109 - Hello
Mariana remained silent. The garden suddenly felt quieter.
Somewhere nearby, water trickled from a marble fountain. Birds chirped among flowering trees. A gentle breeze stirred the petals around them. Yet all Mariana could think about was a lonely child.
A child who had everything. And nothing.
Lilith's gaze softened further. "I don't think you understand just how strange it was."
Mariana looked up.
The Empress smiled faintly. "Let me tell you something."
-
Twelve years ago.
The Crown Prince's Palace stood as magnificent as ever. Sunlight streamed through towering windows, illuminating halls lined with marble pillars and expensive tapestries. Servants moved quietly through corridors while knights stood watch.
Inside a private classroom, a young boy closed a textbook. The politics lesson had ended. The elderly scholar teaching him looked both proud and exhausted.
"That concludes today's lesson, Your Imperial Highness."
Ten-year-old Zafiel nodded. "Thank you for your guidance."
The teacher smiled. Every lesson ended this way. Polite. Perfect. Predictable. He hesitated. "Your Imperial Highness."
Zafiel paused. "Yes?"
The scholar chuckled weakly. "I spent three months preparing today's material." Zafiel blinked. The scholar sighed. "You mastered it in two hours."
Silence.
The boy merely nodded. "I see."
The teacher stared. That was it. No pride. No arrogance. No excitement. Nothing.
Eventually the scholar laughed helplessly. "You truly are extraordinary."
Zafiel offered a polite smile. Then left.
The moment he stepped outside, palace life unfolded before him. Gardeners worked among flowerbeds. Knights-in-training practiced in the courtyards. Servants carried documents and supplies. Everything appeared orderly at first glance.
Zafiel immediately noticed flaws. A gardener was overwatering certain plants. Another trimmed decorative bushes unevenly. One knight kept shifting his center of gravity incorrectly. A second telegraphed every strike before moving.
The ten-year-old prince approached them one by one. Not to scold. Not to humiliate. Simply to correct. "You should reduce the water."
The gardener straightened immediately. "Your Imperial Highness?"
"The roots are beginning to weaken."
The gardener blinked. Then inspected the soil, his eyes widening. "... you're right."
Zafiel nodded, then continued walking.
Moments later he paused near the training grounds. Several young knights immediately stiffened. One swallowed nervously. The Crown Prince rarely approached personally.
Zafiel pointed toward one cadet. "Your footing is unstable."
The young knight flushed. "Ye-Yes, Your Imperial Highness."
"If someone attacks your left side, you'll lose balance." Then he pointed toward another. "Your shoulder moves before your sword." Another. "You're relying on strength instead of technique." Another. "Your breathing pattern is inefficient."
The corrections continued. Calm. Precise. Never cruel. Never mocking.
When he finally departed, one of the knights let out a breath. "I thought he was going to punish us..."
Another laughed. "He never does."
A third shook his head. "His Imperial Highness always explains things."
"And he's always right."
Admiration filled their voices. Not fear. Respect. Genuine respect.
The same happened whenever nobles visited. Every lord. Every duke. Every minister. They all praised him.
The perfect heir. The ideal Crown Prince. The empire's future. The next great emperor. Their compliments varied. Their conclusions never did. Yet none of it affected him. Because all of it felt empty. Predictable. Boring.
Only one person consistently produced a different reaction, his mother-Empress Lilith. Sometimes she would find him buried beneath paperwork. Without warning she'd hug him. Or smooth his hair. Or kiss his forehead.
At first he hadn't understood it. Then eventually he decided he liked it. Not because it was particularly exciting. But because it felt... warm. Comfortable. Different.
That afternoon he returned to his study. The room looked absurd for a child. Maps covered entire walls. Political reports filled shelves. Trade records occupied several desks. Documents towered everywhere. Most boys his age collected toys, Zafiel collected information.
He sat down, opening several reports. Then began writing.
Current noble alliances. Potential corruption risks. Agricultural production. Infrastructure deficiencies. Population welfare concerns. Future development plans.
The work should have exhausted him. Instead, it was a hobby. One of the few things capable of occupying his mind. Hours passed. Then more.
By evening, dozens of notes covered his desk. Solutions. Improvements. Possibilities. Yet despite accomplishing more than many adults managed in months, he felt nothing. The same emptiness remained.
The next morning, Grand Duke Maximus arrived at the Imperial Palace. Official discussions regarding border affairs.
Naturally, his daughter accompanied him-at least initially. Unfortunately, the young Mariana possessed absolutely no interest in lengthy political meetings.
The moment her attendants became distracted, she vanished.
-
Elsewhere, a ten-year-old Crown Prince walked through the palace gardens. A report rested beneath one arm, his mind already occupied with economic projections. Then, he heard a voice. A cheerful voice. Small. Bright. Happy.
Zafiel stopped. The sound came from behind a hedge. Curiosity stirred, a rare occurrence. He moved closer. Then froze behind a marble pillar.
A little girl crouched beside a flowerbed. Golden sunlight illuminated her hair. Her dress was slightly wrinkled from running. Her shoes carried traces of dirt.
Most noble daughters would have looked horrified. She seemed delighted.
"You're blooming really well today!"
Zafiel blinked. She was speaking to flowers. The flowers remained silent.
Mariana nodded seriously. "I think pink suits you." Still silence. "Don't worry." She patted the soil gently. "You're doing great!"
The Crown Prince stared.
What is she doing?
The question genuinely interested him. Not because it made sense. Precisely because it didn't. Nothing about this behavior was logical. Yet she seemed entirely sincere.
Mariana continued chatting with flowers. Then butterflies. Then a bird. Then a squirrel. The squirrel immediately fled.
She gasped. "Excuse me?!" The squirrel continued fleeing. "That's rude!"
For the first time in months, something amused him. Not significantly, just enough. A tiny crack appeared within the endless boredom.
Then Mariana turned, their eyes met.
Zafiel froze instinctively. Most children reacted strangely around him. Some became frightened. Others became overly respectful.
Many tried impressing him. He expected one of those reactions. Instead, Mariana smiled. Not politely. Not nervously. Not because he was the Crown Prince. Simply because she saw another person. A bright smile. Pure. Uncomplicated.
Then she waved enthusiastically. "Hello!" The greeting echoed across the garden.
Zafiel stared, something unfamiliar settling inside his chest. Warm. Light. Strange. Without realizing it, he smiled back. A genuine smile. The first genuine one anyone had seen in years.
"Hello." Mariana immediately brightened further. "My name is Mariana!" No title. No formalities. Just Mariana. The simplicity surprised him.
"My name is Zafiel."
"Nice to meet you, Zafiel!"
As though he wasn't royalty. As though he wasn't extraordinary. As though he wasn't anything special at all.
And somehow, that mattered. The encounter lasted less than fifteen minutes. Eventually attendants found Mariana. A panicked Grand Duke Maximus appeared moments later.
Apologies followed. Explanations followed. Mariana waved goodbye enthusiastically while being escorted away. Then she disappeared.
-
That evening, Lilith entered her son's study. Then stopped. Because Zafiel was waiting. Specifically waiting for her.
The Empress immediately became suspicious. "Did something happen?"
Zafiel looked thoughtful. "I met someone."
Lilith nearly dropped the documents in her hands. "... what?"
For ten years, her son had never voluntarily initiated a conversation about another child. Ever.
She sat down immediately. "Tell me everything." An hour later, Lilith remained stunned.
Her son had spent sixty entire minutes describing a girl. Not romantically. Not emotionally. Analytically. Yet somehow that made it more shocking.
"She talks to flowers. She complimented a squirrel but then the squirrel fled. She seemed offended."
Lilith stared. Then laughed so hard she nearly cried.
That night she sent a letter. Not an official one. A personal one. To her dear friend, Grand Duchess Darelene. The contents were simple.
Perhaps our old promise should remain.
The promise made years ago, a playful agreement between friends. If their children got along, perhaps they'd become family someday. At the time it had been little more than a joke.
After hearing Zafiel talk? Lilith wasn't joking anymore.
But Mariana never returned. Not once. Not twice. Not ever. Years passed. Life continued. The bright little girl vanished from palace life.
Gradually, the memory faded. Not completely. Just enough.
Then they met again several years later at a noble gathering. Zafiel immediately recognized her. The same face. The same name. The same girl. Except, not really.
The girl standing before him was cold. Proud. Sharp-tongued. Cruel. The brightness was gone. The smile was gone. The warmth was gone.
She looked like a stranger wearing Mariana's face. The realization disappointed him more than expected. He watched briefly. Observed. Analyzed. Then lost interest.
Because whatever had fascinated him in the gardens years ago wasn't there anymore. And eventually? He forgot. Or at least, he thought he did.
-
Back in the present.
Lilith looked toward Mariana. The garden breeze stirred her dark hair. "My son forgot that little girl."
Mariana listened quietly.
The Empress smiled knowingly. "Or perhaps he convinced himself he did." A pause. Then softer, "Which is why I find all of this so fascinating."
Mariana's chest tightened.
That wasn't mentioned in the novel at all... I didn't know the original Mariana was like that, I always thought that she was evil while growing up...