"Sylus, you are not to leave this room, is that understood?!"
Elizabeth stood in front of Sylus's door, a maid right behind her.
Sylus was also at the entrance, surprise etched on his face.
"Mother—"
"I don't want to hear any excuses from you, young man. You remain here." Elizabeth now had her arms folded.
Sylus was speechless; the seriousness on his mother's face was evident.
He wondered why she asked to meet in his room after breakfast.
It turned out it was because she didn't want him to leave the castle.
And his father was not in the castle at the moment, so asking him for help was already off the table.
"M-Mother, are you upset about something?"
Elizabeth stared him down.
"Am I upset? Am I upset?"
Something about the way she uttered those words made Sylus want to hide behind someone.
If Zani were close to him, he would have done so; unfortunately, she was standing at the corner of the room.
So instead, he was forced to listen to his mother rant.
With both her hands on her waist, she leaned forward.
"My son leaves the castle after breakfast in the morning and goes on to sleep inside a dirty barn, only to be brought back to the castle by a soldier. What is there not to be upset about?"
Sylus chuckled nervously, "I only did that because I made a deal with Father to build—"
"I don't care, Sylus. I will have a word with your father concerning this; sleeping in the barn is unacceptable."
At that moment, Sylus already knew there was nothing he could say to change his mother's mind.
He carried a sad look on his face.
"Look, darling, I know you want to help Zani from being locked up. I won't have you living in poor conditions to do that. I'll find a way to make your father change his mind."
As she spoke, Sylus settled on the ground.
'That's not the point…'
His reasons for wanting to build the car went beyond just trying to stop Zani from getting locked up.
Completing this project would not only increase his father's respect for him, but also, he wanted to see his father lose.
Was the reason petty and childish? Indeed.
Still, it was something Sylus wanted.
Knowing his father was probably anticipating his failure was eating him up.
Being accustomed to being perceived as a failure can have a profound impact on a person.
"I'll be going now; I have a few meetings to attend to."
"Alright."
With that, Elizabeth exited the room after giving Zani one last look and then closing the door.
Silence took over for a while.
Sylus was still seated in a single position, and Zani, confused about what to do, could only look around.
Then suddenly—
"Looks like she's gone—"
Sylus stood up from the ground and then headed toward the window.
Carefully, he got on top of the table, making it easier for Sylus to rest his hand on the window frame and stare outside.
Zani panicked at the sight.
"Prince! B-be careful up there."
She moved closer, her hand lingering close to his legs in case he was going to fall.
Sylus didn't seem bothered.
From where he stood, he could see the entire castle's compound.
And just ahead was the barn he had set up himself.
He could already see the soldier walking around the door of the barn, waiting for Sylus to show up.
Taking another look, he noticed there was just a single guard present as well.
"Zani, find me a cloth… Make sure it's hard and long."
Zani didn't move an inch.
"Why is the prince asking for a cloth?"
"To use as a rope. We are going to sneak out through this window," Sylus replied.
This made Zani quickly grab his hand. "N-No, you can't do that, my prince; y-you'll fall."
She tugged him.
"I'll fall regardless if you keep pushing me like this."
Sylus tried to balance himself by holding onto the wall.
Eventually, Zani stopped, her eyes—once lifeless—now filled with concern for Sylus.
"Her Majesty said she didn't want you going outside. She'll be angry if she finds out."
Sylus quickly looked at her.
"Zani, who do you serve, me or my mother?"
"Y-you."
"Then I ask that you support me in times when I need you. If I don't do this, I'll be laughed at by Father and Lucas. Do you want me to get humiliated?"
Zani shook her head.
"So let me do this. Don't worry, we'll be back home before Mother even realizes we're gone. And if she does find out, then so be it."
It was clear Sylus had made up his mind; nothing Zani said was going to change that.
She sighed.
"As you wish, my prince."
"Yeahhhh, why do you keep calling me 'my prince,' and what are you doing?"
Sylus was surprised to see her climbing the table as well.
"My prince is my prince, is he not?"
'Eh? Who taught her how to answer a question with a question?'
Before Sylus knew it, Zani was already standing on the table with him.
"What are you doing?"
"You said you wanted to escape through the window."
"Then shouldn't you be handing me the rope I asked for?"
"I know a faster way."
"Eh?"
Without any effort, Zani picked Sylus up from the ground as if carrying a loaf of bread.
Sylus fought the urge to scream, his hand instinctively covering his mouth.
How was she so strong? And what the hell is she planning on doing?
Even though she was carrying him so easily, Sylus couldn't help but fear she would drop him.
His question was answered when Zani spoke.
"Please hold on to me tightly. I have not done this before."
Sylus's fear was even more evident when Zani placed one foot on the window and then, with no hesitation, leaped down.
The moment her feet touched the ground, she took yet another leap into the flowers in front of her.
Easily avoiding getting caught by the guard.
While inside the bush, snuggled up with Sylus, a small smile appeared on her face.
"Isn't this better than a rope?"
As her eyes met with Sylus's, she realized his soul had exited his body.
"M-My prince!"