The aide, who saw him, opened his mouth in surprise. “G-greetings to Your Royal Highness.”
“Is Father inside?”
“Ah, yes. Please wait…” He tried to hide his embarrassment and shouted at the office door. “Your Majesty! His Royal Highness is coming!”
“Who?”
“His Royal Highness…”
“The prince is right in front of me, so who are you talking about?”
It seemed that Lawrence was inside. Frinel opened the door with a slight frown. “Long time no see, Father.”
“…Frinel?”
“…Older Brother.”
Two eyes that resemble each other looked at him at the same time. Frinel’s blue eyes turned to the tea set on the table. It wasn’t even funny. He couldn’t believe the two men were sitting and having a refreshment and tea this evening.
He wondered if his father had turned old. Frinel sneered at it. “Did you enjoy tea time between father and son?”
“…Older Brother should sit—”
“This is disappointing. You haven’t even looked for your eldest son for five years.” Frinel cut off Lawrence and sat down on the sofa.
The emperor wriggled his eyebrows and murmured lowly. “…It’s you who didn’t come to me, Frinel.”
“Yes, that’s why. Why would I bother to visit Father, who watched indifferently even though he knew every time the empress treated me like that?”
“…Frinel!” Enraged, he slammed his fist on the table.
However, Frinel continued without blinking an eye. “Well, I have no intention of reciting the past. Please lend me the key to the library. Your oldest son personally came in person, Father.”
“Library key?”
“The library dedicated to the emperor.”
“…Why there?” The emperor was about to ask his reason.
“Father.”
Frinel’s blue eyes flashed coldly.
“Do you have any regrets or guilt towards me?”
His annoyance welled up. Because of his father’s sins, he felt sorry for Lobelia. But that person was drinking tea leisurely like this. How could he not be angry?
“…What?”
“If Father is not a monster, would it be necessary to question me with such a request?”
To that blatant sarcasm, the emperor made no reply. He rolled his eyes and then stood up from his seat. Then he handed the golden key encrusted with large sapphires to Frinel.
“Fri—”
“Thank you, Father.”
The emperor was about to say something, but Frinel just bowed his head slightly and walked out of the room. As soon as he closed the door, Frinel’s face turned pale. He felt suffocated. The cold eyes staring at him felt like the same as Patricia, who abused him. No, it might be worse than that.
Even though his father witnessed his son, whose blood was mixed with his beloved woman, suffer from the stepmother, he turned a blind eye… A heartless person.
Frinel barely swallowed his dry saliva and moved to the emperor’s library.
Lobelia was truly amazing. She made him, who was suffering from trauma, move like this. When he remembered her, his heavy heart gradually calmed down.
Frinel exhaled deeply and opened the library door with the key. It smelled of dust, as if no one had entered for a long time. In that quiet atmosphere, he moved slowly. Then he immediately began looking for information about the Shinsu clan.
Because of the person he didn’t want to call as father, the Shinsu clan didn’t remain in this world. Still, fortunately, all of their information remained. In fact, there was no way the emperor would throw away this information.
Frinel’s eyes lengthened sideways.
After he dealt with them with his own hands, the imperial family completely lost its power. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the duke and empress controlled the current empire. Duke Gracie was keeping them in check, but if it weren’t for him, the bloodline of this empire would have changed.
“Well, here it is.”
While searching for books about the Shinsu clan for a long time, the document studying their powers came into his view. Frinel started to read the document, pointing his finger at it. And,
“The magical power of the Shinsu clan is so powerful that there is no limit to its power, but…”
Finally, he was able to find the truth of the word ‘unlimited,’ which Lobelia said.
“It’s based on vitality…!”
He just read the contents of the book out loud, but his heart skipped a beat.
⚜ ⚜ ⚜
Duke Gracie, who was licking his lips as if he had something to say, uttered the words with difficulty. “I don’t think I can sleep… Would you like to go for a walk together?”
“Ah, yes, Grandfather.”
Did he just mumble because he wanted to say that? I was puzzled but nodded my head lightly.
Together we went out to the garden. Yellow fireflies swarm over the beautifully blooming roses.
Duke Gracie spoke in a low voice, capturing the beautiful scene in his eyes. “I feel like…” His gaze slowly turned to me. “It was fate that I found you.”
“Fate…”
“If I hadn’t saved you, Bella might not be in this world by now.” Duke Gracie smiled sadly.
Looking at him, I also answered in a low voice. “…Recently, I’ve been thinking about whether there really is such a thing as fate.”
The emperor’s fault might have been the greatest, but the small trigger that led to the death of my clan was, of course, the lies of Kriella and Patricia. Had it not been for them, my mother might still be alive. I didn’t know their name or face, but so did my father.
If the Shinsu clan hadn’t been annihilated, and if my mother hadn’t run away as if being kicked out, if I had only grown up in a normal family, I wouldn’t have met a scumbag like Endimion in the first place.
My complexion slowly hardened.
“What’s the matter?”
“…I-it’s nothing.” I, who had been immersed in my thoughts, shook my head as I came to my senses.
Duke Gracie smiled and opened his mouth. “If you don’t walk to talk, don’t do it. It’s natural for a grandfather to lose against his granddaughter.”
“…But you’re not my real grandfather.”
“Well, it’s not something to be sure of, Dear.” It was a friendly voice as if calling Bella.
I asked with my eyes full of questions. “What do you mean by that?”
“Bella’s father. I think I’ve mentioned it slightly before.”
It was as if he was talking about the lie he had told to Frinel. The fake story that his son had a daughter before even getting married.
“Before he even had Bella, even before he got married… He had a woman whom he loved very much.”
It seemed that the story wasn’t all lies. My eyes twinkled as I listened to him.
“The child….”
Just as Duke Gracie was about to speak further, someone hurriedly rushed from afar.
“Princess, His Royal Highness is looking for you.”
“His Royal Highness?”
Is there something very urgent? No matter how distant cousins they were, it was too late to visit anyone.
Duke Gracie looked puzzled but said to the butler, “Bring him to the garden.”
Then he smiled awkwardly as he watched the butler disappear. “I see you have urgent business to do. I guess I’ll have to leave.”
“…Next time,”
As he tried to return, I gently grabbed him.
“Can you continue?”
“Hmm?”
“Story… about your son.”
“……yes. I’ll tell you about it next time.” Duke Gracie raised his lips in satisfaction. Then, slowly, he disappeared from my sight.
I felt strange. It was just a stranger’s story, but my heart had been filled with emotion for some reason.
“Lady Lobelia!”
Just in time, I could see Frinel running from afar.
What’s so urgent? Even though it had been two weeks since I saw him, my lips drew a smile without realizing it.
“You’re going to fall down.”
Although Lobelia was not aware of it yet, her eyes were filled with warmth.
“I know everything.”
“What?”
“That your magic is not unlimited.”
“It’s unlimited.”
“Yes. That’s right. As long as you live.”
However, the moment I heard the words slipping through Frinel’s lip, my eyes became cold again.
“Magic, don’t use it.”
“…Royal Prince.”
“If you use it like that, you might die, Lady Lobelia. Now that you know…”
“Who should I listen to Your Royal Highness?”
“No way, did you know…? You know that…”
“Is there any obligation for me to report in detail about my power? I’m not your servant.”
“Lady Lobelia!”
He gently grabbed my shoulder.
“Thinking about you’re going to die…”
Then, he expressed his true feelings with a painful expression.
“Made my heart feel like it will break. It’s getting on my nerves.”
Did it end up here? I hoped he wouldn’t pay more attention to me. I just wanted our relationship to remain as a light relationship. I didn’t like a deep relationship because I didn’t want to be hurt anymore.
Ironically, I didn’t bother to push away Frinel’s approach. Because I didn’t hate it. It was all my fault.
At Frinel’s confession, my eyelashes trembled.
