You’re In A Supporting Role Anyway, So Just Love Me.

Someone called out to Kyle, who was standing far away from the stable. It was Pell, his servant.

"Your Highness. Empress Priscilla is looking for you."

"....Okay."

Kyle turned around and walked towards Priscilla's palace. The distance seemed unusually far since he felt like he couldn't walk.

"Mother, did you call for me?"

"Yes."

Kyle sat down, and Priscilla put down the fan she was fluttering. She pushed back her golden hair, revealing her neck. Priscilla put her teacup down noisily, as if she were restless.

"Kyle, do you remember Duke Bernard Hestian?"

"Yes, I remember seeing him a few times when I was young."

"Well, Bernard is receiving the reins of the dukedom this time. He's your distant cousin, so it would be nice to attend."

"Has Lorraine passed away?"

"She lived long enough. Because of that, the Hestian estate that should have been his a long time ago had been passed down."

"So... are you telling me to go to the Hestian Territory and get a definite answer from Bernard if he can be on my side?"

"I already got the answer before, so it doesn't matter. This visit is just to show others that the Hestians and Belroists belong to us. I can't wait to bring back Hestian, who didn't even bow down to the previous Emperor. Of course, if you become the Emperor, you'll have to give Bernard a ministerial position or something."

Priscilla opened her fan again, nonchalantly. Her dry eyes were filled with nothing but greed.

".......I am Bildeon. The Belroists are my mother's family, and I'm just-"

"Who do you think you owe your survival within these walls to?"

Without further reply, Kyle lowered his eyes. The words he wanted to say kept churning in his throat, but he couldn't say anything. It was not a false statement. If it weren't for the power of Belroist, Kyle would have died a long time ago, just like his step-siblings.

The faces of his step-siblings, who had turned into a handful of white sand due to their lack of power, suddenly came to mind, making his mouth dry. Kyle lifted the teacup and drank slowly, trying to moisten his dry lips. The black tea tasted bitter.

"You are a Belroist and a son of Bildeon's. Inside these walls? If something like that could block your way, then you would have been killed when you were first born. Many families are supporting you, and more will in the future. That's how you will reach the throne, my son. Think carefully about what will help you the most on your journey."

Kyle's expression was not good when he left Priscilla's palace.

He remembered something from when he was young: His stepbrother Andrew, who was only 3 years old, fell into a pond and drowned.

"I can't believe it; he was always with the adults; there's no way he could have died like that," Kyle had once asked for an investigation, but no one listened to him. When he went to the Emperor's office, the Emperor replied in his usual dry voice,

"I'm busy right now; let's talk later."

Kyle went back and waited for him, but the Emperor never called him again while Andrew was buried in his grave.

The Empress from another country killed herself after losing her son, and the Emperor filled the vacancy with another Empress, like solving a puzzle.

The following year, when Princess Jeminez, who was 7 years old, slowly died after drinking poison, Kyle went to see his mother. Back then, when he was young and innocent, he believed that his mother was on his side.

"Mama, if we leave Jeminez like that, she might die. Please save her. My mother can do that, please?"

Priscilla released her son's wrist, which was holding onto her.

"Kyle, who are you?"

Kyle looked up at his mother with a dumbfounded face.

"...What does that mean?"

"Think carefully before you answer, Kyle. Who are you?"

"...Kyle de Bildeon...."

"Yes, you are a Bildeon. The Emperor's son. The crown prince who will succeed the throne. What's the problem if Jeminez dies? Sadness? That will pass quickly, my son. Honor will bring you much greater joy."

He couldn't bring himself to ask her whether she was the one to poison Jeminez's meal.

Kyle left his mother without saying a word, his tongue stiff like a rock.

Jeminez died a week later, and the palace quickly held a funeral. Everything remained the same. No one mourned the princess's death except for her mother.

Since that day, Kyle has been afraid to face Priscilla's palace.

'Will they kill me if I don't live like a prince? If I become useless? Would they have loved me more if I had red eyes?'

The nobles that Priscilla introduced all gathered together, admiring Kyle's neat and sincere appearance.

'He's the crown prince, so he must be very intelligent.'

'Kyle is the one who is closest to the Imperial Court.'

'Even though he's the second prince, isn't Heron still eligible?'

'Is it because he has the enemy's blood? But if you look only at the family name, Belroist is better.'

It felt like he was a racehorse in a long race to select the next emperor. More than anything else, whether one could become emperor or not was the most important.

"I must be the one who becomes the emperor, even if I don't want to. To my mother and them, I am just a tool for that purpose."

Even though he was lost in thought, Kyle had no right to walk without strength. He had to act like a prince. Just before he was about to be consumed by a deep depression, a voice rang in his head.

Oh, it hurts so damn much. Because it hurts, I want to see Kyle. Ah, it's a shame. If only I were born into a mirror in Kyle's room, then I'd be able to see Kyle all the time. Wow, that's amazing. If I were a mirror... Wait, am I being too much of a pervert? Oh well, it doesn't matter. No one will hear this anyway.

He suddenly suppressed a laugh that was about to burst out. At least there seemed to be one person who would like him, even if he wasn't the prince.

                                                 ****

"Argh!"

"See, I knew you were hurt."

My ankle, which I had stepped on a little too hard when I first got off the horse, was sore, possibly because I was promptly pulled by him and jumped down. Benji put me in a chair and sat on one knee in front of me.

"Benji! What if someone sees us like this?"

"If you were really afraid of someone seeing us, you wouldn't be calling me Benji."

Benji answered with a smile, then bowed his head and carefully took off my shoe.

'Oh no, what if my feet smell?'

Even though I had washed them thoroughly this morning, I was still worried about having smelly feet. Who takes off a lady's shoes anyway?

As if moving with embarrassment, my toes curled up on their own.

Benji lifted my foot and placed it on his left thigh, then examined it carefully and muttered in a gloomy voice.

"All this trouble over a swollen ankle."

Look at him, saying it's just a small matter. It's ridiculous.

"You pulled me so suddenly; I think I missed a step then."

I spoke while still feeling indignant and surprised, and I breathed heavily. Benji's face twisted with a hint of annoyance as he looked up at me.

... Why does his expression look like that? Do my feet stink that bad?

"I guess the stable was dangerous."

"Only today, only today. I've never had this happen before."

"Just because it's the first time doesn't mean we can guarantee that it won't happen again in the future, right?"

Why are you so good at talking all of a sudden? I didn't know how to respond and hesitated, but then Benji pulled out a small handkerchief from his pocket.

"Tie it tightly with this, but don't overdo it. It doesn't seem like you've broken any bones, so it'll soon heal."

"Okay."

Benji sighed while looking at my ankle for a while, then helped me put on my shoe and took me to my cabin next to the stable.

"I have yet to give them dinner."

"I'll bring them food, then go; just sit here. I fed my horses during my military training, so I can handle it."

"But what about tomorrow? I have to work in the morning."

"Joe. You've just gotten hurt. Just sit here for today."

I couldn't help but laugh at Benji's kind tone, which didn't answer my question.

Oh, he's worried about me getting hurt again. How cute.

Of course, I seemed younger here, but in reality, I was old enough to be his older sister, so it was okay to say that in my mind.

I heard Benji go outside. I heard him moving back and forth a few times. Then he came back with some hay stuck to her clothes and greeted me.

"Joe, I can't leave my post for too long, so I'll go now. You need to rest well. I'll come back tomorrow or later, so don't overdo it and rest."

"Okay, got it! Why do you always nag so much? Are you a wife or something?"

With tears of laughter in his eyes, Benji strode in briskly and hit me on the top of my head. It was a light touch, lighter than knocking, but I still didn't feel good about being hit.

"Did you just hit me?"

"Don't just say mean things; eat well and get better."

Why did he suddenly act like that?

Of course, I only said that to myself. Benji looked back several times and eventually left.

Why does he talk so much? Getting hurt doing work is possible, you know.

I lay on the bed, tossing and turning, before I drifted off to sleep. I must have been very tense and then finally relaxed.

I suddenly woke up and sat up. Is it night? Did Benji leave the door open? Why is it so cold?

As I tried to cover myself with the blanket Tommy had given me, I moved my sprained ankle accidentally and was startled by the wave of pain.

Ouch, it hurts so much.

I finally untied the handkerchief that Benji had given me and tried to examine my foot properly. It was too dark to see, so I went outside, where the moon was shining. Surprisingly, the cool breeze outside made me feel good. I sat on the small chair in front of the cabin and lifted my feet carefully.

It seems swollen and puffy... Is it really that bad to make such a fuss about it?

Still, my heart felt uneasy for no reason, just because I was in pain.

Sniff. Because it hurts, I want to see Kyle for no reason. It's been a month since I last saw him.

"That's why I came here."

"Eek!"

"...You always get surprised whenever you see me."

A low, intense voice pierced through the night air. I couldn't even hear his footsteps approaching.

His slightly tousled blond hair swayed in the wind, looking bright even in the dark night.

He looked like the sun.

"Kyyyl--"

"You still don't know proper etiquette, as I've told you before. You shouldn't casually address a member of the royal family by name."

"Ah, I'm in pain. Please just let it slide this once. Besides, I've been calling you Kyle in my head dozens of times a day anyway."

"...Where does it hurt?"

"My ankle sprained earlier."

"It doesn't look too serious."

He had an unusual tone, as if something was bothering him, but he walked towards me, perhaps worried. The long strides quickly reduced the distance between us. He slowly blinked his eyes and stared at me piercingly as he came within arm's reach.

"You cut your hair quite a lot."

"Ah! Kyle, you're seeing my hair for the first time. Benji cut it for me."

"....Benji?"

"Yes, I went normally the first time, but Tilly said that a woman who doesn't know how to read is useless, so I dressed up as a man...."

"I knew you dressed up as a man, but I didn't know you cut your hair so much. Wait a minute. What? You don't know how to read?"

"Huh? Didn't Benji tell you? I can't read."

One of Kyle's eyebrows rose.

What, is he angry?

"Then who has read the letters all this time?"

"...Oh, my...It's... It's......."

"It seems the maids and servants who ran errands for you read them. That's why everyone is treating me badly."

"Why, they all seemed like good people."

Kyle looked at me with resentment.

"During the past week, I asked for ink, but they didn't give me the right kind, serving me dry ink instead, along with lukewarm tea and oddly hard scones."

What? What are you talking about? Why are you staring at me like that? I didn't do anything wrong.

"It's alright; it's my fault."

Feeling unjustly accused, I glared as if I would retaliate, but then Kyle crouched down and gently held onto my foot.

"K-Ky... I know this is kind of embarrassing to say, but I might have smelly feet."

Ah, I should have washed my feet when I woke up. I didn't expect two people to be staring at my feet and be close enough to sniff them throughout the day.