A captive prince. A knight who never speaks. Two years of silence—until one night, everything begins to change.
Eighteen-year-old Lion Cardina, the first prince of the fallen Kingdom of Cardina, has spent two years imprisoned in the Iron Crown Palace of the Grandveld Empire. Stripped of his kingdom, his family, and his freedom, he clings to his mother's final words—*"Live"*—and watches the moon through iron bars, believing himself utterly alone.
Kai Wolfhardt, his silent watcher, arrives each
The Fallen Prince and the Silent Knight - On a stormy night, the red thread and the steel vow
Rain beat against the Iron Crown Palace.
Beyond the window, the sound of falling water was ceaseless. It was the same rain as that night. But now it felt far colder than it had then.
Lion Cardina stood by the barred window, looking down at the courtyard.
The stone paving of the courtyard gleamed black with rain. The leaves of the trees, so bright in daylight, now hung heavy and bowed. Each time the wind blew, the branches swayed and fat droplets fell.
(Kai...)
He murmured it in his heart.
A dull ache spread through the center of his chest. It wasn't the pain of his wrist where Albert had gripped it, nor the chill of the rain. It was deeper—a throbbing ache that clenched around his bones.
Three days had passed since Albert visited this room.
That day, Kai had seized Albert's arm and told him not to touch Lion. It was an act no monitoring knight—no knight of Grandveld—could ever be permitted. Rebellion against one's lord. By the discipline of the Iron Crown Knights, it was a crime deserving punishment.
And that punishment may already have been carried out.
Kai had not come to this room since that day.
Normally, footsteps would come with the morning bell. The regular rhythm of leather soles striking stone. A sound he had heard every day for two years.
It had stopped for three days.
A different knight brought his meals now. Silent, setting down the tray, silent, leaving. No fingers tracing the barred window. No gaze sweeping every corner of the room. Just the food, placed and gone.
(What's happened to Kai?)
Lion clutched the silver pendant at his chest.
A small ornament inherited from his mother, engraved with the crest of the spirits. The cold touch of metal spread across his fingertips. The tighter he gripped, the deeper it bit into his palm.
(Is he safe?)
He remembered Albert's cold purple eyes. That smile. A pasted-on smile with no warmth. He couldn't imagine that man forgiving Kai.
Lion had wondered countless times whether Kai had been punished. Chained in the dungeons? Banished from the order? Or something worse—
Every time the thought came, his chest constricted.
(No.)
Lion bit his lip.
(If something happened to Kai, I—)
He caught himself.
(I care about Kai this much...)
An attachment bordering on love.
Lion needed Kai's presence more than he himself could believe. That expressionless face. Those blue-gray eyes. The bare minimum of words. All of it had become the pillar holding Lion up.
Without Kai, he couldn't have survived these two years.
Being able to finish his meals, having his wounds treated, having a hand to hold on feverish nights—all of it was because Kai was there.
(I took it for granted.)
Lion pressed his forehead against the window frame.
The cold iron bars met his heated brow.
(I took it for granted that Kai would come every day.)
Tears welled.
His vision blurred, the rain-soaked courtyard swimming.
(I'm sorry, Kai. I've never given you anything back.)
Lion wept quietly, still clutching the pendant.
Making no sound.
The rain hid his tears.
——
How long had he stood like that?
Suddenly, the air in the room shifted.
Lion raised his head.
The rain sounded farther away. No—that wasn't it. The air in the room felt as though it had been replaced by something else, a strange sensation.
(...What?)
Lion strained his eyes.
The barred window. Beyond it, something was there.
Not the rain-soaked courtyard, not the dark corridor. Just outside the bars, a faintly glowing human shape.
Lion held his breath.
The light slowly took form.
Long emerald hair reaching to the waist. Each time it stirred in the wind, the blessing of the spirits shimmered. Translucent golden eyes. A small crescent-moon earring on her left ear.
A girl stood there.
Rain-soaked hair plastered to her forehead.
Lion's eyes went wide.
" Syl...via...?"
His voice trembled.
The girl—Sylvia Lumen—smiled brightly through the bars.
" Found you, Lion!"
Her voice was unchanged from long ago. Bright, spirited, and yet somehow kind.
" How... are you here...?"
Lion rushed to the bars.
" Isn't it obvious? I came to get you."
Sylvia reached through the gap in the bars toward Lion's cheek.
A small, warm palm.
It touched his tear-wet cheek gently.
" I promised I'd protect you when I grew up, didn't I?"
Something inside Lion's chest crumbled.
A memory from childhood. Deep in the Sylvari forest, before the altar of the spirits, the promise the two of them had made.
" Sylvia... Sylvia..."
Lion placed his hand over hers.
" I missed you... I missed you so much..."
The tears wouldn't stop.
" Me too. I missed you, Lion."
Sylvia's golden eyes were faintly moist as well.
" Come on, don't cry in a place like this. We're escaping. I'm getting you out of here."
Sylvia said it and placed her hand on the bars.
" But... these bars..."
" Don't underestimate spirit arts. Bars like these, if I put my mind to it—"
Sylvia closed her eyes.
Her emerald hair glowed faintly.
" Sylph, spirit of wind. Gently caress this stubborn iron."
From her fingertips, an invisible wind wrapped around the bars.
Giii...
The bars groaned softly.
" See? Just a little more."
Sylvia poured in her power.
—That was when it happened.
Sylvia's gaze shifted into the room.
Onto the desk in Lion's room.
There lay a sword Kai had left behind.
And a well-worn wooden mug.
The mug Kai used when he made Lion drink herbal tea.
Sylvia's expression froze in an instant.
" ...What is this."
Her voice dropped.
" Lion. Why is a Grandveld knight's sword in your room?"
Lion's heart jumped.
" That's... Kai's..."
" Kai? Who's that?"
Sylvia's golden eyes sharpened.
" Kai Wolfhardt. He's my monitoring knight..."
" Monitoring?"
Sylvia took her hand off the bars.
" So you were being watched by an enemy knight. And that knight leaves his sword in your room?"
Her voice held clear hostility.
" Th-that's not it. Kai protected me. He treated my wounds, and when I had a fever, he nursed me through the night..."
" Lion, wake up!"
Sylvia raised her voice.
" What are you letting the people of the country that destroyed your kingdom do to you? You were watched, and he helped you? That's obviously bait for surveillance!"
" No! Kai isn't like that!"
Lion raised his voice too.
" Kai protected me from Prince Albert! Even against orders!"
Sylvia's eyes wavered slightly.
" ...Albert? The second prince?"
" Yes. Prince Albert is trying to use me as bait to lure out Cardina's remnants. Kai tried to stop him."
Sylvia was silent for a while.
The rain filled the room again.
" ...Lion. Do you truly believe in that knight?"
Her voice had gone quiet.
" Yeah. I believe in him. Kai is... he's precious to me."
Lion said it, looking straight into Sylvia's eyes.
Sylvia's golden eyes widened.
" ...Precious... to you..."
She repeated the words slowly.
—That was when it happened.
From down the corridor, multiple footsteps approached.
Rough, hurried, the clatter of armor.
Lion's heart leaped.
" Sylvia, run!"
Lion shouted at her.
" Hurry! They'll find you!"
Sylvia bit her lip.
" ...I'm not running. How could I leave you behind and run?"
Sylvia put her hand on the bars again.
" Sylph, spirit of wind! Shatter this iron now!"
Her hair blazed with light.
Giiiiiii...!
The bars screamed.
—But it wasn't in time.
Bang!
The door burst open.
" Don't move!"
Three Iron Crown soldiers poured into the room.
" The Spirit Ring remnants. Stay where you are!"
The soldiers drew their swords.
Lion stood between Sylvia and the soldiers.
" Stop! She's my childhood friend! Please, let her go!"
" Silence, Prince of Cardina. We have no reason to listen to you."
The soldier shoved Lion roughly.
Lion fell to the floor.
" Lion!"
Sylvia cried out.
One of the soldiers reached for her arm.
—In that instant.
Shh.
The sound of air being split.
One soldier was suddenly blown backward.
" ...This is my room."
A low, cold voice.
Lion raised his head.
In the doorway stood a silver-haired knight.
Blue-gray eyes. A small old scar on his left brow. At his hip, a sword hilt worn from use.
Kai Wolfhardt.
" Kai... sir..."
Lion's voice shook.
Kai glanced at Lion on the floor.
" Can you stand?"
" Y-yeah..."
Lion rose slowly.
" Kai Wolfhardt... you traitor. By the second prince's order, you're already marked for disposal."
The soldier pointed his sword at Kai.
Kai stood before them, expressionless.
" ...Orders."
Kai spoke quietly.
" I don't move by orders anymore."
His blue-gray eyes fixed straight on the soldiers.
" I protect because I want to protect. That's all."
Something in Lion's chest pulsed so hard it felt like it would burst.
(Kai...)
Kai drew his sword.
" If you stand in my way, I won't hold back."
The soldiers lunged at Kai all at once.
Kai deflected them as lightly as paper.
One flash.
A soldier's sword was knocked away.
Two flashes.
Another soldier slammed into the wall.
Three flashes.
The last soldier dropped to his knees.
" ...Let's go."
Kai turned his back to Lion and Sylvia.
" ...You can't be serious."
Sylvia glared at Kai.
" You're a Grandveld knight! You can't protect Lion. You're the enemy!"
Sylvia's words were correct.
Kai was a knight of Grandveld. He had come to this room to monitor Lion.
Kai said nothing, his face blank.
" Sylvia, stop!"
Lion shouted.
" Enemy country doesn't matter! Kai protected me! That's enough!"
His voice was shaking.
" Kai saved my life. Nothing more, nothing less. So please—don't speak badly of him."
Sylvia was struck silent by Lion's desperation.
The depth of Lion's feelings for Kai shook her heart violently.
(Lion... you make a face like that.)
Sylvia bit her lip.
Kai heard Lion's words from behind.
" ...We'll talk later."
Kai spoke quietly.
" Right now, getting out of here comes first. Follow me."
Kai left the room.
Lion took Sylvia's hand.
" Let's go, Sylvia. Trust Kai."
Sylvia hesitated for a moment.
But the warmth of Lion's hand melted her heart, just a little.
" ...Fine. But Lion—if anything happens to you, I won't forgive that knight."
Sylvia squeezed his hand back tightly.
The three of them ran through the dark corridor.
The rain swallowed their footsteps.
Kai headed without hesitation toward the rear of the Iron Crown Palace.
" ...Here."
Kai struck part of the wall with the pommel of his sword.
Gogogo...
A hidden door opened.
" A secret passage, here..."
" Servants' passage. It leads to the ravine."
Kai sent Lion and Sylvia through first.
They raced down the narrow passage.
——
How far had they run?
The passage exit came into view.
Outside, it was still raining.
" Almost there! Once we're in the forest ahead, my spirit arts can hide us from pursuit!"
Sylvia shouted.
—That was when it happened.
Boom!
A great sound, and the ground ahead erupted.
" Kyaa!"
Sylvia screamed.
" What a shame, Kai Wolfhardt."
A cold voice came through the rain.
Lion stopped dead.
From the shadows of the trees ahead, Albert Grandveld appeared.
His perfectly groomed blond hair was soaked and plastered to his face. His cold purple eyes glowed eerily in the darkness.
" So you've made my pawn bite its master's hand."
Albert's gaze turned to Lion.
" Prince of Cardina. You are an indispensable piece in my plan. I cannot let you escape."
Behind Albert, Iron Crown soldiers appeared one after another.
More than ten.
" ...No..."
Lion despaired.
Kai stood before Lion and Sylvia.
" ...Prince Albert."
Kai's voice was low and quiet.
" You two go ahead."
" What...?"
" I'll buy time. You go."
Kai drew his sword.
" No! I'm coming with you! I can't leave you!"
Lion clung to Kai's back.
" Please, Kai. I want to stay with you."
Kai turned.
His blue-gray eyes looked at Lion.
Slowly, Kai touched Lion's cheek.
A large palm, rough and calloused from the sword.
And yet, impossibly warm.
" ...We'll definitely meet again."
For the
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