The ground here knows only one color… red.
Amid the screams of soldiers and the groans of the wounded that filled the air, Adrian was simply trying to survive one more day.
But one thing was certain—
the gentle, innocent Adrian was no longer the same.
He had grown, now able to discern everything around him, fully aware of the truth about the Emperor who had never once seen him in his childhood.
But he no longer cared. He had suffered enough in this place—so much that even the soldiers rejected him and spoke ill of him.
For even if he was a prince, princes did not exist on the battlefield.
And the real reason…
was that the Emperor had abandoned him long ago.
Now, only one goal remained for him:
to stay alive—just long enough to return one day to the palace,
to the sister who had loved him sincerely and accepted him as he was.
"It's been five years since I last saw her…"
he murmured weakly, his voice drenched in melancholy.
"I wonder… is she still alright?"
"We're under attack!"
a warrior screamed as he ran, with monsters swarming behind him, lunging hungrily to silence their craving.
The warriors gathered and began to fight.
Most of them were from the Zero Section—those who couldn't use magic and relied solely on their swords.
Some managed to defeat the monsters, while others met their end between their jaws.
As for Adrian, he fought desperately to kill just one monster, and he was the most injured among them.
In a sudden moment, a monster crept up behind him, its claws slicing through the air, ready to tear into his flesh—
But before it could, a warrior rushed forward with lethal speed and killed the beast in a single strike.
Adrian's eyes widened in shock and confusion.
"Why… did you help me?"
The warrior smiled lightly and replied,
"My name is Albert. What about you?"
Adrian hesitated before answering softly,
"I… Adrian."
Albert chuckled and said with cheerful warmth:
"Heeh, nice name. Well then, Adrian, let's fight well—and after that, let's be friends."
Adrian froze for a moment, his expression filled with disbelief.
Friends?
Was it really possible for him to have a friend?
The battle dragged on longer than usual, but eventually ended with the last of the monsters slain.
"Looks like we suffered heavy losses…"
Albert muttered as his eyes roamed over the battlefield littered with bodies and blood.
Then he turned to Adrian and wiped the blood off his face.
"So, Adrian… will you be my friend?"
But as he looked closely, he suddenly noticed the boy's pale face.
"Adrian! Stay with me!"
Adrian collapsed, his body drenched in blood, injured by a deep wound in his right shoulder and several others across his body.
---
In the palace of the late Empress,
Diana sat quietly in the garden, practicing the only hobby that brought her comfort—drawing.
She drew her beautiful family: her mother, her little brother, and herself…
She never drew her father, for he had never been a part of that family to begin with.
Though everyone believed Princess Diana lived in luxury and peace,
the truth was far from that.
She was like a small bird trapped inside a broken cage,
with a severed wing that could no longer fly.
The exhaustion was clear on her lovely young features despite her age.
She whispered to herself with a faint smile:
> "I wonder if Adrian is safe now…
I wonder how he looks…
He must have gotten taller too."
Diana spent most of her days writing letters to her missing brother.
She didn't know if he would ever read them,
but she wrote each one with honesty, longing, and love.
---
✉️ The First Letter:
"Adrian,
Do you remember the day I told you about our father?
You were so excited to meet him…"
"Do you still wish to see him?
Or have you already realized the truth?"
---
✉️ The Second Letter:
"Do you remember that red flower?
You always said you loved it, but it was poisonous…
That's why I never let you get close to it."
---
✉️ The Third Letter:
"Adrian,
The fact that our father hates you doesn't mean you're a bad person.
I'm certain that if Mother were still alive…
she would have loved you even more than she loved me."
---
✉️ The Fourth Letter:
"Have you made any friends now?
I hope you're loved by everyone…"
---
Each time she sent a letter, she received no reply.
Fear lingered in her heart,
yet hope never left her—she believed he was surely safe.
She assumed voluntary service meant simple training and distant combat.
What Diana did not know…
was that Adrian had already been sent to the front lines,
and that none of her letters ever reached him.
---
At the camp…
Adrian's wounds had been treated and bandaged.
Albert sat beside him, watching him with a faint, quiet sorrow.
He knew Adrian was a prince, yet he pretended otherwise so as not to embarrass him.
Adrian moved slightly and opened his eyes, heavy with exhaustion, attempting to stand despite the pain.
But Albert gently stopped him, saying:
"Don't get up now. You need to rest more."
Adrian glanced at him from the corner of his eye and whispered weakly:
"I… I'm fine."
Albert didn't know what to say, so he simply murmured:
"Alright then…"
A soldier entered the camp carrying food and began distributing it among everyone.
When he reached Adrian, a mocking smile spread across his face as he sneered:
"Ah, there's no food left… seems I miscounted, Your Highness.
But it's fine—you can always return to your palace and eat there, can't you?"
Anger flared in Albert's eyes. He stood up quickly, grabbed the soldier by the neck, lifting him off the ground.
He growled, his voice filled with suppressed rage:
"Who do you think you are, speaking to him this way?
The palace?! Is it anywhere near this camp? Are you mocking me, you fool?!"
The soldier began to choke, struggling to free himself, until Adrian weakly placed his hand on Albert's arm, signaling him to stop.
Albert took a deep breath, controlling his anger, and released the soldier, who fell to the ground and ran away, panting in fear.
After a few moments of silence, Adrian stepped out of the tent, ignoring the soldiers' gazes, and walked toward a nearby tree.
He climbed it slowly, reaching a high branch, and sat down, releasing his exhausted breath.
He looked up at the cloudy sky, watching the clouds gather slowly…
Then he closed his eyes and surrendered to sleep, away from the noise of the soldiers, where no one could see him, and no one hated him.
Night fell slowly while Adrian remained asleep on the branch.
His features were tense, as if haunted by a troubling nightmare…
In the depths of his dream, he was playing with Diana, laughing and running as they always did.
But suddenly, the Emperor appeared, dragging Diana away from him, disappearing with her into the shadows.
Adrian froze in shock, calling out to her with a trembling voice, but there was no answer…
He was alone in that thick fog, gradually consuming him.
From afar, the roar of monsters rose, and he spun around, running without direction.
His breaths came faster, his feet slipping in the muddy ground,
when suddenly he collided with something massive ahead.
He looked up in fear to see a huge monster towering over him, its eyes glowing.
He tried to flee, but the monster's hand grabbed him like a toy.
Adrian screamed, striking the monster's arm in desperation and fear,
until it opened its massive mouth to swallow him — and in that exact moment…
Adrian awoke, terrified, at the sound of thunder crashing across the sky.
He was gasping for breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he struggled to calm his racing heart from the nightmare.
He looked up at the sky.
At first, the rain fell gently, then it intensified, drenching him completely.
The cold drops made him feel—if only for a moment—that he was alive.
Quiet footsteps approached from below the tree.
A familiar voice spoke calmly:
"You'll get sick if you stay here, Your Highness."
Adrian slowly lifted his gaze toward Albert and said softly:
"I thought you wanted us to be friends… so why are you calling me 'Your Highness' now?"
Albert was silent for a moment, then smiled faintly and said:
"Haha, forgive me… I thought you'd reject my friendship."
He added with a side smile, tilting his head toward the rain:
"So, Adrian, will you come down before you actually catch a cold?"
Adrian continued staring at the clouds, intermittently pierced by flashes of lightning,
and murmured in a low voice:
"Albert… do you think humans can change?"
A moment of silence passed before Albert replied, his tone calm yet heavy:
"Who knows? Even I don't know…
But I'm certain that humans, no matter how hard they try, never change… ever."