Chapter 36 - First Rejection

Serus didn’t dare to tell Fabian the news as it was.

The ‘lazy’ atmosphere of the Felice Palace, combined with their lack of respect for the presence of the Emperor, was a surprise in itself. To put it simply, the greatest monarch of the Empire was defeated by the babble of the little prince and the card games.

“What did the King say?” Fabian looked at Serus, covering the book he was reading.

It was an inevitable moment.

“He said to hold a dinner’s banquet for your Majesty.”

It wasn’t a lie. It’s just that Serus had eliminated the purpose and reason for the dinner.

“That’s great.”

Serus felt guilty, but he was afraid that Fabian would be shocked if he told him what had happened. Honestly, he had seen the Empress on many occasions while living close to the Emperor, but it was the first time he had seen her behaving like that.

Evelyn’s smile, as if she had become a different person, shocked Serus as well.

“Tell him that it is very important to take good care of the Imperial Army’s horses.”

“Yes…..”

Fabian didn’t seem to know if those terms only caused him to be kicked out now.

“More than that, Your Majesty. I think you should go back to the Empire now.” Serus said , he tried his best to persuade Fabian.

“I have heard that the nobleman is in chaos and running wild.”

It was the moment of the Emperor’s return. Then the banquet that’s going to be held will be a wonderful goodbye dinner. Above all, at last, Serus didn’t have to suffer in this place anymore.

“Well, it’s their job to run wild .”

“That’s true but His Majesty’s absence made them even more arrogant and some even started to move closer to the Vatican.”

Fabian frowned. Of course, his words weren’t wrong. Serus was his close friend, and always by his side. Even so, several Black Hawk Knights stayed in the Empire and watched over everyone closely.

“They want to die, huh?”

“That’s it.”

Fabian sighed unpleasantly.

“What a waste to say they’re noble. They’re worse than a dog without an owner.”

“The Empire needs Your Majesty.”

“It seems that the best thing nobles do is bite each other.”

The Empire was very strict. Etiquette and dignity always weighed heavily on the nobility. It was a system that made it difficult for them to carry out rebellions as they played a role in monitoring each other. And, they couldn’t think of anything else, either, because they had wasted all their energy on the meaningless ruckus.

“Ckck….”

Fabian kicked his tongue unpleasantly. But, only Serus could understand Fabian’s mind that he wanted to stay here longer.

“Any other stories?” Fabian asked, he changed the topic right away. And this was Serus’ biggest crisis.

“When did Evelyn say she was coming?”

In fact, Fabian gave separate messages to the King and Princess. In Evelyn’s message, he just said that he wanted to come over to her place to see her.

“Well, that’s……”

Serus had tried hard. He waited patiently for the card game to come to an end and carefully conveyed his message to Evelyn when she was alone. But Evelyn’s answer didn’t turn out as expected.

[‘Me? Your Majesty?’]

It wasn’t the elegant and graceful Empress that Serus knew. Evelyn, Princess of the Kingdom of Felice, was very confident and simply revealed her innermost thoughts.

[‘Why?’]

Evelyn had no more obedience.

[‘No.’]

The little prince wasn’t the only one who could say that.

[‘I refuse.’]

And without hesitation, Evelyn turned her back. First of all, this style of behavior didn’t exist in manners. No aristocrat could have shown such an attitude in the Empire. But, since this was the Felice Kingdom, Serus had no right to blame her.

“There’s something else? Why do you stop talking?” asked Fabian.

Serus returned to reality under Fabian’s pressure. There was no longer any reason for him to hide it.

“That’s…..”

Serus struggled to the end but only concluded that he could do nothing about Evelyn’s straightforward answer.

“She refused.” said Serus. After so much thought, It was also his duty, so he just told the truth.

“Okay.” replied Fabian. Then, about 3 seconds later, he suddenly frowned his forehead. It was the time it took Fabian to accept reality.

“What?”

Serus couldn’t say anything.

“No? What? Why?”

His absurd question continued. It was similar to what Evelyn had said.

“Is there a reason why she can’t?”

“Err….for the reason….”

“Tell me straight, don’t miss a word out!”

Serus was forced to obey his orders.

“The princess said, ……’No, I don’t want to, I refuse.’……”

Fabian seemed to have forgotten to breathe for a second.

“Before that? What she said before that? Tell me again!!!” Fabian asked, he unwittingly grabbed Serus by the neck.

“Huh…?” And a sigh just came out.

Refuse? It was an impossible word for the Emperor. Who dared to refuse the Emperor? This was Fabian’s first rejection since he ascended the throne.

“She refused?” Fabian’s voice trembling in astonishment. But Serus couldn’t answer his curious questions.

“Me?” It seemed that Fabian didn’t need anyone’s answer anyway.

“How dare she?”

For the first time in his life, he had this kind of feeling since he was born. Interestingly, those emotions weren’t as terrible as the one he had at night when Evelyn asked for a divorce.

“What the hell, what’s her reason?” Fabian still didn’t know how to accept the rejection.

“I don’t know…..” The poor Serus had only told the truth. Fabian looked confused because his plans had completely failed. The rejection was an unexpected situation, and he didn’t imagine it.

“Why don’t you give an order, sir?”

Fabian was the Emperor, so it was also the only thing that Serus might think of as a man of the Empire.

It was the tragedy of the two men.

“Okay!”

Fabian wrote a letter on the paper in front of him.

“Give this to her.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Even after Serus had gone, Fabian still couldn’t find his composure.

“Refuse?”

Vain laughter came out. Still, they were once married. In Fabian’s memory, Evelyn wasn’t such a cold woman. But, the more he kept watching her, the more she felt like a stranger.

Fabian’s dark eyes were filled with chaos,

“Really, she’s a woman that I don’t understand.”

***