The house had changed, and along with it, the standard of living had also shifted significantly, but there was one thing that remained absolutely constant.
It was, of course, the sleep schedule.
Ern’s precisely maintained sleep schedule was still unchanged.
“Little One. It’s time to wake up.”
“……Hmm……”
About four days have passed since Eperna entered the imperial princess’ palace.
All she has done so far is look around the vast imperial castle and receive many lessons from Bergamot.
Other than that, there was nothing that could be called a problem.
Epherna opened her drowsy eyes and got up.
It was Ern’s role as the Personal Guard to wake her, change her clothes, and feed her breakfast.
“Does the Personal Guard usually do things like this?”
“This is what the Personal Guard is for.”
“What about Merien?”
“Chamberlain Merien is preparing.”
“Preparing for what?”
“Today is the day to meet His Majesty. She’s getting your clothes ready.”
“Oh, right….”
It had been four days since she entered the palace.
Finally, she had received permission from the Second Prince to meet the Emperor.
One might wonder why the standards for meeting a father were so strict, but it was necessary.
The current Emperor’s condition was the nation’s most confidential and critical matter.
Ern had been informed in advance by the Second Prince.
The Emperor, like the Second Prince, was in a terminal state, but in a vegetative state with an uncertain time when he was awake.
*****
The reason the Second Prince was terminally ill was due to the Blizzard of Winter and curse that the First Prince had cast upon him before his death.
However, the Emperor’s terminal illness resulted from a combination of an old age disease and an unfortunate accident.
The current state of the Emperor was still unknown to anyone.
The Second Prince had suppressed any rumors.
He had certainly made the right decision.
Looking through all the history of the Grandeum Imperial Family, there was no time when the imperial authority pierced the heavens like in the present era.
Thanks to that, Duke Tesran, who had been eyeing the opportunity to swallow the empire, had been unable to overstep the final line due to the Emperor’s presence, as well as other noble factions dissatisfied with the current imperial family.
The living legend capable of influencing the empire simply by existing.
That was how the current Emperor was described.
He lay alone in a vast bedroom, immobile and unable to eat.
“…”
Epherna looked at the Emperor with a blank expression.
Her face showed no particular emotion.
Just a fitting sense of novelty, thinking, ‘So this is my father.’
Ern felt a complicated emotion seeing that face.
It was natural for Epherna to have that expression.
She had been kidnapped shortly after birth and had no memory of her father’s face.
To her, the Emperor was nothing more than a stranger.
Ern felt a bit sorry for Epherna’s situation, which was unavoidable.
Epherna suddenly spoke.
“I don’t know my father. I don’t know my mother either.”
“…”
“But I’ve wondered what it would have been like if they were there.”
It’s not that she hasn’t imagined something like that.
What would it be like if she too had a father and a mother?
What if she had lived with them since birth, receiving their love?
What kind of person would she have grown into?
She had imagined this scenario hundreds of times in her memory.
But they were the ones who failed to prevent Epherna from living a dreadful life, and so she couldn’t have positive feelings about them.
“I didn’t want to meet. Not like this.”
She didn’t want to meet them.
She hoped they wouldn’t interfere with her life.
As time passed, such thoughts grew stronger.
It had reached its peak when she started living with Ern.
Yet, as fate would have it, the meeting between parent and child was eventually realized.
“So, just seeing your face, I feel like I’ve done all I needed to.”
Ern silently nodded.
He extended his hand as if to escort her, and holding Ern’s hand, Epherna left the Emperor’s Chambers without saying a word.
*****
As they left the palace, the Second Prince Elius was waiting to greet Epherna.
“Did you see Father’s face? I hope you didn’t come out just to say that you did.”
“I saw him. Don’t play around.”
Epherna asked irritably.
“Do you have something to say? It wouldn’t make sense for the busy elder brother to come out personally if there weren’t something important.”
“Well, there is. It’s quite important.”
The Second Prince took out something from his pocket that looked like a letter and showed it to her.
Although it wasn’t close, Epherna’s sharp vision allowed her to see that it was an invitation to a party addressed to some noble.
“I’m planning to officially announce your presence now that some time has passed.”
“…How?”
“How? As shown, by holding a party. Just two days ago, we received confirmation that the Eastern Principality’s guerrillas were 99% wiped out. It’s a chance to celebrate the victory and announce the First Princess’s existence. It’s a win-win, don’t you think?”
The timing couldn’t have been better.
The timing of Epherna’s announcement to the public and the complete annihilation of the Eastern Principality’s guerrillas was so perfectly aligned it was almost uncanny.
Elius intended to use this to craft a story.
“The First Princess of the Empire. A victim of malicious clinical experiments after being held captive by the Eastern Principality for ten years, yet she survived with an indomitable spirit and made a great contribution to exterminating the guerrillas. I plan to make up a story like this. It’s perfect, given how many citizens are curious about your past, don’t you think?”
“But weren’t you reluctant to reveal the fact that I was kidnapped? You said it could undermine the authority of the royal family if handled poorly.”
“That’s only if it’s done poorly. Given that you’ve become a hero after overcoming hardships, that point becomes a minor blemish.”
“And it’s too exaggerated…”
“Think about it. It’s not exactly a lie. It’s just adding a few spoonfuls of falsehood to the drink of truth.”
When you think about it.
It is true that Epherna was kidnapped by the Eastern Principality.
The claim that she was subjected to malicious clinical experiments for ten years is only partially true.
That she made a significant contribution to exterminating the guerrillas is a blatant lie.
“Isn’t the credit of your Personal Guard essentially your credit as well? Lord Astra made a significant contribution, so it’s not completely false.”
Epherna turned to look at Ern.
“Did you make a contribution, Mister?”
“…I don’t know.”
Ern replied, puzzled.
It’s true that during the war, he captured and killed numerous Eastern Principality soldiers, including their Duke.
However, he had almost no involvement in dealing with the guerrillas.
He had been busy assassinating nobles opposing the Second Prince at that time.
Elius looked at him with a questioning expression.
“Don’t you remember dealing directly with the Replican and their remnants who tried to assassinate me?”
“Ah.”
Recalling that, Ern responded.
“Isn’t that too small to be called a significant contribution?”
“You are still humble. Consider this: it was an assassination attempt involving absolute technique magic. If he had breached the defenses, I would have died.”
“…”
Ern thought about it.
It didn’t make sense.
If he alone could have breached the defenses and reached the palace, the Second Prince would have already been dead.
The Second Prince should know that…
Ah.
Ern realized.
‘This b*stard?’
The Second Prince wasn’t planning to stick to a normal narrative from the start.
He was trying to exaggerate the rumors and enhance Epherna’s reputation as much as possible.
He had always surpassed even the Emperor in such matters, and now it seemed he was aiming to make it flourish even more.
The Second Prince said one last thing to Epherna.
“Anyway, I’ll take my leave now. You must be busy too.”
“Busy? It’s all just playing, eating, and studying.”
“Even if you’re not busy now, you will be soon. You’ll need to find a partner for the first dance and practice your dancing.”
“Wait, what?”
Elius didn’t repeat himself and spun around abruptly.
As if to say “figure it out on your own”, he waved his hand and left to tend to his own business.
Epherna looked at his back and spoke up.
“What was that?”
Ern couldn’t answer.
He had never heard of it before.
*****
When thinking about a party, one naturally thinks of dancing.
When thinking about dancing, one thinks of a partner.
For social parties, considerable effort is usually put into perfectly preparing both aspects.
Especially when the given time is only about three days, even those experienced in social circles find it urgent.
Aside from time spent choosing a dress or preparing gifts, there is always a need for more time to practice dancing.
Therefore, for Epherna, who was dancing for the first time, the upcoming party felt extremely urgent.
The Princess’s Palace.
Outdoor Terrace.
“Alright. Slowly, follow the rhythm.”
Ern, holding Epherna’s hand, moved slowly.
Chamberlain Merien played the piano next to them, and Ern waited for the beat with a relaxed mind.
One.
Two.
Three…
“You were a beat too early.”
Ern said calmly.
Epherna, realizing her mistake, returned to her position.
Ern, letting go of her hand, looked at her straight on.
“Little One. Are you cold?”
Ern asked, touching Epherna’s face.
He wondered if her poor performance from the start was due to not feeling well today, despite her general clumsiness.
But when he touched her forehead, she didn’t seem to have a fever.
“I’m fine.”
Moreover, since she insisted she was fine, it seemed this was just her skill level.
“…It’s not easy.”
Ern confessed the difficulty of teaching her to dance.
He knew Epherna was clumsy, but he hadn’t expected her to struggle with even the simplest song.
At this rate, it might take three days just to move on to the next song, and she wouldn’t only be dancing one song at the party.
“Phew…”
Epherna took a deep breath.
Slapping her cheeks to wake herself up, she focused again and resumed practicing.
Merien began playing the piano.
Unlike before, Epherna moved her feet to the beat precisely to avoid making mistakes from the start.
“One, two, one, two.”
Ern slowly moved his hands and feet to guide Epherna.
Epherna, now completely focused, followed his lead.
‘She’s doing well.’
She seemed to have suddenly improved.
Had she realized something?
It was completely different from before.
Her steps were no longer clumsy, and she didn’t miss the beat.
It would have been great if she had done this from the start.
*****
In fact, at first, I couldn’t even hear the piano because of the tension that had taken over my head.
Dancing with him.
Normally, I would have shrugged it off as just another day, but somehow it didn’t work today.
Maybe it was because I recognized the feeling of love.
My heartbeat, which had been quiet for a while, quickens and my face turns bright red.
I cover my head with my hair to hide the heat that rises to my neck.
I don’t see his face after all, and I’m dancing with my head bowed so low that I miss the beat.
No wonder my steps are off-beat.
A few deep breaths and a slap on the cheek and I’m back on track.
Of course.
“…Ah. Too early again.”
But only with the simplest song.
