Part 2
"Lilia, are you leaving again?"
Velosa, the palace maid assigned to Lilia, gazed at her anxiously.
"Yes. I'll be back before dinner," Lilia replied briskly, already tying her cloak.
Velosa hesitated, then spoke in a lowered voice."You won't find him, you know. It's been five years… the boy from that day… he's not coming back."
At those words, Lilia froze. Slowly, she turned her head, her emerald eyes sharp as blades."Don't you dare say that."
Velosa flinched, lowering her gaze. She knew better than to provoke the young princess when she spoke in that tone.
"I can feel him," Lilia continued firmly. "His heartbeat—stronger every day. He's alive, Velosa. He's just hiding."
The conviction in her voice left no room for doubt. But to Velosa, who had watched the little girl wander the woods every day, it sounded less like certainty and more like obsession.
"Princess… Harold is gone. Please, don't torment yourself."
"I'm not tormenting myself," Lilia snapped. "I'm preparing. Soon, I'll go to him myself. I'll find his home."
Velosa's lips parted in shock. "His… home? What do you mean?"
Lilia only smiled faintly, as though guarding a secret."I'll bring him back. To Flora. To me."
The way she whispered "Flora" sent a chill down Velosa's spine. It was not the first time she had heard the princess speak of Flora, the mysterious place tied to Harold's existence. Lilia never explained what it was, only that Harold belonged there—and that she would claim him back from it.
Day after day, she returned to the same forest, convinced Harold was near. She could hear him in the quiet thrum of her heart, could almost see his mischievous smile peeking from behind a tree.
But no matter how many times she called out to him—"Harold, this game isn't fun anymore. Come out. Please."
—there was only silence.
Still, Lilia's determination did not falter.If Harold refused to return, then she would go to him herself.
One day soon, the endless game of hide and seek would end.