The emperor raised his shoulders and then let them fall, letting out a long sigh as he spoke.
“I am always grateful that Duke Gray is so lenient with me.”
Jade Gray’s eyebrows furrowed slightly at the emperor’s blatant attitude of relief.
“I heard theres a children at Enoch’s age have been entering the Mitro Forest. Is this also your doing, Your Majesty?”
“Oh, is that so? I truly didn’t know.”
The emperor seemed genuinely surprised and unaware of this fact. Nevertheless, the suspicion in Jade Gray’s eyes did not fade.
“That was not my doing. I can assure you of my innocence in this matter. It seems the children entered out of curiosity on their own, what can I do about it?”
The emperor quickly denied the accusation. His deep voice, stretching out his words as if to appeal his injustice, was quite persuasive.
Jade Gray nodded with a sigh and said,
“If that is the case, you should punish the family that failed to control the children who defied the imperial decree.”
“There is no need to go that far. Surely, Duke Gray, it was a good experience for Enoch to learn the chivalry of protecting ladies.”
“Haaa, Your Majesty.”
Jade Gray put a hand to his forehead with a sigh at the emperor’s response, which ended by praising Enoch. He had succeeded in extracting the information the emperor was hiding.
“I never mentioned that they were girls.”
“…….…”
Realizing he had been caught in Jade Gray’s trap, the emperor gradually shed his mask of ignorance. Seeing the emperor’s eyes narrow like a snake’s, Jade Gray clicked his tongue.
“I’ve been caught, haven’t I?”
“Yes, Your Majesty. You cannot make excuses since I did not mention that the girls were there when Enoch encountered the lower monster.”
“Haha, as expected of Duke Gray. You make it impossible to enjoy the fun of deceiving you. It’s the only pleasure in my otherwise boring life.”
The emperor shrugged his shoulders and deeply leaned back into the sofa.
Seeing the emperor finally ready to talk in earnest, Jade Gray also sat down on the opposite sofa.
“That matter was condoned by the Crown Prince.”
“There is no way the Crown Prince would do such a thing. He would never put children in danger.”
The emperor let out a hollow laugh at Jade Gray’s words, which seemed to trust the Crown Prince more than himself.
“It’s true. What would I gain by lying to you now, Duke Gray? The Crown Prince happened to discover the children trying to sneak into the forest and turned a blind eye.”
“If the Crown Prince saw them, he would have surely stopped them. Why then….”
Jade Gray furrowed his brow and pondered for a moment before speaking as if he had realized something.
“He must have wanted to see the sword of the next Emblem. He must have known in advance that you were going to release lower monsters.”
Considering the Crown Prince’s obsessive love for Emblem, it was quite plausible. He would want to test whether Cherrya Emblem, who would compete with Gray for the position of the guardian knight, could wield a sword befitting an Emblem.
The three young girls entering the Mitro Forest would have perfectly created the situation the Crown Prince wanted, so it made sense that he turned a blind eye.
“That child seems to resemble me in the sense that he can’t rest until he sees things with his own eyes,”
The emperor said with a touch of pride.
However, one thing that Jade Gray couldn’t understand was that the Crown Prince, who admired Emblem’s sword that protected the weak, he had always promised to be a ruler who would first look after those under his authority.
It was strange that such a person would stand by and watch, knowing the predicament the young girls would face in order to test Emblem’s sword.
Jade Gray’s doubt was cleared by the emperor.
“The Crown Prince sent the shadow I gifted him to follow the children. It was to intervene in case of an emergency.”
“I see, the shadow…”
The term ‘shadow’ referred to a secret group that guarded the emperor. If chosen to be a shadow, one would undergo a certain personal reorganization and disappear from the empire to protect the emperor.
As a secret group exclusively for the emperor, even Melsia, who trained them, could only see them with their faces covered. The mystery surrounding them was maintained with utmost secrecy.
Only those with exceptional skills could become shadows, and the value of a shadow given to the Crown Prince by the emperor was immeasurable.
“I didn’t know the Crown Prince would take such a risk.”
The fact that the emperor had to give a shadow to the Crown Prince indicated that the Crown Prince was living under threat.
“Indeed. I was going to scold him for being too careless about his own safety, but I decided to let it go quietly since I got an amusing spectacle out of it.”
“You are truly magnanimous.”
The emperor cherished the Crown Prince enough to assign him a shadow, but he was also the ruler responsible for nurturing an outstanding successor to lead the empire.
Thus, he would not intervene in the Crown Prince’s crises if the shadow was absent. The decision to send the only shadow was a risky one, considering the potential need for its protection at any moment.
If Jade Gray had to prioritize between the three girls who entered the Mitro Forest and the Crown Prince’s life, he would choose the Crown Prince without hesitation, even if it seemed harsh. However, the Crown Prince did not think that way, making him a worthy future ruler in Jade Gray’s eyes.
“Anyway, let’s award honorary knight medals to Gray and Emblem for their efforts this time. It will be unprecedented. Will this be enough to appease the two families?”
“…..I’ll let it go this time.”
“This time, you say. It sounds like you have something prepared for the next time too.”
“Of course not.”
Jade Gray did not request a private audience with the emperor simply to complain about the release of lower monsters into the Mitro Forest.
If that were the reason, he could have brought it up when he had numerous opportunities to meet the emperor in the capital.
However, doing so would mean the conversation could be overheard by the many eyes and ears that always followed the emperor in the palace.
The matter Jade Gray was about to bring up with the emperor was a secret that no one else could hear.
“Do you think I would overlook your blatant attempt to connect Enoch with the Crown Prince by inviting him to the hunting tournament and your overt behavior at the party?”
“Haahh…”
The emperor sighed, leaning back wearily into the sofa.
“Nothing comes easily. I miss the days of Duke Emblem.”
“If Seffield had been at that party, he would have asked outright if the Gray family had something with you.”
“Yes, he would have. It would have been more troublesome.”
“That’s why you handled everything when Seffield was away.”
At Jade Gray’s words, the emperor sat up straight. His golden eyes, which met Jade’s, were deeply shadowed.
Although the young emperor might joke with him brightly, Jade knew that he always harbored ulterior motives and never let his guard down.
The emperor enjoyed exploiting any lapses in vigilance to achieve his desires. Jade Gray understood this well and knew the only way to counter it was to push without showing any weakness.
The emperor had only stopped pretending to be clueless. Jade Gray had barely removed a small mask from the emperor. He intended to strip away the emperor’s layers until he reached his true face.
“A Sword Master wouldn’t miss the presence of lower monsters in the Mitro Forest, and you wouldn’t openly brag about your schemes if Seffield were around. You become unusually cautious in his presence.”
“Each of your words hits home. Despite knowing it makes me uncomfortable, why do you persist?”
The emperor no longer hid his blatant displeasure. He did not like anyone probing into his intentions, and Jade Gray’s persistence meant he was intentionally aggravating him.
“I already told you. Show me your intentions regarding connecting my grandson with the Crown Prince.”
“What if I refuse?”
“How could you refuse in front of me?”
At that moment, Jade Gray’s eyes shone sharply.
“It is about my daughter who received your Majesty’s command went to the Kratyn Forest.”
