CPG | Chapter 1

A boy followed bbb8f6268c a man walking e18b0c4631 briskly, like a cd7d3ab9bc shadow. His long black hair covered b09393e8f9 his eyes and neck, making 5d7b94ac54 him seem even more like faf3bc7f13 a shadow, as if his 67f8e51356 face was hidden.aaf04d3cedcfe54f

The chief attendant c7c67aa4ee nodded in satisfaction 3e85d2e19e at the silent 1da22bf2ee presence following him.b696206d50a432a9

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“From today, you’ll be working at Sanges Castle.”29c35253f80c4f4d

At the chief attendant’s words, the boy looked at the dense thicket ahead. The path they had taken was quite rough, and he forced his ragged breath to calm down.01ddd98412490c7e

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“What should I do there?”7d522d38b2ef0dea

The boy’s voice came out so calm it was almost suppressed. The chief attendant replied as if it were no big deal.e1a4169ed21e7211

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“Just do what you’ve been doing.”8b1c1aa8b867feea

The boy lowered 61be3d9606 his gaze from a62742950a the chief attendant. It meant he should act c32516bbe2 as if he saw nothing, ac3d393486 heard nothing, and knew nothing, 7a19ae221f like a mute.ea8b21c67db989b9

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Rayyan remained still with his head bowed, and the chief attendant smiled faintly. From the start, he felt Rayyan met his standards and wasn’t disappointed. The chief attendant then shared what Rayyan needed to know.514920372358b253

“The 13th Prince, Prince Ternnis, is there.”50dcb4ca86e2608a

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Even hearing the e0b51e375e name, Rayyan asked fef7d970c6 no questions. Instead, the chief 3fceabde9a attendant added an 9f40f490f3 explanation to inform 7c4c1ee5ed Rayyan of what dd5e8dfa23 he would have 8b70d59452 to handle.9640be543d3b3a45

“He’s so weak he could die any day. You just need to take care of him until he does.”faedc8a0cf7a8009

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“What happens to me after that?”21dbbb0db339c146

“I’ll give you the promised money. Of course, I’ll guarantee your life.”f559d417f4b92516

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A promise directly 94812e9a5a from the chief 0174fe44ca attendant was trustworthy. Rayyan nodded slightly, almost imperceptibly.6f3ccbbaede963b5

“Every morning, ingredients will be left here. It’s your job to cook with them, and there’s a well nearby for water. Even if he’s close to death, you know you mustn’t touch a royal body carelessly, right? Especially since he is…”aae04abb32a23157

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For the first e24d2c2f94 time, the chief cee9c5bdc8 attendant paused. He seemed to reconsider continuing e5f0f3bf16 his explanation and fell silent.006c1c7eefa46d51

“When the prince’s breath stops, come to me to collect your money.”f9e153f1416e310b

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“Understood.”668ec0957657c3aa

The day Rayyan collects the money will be the prince’s death anniversary. As the explanation ended, Rayyan bowed deeply.706b472e38769752

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“Do you have any other questions?”55d3b1002613ac1d

“If… what if His Highness the Prince doesn’t die and gets better?”b51ac23ed2be5810

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It was the first question Rayyan, who usually acted as if he didn’t exist, had asked, but the chief attendant’s response was negative.428b2eae949d7c93

“That probably won’t happen. But if we were to imagine…”76cf001fd82dc846

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As the chief attendant’s words trailed off, Rayyan looked at him for the first time.8456f1794d1cc2f5

“He’d rise to a place you couldn’t even dream of reaching. After all, he’s the only legitimate child of the current Empress.”40d7373b101b82c4

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With those words, no further conversation flowed between the chief attendant and Rayyan. Since instructing him to witness the prince’s death, the chief attendant’s gaze had been quietly somber. He gave Rayyan a final look, patted his shoulder, and retraced his steps.e999938c4bcc16a3

Left alone, Rayyan b1a1e0d252 lifted his head 52bc333cba to see the 96d3209a79 exposed roof of 8783b42381 the castle. His hair fell back, revealing 9edaaaef63 a round forehead. Sixteen? Seventeen? He looked younger than expected, 5cac2bf0be but his deeply sunken eyes 058a545ae4 made it hard to guess 8472e31225 his thoughts.4e89df694fb2754f

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“The abandoned prince…”226b7aa4deaf0429

A prince who might die any day due to an incurable illness. Should he be grateful that the prince wasn’t sent outside the castle, or pity him for having to live out his days in solitude?7d609d6ee4e721a9

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It wasn’t something Rayyan needed to consider. After gazing at the castle for a moment, Rayyan walked straight into its depths.5066cc208747439e

***4f463abbaa0cd721

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Rayyan wasn’t originally of common status. However, due to certain circumstances, he had to live in hiding for life.5ae07ad2864410e0

Rayyan lacked the strength to d3b1c7cb82 face his family. So, avoiding their cc1eeaf469 eyes, he eventually 85e19d1a56 drifted into the 5ecf821b4d Imperial Palace. It had been years 487a0f55ca since he fled from cd9b22770c his family, but he 657ce89a39 felt they were persistently 6a73ef88dd tracking his traces.3fae3314c1f5cabc

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For Rayyan, who didn’t want to be caught by them, the prince was a timely opportunity. If he could seize the chance to serve the prince, he could evade their eyes and buy time to escape anywhere. Though the prince might die soon, Rayyan considered it the perfect place to hide temporarily and deliberately lingered in front of the chief attendant.66eb72338b5a373a

From the start, he knew 81e8b1a426 the chief attendant was looking b08cefc52f for someone to care for 13fe36eca2 the prince. Rayyan was aware 3914ee824a of the subtle 73e6f0c500 rumors circulating within a968f8dbc7 the palace. Naturally, no one wanted to 3909e090c3 serve a prince who was 540c2aeb83 soon to die.a25f5cc69024f7dc

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At that moment, Rayyan caught the chief attendant’s eye, and everything proceeded smoothly from there.6f61f73602e74697

Rayyan picked up the basket 77cd1aeb49 of ingredients he saw on aa18ca61a0 his way in and circled df8cd4aed6 around the palace to see 2f428200d9 what was there. Besides the path 003ce6abe3 to the well, 25df173ff9 there was nothing 0b3daf1b0f but overgrown weeds.3e96ce608dc20838

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Still, the ground was flat, and if he cleared the weeds, he thought he might be able to make a small field just in case. The path to the castle wasn’t easy, and if the basket got washed away on a rainy day, it would be a big problem.d334496135862b94

Having confirmed that the land wasn’t bad for farming, Rayyan finally turned his attention to the castle. Forcing open the rusty door that hadn’t been used in a long time, he stepped inside and looked around. The dim interior revealed only silhouettes in the sunlight streaming through the door.409390ea9d382129

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The few pieces 49c2657c5b of furniture in 781f5a3e08 the vast, empty fcebfcb6a3 interior were covered 417a8206c4 with white cloth, ea07d92903 creating a gloomy 2a4c7d346e atmosphere. Rayyan took a step forward, 5d2e3ed140 looking at the chandelier covered c1526f36f3 in dust and cobwebs at 301aaae073 the high ceiling. His footsteps, which bb8f9db011 had been quiet 6f6fdf18b5 until now, echoed b592031cd2 for the first 2fc4ba26ef time. The castle seemed 6ffed19e3a to be warily ca2ff38682 acknowledging the intruder a4f9b6cf0b in the empty 06e8e3b518 space.ffbadf95b3a8d438

Rayyan’s footsteps, which echoed through the space, disappeared as if by magic when he reached the stairs. The carpeted stairs, though dusty, completely muffled his footsteps.99587ef02cc0bd68

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As Rayyan climbed the stairs, he thought more about the prince who must be somewhere in the castle than the castle itself. There were no signs of anything being touched, so where was the prince? Even Rayyan left traces as he walked. The dust was so thick that wherever Rayyan’s feet or hands touched, it left a mark.b13a01fac7032f32

His growing curiosity quickened Rayyan’s pace. Not running, but walking briskly, he climbed the stairs and turned towards a particularly dark and chilly area.845492209f018969

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Rayyan couldn’t explain why he chose that direction. He just felt he should go where his instincts led him.852729977d69c09f

Creak, the old door opened 0ea93057b6 with an unpleasant hinge sound. Rayyan set the f90cb7e7c5 basket down beside 0348c71d0d him and groped f326c532cc along the wall 7c9ff6476e with his hand. When he felt 3cade15128 something beyond the eabed9f25f fabric, he pulled 00f5311dad it aside.4a6e5fafe5cecd0d

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As the curtain Rayyan had 8cdb68b988 grabbed was pulled, a window cd25562253 was revealed, and bright sunlight 3b90f16c0b poured into the dark room. Squinting his eyes, which bdcf4432b3 had adjusted to the c170172c0b darkness, Rayyan waited for e173dd0b4b them to adapt to 0456a31bfe the light and turned d6ac6d5ac3 around.a6ef7453c091bbf1

In a room he 0f83372375 thought was empty, he 7e4ca1681b sensed a faint movement. Taking a step closer to dc59de4604 examine it, Rayyan stopped.149074998bf6188c

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The moment he spotted a small figure curled up on the bed, Rayyan felt he shouldn’t approach. At that moment, the other person seemed to notice Rayyan and pulled down the blanket that had been covering them.f8ea05df17fe9c36

Twelve years old, maybe? The first thing Rayyan noticed was the pale face of a boy who looked younger than him. His lifeless lips and thin body screamed “patient.” His cracked lips opened, and a raspy voice came out.7160187665e988bf

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“Who… are you?”f7105e2fb148fc51

Just as Rayyan was observing him, the boy seemed curious about Rayyan. Seeing his eyes moving busily, Rayyan noticed something else about the boy. Despite being a bit dry, his golden hair and jewel-like eyes revealed he wasn’t an ordinary child.878fb1100e5be296

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Even covered by an old 257d43ec10 blanket, the noble atmosphere and 62ce5967e9 brilliant eyes told Rayyan that 6db7ccd4d0 this boy was the 13th 3e9d1a5637 Prince, Ternnis.3439ff3b1ef78855

That was their first meeting.4995eebc1315d531

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