Chapter 21

What about Ishina?

What’s the situation in that room?

What is this feeling that everything that can be torn is torn, and everything that can be broken is broken?

I raised my head to the emperor knights.

“Where are we going?”

The knights gently knelt at our eye level and lifted us up without hesitation. Somehow in the strange atmosphere, I felt that I should not leave this place.

Children’s instincts were sometimes better than most adults.

The opponent was the strongest in the empire and quite powerful as the emperor, after all. He briefly answered my question.

“It’s a room only the emperor can use.”

…..…?

……Eh……?

Argen who has been in a daze for a while also opened his mouth wide at that.

We were forced to move into a room due to a situation that I was completely unaware of.

******

The knights really took us to the emperor’s room. There were more luxurious beds, carpets, curtains, frames, and so on compared to the room we used to use. The black, white, and golden colors harmoniously blended in with the image of the emperor.

The emperor hadn’t arrived yet and we can’t do anything without Ishina, who had been dragged away by the knights.

Even though her words were always harsh and troublesome to us, she was also a person who provided us with information.  At least she didn’t seem to be the enemy, but what the hell is going on?

The maids gave me and Argen sweet snacks and drinks, but I didn’t have an appetite after seeing the scene earlier. With delicious food in front of us, we began to consider why we were in this room.

‘Did Ishina do anything wrong?….’

‘Ishina did a lot of things wrong. What is the reason for our room to be so far away?’

‘Isn’t she getting scolded because the room is like that?’

‘Is that so?’

‘Right….’

I remembered the scene where the marble floor was smashed into pieces and shook my head to the side like a wet cat.

Without Ishina, there was no one to stop us.

The emperor didn’t come and there was no one to tell us what to do, so I played a word chain game and rock-paper-scissors with Argen to relieve the boredom and because I was too anxious to sleep.

I lost the word chain game to Argen every time, but it wasn’t the case for rock-paper-scissors. Somehow, he lost 5 games to 2 and clenched his fist again.

“I won.”

“Do it again.”

When you play rock-paper-scissors four times, it was Argen’s habit to always put scissors on the fourth time.

This was the fourth time now, so I put my hands out in triumph, but a shadow fell over us. I would have never thought a door that smoothly opens without a noise was bad.

“What were you doing?”

“…….”

“…….”

The emperor asked us, who were still sitting on the sofa at an angle and enjoying the game. While he picked up the cold water on the table with a somewhat subdued face, we stiffened without answering.

He then informed us,

“You will live here from today.”

“Eh?”

“Here….?”

Argen and I, who had been determined to become obedient dolls and never rebel against the emperor’s words, broke our tacit agreement by retorting back simultaneously.

“I can’t keep you in that room because something has happened. This is the safest room in the Imperial palace.”

Ugh-

While I was listening to the emperor’s explanation, Argen suddenly grabbed me as if he was clinging to my back.

Wait a minute, absolutely not in here.

At that moment, the sound of Argen vomiting could be heard.

I knew the reason very well, so much so, that I shuddered and tried to hide Argen from the emperor’s eyes.

It was hard for me to bear it because it felt as if Argen’s heart was spreading to me as he was constantly trembling with hands covering his mouth.

“Hejin.”

The emperor quietly called someone’s name.

“Today, you’ll wash and put them to sleep first.”

“I accept your orders.”

A maid came to us after speaking in a voice full of loyalty.

However, Argen shook his head with a half buried face while holding on to my clothes.

“I can wash alone.”

Usually, children of nobility aren’t able to wash alone at this age, so I tried to tell Argen to just be washed, but I could feel the emperor looking down at us.

Every time I moved, the gaze followed me.

The maid named Hejin sweated and begged Argen to let her wash him and eventually took him with her.

Even though it was the emperor’s room, he didn’t have two bathrooms, so when I was left alone when Argen went to wash up.

Of course, there was an emperor whose eyes sank low for some reason, but…….

‘Argen, come out quickly……’

It was a moment when I lowered my eyes and crawled to a blind spot on the chair to avoid the emperor.

“Arien Beatrice Yuliana.”

“Hegeuk.”

Unlike Argen, I didn’t vomit but I couldn’t control the hiccups that popped out.

The emperor’s eyes were fixed upon me. Maybe he was wondering why Argen threw up.

The sense of isolation when left alone was not a problem. It meant a lot to feel that gaze alone.

“Y…. Your Majesty.”

The emperor’s forehead wrinkled. The hiccups didn’t stop, so my heart was fluttering.

I held my breath since it wasn’t intentional. It probably won’t help. I was left all alone with the Emperor.

I talked to Argen intently in my heart, but I couldn’t have a conversation because he wasn’t where I could see him.

“None of the other princes call me Your Majesty.”

“…….”

The emperor looked down at me with a strange face.

“Sit still.”

I chose a word and answered.

“Yes…”

I don’t know if it’s because I was acting like I was cornered, but the emperor even took a step back.

Slowly, I glanced up and climbed onto the sofa. I had a little grip and raised myself up while groaning, but the emperor spoke low against my back.

“When will they get bigger?”

“Yes…?”

“At that age, kids grow up fast if they are fed well…….”

The emperor murmured to himself. I didn’t know if I should answer or not, so I only wiggled my fingers innocently and moved my lips slightly

“When I was young……I guess it’s because I haven’t eaten much.”

“…….”

“…… I will grow soon………”

I struggled to make excuses because the emperor didn’t seem to like our small size.

We’re eating well now, but I eagerly appealed that it may be because we couldn’t eat a lot when we were young and that it wasn’t because we didn’t want to be big.

Fortunately, the emperor said nothing else.

******

By the time Argen came out unaware of the situation and shook off his wet hair, the emperor, who had given me a fairy tale book and silently observed me, slowly stood up.

After coming out of his shell and explaining to me how great the bathroom of the emperor palace was, Argen Suddenly hardened enough to stop talking for a moment.

Fortunately, the emperor passed Argen and entered the bathroom, leaving only a few servants left while the rest followed him.

‘…… I’m sorry.’

Argen calmed down from the excitement a little while ago and came close and apologized in a small voice. I squinted my eyes and moved my hips aside to allow Argen to sit next to me. It was clear that the sofa, which was as tall as our height, was made for the emperor to sit on.

Apparently quite a few servants followed the emperor, but there were still many people left in the room. It would be less than this if we combined all the maids in the room where we were isolated. I kept my mouth shut because we weren’t alone and talked only inside instead.

‘Are you really okay?’

‘I’m okay.’

He said he’s alright and I knew why Argen reacted that way, but I just asked anyway.

When I was younger, Lulahel had tormented Argen more than me. Argen was able to express himself better than I did and would rebel against Lulahel from time to time so it was natural for her to hate him because of it.

‘…..You don’t look all right.’

We weren’t stupid enough to readily accept the belated hand of the hypocrite emperor.

Soon after, The emperor finished washing and came out wearing a black robe. He sent everyone out, leaving only me and Argen, who were reading a fairy tale book.

‘…… It’s time to go to bed now.’

‘Why isn’t he letting us out?’

I had one idea, but I hope it wasn’t the case. The emperor lifted his fingers when he saw us with our eyes closing.

Why is it that unfortunate expectations aren’t always wrong? His gestures floated our bodies into the air. I felt that magic was really comfortable. I brushed past the veil fastened like a curtain and settled on the bed.

There was no time to feel how soft and fluffy the blanket that touched my body was.

The emperor turned off all the lights.

I sat in a daze at the embarrassing development and only then did the emperor finally begin to talk.

“Go to sleep.”

We really have to sleep here……… While we were tiredly and palely sitting, the emperor controlled us again with a finger.

My head gently touched the pillow and a blanket infused with the emperor’s scent wrapped around my body.

Finally, when he snapped his index finger and thumb, a scarlet light softly lit up the room. The emperor finally sat down again in a chair near the table and picked up a luxurious book.

‘Sleep……? Really?’

‘…….’

I didn’t know how many minutes had passed. I was lying down for a long time, but I couldn’t sleep like this. When I turned my head a little, I could see the emperor with his eyes closed as if sleeping.

He was asleep with his eyes closed and his book down on his lap, as if he were dead.

I spent more time feeling nervous and wondering if he was really sleeping.

After a few minutes, the emperor was in the same position. Only then did I relax a little and slightly stretched out my hands to braid Argen’s hair from the top of his head.

It bothers me that the emperor is asleep while reading a book over there.

Like those older sisters in the beauty salon, I twisted Argens fine hair with my fingers and touched it a couple of times.

There was no one in this room except for us and the emperor who was asleep, and after an extra hour or two, I finally succumbed to the drowsiness that a child’s body could not handle.

I still didn’t know why I had to sleep in the emperor’s room or what happened to Ishina. I closed my eyes slightly to the feeling of something pressing down on my eyelids and fell asleep.