Chapter 61
As expected, it was hard to gather such powerful people in a short time.
Actually, it was normal. Those influential figures couldn’t be summoned by the Imperial Palace so easily anymore. Even so, the Emperor had done his best.
Even though he had been exposed, Emperor Silis’s expression didn’t waver at all.
“I’m curious to hear your request.”
Of course, if [Igrio] didn’t even see through that much, it would be embarrassing for the one who invited them.
Now, Winter looked at the girl beside him. And what she said next left Emperor Silis speechless.
“I plan to take Lady Izana Rohia to the North Empire.”
“What?”
“I’m not here to ask for your permission, Your Majesty. Even if I were to ask anyone, it would be the Duke of Rohia, not you.”
Emperor Silis blinked in disbelief and pointed at the girl.
“You want to take this little girl with you? Why?”
“I need her.”
But why?
Emperor Silis frowned, clearly confused. If Winter Orsches had asked to take an older woman, he might have understood.
But this child was four years younger than him. Even though Winter was still young, Izana was even younger.
“If there’s no real reason you have to take her, I can’t accept it. You’re mysterious at best, but to me, you’re just suspicious.”
He pointed at something on the table that had been bothering him for a while.
“I can’t trust someone who gives a creature like that to a girl he just met.”
“Mmuah!”
The thing he was pointing at was swimming in a flower vase.
It looked like a mix of a baby’s face and a plant’s body. And it was clearly calling Izana ‘mommy’ in a cute voice.
Izana had said Winter summoned this “sweet potato spirit” for fun and gave it to her because it liked her. But something felt off to Silis.
Winter glanced at the spirit and replied in a flat tone.
“I believe the one I need to persuade is Duke Rohia, not Your Majesty.”
He really sounded annoying now—like he was trying to provoke the Emperor on purpose. If he really thought that, why even mention it here?
Emperor Silis rubbed his chin for a moment, thinking. But he quickly came to a decision.
“Let’s do this.”
He looked down at me, probably thinking again about how lucky he was to see the continent’s most handsome man—ugh.
“You’re cute and strangely memorable, child. But sadly, I can’t just take anyone in as my child. Being my child means being eligible to inherit the crown.”
Yes, and that’s exactly why no one can know Boris is actually your son. But… Why tell me that?
“Yes, I understand that. But… Why is that a sad thing?”
“Instead, I can make you my goddaughter. Yes, that’s a good idea.”
What?
“What do you mean, all of a sudden?”
He smiled, satisfied, and patted my head.
“It means that anyone who harms you is harming me.”
Wait—what??
Let’s rewind just a little.
Because right after this, I was told that the Rohia family had arrived at the palace. I was then dragged away by maids, scrubbed clean, and forced to choose just one dress from a hundred beautiful ones. It was torture.
Finally cleaned up, I stood before the Emperor again. He tilted his head.
“People say just seeing your child well-fed and dressed makes you happy. But I don’t feel that way. I wonder why.”
“Maybe because I’m not Your Majesty’s real child…”
“I don’t have children, so a goddaughter like you is basically the same.”
Seriously? What’s he planning?
I looked at Winter, raising an eyebrow.
But Winter just smiled softly and nodded, as if telling me it was okay.
“You may rest. I will call you again.”
After the Emperor went to meet the Rohia family, I was finally left alone with Winter.
“I didn’t expect things to go like this. It’s a problem if the Emperor doesn’t want to let me take you to the North Empire,” I said with a groan, hiding my face in my arms.
Winter spoke calmly.
“I thought you would need someone to protect you from the Rohia family. I can protect you physically. But Emperor Silis can give you a better reason—something more respectable—than what I can offer.”
I lifted my head and saw Winter poking the sweet potato spirit floating in a glass jar.
The spirit didn’t seem to like him much—maybe because his hands were cold. It kept swimming away and whining.
At least it didn’t grow any roots.
Eventually, it bit Winter’s finger. He said,
“There are many ways I can bring you to the North. Don’t worry.”
If Winter said not to worry, then I shouldn’t.
I tickled the little spirit’s belly (I think it was its belly), and it giggled and let go of Winter’s finger.
Let’s fast forward a bit now—to the present moment.
“Everyone, say hello. This is my daughter.”
The Emperor’s face was stiff with a hint of anger.
But the anger wasn’t toward me. It was aimed at my shocked family members, who were making all kinds of noise.
***
“The Grand Duke came to Rohia after hearing about the plague. He found Lady Izana abandoned at the estate and brought her to me,” said the Emperor.
Grand Duke?
That guy from the North Empire—the one people say is either a divine messenger or a cursed demon? Winter Orsches?
When it was revealed that the mysterious boy beside Izana was Winter, Bern Rohia looked visibly shaken.
Yudis, however, was the only person who didn’t care about Winter Orsches at all.
The moment she saw Izana—dressed in a cute dress and looking perfectly fine—her vision went dark. It felt like everything around her was burning.
Emperor Silis quietly observed her.
“She was almost horribly harmed by a band of thieves.”
How does he know about that?
Yudis forced her eyes to focus again and asked with trembling lips,
“Were the thieves caught?”
“They’re dead,” came the reply—not from the Emperor, but from Winter himself.
“They were turned to ashes long ago,” he added, his voice cold.
No one knew why he was here. Yudis had heard the same terrifying rumors about him.
She couldn’t believe someone like him went to rescue Izana from Rohia. But right now, that wasn’t the main issue.
‘If they’re dead… good. If they’re really dead…’
If it was Winter Orsches who killed them, then yes, they were dead. The man rumored to be obsessed with blood probably didn’t even bother listening to their excuses.
She didn’t know why he spared Izana and brought her here, but it didn’t matter. If the thieves were gone, there was no proof Izana had been involved.
Thinking this, Yudis suddenly stood up. She rushed toward Izana, knelt down, and hugged her.
She wanted to show she was a grieving mother. But more than that, she didn’t want anyone to see how shaken she really was.
“Are you okay? You must’ve been so scared…”
She patted Izana’s small, fragile body while whispering softly.
Soon, thin arms wrapped around her shoulders.
Just like that, all the tension and heat building up inside her slowly faded away.
Yudis began to question her earlier actions.
‘I was too emotional because I was worried about Boris.’
She had acted out of stress and fear. Looking back, it seemed like she’d lost all sense.
Even if she wanted to send Izana away, she should’ve at least chosen someone reasonable to do it—not some cruel criminal.
‘I almost did something I’d regret for the rest of my life.’
Though the situation was still terrible, Yudis convinced herself it wasn’t entirely bad that Izana had survived.
Feeling a bit more at peace, she gently pulled away and looked at the daughter she had given birth to.
But then—
“Izana, lift your head for a moment…”
Yudis gasped, almost biting her tongue.
‘Oh no…’
You look just like me.
The fresh green hair.
The long, elegant eyebrows like a bird’s wings.
And those eyes—roses in spring—longing for something they cannot have, yet desperately trying to hide it.
