The Neglected Prince Whose Name Was a Curse II

"Hey, are you alright? Here, I'll put this around you, okay?" Seraphine told the little boy as she took off the cloth around her shoulders and drape it around his.

Fortunately, Clement still had the heart to worry about how she might catch a cold. He gave her that cloth to warm herself up while she waited here. Even then, she didn't take the gesture as anywhere near redeeming. At this point, she sees him as somewhere closer to being a bad guy rather than a good one.

"You can stay there on the ground. That way, you won't fall and hit your head if they knocked you over again…" she continued before sitting right beside him.

"I'll also stay here if you want. I'll tell you if they come back."

"W-Who…?" he tried to ask despite his worn-out state, his brittle voice being the weakest one she had ever heard from anyone.

"I'm the other captive who was brought here with you. We're on the same boat."

"A… g-girl…?"

"The name's Seraphine. How about you? What's your name?"

Though Seraphine has been trying to harden her heart for quite some time now, she can't help but feel so much for this little boy. She knew that she had went through something worse, but that didn't mean she was used to seeing it happen to others. Her compassion and empathy would always be there no matter how much she tried to avoid people.

All in all, she may have experienced a lot of inhumane things, but that didn't get rid of her humaneness.

"E-Eric… I-I'm… Eric…" he eventually answered, sounding weaker than ever.

Right then, Seraphine froze.

In reality, when she asked about his name, she was expecting that she would remember something – and that she did. After hearing his answer, she suddenly recalled a particular rumor when she visited the imperial palace before. It's a story that remained inside the castle walls, never reaching the ears of most people.

Apparently, there was indeed a member of the imperial family who was killed at a young age, and they have called him Eric.

However, because saying that name within the palace ground would get the speaker's tongue cut off, she only heard it once. She didn't get to hear more, and she didn't dare to learn more. With that, his whole existence became as good as unknown.

Putting every piece together, Seraphine gets to conclude that this Eric will never be able to leave the underground, much less see the light of day ever again.

The current predicament they're in now is a plausible reason why he died. This kidnapping might be the cause of his death. If these turn out to be the case, then all that is to say about his life is harsh and miserable. After all, this is not just about his death at this point.

The fact that he's been kidnapped is proof that the people who've been taking care of him weren't paying enough attention. It's just as Clifford said – it shouldn't have been that easy. He's a member of the imperial family, so he ought to have a tighter security. But then, it even appears to his own captor that he's being neglected.

Then again, not all the children of the Emperor were getting special treatment, especially those he had from the concubines. One of the most probable reasons for this is that the child doesn't have what it takes to be a functional asset in the future. There must be something that hinders them from developing and using their full potential in serving the empire.

And this prince is blind.

Being blind is like being deprived of almost everything. He can barely fare on his own, and he can't do a lot of things that most people can do. Among all the princes and princesses, he'll surely be the least person who can inherit the throne. Perhaps, even if he's the only remaining royalty, he will never be able to sit on that position.

But then again, succeeding the Emperor is not an important matter here. It could never happen to begin with, considering how his life turned out to be during her previous timeline.

This little boy will die.

'How cruel… This child's fate is…' Seraphine thought with a dark, hooded expression.

'How cruel.'

Compared to him, she's probably more fortunate.

After all, despite all the sufferings and hardships she went through, she was still able to experience what happiness felt like even though it was not genuine. She still got to live a well-off life, feel what it was like to be loved, and do so many things. Life could still give her much more than death could ever give.

On the other hand, this boy passed away so early.

He never got to experience any of that. He never even got to see anything.

'Apparently, there's still someone out there who had it worse after all,' Seraphine brooded bitterly as she looked back down at Eric, nearly tearing up.