Vol 1 Chapter 4: The Moonlight That Once Carried Me

The Younger Brother Who Longed for His Big Sister's Shadow

POV: Crown Prince – Mikael Stronghold

That night still lingers in my eyes like a stain that light can't wash away.
The flash of anger on my sister Sophie Stronghold's face lingers in my memory like a cracked mirror reflecting my own in shards.

I never knew... why her eyes seemed to freeze the air.
I was just worried about her.
But maybe I was the one who failed to convey love painlessly.
Something had changed.
And that change... was painful.

Since that night, my Big Sister's footsteps sounded like a distant echo, not an approaching one.
When she awoke from her deep sleep, she looked at me like a stranger.
Not Mikael, not her little brother, not the little boy she once held in the rain.
Was I still her little brother?
Or was it just a memory of the past she kept hidden in a dark corner of her heart?

This morning, dew hung in the air like an unspoken whisper.
I woke earlier than usual.
The morning air prickled my skin like a secret whisper from the night before that hadn't subsided.
I wore a nobleman's robe: heavy, luxurious, but not warm enough to mask the chill of unanswered feelings.

I walked down the halls of the castle where my brother lived.
The walls were high and cold, holding echoes of a past I didn't want to let go of.
Servants bowed as I passed, soldiers gave me sharp but polite glances.
But this honour paled in comparison to the one thing I couldn't redeem: my Big Sister's sincere smile.

I stopped in the garden.
It was still the same garden.
The fountain still sang.
The roses bloomed with their tender blood.
The damp grass reflected the first rays of sunlight.
The wind blew softly, as if caressing a wound I couldn't see... only feel.
This was the last time I felt truly like my Big Sister's little brother.

—

Flashback: Memories That Remain

We used to run around this garden, laughing, screaming, playing as if the world would never change.
One day, I fell, and my little world was shaken by pain.

“I-I... Big Sis... my leg...”

I broke down in tears as my little foot ached.
My Big Sister came running over like the first breeze before a storm.

“Mikael, calm down. Let me see.”

Her warm hand touched the swelling on my ankle, then blew gently.
I can still remember that blowing—it didn't heal anything, but it calmed everything.

“Is it better?”

“A little... but it's wet from your saliva...”

“Tch—wahaha! Mikael, you're so funny!”

Her laughter was like church bells ringing at dawn.
Light, loving, and painless.

"I'll help you up."

My Big Sister helped me up.
Her warm hand touched my shoulder.
Her chin rested on my head.

Then my older sister hugged me from behind.
And... she carried me.

"Excuse me...
I'll carry you to the healing centre."

Her back was warm and fragrant like spring.
Her steps were steady, as if the world could collapse,
But she would still protect me.
On the way, I said:

“Big Sis, one day... I will be the one to protect you.”

She paused for a moment, then replied:

“You are my cutest little brother.
If one day you become strong,
I’ll be happy…
But today, let Big Sis take care of you, okay?”

Her laughter broke out again, softly.
And somehow, ever since that day...
I wanted to be strong.
Not for the world.
But for the one who carried me when I couldn’t walk.

—

Back to Present in the Same Park

Now I stand in that park again.
But the world no longer feels light.
I’ve grown taller. My Big Sister has changed, too.
But her smile… I don’t know where it is.

If only I could fold time like paper and tuck it in my pocket…
If only I could carry all the past days and exchange them for just one morning —
A morning where my Big Sister still holds me not out of a burden, but out of love.

Now, I stare at a rose soaked in dew.
A rose that doesn’t know that my Big Sister may have transformed into someone else.
And amidst the tranquillity of this garden, all I hear are the echoes of my steps...
And the slow recollection of childhood...
It feels like someone else's dream.

—

The Maid Who Guarded the Remaining Moonlight

My steps creaked down the stone stairs, as if groaning under the weight of time.
The morning light filtering through the tall windows filtered through the fine dust that danced, like memories that refused to subside.
This castle… the place where my Big Sister was exiled...
Felt less like home than like a living tombstone, imprisoning the dreams of someone too precious to forget—yet too “different” to accept.

At the end of the upstairs hallway, a door stood proudly.
Not because of its splendour, but because of the silence it maintained.

In front of it stood a girl, seventeen, maybe eighteen.
Her figure was serene, like frozen dew.
She was Elsa, my Big Sister’s maid.
Her jet-black hair was braided beautifully.
Her blue eyes were as calm as a lake untroubled by storms.

“Elsa…” I called softly, as if afraid to awaken something older than dreams.
“How is my Big Sister?”

She bowed slightly, respectfully, then answered in a soft voice imbued with serenity.

“As usual, Prince.
The Princess has just fallen asleep.
She stayed up all night continuing her research… until dawn.”

There was a pause there.
A pause that said more than the sentence itself.
I clenched my fingers.

“Why… why does my Big Sister continue to torture herself like this?”

My breath was heavy.
The morning breeze coming in through the window was cold—biting, not soothing.

“My Big Sister is an imperial princess…
She should be spending her time quietly...
Sipping tea with other nobles, laughing lightly to the music of the leaves...
Not buried beneath ancient books that even scholars have given up on deciphering.”

But she kept reading…
Keep researching…
Keep searching for something no one else understood…
Perhaps it was the legacy of her exile.
Perhaps it was… the remnants of her pride.

Elsa looked at me—not with pity, but with cold understanding.

“Forgive me for being presumptuous, Prince…
But I think the Princess is trying to prove herself.
She has been marginalised for so long.
I believe she simply wants to be known…
not for her royal blood, but for who she is.”

I want to be known…
Not because of my name.
But because of my wounds.
Because of my struggle.
Because of my existence.
I nodded slowly.

“She has suffered too much…
What’s the point of being the future king if I can’t protect the people I love?
I can’t do anything… I can’t even lift her exile.”

My voice broke into a murmur.

Elsa paused, then said softly:
“I don’t think the Princess blames the Prince.
In fact… she’s probably very grateful to have you.”

I took a deep breath.

“Thank you, Elsa.
You’ve taken such good care of my Big Sister…”

She bowed respectfully.

“I was only doing my duty, Prince.”

I glanced at the door once more.

“Elsa… may I see her? Just a glimpse…”
“Please.”

Slowly, she opened the door.
The hinges creaked like whispers from the past.

—

Moonlight in Sleep

And there…
In the soft morning light filtering through the stained glass window, I saw her.
Sophie—the girl who once held me—now lay like a sleeping rose in glass.
Her blue hair spread like a curtain of night, and her skin was so pale, it was almost translucent.
She didn't look human... but rather an otherworldly being—a heavenly princess cast down to earth by a cruel fate.

I was stunned.
Time seemed to stop.
The entire room fell silent. Even my heartbeat slowed...
So as not to disturb the serenity of her face.
God...
What had happened to her...
A small smile appeared on my face.
A smile that couldn't hide the pain.
I gently closed the door again, as if afraid of hurting the petals of the dream she was weaving.

"Thank you, Elsa...
Take care of her.
Don't let her loneliness consume her."

"As you wish, Prince," she replied quietly.

I stepped away.
But my steps left a burning promise behind.

Big Sis...
I will take you out of here.
I will challenge the world that hurt you.
I will lift your exile, even if it means defying the heavens and the Queen Mother.

Wait for me, Sis.
Wait for me beyond your long sleep.
Because the world must see you smiling in the morning light — not just as the Imperial Princess...
But as the Sophie I remember, and the one I will free.