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Chapter 81
Ivi pressed her forehead to the ground and thought,
“Good thing it’s soft.”
Fortunately, beneath her was a carpet much softer than the one in the academy.
So even though she slammed her forehead down with a thud, it didn’t hurt much.
But the problem wasn’t her forehead.
“I-Is this the right way to greet?”
At the academy, they taught refined etiquette, like the kind used in the imperial palace. The problem was, that was only from the second semester.
Besides, Ivi had never really thought she’d need to use it, so she hadn’t paid much attention.
Irene had once demonstrated the proper greeting, but Ivi had only thought it looked extremely complicated.
“If I had known, I should’ve learned it in advance.”
She tried to recall the greetings that others had done for the professors and imitate them, but her stiff body wouldn’t cooperate.
Perhaps it was also because she was still flustered.
After pressing her forehead to the ground one more time, Ivi cautiously lifted her head.
The book said she could only look at the emperor’s face after receiving permission, and now she worried whether her greeting was proper.
Seeing Cloys’ stern expression as she lifted her head, she felt like crying.
“I must have done the greeting wrong!”
What should she do? There was no one here to teach her.
As Ivi panicked, Cloys bent down. He reached out, lightly lifted her, and met her gaze.
“Who told you to greet like that?”
“Hik!”
Startled by his low voice, Ivi let out a strange sound without realizing it. Somehow, it felt like the emperor was angry.
“I-I haven’t learned it yet, so I couldn’t greet properly…”
When Ivi trembled in fear, Cloys sighed and softened his expression.
“I misspoke. I just meant that since you’re not feeling well, you don’t need to bother with such formal greetings.”
He patted the startled Ivi and sat her at the edge of the bed.
“You must still be in pain. Would you rather lie down?”
Although the palace doctor had said there were no major problems aside from swelling and bruises, to Cloys, Ivi looked like the most hurt child in the world.
That was because nearly half of her face was covered with gauze applied by the doctor.
The doctor had tried to make it small, but since her face was still small, there was no avoiding it.
“I’m really okay! I’m all healed! It doesn’t hurt at all… No, it really doesn’t hurt!”
Ivi was confused about what tone she should use to respond to Cloys.
What if she said the wrong thing?
In the end, she kept her mouth shut.
Even now, she could hardly believe the situation.
“The professor is the emperor?”
There were many odd things.
Sitting alone in front of the tomb of the empress and princess.
Looking exactly like the portrait in the book.
A regular professor who could even ask Seraphina, the dean, to write letters.
Ivi swallowed dryly and mustered courage to ask him a question.
“Professor… I mean, Your Majesty… you’re really, really the emperor?”
Saying it, she realized it sounded strange. Asking if the emperor is the emperor.
But Ivi was so tense that she couldn’t even notice the problem with her question.
“Pft.”
Cloys chuckled softly.
“Yes. I am indeed Cloys Arelkian Harkia, the current emperor of Harkia.”
“……”
Ivi was once again speechless.
“Now… what should I do?”
She recalled how she had treated Cloys so far.
She never acted recklessly because she liked the professor. But how had she behaved toward people like Arcel, Ruska, or even the dean, who all deserved utmost respect?
She had clung to his clothes, begged to be taken to festivals, and even fallen asleep in his arms on the way back to the academy.
Stories from the book flickered through Ivi’s mind.
In those stories, even a single wrong word to the emperor would get one’s head cut off immediately.
“He probably won’t do that…”
Ivi stared at Cloys blankly.
“……”
“……”
A long silence passed between them.
Cloys spoke first.
“You’re really not in pain?”
“I’m fine! I’m used to this!”
Her response nearly made his expression stiffen again. He held back, fearing she would get frightened.
“Used to it.”
She had only praised the orphanage, so it wasn’t that she was used to hardship there.
“I want to know how and where she lived before the orphanage.”
But today wasn’t the time to ask that. First, they had to finish dealing with what happened at the academy.
“Ivi.”
“Yes!”
“You don’t have to be so stiff.”
“But… in front of Your Majesty…”
Hearing herself say “Your Majesty,” Cloys felt a twinge of sadness.
Not long ago, she had run to him calling him “Professor,” hugging him recklessly. Now, she acted reserved and distant.
At that moment, Cloys realized why he had kept his identity hidden. It wasn’t only about protecting Ivi’s future, but also so that the closeness they shared would remain intact.
So that if they met again, she could approach him freely without hesitation.
Swallowing his disappointment, Cloys asked her,
“Ivi, can I ask you something I’m curious about?”
“Yes!”
Ivi nodded enthusiastically at his question.
“Why didn’t you put new items in the box? If you’d asked the academy’s supply room, they would’ve given you as many pencils and notebooks as you wanted.”
If the items were for studying, plenty could be provided. So if she intended to send gifts to her friends at the orphanage, she could have requested more new items. Why did she pick up things that others had thrown away?
Cloys was curious about the reason.
Ivi hesitated, then spoke carefully.
“Uh… it’s… the rules. At the academy, you’re not supposed to use the items for personal gain or take them outside… So I didn’t think it would be right to ask for more things to give to the orphanage friends.”
She lowered her head again after struggling to answer.
She was correct. There must have been rules to prevent reckless consumption of materials.
But no one really paid attention. The academy was a small institution supported by the royal family for a very few gifted children.
They didn’t limit consumables like notebooks or pencils, and no one would complain even if they were used freely.
Besides, the box Ivi prepared was about the size of an adult’s head at most. She could have filled it at once, yet she lowered her pride and picked up discarded items.
All to follow the academy’s rules.
Cloys knew how difficult that was.
To follow a rule that no one notices or cares about, while humbling oneself, was something even adults rarely did.
Yet Ivi understood the rule created for everyone and worked to follow it.
At that moment, Cloys thought of the two children he considered as heirs.
How would Arcel and Ruska have acted in this situation? They would have sought a smooth solution too. But would they have stubbornly followed the rules to the end, like Ivi? Cloys couldn’t be sure.
Ivi’s attitude was one of the qualities he most desired in a successor.
“It’s a pity.”
If Ivi were the child of a noble family, he would have included her as a candidate for his successor without hesitation.
“Professor… I mean, Your Majesty.”
Hearing her call him “Your Majesty” again, he frowned.
It was a title he heard from others all the time, but hearing it from Ivi felt different.
So he said without thinking,
“Just keep calling me Professor.”
“Pardon?”
“I’ll still check your foreign language until the end of this semester, so until then, I’d like you to call me Professor, like before. If that’s too difficult…”
Cloys hesitated for a moment, then said,
“How about calling me by my name instead?”
