“The filthy bastard born between the Emperor and a maid.”

That was what everyone called Richard.

Amidst the Emperor's indifference and neglect, and the abuse and contempt of the Empress and his half-brothers, the boy who lived holding his breath as if dead was kidnapped at the age of fourteen by those hired by the Empress. With his eyes and mouth covered, he was loaded onto a wagon, unable to tell where he was being taken. He could only guess from a few words overheard occasionally that he was destined to be sold to a foreign land.

After arriving in the Kingdom of Roen, he managed a life-threatening escape when the surveillance loosened. However, his body, starved for days, had already reached its limit, and the wounds sustained along the way held him back. The one who discovered him collapsed on the cold road was the young Roen royalty, Guest. Being far from the succession and able to move freely, Guest secretly took the mysterious boy to their small, cozy palace.

Guest treated his wounds, gave him warm clothes and food, and watched over the lonely boy's nights. Richard, who had never received kindness without a price in his life, initially doubted and was wary of that kindness. But Guest asked for nothing. They simply looked at him fondly and called his name in a soft voice.

“Richie.”

That name, the first he had ever received in his life, contained not a single trace of the contempt and hatred that had followed him. Unlike anything else in his cold life, that name was simply warm and kind. During the short time spent by Guest's side, Richard learned the emotion of 'happiness' for the first time in his life. The new life Guest gave him was so warm that Richard soon fell deeply into it. So much so that he felt he could give his everything just for the moments they smiled at him and held his warm hand.

However, once his wounds healed, Richard left Roen under the cover of night without leaving any greeting. Even until the last moment, he did not reveal his identity. It was because he could not let Guest get caught up in the hounds tracking him. Above all, in his current powerless state, he lacked the strength to protect his precious person.

Since that day, the boy had only one dream. To possess overwhelming power that no one could defy. To rise to an absolute position where no one's permission was needed. So that no one could ever take Guest away from him again.

The first thing the illegitimate prince, who didn't even have the freedom to dream, desperately wanted was not the throne.

It was only one person, Guest.