episode_0134

When Zeros was having a sweet time with Princess Maeb…

Katlena visited her maternal grandparents for the first time in a long time.

“Welcome, Katlena.”

“Yes, it’s been a while.”

Katlena gives a light greeting to the attendant in front of her.

But at this moment, honestly, her heart was filled with one emotion that was not very pleasant about the current situation.

‘It was my grandfather’s request… I came because he called me. But it still didn’t feel very pleasant.’

To be honest, she had come to Zero on a trip, but she had no intention of coming back here again.

Of course, she had thought about gathering information from her grandfather regarding future work, but she soon gave up on that plan.

Even though he was her maternal grandfather, the blood relative who brought her into the world, Katlena knew very well what kind of person he was.

A close aide to Padishah, whose health is not very good due to old age, and the real power holder who leads the actual state affairs of the empire.

And… he is a character who also possesses the ruthlessness to do anything for the empire.

Since trying to get information from such a person in a clumsy manner could arouse suspicion and cause bigger problems, Katlena decided to just keep quiet on this trip…

Suddenly, right after she made that decision, she received a request from her maternal grandfather, under the pretense of an order from him to visit her maternal grandparents, and she ended up having no choice but to come here.

Princess Catlena enters the study with reluctant steps.

Immediately after that… the Imperial Chancellor was sitting in front of her, waiting for his granddaughter.

Saladin Azak’s face began to appear.

“Welcome, Katlena. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”

“Yes, Grandfather. Have you been praying for a while?”

“Hehe, of course. I’m doing fine without any major problems. Come on, sit down. Shouldn’t we have a cup of tea with this old man after such a long time?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

At first glance, the two people look like they are in good spirits.

However, even as they talked like that, Katlena was secretly feeling very wary about the current situation.

‘No matter what, my grandfather rarely called me in person. He’s always busy with work, and especially lately, he’s been even more so.’

Most of the time, she and her grandfather met when her grandfather visited the duchy on business, or when Katlena came to the islands and visited him in person.

This was the first time that Katlena had come to the island and her grandfather had requested a visit.

Then in that regard…

Katlena began to calmly observe her grandfather’s movements, suspecting that something was up.

‘I heard that Grandfather’s nerves have become a lot more irritable since Mother appointed him as her successor. Why on earth would he bring me here at a time like this…’

With that thought in mind, Katlena carefully sips the tea placed in front of her.

And after a while,

Looking at Katlena like that, Azak opened his mouth in a calm voice.

“So, how is your academy life these days?

“Yes, I’m doing well. I’m still working hard as an executive of Sentinel and helping my sisters.”

“Oh really? I see… Well… That wouldn’t be a bad thing, though…”

When talking about his older sisters, Jae-sang seems to show a slightly uncomfortable expression.

Then he looked at Katlena with a somewhat meaningful attitude and asked cautiously.

“By the way.. I heard that the princess became your teacher. Honestly, I was quite surprised when I heard that she became your teacher.. If it’s okay, could you tell me about that story?”

“Ah.. Yes, if you’re the princess.. Honestly, when she first became my teacher, I felt quite burdened. But I think we’ve become close recently. She teaches her students better than I thought.”

“Really?.. That’s good. Of course, if you’re the princess, something like that shouldn’t be a big deal… Is there anything else special about the relationship between you and the princess?”

The prime minister speaks with a slightly hesitant expression as he watches Katlena speak in extremely everyday language.

As she watched that scene, something automatically began to pop into Katlena’s head.

‘! Huh? Wait a minute… Wait… Are you… talking about Zeros, Grandpa?’

Although they didn’t speak clearly, there was something between him and the princess, and seeing as the Crown Prince had difficulty bringing it up openly, Katlena couldn’t help but think about it naturally.

‘Ugh… I think that’s right. What Grandpa was trying to say just now… He was definitely trying to ask me about the fact that I was flirting with the princess and Zeros! Damn it, I should’ve been paying attention since the strange rumors started to spread within the academy.’

In reality, Katlena and Zeros were always together in the academy as a master and servant, and as a butler and servant, and there were several rumors that their relationship was not a simple master-servant relationship, but rather a love affair between a man and a woman.

This was something that Katlena had heard as well, but since it was something that had happened occasionally among other students who were in a master-servant relationship, she didn’t pay much attention to it, and rather, from Katlena’s perspective, she was secretly supporting the semi-officialization of her relationship with Zeros through these rumors.

However, the problem is with these existing rumors and..

Later, Princess Maeb joined as a teacher and as she spent time with Zeros as class president and homeroom teacher, new rumors arose, and the story evolved into one that the two were forming a love triangle with Zeros in the middle.

Of course, regardless of the fact that such a relationship existed in reality, the three of them behaved appropriately in their own ways, and these rumors quickly disappeared.

‘But if that rumor reached Grandpa’s ears… I guess that’s how he would react. What should I do? Surely Grandpa wouldn’t be telling me to give up Zeros because of this, right?’

In such a deep sense of anxiety, Katlena began to secretly watch Saladin’s vizier’s face.

Of course, even if it was not her grandfather but the Padishah who gave the order, Katlena had no intention of giving up Zeros.

At that moment, looking at Katlena who was making such an anxious expression, the prime minister spoke to her with the expression of a grandfather trying to reassure his granddaughter.

“It’s okay. Don’t worry and talk about it. I don’t intend to blame you or anything about this.”

“..I. Really.. Are you?”

“I promise. Rather than scold you, I called you to help you with this matter.”

“Ah..”

At her grandfather’s words, Katlena felt a moment of relief, but then she began to think, “Well, he’s still a grandfather.”

‘It’s a bit unexpected, but… no. If you think about it, isn’t it natural? Well… no matter how loyal the emperor is, asking his granddaughter to give up her love in order to please the princess was a bit excessive.’

With that thought in mind, Katlena looked at her grandfather with a much improved expression on her face.

“Thank you, Grandfather. But… Honestly, I don’t think I’ll need your help right now. This is between me and the princess, and more than anything, things are going smoothly.”

“Is that so?.. That’s fortunate, but.. No matter what, he thinks it’s a bit too much for your strength.”

“No, really, I’m fine. Rather, the fact that Grandpa supports me in this way is enough for me?”

“Ohhh..”

Jesang looks at Katlena with a surprised expression at her words.

Then he seemed moved and wiped away tears as he spoke to his granddaughter.

“Looking at it this way… our granddaughter has really grown up well. I’m sure your mother is also happy.”

“Ah..yes.”

Suddenly, a somewhat strange story seemed to have come out. Katlena didn’t pay much attention to it, and simply began to feel genuinely happy about the current situation.

‘That’s great. That means that even after my grandfather woke up, he acknowledged my relationship with Zeros. I never thought I’d receive such an unexpected declaration of support.’

Katlena sipping tea in such deep joy.

Meanwhile, looking at her like this, the prime minister felt both joy and sadness at the same time.

‘If this happens… it can be seen that preparations have been made to practically divide the Duchy of Dragona. I’m sorry, Catlena. But… this is also for the Empire. Even if I go to the afterlife, I will ask for forgiveness in some way.’