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She gasped theatrically. "How dare you mock me like that? What audacity!"

"How dare I?" Vyan snorted, crossing his arms. "How dare you? Do you know who I am?"

"Clearly, you don\'t know who I am."

"Oh, I do know. You are a kid. An incredibly annoying one at that," he shot back.

"Okay, if I am only an annoying kid, why are you arguing with me, old man?"

"Old man?" Vyan felt his indignant anger flare up. "I am only twty-one!"

"That is still elev years older than me. Do you need a walking stick or something? Shall I get it for you?"

Vyan gritted his teeth.

Stop, don\'t gage her. Be more mature; she is a kid— reasoned the angel on his shoulder, but he didn\'t list because his pettiness won over every rational thought.

"You are such a brat. Didn\'t your parts teach you manners or anything?"

"I wish. My father is too busy handling the empire and my mother is too sick—"

"Still, that doesn\'t mean you can act like—wait, what?" He blinked a few times, trying to process her words. "Your father is…" His gaze snapped to her symbolic light gre eyes. "So you must be Katelyn… my cousin."

Katelyn crossed her arms and nodded, a smug expression on her face. Until the word \'cousin\' clicked in her head.

Her shocked expression th mirrored Vyan\'s. "Your Grace, my apologies!" she quickly let out, bowing her head.

Vyan almost felt his stomach lurch at her sudd change of attitude and made a disgusted face. "Don\'t go showing me respect now," he remarked, waving his hand dismissively.

"I have to," she grumbled under her breath. "Your rank is higher than mine, after all."

"What does rank matter here? You are my cousin," he muttered once she raised her head.

"A very petty and annoying cousin," she corrected, hinting at him being the annoying one.

Vyan smirked and said, "Well, finally, you admit you are annoying. That\'s progress."

Katelyn rolled her eyes. "At least I am not in dial about my age. Do you need help crossing the street, Grandpa?"

"Grandpa?" Vyan chuckled, no longer feeling annoyed. He was rather amused now. "If I am Grandpa, th you are a toddler throwing a tantrum in the middle of the market."

"At least toddlers get atttion and cute complimts," Katelyn quipped back. "You just get complaints from the neighbors."

"Complaints? I get praise letters, thank you very much."

"Sure, praise letters from other old folks reminiscing about the good old days."

"Oh, please," Vyan said, unable to suppress a laugh. "Do you ever stop coming up with comebacks?"

"Not wh I have such a worthy oppont," Katelyn replied, a mischievous glint in her eye.

The two of them shared a laugh, their momtary clash now turning into a joyful banter and fridship.

It has be a long time since Katelyn met someone who wt head-to-head with her. Normally, people either ignored her or showered her with praise. She could only be this playful with her brother, Ronan. But seems like there was somebody else too.

"Seriously, what are you doing a here, dressed in a boy\'s clothes at that? I almost assumed you were a servant\'s kid," Vyan commted.

Katelyn wrung her hands and grumbled, "Unfortunately, I lost a bet with Ron. The loser has to dress as the opposite gder, so here I am."

She looked down at her tasteless clothes with disdain and added, "Since Ron\'s clothes would make me look like I was drowning, I borrowed some from a maid\'s son."

Vyan shook his head, an amused smile on his face. "Still, you shouldn\'t be parading a in those clothes. What if some other noble saw you? You know, it doesn\'t take long for words to spread."

"Who cares?" She pouted. "I already embarrassed myself in front of the Grand Duke."

"But we are related, so I have no business spreading rumors about you," he pointed out.

"Doesn\'t that make you ev more likely to do it?" she muttered, as if she already had ough experices like this before.

"True, but spreading rumors is way too much effort for me. So, don\'t count on me for that," he said with a lazy shrug, hoping that would reassure her. "Anyway, where\'s Prince Ronan if you were with him?"

"Ron is probably searching for me near the Crystal Palace," Katelyn replied, grabbing his hand. "Do you want to go meet him?"

Vyan glanced at her small hand clutching his index finger, feeling a rare softing of his heart.

Maybe not all kids were terrible.

He had such terrifying experices with kids before that he was left traumatized. Whever the distant relatives of the Estelles used to come over, they used to bully or harass him however they wanted, and Vyan had no choice but to suck it up back th.

He was now glad that Katelyn was just a porcupine flower—resembling a porcupine, full of quills wh approached, but beath lies a blooming flower of cheerfulness.

"Sure," Vyan agreed with a smile.

As they strolled toward the Crystal Palace, Katelyn asked, "Your Grace, what were you doing near Althea\'s part of the Aurora Palace?"

"Oh, I had something to discuss with her," Vyan replied casually.

"Are you frids with her?" she inquired, trying hard to not pout.

"Yes," he answered skeptically and quirked an eyebrow. "But why do you ask?"

Katelyn\'s gaze dropped to the g as she murmured, "I don\'t like her. She is not good."

"Why not? I think she is awesome."

Katelyn shook her head firmly. "I cannot trust anyone in the imperial family except Ron. They are all selfish. Althea, Easton, Izac—every last one of them."

"You would never know if Althea is differt if you don\'t give her a chance," Vyan insisted.

"She hates her own brother. Why would she feel anything kind towards us—her half-siblings?"

It was true that Althea and Easton despised each other, but Vyan knew Althea guinely wanted to be a big sister to Katelyn and Ronan. She had a unique kind of affection for them.

While Vyan wanted to correct Katelyn, he knew better than to overstep his bounds.

Arguing with a sharp-tongued prete was like trying to convince a cat to take a bath—it was a losing battle.

As they approached the Crystal Palace, Katelyn released Vyan\'s hand, her eyes sparkling with excitemt. "Wait here, I will go find Ron," she said, dashing away like a gust of wind.

Vyan nodded as he watched her disappear into the grandeur of the palace.

He exhaled deeply and turned his gaze to the chanting gard that sured him.

It was a paradise of vibrant flowers, beautifully designed pathways, and lush, meticulously maintained lawns. Every corner seemed to whisper secrets of beauty and serity.

His eyes were drawn to an unusual sight. "Are those black roses?" he muttered, curiosity piqued by the sight of the midnight blooms.

As he stepped closer to the roses, mesmerized by their dark allure, a voice suddly broke the silce.

"Who is there?"

Startled, Vyan turned a, his heart quicking.

Standing before him was a woman in a flowing gown of and pastel pink, her presce both ethereal and oddly familiar.

His breath caught in his throat.

The woman\'s long red hair was tied in a loose braid, and her hollowed gray eyes held a soft kindness that tugged at a distant memory.

A vivid flashback seized him.

"Vyan, why did you run away and hide in that pit?" A red-haired woman rushed towards a younger version of himself, her face etched with worry and desperation.

It was raining hard, so hard that their voices could barely be heard.

"Mama, I wasn\'t hiding," his sobbing voice came. "I slipped and fell in. It was so dark and cold… I was so scared."

"It\'s okay, sweetheart. No need to be scared. Mama is here. Now, did you get hurt? Let me see." She frantically inspected him for injuries and let out a wince as she found his bleeding knees.

"I—I am sorry, Mama. I w–won\'t run away anymore. Plea—please take me home," he cried, hiccuping.

"No, no, honey, I am the one who is sorry," her eyes were full of regret, "I will never push you that hard again. Please forgive me."

She veloped him in a hug, her familiar lavder sct soothing his frighted soul.

The lines betwe past and prest blurred, and Vyan was overwhelmed by a rush of emotions.

His mother\'s voice echoed in his ears, her embrace felt so real. Those memories had be buried so deep. He never recalled anything about his mother until this momt.

This particular memory flooded back with an intsity that made his heart ache.

"Mother..." The word slipped out in a tremulous whisper.

The woman\'s eyes wided in recognition. "Vee?"

The trance broke.

Vyan stepped back, shock coursing through him. This woman couldn\'t possibly be his mother.

From the portraits and this vivid flashback, Vyan remembered his mother with healthy skin and a robust figure—a stark contrast to the woman standing before him.

Her ghastly pale skin and hollowed eyes painted a picture of sickness and unwell. The realization hit him like a bolt of lightning. She is—

"Your Imperial Majesty, please forgive my impertince," Vyan quickly said, lowering his head in a humble bow. "It seems I have lost my way, having trespassed into your private gard—"

Before he could finish, the woman stepped forward and veloped him in a tder hug.

"Oh, Vee, you don\'t need to apologize to your tia," she uttered, her voice trembling with emotion. "I am so happy to finally see you. You have grown so tall."

Vyan stood froz, his mind racing to reconcile the memories with the prest. And as soon as he managed to do that, his blood boiled with anger.

The reason why he hadn\'t visited his sick aunt ev once ever since he ascded to his position—it all came back.

She pulled back from the hug and smiled, her eyes looking kind and full of affection. "What\'s wrong?"

"My apologies, Your Imperial Majesty." He maintained a polite smile. "It\'s just that I don\'t possess my childhood memories so—"

"Is this another one of your lies, Vee?" she smoothly interjected.

"Pardon?"

Vyan\'s heart thumped as she placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned up to whisper in his ear, "I know you possess mana."