Ingrid, Mother, and I toured the castle to show her the library, the dining hall, and the kitchens. We pointed out the training yard from a distance, since the guard was practicing at the moment and we didn’t wish to interrupt their session. During the entire walk, the girl didn’t speak. She remained in absolute silence and limited herself to answering our questions with awkward courtesy.

  She was probably still nervous.

  “Alright, kids, I’ll leave you now—I have duties to attend to. Why don’t you go see Alda? She’s in her room.”

  “Right, Mother. See you at dinner.”

  After saying goodbye, we headed to my older sister’s room. She was my only hope of drawing more words out of Ingrid—and, more importantly, getting her to feel safe. She still acted (for understandable reasons) like an android programmed to respond.

  “Alda? Are you in there?” I knocked twice, and she opened immediately.

  “Brother, hi!” Alda’s eyes fell on the white-haired girl hiding behind me. “Is she your fiancée?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then that makes us future sisters-in-law! Hi! What’s your name?”

  Come on, Alda—thaw this girl out with your warmth. I’d bet twenty bucks on you.

  “I am Ingrid Wall. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  The small girl bowed politely. Alda copied her bow at once, as a sign of manners.

  “My name is Alda. Nice to meet you! You don’t have to be so formal—we’re not in court right now.”

  I noticed Alda omitted her true surname. Perhaps she didn’t want to be judged as Father’s illegitimate child… or perhaps she simply wasn’t used to using the name Rose.

  “You are the sister of King Ulric. I must treat you with the proper respect,” Ingrid said, her expression still timid and carefully composed. Despite her words, she looked deeply uncomfortable. She wanted to leave as quickly as possible, but her duties as a noble did not allow her to flee.

  “What respect?” Alda joked. Then she grabbed both our hands—mine and Ingrid’s. “Smile! My brother is gloomy too because of his duties as sovereign, but in this castle he’s just Ulric. Don’t be afraid to play with him and tease him.”

  “B-But he is Your Highness, I-I could never…”

  “Of course you can. You’re not my servant or my object. If you have something to say, say it. No one will be angry with you.”

  “Let’s go to the garden!” Alda dragged us straight toward the garden of roses and fruit trees.

  Despite the hateful looks both guards and servants threw our way, Ingrid didn’t seem concerned by them. Instead, she tried to pull free—without success.

  Wow.

  What a difference in strength.

  Alda was remarkably strong for a girl her age, the product of healthy upbringing and constant activity.

  Oh.

  Now I understood.

  “Alda, could you let go of me, please?” I asked.

  She released me immediately, but kept holding Ingrid, whose uncomfortable expression only worsened by the second.

  “Do you want me to let you go?” Alda whispered to Ingrid, a mischievous smile on her lips.

  “I am at your service,” Ingrid murmured, clearly irritated. “I am here to serve you.”

  “I won’t let go unless you ask me to.”

  Twenty painfully awkward seconds passed, and Ingrid still wouldn’t yield. She kept her eyes lowered, full of anxiety. Alda refused to release her—and squeezed even tighter.

  Alright. Enough.

  “Alda, maybe you should let her go.”

  “No,” my sister replied. “If she doesn’t speak for herself, no one will.”

  “I-I will do whatever you ask…” Ingrid whispered again—those painful words. For the love of God, what kind of upbringing had they given her? She couldn’t even say her real desires out loud. “I-I am the king’s fiancée. My duty is to obey.”

  “No, you don’t have to obey me,” I argued, raising my right hand to pat her head.

  But Ingrid’s eyes flew wide open, and with her free hand she covered her face as if to block a punch.

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  …What?

  Impossible.

  T-There was only one explanation.

  Severe domestic violence.

  Ingrid’s eyes were the eyes of a girl terrified of human contact—terrified of being hit. I hadn’t even closed my fist. I wasn’t threatening her. I had no aggression in me at all.

  “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry, Your Highness and sister-in-law…”

  “Ingrid… has someone hit you?” I asked the question I didn’t want to ask.

  “They hit me because I deserve it. I am a bastard child, born from sin. I was born to serve—nothing more, nothing less—o-only that way can I repay the mistake of my birth. I-I will be good. I will obey everything you ask…”

  Alda’s brow tightened.

  Before I could react, my sister shook her head and squeezed Ingrid’s hand even harder. The word bastard had clearly angered her.

  “Alda. That’s enough.”

  My expression was no longer the face of “Ulric the child.” I let my adult self surface—because I understood the gravity of what we were dealing with.

  Alda released Ingrid and stepped back, intimidated.

  Oh… right.

  This was the first time Alda had seen me truly determined.

  “I-I’m sorry, brother… I got carried away…”

  “Ingrid, listen to me carefully. You are not a doll, and you are not a servant without feelings. You are a human being—someone with desires and hopes of your own. You have the right to dream. You have the right to complain when you don’t like something. You are not my slave. You never will be. And I will never hit you or harm you if you speak your mind. In fact…”

  I knelt on one knee before her, making it clear once and for all.

  “I swear by my crown that I will never strike you or do anything that hurts you. So don’t be afraid to speak with us. I want to be your friend. Alda wants that too, don’t you?”

  “Y-Yes. I’m sorry, Ingrid. I got carried away because of a word you said. I truly won’t hurt you again.”

  Alda bowed in apology. At least she acknowledged her mistake with a certain maturity.

  “Y-You won’t hit me…? Really? You won’t hurt me?”

  Ingrid’s eyes nearly tore my heart out. She looked so defenseless, so disbelieving, that my protective instinct flared.

  How could anyone break a child like this?

  For fuck’s sake.

  I was furious at the King of Apollo, and at every miserable adult who had harmed her.

  If this were my old world, I would have called child protective services and ripped custody away.

  But children had no such protections here.

  Cases like this will never happen again.

  As Ingrid slowly began to open up, a new determination was born in my chest. I would protect every child in my kingdom. I would enact laws to prevent this kind of abuse in the future. It would be a long and difficult road—the people’s customs were deeply rooted.

  But it wasn’t impossible.

  Not if I gave it everything I had.

  “I will never hurt you,” I said. I stood and smiled.

  Alda mirrored my expression and stepped forward.

  “What do you want to do? What do you like? What don’t you like? Come on—tell us about yourself so we can get to know you.”

  Alda’s natural warmth returned.

  “In my case, I like practicing fencing! I want to become the Mistress of War! I also love romance novels, and I hate studying math or anything related to politics. And I’m not good at singing—I have a bad voice.”

  “I-I…” Ingrid lowered her head and clasped her hands nervously.

  Come on, little one. You’re about to take a huge step.

  “I like walking in the garden and eating desserts. I’d like to learn to read and be useful. I don’t like violence or weapons… and I can’t spend too long in the sun because of my skin.”

  “I can ask Gonzalo, my tutor, to teach you to read. No problem.”

  “R-Really? I can learn to read?” Ingrid asked, her eyes filling with hope for the first time since she arrived.

  “Of course. As for me,” I added, “I like fencing practice, reading mythology, and eating delicious things. I don’t like finances or long meetings, and I don’t like wearing tight doublets.”

  Those little introductions were enough to break the ice.

  Ingrid listened carefully and nodded, as if storing every word inside her mind.

  “Oh yes—tight doublets don’t suit you, brother,” Alda snorted.

  “A-At least you could lie and say I look amazing in them.”

  “Sorry. I’m not a liar.” Alda stuck out her tongue.

  And then, against all expectation, the little albino girl began to laugh.

  It was natural—awkward, slightly misplaced.

  But beautiful.

  Because it was the first real smile of her short life.

  God… I almost cried. Alda burst into sincere laughter, and I joined them to complete the trio.

  It was a happy moment.

  A precious instant we would surely remember for the rest of our lives.

  It would not be easy to make Ingrid value herself. People don’t change overnight—and neither would the castle’s servants. Those hateful looks would not vanish so easily.

  Still, I was truly willing to try, for the safety and well-being of this poor girl.

  As king, it was my duty to provide acceptable happiness to those under my rule—without hunger or misery hanging over their heads.

  The next day, we included Ingrid in Gonzalo’s lessons. Since she had never received formal education, she had to start from zero—letters, syllables, constant repetition to form words. Even so, she didn’t look desperate.

  Quite the opposite.

  Fortunately for us, Gonzalo was a man of letters and well informed about culture and society. Men like him rarely carried racial prejudices. He did not treat the white-haired girl cruelly. He taught her as if she were simply another student.

  Aura—his romantic interest—was also taking beginner lessons, so Gonzalo paired them together to streamline the schedule. They learned reading while Alda and I trained with weapons. That way, we stayed occupied and progressed little by little.

  I thought teaching someone else might tire Gonzalo and slow his pace on economics and society.

  But no.

  If anything, he seemed more motivated.

  Damn it. I wanted to take it easy with those two subjects I truly hated, but the scholar looked happiest teaching me what I was bad at—what I lacked the talent to solve on my own.

  Well… a mentor who can’t teach you something new isn’t much of a mentor.

  In a way, his preference for subjects I struggled with was only natural.

  The days passed in complete calm.

  Seeing Ingrid seated at our table became part of routine, and strangely, it didn’t bother me. Alda welcomed her into her doll games and tea parties, happily shared alongside Sora.

  Honestly, it surprised me that my half-sister enjoyed such feminine things. Since she aspired to be a warrior, I thought she would hate dresses, medieval frills, and feasts.

  Yet she didn’t turn her nose up at dances, flower decorations, and other activities Sora taught her.

  In fact, Sora even taught her how to sew and decorate her own dresses.

  Yes—my personal maid had far too many skills.

  Ah…

  Dreamlike days.

  How I wish my life could remain this simple forever.

  No responsibilities.

  No pressure.

  Just me and my loved ones living in the castle.

  But that was an impossible wish.

  I was the king of this nation, and the future rested on my shoulders. King Vlad II’s visit was right around the corner, and preparations were steadily nearing completion.

  I wanted every foundation covered in case of any incident—etiquette or political.

  Nothing could go wrong.

  Because if it did…

  We would all pay the price.