If You Tell a Pickpocket to Save the Male Lead

The first day of the founding ceremony. At noon, a celebratory cannon was fired from the bell tower, and children danced and ran around to catch pieces of confetti as thin as flower petals. People knew that the beautiful wave of flowers was not the grace of the emperor, but the taxes they paid. However, they laughed heartily, forgetting that fact in order to survive.

“Hey, Peregrine, the other side is for you. This bathroom is for imperial citizens only.”

However, not everyone could be happy on the tilted floor. People despised those weaker than themselves, rationalizing the exploitation they were subjected to.

“Ah, please let it go on a day like today!”

“Out of the way! Move!”

“Oh, how harsh, how harsh. Pooh!” (TL: spitting)

“Come here, you! You can’t just use the bathroom where the imperial citizens…I’m sorry, I apologize!”

And someone resisted this weakly, while another ignored even that weak resistance and turned their back. But it was hard to blame them. After all, all of this was to survive.

“The mercy bestowed by His Majesty the Emperor is indeed great. The streets are full of vitality.”

And the nobles inside the castle looked down at the scene with pleasure, as if watching a bullfight.

“Hehe, indeed. Look there, see? A fight has started after all.”

“Poor thing…Oh my, the wine today is really excellent?”

“The grape harvest this year is good. Isn’t the sky also celebrating the emperor’s ascension?”

The palace was several times more splendid than usual, by the emperor’s special order. The banquet hall, where wealth had to be flaunted in new clothes, was brightly decorated even at night. On the contrary, the corners where secret meetings had to be held in shabby clothes were covered with dark curtains even during the day, emitting a strange fragrance.

The elegantly dressed nobles were chattering here and there in the grand banquet hall, waving their fans, and went out to the balcony to have a private conversation.

“Come on, Rozalin. Don’t keep me waiting any longer.”

“Uh, this way… Oh my! Who is that?”

The couple who came together and were looking for the balcony were startled and stiffened.

“Ah…uh…I’m, I’m sorry.”

A foolish voice was heard from the corner of the balcony. It was Duke Trepe.

“Do I, uh, need to move?”

Duke Trepe exaggeratedly scratched the back of his head so that he could be seen even in the dark. The two, man and woman, backed away slowly with disgusted faces.

Since the recent suspicious rumors with the maid, his treatment had changed from a jester to a poison. If they both had the common point of wearing flashy protective colors, then they had that in common.

“No need. Rozalin. Let’s go.”

“Oh, bad luck…Hmm, hmm!”

“Yes, then please go ahead.”

The two people frowned at the duke, who was stupidly laughing and even waving his hand, and quickly escaped from the balcony.

After they disappeared, Estribal sighed with a tired face. Probably not long after, rumors that the jester Trepe was in this corner of the balcony would spread, and then there would be no one looking for the balcony.

He thought he would take refuge on the balcony until someone came looking for Estribal, not Trepe, appeared. The secluded balcony was at least quiet enough to take a break as it did not hear the sound of the orchestra. Then, a buzzing noise came from outside.

“Princess Raysendella von Atuna has entered the palace!”

Estribal clicked his tongue. He had advised her not to attend, but she had finally shown up. It was a politically correct decision, but it would not have been an easy choice.

There was no trumpet sound to greet the precious guest. The nobles who would at least take her side would also be hiding their bodies, thus the princess would be alone to withstand the cold gaze.

Estribal thought about going out for a moment, but gave up. He felt sorry for the princess who would become a target alone, but the less he moved today, the better.

Estribal firmly locked up the rising distractions and closed his tired eyes.

“Greetings to the sun of the empire.”

“Ah, welcome, the star of the Atuna Empire!”

Raysendella bowed her head to the emperor from her wheelchair. A gaze mixed with surprise, aversion, and sympathy fell on Raysendella’s head. However, revealing her existence was also something the princess had to do. She had been brought down by a cowardly sword, but she had not yet died. Her legs were cut off, but her head, which could wear a crown, remained.

“My sister. You must have had a hard time coming all this way.”

The seated emperor stood up on both legs as if to show off and strode towards Raysendella. Then the emperor bowed his head towards Raysendella and whispered so that only those close could hear.

“Ah, it’s not a step, is it?”

The sound of a fake cough and a snickering laugh overwhelmed Raysendella. Raysendella’s face turned as white as her hair color. Raysendella swallowed her anger and replied with a smile.

“Rumors move without feet. Am I not the rumor itself?”

The corner of the emperor’s mouth trembled thinly. Raysendella was talking about the rumor that the emperor could not hold the founding ceremony on the throne in a way that contradicts human relations.

“Since the path of hunting can be opened without my legs, I couldn’t resist my curiosity.”

The nobles around the emperor held their breath as they watched. Raysendella’s legs were her weakness and at the same time a reproach to the emperor. The silent emperor smiled generously.

“Yes, I hope my sister can enjoy the founding ceremony.”

The emperor strode across the hall.

“I need to take a break and have a cup of tea. Everyone is enjoying the dance. Please play my favorite music.”

The emperor snapped his fingers. The court musician, who noticed the emperor’s mood, raised his baton, and then the music of an exciting beat rang out. It was a very fast dance song enjoyed by the common people of the empire. The nobles, who had been momentarily swaying, soon caught on to the emperor’s intentions.

“Oh my! This beat isn’t easy, is it?”

The nobles danced around as if the princess was not visible. While they were laughing uproariously and stepping on each other’s feet in jest, the princess existed like a still life in between them. It was a terrible insult.

After closing her eyes and taking a deep breath for a moment, the princess slowly crossed the hall and disappeared into the crowd. The emperor, who had been watching her, grumbled with a displeased expression.

“She doesn’t even know an inch ahead of her…You, bring the tea.”

The emperor commanded a maid standing nearby and opened the balcony where Estribal was. Estribal asked briefly.

“Is it the princess?”

“Yes.”

The emperor casually sat down on the long chair placed on the balcony and gestured. Estribal, who had been leaning against the railing, also sat down in front of him, keeping his distance.

“Isn’t she ashamed of being disabled? I thought she would at least hang herself if she was made like that. Pathetic.”

The emperor ground his teeth nervously. Estribal answered expressionlessly.

“Don’t be angry. There must be a shadow for your imperial crown to shine more, right?”

“Yes. Like you?”

Then the balcony rustled. Estribal reached for the glasses hanging around his neck. The emperor shook his head.

“No, there’s no need. It’s a maid. I asked her to bring the tea.”

As the emperor said, a faint scent spread to the tip of his nose. Estribal hesitated.

‘…Scent?’

A maid pushed a small trolley into the balcony. Estribal’s pupils opened wide in the darkness.

A figure that could be recognized no matter what it looked like, his god.

“I will serve the tea as ordered.”

A voice, not too high but fundamentally cheerful, echoed in the balcony.

His mind moved crazily. The height was about his shoulder, there was a small dot on the earlobe that was revealed when the short hair was flipped. The eyelashes were uneven and the ends were unusually stretched. Long fingers, the shape of the nails…

‘…What was it. Were they long? Were they cut short? No.’

When one was recalled, another became blurred, and when he barely found a memory and inserted it, another memory wobbled. So the god placed in the temple of memory was shabby as if pieces of fragments were put together.

“I can’t see your face. Follow me here.”

The emperor tapped the floor with his toes. As the maid moved the trolley between the two men and poured the tea, a faint light shone on her small face.

Existence always precedes conception. The real Ciello that appeared in front of him hit his senses with a thud, mocking his poor imagination.

The brown long wig was unfamiliar, but it too was beautiful. Grayer than darkness, calmer than light, the gray eyes, the navy maid’s uniform a bit short due to her height. From the tea, the scent of lavender, on the nape of her neck, figs and green grapes, and bergamot.

Everything overstimulated his senses. His breathing became labored, like a fish pulled from the water. A low, rumbling breath escaped his throat.

The sound startled Ciello. The balcony was intentionally kept dark so that those inside could not immediately recognize the person entering. It was only now that Ciello realized who the Emperor’s conversation partner was.

Ciello’s hand, which had been lightly pressing down on the teapot lid, went slack. The lid clattered open and fell to the floor. With a sharp, ringing sound, the hot tea splashed onto the back of Estribal’s gloved hand.

Ugh. A low groan escaped Estribal’s lips.

‘…What’s this?’

The Emperor momentarily felt a strange sense of dissonance about the situation, but the thought did not linger long. It was because of the maid quickly kneeling at his feet.

“I-I’m so sorry! Please, have mercy!”

Ciello trembled as she pressed her head to the floor, curling her hands slightly. It would be best to conserve her strength for the operation today, but if need be, she was ready to turn back time.

“Whether or not to show mercy will be decided by the look on your face. Raise your head.”

The Emperor lightly tapped Ciello’s forehead with the tip of his shoe. Ciello chewed on her lips as she lifted her head. The Emperor’s cheek twitched for a moment.

“…Hmm.”

It was a rather pretty face, but it was not as if there were no beauties in the palace. Yet, the Emperor found himself curiously intrigued by the gray eyes. This was a rather unfamiliar sensation for him.

After obtaining a special power stolen from Peregrine, the Emperor was seized by a terrible ennui. The saying that you may know what’s inside a thousand miles of water, but you don’t know what’s inside a person who’s only a length away was wrong in the case of the Emperor. To him, humans were not an endless sea, but merely shallow puddles.

However, this woman might have something interesting within her. The Emperor licked his lips.

“Yes, indeed, a face that makes me want to bestow mercy.”

The Emperor, using his shoehorn, lifted Ciello’s chin and turned it this way and that.

“It’s your hand that was scalded. What are your tastes?”

The Emperor looked back at Estribal, who was sitting expressionless.

“Tastes, what do you mean…”

Estribal asked, hiding his trembling voice. The Emperor was arrogant, and so he decided to satisfy his curiosity in the easiest way for him.

“I like it when we’re three. There was never any fun to be had with you.”