I Became the Narrow-Eyed Character in the Little Prince Game

A star-filled dawn.
Through a frost-covered window ill-suited for the season, soft light trickled in.

The scene unfolding by the window cast a hazy backdrop.
The unmoving moonlight and starlight.
Beneath it, only the boy remained alive with motion.

Tap, tap—
A spring breeze lightly tapped the glass.
The brush of the season painted streaks across the night sky.

Blue hair settled gently in place.
His eyes gazed silently out the window.
"……"

Lusca was deep in thought.
Like a winter lost in the month of blossoms.
His blinking eyelids moved mechanically, capturing the densely starred sky.

With a faint, unfocused gaze, he recalled the moment from a few days ago.
A brief conversation with the target.
– She’s someone admired by many.
– To me… she’s someone I’m grateful to, and someone precious.

The voice echoed with a hint of tenderness.
As if shyly confessing one’s heartfelt emotions.
A ripple stirred again in the quiet interior of the boy.

Lusca simply worked to sort out his tangled thoughts.
Snowflakes formed faintly at the tips of his fingers.
‘To me… my sister comes first.’
His only family.

Beyond the boy’s winter, shadows undulated.
A dawn he would never escape from.
– You should think of your sister.
– If you want her to be safe, you'd best stay loyal to the family.
– Wasn’t that the contract you agreed to with your uncle from the start?

The adult’s voice rang with grotesque hypocrisy.
All choices were made at the edge of a cliff.
Lusca remembered his uncle’s message.

That he was to offer the boy his sister cherished… as a sacrifice to the cult.
Silence fell.
"I…"

All that remained in the holy night was a confession no one could hear.
A star’s voice, claiming its witness.
The sins of the lamb were submission—and weakness.

A brief, veering belief in justice pierced his chest like a shooting star gone astray.
That was why the boy couldn’t sleep.
Because of the hollowness somewhere inside his ribs.

– Lusca.
– A hero… isn’t always someone who performs miracles.
– If one can stand up even on trembling legs…
– The stars will give that person a name.
A whisper brushed his ear.
Words once spoken by his father, about heroes and stars.

The winter monarch had been proud of his son.
Lusca’s fist clenched tightly.
– Be a guiding star.
– Let the weak hide in your shadow, and the strong find their direction in your light.

Now, those words felt too far away.
The heroic tales he once covered his childhood with in admiration.
The wandering knight, the back-alley mage, the adventurer of the earth… the boy who found himself in all those stories.

But now that he had grown, fairy tales no longer existed.
He had already stepped into the world of adults.
It was all a lie.

"Father."
A night full of emptiness.
Unable to resist reality, the boy was tormented by the gap between ideal and truth.

Because his life had never become the heroic tale he dreamed of.
A loss with no clear source settled in his heart.
And yet, if only his sister could remain safe, everything else could be thrown away.

Lusca crushed the snowflake formed on his fingertip.
A quiet prayer slipped between his lips.
"……What should I do?"

And thus, the boy’s night passed.
In the end, clinging to a single resolution.
***

The next day.
Lusca made contact with the boy who had been marked as the target.
The day of execution had finally arrived.

He had told Yuda there was somewhere he wanted to go together.
Whether it was because of his naturally slippery personality or something else, he followed without much protest.
Or maybe it was because he trusted him—as the little brother of someone precious to him.

Whichever it was, it had been a regrettable decision.
"Hey."
Lusca looked back.

He soon held something shiny in his hand.
"Put this on."
"Hmm?"

The sparkling object was a necklace.
A red-hued necklace with a star-shaped gem at its center.
Yuda tilted his head.

"This is… a necklace?"
"Wear it."
"I don’t usually welcome gifts from men, you know."

"Stop saying useless things. It’s for my sister’s sake."
"Hmm… I fail to see how wearing a necklace would benefit Her Ladyship."
"When we agreed to meet, you promised not to argue with me."

"Of course, I’ll comply! I was merely curious, is all."
"……Fine."
After just a few sharp words, Yuda obediently put on the necklace.

He didn’t even complain.
‘Halfway there, I suppose.’
Lusca shot him a sidelong glance.

The object now resting on Yuda’s neck was an artifact.
An intricately crafted device, indistinguishable from an ordinary necklace to the naked eye.
It had been carefully sealed to prevent mana from leaking, so there was no chance of its effects being discovered.

All that remained was to give the signal—the embedded magic would then bind him completely.
"Keep walking."
But Lusca didn’t notice.

That the snake, toying with the necklace earlier, had briefly smiled.
The two boys passed through the academy town, their steps weighed down by conflicting emotions.
Before long, they reached the outer boundary of the academy.

"Hmm… we’ve come pretty far, haven’t we?"
"Shut up."
Due to the recent lockdown, the streets had been mostly deserted.

Now, there wasn’t even the faintest trace of people.
Perhaps it was the suddenly bleak atmosphere.
A quiet tension passed between the two.

"…My legs are starting to hurt, you know."
"We’ve arrived anyway."
Lusca, who had been leading, came to a stop.

At the end of a narrow alleyway—now a dead end—stood a waiting carriage and several hooded figures.
The figures were draped entirely in robes.
Lusca recognized them immediately.

‘Needles.’
The Vanity family… specifically, the duke’s personal assassination unit.
Killers deployed for this mission.

Once Yuda was subdued by the necklace, they’d knock him out and load him into the carriage.
No one would have expected such an abduction under the pretense of a Vanity envoy.
That’s how reckless this joint operation between the cult and Vanity truly was.

Lusca turned around.
"A dead end, huh."
Perhaps sensing the rising malice, Yuda also realized the situation wasn’t normal.

He looked around, scanning the alley with narrowed eyes.
Then, with a faint expression of dismay, he stared at Lusca.
A soft ripple echoed down the alley.

"…So I really walked into a trap."
But there was no resentment in his voice.
Only calm acceptance.

A faint, bitter smile lingered on the boy’s lips.
Unable to bear that moment, Lusca finally spoke—
Words that even to him sounded like empty excuses.

"It couldn’t be helped."
"……"
"I don’t expect you to understand, but… I’d rather you didn’t think too badly of me."

"I’ve never thought ill of you, Lord Lusca."
"At the very least, everything I’m about to do… it’s all for my sister."
"Her Ladyship must be proud—to have such a devoted little brother."

"…If you’re going to mock me, go ahead."
The robed figures began stepping closer.
Their eyes gleamed like predators closing in on a cornered animal.

Even with such monsters approaching, Lusca’s expression didn’t show.
Perhaps to avoid showing his wavering resolve, he kept his head bowed.
Yuda watched the blue hair fluttering in the breeze.

As the assassins approached, they began speaking.
"So you really brought him… well done, young lord."
"The Lord wants to see that smooth-faced kid, right?"

"Well, if we’re handing him over to the cult freaks anyway, who cares if he gets a little roughed up?"
"I call dibs! That pretty face has been bugging me—I wanna rip it off!"
"Yeah~ let’s have a little fun, shall we?"

The murderous intent thickened.
The cloaked attackers drew their swords as they closed the distance.
Yuda, unable to resist, stood frozen in place.

Perhaps that caught Lusca’s attention, because he moved to stand beside him.
"Yuda Snakeus."
Tap, tap—

The blue-haired boy patted the snake on the shoulder.
Then leaned in to whisper, low enough that the attackers wouldn’t hear.
"Sorry for deceiving you."

And then—
"Take care of my sister."
Snap—!

Lusca flicked his fingers without hesitation.
The conclusion he’d reached after a long, sleepless night.
Immediately, the necklace clamped around Yuda’s neck began to glow.

A bluish aura softly enveloped the boy.
At last, its true nature was revealed.
– This was something the merchant faction helped supply.
– An artifact that suppresses the wearer’s mana… or rather, a magical restraint.
– Right… bind him with the restraint and lure him to the designated location—then the family’s mages will take over.

The necklace given by his uncle.
But unlike the hexagonal jewel embedded in that one, Yuda’s necklace had a star-shaped gem.
Moreover, the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» reddish coloring—painted as a disguise—peeled away.

What remained underneath was pure, brilliant white.
"This is…?"
Before anyone could fully realize what was happening—

The magic embedded in the artifact devoured the boy.
A dazzling flash lit up the entire alley.
And then, the next moment—

"……"
The snake vanished from the alley.
Mid-range teleportation magic.

The necklace had transferred Yuda to a safe zone.
Left behind were only Lusca… and the stunned assassins.
The tilted glint in his pale blue eyes carried unmistakable mockery.

The boy spoke with relief.
"What’s the matter?"
Betrayers who had turned their backs on the family.

A sneering remark sent toward the hounds who had become the uncle’s lapdogs.
"Did you really think I’d dance to your tune to the end?"
Lusca drew his sword.

A blade forged of ice, sharpened to uphold justice.
Behind the boy, faint light shimmered.
Meanwhile—

The narrow-eyed one had been watching the entire scene unfold.
Looking like he was having the time of his life.