Chapter 40
“An invitation has arrived,” the head servant said, handing over an envelope as he entered the workshop.
The moment Melody saw the fancy gold-trimmed envelope, she frowned. She had a good guess who sent it.
She opened it and saw elegant handwriting with the time and place written clearly.
“The Crown Prince sent it,” she said.
“Looks like it,” Anna agreed.
“This is the most famous restaurant in the capital right now!” Anna said, clearly excited.
But Melody didn’t feel excited at all. All she could think was that she could make three or four magic tools in the time it would take to meet him.
Just hold on until the expedition, she told herself.
Prince Ryan would meet Riheylin during the expedition anyway. It wouldn’t take long. Melody closed her eyes tightly.
The emperor’s messenger found Ryan just as he was getting ready to go out.
When he entered the dining room, Emperor Shuval was sitting at the far end of the long table.
“Where were you off to?” Shuval asked.
Ryan, already expecting a lecture, loosened the tight collar around his neck.
He had planned to meet Melody at the restaurant in the capital, but now that was delayed because of the emperor.
Though still young, Shuval looked pale and weak. He often coughed heavily.
“I had a meeting planned,” Ryan replied.
“I heard you’ve been going out quite often. Who are you meeting?”
Ryan scoffed at the emperor’s sudden interest.
“Since when did you care who I spend time with? I don’t plan to bring any of them to sit beside me anyway, so don’t worry.”
He fully intended to marry the person the emperor chose.
The emperor sighed deeply.
“Sit. I called you here with important news.”
Ryan hesitated, then sat across from him.
“What is it this time? More nobles demanding the Duke take the throne?”
The emperor tapped the armrest of his chair lightly.
“This isn’t about the Duke. It’s something you must do.”
He coughed again before continuing.
“The Duke is going on an expedition. You’ll go too—and help hunt the monsters.”
Ryan’s eyes widened, then his expression quickly grew unstable.
“Hunting monsters… isn’t that what Deonis always does? And everyone praises him for it.”
The emperor sighed once more.
“Ryan, you are the crown prince. You are the future of the Valcaras Empire. How long will you hide in the Duke’s shadow?”
“If even that monster struggles with it, what makes you think I can do it? Like you always say—I’m not even close to his level! I’ll just become a laughingstock.”
There was a pause. The emperor gripped his cane tightly.
“You are the crown prince. Will you stay in the dark forever, being mocked?”
“Fighting with a sword isn’t the only way to serve the empire. I can find another way.”
“Surrounded by skirts, you mean?”
“!!”
“Go beyond the barrier and fight the monsters. This isn’t a request. It’s an order.”
“You’re really pushing me off a cliff. I’m your only son.”
Ryan’s lips pressed tightly together. Inside him, inferiority and anger twisted together.
“I’m not asking you to be a hero,” the emperor said, his voice low.
“I’m telling you to be an emperor.”
He took a breath, then continued.
“Go past the barrier and learn what it means to protect the people of the empire. The Duke only swung his sword—but you must earn the people’s trust.”
Ryan didn’t reply. His eyes stayed fixed on the emperor’s trembling cane.
The emperor’s condition was getting worse by the day. Even with the priests’ help, no one knew how much longer he had.
“Go.”
“…I will obey, Your Majesty.”
Ryan lowered his head slowly, still watching the emperor’s shaking hand.
“Eat,” Ryan said shortly, pushing a small dish in front of her.
Melody cut a piece of the tiny meat with her fork, all while watching him closely.
The restaurant was decorated in pink tones and had dozens of tables—yet they were the only customers.
Ryan had arrived over thirty minutes late. And when he did show up, something was clearly off.
He kept staring off into space and that usual arrogant air of his was completely gone. And most of all—
“Sigh…”
He sighed every single minute, right at the table.
It didn’t ruin the food, but it was definitely distracting.
“Is something wrong, Your Highness?” Melody asked.
“No.”
He clearly did have something on his mind, but pretended not to.
Melody stabbed a piece of meat and popped it into her mouth.
“I guess… you never learned proper table manners. Cut the meat smaller,” Ryan said, then sighed again.
After the meal, a tall chef came over with dessert and bowed politely to Ryan.
“Your Highness, it’s a great honor to have you here.”
“Yes. Sigh.”
“Did you enjoy the food?”
“It was fine. Hmph. Not quite royal level, but good.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. But… if I may, is something troubling you?”
“I said no.”
But it didn’t seem like the chef believed him.
“They say sighing too much gives you wrinkles, Your Highness. The women of the capital might cry if your handsome face got lines.”
Ryan shot him an annoyed look. Melody added:
“Actually, wrinkles come more from gravity and skin condition than sighing. By the way, is this all we get?”
The chef looked surprised and nodded. Ryan stood up right away.
“Let’s leave.”
As they walked out of the restaurant, Ryan suddenly asked,
“You’re used to monsters, aren’t you? Since you use them to make magic tools.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“What do you think of them? Are they… bearable to look at?”
Melody frowned, unsure what kind of question that was. He waved his hand.
“Never mind. I’m sure handling dead ones is still disgusting.”
“It’s not that bad, Your Highness. Some are soft like silk. Others are rough like sandpaper. Some are cold like ice.”
Ryan looked surprised and curious.
“Really? Even though they look so ugly?”
Melody took out a scale from a monster called Nymphia.
“What’s that?”
“A monster’s scale.”
“Huh… It’s kind of pretty.”
He watched the shimmering, colorful scale, then shook his head.
“But imagining thousands of those stuck together… gives me the chills.”
He rubbed his hand on his clothes as if to clean it off.
“I guess if you see them enough, you get used to it. How long did it take you?”
Until she was six, she was scared of monsters and clung to her father. But by seven, she was obsessed with magic tools and even sought out monsters to experiment, scaring her dad half to death. Before age two, her memories were vague anyway.
“About four years.”
“Damn.”
Ryan cursed under his breath, then added awkwardly:
“You could’ve chosen something else, though. Like perfume. There are so many options.”
“I chose it because it’s fun, Your Highness. It’s exciting to see how the patterns I draw can change the flow of energy.”
“Sounds so fun,” he said sarcastically.
Melody just chuckled at his grumbling.
