TRFDTV ~ 12

Chapter – 12

“It’s too bothersome to go through all the steps of preparing and carrying out a rebellion.”

At that, Asili narrowed her eyes.

“And if it weren’t bothersome?”

“I still wouldn’t do it.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not fit to be an emperor.”

It was a reply spoken lightly, but the weight behind it was immense.

Asili, however, answered just as casually.

“If it’s about being fit, you’d be far more suited than the crown prince. Not even talking about political sense or anything grand like that — I mean up here.”

She tapped Ludwig’s temple with a finger. He caught her hand and naturally interlaced their fingers together.

“That’s not the kind of fitness I meant.”

“Then what?”

“It’s a matter of responsibility.”

Even though his answer was vague, Asili understood him immediately — as she always did.

And she agreed.

“Right. Sitting on that throne means taking responsibility for everyone in the empire. Even when you don’t care to.”

Sitting on the imperial throne didn’t just mean looking down on people from the highest place in the empire.

It meant standing at that dizzying height and bearing the weight of every citizen’s life on one’s shoulders.

An emperor was less a person and more an organism that sustained the entire empire simply by existing.

Which meant there was no such thing as a personal life.

It was something only possible with immense responsibility and a sense of duty.

“Well, not every emperor must have been so noble and devoted just because they sat on the throne.”

“If you say that so bluntly, it puts me in an awkward spot.”

“Oh, come on. Even if you don’t do it for the people, you’re doing your best with what you can right now. That’s enough.”

Asili shook her head slightly and added,

“In my world, there’s a saying — a competent and lazy person is ten million times better than an incompetent and enthusiastic one.”

“Then I’m… a competent and lazy person?”

“Figure of speech. You’re competent and diligent, so who cares whether you mean it sincerely or not?”

She swung their joined hands playfully and frowned.

“You’re far better than those who just talk about sincerity while shirking their responsibilities.”

“If you say so.”

At his faint smile, Asili shrugged exaggeratedly and said with a smirk,

“Well, it’s not my quote anyway, but let’s just go with that. No one here would know who said it in my world.”

At her words, Ludwig’s blue eyes dimmed, the color sinking deeper.

This world and that world.

Her world.

The world she must return to.

The world she longs for.

Asili had never once said she wanted to go back.

Nor had she said she must go back.

But still—

For now, she was being tossed around by sudden and strange circumstances, but no one drifts aimlessly forever in an unfamiliar world.

Once she grew used to this one, the tide of longing would come crashing in.

Nostalgia for the world she belonged to.

Longing isn’t something that burns briefly and fades — the more it’s felt, the deeper it sinks, turning into an illness over time.

When Asili first came to him, her face had looked as though she were falling endlessly through empty air with nowhere to land.

All Ludwig could do back then was catch her with all his strength and stop her fall, if only for a moment.

But could he hold her when she sank into the endless swamp of longing?

“…Hey, Ludwig?”

Asili had turned to face him fully, waving a hand in front of his eyes.

“What, did you fall asleep with your eyes open?”

“No.”

Then she said seriously,

“Even if you do sleep with your eyes open like a fish, you still need to rest.”

“…A fish?”

“Want to nap now? I can play the role of your pillow. Though fair warning — that role might reverse midway.”

As she spoke, she paused.

Ludwig had buried his face in her neck, his shoulders trembling slightly.

“What now? What’s set you off this time?”

He was laughing.

If anyone else had seen him like this, they would’ve rubbed their eyes raw, convinced they were hallucinating.

Who was he, after all?

Ludwig Grueg Caliente — the man who, before turning himself into a symbol of terror and dread at the emperor’s command, had been the very definition of composure, indifference, and unbreakable calm.

But Asili waited patiently for him to stop laughing, as if she were used to it.

After all, laughter was the least of it — they had already seen almost every side of each other in their dreams.

And so, Asili and Ludwig had become each other’s only exception.

It happened so naturally that neither noticed when it did — they had grown used to laughing, crying, and playing silly pranks together.

When his laughter finally began to subside, Asili grumbled,

“You’re supposed to be sleeping, not laughing. Now I’m fully awake.”

But before she could finish, there came a knock at the door.

Knock, knock.

Both of them instinctively checked her clothes at the same time — and then burst out laughing softly.

“Well, at least you’re properly dressed now.”

“So it seems.”

When she had first fallen into this novel, she hadn’t had a single thread on.

And since both she and Ludwig were used to meeting naked in their dreams, neither had cared.

Knock, knock, knock!

As the knocking grew urgent, Asili sat up lazily, groped around, and grabbed a book to hold in her hands.

“Okay, all set. I’ll just pretend to be refined.”

Ludwig smiled faintly, brow furrowing.

“Come in.”

The moment he gave permission, the youngest of his three aides stumbled in as if he had rolled through the door.

“Your Grace! His Highness is coming to visit!”

The wording was strange enough that Asili tilted her head in confusion, but Ludwig replied dryly,

“Did I have an appointment?”

“No, Your Grace. But… it’s His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“When?”

“In an hour.”

“The reason?”

The aide hesitated briefly, but under Ludwig’s cold stare, he confessed immediately.

“He says he wishes to meet Your Grace’s lover — the young lady of the Bolcheik ducal house, thought to be extinct.”

At that, Asili narrowed her eyes. What am I, an exhibit at a zoo?

He wanted to come “see” her?

“Go on. Leave the preparations to Sebastian.”

“Yes, sir!”

The aide bowed and backed out of the room carefully, closing the door.

Asili snapped her book shut with a sharp thud.

“Who does he think he is, just barging in without an appointment?”

“He’s the Crown Prince.”

“I know. Meaning I’m supposed to be honored just to be graced by his presence, right?”

She gripped the corner of the book and sneered.

Just from this alone, she could tell — the so-called heroine described in the book’s introduction really didn’t suit her at all.

“Seriously, he’s even more ridiculous and annoying than I imagined.”

“Imagined?”

“I mean — than what you told me about him. Though, I suppose nothing beats the absurdity of me dropping out of nowhere into your world.”

“Ah, true.”

Ludwig lifted Asili effortlessly and set her on his lap again.

Resting her head against his shoulder, she yawned and asked,

“So, you’re not going to prepare for the Crown Prince’s visit?”

“No need.”

“Because everything here belongs to you?”

She echoed his own words back to him with a teasing tone. Ludwig chuckled.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“How dependable, Your Grace.”

“It’s an honor to have your trust, my lady.”

They bowed to each other in exaggerated jest, then burst into matching laughter.

“Now that I think about it — I may be properly dressed, but I don’t know a single rule of etiquette for meeting the Crown Prince.”

“It doesn’t matter. He won’t care about that. In fact, he dislikes both giving and receiving formalities.”

“Well, that makes me like him even less. No sense of basic manners?”

“If you don’t want to meet him—”

“No. I do want to see his face at least once — the guy who gives you such a hard time.”

“He doesn’t exactly—”

Asili cut him off.

“Creating endless work for you counts as giving you a hard time.”

As Ludwig frowned, she reached up and pressed her finger against his brow.

“I told you not to frown so much.”

Then, glancing at the fiery red hair brushing her cheek, she asked,

“So red hair and blue eyes are the symbol of the Bolcheik family?”

“Yes.”

“But I saw mint-colored hair at the party — doesn’t that make red hair fairly common?”

Ludwig shook his head as he gently twined a strand of her hair around his finger.

“This shade of red only exists in the Bolcheik line.”

“Not in my case.”

“If I say you are, then you’re Bolcheik.”

The words were firm — not even a needle could slip through his resolve. Asili just shrugged.

“Then that family’s going to come running, furious about their sudden ‘lost child.’ Come to think of it, I’ve been tied to them as ‘family’ all this time without ever seeing their faces.”

It was a casual remark — but the answer she received was something she never expected.