Prelude

There are doors in front of me, as I can see. I hesitantly open the door near mine and stumble into a snowy area next to the imperial residence where I run into that person, a young one. I look at my hands and suddenly feel like a kid again. I look for him as if he is a dear friend.

I turn back to the little lad and say, "They say love is terrible, yet I believe love is nothing but some type of delusion." He seems to be having trouble understanding what I'm saying. But one day this little boy will become the same man I know. His words will ultimately result in my death. The same as before, he kept his expressionless, lifeless eyes.

“What does love mean to you?” I smile after he inquires. I cradle him and stroke his face. I see how obviously pink they turn. Perhaps the snow is to blame.

"Your highness, don't you know how to love?" I ask. He arches his eyebrows in unison. Suddenly, his eyes enlarge. But in the end, he nods.

"I have no idea what that was. Nobody has ever bothered to inform me of it. I'm hearing it for the first time. In addition, Casper is constantly busy," he grumbles while crossing his arms across his chest.

I briefly close my eyes before heaving. But my lips' arc is still there.

“Then, Your Highness, allow me to say," I pause. His eyes glow, as I can see from them. They must be waiting for my reply. But I'll let him down in the end.

“Love…” I go on, but I pause again. I let go of his cheeks and take three steps away from him after that. I reach for my hat with my hands. I'm still grinning at him.

"...occurs when you stop seeing someone's wrongdoings. When everything seems unreal, it is when you are blindly accepting the person’s evilness. Love is destruction, Your Highness.”

But I never imagined that when I said those words, he would know exactly what I meant. It's not the same reason I seek revenge since before I knew it, he was already pursuing me to the furthest edge of the world. It's strange, but it became stranger when I followed the guidebook for the villainess.