Don’t Mind Me

It wasn’t exactly an unhappy ending, but the hesitant Solor didn’t say the rest of what he wanted to say.

He had already noticed that the teacup Ellie held was empty, and she kept sipping at nothing but air, as if she didn’t want to continue speaking with him.

“…I’ll come find you later.”

“Mm, alright. Brother, you should go handle your work. Don’t waste time because of me.”

Listen—what an obedient little sister.

If anyone else had such a perceptive and considerate sister, they would surely be delighted.

One who never wastes time, never makes unreasonable demands, and calmly accepts others leaving without fussing, “Can’t you stay a little longer?”

As Solor turned to leave, he glanced sideways at Ellie—and suddenly realized—

Ellie was no longer that little girl who couldn’t even lift a dictionary.

Her light golden hair now reached her waist, and she no longer complained about tea being bitter.

But—they were still siblings.

Like a simple children’s math problem, no matter how much Ellie grew, Solor had not stopped aging.

He would always be older.

Always the brother she could rely on.

But now… it didn’t seem like he could chalk this up to “rebellious adolescence.”

“There may be some gap between us—”

“Nope.”

A clean, decisive rejection—one that clearly meant she wanted to end the conversation.

Ellie lifted her eyes and looked straight into Solor’s red pupils…

The red eyes she had always longed for, yet also despised.

Within the royal family, nobility and authority were always symbolized by gold and red.

The grand hall was filled with golden carvings, while the smaller decorations were red, creating a visually striking contrast.

Their mother had been chosen as a royal consort because of her beautiful red eyes—
But unfortunately, only Solor inherited them.

Eric, though born with golden hair, had inherited his eyes from his mother—a pinkish color, more seductive than noble.

To Eric’s mother, that was nothing short of an insult.

The emperor’s children—yet why did her son fail to inherit the royal red?

Despite being mostly superstition—a symbolic “good sign”—the wealthy and idle nobles focused on such things whenever they did not know how to choose.

As for everything else…
Well, that depended on actual power.

After all, wasn’t eliminating your competitor much more effective than arguing over eye color?

But Eric—the second prince who had become Ellie—ultimately chose to give up.

Or more accurately, he had never planned on wearing the crown from the very beginning.

That useless piece of metal… only his mother loved it.

Or perhaps Solor liked it, too?

Aside from the coronation day, Eric had never worn the crown again.

He felt the pure-gold weight would crush his neck.

If he really became emperor, he would melt it down and remake a lighter one—something belonging only to him.

Eric had spent his whole life chasing the red that proved his strength.

Whenever he held a glass of red wine, he would think of Solor’s blazing eyes—eyes full of passion yet colder than ice.

But now…
Those same eyes looked at her with complicated emotion.

Especially—
Familial worry.

But, my new sun…

How can you allow emotion to soften you?

If you want to become a king, you cannot be this indecisive.

Her Solor in the previous life—hadn’t he been forced by life to become that terrifying, respected emperor?

“Brother.”

Just as Solor turned away, frowning, Ellie called out to him after he took only a few steps.

And Ellie herself only realized what she’d done when Solor turned back with an eager, hopeful expression.

She had called out to him subconsciously.

“It’s nothing.”

Since she hadn’t prepared anything to say, she merely shook her head under his expectant gaze.

“Don’t mind me.”

Just a casual remark.
Nothing more.

That was the end of it.

Solor paused for a moment.

Only when Ellie’s empty cup clinked onto the table did he come back to his senses.

With attendants urging him, he finally left.

Indeed—
As the future emperor, he must be exceptionally busy.

Even this short meeting in the garden was squeezed out of his schedule.

She should not waste such precious time.

He would become emperor—
He could not hesitate about such trivial things.

Her mother had greatly influenced Eric—
So much so that even when he rebelled against her again and again, he ultimately became exactly the person she wanted him to be.

Even his views on emperors—those never changed.

An emperor must be solemn.

An emperor must be ruthless.

An emperor must devote time only to things that matter.

So in her previous life, seeing Solor treat her coldly never angered him.

Because men who wished to become emperor should be like that.

Even now—nothing had changed.

Except Ellie no longer needed to clash swords with Solor.

No longer needed to pressure him.

No longer needed to compete with him or put on some show of becoming emperor for a month.

So now, she simply said all those things outright.

A breeze swept past, blowing Ellie’s long hair.

It still felt strange to her—she wanted to cut it all off, since it blocked her vision and felt warm on her back.

But now that she was a princess, she had no choice but to accept it.

“…”

Ellie lifted her head, turning the empty cup in her hands, and watched the birds passing overhead.

Tell me—
Would there come a day when they suddenly couldn’t fly anymore, falling from the sky and crashing into the dirt?

Just like she had fallen that day—
Her body smashing into the stone steps leading to the palace hall, broken beyond recognition.

Maybe she hadn’t fully died in the last moment.

Because she still heard the gasps of the crowd.

And she heard their cheers.

They rejoiced at the tyrant’s death.

They trampled over his corpse and scattered flesh, leaving bloody footprints as they rushed into the palace to celebrate the new king.

“…”

Just the memory made her chest ache.

She had indeed entered the palace—
Just stuck to the soles of their shoes in countless pieces.

“I want to go out for a walk.”

Ellie sighed after thinking through it all.

“None of you follow me. I’m going out alone.”

She wanted to see whether this royal capital was still anything like the one in her memories.