Chapter 84
“Your Majesty? Are you laughing right now? First of all, huff… Should we just kill them all? That would be cleaner.”
Jeron’s fist trembled. I don’t know what he was imagining to be like that, but I need to calm him down.
No sudden moves!
“Woah-woah. You’re going too far. Come back, Jeron.”
“No. I think it’s definitely a problem we need to prepare for.”
“Right. That’s why I called you here now.”
I sat Jeron down opposite me—he had been standing the entire time.
“Alright, Jeron. I’m going to summarize what I’ve been thinking. Listen carefully.”
“Huff… Yes. Please, Your Majesty.”
“As long as Olivia Alberto remains Empress like she is now, even if Duke Merchen finds the child, nothing will change. If a rumor ever spreads, it would tarnish the Empress’s honor. If Duke Merchen truly loved the Empress, he wouldn’t take such a risk.”
“Yes. From what I’ve seen, the Duke still seems to have lingering feelings for the Empress.”
“So, assuming Duke Merchen still can’t forget her, let’s think. What could he possibly do after finding the child, the fruit of such a tender love… He can’t dethrone the Empress by claiming the child as heir, nor can he simply take Killian’s place as a minor duke. That would complicate things, right?”
“I think so too, but… who knows. If he finds a child he didn’t even know was born, he might be willing to do anything for it.”
“Exactly. He’d probably be good to Killian, though. Thinking about it, it’s infuriating… but Jeron, your reasoning is quite valid.”
Annoyingly so.
“There are only two options Duke Merchen can choose from if he wants to give that child the best possible future.”
“What are those?”
“Either get rid of Killian and make the child the heir, or get rid of my father and make the child a prince or princess.”
“…!”
“You understand, right? If he removes Killian, he can claim he brought the child from a collateral branch and make them heir. Otherwise, he could remove my father and take the Emperor’s throne himself.”
“That seems… like an extreme choice.”
“I don’t think it’s entirely unreasonable. It kills two birds with one stone. Find his old love, find the child. Even if he doesn’t become Emperor, he could at least make the child a royal since they’re the Empress’s offspring.”
Jeron’s face, which had been pale, now turned a deep blue.
“Jeron. Breathe, breathe.”
“Ha… it’s just… wow…”
“There’s nothing to be so shocked about. It hasn’t happened yet, and no matter what Duke Merchen chooses, my conclusion remains the same.”
It’s simple without much thought. I just have one more person to protect now.
“I’m going to protect my father. I won’t let anything like that happen.”
At my words, Jeron’s stiff shoulders relaxed, and he let out a long breath.
In the original story, Killian became a Sword Master and was cursed with Noten’s subjugation curse, but luckily, he didn’t fall victim to the ‘J’ of the curse.
Under my protection, he’s growing up well, getting the protagonist’s buff, and is prospering together with Adele.
So now, all I have to do is protect my father.
There’s not much time, but that doesn’t mean I can just stand by, right?
When I shone my determined gaze, Jeron cautiously asked,
“But Your Majesty, isn’t His Majesty already strong enough?”
I nodded.
Yes. My father is not just strong enough.
He’s always whining in front of me, busy pretending to be sick, and crying at the slightest thing, the King of Whining… but,
Both in the original story and now, he’s an all-powerful, absolute ruler boasting strong imperial authority and was a wise and benevolent king.
He often joked about becoming a tyrant, but when the great war against other races breaks out—as it surely will—he will still prioritize the safety of his people above all.
“Anyway, I will protect him. The more people who protect him, the better.”
Because he’s my father.
Whether we share blood or not. That fact is no longer important because I love him so much.
And…
This might be the best and final gift I can give my father.
“So Jeron, from today onward, keep an eye out with rebellion in mind. Watch Duke Merchen, Marquis Alberto, the Empress… and the child who will be the link between all three. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“You don’t have to do it yourself. You can assign it to others under Achilles.”
“I will do it myself.”
I just smiled at the determination in Jeron’s eyes.
“Don’t you think you’re forgetting something?”
“Huh? What are you talking about, Your Majesty?”
“I’m sure… there was something I was supposed to do.”
“Hmm… I don’t know.”
Lise pouted her lower lip and started brushing my hair.
“Hey, Lise. Could I maybe cut my hair a little? About a hand’s length? It probably won’t even show.”
“That might be okay. Since the debutante party went well, shall I just trim it a little?”
“Yeah. Just a little, huh? Ah! I remember now! The debutante party!”
“The debutante party? Why the debutante party, Your Majesty?”
Now I remembered. The thing I was supposed to do. The thing I must do.
It’s to make friends!
To avoid feeling bitter or left out by Killian and Adele, I need to practice standing on my own little by little.
Of course, I’m not saying I’ll give up my favorite spot to anyone else. That’s impossible!
I just want friends—or at least close acquaintances—to spend time with when Killian and Adele aren’t around.
After organizing my thoughts, I decided to ask Lise for a little help.
“Lise, I’m thinking about actively participating in social gatherings. What do you think?”
“Huh? Social gatherings? Do you mean tea parties or balls?”
“Yes. After the debutante party, isn’t it okay to attend those?”
“Of course you can. You can even host them. If you say you want to attend, everyone will welcome you. But why social gatherings? You weren’t interested at all before. You said you were busy just meeting the minor duke and the marquis’s daughter.”
Lise, visible through the mirror, asked with a sulky expression. She was struggling to tie my hair with a ribbon, furrowing her brows.
“That was when I was younger. Now that I’m grown, I have to start socializing, don’t I? You know, human relations. To do big things, you need a lot of connections.”
“Your Majesty, you don’t have to do that. You are the only heir to the throne of this empire. And with Merchen and Lewendif on your side, you probably don’t need other connections.”
“Ugh… you’re being unnecessarily objective.”
“I just happen to tell the truth well. Hehe.”
“Oh, whatever! I’ll do it! Are you going to keep objecting?”
“If you say that, I have nothing to say.”
After putting on some pins, Lise dusted off her hands and rolled up her sleeves.
“Then, shall we start by looking at the invitations that came in recently?”
“Invitations? You mean I get those too? Wow. That’s amazing.”
“There have been tons from before. Of course, you didn’t know.”
“Give them here. I want to see right away.”
Lise told me to wait a moment and brought a huge box that had been on the parlor table.
“Here, Your Majesty. Just the ones from this week alone are this many.”
“Whaaat? All these are invitations?”
There’s no need for this many… I feel like I’ve taken on a pointless task…
After finishing my grooming, I went to find Oz. He’s the only one who can help with this kind of thing. He’s my assistant for a reason.
Knock knock.
I knocked, but there was no sign of him. Though I’m from the land of etiquette, a taekwondo national athlete, and very good at respecting elders, I can’t stand subordinates slacking off.
I’ll give him a good scolding. Where did he go without saying anything at such an important moment?
I entered my office—also known as Oz’s office—and spent time sorting through the piles of paperwork on his desk.
I ignored the documents sent to me and left Oz’s share untouched… but one bright white envelope caught my eye.
On the envelope’s front, it read: To His Excellency Marquis Austin Donovan.
“This must be wrong. Why is a letter addressed to some marquis I’ve never heard of coming to my office?”
I almost threw it in the trash, but stopped. Maybe because it felt like it wasn’t mine even though it’s my office. Anyway, I didn’t want to just do whatever I wanted.
I’ve become quite kind.
Unable to fight boredom, I leaned back comfortably and dozed off.
“…Your Majesty. Your Majesty? Please wake up. Why are you sleeping here so awkwardly?”
Awakened by Oz’s voice, I cracked my neck and stretched.
“Oz. Ugh, you’re here? Where did you go? During working hours, no less. It’s not right to be absent like that.”
“Ahem. I apologize, Your Majesty. But what brings you here?”
“Oh! Right! The table, over there.”
As I said that and stood up, the envelope resting on my knee fell to the floor with a soft thud.
