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Chapter 09 …
It seemed the Emperor had given prior instructions, as the food began to be served right on time.
Kanis had already heard from Jehel that there would be dinner.
After waiting appropriately for the Emperor to pick up his utensils, Kanis reached for his fork—only for the Emperor to click his tongue as if he had been waiting for that moment.
“You said he was six years old, didn’t you? Why is he so small?”
The chief attendant beside him answered quietly.
“Children grow at different rates, but Lord Kanna is not particularly small, Your Majesty.”
“Hmph. No need for excuses. When I was young, no one was like that. How can he grow strong like that? With blood like his, there might be something wrong.”
Kanis glanced subtly at Jehel.
Jehel avoided his eyes.
Kanis sighed inwardly.
Why is that old man in such a twisted mood again?
The meal, which began in a tense atmosphere, showed no sign of improving as time passed.
The Emperor kept coughing intermittently while eating.
It seemed true that his health had worsened recently.
He began complaining unasked that he might die soon, yet could not die in peace.
Everything in the world, he said, was useless and disappointing.
His only remaining daughter was shut away in some room doing who-knows-what, scheming with something ominous.
His only grandchild—who he thought would straighten up once placed as Crown Prince—was only getting worse.
The Emperor spoke only of what he wanted. Kanis barely listened.
As the meal neared its end, the Emperor suddenly spoke to the distracted Kanis.
“Why are you not eating more?”
“I’ve finished.”
Only after seeing Jehel’s facial muscles twitch strangely did Kanis realize he had forgotten to add “yo.”
“Will that be enough? Do you even intend to grow?”
“I’m full.”
“You’re full on that? Did the Magic Tower Master starve you?”
“He didn’t.”
“……”
“Yo.”
The Emperor let out a bitter sigh.
“There is not a single likable thing about you! Well, I suppose the Magic Tower Master never taught you manners either.”
It was clear from the start—he had no intention of seeing anything in a favorable light.
Bringing a six-year-old child here and lecturing him about table manners…
“Do you even know what your expression looks like right now?”
The Emperor twisted his lips into a mocking smile.
“You meet your family and don’t even look happy. Tsk. When you meet your grandfather for the first time, you don’t even say you missed him?”
Even when he was the Magic Tower Master, Kanis had thought the same—this old man was the irritating type.
He had even tried to add “yo” properly. Though he had occasionally forgotten. Several times.
Kanis leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
Since arriving at the Imperial Palace, his expression had been at its lowest.
Jehel, watching him, grew anxious.
“Where is your answer? Do you have no ears, no mouth? Why aren’t you answering!”
The Emperor’s thin patience finally snapped.
“I can’t believe how unfriendly you are! I’ve already been briefed on everything happening at the Crown Prince’s Palace!”
Kanis wasn’t surprised. He had expected as much.
“He feels like a child in shadow! No words, no expression variety. You haven’t cried even once since arriving at the palace, have you? Not even when meeting strangers! Look at this indifferent behavior! Isn’t this proof you’re used to being treated like this?”
The Emperor pointed at Kanis.
“Do you miss your mother?”
Kanis’s expression didn’t change, but Jehel saw his right hand—crossed over his arm—twitch slightly.
“While locked in the Magic Tower, did you even see your mother often? Did she talk to you? Eat with you?”
“……”
“A normal child wouldn’t avoid people who are kind to them. Do you understand?”
The Emperor’s anger gradually cooled, but his face turned even colder and more oppressive.
“Even if your mother were right beside you now, would you cry? I know these types well. Children who don’t remember being held when they cried.”
At that moment—
Jehel pushed past the servants and knelt before the Emperor.
“I apologize, Your Majesty. Please stop.”
The Emperor glanced sideways at Jehel, then gestured toward Kanis without hesitation.
“That is a discarded child.”
Jehel bit his lip tightly.
“If my words are offensive and I am to be punished, I will accept it. But Your Majesty, please withdraw those words.”
The Emperor’s cold gaze fell on Jehel.
“Kanna is a warm, upright, and kind person. Though awkward, he is gentle. He is the Magic Tower Master’s child, and His Highness Michael’s child. I, as his closest aide, am witness.”
Jehel lifted his head firmly.
“Above all, no child deserves to hear such words.”
“……”
“So please show him respect.”
The Emperor neither agreed nor objected.
“Even if he is my blood, what changes? His father didn’t even know of his existence at that age, and his mother clearly left him alone in the Magic Tower.”
“……”
“That is what you call a discarded child. What else is there? Such children do not grow properly. Even if they survive, darkness eats away at them. They easily become distorted.”
Jehel stood firm, unable to accept it, and Kanis called out to him.
“Stand up.”
“Should I convince you instead?”
The Emperor turned toward Kanis mockingly.
“Then tell me—what is the name of the person who knelt for you?”
“……”
A suffocating silence filled the room.
Kanis could not answer.
“They don’t know how to care for others. Because no one cared for them.”
The Emperor gave a short laugh.
“I could take in a discarded child in my old age, but I cannot allow that to become the heir of my country.”
He rose from his seat and walked past Jehel, leaving the room.
Kanis remained in that ash-like silence for a moment, then loosened his arms and let out a faint laugh.
Then he noticed the handprint on his left arm.
Jehel, eyes red, approached and crouched beside him.
“Lord Kanna.”
The Emperor’s words were rude in every sense—but not entirely wrong.
Kanis was not a normal six-year-old.
“I’m fine.”
He was simply surprised.
That he had been seen through so easily.
Was he still unable to escape that day?
Even after three hundred years.
“Sorry… I couldn’t remember your name.”
Jehel sniffled.
“No, I think I never properly introduced myself. I’m sorry, Kanna.”
“Why are you crying?”
Jehel didn’t seem to intend to explain. He simply wiped his tears and looked at Kanis seriously.
“Nice to meet you, Kanna. I’m Jehel Evham. Please take care of me.”
Kanis looked down silently at Jehel.
A woman with red hair who always had a bright impression—now with a red nose and drooping eyes.
“I am…”
Kanis frowned, closed his lips, then finally let out a sighing laugh as if defeated.
“I am… Kanis Riventi. Probably six years old.”
“Probably?”
Kanis smiled faintly and quietly looked at Jehel.
Jehel found that gaze familiar.
“I’ll remember it this time.”
Kanis jumped down from the chair and looked toward the door.
“Where did the Emperor go?”
“Ah… at this time, he might be on his evening walk. I’ll go ask—”
Kanis walked into the corridor.
Then he leaned out of the window and looked outside.
He saw the Emperor passing below.
Kanis swung open the window, stepped onto the frame, and jumped out.
Jehel, rushing after him, screamed from behind.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
The first person to notice Kanis was the chief attendant.
He saw Kanis leap from the third-floor window and froze in shock, unable to even make a sound. That drew the Emperor’s attention.
Everyone looked up—and their faces turned pale.
Kanis, falling, grabbed the second-floor railing like a flying squirrel. Only then did a few people scream.
Hanging from the railing, he pushed off the outer wall and smoothly launched himself onto a tree.
Then he disappeared into the dense leaves.
Everyone stared at the tree.
A suffocating silence lasted several seconds.
Leaves rustled and fell—and Kanis landed on the ground.
He brushed off his shoulders and knees casually and stood upright.
After a long moment, the Emperor let out a strained groan and staggered.
He nearly collapsed backward, but servants and soldiers rushed to support him.
Then—
Footsteps echoed, light and unhurried, approaching the Emperor.
A small shadow tilted toward the Emperor’s chest.
