“Salute to His Majesty the Emperor!”
A loud voice echoed throughout the training hall. The knights showed their respect to the Emperor, who stood on the platform.
Today, there was a ceremony to honor those knights who have achieved outstanding achievements.
“We express gratitude for Your Majesty’s grace and vow our unwavering loyalty.”
Although only two knights were to receive the Emperor’s appointment, the knights who filled the training hall were happy as if it were their own business. This was due to the upcoming banquet.
Fragrant wine and delicious food. And the hall was filled with beautiful noble daughters who came with their parents to see famous knights in person.
“Then, I hope you will continue to work hard for Agnas.”
The Emperor, having completed his toast with a shimmering glass of liquor in hand, briefly left the hall where the banquet had just begun.
Cough. The deep-seated coughing was mixed with blood. He walked away, holding a blood-stained handkerchief in his hand.
“Your Majesty, where are you going?”
“Don’t worry, I’ll come back after briefly seeing the training hall.”
“…”
The Emperor’s secretary bowed his head without saying a word. The reason was unknown, but it was the master’s habit to head to the training hall whenever he was extremely upset.
Eventually, the Emperor headed to the garden where he could clearly see the training hall. As he leaned against the railing installed to prevent people from falling down, a faint smile appeared on his face.
『 Is it because Lady Edith spoke of Leah?』
This was the place. When he was practicing swordsmanship until late at night, Leah Lexion would rest on this spot and look at him.
At first, he wondered why she came here. Why would the precious Lady Leah visit the training hall at night?
Then one day, Leah was sitting on the platform instead of the far railing, looking at him. It was a perplexing situation
As the eldest daughter of House Lexion, she was always courted by the Crown Prince and the Second Prince.
Her beauty was certainly remarkable, but he knew that if he joined hands with House Lexion, even though she was terminally ill, he could take a step closer to the throne.
That’s why he intentionally looked away from Leah.
His heart skipped a beat every time he saw her sweep her wavy black hair over her white shoulders and smile with her soft golden eyes, but he pretended not to notice.
Considering that his position was not firmly established, he wondered if she was interested in him, the Fourth Prince, since she was a princess of Lexion.
But why is she coming closer and closer to me?
⋙“Prince, why do you only come to the training hall late at night?”⋘
Her voice was very bright. To keep from trembling, he deliberately spoke in a low voice.
⋙“I can’t help it because my brothers occupy the training hall during the day.”⋘
⋙“Still, isn’t it dangerous to swing a sword in the dark, Your Highness?”⋘
⋙“It’s a shame that I appeared to have such limited skills.”⋘
⋙“No. You’re very good at swordsmanship. It makes me wonder if you’re good at other activities as well.”⋘
He approached her, mesmerized by the captivating rise of the corners of her mouth. Leah drew herself to him like someone who had waited a long time.
Even wielding a sword hardly made him out of breath, but he was completely out of breath as if he had finished running. Their lips were pressed together without the slightest gap.
Having surrendered to their instincts like beasts, when they woke up, dawn was breaking outside the bedroom window.
Their intimate encounter, which they never told anyone about, was repeated many times afterward. Every time that happened, Leah rose to her feet as if determined not to harbor any regrets.
There was a time when he once grabbed her and asked in an impatient voice.
⋙“… Do you have someone else besides me?”⋘
⋙“I know you’re busy, and the princes are beginning to show their fangs.”⋘
⋙“…”⋘
Her words were true. He was not in a situation to casually spend time on love affairs.
Among the princes, he was the one with the most precarious position, with no backing whatsoever. To survive without dying, he had to focus his mind and wield the sword.
⋙“It’s been fun, Friedrich.”⋘
Leah smiled and stood up, and that was the end of the secret encounter.
A few days later, the Crown Prince and the Second Prince, who had been quiet, began to suspect and curse each other fiercely, as if they had been caught in someone’s scheme.
While the succession to the throne was a concern, rumors secretly spread about a fight erupting between the two princes over Leah Lexion.
『 I heard Lady Leah had feelings for one of the two of them.』
『 Well, Lady Leah is quite charming. It’s worth a fight.』
『 I wonder which of the two she really has feelings for? If I were Lady Leah, I would make a choice that is politically advantageous rather than following sincere feelings.』
The observations of the palace’s servants were all plausible.
Leah didn’t respond to his messages, as if she was busy worrying about a new relationship. Even if he sent someone, she did not meet them.
Meanwhile, a secret struggle began among the princes.
Just when doubts arose about whether Leah really had someone else, a letter arrived, delivered by Leah’s magic.
╭══════
Fried, I apologize for not contacting you. I decided to leave the capital with the man I was destined to love for the rest of my life.
I don’t have much time left anyway, so I want to leave the duchy and be free. Keep this plan a secret from others, so please cooperate with it.
The time I spent with you, I was truly happy.
══════╯
『 Leah… what kind of man did you leave the capital with, to have your son return so tall and handsome?』
The Emperor looked down at the training hall with a self-mocking smirk.
It was amusing that he still remembered the contents of the letter Leah had secretly sent to him a long time ago.
The reason she mentioned a man in her farewell letter must have been to tell him to stay quietly in the capital and not to follow her.
It was an inevitable situation; he had no choice anyway. The Emperor chose to stay in the capital and made a bloodbath. He stepped over the brothers who tried to kill him and sat on the throne.
Despite spilling so much blood in the palace and even gaining an illness as punishment, why does he vividly remember those few nights with her as nothing more than just a pastime for her?
『 They left together, so at least they weren’t the ones I killed.』
He smiled bitterly and looked up at the starry sky.
Along with the sound of rustling, the Emperor felt someone approaching him.
The Emperor carefully turned around to see who was interfering with his contemplation.
“Why is the Little Duke of Lexion here?”
“…”
Walter stared at him for a moment, speechless. He had no idea how to look at the Emperor, who did not lose his dignity despite his illness.
『 This man is my father.』
If his memories came back, he would understand what the Emperor meant to his mother, but that wasn’t the case now. Even if Walter told him that he was his father, he could only expect a cold response.
What calmed him through his complicated thoughts was Edith’s voice echoing in his head.
⋙“Walter, to fix your magic outburst, the Emperor’s help is essential. After that, let’s find your lost memories and think carefully about the family issues.”⋘
Edith calmly laid out the priorities, as if solving his magic issue was the most urgent matter in the world.
There was no way he couldn’t bring up difficult topics if that’s what Edith wanted.
“Greetings, Father.”
As Walter slightly bowed his head and spoke, the Emperor’s eyes trembled.
Father? Father?!
Even after he realized what he meant, his confusion did not subside.
“What do you mean by Father, Little Duke? As far as I know, your father is another man. The man that Lady Leah left with.”
Although Walter had incomplete memories, he was able to clearly answer the Emperor’s questions.
It was because Edith had recounted the story of when she and Leah first met.
“My mother left alone while she was pregnant with me. As far as I know, no man was accompanying her.”
Because she left by herself, she had a hard time giving birth and moving from place to place with a newborn. That’s what Edith had overheard from conversations between Mrs. Lowell and his mother.
The Emperor pondered over Walter’s words and suddenly realized something.
╭══════
I decided to leave the capital with the man I was destined to love for the rest of my life.
══════╯
『 I guess she was talking about her son, not her lover.』
The Emperor always wondered why Leah, who kept her departure a secret even from her father and her family, only sent letters to him.
However, seeing the Little Duke of Lexion in front of him calling him father, his doubts were finally answered.
“I’m not making any guesses.”
“…”
“If Your Majesty wishes, I can prove it with blood right away.”
Walter said so and presented a blue necklace to the Emperor. It was a gift that Edith received from Leah a long time ago.
「 “I named my son myself, ‘Walter Isaac Lexion.’ Since I didn’t get married, I gave him my last name and Father’s, Lexion. I want to give my son his father’s last name, but I didn’t know if he would allow it.” 」
Thanks to Franz’s pre-imbued magic, the Emperor was able to hear a familiar voice as soon as he accepted it.
❀.°• ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ •°.❀
