"As of today, you shall go to the Palace. Pack your belongings immediately."

Those were the words the soldiers spoke as they pinned me to the floor of my master's house. The Palace, all of a sudden? Embezzling relief grain, forging royal edicts—as an uneducated beast of a boy, I couldn't understand a word of it. I just barely managed to process one thing: I was going to the Palace.

The people at the Palace were all kind. Half of it was likely curiosity, since boys were a rare sight there. For someone like me, who spent my life being beaten by the Master and having tea water thrown at me by the Mistress, I simply liked that the women were looking after me.

Chopping firewood or running long distances to fetch medicinal herbs was easy work. I was told to be careful since it was medicine for the Crown Prince. Is he ill? Why would such a noble person be sick? When I asked, they said he takes it in advance to prevent his precious jade-like body from suffering. ...Wow. It was a completely different world from mine, where I'd just dig up and eat arrowroot even when burning up with fever.

The Crown Prince must be someone who requires a lot of care. Today, a hoe was thrust into my hands with orders to level the soil by the pond where he often passes. One hour, two hours. As time passed, sweat poured down like rain. When I lifted my head to catch my breath, I saw a Princess I had never seen before, tilting a teacup in a pavilion far off.

"...It's, it's the Crown Prince."

A fellow passing by whispered and hurriedly pulled my arm. ...Not a Princess, but the Crown Prince? That person is a man? With a face I could hardly believe and such a small, delicate frame. In my shock, I even forgot to press my head against the ground.