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Chapter 23
His Majesty was still staring at the book, and I had my will taken away… the atmosphere made it hard to speak.
I thought deeply. How on earth was I supposed to ask for forgiveness here? No matter how I thought about it, the only thing that came to mind was something like, “Please kill me… I beg for forgiveness through death.”
I spoke up abruptly.
“No matter how I think about it, I guess it’s right for me to die. This… is really a shroud, then?”
“It’s not a shroud.”
“…It is a shroud, isn’t it? It’s white, after all.”
His Majesty tore his gaze away from the book and looked straight at me. He clenched his teeth tightly, and an unreadable emotion dripped from his violet eyes.
“…It’s not.”
“…Yes.”
I pressed both fists against my knees and answered obediently. Suddenly, he was gritting his teeth so tightly. It seemed like he was angry because things weren’t going his way.
What should I do at a time like this?
Should I just wait quietly?
Or should I at least wipe my throat?
It was then that His Majesty Rubellus, still clenching his teeth, spoke.
“Aira.”
“Yes.”
“The actions you took today—you know what they were, don’t you?”
He started with an obvious statement. I blinked lightly.
“I know.”
“Good.”
He relaxed the tension in his jaw and let out a sigh.
“From now on, I’m going to tell you a story. Listen carefully, and depending on how you respond, I will decide how to deal with your actions.”
“A story?”
Not a bad suggestion.
“All right.”
I blinked and nodded eagerly, showing that I was ready to do anything.
His Majesty looked at me for a moment. He pressed his lips together, took a slow and deep breath, and even opened his eyes lazily… as if trying to calm his own tension.
What kind of story could he be telling?
“It’s a romance.”
“Hmm. I see.”
“Good. May I start now?”
“Yes. By all means.”
His Majesty looked at me, then picked up two dolls from the collection nearby—one a Thanksgiving limited edition and the other a Christmas limited edition.
The Thanksgiving doll had short hair, wore a shirt and pants, and held a basket of eggs. Holding the Thanksgiving doll, he said:
“Let’s say there’s a man. And this one is a woman.”
“Actually, all of Francis’ dolls are female…”
“Just listen.”
“Yes.”
I shut my mouth obediently again. Rubellus waited for me to quiet down, then began moving the dolls with both hands.
“The man really liked the woman. He wanted to treat her as precious and always have her by his side. Fortunately, it seemed the woman liked the man just as much. She followed him as if imprinted by his very wish.”
The Thanksgiving doll looked down at the Christmas doll, while the Christmas doll clasped its hands and looked back up at Thanksgiving.
Rubellus… must have played with dolls a lot in his youth. He moved them skillfully.
“If they had been able to be together, it would have been perfect. But the man had many enemies from a young age. Around him were people willing to wear the mask of beasts just to gain a piece of power. The man realized soon that even he was not safe. No one could protect him. He decided that until he was safe, he couldn’t let anyone know who he valued— not even those he trusted completely.”
His voice was low and slow, yet soft. With elegant, beautiful pronunciation, he moved the Thanksgiving doll again.
“The man pretended to be human while secretly using the beastly people to his advantage. With the discreet help of his allies, he tried to drive the beasts away. But then, something unexpected happened. The woman…”
Rubellus moved the Christmas doll dramatically. The doll raised both hands and stood boldly.
“She approached the man with courage and determination. She was much younger than him, yet strong and never intimidated. The man was pleased that she came to him, but he couldn’t accept her. If he did, the beasts would certainly tear her apart first.”
“….”
The girl seemed pitiful… I rested my chin on both hands and started to get absorbed in the emperor’s doll play.
Even though there was no dialogue, it was easy to become immersed. His Majesty seemed to have a talent for this.
“Fortunately, the woman seemed to be loved by many. If only she was ignored by him, the man thought she would be protected by many others.”
“So he ignored her?”
“He did. But since he cared for her, he tried to do things for her. He secretly placed someone to protect her, bought her dolls or books she liked, sent her gifts she would enjoy, and so on.”
“….”
“But the woman began to tire little by little. She told the man that she had an important event and asked him to come fetch her. The man wanted to do so too. He wanted to finish everything in time, but it didn’t work out. Things went a bit awry. So he missed her event and delayed his own plans for a few years.”
“….”
“Years passed, and it seemed the woman gave up on the man. But he never gave up on her. In fact, he had longed for her for a very long time.”
My heart throbbed suddenly.
Maybe it felt similar to my own situation.
The Christmas doll asking the man to come for her important event reminded me of myself.
The first and last time I had mustered all my courage to ask him to be my partner at the debutante ball… I could see myself in that doll.
It was strange.
At some point, I felt His Majesty’s gaze fixed only on me.
His violet eyes, shining beautifully, looked straight at me. When he pronounced longing, I involuntarily fell into the illusion.
The sweet illusion of the man and woman he spoke of—it was us.
But… I had to pull myself together.
I must not get too absorbed in this story.
I had already experienced a similar unrequited love and even overcame it, and I had to remain in front of the emperor, the very object of that love. I didn’t want him to notice if I got too immersed.
If that happened, he would probably treat me coldly again.
Remember, Aira. His Majesty is only being kind and smiling at you because you said you would give him up. You must stay true to your duties.
I pressed my lips into a straight line, continuing to think, when His Majesty finished moving the dolls and said, “That’s the end.”
Ah! I hadn’t caught what he would say next. I quickly pulled myself together and clapped two or three polite times, pretending to have followed attentively.
Suddenly, Rubellus’ expression seemed to darken.
“What do you think of the story, Aira?”
What should I say? Should I admit that I almost cried because it felt like my story? No, that would be inappropriate. I should remain composed.
What did the ladies, my mother, or Bianca say when admiring artwork? I should borrow their words.
“I don’t think it’s a commercial work. It seems to borrow the form of a classical, traditional romance.”
“…What?”
Was that wrong? A furrow appeared on his brow again. Had I said something wrong? I had just picked words hastily…
Then, Rubellus frowned and waved his hand.
“No, no. That’s not it, Aira. I just want you to speak honestly. About the story. I feel like you’d understand it very well, and I’m curious how you feel.”
How I feel? He thinks I’d understand it? Why? It’s not like he’s talking about a crush he had.
I furrowed my brow, then suddenly noticed the book he had glared at so fiercely earlier. My eyes widened. I realized.
Ah.
Ah, this must be it! He knows I like romance and popular novels, so he’s asking for my advice in this regard. That’s it!
“All right… I’ll be honest.”
I licked my lips and carefully spoke to him.
“Go ahead. Speak.”
Rubellus prompted me, slowly brushing back his beautiful golden hair.
A wonderful scent emanated from him. Wow, it was His Majesty’s original fragrance. I held my breath, just like before, and quickly organized my words.
“Honestly, I think… the male character is a bit ambiguous.”
“…Huh?”
The emperor, who had been looking at me intently with his finger on his chin, seemed to waver for a moment.
