Chapter 9
Inside the emperor’s office in the main palace.
Usually, it was a place where not even a loud noise could be heard—a stark, almost lifeless silence. But suddenly, a commotion broke out.
“Your Highness… at least wait until tomorrow…!”
“Just for a moment… I’ll be quick…!”
The voices of knights and maids trying to stop someone echoed through the halls, occasionally mixed with the voice of a child.
The emperor, who had been trying to ignore the noise, finally put down his pen and frowned.
“Let them in.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
As the attendant waiting inside opened the door to convey the emperor’s words, someone barged into the office before he could even speak.
Using her small stature to slip past the adults, the intruder was none other than Cartia.
“Dad!”
How could she be so brazen?
The emperor genuinely wondered.
Was she not afraid of him? Most children burst into tears just seeing him.
Resting his chin on his hand and watching her silently, the emperor noticed Cartia was holding someone’s hand. His eyes shifted slightly.
There stood Rianus, bowing his head the moment their eyes met, clearly unsure of what to do.
“I’m getting married! Not now, but later!”
The emperor wasn’t even sure what he had just heard.
Before he could process it, Cartia turned around without hesitation, as if she’d completed her mission.
“I told you, so let’s go!”
“Y-Your Highness, at least explain to His Majesty properly…”
“It’s fine! Dad doesn’t care about me anyway!”
As Cartia dragged the flustered Rianus out, the emperor found himself wondering whether she was really human or something else altogether.
None of her actions could be predicted.
Most people, noble or otherwise, were boringly predictable. That made Cartia feel all the more strange to the emperor.
“Well then, everyone, good job!”
SLAM!
The force with which Cartia slammed the door made it feel like the entire office shook.
Her loud voice faded into the distance, and the emperor released his chin from his hand and picked up the pen again.
Whatever that was, it seemed to be over. Time to get back to work.
He resumed signing documents, but suddenly his fingers paused.
“Marriage…”
Memories from long ago resurfaced—but the emperor quickly buried them again.
* * *
Cartia swung the hand she was holding cheerfully back and forth, even humming.
“See? I told you it would be over quickly!”
Behind her, the maids and knights looked half-spent.
Ever since Cartia had said she was going to see the emperor, they had desperately begged her to reconsider. It had been exhausting.
All she had to do was say something and come back. What were they so worried about?
“Right, Rianus? Nothing happened, right?”
“Yes. It was all very… surprising.”
Rianus looked no better than the maids, but despite being dazed, he answered properly, which Cartia found adorable.
So she decided to reward him by playing with him more and brought him to the garden in front of the princess’s palace.
“We’re having a picnic! Prepare it!”
Though it was just an excuse to eat more cookies, Pavia—still dazed after the visit to the emperor—automatically laid out a picnic mat and brought desserts.
As everything was set up quickly, Cartia kicked off her shoes and stepped onto the mat.
“Come on, Rianus—or should I say, Young Master Rianus, join me!”
“You can just call me by my name.”
His shy request made Cartia smile, and she nodded before opening the picnic basket.
“We’ve got cookies, sandwiches, pudding… What do you want?”
“Anything is fine.”
“Then let’s go with pudding this time.”
As she pulled out the pudding, Pavia rushed over, offering to help.
“Huh? You’re too old to hang with kids, Pavia. Aren’t you nineteen?”
Pavia, looking wounded, stepped back, and Cartia skillfully laid out the utensils by herself.
“Rianus gets vanilla, I’ll take chocolate.”
As Cartia took a spoonful of pudding that melted delightfully in her mouth, Rianus, cutting his pudding into cubes, suddenly spoke.
“I was surprised that His Majesty wasn’t as scary as I expected.”
“Ahh, my dad? Yeah, he might seem scary to others.”
“He must care a lot about you.”
“Dad may seem soft, but he doesn’t actually care about me. To him, I’m like an ink bottle that occasionally tips over and rolls around. Annoying, but manageable.”
An ink bottle that ruins documents—but easily fixed by subordinates. A minor nuisance easily cleaned up.
Maybe the emperor left Cartia alone because she always danced on the edge of crossing the line—but never quite did.
“People are scared of His Majesty. Don’t you think the fact that you’re not scared means he cares about you?”
“Not really. I’m the reason my mom died. Six noble families were annihilated because of that incident. Everyone involved was executed. I was imprisoned in the northern tower for a year. If anything, he probably hates me.”
Rianus’s eyes widened, and he even stopped blinking.
He hadn’t known.
Well, of course. He was only nine. And the incident was rarely spoken of.
“You didn’t know, huh. My mom was from a minor viscount family, so there was a huge backlash when she became empress. After she had me, she couldn’t have more kids. Dad refused to take any other wife, so the nobles hated us.”
“But… what does that have to do with her death?”
“Because the royal line ended with her. The nobles wanted her gone so a new empress could be installed. Dad was overprotective, so they targeted the easier one—me. I was tricked by the nobles and took her outside the palace.”
“Outside… the palace?”
“Yeah. Dad always warned me not to trust nobles, but I thought it’d be fine just this once. And then… Mom fell into the river and died.”
Cartia finished her pudding neatly and glanced at Rianus’s almost untouched one.
He probably didn’t like sweets. He must’ve been eating it for her sake.
She’d have to ask the chef to prepare something less sweet next time.
“So… did you see the empress die?”
“Yeah. But hey, I’m calling you by your name—why are you still calling me ‘Your Highness’? Just use my name too.”
“But you were only six then…”
“That doesn’t erase what I did. Whether I’m twenty or thirty, it’s still me. And I said call me by my name.”
“Cartia…”
Hearing him use her name again made her feel like they were friends again.
But Rianus didn’t seem to share the sentiment. He looked like he might burst into tears.
“Children should always be protected.”
“Who said that?”
“My father.”
Cartia recalled that Rianus had two younger siblings—ages seven and five. Two years apart, just as he’d said.
With younger siblings around, it made sense the Marquis Tristan would say something like that.
“Well, I am protected. Don’t you see those knights over there?”
“I mean emotionally, too.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ve been learning to read difficult books lately, and they say people have psychological defense mechanisms. I remember Mom dying, but maybe because of that mechanism, it feels like someone else’s story.”
She did feel like the empress was truly her mother. The guilt was deeply ingrained in her chest.
But if she said that now, Rianus really would cry.
And maybe it was already too late.
“Cartia.”
Something blocked the sky and embraced her.
Blinking in confusion, she realized Rianus was hugging her.
The older Rianus never engaged in physical contact, but childhood was different.
“When I return home, I’ll send the betrothal letter and ask to be engaged.”
“Oh, how thoughtful.”
“And once I’m your fiancé, I’ll protect you.”
“I doubt you’ll be better than the knights, but thanks.”
“And whenever you try to ignore your sadness like today, I’ll remind you…”
Rianus released her from his hug—and now tears were falling from his eyes.
Even his crying face looked handsome.
“It’s okay to cry when you’re sad. And whenever you cry, I’ll be right there with you.”
Ah… That one hurt.
She didn’t know why, but her chest ached—like something was stabbing her in the gut.
It wasn’t gratitude, or being touched—it just hurt.
Still, Cartia smiled.
“Okay. Whatever happens in the future, don’t forget your promise to protect me.”
Because this time around… she just wanted to live.
