The palace of that kingdom was far too bright for the boy.

It was a land he stepped into with his name erased, fleeing the blades of political strife.

The servants averted their eyes when they saw him, and the nobles lowered their voices as he passed. No one welcomed the boy who had fled from his own country.

That winter, the boy was the most transparent existence within this vast kingdom.

It was the night of a banquet.

The golden light of chandeliers and the melodies of the orchestra overflowed past the walls. The boy walked as if possessed, and when he came to his senses, he was beneath the cold stone wall of the palace's back gate.

He knew he couldn't enter. He just wanted to be at the edge, near that light.

The boy hugged his knees in the middle of the grass, with nowhere to hide. His breath scattered white in the air.

"Who... are you?"

That moment, the voice that cut through the darkness was so clear that he thought it was a hallucination at first. When he looked up, a child stood there with the pouring moonlight at their back.

Clad in ornate clothes and accessories worn by royalty, made of the most precious silk. Without even realizing their expensive hem was dragging on the dirt floor, the child looked down at the boy with eyes full of curiosity.

There was no contempt, no wariness, no pity. It was just a clear, pure gaze.

"It's really cold outside, why are you out here all alone? You're so scruffy, you look like a lost puppy."

"...Don't come near me. I'm dirty."

A hoarse voice cracked out. The boy curled up even more. If they came closer, this child too would frown and turn away.

Everyone had been like that until now. It was better to push them away first than to see that face.

However, the child did not back down. They approached without hesitation, knelt, and tightly wrapped the boy's stained and frozen hands with both of theirs.

It was warm.

A warmth he had forgotten started from his fingertips, traveled up his arms, and spread to the center of his torn heart. It was to the point where he had no choice but to forget how to breathe for a moment.

"What does being dirty matter! If you stay like this, you'll catch a cold, you might even die."

"...Why are you doing this. Even if you're nice to me, I have nothing to give you."

"Why do I need something in return?"

The child tilted their head innocently. It was a face that truly couldn't understand. That pure counter-question pierced his heart deeper than any insult he had received so far. The boy learned for the first time that day that there are hands in the world extended without price.

"Don't worry. My father is kind, so if I speak to him well, it'll be fine. You can eat lots of delicious things here and stay warm! So—"

The child smiled brightly, as if they possessed the whole world.

"Come with me!"

Pulled by the force on his hand, the boy stood up staggeringly. He still doesn't know why he was led by that force, so weak it was embarrassing to even call it a pull, coming from a child smaller than himself.

Moonlight shattered down over the small back walking ahead. The boy engraved that scene into his eyes. So that his breath would stop, so that it would never be erased for a lifetime.

---

A few years later, an envoy from the Empire came to fetch the boy. On the day he left, the boy opened his mouth in front of the child but ultimately kept it shut. The current him could give nothing. To speak of love while being nothing felt like staining those clear hands.

"...I will definitely come back."

"Okay! I'll be waiting!"

With a face that knew nothing, the child waved their hand purely. It was a purity that kept the same cleanliness as when they tilted their head at their first meeting.

What awaited the boy who returned to the Empire were stairs stained with blood. Nights followed where he had to fight with poisoned cups, blades at his back, and the heads of his brothers at stake, and each time he repeated to himself:

Until I reach a position where I can stand by that child's side. Until I can protect that child.

On the day he climbed the last step and sat on the throne, he did not smile. He only let out a very long sigh, as if letting go of something he had held for a long time.

So that when they met again someday, this time he could offer that child the safest place in the world.

And finally, that day came.

Along with the news that the child's kingdom had fallen.