Princess Aurora Valerius sat alone on a small balcony within the imperial palace, her favorite place to gaze at the sky.
She was only ten years old, yet loneliness had already become a familiar companion.
Within the cold, magnificent walls of the Empire’s palace, Aurora lived as a girl who appeared to have everything—yet secretly felt as though something essential was missing.
Her father, Emperor Regulus Valerius, was a man respected and feared throughout the Empire. To the nobles and citizens, Regulus was known as a cold and ruthless ruler, a man who would sacrifice anyone to maintain his power.
But to Aurora, her father was gentle and kind.
Though he rarely had time to spend with her, whenever he did, he tried to spoil her with lavish gifts and quiet moments together. Sometimes he would even teach her about the stars, pointing at the night sky and telling stories about distant constellations.
But those moments were brief.
Too brief.
Once they ended, the Emperor would return to the endless duties of ruling the Empire, leaving Aurora alone again in a palace that was grand but painfully silent.
Her mother, Empress Calista, was entirely different.
Since the day Aurora was born, her mother had almost never held her—nor even smiled at her.
Calista was elegant and beautiful, but cold. A woman who rarely showed emotion, even toward her own daughter.
Whenever Aurora tried to approach her or start a conversation, Calista would simply look at her with an empty gaze, as though Aurora were nothing more than an inconvenience.
Aurora never understood why her mother treated her this way.
She had asked her father many times, but Emperor Regulus always avoided the question.
“There are things you are better off not knowing, Aurora,” he would say softly but firmly.
Even the servants who cared for her grew uneasy whenever Aurora mentioned the Empress’s name.
That mystery lingered in Aurora’s heart, slowly growing into a mixture of sadness and confusion.
Despite being a princess, she had never known the warmth of a mother’s love.
Because of this life, Aurora had very few friends.
The imperial palace was filled with nobles and servants, yet there were no children her age to keep her company.
The servants who cared for her were kind, but they were far too old to truly understand her world.
They taught her etiquette, music, and painting.
But they could not give her the warmth she longed for—the joy of having a real friend to play with or share secrets.
Sometimes Aurora would watch the children of the Gelar Clan training in the palace courtyard.
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She often peeked from behind windows or secretly watched from hidden corners.
But every time she saw them, fear crept into her heart.
The children of the Gelar Clan had cold eyes and expressionless faces.
They looked less like children and more like shadows walking among the living.
Their lives within the clan had stolen all traces of joy from their faces.
Aurora shivered whenever she imagined living like them—without emotions, without smiles.
But one day, while she was wandering through the palace gardens, Aurora noticed someone different.
A boy.
He looked about seven years old.
He wore the same dark uniform as the children of the Gelar Clan, with their emblem stitched on his shoulder.
But something about him felt different.
He didn’t look frightening.
There was still life in his eyes.
And his expression…
It wasn’t empty like the others.
Aurora stopped walking, staring at him with a mixture of curiosity and nervousness.
The boy seemed absorbed in watching the birds perched among the garden trees. A small smile rested on his tired but gentle face.
Aurora hesitated.
Her entire life, she had been warned to keep her distance from the Gelar Clan.
They were shadow assassins.
Weapons created to serve the Emperor without hesitation or emotion.
But this boy…
He didn’t feel like one of them.
Taking a deep breath, Aurora slowly approached him, her heart beating nervously.
She had no idea how to talk to someone from the Gelar Clan.
But her desire for a friend gave her the courage to try.
“Hey…” she called softly, almost whispering so she wouldn’t startle him.
The boy turned, clearly surprised.
But when he saw the small girl standing before him, his expression softened.
“Hello,” he replied simply.
Aurora smiled shyly.
“I… I haven’t seen you here before,” she said.
“Did you just join the Gelar Clan?”
The boy nodded slowly, watching her with quiet attention.
“Yes. My name is Leon,” he answered.
“I’m new here.”
Aurora felt something comforting in his voice—something completely different from the other clan children she had seen.
Gathering a little more courage, she continued.
“My name is Aurora,” she said with a small smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Leon.”
Leon seemed momentarily surprised by her name, though he quickly hid it behind a polite smile.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Princess Aurora.”
Aurora giggled softly, the sound almost unfamiliar to her own ears because she rarely laughed.
“You can just call me Aurora,” she said quickly.
“I don’t like it when my friends call me ‘Princess.’”
Leon hesitated briefly before smiling.
“Alright… Aurora.”
Aurora nodded enthusiastically.
Talking to him felt strangely freeing.
Inside a palace filled with rigid rules and formal etiquette, speaking with someone without those barriers felt refreshing.
“Do you come to the garden often?” Aurora asked, her eyes bright with hope.
She genuinely wanted to know more about this boy—this new friend who might finally ease her loneliness.
Leon shook his head.
“Not really,” he said honestly.
“Most of my time is spent training.”
“But… I like it here.”
“The garden reminds me of something… though I can’t quite explain it.”
Aurora felt a quiet sympathy growing in her heart.
She understood loneliness.
And seeing Leon standing here alone made her feel that they shared something in common.
“If you want… we can meet here again,” Aurora said softly but hopefully.
“I don’t have many friends in the palace.”
“Actually… I don’t have any friends at all.”
Leon looked at her for a moment.
He could see the loneliness behind her smile.
Despite being a princess, she looked fragile—trapped within cold palace walls that kept everyone at a distance.
A faint sense of compassion stirred inside Leon.
For the first time in this new life, he felt the desire to protect someone not because of duty or orders…
But because he genuinely wanted to.
“I’d like that,” Leon said with a gentle smile.
“We can be friends… if you want.”
Aurora’s heart lifted instantly.
Something warm bloomed inside her chest—something she had never felt before.
“Of course!” she exclaimed happily.
“I’ll wait for you in this garden every day!”
Leon nodded.
And in that moment, the heavy burden he carried felt just a little lighter.
For the first time since beginning this new life, Leon felt the warmth of genuine friendship.
A small hope within the dark path he had chosen.
The two children looked at each other and smiled.
In that quiet garden—within a palace that was grand yet cold—two children from completely different worlds found one another.
The beginning of a friendship that might one day change the fate of the Empire itself.
