Side Story 1
Part 1
1
The Crown Prince’s private estate was the most peculiar place in all of Cythern Palace.
For one thing, there were no doors.
After passing through the main entrance, there was the audience chamber, and after passing through that, there really were no doors at all.
There were no thresholds, and aside from a minimal number of pillars and walls, it was simply empty.
There was no décor or furnishings of any kind.
A chandelier, some candlesticks sconces that hung on the wall, and some tapestries were all that adorned the rooms. What they all had in common was that they were completely unobtrusive to the walk space.
At the end of the empty hallway, there was a spacious, bright room with a glass ceiling.
There was a bed with no posts. The only things on the floor were fluffy pillows and seat cushions to make sure one wouldn’t get hurt if they fell, or so no one would stub their toe while walking.
However, for such an empty place, it also had the warmest and brightest atmosphere.
It always smelled sweet.
There was always a sweet smell in the air, partly from confectioneries and partly from the flowering trees that were planted wherever there was a window.
That’s why Idir always preferred to clean the private chambers of the annex more than any other place. Here, the lack of decorations made it easier to clean.
And most importantly, there was him,
The Duke of Elkiana.
Idir had often thought that the black-haired boy, humming a languid tune with his white cat in his arms in the sunshine that poured in through the ceiling, was the prettiest thing in Crateas Palace.
Even as her hands worked diligently at cleaning, her eyes often wandered to the Duke of Elkiana.
Her only regret was that he was usually blindfolded, but that too had its own advantages.
At least she wouldn’t be scolded if she happened to look at him without realizing it, or if she happened to be listening to him sing his songs.
Regardless, Idir was happy to be cleaning the private quarters again today.
A bell rang softly through the empty corridor.
It was the rule of the annex’s chambers. All servants and maids who came and went were required to wear bells at all times. It was for Duke Elkiana, who was blindfolded.
“Your Majesty¹ Elkiana…… No, sorry, Sir Radan.”
T/N 1
1. The book uses Hapha (閤下) Hapha is a title referring to the crown prince or Daewongun, but it is also referred to as a government official. Those who receive the title of Daewongun are collateral relatives or illegitimate relatives of the king.
As Idir walked toward the glass-ceilinged chamber, she called out to Duke Elkiana. The Duke, who smiled bashfully as though he were awkward in dealing with people, preferred to call me by his given name.
“‘Hello, this is Idir. I’m about to do some cleaning, do you mind?”
“Ah…… um. It’s all right.”
“Alright, then.”
Idir smiled and stepped inside.
She tilted her head, noticing a distinctive odor that was different from the usual.
It wasn’t sweet or pleasant, but rather a peculiar odor that caused her to feel uneasy.
“Sir Radan, is there something-“
And then Idir saw the Duke Elkiana clumsily clutching something.
It was the source of the smell.
“Aaaah!”
Idir shrieked in panic.
“Oh, this…….”
The Duke Elkiana hesitated and then turned around. As he approached, Idir let out an even more horrifying scream.
“Aaaaaaaah!!!”
The screams that reverberated throughout the annex’s chambers immediately attracted the royal guard.
“You Highness Elkiana, what’s amiss!”
When Idir saw the Royal Guards rushing toward her with their swords at the ready, her heart swooned and she fainted on the spot.
“…….”
Radan spoke to the guards who were looking at him in horror.
“Is this really something we have to throw away?”
If you’re reading this anywhere other than FoolishtranslationsS.wordpress.com, it was stolen from the translator’s website. Reading this anywhere other than the translator’s website ensures that the translator may never translate any other works. Thank you.
2
“Would you please put that down first?”
“This?”
“Yes, yes, that thing!”
Radan pursed his lips.
Actually, he had a vague idea of what it was. It was slimy, sticky, and cold. It also smelled of blood.
It was a dead snake, with a long and slimy, rattling neck.
“If I put it down, you’ll throw it away.”
“Of course! But where did you get the snake, and why are you carrying it around……!”
“Because it was…….”
Hedel had brought it to him that morning.
Instead of waking him up with a gentle nuzzle, he² nudged him in his face with his front paw, and when he opened his eyes, Hedel dropped the dead snake right next to Radan’s pillow.
T/N 2
Cat gender: OK, don’t hate me but I didn’t really like the story past the second half of book 2, so I only glanced past the side stories. The book hasn’t mentioned gender that I remember and Korean doesn’t really use gender-specific personal pronouns. So, the cat could be female.
There was nothing pleasant about the smell or the feel of it, but Radan figured there had to be a reason why Hedel had bitten it.
And so, while he was still clutching it, Idir and the guards had arrived.
“There must be a reason.”
Radan sighed low, and Karum turned serious.
The security of the private chambers, like that of Leshak’s bedchamber, was checked by the twelve Guardian Knights on a rotating basis. It was his turn now, so he was the first to come running.
“My Lord.”
“Yes, Sir Siyed.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, have your old tastes returned?”
Radan, who didn’t understand what that meant, blinked behind his blindfold.
“……?”
“No, of course not, I didn’t think so, but I wanted to ask just in case. Did you catch it yourself?”
“No. Hedel brought it to me.”
“Hedel?”
Karum’s complexion turned the color of burnt oat porridge.
“You men, go and find His Highness’s cat. Examine it for any bowel movements, and if you see any abnormalities, tell the doctor at once.”
“What, Sir Siyed?”
Radan asked in surprise.
“What do you mean, bowel movement?”
“A snake cannot enter this annex for no apparent reason, My Lord.”
Radan didn’t know this, but there had been a time in the past when an anti-Crown Prince faction in Crateas Palace had attempted to assassinate the Crown Prince using snakes.
It was a long time ago and Karum was not sure of the date, but there was a reason this was not something that could be taken lightly.
“I’ll send a message to His Majesty as well. For the time being, do not leave your villa and stay in these rooms. I will double the number of guards.”
It was at this point that the unconscious Idir awoke, her face as white as paper.
“Uh, please, get her some water.”
Radan pointed to the bedside table.
“There’s a pitcher of water over there.”
“No, not that one.”
Idir managed to utter despite gasping for breath.
“Not the one for drinking, but the one for His Highness to wash his hands with. Someone please get it to him quickly.”
“…….”
Karum looked at Radan’s hands which were soiled with blood from the snake.
His thoughts were mixed up, but he too was disgusted to see Radan in such a state.
The atmosphere in the Crown Prince’s Palace had changed considerably since Radan’s arrival.
In a way, Leshak, who had never before smiled, who now smiled with only the upper part of his face unchanged and only his lips stretched to form a silent laugh, was more frightening than amusing, but people often laughed anyway.
It was most often when Radan would sneak him some sweets from that evening’s leftovers, or when he would make cat noises with a serious face claiming he was going to learn Hedel’s language, and everyone understood why because they too would welcome such things with eager anticipation.
The sweets were delicious, but they were not that difficult to get a hold of, and the cat noises made by a small man who knew so much about linguistics made everyone feel privileged, as though they were being treated to something very rare.
Maybe it’s because Radan himself was a special person.
There was something about him that was otherworldly.
There was an innocence about it that was beyond understanding, a purity that seemed to have no shadows, and a feeling that he was not a regular human, but something else that resembled a human in appearance, something ephemeral that was temporarily inhabiting the world of humans.
So the Crown Prince kept watching him.
Fascinating, unsettling, and endearing.
He wanted to be as nice as he could, and it seemed as though he should be.
He was worried that he might grow tired of the human world and move on.
But most of all, it made him feel good to look at him.
He looked even more unreal if he happened to stop mimicking and started singing.
So in short, Duke Elkiana was Crown Prince Leshak’s sweetheart, and they got along so well that no one could deny it, so everyone in the palace was in love with him as well.
“Quickly!”
Idir exclaimed.
A guard ran to fetch water, and Idir yelled at him to bring rose-scented soap and a towel as well.
“Give that to me.”
Karum held out his hand to Radan.
He needed to make sure it was not a venomous snake. Radan reluctantly handed over the snake, and Idir quickly came over and washed Radan’s hands.
“Please, don’t touch anything like this in the future, and if you notice anything strange, call me, Sir Radan. Do you understand?”
“But it was given to me by Hedel……,” he said.
“Oh, really. Don’t tell me it gave you such a thing. It was given to you by an animal who cannot speak, and if Hedel’s is so dear to you, why on earth would it give you such a thing…… ahhhh!”
Suddenly, Idir screamed.
Hedel, who had approached without a sound, clawed at Idir’s ankle with his front claws.
“Hedel!”
Idir shouted, and just as Karum turned his head, he stretched out his legs.
“Hedel, come here!”
Meooooowww.
Hedel flew up to the window sill, light as a cloud.
“Hey, stop!”
Hedel sneered at the human who was desperately chasing after him and leapt out of the window.
“Get him!”
And then there was an uproar.
If you’re reading this anywhere other than FoolishtranslationsS.wordpress.com, it was stolen from the translator’s website. Reading this anywhere other than the translator’s website ensures that the translator may never translate any other works. Thank you.
3
Bang!
“What the hell were you guys doing!?”
Not surprisingly, the Crown Prince was furious.
“A snake in the annex” should have been preceded by, “Hedel picked it up from somewhere.” Instead, in Leshak’s mind, it morphed into, “There was an assassination attempt.”
Abadd, Sidris, and Karum each made a separate grim expression as they realized that it could not be helped.
Leshak held Radan to a very high standard for anything that involved his personal safety, a standard that had grown so high that the word obsessive was now a good way to describe it.
“How come you didn’t even realize there was an assassin in the villa!”
Abadd had never regretted being the Crown Prince’s chief Knight as much as he did this very day.
No mere mortal should be Prince Leshak’s head Knight. He should have given way to ‘the Bear’ long ago.
“I apologize, Your Majesty, but it’s not as though there was an assassin……,” he said.
Bang!
“That’s what you have to say!?”
” ……We have no proof, but we’ll work on that assumption as best we can. Rest assured, we’ll find the assassin.”
“Damn it!”
Leshak sank back in his chair.
“An assassin.”
The words drew a strange look from the others.
Knowing that Radan had once been the most notorious assassin on the continent, it was difficult for them to resist stifling a cough.
Of course, Radan had no reason left to be an assassin again, but still, if an assassin were to attempt an to kill him, that assassin would have to be better than ‘the Unknown Assassin’.
And it was the opinion of the Guardian Knights that searching the entire continent for such an assassin would be futile.
“Could it the Duke of Ireton?”
Sidris chose his words carefully.
“……I haven’t determined that yet, Your Majesty.”
The Duke of Ireton, who had served as Regent while the Crown Prince led the Seven Years’ War, had stepped down as Regent at its conclusion.
It would have been tempting for him to turn against the Crown Prince given the euphoria of Imperial power.
“Could it be the Chamberlain?”
The Guardian Knights shook their heads in unison.
Such a suspicion was absurd, given the chamberlain’s constant smirk as he spied Radan singing.
“I don’t think so, Sir.”
“Yes, he’s always been loyal to the Imperial Family, but he was always nagging me to get married too.”
Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t impossible.
“Hmm……but after His Highness Duke Elkiana came to the villa, didn’t he stop nagging you?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he’s trying something else.”
“Ummm…….”
In short, Leshak’s theory was that everyone could be an enemy.
The greater the power, the more people who would covet it.
Crown Prince Leshak did not stand at the apex of his Empire without a struggle. In his seven years on the battlefield, there had been more assassination attempts than he could count on his fingers, and it was not as though none of them had been sent by the Empire.
“Aside from the search for the assassin, I want you to conduct surveillance on any suspects, and post daily reports for the time being.”
However, despite all the possibilities, Leshak couldn’t help but feel that he was overreacting.
Why should a small, non-venomous water snake in a private room of the Crown Prince’s Palace, picked up by a pet cat, warrant unrestricted surveillance of the most important people in the Empire?
Abadd swallowed a silent sigh.
“……Yes, Your Majesty.”
Leshak dropped the Crown Prince’s seal he’d been diligently stamping on a mountain of papers and stood up.
“I must go to Radan.”
He wondered why he had not told him.
“Of course, Your Majesty.”
Karum had to gasp a little as Leshak’s pace toward the annex was much faster than usual.
If you’re reading this anywhere other than FoolishtranslationsS.wordpress.com, it was stolen from the translator’s website. Reading this anywhere other than the translator’s website ensures that the translator may never translate any other works. Thank you.
- 1. The book uses Hapha (閤下) Hapha is a title referring to the crown prince or Daewongun, but it is also referred to as a government official. Representatively, there is a record that Heungseon Daewongun in the late Joseon Dynasty was called ‘Daewonwi Hapha’. Those who receive the title of Daewongun are collateral relatives or illegitimate relatives of the king.
- 2. Cat gender: OK, don’t hate me but I didn’t really like the story past the second half of book 2, so I only glanced past the side stories. The book hasn’t mentioned gender that I remember and Korean doesn’t really use gender-specific personal pronouns. So, the cat could be female.
Foolish Translations 
What! You decided to do side stories! I’m so excited for Radan and Leshak’s come back.
Thank you so much!
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Thanks for taking the time to read it 🙂
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