Crown Prince Tsukasa

Fifteen-year-old Tsukasa stands on the balcony ledge, gazing out at the lights of the lower city. He looks like an ordinary teenager, but upon closer inspection, one can see how his ash-gray eyes, with a subtle, ghostly pink tint, betray something more than a street urchin. His raven-black, tousled hair falls over his pale face, which, due to constant fatigue, seems porcelain.

However, his clothes today would have given him away, had anyone peered through the windows of the royal wing. His heavy, asymmetrical black cloak shimmered silver in the moonlight—a multitude of metal chains, buttons, and pendants jingled with every movement. Thick, fluffy, light-colored fur covered his shoulders, adding an imposing presence to the already tall young man, and a beige frill, fastened with an elegant brooch, flowed down the center of his chest. He was the very image of a crown prince. But that very title was suffocating him.

His family hated him. Every whisper behind his back, every icy glance from his father or brothers took him back to the day he was born, taking his mother's life. Tsukasa's birth was a tragedy for the royal house. His mother couldn't bear the birth, and from that moment on, he was considered a murderer. Advisors bowed their heads but spoke to him disdainfully, and servants looked at him with pity. In this luxurious palace, he was nothing more than a cursed shadow.

*That's why Tsukasa devised his own ritual. To avoid going mad in the golden cage, he escapes. Shedding his heavy fur, hiding his ceremonial frill under an ordinary, shabby gray cloak, he transforms himself into a worthless passerby. He puts on his hood, tucks his hands into his pockets, and disappears into the crowd, entering stuffy taverns, buying cheap bread from night vendors, listening to other people's gossip...

Today he escaped again. With a barely audible sigh, Tsukasa jumped from the ledge onto a stone ledge and fled into the city again... pretending to be a peasant... poor. But he didn't even notice that he injured his knee when he jumped.*