The emperor looked at the other person with his arms folded. The other party, too, looked back with a grim expression amid the tense atmosphere.
“Why do you look at me like that? As if you want to drink both glasses. Do you want to drink both?”
General Yekaterina held a glass and shook it as if raising some medicine. The emperor frowned.
“What would my youngest granddaughter say after I drank both cups?”
“Can’t you keep it a secret?”
“That cunning thing, when people lie, it’s amazing how like a ghost she is at catching on.”
The emperor put his glass on the table, in a defeated manner. General Yekaterina didn’t tease him anymore and clinked her glass with his.
“By the way, your son did something interesting this time.”
“I know, I think Sedvoyer will need a new young duke.”
General Yekaterina took a sip of alcohol while talking as if she were someone unrelated.
She didn’t know how it was made, but this “thirty-year-old shasling” had an exquisite taste – clear and not too sweet. The rich scent of fully ripe peaches and grapes, the sweet fragrance of dew-kissed roses, a hint of almond, and the subtle aroma of vanilla matured in a cask blended perfectly, lingering in the mouth.
The drink was like consuming the remaining dew on the spot where an angel’s feather fell. When swallowed and taking a breath, it felt like sipping the dew left behind by the angel’s feather.
“How can you bring up such a topic when you’re drinking this excellent drink?”
“You can discuss it again next time we drink, can’t you?”
“For Your Majesty, it might be a granddaughter, but for me, it’s the princess. I can’t just go and get drunk as I please.”
“Then instruct your grandson to advise my granddaughter to loosen up a bit.”
“Hmm. Is that the only way?”
General Yekaterina smoothed her chin and muttered in a serious voice. When the glasses were about halfway empty, an appropriate silence settled between them. A somewhat awkward tone filled the air as General Yekaterina finally spoke.
“It seems quite difficult for him to endure that his son is better than him. He might fear retaliation for the abuse he subjected him to when he was young. He’s probably afraid of facing the consequences. I wonder how I could not have known my son so well.”
“Foolish and ignorant people are everywhere, and this time, it happened to be your son.”
The emperor said so and smoothed the glass in his hand. Karnov was supportive of Alexei. If Karnov were to reject the reconciliation with Marquis Oleg and the friendly gesture toward the emperor, Marquis Oleg might see it as a mockery.
If that happened, Marquis Oleg might resent not only the emperor, who deceived him, but also the adolescent Alexei, who was still too young.
What if Karnov was concerned about that and didn’t refuse to marry Lyudmila Shchedrin? It finally came to the will of her bossy son. Either way, it was a pleasure for the stupid Ivan Neustadter.
“Before my son, there is His Highness, the Crown Prince. Do you understand?”
The emperor pretended to be angry and stared at Yekaterina, but soon shifted his gaze away and brought up a different topic.
“I hope he will take over for the duke after the coming-of-age ceremony of Deputy Commander Karnov Neustadter.”
“I think he will.”
“How about his engagement?”
The reason behind the current turmoil was that Karnov didn’t even have a fiancée.
“If he wishes to marry someone, he can do as he pleases. What about Your Majesty?”
“What about me?”
“What are you going to do about the marriage of Princess Anastasia?”
“Marriage for a fourteen-year-old girl. What marriage?”
“Viscount Ceilistria sent his eldest to Marchioness Tataricha’s tea party for a reason. Why do you think that happened?”
“Whether it’s because he lacks assertiveness or has other thoughts, he hasn’t said a word to Asha. Why worry about it?”
“Where did you hear that?”
“Was only your granddaughter there? My grandson was there too.”
“Oh…”
General Yekaterina raised her eyebrows, a little surprised, then smiled quietly and sipped a drink.
“Did you ask Prince Dimitri separately?”
“A once-lively kitten becomes unruly when left alone with a mischievous one, and now he keeps pressing for it, asking when will I grant the wish made four years ago?”
During the emperor’s birthday celebration, Dimitri made a wish, but the emperor had yet to fulfill it. While General Yekaterina enjoyed a bite of a sweet and fragrant strawberry compote atop a soft cheese, she listened quietly and then smiled wryly.
“That mischievous kitten that fits well with Dimitri seems quite unruly.”
“It is, indeed. Do you know what it was like the other day?”
The emperor frowned and continued lamentably.
“Once, during an outing, she fell into the water. When I expressed concern, she not only got mad but also scolded me fiercely.”
Complaining about worries and describing Asha as a “kitten,” the emperor grumbled about how he once expressed concern when she fell into the water during a picnic, only to face her anger.
“If you’re going to worry, just worry. Why do you keep taunting her with ‘kitten’?”
Having chatted for a while, the emperor noticed General Yekaterina narrowing her eyes and immediately fell silent.
“What is it?”
The emperor strongly expressed his disapproval.
“You don’t know how sharp your words are. Do you know how harsh you have been since the first year* in the Imperial Palace? If only you knew how vividly I remember. How you scolded me for supposedly mistreating my sons, without listening to my explanations…”
*[EN: “First year” refers to the first year after the crown prince died and Yuriev left the palace.]
“Your Majesty wanted to hear that, ever since the departure of Prince Yuriev.”
The emperor, as if struck by lightning, became rigid at her words. Yekaterina, looking at him as if peering into a mirror, spoke slowly with a gaze that held a hint of tenderness and a touch of disillusionment.
“You wanted to hear those words, didn’t you? That you were wrong, that you treated your children too harshly, that you shouldn’t have done what you did.”
The emperor, who had been silent for a long time, swallowed his saliva and opened his lips with difficulty.
“If you knew that so well, you should have been the one to say those words.”
“How could I dare say such things?”
Yekaterina said, smiling with a ruffled mouth. The emperor frowned.
“When have you ever been too scared to say something to me?”
“Nevertheless, I am not so shameless as to speak words that would even prick my own conscience.”
It was a remark implying that having messed up her own child-rearing, she couldn’t meddle in others’ parenting. With those words, Yekaterina continued to discuss the succession issue of the ducal title and then left.
Left alone, the emperor tilted the glass with the remaining half of the drink for a long time, shaking it slowly. Yekaterina’s words echoed in his ears.
– You wanted to hear those words, didn’t you? That you were wrong, that you treated your children too harshly, that you shouldn’t have done what you did.
After a long time, a granddaughter who resembled Yuriev came to the palace and fulfilled his wish.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
Asha tilted her head when she heard that the emperor called her in a hurry, but changed into linen pajamas given by the emperor and walked toward him. Phoebe, having finished a hearty meal in the early evening, was sound asleep and was left in the room.
The emperor’s study was dimly lit, with the door attendant wearing a worried expression as he alternately glanced at Asha and the inside of the room.
Despite Asha arriving, the emperor remained seated, and she observed a serene atmosphere gradually descending from his shoulders. Shades of apricot, light pink, cream, and gray flowed down like a gentle stream.
“Grand…father, did you call? What’s wrong?”
Looking aside, there was a simple snack and two empty cups on the table. It seemed that General Yekaterina had stopped by today.
“Anastasia.”
“…Yes?”
After some point after the age of ten, the only time the emperor called her ‘Anastasia’ was when he was overly concerned about her safety. Asha blinked.
“There’s nothing wrong.”
At that moment the wind blew sweetly and whispered unbeknownst to the emperor, brushing against her cheek.
<Your grandfather found out about your excessive affection.>
Asha approached the emperor, thinking it was a strange remark.
The once-brilliant blond was colored with a gray that had mixed over time. However, along with it, the emperor had become more robust. Even though the sparkling blue eyes had become somewhat cloudy, he had grown stronger in return.
But at this moment, the emperor seemed to be somewhat soft… completely melted down.
“Grandfather?”
“It’s the pajamas I made for you. How… You’re wearing them again.”
“It’s almost night now. I need to get ready to sleep!”
The emperor blinked. The wind, which had fallen silent just after their conversation, picked up again. Asha tilted her head.
“Grandfather?”
“You…”
Asha tilted her head in the opposite direction. Grandfather? With a sigh, the emperor finally spoke.
“You, showing me what you want to show and telling me what you want to hear. You have no intention of winning my heart, and yet, you do it so well.”
“What? Me? You’re always scolding me for doing things on my own, yelling and all.”
Asha quickly retorted, pursing her lips. The emperor chuckled softly, observing a completely gentle expression on Asha’s face for the first time.
“Seeing you stubbornly doing things your way, I realized that I wanted to see that. Did you think I wouldn’t say that even if I didn’t want to win your heart?”
