Ch.67The Emperor’s Child, Tamed

Meanwhile, Eshtiel, who had finished all her Academy duties, was strolling around the Academy with light footsteps.

The Academy at sunset was still a lively and dynamic place, so she wasn’t afraid. This was because students who owned mansions on the island commuted on their own, while students from distant regions resided in dormitories.

As a result, even after the Academy’s schedule ended, there were still quite a number of students lingering nearby.

“What should I do now?”

Her classmates had all gone their separate ways, and she had previously agreed to act separately from her brother.

If Rahilt were to hang around inside the Academy, it might actually harm Eshtiel’s relationships. Therefore, Rahilt and Eshtiel even commuted separately.

There was still quite some time before the Windmill Knights were scheduled to pick her up, and she was wondering how to pass the time.

Eshtiel opened her small mouth and yawned.

“Hmm?”

Just then, someone recognized her from behind.

“Count Elenot?”

“Ah, it’s Tesser!”

Eshtiel momentarily forgot her boredom and scurried over. Seeing Eshtiel behaving like a puppy wagging its tail, Tesser couldn’t help but smile.

“It’s been a while, Count Elenot.”

“Yeah. It’s been super long. But you’ve grown so tall, I’m jealous.”

“How much could I have grown to make you jealous?”

Tesser was being modest, but he was secretly pleased. He had been aware that he was growing taller lately, probably because he was in his growth phase.

His sister Serin was also quite tall for a girl, which raised Tesser’s expectations.

“You’ve grown too, Count Elenot.”

“Really?!”

“…Yes, probably.”

“Hehe, awesome!”

Eshtiel jumped up and down with joy.

Meanwhile, Tesser could only manage a bitter smile, as his comment about her growth had been merely a polite greeting.

He hadn’t expected her to be so genuinely happy about it, and now he felt weighed down by guilt.

“But why do you keep calling me Count Elenot? I’m Eshtiel.”

“Because that’s correct.”

Tesser already knew that strictly speaking, this wasn’t right.

In fact, it wasn’t proper to address someone by their outside title within the Academy. However, Eshtiel was the younger sister of someone Tesser admired. It was natural for him to feel a strange distance from her.

Of course, from Eshtiel’s perspective, this didn’t matter.

“No way. That makes it feel like there’s no affection between us. This is a secret, but my brother told me something. We’re actually a ‘people of affection.’ I don’t know what it means, but we supposedly have lots of affection. So, Tesser, you should call me by my name.”

“People of affection…?”

Good heavens.

Tesser was startled.

People of affection? This was an aspect of the Empire he had never heard of before.

It was too significant to dismiss as nonsense, especially since the source was Eshtiel’s brother—Rahilt.

Strictly speaking, he was the only male descendant of the Empire’s legitimate imperial bloodline. If such a secret about “people of affection” came from Rahilt’s mouth, there must surely be substantial evidence behind it.

Tesser bent down to Eshtiel’s eye level and spoke solemnly.

“Count Elenot. I think it’s best we keep our being ‘people of affection’ a secret.”

“Why?”

“…”

Tesser couldn’t immediately answer Eshtiel’s question.

Yes, why indeed?

Come to think of it, it probably wouldn’t be troublesome even if it were revealed.

Being people of affection probably just means being kind-hearted. But if that’s all it meant, there wouldn’t be enough reason for it to be kept hidden and passed down.

There must be some kind of reason that he couldn’t imagine. So Tesser vaguely evaded the question and advised her.

“It might be troublesome for the Grand Duke. That is… your brother.”

“Oh no, really?”

“Yes, probably.”

“I see…”

Eshtiel hung her head dejectedly. She looked so pitiful that it stirred up sympathy in him.

‘People of affection…’

Meanwhile, Tesser’s blood was slightly stirred.

His heart raced at the feeling of approaching some profound truth. It felt as if he had become a special existence. The heart of the second-year middle school student was pounding, staining his pure mind with black ink.

“But you know.”

Eshtiel tugged persistently at Tesser’s sleeve, which had been distracted by other thoughts.

“Call me by my name. Everyone else calls me by my name, so it’s weird if only you call me that way.”

“I… guess so.”

No choice, I suppose.

We are people of affection, after all.

So, Tesser casually spoke her name.

“Eshtiel.”

“I like that.”

Eshtiel laughed cheerfully. Then she stretched out her head and placed Tesser’s hand on it.

“Since you did well, I’ll let you pat my head.”

“Huh?”

“This is a reward. My brother, Luca, and Serin all really like it.”

“Th-thank you, Eshtiel.”

Tesser found himself patting Eshtiel’s head as if receiving an honor. Although he was being swept along by Eshtiel’s pace, doing this put a strange brake on his heart.

Was it okay to pat the younger sister of someone he admired like this? Or was this an excessively embarrassing privilege?

‘I can understand why they consider this a reward, though…’

Eshtiel was absolutely adorable. So adorable that one might mistake cuteness itself for a kind of justice.

She was unaware of it herself, which made her all the more powerful.

‘Eshtiel is nine years old this year, right?’

Meanwhile, Tesser was turning fifteen. Realizing this, Eshtiel really felt like a little sister to him.

Honestly, Tesser was more afraid of Serin than fond of her, so he envied Rahilt for having such a little sister.

Of course he would.

Serin viewed Tesser as a competitor in her single-minded pursuit of the throne, and for some reason, she maintained a certain distance from their parents as well.

Tesser felt as if Serin belonged to a different world.

In the past, he had desperately wanted to become close with her, but now they were merely distant. They were family in name only.

That’s why the tender sibling love between Rahilt and Eshtiel, who weren’t even blood-related, struck Tesser as shocking.

‘I really… envy them.’

Tesser continued patting Eshtiel’s head with a bitter smile.

He thought he had abandoned all lingering attachments, but apparently that was a misconception.

If he had truly steeled his resolve, he wouldn’t have felt envious of Eshtiel.

“Eshtiel.”

“Yes?”

“What is the Grand Duke like usually?”

“Hmmmm.”

Eshtiel pretended to think for a moment, then stuck out her lips.

“I hate him!”

“Huh, umm…?”

Tesser’s eyes trembled at Eshtiel’s absurd declaration. He wondered if his ears were deceiving him, but Eshtiel continued with an indignant face.

“You know what, Tesser?”

“What…?”

When I cautiously asked, Eshtiel clenched her fists and grumbled.

“Today I was listening to my friends’ worries and earned tons of candy as payment. But then he suddenly appeared, even though it wasn’t his class time, and confiscated every single piece! He took everything—even the ones I secretly put in my pocket and the ones I was sitting on!”

“That’s… impressive.”

“It’s not impressive at all!”

“R-right. Not impressive at all.”

Tesser quickly corrected himself when Eshtiel shouted. But she still seemed upset, as her protruding duck-like lips showed no sign of retreating.

“And then he said I could only eat two candies until the holiday because I must have eaten too many today. Ugh, my brother is truly not human. How can someone be so cruel!”

‘If he’s not human, he must be a dragon…’

He was truly an X-traordinarily cool being. However, Tesser couldn’t show this admiration in front of Eshtiel, so he quietly nodded along.

Also, letting an excited Eshtiel spread gossip about her brother in a public place would be bad for his reputation in many ways. So Tesser deliberately changed the subject.

“By the way… may I ask what kind of counseling you were giving that you mentioned?”

“Huff… Sigh… Oh, that? Love counseling.”

“…I see.”

That’s quite a low-credibility consultation. Now he could somewhat understand why her brother had confiscated all the candy.

It probably wasn’t proper counseling, so she must have collected candy through other means. From the Grand Duke’s perspective, he might have misunderstood that she was using his backing.

…Of course, the most likely possibility was that he was simply concerned about Eshtiel’s health.

“What’s with that expression? Don’t you believe me?”

“No, I believe you.”

“I’m really perceptive, you know? Tesser doesn’t believe me.”

“Haha…”

Tesser could only laugh awkwardly. However, Eshtiel wasn’t satisfied with this response either and immediately put her hands on her hips and declared:

“Hmph, you still don’t believe me. Fine! I’ll give you special counseling.”

“Counseling… alright.”

Tesser accepted Eshtiel’s semi-forceful proposal as if playing house.

Above all, he was curious about Eshtiel’s counseling skills that had earned her so many candies.

With that faint expectation, Eshtiel’s counseling began.

…Starting with a strange statement.

“Tesser likes me. Because even though it’s just the two of us here, I can see ‘like’ all over the place!”

“Well…”

Of course I have to like you. You’re none other than the Grand Duke of Elhader’s sister.

Still, impressed that she had roughly guessed correctly, Tesser nodded.

“So Tesser wants to ask me to go to an exhibition with him, right?”

“…Is that so?”

If forced to choose between ‘yes’ and ‘no,’ he would choose ‘yes.’ Spending time with Eshtiel would probably be quite enjoyable.

However, the outrageous statement that followed shattered Tesser’s lungs.

“And then, you’ll confess that you love me. Because Tesser really, really likes me.”

…!?

“Keh-hak, what…! Are you cra— I mean, are you in your right mind, Eshtiel?!”

“I am. You like me this much.”

“Please… Eshtiel. Let’s be quiet for a moment.”

Tesser looked around frantically, afraid someone might be listening.

Fortunately, there was no sign of anyone nearby, and Eshtiel faithfully followed his instruction.

Once the safety of the scene was confirmed, Tesser spoke softly.

“Eshtiel… there’s a 6-year age gap between us. That might not matter for adults, but for our age group, it’s very significant. Unless an arranged marriage was planned, it would almost be a crime.”

“Why is it a crime? Can’t young people love too? If so, all the kids in my class are criminals too.”

“Well, it’s okay if you’re around the same age. But we have a big age difference, don’t we? That’s why it’s not allowed.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Phew.”

She seemed to understand somehow.

…or so he thought, but Eshtiel mercilessly trampled on that pathetic misconception.

“So Tesser is having a forbidden love!”

“No, Eshtiel! Absolutely, absolutely not…!!!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. How can anyone stop the heart? I understand everything.”

“No, you don’t understand even a tiny bit…!?”

“There, there, it can’t be helped. When I grow up, I’ll think about it.”

“No, don’t think about it… please…! Let’s forget it, Eshtiel. Okay?”

This is a big problem.

He couldn’t even begin to guess how this misunderstanding had developed, but if such nonsense reached the Grand Duke, who knows what kind of wrath would descend.

Suddenly facing the greatest crisis of his life.

Cold sweat streamed down Tesser’s forehead.

“Come on, don’t be shy. I’ll try my best to like Tesser too. Your face is completely red now that you’ve been found out.”

“I’m dead…”

“No, you’re not. So, um, what was it again? Your future has spears laid out…?”

“You mean ‘your future is bright’…”

“Oh, that’s it.”

I don’t think so.

No matter how much hope I add, having spears laid out in my future seems more accurate.

Will I be able to attend school normally tomorrow?

What if I’m socially annihilated, apart from the Grand Duke’s anger?

What if I’m despised for lowering the dignity of the Imperial Family?

What if I’m dethroned because of it?

I can only describe it as having spears laid out in my path.

“…Ah.”

Tesser felt the world spinning around him as he devised a last resort.

“Eshtiel.”

“Yes?”

Denying it would be pointless; Eshtiel would never believe him. For unknown reasons, Eshtiel had great confidence in her position…

So Tesser gave up denying it any further.

“I’ll… secretly give you candy… if you keep it a secret that I like you…”

“Ooh, how many?”

“As many as you want.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

“Wow…”

Eshtiel’s final words that followed dealt an indelible blow to Tesser’s mind.

“I think I’ve come to like Tesser a lot. If we keep going like this, we’ll be able to love each other soon.”

“Aha… haha… that’s… great…”

Tesser desperately clung to his consciousness, which was about to faint from losing self-control.

Facing Eshtiel’s triumphant smile, he sincerely agonized.

‘…Should I commit ritual suicide?’

He had just mortgaged his life in a completely different way.