GDT | Chapter 1.3

Glancing at Ruberteo, Yurkia saw his hands had turned red from the cold and stood up.

“If you stand here any longer, you’ll turn into a snowman.”

“……”

“Would you like some cocoa now? I’m actually hungry myself.”

Yurkia asked, but still got no reply. But he did notice that Ruberteo’s eyes shifted ever so slightly in his direction.

“Let’s ask for some. Want to pull the bell cord together? If you don’t want to, that’s fine too.”

At Yurkia’s words, Ruberteo moved. Unfortunately, not toward the bed where the bell cord was. He tossed the blanket aside and sat down on the sofa.

Yurkia, seeing him turn his back completely, didn’t try to talk to him anymore and left the room instead of pulling the bell cord.

Even with the door firmly shut, Ruberteo just stared at the blazing fire in front of the sofa. Who knows how much time passed—Ruberteo’s ears perked up at the sound of someone approaching.

“Oh, you’re still awake!”

It was Yurkia. He approached carefully and sat next to Ruberteo.

“I got scolded for sneaking this in! Actually, Madam told me not to snack before meals, but… how could I not?”

It’s not good to be so strict from a young age. You’ll just end up eating a ton when you grow up! Saying that, Yurkia handed Ruberteo a mug of hot cocoa.

Seeing the small hands wrap around the mug, Yurkia smiled and picked up his own mug.

“Try it. I think you’ll like it.”

Yurkia didn’t expect to win the boy over with just a cup of cocoa. He just wanted to show him the warmth you feel after facing a freezing wind.

Ruberteo touched his tongue to the hot cocoa, then flinched and scrunched up his eyes. Noticing the tiny change, Yurkia said,

“You’ll burn your tongue like that. It’s better to blow on it like this—hooo—before you drink.”

Yurkia demonstrated, blowing on his own mug. Instead of copying, the boy just wrinkled his nose. They said he was found with wolves. Maybe some habits stuck with him.

“Should I do it for you?”

Yurkia leaned in toward the mug in the child’s hands. His loosely tied hair slipped forward, and the firelight cast a glow on his face. The boy stared blankly, and Yurkia pursed his lips and gently blew away the steam.

“If you blow on it like this, it’ll be easier to drink.”

A few more times, Yurkia blew on Ruberteo’s cocoa, cooling it down, then nudged the bottom of the mug with his fingertips as if to say, “Try it now.”

“……”

A tiny tongue peeked out, touched the sweet cocoa, then quickly retreated. It was a defensive move, afraid of getting burned again. But the cooled cocoa wasn’t hot, and the lingering sweetness made Ruberteo stick his tongue out again.

“Young master, could you look at me for a second?”

At Yurkia’s call, Ruberteo, who’d been sipping noisily, looked up. His gaze followed the slowly tilting mug and even Yurkia’s Adam’s apple as he swallowed. Ruberteo watched every move, mouth slightly open in a daze.

“If you drink it like this, you can have a little more. What do you think?”

To show him again, Yurkia took another sip, and after a moment, seeing Ruberteo tilt his mug, he grinned.

The way he gulped it down was just too adorable. The cocoa brought color to the boy’s cheeks. Maybe it was just the firelight, but Yurkia didn’t care. For now, he just wanted to praise the boy for managing it.

“Well done! You didn’t spill a drop—amazing!”

Yurkia praised him like he’d done something huge. Of course, Ruberteo didn’t react, just kept drinking his cocoa.

“Oh, did you finish?”

Seeing Ruberteo fiddling with the empty mug, Yurkia stood up and reached out his hand.

“It’s late, so you should wash up and get some sleep. Lessons will start tomorrow!”

Ruberteo looked at Yurkia, who was holding his hand. He waited for Ruberteo to get up on his own. Remembering someone he’d seen not long ago, Ruberteo got down from the sofa, and together they headed to the bathroom.

“Phew—”

After quite some time, Yurkia only returned to his room in the late hours of the night, having stayed by Ruberteo’s side until he fell asleep after washing up.

“Ugh… I want to sleep right away, but…”

But I can’t… he muttered softly, dragging his tired body as he pulled out his notebook. Skipping over Madam Ireunoa’s warnings, he opened a blank page and picked up his short pencil.

Scratch, scratch—the sound of pencil on paper. As Yurkia wrote down the day’s events, he pressed his aching brow with a sigh. Only after filling three more pages did he finally put down the pencil and run a dry hand over his face.

“It might not be as hard as I thought.”

The child he met today was quieter than he’d expected. He’d met kids before who’d learned animal habits after living with wild beasts.

There was that time a noble lost their child while traveling, and half a year later, they found the kid living in the woods. That child didn’t recognize their parents and howled and barked like an animal.

‘But the young master… he’s different.’

He was calm. So calm, it was hard to believe he’d lived with wolves. He seemed human. Sure, he mimicked animals, but it was like he still had human instincts.

“…There must have been other teachers.”

I should find out what kind of education those teachers gave him.

***

“Abuse… What do you mean by that?”

“Just what I said.”

Early in the morning, Yurkia had gone to see Madam Ireunoa, but even with a table full of delicious food in front of him, he couldn’t bring himself to pick up his utensils. The words she spoke as she cut her meat and brought it to her mouth were just too horrifying.

“They said, ‘How could you fix habits formed from living with wolves? You should just raise a beast like a beast.’ That’s what they said.”

“Ha, those bastards are insane…”

“My, teacher, you have quite the mouth.”

“…Sorry. But this is just unacceptable.”

They’d only found Ruberteo six months ago. That meant, for those six months, he’d been abused by some trash masquerading as a teacher…

“Where is that person now?”

“And what would you do if you found them?”

“Didn’t you say he’s going to be the future of the Empire? And you’re just going to let this go?”

“You say the funniest things.”

She quietly dabbed her lips and took a sip of wine before answering.

“Who said I let it go?”

“……”

“I had him torn limb from limb and thrown to the wild beasts. His family too.”

Yurkia, mouth agape in shock, finally let out a long sigh and bowed his head. I’m sorry.

“I let my emotions get the better of me and raised my voice to you, Madam.”

“It’s fine. You did it out of concern for him.”

Even after hearing that she’d dealt with the person who dared lay a hand on someone so precious, Yurkia’s expression didn’t ease. Seeing this, Madam Ireunoa tilted her head and asked,

“What’s still bothering you?”

“…His heart. Was he properly treated afterward?”

“All his wounds were treated. Not a single scar left—”

“I mean his heart.”

“…Emotionally, you mean.”

She shook her head, as if she didn’t understand.

“He’s going to be the Crown Prince. Maybe even the Emperor someday.”

“…Why are you telling me this?”

“I mean he needs to be able to handle that kind of pain.”

Yurkia let out a hollow laugh. Madam Ireunoa’s brow furrowed, as if she found his reaction strange.

“Teacher. This Empire doesn’t need a weak Emperor.”

“No one becomes weak just because they heal from abuse.”

“It’s strange to make such a fuss over a single wound. Have you ever seen His Majesty the Emperor show pain?”

At her question, Yurkia took off his glasses. He was so frustrated he couldn’t stand it. He knew the Emperor was the Empire itself. But—

“He’s only thirteen.”

His voice was heavy with sorrow at the tragedy of it all. Madam Ireunoa quietly lifted her glass as she watched Yurkia, head bowed and glasses in hand.

“Why do you insist that comforting the heart of a thirteen-year-old is the same as making the future Emperor weak?”

“I told you not to get attached. You’re breaking your promise.”

“I don’t understand why this conversation is going in that direction. Actually, this whole conversation feels wrong.”

Yurkia slowly stood up. Was this man always this tall? Madam Ireunoa spoke up, looking up at him.

“Don’t do anything you’ll regret. If you get attached, you’re the one who’ll get hurt.”

“I’m the teacher. No one can interfere with my lessons, and you can’t dictate my methods.”

He looked at Madam Ireunoa with a cold, hard gaze, adjusted his glasses, and placed a hand over his heart. I’ll take my leave now. He gave a slight bow and walked out.

“…Honestly…”

Left alone, Madam Ireunoa downed the rest of her wine, rolling it around in her mouth to savor the flavor. When she swallowed the bittersweet wine, she let out a small laugh.

“Comfort his heart, huh…”

If he ever found out that Ruberteo was the one who stabbed his abusive teacher in the throat, would he still say things like that? She hid her laughter behind her glass as the maid refilled her wine.

‘Well, letting him misunderstand isn’t so bad.’

If he runs away, well, there’s nothing she can do then.

“They’re all crazy. Seriously, everyone’s insane.”

Unaware of Madam Ireunoa’s thoughts, Yurkia wandered aimlessly through the cold garden, trying to cool his burning frustration after hearing such an unexpected story. He felt like he’d collapse from the heat of his anger if he didn’t face the icy wind, so he trudged through the deep snow.

“No matter if they’re royal blood, how can they react like that? Are they not even human? He’s just a kid.”

A kid ten years younger than me. Yurkia rubbed his chest, unable to calm down. Maybe he should see a doctor for some digestive medicine before meeting Ruberteo.

“Hoo…”

As he crunched through the snow, he suddenly felt someone watching him and looked up. There was Ruberteo, looking out the window.

‘When did he get all the way to the annex?’