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chapter 25
Everyone standing there was left speechless, yet not a single breath could be heard.
Empress Meikellen’s eyes, which had seemed startled by something she saw, slowly moved in search of a target. Itern was shocked to discover that, for the first time in her life, her mother’s eyes looked exactly like her own.
“…Is it you?”
At last, the Empress spoke. Her voice came out terribly hoarse, as if she had not used it for a very long time. When she gave a small cough, Wintier shouted as though burned by fire.
“What are you all standing around for?! Bring water and help the Empress sit up!”
Before he had even finished speaking, Dora carefully supported Meikellen and helped her rise. She placed several soft cushions behind her back and accepted a bowl of water and a spoon from a maid.
“I’ll do it. Give it to me.”
As Wintier abruptly stepped in, Dora blinked in confusion and moved aside. Wintier carefully dripped water into Meikellen’s dry lips, helping her drink.
“We should step outside for a moment.”
At Zigkart’s whisper, Itern looked at him blankly in surprise, clearly not understanding what he meant.
With a small sigh, Zigkart took her hand.
“I said we should give His Majesty and Her Majesty some privacy.”
“No.”
Itern yanked her hand away.
At that moment, she was startled by how childish her own behavior sounded, yet she stubbornly held her ground.
“She’s my mother. This is the first time I’ve ever heard her voice. I’m not leaving. I’ll stay right here—”
“Itern?”
The Empress’s voice came from behind her.
Itern spun around, tears immediately spilling from her eyes.
“My baby, my daughter. Come here. Come to your mother.”
Empress Meikellen leaned forward and spread her arms wide.
Seeing her mother’s frail body teeter dangerously, as though she might tumble from the bed, Itern hurried to her.
“You’ve grown so much…”
As Itern fell into her mother’s embrace, tears poured endlessly from her eyes like pearls.
She didn’t know what words, or even what language, could possibly express what she was feeling. So she said nothing.
Emperor Wintier wrapped his arms around both mother and daughter, drawing them into his embrace as though he never intended to let them part again.
Watching Dora and the other maids sniffle, Zigkart quietly left the Empress’s residence.
As soon as he stepped outside, Lance Tash, who had been standing motionless behind the door like a statue, immediately followed him.
“Young Duke, this is Her Majesty’s palace. You cannot wander around as you please.”
“I know. I wasn’t trying to wander around. I was giving them space. Don’t tell me you couldn’t figure that out, soldier?”
Lance’s stern face twitched into a slight frown before the corners of his lips tightened, as though he were suppressing a smile.
“My name is Lance Tash, Young Duke.”
“I know that too. And you know that I know. I just like calling you ‘soldier.’ It sounds like a commander.”
“Do you want to become a soldier?”
“I did once. When I was very young.”
Lance once again fought hard not to laugh.
The sight of an eight-year-old speaking like an old man was both amusing and oddly adorable.
Truthfully, while guarding—or perhaps monitoring; even Lance was no longer sure which—Zigkart, he had gradually developed a favorable impression of him.
The boy’s maturity was sometimes worrying, but Lance admired how fair, strict, and faithful to his promises he was.
Just yesterday, Zigkart had kept a promise to share snacks with a young page who hauled water.
Lance had assumed the boy would forget, since it had only been a passing remark. Yet the moment the child arrived, Zigkart had handed him a neatly wrapped pie.
For some reason, that scene remained vividly etched in Lance’s memory.
If all the nobles in the world were like Her Highness the Princess and this young duke, life would be much easier for people like us.
He had found himself genuinely thinking that.
“What kind of people are your family?”
The question came unexpectedly.
Since this was the first time Zigkart had brought up such a topic, Lance felt strangely touched. It was like a wary cat cautiously approaching him.
“My mother is a very strong woman. My father passed away when my younger sibling was little. Until she met my stepfather, she raised four children entirely on her own.”
“You have many siblings.”
“There’s one more—the youngest. They’re studying hard at school now. My two older brothers left our hometown and live independently. My older sister returned home after being away for some time and now lives with our parents and youngest sibling.”
“Sounds like a close family, doesn’t it?”
“We get along well.”
After Lance’s answer, Zigkart fell silent.
His gaze had drifted toward the closed door of Empress Meikellen’s chamber.
Lance spoke again.
“The Grand Duke of Landshuter must be an extraordinary man. If it were me, I could never send my young son all the way here alone.”
“That’s not really a compliment.”
Lance’s face immediately reddened at Zigkart’s teasing response.
“If I offended you, please forgive me, Young Duke. I truly meant—”
“I know what you meant. Her Highness personally selected you as her guard, didn’t she?”
“Yes, Young Duke.”
Though his tone remained stiff, Lance’s pride was impossible to hide.
Zigkart studied the honest and straightforward soldier with interest before quietly murmuring,
“To an eight-year-old, everyone else is just a snot-nosed kid. Her Highness certainly has a sharp eye for people.”
It sounded very much as though he was excluding himself from that category.
Time passed.
After Zigkart had slowly paced the same area roughly twenty times, the Empress’s bedroom door finally opened.
A small head peeked through the gap.
“Young Duke.”
Judging by how much she had cried, Itern’s voice was still damp with tears. Her face was bright red, as though she had sprinted at full speed, and her eyes were swollen.
Convinced she looked ridiculous, she instinctively tried to cover her face.
But Zigkart did not laugh.
Instead, he approached Empress Meikellen with perfect composure and elegance.
“It is a great honor to meet Her Majesty, the Empress of Sidernel. Your Majesty, I am Zigkart, son of the Grand Duke of Landshuter.”
His flawless, graceful bow made Emperor Wintier snort.
But Meikellen merely smiled warmly and extended her hand.
“Please raise your head, Young Duke. I heard that you were the one who awakened me from that long sleep. Earlier, there was so much confusion that I failed to properly recognize you. I never imagined you would be so young.”
“Please speak comfortably, Your Majesty. I am the same age as Her Highness the Princess and not someone worthy of such formal treatment.”
“You speak like a fully grown young man. Still, if that makes you more comfortable, I’ll think of you as a son while speaking to you.”
At those words, even amid the joy of reuniting with her mother, Itern felt a chill run down her spine.
A son?
She knew it was merely a figure of speech, but it was still a situation she never wanted to imagine, even in her dreams.
After receiving the Empress’s permission, Zigkart carefully took hold of her wrist.
At that moment, Emperor Wintier, who had been watching with wide eyes, abruptly intervened.
“What are you trying to do? The Empress is still weak and exhausted. Do not act recklessly and startle her.”
