Chapter 138
In an instant, the banquet hall fell silent. Everyone froze, unable to immediately comprehend what was happening.
Yet, instinctively, everyone sensed that this was a monumental event.
“Huh…”
A groan escaped from the mouth of the person who had witnessed a similar incident in the past.
He remembered everything.
He remembered how Clois had killed everyone who had dared to orchestrate such a ridiculous prank.
Everyone had just begun to think that everything had stabilized, that the Emperor was fine, and now—such a horrifying event had occurred during what should have been a joyous occasion.
Among the shocked people, Evie also stood with her mouth agape, unable to utter a word.
When Clois had started his speech, she had thought it would take quite some time and tried to relax as much as possible.
“In the book, it said His Majesty’s speeches tend to be quite long.”
It mentioned that the largest events—the Autumn Festival and the New Year Festival—usually had the longest speeches.
So she had prepared herself.
Five minutes? Ten minutes?
Even if Clois’s speech lasted over an hour, Evie thought she could wait patiently.
She tried to calm her pounding heart with that thought—but Clois’s speech ended in an instant.
Just as she wondered if the greetings would continue, the music changed. Ruska, standing nearby with a surprised expression, whispered, “It was usually short, but this time it’s the shortest on record.”
Then Evie’s eyes met Clois’s.
He smiled brightly and opened his arms toward her, just like he always did at the villa, and Evie couldn’t help but grin.
“Dad.”
She had to be careful not to say it too loudly.
Since it was the first time calling him that, she wanted to go closer to His Majesty and say it slowly and clearly.
As she took a step forward,
“Dad!”
A high-pitched voice echoed through the hall.
Hearing it, Evie wondered if she had shouted out in excitement without realizing it.
If not, perhaps it was a child who had lost their father and was calling out in surprise.
At that moment, a child ran through the crowd and passed through the empty space in front of Clois, right before Evie’s eyes.
Evie’s eyes widened at the sight.
“Eve!”
The child she had seen at Madame Crevel’s shop—the one who had pulled her hair… a child who looked just like her!
How was that child here? And who was she calling “Dad”?
Before Evie’s questions could even form fully, Eve ran up and grabbed Clois.
“Dad! I missed you!”
Thump.
Evie’s heart dropped.
It couldn’t be.
Evebien, the Emperor’s daughter and princess, had supposedly passed away long ago.
That was why the Emperor had struggled for so long.
And yet…
“He asked me to be his daughter.”
Then why was Eve calling the Emperor “Dad”?
Evie stared blankly at Eve clinging to Clois, then shifted her gaze back to him.
Perhaps because something entirely unexpected had happened, he was frozen, staring at Eve.
Meanwhile, Eve shouted again, her voice loud and clear:
“Dad, it’s me, Evebien! I’m alive! I’ve always wanted to see you!”
Every word Eve spoke sent a chill through the crowd.
Every word she uttered struck at Clois’s deepest pain.
Then, from among the frozen people, someone stepped forward and shouted:
“Your Majesty! That is truly Princess Evebien!”
Another, gaining courage, stepped forward and cried out:
“Yes! We went through great effort to find her!”
They were nobles from families the Count of Aradman had been visiting for months.
When the Count of Aradman first came to them, they only thought to drive him away immediately.
Hadn’t his daughter almost caused a student under the Emperor’s guardianship to be expelled?
If they had any sense, they shouldn’t have met him at all—let alone entertain his requests.
“I am the guardian of the Academy! I cannot allow any harm to come to the children I protect.”
But the Count of Aradman didn’t give up and kept coming.
It was almost comical how a man who used to act arrogantly would now plead daily to be granted a meeting.
He promised that if they met him once, he wouldn’t trouble them again, so they reluctantly agreed to see him secretly.
“Very well, why are you being such a nuisance?”
The Count gritted his teeth at the expression that said he found this bothersome.
While internally mocking his pride, the Count suddenly said something unexpected:
“Your Grace, you have been to the Solem territory before, haven’t you?”
“…Why do you ask?”
Solem.
It was the estate of the late Empress Lilian.
When Clois had gone there in the past, he had hurried to follow her, trying desperately to get on her good side without realizing that the Crown Prince had been deposed.
But when the Emperor actually stripped the prince of his title, Clois fled the territory without looking back.
Yet, since Clois eventually became Emperor, he regretted not staying in Solem.
“Then, do you perhaps remember Empress Lilian?”
“Of course! I met her several times.”
“Good. Do you remember the maid who served beside Her Majesty? Her name is Sabina.”
Of course he remembered.
She had always given him a sharp glare whenever he tried to approach Lilian to build rapport.
Though she died in the war, had she lived, she might have held a high position in the court.
“I remember. But what is it you wish to say?”
The Count of Aradman smiled as he spoke:
“I wish to give Your Grace a grand opportunity to rise.”
The Emperor thought the Count had finally gone mad and was about to leave—but the Count continued:
“Princess Evebien is alive. Her nurse, Sabina, can testify to this. Seeing Sabina, you will believe it too.”
Those who had stepped forward looked at Eve, who clung to Clois, recalling old memories.
On the back of her hand was a clear mark.
The royal mark—now known only to those who study the royal family.
No wonder Clois always wore gloves.
“Your Majesty! Look at Princess Evebien’s hand! It bears proof of her noble lineage!”
“Yes!”
As the people shouted, Clois’s eyes shifted to the back of the child’s hand.
Eve grinned mischievously and held her hand up proudly before him.
“Ah…”
Clois sighed.
The royal mark on the child’s hand was unmistakable.
“It can’t be.”
Everyone who had once borne this mark had died.
The only one left in the world was this one.
No new wife, no child could exist in his life anymore. History had finally come full circle.
“Your Majesty! Please open the doors! Count Aradman can explain everything!”
“Yes! Please do not be alarmed and listen to his story!”
The voices of the ministers seemed to reach from afar.
Clois looked at the child clinging to him.
A blonde-haired, green-eyed child looked at him with curiosity, as if asking why he wasn’t hugging her, expecting love and affection naturally.
At that moment, he thought of another child.
The one who had watched him closely at first.
The one who now loved being held by him.
The one who, when placed on the bed, would hold his neck in her sleep, wanting to stay in his embrace a little longer.
“Evie.”
The moment he thought of her, he snapped out of it.
Turning his head, he saw Evie standing between Irene and Ruska, looking at him.
Her expression, though shocked like the others, seemed tinged with sadness.
When their eyes met, Evie’s face twisted as if holding back tears.
Then she took a step back. Clois’s heart sank.
He no longer cared about the child claiming to be his deceased daughter.
All he wanted was to approach Evie and hear her call him “Dad.”
At that moment—
Smack!
Clois, without thinking, roughly brushed away the hand of the child holding onto his sleeve.
