episode_0011

“Lucas, what do you think about Silvia?”

“What?”

At the sudden question, Lucas’s expression momentarily froze. What did he think about Silvia?

However, there was no way the Emperor’s words didn’t carry any meaning. At least, it wasn’t simply asking for Lucas’s opinion on Silvia. If Lucas were to answer how he felt about Silvia, there would surely be other instructions from the Emperor.

If he showed any sign of not properly understanding Silvia here, Lucas might be classified as “useless” by the Emperor.

Well, considering that even Jayden, who is good at reading the atmosphere, doesn’t receive that kind of treatment, it might be an extreme judgment.

“….”

Therefore, Lucas pondered about Silvia.

Expressionless, always polite, and if Lucas laid a hand on her, she would immediately brush it off. At first glance, she seemed cold, but in reality, she had a gentle side. Especially towards Alice.

It didn’t seem like it was just because they were the same age. Silvia, who seemed strangely mature for her age, often acted as if she had taken Alice’s place. If there was something to consider, she considered it, and if there was something to yield, she yielded.

Even if the subject of this behavior extended not only to herself but to all of the Emperor’s children, including Lucas and Jayden, if Alice’s turn coincided with Silvia’s turn, Silvia would act as a shield to ensure that Alice would benefit first.

Unfortunately, Princess Alice seemed completely unaware of Silvia’s intentions.

Just a while ago, it was Lucas’s turn to have a private conversation with the Emperor after Silvia. Lucas himself had nothing special to talk about, but the Emperor had said there was a long story to tell.

However, Silvia casually let Alice go in first.

…If Silvia had not let her in but Alice had forcefully entered, the Emperor would have scolded her on the spot. But since the Emperor knew that Silvia had let her in, he did not blame Alice.

And Alice would probably realize the truth. That’s why she was more annoyed with Silvia.

If Silvia had truly been an emotionless machine, Lucas would not have interpreted her actions as “tender-hearted.” Instead, he would have thought of it as a mechanical action to protect the Emperor’s only true blood.

But Silvia was not an emotionless doll. If Lucas or Jayden annoyed her, she would get irritated, and she would avoid her brothers here and there. Of course, the process was not just a child’s game of hide-and-seek but rather close to the level of a professional spy hiding and lurking.

It was the same when they returned from their mission this time.

Silvia had a displeased expression. At first glance, one might think it was because Lucas was with her, but the newspaper with headlines about a viscount being assassinated was in Silvia’s hand.

Although Silvia had seen someone die before… this murder was not a random act. It was a carefully planned assassination carried out by Silvia herself.

“Is something… bothering you?”

“Oh.”

At Lucas’s assessment, the Emperor chuckled, raising the corner of his lips.

“Is something wrong?”

The Emperor’s smile was subtly unsettling, so Lucas asked with a slightly uneasy attitude. Of course, Lucas always had a somewhat brusque attitude in front of anyone.

“No, that’s not it. In a way, it aligns with my thoughts.”

“Could it be that Your Majesty’s soft spot for Silvia is the reason? Knowing Silvia’s personality…”

The Emperor was ruthless enough to order the assassination of a Marquis to a twelve-year-old child, but at the same time, he genuinely cared for the children. At least, that’s how Lucas felt, having spent time with him from childhood to now.

If the Emperor had thought Silvia would fail, he wouldn’t have entrusted her with such a mission.

“Maybe.”

The Emperor gave a vague answer once again.

Looking up at the Emperor with a puzzled expression, Lucas was asked again.

“Lucas, can you imagine yourself killing Silvia?”

“That is—”

About to say ‘of course,’ Lucas stopped himself.

“…”

And soon fell into deep thought.

Could he kill Silvia?

Not emotionally, but purely based on skill.

If Silvia didn’t have a weapon, he wasn’t sure what he would do. Every time Lucas swung his sword at Silvia, she did her best to dodge it. Physically, Lucas had the upper hand. Silvia was only twelve now, so it was natural.

But… Lucas couldn’t imagine Silvia without a gun.

Since bringing Silvia here for the first time in his childhood, she always had a gun. Well, there were moments when she wasn’t armed. When attending important events or wearing tight clothes where she couldn’t hide a gun. At least when she was relaxed, Silvia didn’t seem armed.

But, even then—

Strangely, Lucas couldn’t imagine Silvia fighting someone barehanded.

It wasn’t because he hadn’t seen Silvia fight barehanded before.

He just had this strange conviction that when Lucas tried to kill Silvia, she would always be fully armed and ready. Maybe when he went in to kill her, Silvia would be gone, and there would be bombs everywhere, or the person there was just a decoy, and the real Silvia would be far away, aiming a sniper rifle at Lucas’s head.

Because Silvia had always been like that.

Even if hiding in a place he thought she would never see, she would evade by just a step.

Even if the Imperial Guards couldn’t notice her presence, Silvia would casually acknowledge Lucas’s position.

As if she could read the future.

“Yes, I feel the same way.”

The Emperor nodded as if he knew what Lucas was thinking.

“No matter what I do, even if I imagine using thousands of troops to kill her, I couldn’t do it. I just couldn’t imagine an ‘unprepared Silvia.’ If I plan something she can’t escape, Silvia won’t be there. That’s how Silvia is in my mind.”

The Emperor leaned in slightly towards Lucas and said,

“Let me ask you again. Do you think Silvia is just tender-hearted?”

“…”

“Well, maybe she is. In reality, with that young body, she could easily slaughter everyone in this palace and escape unscathed. Maybe we are ‘pitying’ her. But, would Silvia, ‘that’ Silvia, really act like that?”

“…”

Lucas hesitated to answer.

“I told you to kill the viscount this time for that reason. I didn’t give Sylvia any information about the viscount. I just said ‘kill him.’ I didn’t mention how to kill him or why. And I assigned you the surveillance mission. The reason I chose the viscount is no different. I deliberately chose Crowfield Viscount because he was someone Sylvia would abhor to the extreme.”

Indeed, Sylvia was once part of a supplier that ‘sold’ such orphaned children. If Sylvia had the insight she has now back then, she wouldn’t have just thought of that place as an orphanage.

And she wouldn’t have gone to the extent of burning down that orphanage.

“If Sylvia were not an emotional being, she would have surely returned after just eliminating the viscount as per my orders. However, Sylvia, I don’t know how she found out about such facts, but in just a few days, she realized that the viscount was a customer of that orphanage. Moreover, she blew up all the carriages following him. Do you understand what this means?”

The emperor leaned towards Lucas and spoke even more forcefully.

“Sylvia… it means that she is not here to think about my righteousness or to bring any benefits to this country. She is only here because what she wants to do right now is here, and she will ‘be there’ only for that, meaning she is a person who does whatever she wants. Think about it. If the viscount was just a good person, someone who loved Yeong Ji Min, how would Sylvia have acted? Even if Sylvia had disobeyed my orders and abducted the viscount, could we have stopped her?”

That is unknown.

It is unknown, but… at least she didn’t seem like she would have acted like this time.

“Do you… have any intention of eliminating Sylvia?”

The emperor burst into laughter at Lucas’s question. Looking at Lucas with amusement, the emperor said,

“Wow, that’s a misunderstanding. I actually think Sylvia is a lovely child because of that. In other words, as long as we cater to Sylvia’s needs, she will continue to be here. And she will bring us victory. It seems I need to pay more attention as a father in the future.”