Chapter 37 Cool Uncle
Late at night.
After tucking Jediel in, Veronia went down to the kitchen to make herself a cup of herbal tea, but instead went straight to her bedroom. Onyx was waiting for her.
“Thank you so much for today.”
“I only helped because I could.”
Onyx shrugged, as Veronia always did when thanked.
“If it weren’t for you, I might have had to confront him, though I doubt he would have recognised the change in me.”
“Could he be Jediel’s biological father?”
Onyx asked bluntly, needing to know for certain.
Veronia was taken aback by the sudden question, but soon nodded.
“…, yes.”
“I see.”
Onyx crossed his arms and rubbed his chin slowly. It was a habit of his when he was flustered and couldn’t think straight.
He’d guessed, but the affirmative answer left him speechless. ‘Jediel’s biological father is the Duke of Drea, one of the most powerful men in the Empire!’
‘I thought I had heard some information that the princess and her fiancé were not as close as rumors had suggested, or was that wrong?’
Onyx asked again in a dry tone, feeling a twinge of irritation creeping up on her.
“What are you going to do about it?”
“Perhaps we should move on after all? I guess I was too complacent, I thought it would be better to hide in the masses in a big city, but I guess not.”
“…”
“I thought I’d be fine, since nobles and commoners live in completely different radiuses… I guess I was wrong about that too.”
Veronia poured out words of self-pity. A deep, anguished sigh escaped her mouth.
Onyx stared at Veronia in confusion. There was a mother’s face there, concerned for her child’s well-being.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea to move quickly, it will only arouse suspicion.”
“Then what should I do, stay where I am?”
“Yes. You should act as if nothing is wrong, that’s for the best, but I think it’s best that you avoid meeting the Duke of Drea.”
“…”
And again.
Veronia’s eyes flinched at the mention of Drea.
The way she reacted to the name every time gave Onyx a strange feeling. It was like an unexplained pain in the pit of her stomach.
She didn’t know what it was, but it wasn’t a good feeling.
“I don’t think you’ll be able to keep your composure when you meet the Duke of Drea, Nia.”
“You’re right, I’ll keep that in mind.”
***
Killion was in the portrait room on the fifth floor again today.
He looked at the old portraits hanging above the fireplace and thought of Jediel when they met again.
‘Huh? That’s you from yesterday! You’re Mr Candy, right? You’re the handsome one!’
He could clearly see the cute face that had recognised him and smiled.
‘Nice to meet you too! By the way, my name is Jediel . What’s yours?’
I gave him my name before he asked. He was a confident, intelligent kid.
‘Just like my brother Aaron…’
The more he looked at him, the more he reminded me of his brother Aaron.
“Brother… Who is he? Why do I keep thinking about him? Why do I keep wanting to see him…?”
With a sigh, Killion took a long swallow of whiskey from the glass he was holding.
A hot sensation ran down his esophagus, but instead his mind seemed to clear.
‘That man…’
Suddenly, he remembered the man next to Jediel. Jediel apparently lives with his great-grandmother, great-grandfather and mother…
‘So he’s not a family member, then… who is he?’
A distant relative? Or a neighbor, maybe a friend or lover of his mother’s! Killion continued to ponder.
‘But he looks familiar. I’m sure I’ve seen him somewhere before…’
The man was indistinguishable, but strangely enough, he couldn’t remember where he seen him before.
“Where did I see him…?”
Killion’s brow furrowed as he tried to remember.
***
Early morning, Killion’s office.
“Are you here, Your Excellency?”
“Yes.”
Windler, an aide, greeted Killion. He was in high spirits, no doubt due to his early departure yesterday.
Windler said cheerfully.
“It’s a beautiful day! It’s cloudless and sunny, and I have a feeling something good is going to happen.”
A dry tone contrasting with Windler’s cheerfulness flowed from Killion’s mouth.
“I want you to see if there’s anything you can do to work closely with the Imperial Normal Academy’s kindergarten.”
“What? Go, all of a sudden? Imperial… where?”
“The kindergarten is attached to the Imperial Normal Academy. I know it’s a well-performing organization, so I want you to come up with a plan that we can use as an example.”
“Ah, yes. Of course, Your Excellency.”
Windler felt dumbfounded by Killion’s sudden demand, but he had to nod for now.
If he asked any more stupid questions, Killion’s fierce gaze would cut him off somewhere.
‘But it’s supposed to be… problem first, and then let’s use kindergarten as an example to solve it, not… problem to solve by using kindergarten as an example…’
Windler shook his head, but quickly scribbled it down in his notebook to make sure he didn’t forget it.
But there was one more strange command from Killion.
“Oh, and. I want you to see if there’s anything you can do to improve the environment and make the Star Palace more comfortable.”
“What? What’s that…?”
Windler was stumped again. No matter how hard he wracked his brain, he couldn’t figure out what the command meant.
Like a riddle.
“Primarily… What do you want me to focus on, Your Excellency?”
“Primarily… I’ve heard that there have been a number of new and handy tools being developed recently.”
Windler’s eyes lit up as Killion began to elaborate.
Ah, so that’s what you wanted to talk about, the tools! He realized what Killion had in mind.
“See if any of them can be used to improve the working environment in the palace. Gather the opinions of the other administrators.”
“Ah… yes. Got it.”
Windler nodded as he quickly jotted down the information. He thought to himself.
‘You’re telling me to come up with a project that can be done in close co-operation with the Matap Institute.’
As he bowed politely and left the office, Windler’s thoughts lingered.
‘But what kind of kindergarten? What kind of martial arts center?’
Windler had been by Killion’s side for nearly a decade, but there were still times when he found it difficult to keep up with the man, especially on this occasion.
‘What else could the winds be blowing?’
He cares so much about the quality of life of his people that I didn’t think it was a ridiculous directive.
‘It’s just… we’re expecting a vigil today…’
All the good feelings he had in the morning when he saw the clear sky turned out to be an illusion.
***
In the bathroom, Veronia was washing Jediel tightly, covered in bubbles. As she washed his hair, she paused and studied his face.
‘Does he look like Killion?’
No, no. Veronia shook her head. It wasn’t so much the resemblance.
It was more the golden hair and the thin crown that reminded her of me.
‘The eyes and nose seem to bear a slight resemblance to Killion’s…’
What about the ears? Do they resemble mine? What about the eyebrows? Let’s be still… She was scrutinizing every inch of his face. Jediel asked if her mother’s gaze was strange.
“Mum, what’s wrong?”
“Oh… nothing, just. I just wanted to see how much more handsome my Jediel has become.”
“That’s right, I met him yesterday.”
“The guy?”
“Yep. The handsome man who gave me candy at the market.”
Veronia acted like she was hearing this for the first time, even though she had already heard it from Onyx.
“Yeah, but how did you recognize him? Do you remember his face? You only saw him for a second?”
“I can remember him because I’ve never seen anyone so handsome before.”
Hehehehe, the child giggled, knowing what was good.
“He seems like a nice guy, and he has a nice name, Killion.”
Haahhh, did they even shout at each other? Veronia despaired. Her heart instantly went dry.
“But I don’t know him, and you know you shouldn’t be following him around, right?”
“Even though we know each other’s names now?”
“No.”
Veronia shook her head firmly. Then, forcing her voice, she said.
“All you know about him is his face and his name. You must never meet him alone or follow him.”
“Yes.”
Jediel nodded immediately.
***
Early morning, Killion’s office.
“Are you here, Your Excellency?”
“Yes.”
Windler, an aide, greeted Killion.
Windler’s face was haggard from the night’s sleep, and his eyes were bloodshot and dull. Fatigue was written all over his face.
Killion sat down at his desk and got straight to the point.
“So, what happened to that idea for an adjunct kindergarten you were talking about yesterday? Have you made any progress?”
“Yes, Your Excellency, here it is.”
Windler immediately handed the papers to Killion.
It was the mark of a competent aide.
“It has been suggested that the nurseries in various parts of the Empire be designated as Imperial Nurseries and placed under the direct control of the State.”
“Hmmph… “
Killion studied the papers in concentration.
