“Haaa.”
Adrian let out a thin breath.
Although it was cramped because of the gap in the closet door weighed down, it wasn’t difficult to breath. Air flowed in and out with the fishy smell of iron between the scrap metals that were tangled in a haphazard manner. A faint ray of light also shined down.
Even though it was just one side, he could stretch his legs, and the closet was much wider compared to the dresser he was often trapped in when he was a child.
But was it because of his past memories that made him feel out of breath?
Adrian covered his eyes with one hand at the scene that suddenly flashed in his head. His already dim vision turned into complete darkness.
“Adrian, why don’t we play hide and seek?”
Over the black shroud, he heard someone flicking their red tongue and whispering.
“It’s your turn to hide, Adrian.”
He was used to it, but he wasn’t comfortable hearing it. His half-brother…
The emperor of Alfrenheim had four children. One princess and two princes from the empress. And then there was him, who was the son of a commoner that the emperor didn’t even take as a concubine.
Nevertheless, the emperor favored Adrian. He stood out from an early age with an extraordinary mind, and the emperor saw the qualities of a ruler in young Adrian.
His half-siblings, who were jealous of Adrain, despised him under the pretext of his humble birth mother.
However, young Adrian, who entered the imperial palace alone without his mother, wanted to belong even if they hated him. He wanted to run from place to place in the imperial palace with a smile like them.
“If you really want to play with us, let’s just play hide and seek.”
One day, the eldest son of the empress offered to play with Adrian, who followed him around with a challenge to beat him. Adrian, smart but young and naïve, nodded quickly to his suggestion. His small heart pounded with excitement.
He couldn’t bear to doubt his brothers. The empress’s daughter whispered last night that it was the price of doing their homework on their behalf.
“I’ll hide under this table. You’re small, do you want to go in that closet?”
The empress’ daughter dragged Adrian into a storeroom where they kept miscellaneous items. She said she’d hide under the lacy table, and with her jeweled finer, pointed to a cabinet hidden out of sight in a corner.
The drawers in the cabinet where tea cups and bowls were placed were very cramped even for him, who was small for his age. Even if he cradled his body, the door hardly closed well. Adrian finally looked troubled.
“Sister, sister.”
“Don’t you call me Her Highness the Princess?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Your Highness, this cabinet is too small for me…”
“No. This size is enough for you, Adrian.”
Because the cabinet was so small, his limbs fell asleep in a moment. Adrian, however, had no choice but to accept her word in silence. It was his first time that someone from the imperial family called his name.
“Soon the tagger will come to find you. You can’t come out until then.”
The princess, who said she’d hide under the table, left the storeroom after locking the cabinet with a latch.
Adrian waited for the tagger to find him…
The tagger didn’t come.
Adrian worried that he wouldn’t be found, and waited for the emperor to come find him.
The emperor didn’t come.
Finally, Adrian waited for his mother, who’d promised to come and find him after spending a few nights in the palace.
She didn’t come even though the promised date had already passed.
Dark. His vision was blurred. Adrian lost consciousness repeatedly. No one. No one looked for him as a child. The boy cried quietly, fearing loneliness more than the darkness.
Adrian broke down the cabinet a full week after his half-siblings suggested to play hide-and-seek.
In the dark, cramped cabinet, he realized the cruel reality that no one would ever look for him.
‘Yes, so you shouldn’t wait.’
Adrian recalled Edith’s promise. Sweet but cruel, she told him to wait. That she’d be back soon, so wait patiently. He knew too well that it was a promise she wouldn’t keep.
‘She’s not coming. She won’t find me after all either.’
Cuddled in a dark pile of scrap metal, Adrian whispered to himself. He didn’t expect Edith to find him. He never expected anything.
“Rian!”
Nevertheless, he felt like he was going to cry at that desperate voice looking for him.
“Rian, are you in there?! If you are, answer me…!”
He clenched his fist tightly.
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