As his fame continued to soar, Li An suffered from insomnia once again.
Driven by desperation, he had no choice but to see a doctor.
“Insomnia is the kind of ailment that can relapse at any moment. But! You are in luck, patient. The man standing before you is none other than the tragic, renowned doctor who ranks second in the Empire—Gilbert!”
“...”
“Just drink this medicine, and I guarantee you'll fall asleep instantly.”
Li An stared at the doctor in front of him with a highly skeptical gaze.
In this era, there were divine arts of the Church, magic potions, and healing spells.
Thanks to magic, certain fields in the Empire had developed to a degree not at all inferior to modern times, but medicine alone remained considerably backward.
Although it had moved past the ignorant stage of bloodletting as a cure-all, it wasn't much more advanced than that.
This was the true state of the Empire's medical science at present.
“May I ask what ingredients are in this medicine?”
“Well... a doctor's formula cannot be casually disclosed to outsiders. However...”
Having spent so much time in officialdom, how could Li An not understand the implication in Gilbert's words?
He silently pulled out a glittering silver coin and placed it on the table.
Whoosh!
Gilbert's hand was so fast it was almost a blur, and the silver coin vanished into his pocket in an instant.
Watching this, Li An even felt that the doctor's sleight of hand was quite impressive.
He would probably be highly steady during surgery.
“Ahem! However, for the sake of the patient's health, Doctor Gilbert naturally cannot keep any secrets!”
“The primary ingredient in this sleeping medicine is Demon Realm grass, supplemented with magic stone powder, animal tranquilizers, and chamomile. Every single ingredient is personally prepared by me, a certified doctor!”
“I see.”
Li An stood up expressionlessly.
“In that case, I'd better go home and count sheep.”
“Wait! Patient!”
Li An fled without looking back.
He had no desire to sleep until his next life.
It seemed best to avoid the Empire's hospitals as much as possible in the future.
“It's been a while... Tonight, it's time for the ‘Prince of the Night’ to make his appearance.”
Li An applied hair oil to his hair once more, threw on a pitch-black cloak, and put on the half-mask he had previously scavenged from the flea market.
It was said that the mask was some sort of ancient relic; the vendor's initial asking price had been ridiculously high, but he had managed to bargain it down to a dirt-cheap price.
Looking at it now, it was actually quite fitting.
He was dressed entirely in black.
Black from head to toe.
Standing before the silver mirror and looking at himself, Li An couldn't help but feel a tinge of embarrassment.
If Sushia were to see this outfit...
No.
It was too humiliating.
“Absolutely no one must discover this Prince's true identity.”
Li An closed his eyes and began to give himself psychological suggestions.
He needed presence.
He needed mystery.
He needed to inspire awe.
He was not Li An, the Director of the Imperial Evaluation Department.
He was—the Prince of the Night.
The observer overlooking the night, the dark veil that shrouded all things...
“Excellent.”
After a series of self-hypnosis steps that felt almost like incantations, Li An finally slipped completely into character.
Clad in his black cloak, he strode outward with large steps.
“It is time for the night to welcome its true master.”
However, in the very next second—
Snag.
The hem of his black cloak got caught on the doorknob.
Li An yanked at it for quite a while before finally freeing his clothes.
...
The atmosphere was completely ruined.
The Second Princess of the Empire, Serena Barba, was in a very foul mood.
She was already a sensitive person by nature, and recently her mood had turned exceptionally gloomy, to the point where even her closest maid noticed something amiss.
“Your Highness.”
“What is it?”
Serena sat askew in her chair, her finger lightly tapping the armrest.
This was her habitual gesture whenever she was in a bad mood.
“Princess.”
“The black-haired prince you asked me to search for has been found.”
“Oh?”
Serena's eyes instantly lit up.
Her mood improved significantly in an instant.
“They say he will arrive here shortly.”
“Is that true?”
Serena stood up abruptly.
“Do I look presentable right now? Is my hair neat? Are my eyebrows fine?”
“No issues, Your Highness, everything is fine.”
“No.”
Serena shook her head.
“I should touch things up a bit. Let me check my clothes first.”
For their first official meeting, everything naturally had to be just right.
It couldn't be too extravagant, nor could it be too casual.
With the help of her maid, Serena made herself up until she was in what she considered her most perfect state before sitting back down with proper elegance.
“How is it? Do I look presentable now?”
“You look absolutely beautiful, Your Highness.”
Three minutes later.
“Is my lip color a bit too dark? Should I reapply it?”
“There is no need, Your Highness.”
Five minutes later.
“No.”
Serena stood up once again.
“This is our first official meeting. I still feel this outfit isn't quite right. Let's change into another one.”
“Your Highness, the guest has already arrived,” the maid stopped her helplessly. “His Highness is making his way in.”
The door slowly opened.
In her nervousness, Serena subconsciously pinched her own earlobe.
It had been a long time since she had experienced this kind of nervous anticipation.
“Hehe, I did not expect the Second Princess to proactively seek this Prince out.”
Accompanied by a gentle voice, a black-haired man walked inside.
The prince had a confident smile plastered on his face.
“Just what is it that makes Your Highness so eager to see me? There is no need to be shy... Hm?”
The moment he saw Serena's features clearly, a look of sheer marvel flashed through his eyes.
Her long purple hair fell like silk, her fair skin seemed to radiate a soft glow, and her violet eyes resembled brilliant, sparkling amethysts.
“Princess?”
Serena raised her head.
A moment of silence ensued.
“It's not you.”
The prince's smile froze.
“...What?”
“The person I am looking for is not you.”
The prince before her eyes was clearly someone who had grown up eating delicacies his entire life.
His cheeks were fair and plump, and he carried an aura of worldly naivety about him.
His luxurious clothing was heavily laden with expensive jewelry, and the colors were so garish that they made her eyes hurt.
He possessed absolutely no aesthetic sense whatsoever.
This was absolutely not the person she was looking for.
Serena's violet eyes gradually turned cold.
“Get out.”
“Princess, this is surely too impolite. If this triggers a diplomatic—”
“Get out.”
This word was even colder than before.
The prince's body froze instantly.
In that moment, he felt as if he were being stared down by a freezing, venomous viper.
“Err...”
He let out a dry laugh and retreated rapidly.
Bang!
He kicked the door open and turned to flee.
Serena turned to look at her maid.
“Noella, did you find the wrong person?”
“Please punish me, Your Highness.”
“...Sigh.”
Serena let out a sigh.
On second thought, it was only natural.
That prince was merely a minor prince from some remote, small nation; in terms of status, he was not even comparable to a Count of the Empire.
The possibility of this actually causing a diplomatic incident was virtually zero.
The thing that was truly troubling her was a different matter entirely.
“Just how can I see that person again?”
Serena quickly thought of an answer.
She suddenly smiled.
“Alright.”
“Then let us put on another play.”
She recalled that the mysterious “Prince of the Night” seemed to have a great passion for art.
“If that is the case...”
“That man will surely return.”
Under the cover of night.
Li An walked along the streets of the Imperial Capital, the cold wind slipping in through his collar.
Even though he was clad in a thick cloak, he still couldn't help but shiver.
“Why is it suddenly so cold...”
Nevertheless, his destination for tonight had already been decided.
The Moonlight Troupe.
As he walked past the three-way intersection, the familiar alleyway came into view once more.
At the street corner, the street musician was still playing there.
“Oh, it is you again.”
Li An casually flicked a silver coin.
Clink.
The silver coin landed in the hat.
“Wow! This is too generous!”
“Do not mention it,” Li An said in a flat tone. “Thanks to the troupe you recommended previously, this Prince spent quite an enjoyable time.”
“I see.”
The street musician smiled.
“In that case, have you heard the recent news?”
“What news?”
The very next sentence caused the expression on Li An's face to instantly freeze.
“The Moonlight Troupe... has gone bankrupt.”
“I heard their operating conditions got worse and worse, until they could no longer sustain themselves.”
...
Li An almost blurted out a "What?!"
But just as the words reached his lips, he forced himself to swallow them back down.
The Prince of the Night.
He could not lose his composure.
He took a deep breath and resumed his enigmatic posture.
“Sigh...”
“To think this day would inevitably arrive.”
“For the troupe that once touched this Prince's soul to end in such a tragic manner.”
“It is truly regrettable.”
The street musician nodded.
“Still, they at least brought you a splendid performance in the past.”
“With that said, do you still need me to recommend another troupe that might touch your soul once more?”
“...Please, by all means.”
Perhaps there, he would be able to find another kind soul capable of curing his insomnia.
Carrying a final sliver of hope, Li An arrived at the troupe recommended by the street musician.
“Oh! Isolette! You are beautiful!”
The familiar lines echoed.
Isolette?
Her again?
Li An's spirits lifted, and he waited patiently.
Perhaps...
she would take the stage here as well.
However—
nothing.
From beginning to end, the entire performance did nothing but frantically assault his eardrums.
Li An waited for a long time, but that familiar figure never appeared.
Not only that, but the drowsiness he had managed to accumulate earlier vanished completely.
His eyes were bloodshot from staying up.
“I must find her.”
Li An began to wander aimlessly through the night streets of the Imperial Capital.
He was tired.
Extremely tired.
But he simply could not fall asleep.
He even felt as though he were on the verge of death.
“Please...”
“I beg of you...”
“Just where are you?”
The once elegant Prince of the Night gradually devolved into a lonely ghost haunting the dark.
Over the subsequent period, he visited every single troupe, large and small, in the Imperial Capital.
Yet, he could never find that girl.
“I want to hear it just one more time...”
“Her voice...”
That voice was something he had been unable to forget to this day.
The moment the first line of the song rang out, her gentle voice seemed to possess some sort of magical quality, effortlessly guiding his consciousness toward slumber.
It was almost like a sleeping spell tailored specifically for insomniacs.
It even made Li An wonder if she was the incarnation of a legendary siren.
“If I had known things would turn out like this...”
“I should have at least asked for her name back then.”
Just because he had been putting on such pretentious airs back then, he had actually driven himself into this miserable corner.
Li An let out a long sigh.
Afterward, he walked into a theater that was still lit.
To say he was treating a dead horse as if it were alive was an understatement.
However—
the moment he lifted his eyes toward the stage.
Li An froze entirely.
In the next instant, he recognized that figure.
It was her.
He had finally found her.
Li An's eyes lit up in an instant.
“My sleeping pill...”
Rate on N.U.
