Chapter: 15
I hurriedly rubbed my cheeks with both hands.
“Come here and say hello to each other. This is my nephew, Ruspe. And this is Aika, the Marquis Regier’s niece. You’re both seven years old, so I think you’ll make good friends.”
Without hesitation, I held out my hand.
“Hi! Nice to meet you! I’m Aika.”
The little boy quickly hid behind His Majesty the Emperor and hesitated.
I kept my hand out, waiting patiently.
Only after a long pause did the boy slowly reach out and take my hand.
“…I’m Ruspe.”
Overjoyed at the thought of making a new friend, I squeezed his hand tightly.
Ruspe’s ears immediately turned bright red.
“Who did you come with? I came with my uncle. This place is really huge, isn’t it?”
“I-I came alone. Ah, with a servant.”
Ruspe said that although he was the same age as me, he came to the Imperial Palace so often that he could find his way around by himself.
“Wow, that’s really amazing.”
“…Not really.”
This time, it seemed like his entire face had turned red.
He’s really shy.
I should be extra nice to him.
I put on the brightest smile I could manage.
“I was worried because Ruspe is so shy around strangers, but I’m grateful that Aika greeted him first.”
“She says hello even to butterflies flying by.”
My uncle chimed in from the side with his arms crossed.
I shot him a glare.
What’s wrong with saying hello to butterflies?
“Your Majesty, you really must return to your official duties now.”
At the attendant’s words, the Emperor let out a quiet sigh.
“I know. I’ll get up in a moment.”
I blinked and looked up at the gloomy expression on the Emperor’s face.
“Your Majesty, do you not want to work?”
Warmth returned to his face.
“Well… there are days like that. Especially today, since Aika came to see me.”
“Should I help you?”
“How?”
Just like before, I raised both hands and gestured for him to lend me his ear.
Smiling again, the Emperor leaned closer.
I whispered softly.
“When you really don’t want to do something, you can pretend your tummy hurts. Then they’ll tell you to hurry and lie down in bed.”
“Your stomach?”
He asked with a quiet chuckle.
I lowered my voice even more.
“Yes. You shouldn’t do it all the time, but if there’s something you really, really don’t want to do, it’s okay. It’s a secret, though.”
“That sounds like a very good method. I’ll try it the next time I really don’t want to work.”
The Emperor unconsciously lowered his voice as well.
I nodded and added another little tip.
“But you have to say it only hurts a little. If you say it hurts a lot, they’ll make you take medicine.”
“Haha! I’ll remember that. Just a little, right?”
“That’s right. This is a secret too.”
“Very well, another secret. We already have two secrets together.”
“What are you two whispering about over there?”
At my uncle’s voice, I quickly stepped back, clasped my hands behind my back, and pretended nothing had happened.
“I didn’t say anything!”
I cautiously glanced at the Emperor.
He gave me a playful wink.
I wanted to wink back, but I ended up squeezing both my eyes shut instead until everything went dark.
“The garden connected to this room is perfectly safe, so feel free to play as much as you’d like. Kasel, I’m sorry, but could you watch over the children? I’ll see you at the next regular meeting.”
My uncle nodded.
The Emperor finally stood and prepared to leave.
But instead of walking away immediately, he bent one knee just as he had when he first came in and gently took both of my hands.
With both my hands in his, I stared blankly up at him.
“Aika.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Don’t get sick. Don’t get hurt. And if something is troubling you, you may come to me anytime. Understood?”
“Yes!”
I nodded as hard as I could.
“I hope you always keep smiling like that. Until next time, Aika.”
“Yes! Your Majesty, do your best too! See you next time!”
“Very well.”
Soon, the Emperor left with his attendants, leaving only me, my uncle, and Ruspe behind.
“You two little peanuts, I’ll be watching from here, so go play nearby and don’t cause any trouble.”
Crossing his legs as he sat down, my uncle lazily flicked his fingers toward the garden.
He couldn’t have looked more unwilling.
“Aren’t you coming, Uncle? I don’t know this place.”
“You can just play where you can see me.”
“But I want to look around a lot…”
I wanted to explore over here and way over there too.
No matter how pitifully I looked at him, my uncle wouldn’t budge.
He was so mean.
Just then, someone gently tugged at my hand.
I quickly turned my head and saw Ruspe’s hand.
“Um…”
“Oh, Ruspe!”
His face turned bright red once again.
“I-I’ll show you around.”
“Really?”
“Mhm. I come here often.”
A huge smile spread across my face.
“Wow, thank you! You’re so kind, Ruspe. Then let’s go over there! We can play and explore!”
Instead of answering, Ruspe quietly nodded.
I secretly stuck my tongue out at my uncle before following after Ruspe.
The moment we opened the large glass doors leading to the garden, the sweet fragrance of flowers filled the air, enough to make my nose tingle.
Ruspe and I wandered nonstop along the wide garden paths.
There were many adults in elegant dresses and formal attire walking through the garden as well.
The garden didn’t have any tall flowers or trees, so with just a little tiptoeing, you could see all the way into the distance.
“Wow! Yellow flowers! They’re my favorite! Come over here, Ruspe!”
I crouched down in front of the bright yellow blossoms stretching their necks toward the sun.
Without taking my eyes off them, I beckoned Ruspe over.
“Ruspe, do you like flowers?”
“…I’d never really thought about it before, but today… I think… I’ll try.”
Ruspe mumbled softly as he crouched beside me.
“Hm? You don’t like them?”
“N-No. I like flowers too.”
“Really? Then we like the same thing!”
Ruspe nodded enthusiastically.
“Huh? Look at this!”
Hidden deep within the cluster of bright yellow flowers, I spotted a tiny purple flower that was almost invisible.
Mom had always told me never to pick flowers carelessly, but I really wanted to show Ruspe.
I carefully picked one of the three tiny purple blossoms and held it out to him.
“Look. It’s exactly the same color as your eyes.”
“Mine?”
“Yeah. It’s the same color as His Majesty’s too. Want me to show you something even cooler?”
Curiosity filled Ruspe’s face as he gave a small nod.
I made a tiny hole near the back of the flower’s stem with my fingernail.
Then I bent the stem into a circle and carefully tucked the end through the hole.
When I finished, I held out the little purple flower ring.
“Here! It’s a present!”
Ruspe accepted it with both hands and simply stared at the flower resting on his palm, completely at a loss.
I took the flower ring back and slipped it onto the second finger of his hand.
“Like this. Isn’t it pretty?”
“Ah…”
Ruspe gazed silently at the flower ring on his finger for a long time.
Shiver.
Just as I reached out to touch the yellow petals again, a strange tingling sensation ran through me.
Startled, I quickly looked all around.
There was nothing there.
I suddenly stood up and called to Ruspe, who was still staring at the flower ring.
“Let’s go somewhere else.”
Flinch.
But somehow, the more we wandered through the garden, the stranger I felt.
It was like an icy chill… or the same feeling that used to creep over me whenever I was about to see the future.
Am I the only one?
Ruspe looked perfectly fine.
“Are you okay?”
Just in case, I asked him.
“Hm?”
“Never mind.”
I guess I’m the only one who feels it.
Twitch.
With every step I took, the strange chill gradually turned into fear.
It even felt as though something was pulling my feet forward against my will.
“Ah.”
The icy cold pierced me like frost, and a sharp ringing in my ears made them sting.
I couldn’t stop myself from shivering.
Even then, the feeling didn’t go away.
I wrapped both arms around myself and came to a halt.
What’s happening?
An eerie sensation washed over me, as though if I let my guard down for even a moment, I’d become entranced and wander off somewhere without realizing it.
“…Ka.”
“…Huh?”
“Aika, what’s wrong?”
Ruspe asked, looking at me with concern.
My face had gone deathly pale as I hurriedly turned around.
This won’t do. I have to go home.
The only thought in my mind was that I needed to get back to my uncle as quickly as possible.
“Ruspe, I’m sorry! I have to go to my uncle!”
