Lise changed the cold towel and placed it on Asha’s forehead. Seeing Lise’s stern expression, Asha smiled faintly as the feverish warmth returned to her face.
“Hehe…”
“…It would have been better if you had stayed a few more days at Lake Bishti. To fall ill immediately upon returning like this…”
“No, it’s fortunate that I came back quickly. Otherwise, Mom and Dad would have worried.”
Asha recalled her younger days. Whenever she fell ill or caught a cold, Yuriev didn’t know what to do, and Irina, like Lise, watched over her with a worried expression.
Then, in the middle of the night, when she woke up, she would find Yuriev leaning against the head of her bed and Irina next to her with tear-stained eyes.
Sometimes, it’s better to be a little apart from your parents. It’s because you can avoid causing them worry. Asha smiled faintly, murmured for a while, and then fell back into a drowsy state.
<This ripe peach is about to become jam. What should I do with this?>
<I… I can only get angry. What should I do?>
The candlestick swayed stealthily.
<You’re useless. You’re completely useless.>
<Shit! Shamal is useless too!>
<Well, I am blowing wind, aren’t I?>
<Shamal, shouldn’t you go to your old oak tree?>
<I came where my contractor’s consciousness is directed.>
<What about you, Fafnir? Are you the same?>
<No, I came because my contractor is here.>
Then the maid came in with an urgent gesture from outside and whispered to Lise. Lise straightened her clothes and got up. Soon Alexei, who was at the door, came in with a big stride.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince, I heard you were in a political meeting, but how can you…”
“So, His Majesty couldn’t come because of the council, and only I came. How is Asha?”
In response to Alexei’s question, Lise stepped aside. Alexei, pulling the ribbon on his neck, asked in a low voice.
“What did the healer say?”
Lise answered in a whisper as quietly as Alexei asked in a small voice.
“They said she’s tired from the long train ride, coupled with the cold weather at the travel destination. It seems her stamina has dropped due to the incident there…”
“They say the same thing every year.”
The only fortunate thing was that it wasn’t a serious illness. Alexei gently swept away Asha’s sweaty hair.
“It’s fortunate that my uncle and aunt don’t know about this…”
Or is it regrettable that they don’t know? Alexei swallowed back his words.
Leaving Asha at the imperial palace was the emperor’s intention to use her as his stimulant. As a result, Alexei gained a sister, but she ended up living away from her parents.
He thought several times that he should give her back. Until he knew that Asha had remained in the imperial palace with her own will. But even after he knew, he had a sudden thought.
Is Asha really in the imperial palace because she wants it herself? Maybe she saw through his desire to hold onto his sister and stayed? Maybe he knows that but is complacent because it’s Asha’s choice.
But even so…
Alexei wiped Asha’s cheek with a blurry smile, filled with worry, self-destruction, and tenderness. The heat made his fingertips ache.
“But soon, it will be my coming-of-age ceremony…”
The coming-of-age ceremony of the crown prince awaited when this winter passed and January of next year came. And for this, twenty-year-old Alexei had been preparing for a long time. All the preparations, which were mandatory starting at the age of fifteen, have been enjoyable for the past five years.
Thinking that he could soon return Asha to her parents. Alexei stayed by Asha’s side until the moon went down and changed the towel on her forehead.
━━━✦❘༻༺❘✦━━━
The last bureaucrat left the office, and a moment of calm lingered. Emperor Mikhail, with his body sunk into the chair, pressed his eyelids tightly and let out a sigh.
“What about the kids?”
<The little peach seems to be feeling better, and your successor is on the way to you. It seems like a gesture to convey the peach’s well-being.>
A gentle wind comforted Mikhail’s brow. It was around the morning of the political meeting that he heard that Princess Anastasia had called a healer due to a fever. What the head of the state whispered in a small voice may have been heard by some very close officials.
After a moment of silence during the meeting, Mikhail, who had been pondering, gestured towards Alexei sitting across from him. However, it wasn’t an indication for him to go but rather permission, acknowledging his desire to go.
After sending Alexei first, the subsequent state affairs meeting occasionally had prolonged periods of silence but concluded without any significant events.
“How can she be so weak? There’s no winter that passes by easily.”
Mikhail grumbled as if venting his frustration. The sound prompted the wind to gently stir, shaking Mikhail’s hair.
<The little unripe peach has many concerns, that’s why.>
“…”
<Taking care of others throughout the year, wouldn’t it be normal to get tired? Even the sun becomes obscured after bringing spring, summer, and autumn.>
“Who told her to do that? If it’s hard, she shouldn’t do it!”
<Hahaha! You’re saying something interesting. Especially when you’re the one that forced her to be like this.>
“…!”
The wind was spinning. While Mikhail’s lips were making only a thin sound, the wind swiftly flipped through the papers. As the documents rapidly turned, a hidden letter on the last page was revealed. It was a long letter written in a rough yet firm handwriting.
<But isn’t it absurd for you to tell that child not to overdo it?>
Mikhail wiped his face with his dry hand. Shamal, who had been speaking casually, turned into a sympathetic soft voice this time.
“Didn’t I tell you? I’ll regret not laughing first.”
<I told you, didn’t I? The day will come when you regret not making that child smile first.>
But before Mikhail could retort, a knock was heard from outside. Alexei had arrived. The emperor let out a long sigh, and the wind responded by rustling the papers. Alexei was wearing the same clothes he had seen in the morning, but the decorations on his collar had changed in time.
“Have you arrived?”
“Yes. Was there anything unusual during the meeting?”
“It’s just the fire in Yuriev’s neighborhood, nothing more.”
The emperor responded bluntly and turned his gaze on the desk. His youngest son Yuriev’s letter was sent through Asha this time, which was placed on the desk that Shamal had scattered.
“Is your preparation for the coming-of-age ceremony going well?”
“Yes. Everything is going smoothly.”
Alexei nodded. The emperor sat in his chair and put his fingertips on his chin. Alexei, who recognized this gesture, spoke quietly.
“Asha’s fever is slowly going down, so there is no need to worry too much.”
As if he knew how worried the emperor was. The emperor briefly pressed his lips, then pressed his eyebrows once.
“Alexei.”
“Yes?”
Mikhail recalled what his young granddaughter had said in the past.
– Are you retiring, Grandfather?
It sometimes felt like the mischievous baby kitten could see through everything, and that moment was one of those times. And now, Mikhail felt like he understood the heart of this “grandson.”
“When you become the emperor, days like today will not happen.”
He couldn’t just rush out of a state affairs meeting because his younger sister had a fever. It wouldn’t be possible to run just because there was a fire where his younger sister was.
“…That’s true.”
Henceforth his sister will no longer be his sister.
She would become one of the several noble families loyal to the emperor.
“But that child…”
Mikhail pressed his forehead for a moment, clouding the end of his words.
“That child is still young, fragile, and without a firm resolve. She still needs to be guided by someone’s hand.”
“…Grandfather?”
“Perhaps she still needs someone to guide her until she can walk on her own.”
Alexei had a puzzled expression, not quite understanding what Mikhail was talking about.
Mikhail breathed a long sigh.
“Originally, I intended to pass on the throne to you when you came of age, but I’m thinking of delaying it a bit.”
“Bu, But…”
Alexei’s voice became a little urgent. Mikhail found it somewhat amusing.
To others, it might seem like the throne that was right in front of them suddenly receded. However, this young heir, whom Mikhail had raised, knew better than anyone the weight the emperor carried in this empire.
This meant that Alexei wasn’t the one who wanted the throne the most. However, the urgency in Alexei’s voice suggested that he might be thinking that if he were crowned, he could return his sister to her parents, the only family he had left.
“My youngest son wrote me another impudent letter. Do you know its contents?”
“What? No… No, I don’t…”
Mikhail handed the letter that Yuriev had written to Alexei with a willing gesture. The handwriting was somewhat rough, but the content was clearly written.
“It’s about asking me if I’m going to do such a cruel thing, handing over the throne as soon as you reach adulthood. That’s all that is.”
Yuriev, who wrote the letter, must have known.
Depending on where and to whom the throne went, he might have to change his plans immediately.
Nevertheless, the reason I wrote this letter to Mikhail was because I thought it was right. My nephew, who lost both his parents at a young age and grew up alone in the imperial palace, should not be subject to harsh restrictions too early.
Passing on the throne just because an adolescent had a coming-of-age ceremony is an adult’s deception. I believe that a little more time should be given to protect the child and let him grow a little more naturally.
“Ah…”
Alexei’s fingertips were a little trembling as he held the letter. Mikhail squinted his wrinkled eyes, looking down at the child he had raised as his grandson.
His grandson would have to live the rest of his life as the emperor, with the crime of being born as the grandchild of the emperor.
If you could give him a little more grace before you do that. If I could buy him a little more time to be just a brother to the child. If you could fathom how your grandson felt, who wanted to do that, but couldn’t bring himself to say it.
Over the past twenty years, when Alexei was his successor, he never really listened to what Alexei wanted.
It’s too late, but…
“I’ve had enough of arguing with my son. Look at that vicious sentence. If I hand over the throne at your coming-of-age ceremony, he might break my neck.”
“Grandfather…”
“If you want to resent me for not immediately passing on the throne, direct it to your uncle.”
Mikhail responded bluntly, turning his gaze away from the tearful eyes and bright smile of his grandson.
Thank you for the chapter!