Chapter: 14
“I’m pleased to see you, Your Majesty.”
My uncle stood up first and greeted the Emperor.
“It’s not easy to see you in private, is it, Marquis?”
“As you know, I’m busy.”
I gathered my dress, moved one leg slightly behind me, and curtsied.
“Hello, Your Majesty! I’m Aika de Valliert!”
Then I raised my head.
“…So you’re Aika.”
His Majesty the Emperor bent down on one knee so that our eyes were level.
The clothes His Majesty the Emperor was wearing were more splendid than anything I had seen while passing through the Imperial Palace.
Winchester Gaia Seledor.
Mom had told me that I absolutely had to know the name of His Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire, so I had even memorized it.
His violet eyes, which I had heard were the symbol of the Imperial Family, were radiant and almost mysterious.
Strangely enough, his hair was the exact same color as mine, black as the night sky.
Mom had said it was the prettiest color in the world.
His Majesty the Emperor stared intently at me in that position for quite some time.
Only after an even longer while did he finally ask, as though struggling to force the words out.
“If you don’t mind, may I hold you?”
I nodded without the slightest hesitation.
“Of course!”
That was a very easy thing to do.
But contrary to what I expected, His Majesty the Emperor only opened his arms and hesitated.
It was only after I took one step closer that his enormous arms finally wrapped around me.
Along with a low, long sigh, as though he had been holding his breath and was finally letting it out, I felt a small tremor.
“I didn’t realize you had grown this much…… I’ve looked forward to the day I could meet you so many times. Thank you for coming.”
For several minutes, I remained in his embrace as if time had stopped.
But how long was I supposed to stay like this?
Unable to endure the waiting any longer, I popped my head up and spoke.
“Your Majesty?”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
His Majesty the Emperor hurriedly pulled me away from his embrace as though he had been startled.
Even then, His Majesty the Emperor was trembling as if he were cold.
“It’s okay.”
“What a good girl.”
His Majesty the Emperor was smiling gently, but there was a strange expression on his face.
It was a face filled with countless emotions, yet I couldn’t tell exactly what any of those emotions were.
I blinked quietly.
“…Are you really Mom’s friend?”
“Of course. Seria is my friend, and I’m friends with Kassel as well.”
“I see.”
I nodded, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the black hair shimmering right in front of me.
His Majesty the Emperor’s gaze fell below my chin.
“That’s a cute necklace.”
It was because of the enormous necklace.
I felt my face suddenly grow hot.
“M-My uncle told me to wear it.”
“It looks wonderful.”
“Ah!”
I suddenly remembered and quickly rummaged through my bag before taking out a brooch.
“This is a present for you.”
“…For me?”
His Majesty the Emperor’s eyes instantly became twice as wide.
When he held out both hands, I carefully placed the brooch on them.
“Yes. Thank you for inviting me. I made it myself!”
At that, His Majesty the Emperor’s eyes curved like crescent moons.
“Thank you. It’s the most special gift I’ve ever received. I’ll treasure it.”
“Yes!”
“Shall we have something delicious to eat now?”
“Okay!”
“I don’t know what you like.”
His Majesty the Emperor rose from his seat and beckoned to someone with a small gesture.
Not long afterward, far more drinks and snacks were brought out than what was already on the table.
I sat beside my uncle and spent time talking with His Majesty the Emperor.
His Majesty the Emperor was warmer and more cheerful than I had imagined, and he seemed very curious about me.
For example, the foods I liked, my favorite colors, the things I liked, and the activities I enjoyed.
“I think I understand now why it’s so hard to see you. If I were with Aika, I’d hate to see the time pass, too.”
“What nonsense.”
“My uncle doesn’t play with me very much.”
Seeing my chance, I immediately told His Majesty about all the things my uncle did wrong.
I had been told that he was someone even more important than Grandpa and higher in rank than Mom, so it seemed like a good idea to tell him about it whenever I got the chance.
When my uncle’s eyebrow twitched, His Majesty the Emperor burst out laughing again.
“Kassel doesn’t play with me much either. He always has plenty of excuses about being busy.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. So I’d be happy if Aika came to visit me often and played with me.”
“Can I really come again?”
“Of course. You can come whenever you want. Then your uncle will bring you. I can know my entire schedule whenever I want, after all. Isn’t that right, Kassel?”
“Why are you dragging me into this? What a nuisance.”
“Ahem. That’s quite rude of you to speak to me that way.”
“I was speaking to my friend.”
His Majesty the Emperor gave him a pleasant smile, while my uncle pressed his fingers against his temples with an exasperated expression.
“Then does that mean His Majesty the Emperor and I are friends now?”
His Majesty the Emperor raised an eyebrow, then nodded just as I had.
“Of course. If your uncle ever bothers you, you can tell me.”
Gasp! What wonderful news!
I was so happy that I almost jumped up and down, but after checking my uncle’s expression, I gestured for His Majesty the Emperor to lend me his ear.
“Um……”
“Yes?”
I leaned toward His Majesty the Emperor and cupped my hand around his ear before whispering.
“If my uncle ever bothers you too, you can tell me. We’re friends, after all.”
His Majesty the Emperor burst out laughing again.
“Hey, what did you say?”
My uncle, who had been wearing an expression as though he had every complaint in the world, asked.
I rolled my eyes around and shrugged.
“N-Nothing.”
“It’s a secret between the two of us. Right?”
“That’s right.”
I quickly nodded my head up and down.
And as I looked at His Majesty the Emperor, I thought it would be nice if he and my uncle could each have exactly half of the other’s personality.
“Ah, right. Sola, could you bring that over?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
The woman with short dark-green hair and buttons neatly fastened all the way up to her neck bowed at the waist and soon returned with a small box.
His Majesty the Emperor accepted it and held it out to me.
“Here. This is the gift I wanted to give you.”
It was a box covered in pitch-black velvet.
“What is it?”
When His Majesty the Emperor opened the lid, a long silver key inside was revealed.
“It’s the key to the Imperial Ancient Library.”
“What’s an ancient book?”
“An extremely old book. They contain many things and can teach us wisdom we never knew.”
“Wow, really?”
“Seria told me long ago that Aika was very clever and would definitely need this, so I’m only now giving you the gift she asked me to give you.”
I reached into the box to take out the key, then suddenly stopped.
Mom?
“Mom?”
I looked back and forth between my uncle and His Majesty the Emperor.
My uncle didn’t get angry as he normally would. Instead, he nodded as if to say it was okay.
“She said, ‘I’m sure Aika will be able to find something special inside that only Aika can know.’”
“Really…… Mom said that?”
“Yes. You can come and look whenever you’re curious about something. And you can ask me for anything else you need, too. From now on, always.”
“Ah.”
A gift Mom had asked him to give me.
A gift Mom had given me.
I clasped the key between both hands, hugged it, and held it against my chest.
For some reason, it felt as though I could feel Mom’s warmth.
I held it for a long time, until the key had grown warm, and then bowed my head.
Oh, right. I have to thank him.
“Thank you!”
I put the key back in the box and handed it to my uncle.
“Uncle, I’ll give you this.”
Even though my uncle was a little prickly, he was the only person I could trust with it.
“Now you can make me do all the work.”
“You’d be in big trouble if you lost it.”
“I hear that Lord Luspe has arrived.”
I heard someone who appeared to be one of His Majesty the Emperor’s subordinates quietly whispering into his ear.
“Oh, he’s here. Tell him to come in. I happened to hear that my niece had come to the palace, so I called him here because I thought the two of them might become friends.”
A little while later, a boy who looked to be around my age entered together with the subordinate who had quickly left the room.
“I pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire.”
His Majesty the Emperor rose from his seat as if welcoming him.
The boy bowed deeply at the waist and greeted him in a clear, precise voice before taking a few more steps toward us.
“Luspe, come here.”
His hair, which partially covered his eyebrows, was a very bright silver.
‘It looks like moonlight. It’s so pretty.’
The ends curled slightly, making it look as though it would be soft and fluffy to the touch.
And his violet eyes, the symbol of Imperial blood, were sharp and elongated, giving him a somewhat haughty look.
The boy who had been approaching suddenly stopped when his eyes met mine, as though he had been startled.
The sharp eyes that had made him look so aloof quickly became round and beautiful.
Why is he looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?
