Chapter 138 (1/2)

Chapter 138: Chapter 138

Hearing that, I smiled bitterly. Of course, I heard him calling me like that often in the past, but unlike in the past when he called it out of pure affection for me, this time he said it for political reasons.

The crown prince, who fixed his gaze on the emperor, turned his eyes to me finally. He spoke while looking at me with his eyes that seemed more hollow for the past several months while I was away at the summer palace.

“Thank you for taking good care of the emperor.”

“You’re welcome, Your Majesty. I just did what I had to do. ”

“Can you take time out for me? I want to express gratitude to you. I might be late, but if you don’t mind, can you wait for me at my palace? ”

“Sure, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you soon. Please come inside, Your Majesty. As it’s so hot outside, it’s not good for your health if you keep standing here.”

He turned with his father after taking his eyes off me. The palace people who returned from the summer palace and the welcoming party followed them.

After watching Duchess Lars, with her light blue hair let down, lead the noble women to the women’s palace, I made eye contact with my knight colleagues, then headed for the crown prince’s palace.

“Welcome, Lady Monique, let me escort you.”

When I arrived, I was escorted by the chief attendant, who was familiar to me as I visited before several times.

When I opened the massive door, I saw his magnificent study. I hadn’t been inside in a year. Because of the intense sunlight, the inside of the study was very bright despite the white curtains on the front window. A huge collection of books was still there and seemed to have grown.

I thought of waiting for him quietly in a seat, but I changed my mind and approached the endless bookshelves. As he would be telling the emperor what happened while he was away, he’d take some time to come back.

So, I browsed through the books that I wanted to read so much, but couldn’t.

My eyes opened wide at the vast collection.

‘It’s so amazing. How can he collect such a large number of books in his study?’

I was surprised because he could have kept those books he didn’t read in the library of the Imperial Palace.

‘If then, did he read all the books here?’

I slowly examined the bookshelves. Even though I had a quick glance before, I saw several rare books I hadn’t read before. I picked one among them that drew my interest most.

‘I wonder if he will be here by the time I finish reading this.’

But he didn’t appear when I finished reading the book, so I picked another.

‘I expected he would be late, but it is taking him too long.’

I let out a small sigh after closing the second book after reading its last page. My eyes were dry because I was reading for so long. I blinked my dry eyes and put the two books back on the bookshelf.

While I was walking inside the study slowly, looking for something else to read, I suddenly noticed a collection of books covered with black leather and gilded letters. The title of the glittering books caught my eye.

Come to think of it, around last year when I was very curious about my mother’s family tree, I tried to read the same book, but failed.

I hesitated for a moment. The emperor said that my mother was not a woman of low birth, but an educated and cheerful noblewoman. I couldn’t take him at face value because I was bothered by what Duke Jena told me before.

‘Can I just quickly browse through it?’

I unconsciously looked around once and approached the bookshelf with the nobles’ directory.

If I wanted to find a clue on my mother’s identity, now was the time.

I chose the fifth directory from the right, which was published about 20 years ago. Then, I opened the back of the directory and looked at the family trees of barons.

‘So, Sona, Sonia! Here it is!’