The Emperor's Invitation (2)
Father and Rachel met again?
When? How? Why?
Could it be that Rachel had gotten on Father’s bad side because of the garden incident?
If the person involved was Father, there was nothing Edwin could do.
Edwin’s lips began to tremble.
“...You’re always so full of fear.”
At the emperor’s words, Edwin’s head snapped up.
The emperor was watching him with the eyes of someone studying a specimen.
“Just what are you so afraid of?”
What was he afraid of?
Edwin’s pupils shook.
The young prince feared everything in this imperial palace.
This is a place where you can lose everything without lifting a finger.
In truth, Edwin had already lost the one person who had meant everything to him.
“Are you afraid of the second empress?”
Edwin’s shoulders flinched at the emperor’s question.
“Or is it me you fear—the one who knows everything yet does nothing?”
Edwin’s lowered lashes quivered.
To say he wasn’t afraid would have been a lie.
His father might be the emperor of this nation, but that very indifference had caused Edwin endless suffering.
“As you know, I became emperor by killing my own siblings.”
The emperor swirled the golden goblet in his hand before continuing.
“No one acknowledged it, but I believed only I could lead this empire.”
The emperor’s eyes sank into deep shadow.
“Even now, I feel no regret for that day. My brothers and sisters were nothing more than livestock clinging to royal blood.”
His voice was cold as ice.
“If anyone harms this empire, I will cut them down without hesitation, blood relative or not. That is all I did back then.”
The emperor spoke with the firm conviction of a man prepared to repeat such acts at any moment.
“On the other hand, if someone proves beneficial to the empire, even one I once cast aside may earn a second look.”
The young prince drew a sharp breath.
Father and son locked eyes across the empty air.
“That is all I have to say to you.”
After staring into Edwin’s eyes for a long moment, the emperor rose from his seat.
“There will be a breakfast gathering tomorrow. You will attend.”
“A breakfast gathering? But I…”
The breakfast gathering was an irregular meeting of the direct imperial family. It was simply a shared morning meal, yet Edwin had not attended in years.
“It is an imperial command.”
The emperor cut him off without mercy.
“It reflects poorly on the family when one of its own constantly avoids such occasions. I will hear no argument.”
“...Yes, Father.”
Edwin lowered his head, then suddenly regained his composure. He wrung out the last drop of courage he possessed and called out.
“F-Father!”
“What is it?”
“W-what about Emilia?”
Emilia had never once properly met her father. Edwin wanted to use this chance to let his only younger sister see him.
“Emilia?”
The emperor frowned the moment he heard the name, as though it took him a moment to recall.
“Ah, yes. Your sister.”
Not my daughter—your sister. The phrasing was frigid.
Edwin bit his lip and stared at the emperor.
“Isn’t the child still too young to attend the breakfast gathering?”
“Ah… y-yes, that’s true.”
“Then I shall see you tomorrow morning.”
Without another word, the emperor left the office.
The duke standing guard outside glanced once at Edwin through the gap in the door before following his sovereign.
“...Huh?”
Left alone in the office, Edwin sat there in a daze.
What had just happened?
So Father personally commanded me to attend the breakfast gathering…
Edwin’s eyes slowly widened.
The young prince shot up from his chair and bolted outside.
“Your Highness, did your conversation with His Majesty go well…? Your Highness?”
“Your Highness! Where are you going? What about the rest of your training?”
The knights called after him from the training grounds, but Edwin left the quarters without slowing down. An unnameable emotion churned across his face.
“Don’t worry too much.”
Despite my encouragement, Edwin’s face showed no sign of easing. The boy had returned to the palace yesterday deathly pale and had confessed the conversation he shared with the emperor. The conclusion was that he had to attend today’s breakfast gathering.
“That’s right. Don’t worry. It’s not like His Majesty is going to eat you alive.”
Catherine, who was adjusting Edwin’s clothes in my place since my skills with formal attire were hopeless, offered the joke. It didn’t seem to help much.
“What if he asks why I even came?”
Edwin looked at me with a face on the verge of tears.
“Um… can’t you come with me?”
“They say even attendants aren’t allowed inside the dining hall. There’d be no point in me going.”
“But still…”
Edwin muttered weakly.
“I don’t understand why Father is suddenly acting like this.”
I had a pretty good idea.
The son he had given up on had endured an entire month of training. It must have sparked some interest.
“That’s right—Rachel!”
The gloomy boy suddenly raised his voice.
“I heard you met Father again. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Oh my goodness, Nanny! You met His Majesty?”
Two pairs of excited eyes turned toward me.
I hadn’t said anything because I found their fussing annoying.
“Yes. It was on the day His Highness first began training with the knights.”
When I answered as if it were nothing, Edwin’s eyes widened in shock.
“Father was there that day?”
“I was surprised too. The emperor of an entire nation walking around without any guards.”
“Father is said to be as strong as Sir Jerome. He probably doesn’t need guards.”
That was rather interesting information.
Had I known, I would have crossed swords with the emperor before I died.
“No, that’s not what’s important! Rachel, you told Father that I wanted to become stronger, didn’t you?”
“It’s the truth, isn’t it?”
Edwin’s face flushed at my words.
“Even so, saying something like that to Father…”
“His Majesty seemed pleased.”
I answered smoothly.
“He said it was good to see you making an effort to change.”
Well, he had said something similar, so it wasn’t exactly a lie.
Edwin’s eyes grew round.
“Really?”
“Of course. He also said he would be watching you from now on.”
“Then…”
“It means His Majesty seeking you out wasn’t a sudden whim.”
“Is that so…?”
Edwin let out a sigh of relief.
“Oh dear, oh dear! That’s wonderful, Your Highness!”
Catherine fluttered beside us.
But Edwin still looked somehow unconvinced.
“What is it?”
“...I’m still scared.”
“Of what?”
His expression darkened rapidly.
“...Because the others won’t see it that way.”
By “the others,” he meant the second empress.
And that unpleasant second prince, of course.
“Don’t worry too much, Your Highness.”
“How can I not worry? You don’t know what it’s like for me…”
He seemed unwilling to say aloud how he was treated inside the imperial palace. In the end, he couldn’t finish the sentence.
“Your Highness.”
“Yeah?”
“I can say with certainty that you are worrying about something completely pointless.”
“Then why is my worry pointless…”
I flashed my teeth in a grin at the flustered boy.
“Because you won’t even receive any attention at today’s breakfast gathering. So stop worrying so much.”
This was the emperor’s palace.
Since Edwin had no escort knight, Catherine and I had no choice but to accompany him. But from here, our access was restricted.
Edwin followed a servant of the emperor’s palace and headed alone to the breakfast gathering.
“Why would you say something like that? Honestly, Nanny, you can be so cruel.”
Catherine stared at the spot where Edwin had disappeared, then turned to me with a sigh.
“Why tell him he won’t even get any attention? Did you see his face?”
“I didn’t.”
“You really are insensitive about these things! He went in looking like he was about to cry!”
“I only spoke the truth.”
A breakfast gathering where all the imperial family gathered.
Part of me wanted to sneak in and watch, but I held myself back.
If I did something like that, I might run into the emperor again like last time.
Letting your guard down anywhere was dangerous.
“Only spoke the truth… what do you even mean by…”
I shrugged at Catherine, who still looked confused.
“The adults of the imperial family will probably be too busy catching up with each other to spare him a glance.”
“What? Then isn’t that even worse? His Highness will be incredibly anxious all by himself…”
“Don’t worry. His Highness has grown much braver than before, so there’s no need to fret.”
After all, he was the boy who had faced a monster head-on, even if only briefly.
There’s no way he’d cower before mere humans.
People who experience extreme terror tend to become numb to lesser fears afterward. Like how mercenaries who survive battlefields grow fearless.
“Sometimes you’re just too cold, Nanny…”
As Catherine frowned, a servant approached us.
“Are you the attendants of His Highness the Prince?”
“We are.”
“A meal has been prepared for the attendants on the first floor. Shall I show you the way?”
“Let’s go, Catherine.”
“Ah! Wait for me! Nanny!”
Catherine grumbled but eventually followed behind me.
“I’m coming!”
Since this was the emperor’s palace, I could probably expect quite the feast.
I promptly forgot all about Edwin and quickened my steps.
