Chapter 52.
Calpen Magnum met the gaze reluctantly.
I raised him wrong, He had thought so thousands of times since Johann became the emperor.
I raised him wrong.
“Your Highness, it’s time for the opera to begin. Shall we go in?”
Lord Rodian wiped his sweat, trying to comfort Calpen.
But Calpen showed no signs of movement.
The faces of the people around began to show signs of interest.
Then.
“Our father used to visit the duke quite often.”
Anel threw the words with a trembling voice.
“!”
“He sends his regards, saying it’s quite cold in the north.”
Anel prayed that her voice wouldn’t tremble.
It was a subtle hint.
To the man who betrayed her father.
Your son ruthlessly brought down someone who could have become a master craftsman.
Can you really be trusted?
Calpen Magnum narrowed his eyebrows, He seemed to have clearly understood her hint.
“When you have time, please send a letter to Father, Your Highness. It would make me feel better.”
Anel said, looking up at Johan.
The purpose of interrupting this confusing conversation was not for him.
Just to help keep the imperial name untarnished.
Anel let Johan know that she always fulfills her duty.
I am fulfilling my duty.
“We can’t miss the beginning of the opera, It’s an opera I’ve been looking forward to. Let’s go in together.”
I hope you fulfill your duty too.
It was a small signal from Anel to Johan.
“I can’t refuse when my empress says so.”
Johan blinked at her, smiled affectionately as if in response, and then turned to her.
Oh my Stein,
Bring cruel death to our enemies!
The baritone’s voice was captivating, and the opera’s story was intense.
Even Anel, who abhorred war to the extreme, was stirred with fervor.
If she felt this level of emotion, how would the other spectators feel?
Anel realized anew the horror of opera.
She glanced briefly at the man sitting next to her.
He wore white gloves and stroked his chin. Silk draped over his ivory skin, seeming unreal.
He appeared deeply engrossed in the opera.
Anel could see that all of this was part of his plan.
The zeal and animosity towards the enemy.
The reverence and patriotism towards Stein.
That was what Johan desired.
“It seems my face is more amusing than the opera, Your Majesty.”
“!”
At that moment, Johan spoke without taking his eyes off the stage.
It was a very faint voice, but to Anel, it sounded like thunder.
How did he notice?
Did that man have eyes on his shoulders?
“That’s not it.”
Anel whispered back in a very soft voice.
“Not it?”
“I’m worried if you’re enjoying it.”
“Hmm.”
Johan gazed at the opera with indifferent eyes.
“What matters is not my mood.”
Anel blinked.
It was an unexpected response.
The subsequent question was even more surprising.
“Why aren’t you asking about the budget?”
Johan instinctively reached for his cigarette case, but upon seeing Anel, he withdrew his hand.
Fortunately, Anel thought, because this was a sealed theater.
“If I were to ask, would you reconsider your decision?”
“No.”
“Because I think you might.”
Top of Form
Anel quickly resigned herself to the attitude of the man she encountered in the wallet room.
This man was someone who needed to do everything his own way to soothe his temper.
No matter how much Anel pleaded, it was just a pastime for this man.
So she chose to resolve it on her own terms instead.
“You’ve become wiser.”
Johann responded dryly.
It seemed he wasn’t expecting any other response in the first place.
“…I heard His Majesty chose this opera.”
Feeling uncomfortable, Anel changed the subject of conversation.
“Do you worry a lot?”
“What about?”
“That I might start a war.”
Only then did Johann smile faintly and look at Anel.
In the dim theater, his light blond hair flowing over his eyebrows covered his eyelids.
It was a subtly beautiful sight.
“Yes.”
Anel answered honestly.
Since the man in front of her liked honesty.
“I have no intention of starting a war first.”
However, the spark of interest in the man’s eyes quickly died down.
Anel suddenly wondered if this man might not be an unreasonable war fanatic.
“…But you won’t hesitate to avoid the impending war.”
“Those are the actions of cowards.”
“It’s not always bad to be a coward, Sometimes it’s prudent.”
As Anel spoke indignantly, Johan’s face softened with affection.
“There are consequences of the sins committed by cowards right in front of you.”
The product of the sins committed by cowards.
Johan was calling himself that.
“To have experienced it firsthand and still not realize the harm of cowards. How much more stubborn can you get?”
Johan placed the opera glasses that had been on his knee onto Anel’s palm.
“If you haven’t seen properly yet, try looking through these glasses,”
He whispered lazily, slipping the handle of the glasses onto Anel’s fingers.
He then held the glasses up to her eyes.
And the man disappeared, leaving only green eyes to fill her vision.
In the somber darkness, those jewel-like eyes sparkled with mockery.
“What do you see?”
If only I could see into this person’s mind with this, Unravel their tangled soul.
“…Nothing.”
Anel wrapped her other hand around Johan’s hand, lowering the glasses.
Once again, the man’s face was visible.
“Your Majesty… you’re not… a product of sin.”
Anel didn’t know how to deal with this person.
She couldn’t sympathize, She couldn’t even feign kindness. She couldn’t understand.
But.
“Please stop thinking of yourself that way.”
She didn’t want him to see himself as a product of sin.
That was all.
No one should treat themselves like that.
“Why?”
It was a retort.
A backlash in the form of a question.
The mockery in the man’s eyes had turned into suspicion.
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t know?”
“Yes.”
“Are you sympathizing with me, Your Majesty?”
“No.”
“Then explain So that I can understand.”
“O eternal summer sun, shine upon us. ’’
Upon my beloved empire!
Upon my beloved Stein!
Before long, the aria reached its climax.
As the baritone’s voice continued endlessly, the audience rose to their feet, applauding.
“I hate you.”
Amidst the applause, Anel spoke from the heart.
“I really hate you.”
The sound of the curtain being drawn on stage echoed.
She rose slowly, joining the applause with the audience.
She didn’t want to stand out.
“You’ve insulted me, ruined my family, trampled on me.”
Anel hoped her words would be drowned out by the applause and the sound of the curtain.
“But that doesn’t mean I want you to tear yourself apart.”
Even if it was contradictory.
But that was her truth.
“You haven’t committed a crime against yourself.”
“Huh.”
“As someone who lost everything because of your sin, is it not enough for me to hate you?”
As the applause subsided, Anel sat back down.
She sat down so quickly that the sapphires around her neck almost collided.
Anel deliberately avoided Johan’s gaze.
She couldn’t stand to look at him right now.
“No.”
Then, Johan’s voice was heard.
“It’s enough.”
