived and turn it into a villa for the Empress.
In the process, Lellia and her nanny were driven out to the small tower. After that, she continued to live here.
Then one day, the nanny who had been looking after her suddenly disappeared without a trace.
After that, maids occasionally came by to bring her meals. However, the maids too had little interest in Lellia, so most days she went hungry.
It was a life no different from an abandoned dog wandering the streets.
Still, Lellia felt relieved by the fact that she had a home she could return to.