Ch.25Birthday Celebration (2)

The Empress’s Call.

The kingmaker who had dragged my mother and father into the mud was now summoning me.

As expected, my heart remained calm.

Though my mother’s death had sprouted feelings of sadness, it hadn’t grown into hatred.

I obediently responded to her wishes and ascended to the high seat where the Emperor and Empress sat side by side.

The royal couple scrutinized me from head to toe, as if appraising me. They observed my mask with particular interest, as though trying to see through it. Naturally, they had no success.

“Do you know why I called for you?” the Empress asked with a rigid expression. I shook my head, having no idea.

“I don’t know.”

“Isn’t it strange that you don’t know?”

“I…”

While I struggled to find an answer, the Empress’s tightly drawn face gradually softened, revealing gentle eyes. Then she smiled. She was distinctly different from my mother, who had been cruel most days.

She spoke, “I want to express my gratitude for saving my daughter, Serin. Not as the Empress, but as a mother.”

The Empress, standing at the pinnacle of society, bowed her head to a child of the deposed emperor. The nobles watching were immediately shocked, pouring out endless questions about what this person could have possibly done.

“Though perhaps it wasn’t much to you.”

“…It was actually quite significant. I’m sorry.”

I could barely look at the Empress as she laughed it off. Far from being insignificant, the truth was that I had merely managed to clean up a grave offense committed by a low-ranking member of our mercenary group, thanks only to sheer luck.

“Moreover, not only did you not demand compensation, you even gave her a silver token. Let me ask you directly. What was your intention?”

It was obviously for Serin, who lived alone in the imperial palace.

I couldn’t bear to see her wandering alone in the paradise my mother had longed for. Because I felt that Serin was experiencing the misfortune that should have been mine. Therefore, I considered Serin’s suffering to be connected to my original sin.

Above all… I knew better than anyone what it felt like to be alone in the world.

So, if Serin wanted to leave the palace, even if she had to use the silver token, I would gladly comply.

Since I couldn’t speak so directly in front of the Empress, I answered diplomatically.

“She looked vulnerable. That’s why I gave it to her. That’s all.”

“Oh my.”

The Empress raised her eyes in surprise. Although I couldn’t discern her intention, it didn’t seem to be of the malicious kind.

She composed herself and spoke softly.

“Leader Rahilt.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Looking at you makes me waver.”

“I apologize.”

“It’s not a reproach. It’s just… you make me constantly question my past self.”

The Empress inhaled the nostalgia of the distant past. Her dreamy eyes temporarily lost focus, as if immersed in memories.

“Your golden hair and aquamarine eyes shake me. They remind me of two people I hated, and simultaneously evoke one person to whom I feel the greatest debt.”

The two people she hated must surely be the deposed emperor and his mistress. Then who was this one person to whom she felt indebted? I was curious but had no right to ask, so I kept my mouth shut.

“But those two are already gone, and I believe that one person is still breathing somewhere. So I don’t dislike you. After all, I’m only left with a sense of debt… even seeing your appearance doesn’t awaken any hatred in me.”

“…”

“I’m saying strange things to someone I’ve just met. It seems that as my wrinkles increase, so does my idle talk. I hope you, young as you are, can understand.”

“I didn’t find anything uncomfortable.”

“Haha, thank you.”

I suddenly saw Serin in the Empress’s face.

The Empress and Serin had similar smiles. Especially the curve of their eyes when they laughed softly and their slightly dimpled cheeks were similar. Thinking about this, the corners of my lips curved into a gentle smile.

“Serin will arrive soon. I’d like you to dance the opening dance with my daughter. Are you familiar with the basic etiquette of balls?”

“I am.”

“Well, you’re Rodrick’s child after all. Of course you would be.”

The Empress chuckled again.

It was a laugh that truly made her feel like Serin’s mother.

◇

The Empress couldn’t help but be impressed as she conversed with Rahilt. The Windmill Mercenary Group was one of the Empire’s premier military forces. She had inwardly assumed that the young leader of such a group would have a rough temperament.

When she first asked if he knew why she had summoned him, the Empress expected Rahilt to answer confidently. However, her expectation was completely off the mark. Far from getting the right answer, Rahilt seemed to have difficulty even guessing the reason.

‘Does this mean he doesn’t even recognize saving Serin as significant?’

It seemed that the act was so natural to him that he wasn’t even conscious of it as an achievement. For Rahilt, rescuing Serin appeared to be about as significant as helping an old woman carry her luggage.

‘Is he foolish… or excessively righteous…’

She needed to confirm this. So the Empress casually added another question.

[Moreover, not only did you not demand compensation, you even gave her a silver token. Let me ask you directly. What was your intention?]

Pretense would be useless. Despite appearances, she had lived twice as long as others. Even with a face hidden behind a mask, she wouldn’t fail to detect lies.

But the Empress couldn’t help being greatly surprised.

[She looked vulnerable. That’s why I gave it to her. That’s all.]

That was Rahilt’s true feeling. It was a voice that revealed raw emotions without a trace of falsehood.

‘My goodness…! How did such a person emerge?’

She looked vulnerable, he said.

She certainly would have.

Serin’s physical body was a masterpiece that replicated the stone years of the Empire’s absolute ruler – the current Emperor Harum Literion. It was inconceivable that such a daughter would have ever experienced a life-threatening situation. But a poison that could affect her seemingly invincible body had eaten away at her, resulting in Serin facing her first true crisis.

She would have been vulnerable.

How could she not be, experiencing a near-death situation at such a young age?

Rahilt was saying he gave her the silver token to reassure Serin. Even if it meant giving away a token that could determine the fate of his mercenary group…

It was a foolish decision as the leader of an organization, but as Serin’s mother, she could only evaluate it as a truly thoughtful gesture.

‘Have I ever met someone so pure? Even he was comparable to a blank white canvas in his purity, but this child…’

Transparent water.

So transparent that it’s difficult to perceive its existence.

‘To think I would live to see such a day.’

The Empress was the last fairy-blooded person in the human realm. Although diluted through generations to be almost entirely human, she retained the ability to sensitively perceive human emotions. Yet the Empress couldn’t detect even a speck of impurity in the concern for Serin.

‘Serin is my daughter, but she’s a rough child. The leader’s excessive purity might be a flaw, but Serin certainly possesses the temperament to guide that purity.’

Above all, she liked that there was absolutely no impure intention regarding Serin. Though he had no impressive territory, he had wealth and military power, so there were no flaws… The only remaining candidate for a flaw would be the face hidden by the mask.

This was something she couldn’t see through. Even if she were a pure-blooded fairy rather than mixed blood, the ability to see through objects would be absurd.

‘After all, Serin doesn’t even know the leader’s face, does she?’

If it matched her daughter’s taste, it would be fortunate, but if not, she might feel greatly disappointed. It’s human nature to become calculating even while knowing it’s impolite.

‘No, that’s not it either. Serin’s declaration that she wouldn’t care even if the leader’s face was covered in burn scars and pockmarks was undoubtedly sincere.’

Though it was her own child, she felt uncomfortable with the conviction that bordered on madness beyond passion. It was close to an obsession that they could never be matched with anyone else.

‘Golden hair and blue eyes… how wonderful it would be if the leader were the child of the deposed emperor.’

Judging by how sincerely he treated Serin, he seemed to harbor no resentment toward the imperial family.

Is it a convenient wish to hope that such a person is the child of the deposed emperor?

“What a pity…”

The Empress’s wish escaped in a cracked voice.

The Emperor, seated beside her, quietly looked at the Empress and took her hand.

The Emperor knew well what she regretted. The debt his partner felt toward the child of the deposed emperor often manifested even in ordinary times.

The Empress quietly moved her lips at the warmth of the hand holding hers.

“Thank you, dear.”

“It’s nothing grand.”

“Still.”

“If Serin hadn’t been late, we wouldn’t even be able to do this.”

“That’s true, haha…”

Apparently, she was late because she was spending time with the leader. Fortunately, the palace where they spent the afternoon was secluded; otherwise, there might have been quite a scandal attached to the unmarried imperial princess.

“You should scold Serin a bit.”

“She’s grown up so much lately that she doesn’t even listen to me anymore.”

“Am I any different?”

“It seems we’re both destined not to be wise parents.”

“Sigh…”

As the Empress sighed, the Emperor mirrored her.

Seven steps away from the conversation too embarrassing to be heard by others.

A middle-aged knight displayed his imposing demeanor and glared fiercely at Rahilt.

The giant man with the rank insignia of the Imperial Knight Commander decorating his shoulder had a scar crossing his face diagonally, adding to his ferocity.

The man, who had maintained silence, murmured.

“Finally…”

Found.

The child of the deposed emperor.