I Became the Narrow-Eyed Character in the Little Prince Game-Chapter 149: For Elize (3)

"There are many stars, but only one sun."

It was exactly as the phrase implied.

If the emperor were ever to suffer from the curse, his children were to be used as sacrifices for his survival.

Cruel. Yet, in its own way, an entirely rational approach.

The fall of a star was merely sorrowful.

But the extinction of the sun was a catastrophe.

Thus, this knowledge was reserved solely for the sun.

And now, I was staring directly at that filthy truth.

For now...

One thing was certain.

The emperor had known about Curse Sharing—and he had used it.

All the pieces fit together too perfectly.

And I have solid proof.

None other than Rose’s lifespan.

A patient with Mana Stone Consumption Disease had a life expectancy of, at most, three years.

Had things followed their natural course, she should have been dead long ago.

And yet, Rose had survived for nearly a decade.

She had lived three times beyond her expected limit.

And that wasn’t all.

[EP???. For Rose’s Sake]

An extra episode.

Even in the original story, Rose hadn’t died from the disease.

Instead, after being pushed to the brink of despair, she had ended her own life.

Which meant—

At that point, she still had time left.

That inconsistency had always nagged at me.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

But now, I finally understood.

The curse meant for one person had been divided between two.

I murmured under my breath, my thoughts growing heavier.

"The Imperial bloodline isn’t all that complicated."

Within two degrees of kinship, there were only two possible candidates.

Valcaros.

And—

"Yuda? What’s wrong?"

Had she noticed my lingering stare?

Charlotte tilted her head in curiosity.

I shook my head slightly, signaling her not to worry.

Then, to shift the subject, I casually remarked,

"Permission for the audience should come soon."

"Hmm... do you really think he wants to see us?"

"I believe so. Because Yuda said so."

"We’ll be having quite a serious conversation today."

But before that—

I needed to explain things to them.

"There’s something I need you to hear."

I began speaking calmly.

As if organizing my thoughts one by one, I laid out everything I had deduced.

With every word, the girls’ expressions darkened.

Then came their questions.

"Curse Sharing...?"

"Why are you telling us this? Are you saying someone forced this curse onto me?"

"Within two degrees of family ties, there are only two possible people."

"...No way."

All eyes turned toward me.

Wavering gazes.

Blue and green, both trembling with unease.

I did not answer immediately.

Instead, I slowly stood from the sofa where I had been seated.

Because I could already sense a faint presence approaching from beyond the door.

Then—

Knock, knock.

"Well."

A sharp knock shattered the heavy silence.

From the other side of the door, a voice announced,

"His Majesty has granted you an audience."

I straightened my attire, smoothing out the wrinkles in my coat.

Then, with a faintly bitter smile, I spoke.

"Shall we go and hear the rest?"

No matter how painful the truth may be—

It would be best to hear it from the one responsible.

And so, we stepped out of the room.

***

The audience chamber.

We knelt before the towering imperial throne.

Glancing up, I saw the figure of a middle-aged man—

None other than the empire’s supreme sun.

"......"

His face was still worn with fatigue.

Just as I had seen him before.

No, if anything—

He looked even weaker now.

Dark circles, which hadn’t been there before, now settled under his eyes.

With his usual expressionless face, the emperor finally spoke.

"So. You came to see me for a reason."

"That is correct."

"Is it truly urgent enough to storm the palace unannounced?"

"As the personal physician of the Second Imperial Princess, I have words that must be spoken."

"You have my curiosity."

There weren’t many people present in the audience chamber.

In fact, it was practically empty aside from us.

Even the emperor’s closest retainers had been dismissed.

He already had a rough idea of what this was about—

It was clear from his demeanor.

"Have you finally cured the Second Princess?"

"Perhaps something even more important than that."

"More important than the treatment itself?"

"Before I continue, I have a few questions for Your Majesty. I ask for your pardon should they be impolite."

"I do not know what kind of rudeness you speak of, but do as you wish. It is not as if you have ever hesitated in treating my daughters as your own."

"I am grateful for your generosity."

Even now.

He refused to call them by name.

Only stiff, distant titles.

Just as he had referred to Charlotte as "that girl" before.

Clearly, he was not a man who thought in conventional terms.

Eyes like withered leaves.

The gaze he cast upon them was cold.

Not the eyes of a father looking at his children—

But the eyes of a man observing objects.

The emperor's heart was devoid of warmth.

Keeping my composure, I asked,

"First... why was the Second Princess confined to the palace annex?"

"You ask the obvious. If word spread that a cursed child existed within the imperial bloodline, it would tarnish the family's authority. Sometimes, shameful things must be cut away."

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"How merciless."

"I only do what is best for the empire."

Lies.

I murmured inwardly.

"......"

Perhaps because of his blunt words,

Rose's brows furrowed slightly.

Her hand clenched into a tight fist.

I gave her a brief glance, signaling her to calm down.

This was not the time to lose reason.

"I will ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) continue my questions."

I needed to know.

I had pieced together his actions, but I wanted to understand his true motives.

Even in the original story, his character had never been fully revealed.

I knew nothing about him.

So I had to find out.

Why—

Why he had done all this.

"During my research, I uncovered something."

"And you so brazenly admit to digging into imperial affairs."

"I had little choice."

"Continue."

"In your younger years... it is said that Your Majesty was unusually devoted to your wife."

"Hmm. I don’t quite recall. That was nearly twenty years ago."

"Then let me remind you—eighteen years ago, after the Second Princess’s birth, Her Majesty the Empress passed away due to childbirth complications."

"......"

"Returned to the stars."

A phrase used in the empire to mean passed away.

For a brief moment, the emperor remained silent.

Then, he gave a slow nod.

"Yes. I remember."

As I thought.

His memory had not been impaired.

Now, everything made sense.

"If that is what you wished to confirm, have your questions been answered?"

"They have. I thank you."

The emperor’s eyes remained as frigid as ever.

I met his gaze head-on.

Now, it was time to reveal the truth.

As I spoke, I mulled over my deductions once more—

A moment of reflection.

Curse Sharing.

This much was undeniable.

The emperor had shared the disease.

And a curse could only be transferred within two degrees of blood relation.

With this in mind, two possibilities came to mind.

Either the emperor had transferred his own affliction to Rose—

Or Charlotte’s illness had been transferred to Rose.

I had assumed one of these must be true.

But.

I had been wrong.

We had all overlooked one critical detail.

A single passage in the records.

- This process has side effects.

- The most common being extreme psychological deterioration or loss of emotion.

- Side effects only occur in the recipient of the curse.

Doesn’t that seem strange?

If our previous assumption was correct,

Then Rose should have been the one afflicted by those side effects.

Yet, her emotions had never crumbled.

She could still feel joy. She could still feel sorrow.

And the same went for Charlotte.

Then who?

If it wasn’t Rose—

And it wasn’t Charlotte—

Then who in this room was devoid of emotion?

Who carried the burden of an unforgivable sin?

"It was you."

That’s right.

Perhaps we had simply been too narrow-minded.

Only now did my eyes open to a new realization.

Misunderstandings often arose from confirmation bias.

We had been blind for too long.

Why?

Why—

Why had we assumed that Rose had been cursed?

Why had we never considered that someone might have taken her curse instead?

Why had we failed to see that foolish act of sacrifice?

"Your Majesty."

I looked up at the man on the throne.

His faded pupils held no trace of life, no hint of curiosity, no shred of emotion.

As if he had lost his heart entirely.

I gazed at him with sorrowful eyes.

"You... took your daughter’s curse upon yourself."

A fragile Rose.

Her cursed fate.

And the one who had borne that burden—

Was the man she had called father.

Valcaros Lantana von Staufen.

"I only do what is best for the empire."

Not once.

Not even once—

Had he done it for the empire.