Hortus Arcanus planēta

ACT 2

palace

Oho… black rumors, huh?

I wonder if Ella and El would be okay.

If it were Ella…

a prince surrounded by dark rumors would probably bully her and treat her like less than human.

And if it were El…

she’d probably spend her entire life fighting with him.

…Wait.

Why don’t I go see this so-called “prince with dark rumors” myself?

The palace should be that way.

I hurried toward the palace.

Heave-ho.

Once I arrived, I immediately began searching for the so-called dark prince.

Inside the palace, dazzling golden walls stretched endlessly, packed tightly with countless portraits.

I wonder who these people are.

Maybe the prince is somewhere among them.

Thinking that, I continued down the corridor when I suddenly heard footsteps approaching from the opposite direction.

One belonged to an elderly man with a white beard — dignified enough to clearly be the king of this country.

The other appeared to be his son.

“Al.”

“How goes it, Father?”

“At the ball, you will choose your marriage partner. Understood? This is absolute.”

“I understand, Father.”

“Good. As long as you do. I shall return to my chambers now. You should get some rest as well.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty. Then… good evening.”

With that, the two men parted ways and disappeared down separate corridors.

Judging from their conversation, the man called Al was probably the prince.

So I decided to follow him.

As I tailed him through the halls, Al glanced in my direction several times.

At first, I thought it was just my imagination.

But no…

It really felt like he was looking straight at me.

Al let out a sigh.

“Tch… that damn old bastard.”

For a moment, I thought I had misheard him.

But the deep crease forming between his brows told me it was real.

And then the next words that left Al’s mouth froze me in place.

“Hey, Refa… you’re there, aren’t you?”