Chapter 28

“You’re a very unusual case. It’s impossible to manifest with commoner blood.”

The Second Prince folded his eyes into half-moon and spoke without lies. You just happened to hold the cookie in my hand, so I took it and took a hint.

I finally noticed that he held a cookie in his hand, so I accepted it.

The moment I slightly lowered and lifted my head, I made eye contact with the first prince. I tried to quickly turn my head, but he avoided looking at me first as if he was more embarrassed.

……..??

Two question marks floated in my head, but perhaps I was mistaken. He even ordered his maid to apply butter on the bread and cut the tender meat with a knife.

Even though the third prince was in the middle, the second prince continued to pick up pieces of fruits with a fork and place them into Argen’s mouth.

“Well….. In fact, it’s not just the manifestation that’s unusual.

“What?”

Every time he did something kind, I was nervous and my mouth dried up. However, we continued to listen quietly because the second prince was the only one that gave us the right information. I was very curious about what was going on.

The second prince still had a friendly and languid face. As if it was nothing, he handed over the dessert again.

“That’s good news by the way. It looks like you haven’t grown as much as the average royal family, but at least you look your age.”

“……..”

“……..”

“It also proves that you have more blood from father…….”

The prince closed his mouth when he saw the new main dish. Now that we seemed to be at the main point of the topic, he closed his mouth and even urged us to eat quickly.

As the emperor raised his tableware, he picked up a small fork and knife into his hand.

As I watched the emperor gently lift his tableware, I picked up a small fork and knife with my hands at the same time.

On the other side, the third prince’s shoulders kept shaking and he couldn’t keep his lips still as if he wanted to say something, but he didn’t open his mouth in the end because the emperor was watching.

Of course, it wasn’t like we didn’t notice.

It seemed like he was full of complaints because he was warned to be quiet.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t in a situation where I could take care for others. After eating the thin soup, I placed the seafood from the main dish into my mouth and firmly chewed it.

I chewed carefully and broke down the food, but in this atmosphere where I had to eat face to face with the royal family, I felt like I would get indigestion.

And it became a fait accompli because of the emperor’s words that were soon heard.

Soon it became a fact when I heard the emperor’s words.

“Argen, Arien.”

“…….Did you call for us?”

“…… Yes.”

When I gave a polite and modest reply, the emperor lifted his gaze from the table and stared at us.

He looked at us again as if he were observing animals in a zoo. I didn’t know what was so fascinating that he couldn’t take his eyes off us.

“You’re still small.”

“……. Yes…….I beg your pardon?”

Huh? Argen responded politely and reflexively, but then belatedly threw a question. I tilted my head, unable to speak.

Even though the emperor spoke so quietly that I couldn’t hear him properly, it seemed like he didn’t like that we looked similar to premature babies compared to the other royal families.

…… The moment I thought that, the emperor brought up something; it came as a complete bolt from the blue. (T/N: as a sudden surprise.)

“It isn’t good to not hold a proper party at least once for the royal family members who had a manifestation.”

Silence fell for a moment.

“I’ll hold a party for you.”

Kolok! (T/n: coughing sounds)

This time I let out a cough.

Unlike me, who poured food onto my bib, Argen reacted faster than I did at times like this and barely managed to pass food through his throat with red eyes.

When I coughed in embarrassment, the maid quickly approached me, changed my bib, and gently wiped my mouth.

The emperor opened his mouth like he was going to say something, but soon he closed his half-open mouth and just continued with what he said earlier.

“You’re a royal family with blond hair, so the nobles have no reason to protest. You’re joining high society as an imperial family.”

Five years old……You think I understand what high society is! I wanted to pretend that I didn’t understand, but if I did that with the intelligence of the royal family, I would be in trouble, so I just quietly bowed my head and talked to Argen.

‘Who’s the royal family?’

‘Someone said we were a royal family.’’

‘No……Even so, it’s a  party without our opinion.’

Argen said in a low voice and would have expressed his irritation by deeply furrowing his eyebrows if no one was there. I agreed with the voice ringing in my ears.

‘…… I’ll never go.’

Argen spoke properly, cutting off the end of the conversation.

‘Who would welcome us in high society?’

‘I agree.’

‘Why? So suddenly? What kind of party is he talking about?…… And Arien, just calm down a little.’

Only when I was told to calm down, did I release my fist. There was a clear imprint of fingernails on the palm.

When the two of us didn’t answer, the emperor stopped eating and looked at me and Argen. If my brain hadn’t been overloaded with too much information at once, I would have noticed the emperor’s gaze and responded with anything.

‘Society, that kind of high society? Where there are so many people who think the same way as those noble children who told us it would be easier to just die?”

‘……..’

‘.…….’

‘Yes, such a place.’

‘…… I don’t like it. Argen.’

‘Do we have a choice?’

‘…… I wouldn’t be sitting here if I’d had a choice.’

I gritted my teeth and replied to Argen’s criticism. Nothing ever went the way we wanted since we were born.

No one asked our opinions in a gentle tone or asked us what we wanted. Everyone was so busy leading us the way they wanted us to be.

That was the royal family we knew. There was no difference in the way the emperor and the princes treated us as toys.

They gave us gifts freely, praised us for being cute, asked us to come, and took us without a word when they wanted to. They always wanted us to move as they wanted us to.

“Argen.”

It was the emperor’s voice calling Argen that awakened us from our chaotic mood.

Cold sweat flowed down from my back as he spoke in a low voice.

“You don’t seem happy since there is no answer.”

We’ve never thought of him as a parent, but to him, we’re just kids. I wondered what the hell he wanted with that cold way of speaking.

The first prince stopped the emperor and he shook his head with a white face and said in an extremely business-like tone.

“I think father should speak a little bit more softly.”

At the words of the First Prince, the emperor turned his head and looked at him. Even with the eyes of the emperor, he continued to speak calmly.

“Children are delicate and vulnerable. Their hearts are fragile, so if you speak coldly, they will be scared.”

That’s true, but I couldn’t trust the first prince.

It was the same as last time when the emperor carpeted the palace after he said we were delicate and fragile.

He wanted to say more, but Argen spoke out in a hurry.

“…… I don’t want to meet people.”

The eyes of the four men were focused on Argen.

I felt sorry for his pale and tired complexion, but I was not in a position to talk to about it, so I just watched quietly.

“Such a thing…… No, people are going to scare us again…….”

He closed his mouth with a face full of emotions instead of talking at the right time, as if he was feeling uncomfortable or thirsty.

When the gaze gradually gathered at him, whether it was burdensome or not, he closed his mouth with a face full of emotions instead of talking as if he was feeling uncomfortable.

Good job, Argen!

It was perfect for an excuse that he came up with on the fly. I clapped my hands enthusiastically inside.

Unable to find anything to say, he held his hands together and rolled his eyes up and down hard.

I was excitedly telling myself that it was a good idea, but the moment I raised my head, silence had settled in the dining room. Unable to find anything to say, I held my hands together and eagerly moved eyes up and down.

……….What’s wrong……?

At the sight of the dining room sinking into stillness, Argen glanced at me.

Argen was the one who spoke out, but I was the one who clapped for him and his hard work.

The emperor narrowed his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

The first prince’s voice was more toned down and soft, but it was still the same for us.

‘What should I say?’

Argen asked in an awkward voice.

In the first place, what we were afraid of was people who hid behind a smiling mask, while mocking and pointing out that we were illegitimate children.

We would at least swallow such words if the emperor protects us, but we couldn’t tell how he felt. I didn’t want to go to the party and face such humiliation when I was going to leave here some day.

It was in our mind to refute the emperor’s words so that  we wouldn’t have to appear in front of people.

Sweat formed on my palm. When Argen made eye contact with the emperor, he kept his mouth shut and turned his head.

The emperor glanced at the second prince.

When the emperor first called us, Ishina, who was taking care of us, once told us to call him my ‘esteemed father.’

It may have been meant to be polite, but at least there was a large difference between esteemed father and father.

Our differences were wide apart. It was clear that it would be a difference that could never be narrowed down in the future.

Looking at us without words, the emperor no longer asked. He just wrinkled his forehead like he was thinking about something for a moment.

“I’ll think about it.”

Wow……I groaned at those words and Argen opened his eyes wide.

It was an unexpected outcome. I thought he was reflexively responding, but at least it means that he’ll consider it.

Again, only the sound of rattling dishes was heard.

I hoped that I didn’t have to go to a party with Argen.

Please don’t make me go to a party with Argen, I prayed so little by little.

If the emperor hadn’t spoken again in the middle, it might have been a pretty good meal except for the indigestion.

“Is that the reason for being reluctant to have teachers or servants?”

“…….?”

No……The teachers were so strict that we kept avoiding them and the servants were replaced so many times that it was awkward.…..

I was tilting my head with a spoon in my mouth, but when I slowly made eye contact with the emperor, I quickly took it out of my mouth.

‘He’s asking us that question just because we’re scared.’

‘Right….’

Argen responded in a wary voice.

“Just……Just…….”

I carefully chose the word for fear that it would hurt the teachers and servants if I answered incorrectly.

“I’ll have the knights guard out of sight and reduce the maids to two.”

And that was the end. Everyone started eating quietly. Even after the meal, the Third Prince seemed to want to say something, but he just followed the emperor and stood up.

After leaving the dining room, the emperor took the two of us to the field.

Upon entering the room, the emperor removed all the knights and left only two of the oldest maids.

He let us sit down on the seats then, turned away as if the business was over.

“I’ll bring the knights later, play here and then go back to the room.”

“…… Yes.”

He said so and turned around.

‘…… Can’t he just tell them by giving an order?’

‘Um…… isn’t it?’

‘But doesn’t coming later mean we have to see the Emperor again?’