Chapter 13 (1/2)
Chapter 13
“Listen, I know you’re smart and kind-hearted. But what you’re lacking is knowledge worthy of status, which you can prepare for. Isn’t that enough? It was tiring to see you being nervous all day long.”
If he was really making this suggestion, he had a desire to try and get as many people as he wanted. And honestly, Celestia was glad that he was treating her like a person.
‘Is it a reward for not accepting the Empress’ proposal?’
She was hesitating, but she nodded unconsciously. He seemed exhausted.
Celestia had longed to go to the academy ever since she was a child. She never thought that her dream would come true this way. Her heart thumped.
“I will study hard, Your Majesty.”
He gave a small nod to her, his face devoid of any emotion.
“Very well then, I’ll send a letter to the mayor.”
“Then, shall I live with my brother at his house?”
“No. That wouldn’t be possible. You have to stay here, no matter what.”
“His Majesty wants me to live here?”
“I don’t think you understand. You’re not allowed to go anywhere once the sun sets down.”
‘Are you some mother who takes care of her immature kid? And you want me to be present here on time before curfew?’
She couldn’t stop frowning.
“Are you serious?”
“This is not a matter of making concessions. You are already exposed to the outside world due to the banquet. I’d have to admit that the Empress Dowager was right. It never would have happened if I had locked you up in my room from the beginning and kept you from taking a step out.”
‘Don’t say such scary things! Or I might run away from this place right now!’
“What would happen if I don’t return in time here?”
“You’ll be in danger. And I’ll be in trouble as well.”
‘Maybe not the latter one.’
It seemed like the Emperor cared about her. Of course, she was the only one who knew about his weakness.
She wondered if there was a third individual who could harm him….but since the Empress had already caused the scene, it was hard to think of it as the Emperor’s delusion of grandeur.
He was now good at making proper sentences, unlike the day she first met him.
“Learning from the academy will improve the treatment. It’s always good to be efficient.”
“Ah, yes.”
Finally, the time came for her to let the Emperor know how she learned to invalidate magic. This was what he asked last time and she hated to answer it.
She didn’t want to talk about it……which would mean nothing to him. But she also couldn’t deny the fact that he brought her brother, who was doing much better than she thought.
“I think I can answer you now, Your Majesty.”
“What do you mean?”
“The method by which I learned healing.”
He raised his chin as she explained.
She told him why she had learned to invalidate magic, trying not to mention anything about her feelings as much as possible. His expression was not very good from the beginning of the explanation as it began with Serek’s name.
The story of “them being too poor to afford medicines, so she taught herself to invalidate magic because she wanted to blossom Serek’s talents” was a bit woeful. His expression became more and more disfigured as he listened to her.
‘Now that you’ve heard about it, will I lose my credibility because the source of my ability is from a random back alley?’
“So that’s how I’m here.”
When her explanation was over, he nodded with a slightly irritated look.
“Well, I can understand it very roughly.”
His thoughtlessness bothered her for no reason. She hated him for making her brood over her stupid past self.
She put up her arms over the table to make a quick explanation.
“What is it?”
“Please take a look, carefully.”
She rolled up her sleeves to his shoulders and held them out to him. The formulas were engraved on her light skin in a dark color.
He looked at her arms, astonished. It definitely was something new. In fact, it was a taboo in Goldina, so she had to hide them.
The shift of the topic was successful.
“Do you mind if I touch it?”
“No, I wouldn’t, Your Majesty.”
It was funny to her that the Emperor was asking for her permission.
He slowly held her arm and grazed his fingertips over the engravings as he looked at it closely.
“Is this even possible? Where else do you have them?”
“On my nape and my back.”
Without any delay, he lifted up her hair, touching her nape. Even though it was only his fingertip, she felt the heat rising to her cheeks.
“It’s pretty deep…..even a Magic Circle can’t have an effect like this. You must have had many side effects, and the engraving process must have been very painful. Anyway, it must have required a lot of effort.”
It was a bad judgment of hers to think that the topic shift was successful.
It’s true that it was extremely painful and she had many side effects. But she didn’t want to talk about it.
She carefully pulled down her clothing a little. The mere touch of his fingertip was somehow lush. She could feel his cautious touch along her back.