That Lady’s Stalker - Chapter 48
Jace and Asher were not brothers with a large age gap. They didn’t spend much time together, especially since they lived in different parts of the palace, and their relationship was distant.
Jace didn’t often meet Asher, usually only when there was a banquet or when he went to the main palace to see their father. As a result, Jace recognized that Asher was his younger brother, but he didn’t take much interest in him.
Their relationship, without a single conversation, was far and distant.
Then one day, on a seemingly ordinary day when time passed without meaning, Jace happened to see Asher in the main palace. Asher, surrounded by numerous servants, was being dragged somewhere.
‘How dare they treat the Prince like that?’
Even though Jace wasn’t particularly close to Asher, he was still his younger brother and a prince of the Empire.
Jace hurried toward Asher but suddenly stopped. Hidden behind a pillar, he saw their father walking ahead. He looked from Asher’s bruised face to their father’s tightly clenched hand.
Jace couldn’t move a step until their father and Asher disappeared behind the thick iron door that led to the cellar.
Only then did he realize why Asher always had those dark, red bruises on his face. It was the first time he had seen their father’s stern face like that, and the sight of Asher being dragged away, so powerless, was something he had never witnessed.
Jace stood frozen for a while, lost in thought, then suddenly turned and ran. His mind was filled with one thought—he had to see his mother.
Breathless, he stood before her and babbled.
“Asher was dragged away. He had so many bruises… Fa, Father…!”
Jace, usually so calm and mature for his age, was now trembling, his voice breaking. The sight of their father, who always seemed so kind, shocked him deeply.
Was it his turn next? Was he going to be dragged to the cellar like Asher, treated like an animal?
“Jace, calm down.”
He felt his mother’s warm touch. She took his trembling hands and waited quietly for him to calm down.
“Mother, Asher…”
“Yes, yes… that poor boy…”
Her grip tightened on his hands. Jace looked up at his mother, but when their eyes met, he was startled.
Her eyes were filled with a crimson scream and a deep, sorrowful blackness. The pain in her gaze, as intense as Asher’s, struck him, and he hugged his mother tightly.
After receiving comfort in his mother’s arms, she, just like him before, rushed toward the main palace.
Even after returning to his own quarters, Jace couldn’t forget Asher’s powerless face. The expression that seemed to have given up on everything felt like one he would eventually wear himself, and that terrified him.
* * *
Since then, Jace had often watched his father’s reactions closely. When his father called him to the main palace, his heart would flutter in unease. But when he saw his father’s smiling face, he would feel relieved. Unlike the cold expressions he showed toward Asher, his father would smile at him and sometimes even praised him for following the intense lessons well.
Jace felt reassured. He told himself that Asher must have done something wrong to deserve punishment, brushing it off lightly.
He had forgotten the look in his mother’s eyes, choosing to deceive himself about the truth.
However, a few days later, he heard something strange from his father.
“You’re sharp. Hmm, with the bright color you have, it’s expected.”
His father patted his head and said something he couldn’t understand.
“Dark, almost black colors bring bad luck. So, stay away from them, Jace.”
The mention of the black color struck Jace with a sense of familiarity. He had heard this several times before—from his playmates, from the servants who whispered behind his back.
He hadn’t thought much of it. Why did their words matter? Asher was a prince, after all. He had never seen anyone actually geting bullied for having black hair. Even if people whispered about him, it was just because they felt uneasy about him, not anything too serious.
“Answer me.”
Jace looked directly into his father’s eyes. The truth, buried deep in his heart, surfaced once again.
With a reluctant nod, Jace acknowledged his father’s forceful grip on his shoulder.
That day, Jace finally decided to visit Asher in his quarters.
“…”
As soon as he arrived, it was clear that Asher’s quarters were not well-kept. The small garden wasn’t maintained, and the grass grew as tall as a person. The window frames and door hinges hadn’t been oiled in a long time, and rust had set in.
Inside the quarters was worse. When the door opened, dust from the outside swirled into the air like fog. The dust that had gathered on the floor revealed messy footprints, evidence of people moving through the space.
Jace hesitated at the entrance, not wanting to step any further inside. He called out for Asher.
“Asher!”
He wanted to confirm something.
“Asher Brescobaldi!”
His throat burned with pain as he called out.
Even though his voice echoed loudly through the first floor, not a single ant appeared. The only thing that moved was a spider leisurely spinning its web from a tapestry hanging on the wall.
In the end, Jace stepped into the abandoned palace.
“…”
In the dim lightless room, Jace climbed the stairs leading to the second floor.
