Episode 42

Yvonne, realizing her situation as Hildebrandt silently glared at her, released the wolf and ran to his side.

“Dad! Why are you all wet like this…?”

Flustered, Yvonne fumbled for a handkerchief, only to remember she had left it in her coat pocket. In her haste, she lifted her outer skirt and began to wipe the water off his body.

Hildebrandt, lowering his head towards her, let water droplets from his hair fall onto her face.

“I really came here to kill you.”

“What?”

“Because something like you disgusts me.”

Hildebrandt couldn’t understand why his powers didn’t work on himself, despite them being intact. Even now, he repeatedly hypnotized himself to kill her, but his hands and feet wouldn’t move. Maybe it was because she, despite her fear, tried to meet his eyes and stay close to him.

“Dad.”

“I told you not to call me that.”

But Yvonne didn’t remember him ever telling her not to call him that. Hildebrandt had erased her memory of the day he broke down.

“Then what should I call you to make you happy?”

“I’d be happier if you were dead and couldn’t say anything.”

“Oh…”

Seeing her eyes redden as if hurt, he felt even more frustrated. It was as if his words meant to hurt her were a double-edged sword, wounding him as well.

“I’m sorry for being useless.”

“….”

“I wanted to be useful and stay by your side…”

Hildebrandt realized that self-hypnosis was no longer useful.

“Yes. You should’ve killed that bastard instead of making paper flowers.”

“….”

“Wouldn’t that make you awaken?”

Hildebrandt returned to his usual demeanor, mocking Yvonne with a twisted smile, but Yvonne had changed.

“If I can’t awaken, I can’t stay by your side, can I?”

“….”

“Then it would really be better to die, wouldn’t it?”

Hildebrandt was taken aback by Yvonne’s unusually somber demeanor. He couldn’t tell if it was because his hypnosis didn’t work, or because she wasn’t clinging to him as usual.

With his heart pounding irregularly, he felt like he might remember the days he was abandoned.

“Should I kill you?”

“….”

Hildebrandt’s mismatched eyes coldly looked down at Yvonne. As his hand twitched, Yvonne brought it to her neck, looking at him.

“It would be an honor to die by your hand.”

The emperor pressed on Yvonne’s slender neck. She winced in pain, and as soon as she started trembling in agony, he let go.

“That would be too inconvenient.”

“Dad?”

“While I’m here, I’d like to have a drink.”

“But…”

“But what?”

Yvonne, about to express her usual concern, stopped herself, realizing this wasn’t the time.

“Please stay here as long as you can.”

“….”

“I hate seeing you drink, but… if you stay here, then it’s okay.”

Seeing Yvonne looking down with slightly wet eyes made Hildebrandt’s resentful feelings melt a little.

“I wish you were dead.”

He hypnotized himself again. Perhaps because he had touched her, he could find some composure through his self-hypnosis.

“Really ugly, my daughter.”

Yvonne smiled bitterly, wondering where he had used his magic, but no one seemed to be under a spell, which puzzled her. She met his gaze and took his hand, leading him to the sofa in her room.

“Can’t you drink something with a lower alcohol content?”

“Who are you to decide that?”

“I’m sorry, I overstepped.”

“If you’re sorry, sit on the floor.”

“Yes.”

When Hildebrandt sat on the sofa, Yvonne obediently sat near his legs. She leaned her face against his thigh, looking up at him.

He was annoyed by his wolf familiar, so he gestured for it to leave. The wolf whimpered and headed out to the terrace.

“Dad. Let’s agree not to drink too much.”

“I’m always rational.”

Hildebrandt said this while hypnotizing himself again. He could return to his rational yet capricious self.

Yvonne felt relieved seeing him back to his usual self. Hildebrandt also felt calm. He worried that she might have discovered his secret, but if she did, he could always erase her memory.

“Dad. I want to drink with you too.”

“Alright.”

At Hildebrandt’s gesture, an attendant handed him a glass and poured amber rum. With a nod from Hildebrandt, the chamberlain gave Yvonne the same glass and poured her a drink as well.

“Is this your first time drinking, Yvonne?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a lie again.”

“What?”

“Never mind. Drink a lot.”

He smiled at her, and Yvonne forced herself to relax.

Watching the situation, Francis clenched his fist involuntarily, sensing something ominous.

Yvonne had always been the one to stop Hildebrandt from drinking excessively. Now she was joining him. If the emperor drank too much and couldn’t control himself, there would be no one to stop him. Francis’s power was only to duplicate, which was useless against the emperor’s abilities.

There was only one thing that could counter Hildebrandt’s power: a physical enhancement esper who had completed their second awakening, achieving mental fortification. This rarity made Hildebrandt detest Julian, as a second-awakened physical enhancement esper was almost immune to his omnipotent hypnosis.

Julian had repeatedly awakened from Hildebrandt’s hypnosis unconsciously. However, he was now imprisoned underground, reduced to the princess’s pet.

This meant that no one could stop Hildebrandt if he drank excessively.

Francis was worried about the emperor, but he was also concerned about Yvonne, who seemed fine yet oddly not fine, forcing a smile.

The emperor was naturally capricious, but he had never seemed this unstable. Yet here he was, showing affection while Yvonne clung closely to him.

“Your Highness, you shouldn’t drink because you’re not feeling well.”

Francis blurted out without thinking.

“Sir Francis?”

Yvonne, flustered, began to watch her Dad for any reaction. But Hildebrandt was often lenient with Francis.

“Then just have one drink.”

“Yes, Dad.”

Yvonne understood why Francis was trying to stop her from drinking. He was always ready to risk his life for the emperor.

“Thank you for your concern, Sir Francis,” she said with a smile, which immediately soured Hildebrandt’s mood again.

“I’m taking him with me on my tour anyway, he seems to have grown quite attached.”

“What?”

“Do you like Francis? Should I have him attend to you at night?”

Yvonne met Francis’s eyes, and her face flushed with embarrassment, causing Francis to become flustered as well. He had never been close to a woman before. He often felt uneasy around Yvonne’s light attire, so enduring this kind of joke was impossible for him.

Francis remained silent, trying to appear unaffected, but his reddened face and tightly clenched fists only served to worsen Hildebrandt’s mood as he looked at Yvonne.

Yvonne’s behavior was also unusual. Normally, she would have laughed it off, but now she seemed embarrassed and kept her head down, drinking more.

“What’s going on between you two?”

“What?”

“Are you tired of Marquis Rohan now?”

“No, Dad. I dislike everyone except you.”

Yvonne placed her glass on the table and rubbed her hair against his thigh like a cat. This feline behavior reassured Hildebrandt, and he finished his drink. The attendant quickly refilled his glass.

As Yvonne watched this with concern, she met Hildebrandt’s eyes.

“If you die, I’ll die too.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“You know alcohol is bad for your health, Dad.”

Yvonne averted her eyes with a pout. Hildebrandt tapped her cheek with his fingers.

“Dad.”

“Yes.”

“When I awaken…”

“…”

“I want to make a vow to you.”

She thought of Julian’s mark on her chest as she spoke. Hildebrandt seemed crazier than usual today.

“What kind of vow?”

“Any kind of vow.”

Hildebrandt finished his drink again. He grabbed the bottle and drank directly from it, emptying it in one go. His rough behavior made Yvonne think he was really losing his mind.

He threw the empty bottle behind the sofa, shattering it on the floor.

“A companion vow?”

Hildebrandt sneered and ran his fingers over Yvonne’s lips.