Chapter – 24
A name.
Psyche hesitated for a moment, then nodded lightly.
“Alright… I will. I’ll do that.”
“……”
“So, is that settled now?”
Just as Psyche turned to leave, a hand much larger than hers reached out and grabbed her wrist.
It was a loose, feather-light grip, with barely any strength at all.
Startled, Psyche froze for a moment.
It was a completely different sensation from the last time Warren had forcibly held her wrist in the Hooliam family’s salon.
Looking up, she saw her husband’s face standing in the shade.
It was a worn, almost bleak expression, as if exhausted by everything—but one thing stood out:
His precious blue eyes, like rare gems, were focused entirely on her.
As if from the very beginning, there had only ever been room for her.
And Psyche vaguely sensed that those precious blue eyes were silently asking something of her.
After a brief pause, Psyche forced herself to speak.
“…Ikali.”
“……”
“From now on, I’ll call you by your name in front of others. Is that okay?”
“Alright.”
“Yes… then I’ll be going now.”
She had accidentally used his name before out of old habit, but this was the first time she had done it at his request since they married.
Hearing his name leave her lips felt strange.
The grip on her wrist loosened, and Psyche quickly returned to the mansion where Mia and Seila were waiting.
She could no longer bear to look at Ikali’s face.
And it was no wonder—since their marriage, the man had always seemed so stern, but now, hearing his name, he looked at her with unprecedented warmth.
“…Ikali.”
Just by saying his name while facing him, he wore the softest, most comfortable expression she had ever seen since their marriage.
It was a gentle aura that recalled long-forgotten happy memories.
Ikali himself seemed unaware that he was smiling.
Warren Dmiosys, the empire’s only crown prince, had fallen off a cliff in a carriage accident while traveling with the duke and duchess.
Fortunately, the duke and duchess were found on the opposite side in a field, and servants were immediately summoned to locate their son.
Yet for some reason, the son was nowhere to be found.
Warren had been lost at the age of nine, and only returned home ten years later.
That day also happened to be the eve of Ikali’s coming-of-age ceremony.
In the empire, men were considered adults at nineteen.
Because the scale of such ceremonies reflected the family’s status, Ikali, as the sole son of the ducal family, had a coming-of-age celebration almost as grand as a royal event.
Yet Ikali’s attention was not on the treasures and gold gifts piled up by the nobles and his parents—it was elsewhere.
It was the day Psyche would first arrive in the empire.
It was strange that just inviting one person made him so nervous.
Hans even asked him, “Why are you so excited? You’re acting different than usual.”
In recent years, the Dmiosys family had bought a villa in Doson, so Psyche had never visited the empire herself.
When one likes someone, curiosity naturally extends to their world and background, and Psyche was naturally curious about the empire and Ikali’s estate.
However, the royal family cherished their only princess.
Because she had suffered severe colds every season, they worried about her traveling far.
Of course, there were other concerns too.
Psyche was no longer a child.
Entering adolescence, she had inherited the beauty of the queen, who had died young. Noble men visiting the palace couldn’t help but glance at her.
Sending her alone to a prince’s mansion—even an adopted one like Ikali—was genuinely worrisome.
Until then, the royal family treated Psyche’s feelings as mere childish games.
Even if the Dmiosys family was prestigious, marrying a princess to an adopted boy required careful thought.
Ikali understood the royal family’s subtle distrust, while Psyche, seeing their interference as oppression, puffed up her cheeks in defiance.
She had just finished an argument with the king and was on her way to meet Ikali.
Psyche spoke with a determined tone:
“This won’t do. If this keeps up, I won’t even get to visit the duke’s estate—or the empire—before I die. Ikali, officially invite me to your coming-of-age ceremony!”
“To my ceremony?”
“Yes. Even my father would allow it if it’s the empire prince’s coming-of-age. It’s a really important day! I’ll bring lots of gifts, please, I’m begging you!”
Psyche’s brown eyes sparkled.
The two stood beneath a large fountain in the royal garden.
As children, they had often played in hiding, avoiding the servants’ eyes, but now, they could only speak where everyone could see.
Psyche looked sulky, as if frustrated by the constraint.
Ikali smiled at the pouting girl.
“Alright, fine. I’ll officially invite you to my coming-of-age ceremony.”
“Wow! Ikali, you’re the—!”
“On one condition—you come with a prince.”
“…What?! My brothers? Why!”
Psyche froze as she was about to rush to hug Ikali.
Aware of the servants watching, Ikali crossed his arms and kept a proper distance.
“Coming alone to the empire is too dangerous. Come with one of the three princes. That way, His Majesty will allow it.”
“Ah… Ikali treats me like a child too…”
Psyche’s eyes reddened from shock.
Even though he used to hold and carry her as a child, now he drew a line as if she were a stranger.
Even in front of the servants!
Psyche’s adolescent emotions swirled violently.
As her nose began to turn strawberry-red, Ikali sighed lightly.
“Once you’re in the empire, we’ll spend time alone. You just need a prince to escort you there.”
“Really? Just the two of us?”
“Yes. Just us. They’ll allow that. I’ll show you the gardens and the largest square in the imperial palace.”
“…Promise? You won’t change your mind then?”
“Promise. I’ll escort you that day. I’ll be your knight.”
Psyche gasped.
Her very own knight.
Her heart raced, her cheeks flushed. She covered her blushing smile with her hands and giggled.
Ikali smiled gently and, unseen by the servants, linked pinkies with her.
Joy bloomed on Psyche’s face like a flower.
Yet ultimately, Psyche could not attend Ikali’s coming-of-age ceremony.
Just before departing for the empire, she caught a severe cold and spent several days suffering.
The king would never allow his youngest daughter, barely able to stand, to travel to the empire.
Psyche cried under the covers, upset she couldn’t meet Ikali.
Meanwhile, Ikali was secretly relieved that Psyche couldn’t attend.
His ceremony had barely begun without her and ended awkwardly.
On the day of the ceremony, Warren, the duke’s biological son, strode into the estate’s banquet hall filled with nobles.
“Ugh, the smell!”
“Who’s this beggar? Drag him out immediately…”
His tattered clothes were streaked with brown, his black hair unkempt, and his emaciated frame reeked.
Everyone hesitated at the unexpected intruder.
Ikali immediately recognized that the shabby man was the missing son.
“You….”
Except for three dots, his face mirrored a reflection—time seemed to stop.
He had desperately hoped this moment would never come.
Paradoxically, Ikali instinctively felt that the “moment” had arrived, that his role as the impostor was over.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
Then…
“My God… Warren?”
The duke and duchess spotted their son and screamed.
Joy, relief, sorrow, overwhelming emotion, and tears filled their faces.
They ran and embraced their son tightly, pushing Ikali aside.
Ikali felt deep defeat.
Warren Dmiosys, the ragged man who had stormed the banquet hall, stared at Ikali with eyes full of hatred and resentment.
A counterfeit sitting in the place of the original.
As if saying, “Why are you taking my place?”
For ten years, Warren Dmiosys’ life in hiding remained his secret. He refused to speak of the past even to his parents.
That day, everyone rejoiced at the reunion of the duke and duchess with their son, completely forgetting about someone’s coming-of-age ceremony.
Psyche only learned about the events at the duke’s estate weeks later, after recovering her health.
She sent letters inquiring about the ceremony, but never received a reply.
After that, her contact with Ikali was cut off for a long time.
