Episode 113. Springtime for Julius (1)

Julius’s life could be summed up in one phrase: a life dependent on others.

Since childhood, he had been living not the life he wanted, but the life others pushed him into. He hated those his mother told him to hate, endured when told to endure, and took the blows when told to accept them.

As he lived this way, he gradually lost sight of why he was even living. By the time he had grown numb, Percy Stewart appeared before him.

‘This man might help me gain my freedom.’

Sienna, much like himself, had been trapped in a confined life. She sought freedom through her relationship with Percy, and Julius, filled with dependency, reached out to Percy as well.

‘As emperor, I can grant him what he desires. We can strike a deal.’

Julius could grant independence to the Stewart Duchy. In return, Percy could help Julius break free from his parents.

‘It’s a mutually beneficial trade.’

At first, it was merely a calculated exchange. But as time passed, Julius’s feelings began to shift—not toward Percy, but toward Sienna.

Sienna, whom he had once thought was a cruel child as his mother had described, turned out to be far more pitiable than himself. Yet, despite her circumstances, she never gave up on the hope of living freely.

Whenever he faced her, Julius felt insignificant. Yet more than that, he found himself wanting to stay by her side.

His mother treated him as a tool, his father saw him as replaceable, and the rest of his family treated him like a stranger. The only person who truly recognized him as Julius Zulatán was Sienna.

Eventually, even his resolve changed.

‘Even if I die, I’ll make sure Sienna can live freely.’

Because of Sienna, he grew stronger. He began to plan and execute things he would never have dared before. All of it was courage that Sienna had given him.

And so, they truly broke free from the system. All that remained was to live freely, or so he thought.

“This is too much! How could they just whisk my sister away and not even show me her face?”

Julius slumped dramatically over his desk, feigning tears. Before him lay a calendar, its pages marked with how long Percy and Sienna’s honeymoon had lasted.

If Sienna had seen it, she would have grimaced in disgust and exclaimed, “Gross!”

Sitting across from him, Duke Bernardé, now looking more like a young man than a boy, grimaced on her behalf.

“It’s already been six months, Your Majesty. You should accept that they won’t return for years, if ever,” Bernardé said with exasperation.

Witnesses to Percy’s departure from the capital all agreed: judging by the sheer amount of luggage, he wouldn’t return for at least two years.

Bernardé himself suspected Percy might never return. From what he knew of Percy Stewart, that was entirely plausible.

Tapping the desk with his fingers, Bernardé offered a practical suggestion.
“He’s not someone you can summon back against his will, so it’s best to forget about him. Marking days on the calendar is just a waste of energy.”

Naturally, Julius ignored him. Instead, he clutched the calendar with both hands and shouted,
“Would you forget so easily if it were your only sister? She’s my one and only sibling!”

“When were you ever that close to her…” Bernardé muttered, his protest falling on deaf ears.

Julius balled his fists and cried out,
“It was a mistake to let Percy Stewart, that sly fox, take my sister! Why did Sienna fall for someone like him?”

Would it have made a difference if Julius had stood his ground? Would Percy have backed down?

Though Bernardé kept silent, he privately agreed with Julius’s last remark.
“I do agree that Duke Stewart is indeed a sly fox,” he said.

Percy had been meticulous. He had ensured the Imperial Knights would remain stable in his absence, carefully appointing replacements and securing the support of capable nobles. Bernardé himself was one such noble.

‘He dumped all his responsibilities on me so he could enjoy his honeymoon?’

Grinding his teeth, Bernardé recalled how he had been lured into the palace by a single provocative letter:

**[Hey, kid. Don’t you want to prove yourself capable of handling something important and be recognized as an adult?]**

Percy was the only person who had ever treated him like a child, and that letter had stung deeply. Furious, Bernardé had stormed into the palace without a second thought—only to find himself saddled with all of Percy’s leftover work.

‘I was completely duped. That fox!’

Even so, he couldn’t abandon the tasks Percy had left him. Walking away would mean admitting that Percy had been right to call him a child.

If Percy’s trust in him was genuine, then Bernardé could take some pride in that. As he reviewed the day’s pending issues, Bernardé remarked,
“What surprises me is that he hasn’t demanded the independence of the Stewart Duchy yet. I thought he’d insist on it immediately.”

Slumped over his desk, Julius mumbled in response,
“He’s probably holding back because he doesn’t want you to quit and run away from all the extra work.”

“That’s… unlikely. Though, now that you mention it… it’s plausible,” Bernardé admitted reluctantly.

If the Stewart Duchy declared independence, the chaos among the other dukes would create an enormous workload for everyone.

‘I’d probably have run away too.’

Bernardé imagined himself at the forefront of the protests, demanding his own duchy’s independence.

‘If he really calculated that far ahead, he’s terrifying.’

Shaking his head to dispel thoughts of Percy, Bernardé focused on Julius, who was still clinging to his desk, muttering bitterly.

“I still don’t understand why Sienna married someone like him. Maybe I should issue a decree for their divorce? No, I’d have to summon them back to the capital for that.”

“You sound more like her father than her brother,” Bernardé said, exasperated.

“I wish I were her father! Then I could have spoiled her rotten!” Julius declared dramatically.

Bernardé gave him a pitying look, then got up. He returned moments later, carrying a stack of documents so thick it was nearly as tall as Julius when seated.

“Your Majesty, if you’re bored, you might as well start reviewing these,” Bernardé said, slamming the stack onto the desk.

“What is all this? Why is it so thick?” Julius asked, horrified.

“It’s the list of potential brides for Your Majesty,” Bernardé replied smoothly.

“What?”

Julius’s face twisted in shock. Bernardé dropped the papers with a loud thud and added,

“How long do you plan to leave the position of empress vacant? There are countless women hoping to marry you. Start reviewing them.”

“I—I have no intention of getting married!” Julius stammered.

“Please don’t joke around,” Bernardé said firmly, tapping the stack of documents impatiently.

It wasn’t as though an emperor could simply remain unmarried forever. The sooner Julius dealt with it, the better—or so Bernardé thought.

But Julius, his face unusually pale, replied in a quiet voice, “I’m serious. I’m uncomfortable around women. Honestly, they scare me.”

“…What?”

Bernardé blinked in disbelief. How could the emperor, surrounded by countless women in the palace, say such a thing?

Julius fidgeted with his fingers as he continued, “Her Majesty the Empress was so terrifying that now I find all women frightening. I feel like they’ll manipulate me, use me for their own gain, and toss me aside when they’re done. Truthfully, even talking to women makes me so uncomfortable I can hardly manage it.”

“But you talk just fine with Princess Sienna,” Bernardé pointed out.

“That’s because she’s my sister!” Julius shot back.

To Bernardé, who still thought of Sienna as nothing more than a scheming villainess, that was the most absurd excuse he’d ever heard.

“Other women are the same. If anything, they’re probably gentler and more docile than Princess Sienna,” Bernardé argued.

“And if one of them ends up hitting me, will you take responsibility?!” Julius retorted.

“…What?”

This was beyond ridiculous. Why was Julius assuming his potential spouse would physically assault him? And why, of all people, should Bernardé be responsible for such an outcome?

There were so many things wrong with this conversation that Bernardé couldn’t even begin to address them all. Staring at the emperor in dumbfounded silence, Bernardé watched as Julius delivered his final blow.
“I have no intention of getting married. Handle the rejections for me, Bernardé.”

“Stop acting like a spoiled child!” Bernardé snapped, unable to contain his frustration any longer.

Normally, Bernardé would never raise his voice like this. But he, too, was overwhelmed by unfamiliar duties—and now Julius was throwing tantrums on top of it all. His patience had reached its limit.

“Do you have any idea how hard I’m working right now, handling tasks that should be done by an empress? Get married already! Think of it as hiring a competent assistant!”

But Julius wasn’t one to back down so easily.

“Then hire more assistants! I’m not getting married!”

“You—!”

Bernardé let out an incoherent growl of frustration.

After a futile back-and-forth of meaningless bickering, Bernardé eventually threw in the towel. He trudged away, utterly defeated, vowing to put this argument behind him—at least for today.

 

 

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