“Your Majesty, now that Cain isn’t here, can you tell me your Majesty’s true intentions?”
After Cain and Iris left the Hall of the Sun, only the two adults were left.
Duke Estel unknowingly sighed at the Emperor, and spat out those words.
“Intentions? You say something quite funny, Franz. Do you want to say that I deceived you?”
“Isn’t Your Majesty well aware that I’m not saying that in that sense?”
When the Emperor replied with a smirk on his face, Duke Estel clicked his tongue as he looked at the vacant seat of Cain, who was now accompanying the Princess.
“Why did you allow us to cancel the engagement? Wasn’t the engagement between Cain and Count Cernard’s daughter part of His Majesty’s own plan? To be more precise, Count Cernard’s…”
“Stop, there is no need to talk about that, Duke Estel. This place is the royal palace, but at the same time, it’s not a place that is completely safe. If you talk so loudly, the possibility that the sound will leak out is not zero.”
At the Emperor’s advice, Duke Estel finally kept his mouth shut.
It was as the Emperor said, Cain’s engagement was not a simple matter, but a kind of ‘matter’ with many circumstances intertwined together, so it was not something to get excited about and talked aloud without care.
More than anything, Duke Estel had to admit that he had indeed gotten a bit overexcited.
“It’s true. Actually, I didn’t intend to allow the engagement between the Duke of Estel and Sarah Cernard to be broken. I thought I would be able to catch their tail, but losing Sarah Cernard at this point is actually a great pity.”
“…then why did you allow the engagement to be broken off? Of course, as the father of that child, I support the decision of breaking off the engagement, but as one of the dukes of the Empire, I must admit it is not a wise policy. At least, if we’re going to break up the engagement, I thought it would be proper to first wait for some time and closely understand their motives.”
“I agree with you. However, a different circumstance have risen as well. That is, a circumstance that I can’t just shake off and refuse.”
“…circumstance, what are you talking about it?”
At the Emperor’s words, Duke Estel showed a rather bewildered expression.
What kind of circumstance could make the person who held all the power of the Empire in his hand and could achieve whatever he wanted, helpless?
“I’m sorry, but it is something that I can’t really reveal to anyone. If I could give you one hint, I’d say it’s a similar situation to why you’re currently here. So, I hope you’ll forgive me. It’s not a matter I can take lightly.”
Saying that, the Emperor trembled as if he were getting goosebumps.
And through the Emperor’s words and actions, the Duke of Estel was able to make a guess, and soon realized that there could only be one ‘circumstance’ that could cause the Emperor to act that way.
‘…but that would be utterly absurd!’
As far as the duke knew, the two had never met face-to-face since they were born until now, and today’s meeting must have been the first time they met.
His son, Cain von Estel, was a person who was never keen to leave the territory, so there was no way he would have met her without his knowledge.
“…..”
Duke Estel stared blankly at the empty seat next to him without realizing it, and then, he looked at the empty seat to the Emperor’s right.
“…how can that be? It doesn’t make any sense at all!”
“That’s what I want to ask him as well. I want to make him sit and interrogate him in detail. What kind of trick did he pull to make that child make such a request? I am very intrigued.”
The Emperor, who clicked his tongue, immediately stared at the empty seat next to Duke Estel with a scary look.
“In a way, you can say that he is also quite remarkable. He somehow managed to make connection with a member of the imperial family in a way that even I cannot understand, and he even made her make such a request. Since you are also the father of a daughter, you should now understand…”
The Emperor turned to look at Duke Estel.
“I am also the father of a daughter. Therefore, I gave permission to break off the engagement between the Heir to Estel and Sarah Cernard. Because there is no father in the world who wants to be hated by his daughter.”
****
“Your Highness, I have brought you the refreshments. Please eat before it gets cold.”
“…put it there and leave, all of you. I have to think about something in silence.”
After Iris issued an order to all the maids in the room, she stood alone by the window and stared blankly outside.
Outside the window, the sun had already set, making it dark all around. The night sky was filled with countless stars. It was a brilliant sight.
Iris blankly stared at the stars in the sky, but her mind was trying to recall a certain night in the past that had already disappeared. Similar to now, the night sky was filled with stars as well. But at that time, she was not alone.
[Cain.]
[…Princess.]
“…ahh.”
The stars she had gazed at with him that night were truly beautiful. It was a truly beautiful sight.
And that sight became a memory that lived forever in her heart.
Then, she realized…how wonderful it was to look at beautiful things and appreciate them as beautiful. What a joy it was to be able to share that appreciation of beauty with someone else. What a precious experience it was to look at something beautiful and have the same impression.
‘Cain.’
Iris quietly muttered the name. It was a name that was nothing special. However, for some reason, it was also a name that was all too familiar to her.
She felt as if she had called that name thousands or tens of thousands of times.
‘Cain von Estel.’
However, the current reality was different.
She and that man were nothing more than strangers. She and that man had no relationship whatsoever.
Iris had heard that he had never left the Duchy of Estel since he was born. So, it was clear that she and he had never met before. Everything must have been just a dream.
‘Cain.’
Yes. It must have been.
Cain von Estel and Iris el Devhart had no relationship whatsoever.
They were merely strangers. There was no point of contact between them.
However…
“I…don’t like it.”
But to Iris, that fact was not important. The only thing that mattered to her at the moment was the fact that she felt like she knew him. That one fact alone was the thought filling her heart.
Therefore, she couldn’t stay still.
She had a feeling that if she acted like a coward and did nothing, she would regret it someday.
After regretting and regretting and regretting, there was no doubt that there would be even more regrets. Her intuition as a woman whispered in her ear that it was bound to happen.
“……”
It took a long time to think, but the decision was made in seconds.
Finally, having made up her mind soon, Iris quietly opened her mouth.
“Kris.”
As Iris silently called the name, a figure appeared from the corner of her room.
It was her escort, Kris.
“Yes, Princess.”
As Kris stood in front of her and bowed his head, Iris spoke quietly to him.
“There is someone I want you to watch over instead of me tomorrow. Observe his every move and report to me.”
“…who is the target?”
Although it was a rather sudden order, Kris did not have any doubts and only asked the princess who the target was. To him, the princess’s order was close to something absolute.
“Cain von Estel.”
Iris continued talking with a slight smile on her lips as if the act of uttering that name was something enjoyable.
“He’s the person you might serve in the future, so be careful about how you call that name in the future.”
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the author’s really good at writing scenes where memories from bygone timelines affect characters lol that’s what happened in the last novel too