Chapter 18
“…Why?”
In the end, I couldn’t hold back my question.
It’s fine.
Since yesterday, I’d decided to be a bold child.
“Why didn’t you ever hug me, Daddy?”
“…Because I didn’t want to raise you into a spoiled child.”
His voice carried a faint bitterness as he went on.
“You children bear the bloodline of the great Einhalt. You must always serve as an example, and you must never lose your dignity.”
“…”
“So you cannot live like ordinary children. That, too, was part of it.”
“But still…”
I stared straight into his blue eyes and blurted out:
“You were once a child too, Daddy.”
“…”
“If I can’t even be held just because I’m a princess, then I’ll be very, very sad.”
How could a child know what it means to be a prince—or what a prince’s dignity is supposed to look like?
Even if they did know…
“Understanding it and not feeling hurt are two completely different things.”
Just imagining it made my chest ache, my eyes sting.
The Emperor slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again. His face, seen from below, looked troubled.
“…Was that where things first went wrong?”
He muttered, as if searching for the cause of how his relationship with Father, Harzen, had soured so badly.
My thoughts were different.
Could my father really have come to hate him this much… only because of that?
Unlikely…
Maybe it was one reason—but surely not the decisive one.
“Then…”
Since it had come to this, I might as well probe for more information.
“Grandfather, are you on bad terms with the other uncles too, not just Daddy?”
Apart from Bertolt, what about the Crown Prince I’d never even seen?
Strangely enough, there was almost no information about him.
The only clue was that Bertolt was called the Second Prince—meaning there had to be an elder brother somewhere.
“That…”
The Emperor hesitated, then answered.
“No, not with the others.”
“Ohhh?”
“At least with them, it was never like walking on thin ice as it was with Harzen.”
His gaze drifted far away, as if recalling old memories.
“With your father… there was always this sense that we didn’t fit. He constantly did things I couldn’t accept—as though he wanted to provoke me.”
“…”
“And at that time, he often lied. Lies I could never forgive.”
My mouth fell open.
Father… lying?
That’s like saying my mother is ugly—utter nonsense!
Impossible.
If anything, this made it feel even more likely that Bertolt was behind it all, poisoning their relationship.
I’d even sensed hints of it before.
“Daddy…”
If Bertolt had driven a wedge between them, then maybe I could be the one to bridge it.
Maybe then Father could reclaim a piece of the childhood he’d lost…
Maybe he could be a little happier. With Mother, too.
“Daddy thinks you really hate him, Grandfather.”
I spoke with a voice as clear and firm as I could manage.
“But to me, it doesn’t seem like you hate him at all.”
Otherwise, why would he keep speaking with such regret?
Even if his words sounded like criticism, the intent behind them was different.
“If only he could see it the way you do…”
The Emperor’s hand ruffled my hair more firmly this time, his words little more than a whisper to himself.
I narrowed my eyes into little triangles.
“But you know what!”
I, Cecilia Miller, the boldest child of all—
I never left things unsaid, no matter the opponent. Even the Emperor himself!
“Wanting Daddy to just know how you feel—that’s your selfishness, Grandfather.”
I raised my voice, crisp and unshaken.
“We children believe exactly what our parents say.”
Expecting your child to just understand is only a parent’s selfish wish.
Even a smart child like me can’t read her parents’ hearts.
“Not expressing yourself but still wanting to be understood—that’s really, really cowardly.”
Yes, Bertold had meddled—but that didn’t absolve the Emperor of fault.
“Even if Daddy resents you, that doesn’t mean you should resent him back.”
That was entirely his mistake.
Neglecting a child—whether through silence or cold distance—was still a kind of cruelty.
Even if this world lacked such terms, the wound remained.
Father had been denied the love he deserved, until life here became a nightmare.
“And another thing!”
I wasn’t finished yet.
“You even called my mom and dads a bunch of nobodies, didn’t you? That’s just plain mean!”
“How could you possibly—?”
The Emperor’s eyes widened.
I gave a sharp snort.
How else?
I’d read it in the book.
“At the time, I only said it because I was afraid they wouldn’t be able to defeat the Demon King. After all, who could imagine five people succeeding where hundreds had failed for centuries?”
He sighed, as though confessing a sin.
Hmm… fair enough.
But still—saying ‘rabble’ in that context? Of course they’d take it as an insult, not concern!
“Grandfather.”
One thing was clear to me now.
He was far softer than he appeared.
I shifted on his lap until I was facing him properly, my eyes shining.
“Can I say one thing?”
“You may say two.”
“One is enough.”
Because this one mattered most.
I put my hands on my waist and spoke firmly.
“Grandfather, your words are the problem.”
“Hm?”
“Since yesterday, all you’ve done is say things that make Daddy angry.”
At first, I’d thought he was deliberately provoking Father.
“Do you actually want to fight with him?”
“No…”
“Then why talk like that?”
“That’s just… how my tone naturally comes out—”
“There’s no such thing as a ‘natural’ way of speaking!”
I shook my head fiercely.
Sure, maybe someone’s tone could lean that way.
But—
“Effort! What matters is effort!”
“…Effort?”
“My Daddy Kyle—he literally can’t talk without cursing, you know?”
I locked eyes with those piercing blue irises and continued.
“But since he can’t swear in front of me, he actually invented a device and implanted it in his body.”
“A… device?”
“Yes! It censors all curse words into a beep.”
Now that’s what counts as effort.
“Grandfather, do you need one too?”
Maybe a version that turns rude words into a silly song? Kyle would definitely make it if I asked.
“No… that won’t be necessary.”
He shook his head, looking exhausted already.
But then, with a long sigh, he asked:
“Then, what do you think I should do?”
“Besides the device?”
“Besides the device.”
“Then…”
