Chapter 191 (1/2)

Chapter 191: Chapter 191

“I’m sure the late emperor must have loved you, just like all parents in the world. I don’t think there are any parents who don’t love and care about their children, even though they don’t express it.”

But he was still silent. I thought I might need to back up my story, so I sighed low and traced my memory to tell him some episodes about the late emperor.

“Your Majesty, do you remember you inspected the border area in autumn a few years ago?”

“Of course, I remember. I stopped by the estate of the Monique family and saw you at that time.”

“Yes, you did. At that time, I returned to the capital shortly after you stopped by. And I had a chance to have tea with the late emperor. At that time, the late emperor asked me in passing whether the crown prince visited my estate, and he also asked me if I liked winter. ”

“Hummm… Why did he suddenly ask that? ”

“I was also curious, but I said yes. Then he said the crown prince was the opposite.”

So, I asked with a smile as I couldn’t understand, “I understand you hate the cold very much. The late emperor asked me how you were doing, saying the winter was around the corner. Wasn’t he worried about you because you hated winter?”

“… Really?”

I nodded at him, who was looking at me as if I was serious. I told him another episode.

“You said a moment ago that the late emperor didn’t trust you all the time, right? That’s not true. He really trusted you and felt proud of you.”

“… ”

“You remember the time when he invited the princesses as candidates for your bride, right?

At that time, when I met him, he told me he would honor your decision because he trusted you. In fact, when I asked him why he let go of Princess Lua, he said he respected your decision because he trusted you.”

“…Oh, I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah. And… ”

Can I tell him about this? I hesitated for a moment, but when I noticed his serious expression, I didn’t hesitate anymore. As someone who heard what the later emperor had candidly told me about the crown prince, I had a duty to convey it.

“I’m sorry to say this, but you didn’t look very good when I saw you coming out of the late emperor’s room. I was bothered, so I dared to ask him why he was so strict to you when he trusted you very much.”

“…So, what did he say? ”

“He said although he felt heartbroken, you were the only one to take his place. He said if you had been born into a noble family, he would have loved you so much, but as you would rule the empire as the next ruler, he could not have done so. He also said he scolded you even when you did a nice job because you might get lazy if he praised you.”

“… Oh, I see.”

After hearing me out, he got lost in thought silently. I walked cautiously in order not to disturb him, with my mouth shut.

How long did I walk?

I saw the garden of Ver Palace at a distance. I noticed a silver flower tree shining in the middle of the beautifully decorated garden.

I approached the tree carefully, tilted my head and looked up at the top. But no matter how hard I tried to look carefully, standing on tiptoes, the buds on its branches didn’t bloom yet.

I sighed somehow. It’s been a few years since the tree survived the fire. It formed new buds, which never bloomed.

It’s about time the sprouting buds bloomed into flowers. Why don’t they bloom?

He said, staring silently at me when my shoulders drooped.

“It looks like you are still very much interested in those flowers.”

“Ah yes. Of course, you already explained to me about it the other day, but I was wondering what it looked like…”

“When I asked the gardener, he said that the tree wasn’t dead or anything like that. Let’s wait a little longer. ”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“By the way, I think we walked for some time. Why don’t we sit down and take a break?”

Sitting first under a tree, he pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and spread it on the ground. Surprised, I looked at him. Regardless of whether it’s dirty ground or not, how dare I sit on his handkerchief?

“Sit down.”

“Your Majesty, how dare I …”