Chapter 143
His mind, which had only just begun to wake up again, tried to figure out what time it was now.
After a moment, Clois rubbed his face with both hands.
“Good heavens.”
A child claiming to be his daughter had appeared, and the banquet hall had been thrown into chaos.
After that, the Imperial Knights had almost carried him back to this room.
Afterward, his memories of night and day switching places were vague.
When he counted it out, he realized that about a week had passed.
Startled, he tried to stand up—but dizziness struck him, and he collapsed back onto the sofa.
How long had he been awake?
His eyes burned and stung, and whenever he tried to open them, it felt like he was on a rocking ship.
At the same time, intense heat covered his whole body.
Just as he was about to lose consciousness again, Clois grabbed the letter on the table.
The moment he saw the crying animal drawing, his chest hurt.
Whenever Evie sent him letters, she always drew smiling animals.
But this time… she had drawn something like this.
With trembling hands, he opened the envelope.
[Your Majesty. It’s Evie. I heard that you’re very sick. (Arcel said I shouldn’t tell anyone, but I kept asking, so he told me. Please forgive me just once.)]
After reading that far, Clois let out a small laugh.
Indeed, letting news of the Emperor’s health leak was strictly forbidden.
Duke Kailen and Arcel knew that better than anyone—and they were people who would protect that rule even with a blade at their throats.
And yet… they still told Evie.
Just how worried must this child have been, for such iron-willed people to break their beliefs and tell her?
[Are you very sick? Our headmaster says that when you’re sick, you must eat well. You also have to wash your hands and feet clean and always wear clean clothes.]
“…This…”
Clois let out a low groan. He hadn’t been doing a single one of those things.
A seven-year-old knows this, and yet I couldn’t even manage that.
Feeling deeply ashamed of himself, he continued reading.
[The Seasonal Festival at the academy is completely over, so classes are starting again. I grew taller during the break, and my arms and legs got longer, so I got a new uniform. My shoes are bigger now too!]
It was nothing more than daily chatter, but Clois couldn’t take his eyes off the letter.
[So now I’ll read Professor Malles’s new book and then sleep. It’s a wonderful book with my name in it. I’ll keep it forever.]
In the margin, something that looked like either a brick or a book was drawn.
[I’m doing well like this. So I hope Your Majesty gets better quickly and becomes healthy again! Please send a reply when you’re all better. Then goodbye.]
At the end was a drawing—maybe bowing, or maybe lying flat. It was hard to tell.
“…That’s a squirrel. Definitely.”
Clois muttered with confidence, though no one was listening.
The letter ended there. With lingering regret, he blinked and reread it several times.
The Seasonal Festival is already over…
It was a week-long event, and it had passed just like that.
Then suddenly, he remembered a promise he had made to Evie.
We said we’d go out together.
Because he had lost her at the last Seasonal Festival and left her with bad memories, he had wanted to make up for it.
Luckily, Evie hadn’t been afraid of going out at all. She had even puffed out her chest and said she had earned money working at the Duke’s estate, so she would pay for the lottery this time.
There was no way Evie had forgotten that promise…
Yet in her letter, there wasn’t a single word of resentment—only concern for him.
She must have deliberately pretended not to remember the promise, just to spare him.
His gaze returned to the envelope.
The crying animal.
It must have been Evie herself, worrying about him.
The drawing was still a mess, and he let out a bitter smile.
For a moment, Clois seriously considered bringing Evie to the main palace and having a royal painter teach her properly.
Then—
A presence he had completely forgotten came to mind.
“That child…”
The child who had run to him, calling him Dad, and clung to him.
He remembered Duke Kailen later saying they would call her Eve for now.
Since Clois hadn’t acknowledged her as his daughter, she couldn’t use the name Evebien—but because her royal blood had been confirmed, she was staying in the inner palace.
Clois tried to recall the child’s face.
He clearly remembered that she had the same hair and eye color as Evie.
But her face itself… he couldn’t remember it well.
Like a child he had passed by on the street.
Was I too shocked by Lilian’s letter?
He turned his gaze to the other side of the table.
Beside Evie’s letter lay Lilian’s letter, exactly where he had left it.
For the past week, just looking at it had torn his heart apart—but now that his mind was a little clearer, he could endure it.
I can’t stay like this.
There were too many things he needed to confirm.
Why did Sabina bring that child to me only now?
It had already been seven years since he ascended the throne.
There had been countless chances to bring her earlier…
…So why now?
As he thought further, more questions slowly surfaced.
Count Aradman brought them.
Then how, and where, had Count Aradman met them?
And without an invitation, how had that child been alone in the banquet hall?
Then suddenly, Clois realized something about himself.
He was desperately trying to doubt that Eve was his daughter.
…Why?
The crest on her hand was real.
Sabina had cried and shouted that she had finally brought back the Princess.
She had even carried Lilian’s letter.
Honestly, that alone was more than enough to recognize the child as a princess immediately.
In the past, he would have done so without hesitation.
So why wasn’t he doing that now?
“……”
Questioning his own actions, he stood up.
Like this, he couldn’t do anything.
“She told me to eat properly.”
Hadn’t Evie written that he shouldn’t skip meals?
So first, he should at least eat something.
Luckily, there was food prepared on another table.
When he sat down and took a spoonful of soup, it was still warm.
It seemed the head attendant had kept replacing the food while Clois was out of his senses.
As if the past week of having no appetite had been a lie, Clois finished the soup quickly and pulled the bread and other dishes closer.
After a while—
After finishing even the steak, he went to the bathroom, washed away all the exhaustion clinging to his body, changed his clothes, and came out.
Having done everything Evie had asked, he began to think about what he should do next.
There was so much to do.
But the very first thing was clear.
He went to the desk and picked up a pen.
He had to send Evie a reply.
“I heard that His Majesty has awakened.”
Count Aradman stood proudly, chin raised, looking at Duke Kailen before him.
“He has.”
“Then I wish to see him personally.”
His voice was thick with suspicion, as if accusing Duke Kailen of blocking his audience.
“And while we’re at it, I must receive an apology.”
“An apology?”
Duke Kailen looked at him as if he had no idea what he was talking about.
Seeing that shameless face, Count Aradman felt his blood boil.
“That woman you sent! The woman who damaged my carriage and dragged me out of it! If the Duke denies it, I have no way to prove it. But at the very least, I will see that she is properly punished!”
Count Aradman’s eyes flashed, thinking he could finally repay the humiliation he had suffered.
“She even drew her sword inside the palace! That’s an unforgivable crime! I will personally cut off her head!”
He vividly remembered being dragged out of his carriage by the back of the neck, people whispering in shock as they watched.
At that moment, a bright voice came from behind them.
“My head? There are so many people who want it—you’ll need to take a number.”
The two men turned in shock.
There stood a noblewoman in a cream-colored chiffon dress, a pearl necklace perfectly matching it, and a wide-brimmed hat.
It was, of course, Marquis Dershina.
“The capital really is nice. There’s so much to buy. Gifts from the southern Terrins family are nice too, but the capital has its own charm. What do you think, Duke? Doesn’t this suit me rather well?”
“As expected, it suits you perfectly.”
“And look at this. I also bought a dagger made from a new metal. Let me tell you how amazing it is—”
Thud! Thud!
Before anyone could blink, two daggers cut through the air and embedded themselves into the wall beside Count Aradman.
“Light, yet destructive. If it lands properly, smashing a human head is nothing at all.”
