Ch#138
The banquet hall fell silent in an instant. Everyone froze, unable to process the situation.
Yet instinctively, they all sensed this was an enormous incident.
"Heavens..."
The first groan came from someone who had witnessed a similar event in the past.
Everyone remembered it well.
The fact that Clois had killed everyone involved in such a foolish prank.
Just when everything had finally stabilized and the emperor seemed better, for such a horrific thing to happen at a joyful occasion.
Amid the shocked crowd, Evi also stood with her mouth agape, speechless.
When Clois began his greeting, she had thought it would take a while and tried to relax.
'Books say His Majesty's speeches are usually quite long.'
Among them, the largest events like the Autumn Seasonal Festival and New Year's were said to have the longest greetings.
So she had braced herself.
Five minutes?
Ten minutes?
Even if Clois's speech lasted over an hour, Evi could wait as long as needed.
As she tried to calm her pounding heart with those thoughts, Clois's greeting ended in a flash.
She wondered if it would continue, but the music changed. Beside her, Ruska looked surprised too, saying, "His speeches are usually short, but this might be a record."
Then her eyes met Clois's.
He smiled brightly, opening his arms toward her just like at the villa, and Evi couldn't help but grin back.
'Dad.'
She couldn't say it too loudly.
Since it was her first time, she needed to go close to him and say it slowly and clearly.
As Evi took a step forward with that thought—
"Dad!"
A high-pitched voice echoed through the banquet hall.
The moment she heard it, Evi wondered if she had gotten too excited and shouted it herself without realizing.
Or perhaps some child was frantically calling for their dad after losing them.
Then a child darted through the crowd, running across the empty space before Clois and past Evi's eyes.
The moment she saw the child, Evi's eyes widened.
'Eve!'
The girl she had seen at Madam Crevel's Shop, who had pulled her hair... the one who looked just like her!
How was that girl here?
And who was she calling "Dad"?
Before Evi's questions could fade, Eve rushed forward and grabbed Clois.
"Dad! I missed you!"
Thump.
At that moment, Evi's heart sank.
It couldn't be.
Princess Evebien, the emperor's daughter, had passed away long ago.
That's why His Majesty had suffered for so long.
And His Majesty had...
'Asked me to become his daughter.'
So why was Eve calling His Majesty "Dad"?
Evi stared blankly at Eve clinging to Clois, then turned her gaze back to him.
Perhaps because something unimaginable had happened, he stood frozen, staring at Eve.
In the meantime, Eve shouted loudly at Clois again.
"Dad, it's me, Evebien! I'm alive! I've missed you so much!"
Each of Eve's words sent chills through the crowd.
Every word from the child struck at Clois's deepest wounds.
Then, amid the frozen people, someone else stepped forward and shouted.
"Your Majesty! She truly is Princess Evebien!"
Another who had hesitated gained courage and stepped forward too.
"That's right! We searched so hard to find her!"
They were nobles from families Count Aradman had visited months ago.
When Count Aradman first came to them, they had only wanted to chase him away quickly.
His daughter had bullied the emperor's ward and been expelled.
Any sane person wouldn't meet him, let alone look at him ever again.
'This body has qualifications as a Genius Academy guardian! I can't let harm come to the child I sponsor.'
But Count Aradman kept coming back without giving up.
The sight of someone who had once been arrogant begging daily to meet them was amusing.
Unable to bear the annoyance after he promised not to bother them again if they met once, they secretly agreed.
"Fine, why are you being so persistent?"
As they scowled like it was a nuisance, Count Aradman gritted his teeth.
While inwardly mocking that he still had pride despite his state, he said something unexpected.
"Viscount, you went to Solem Territory in the past, correct?"
"...Why do you ask?"
Solem.
It was the territory of the late Empress Lilian.
When Clois had gone there in the past, unaware he would be stripped of his crown prince title, they had frantically followed to curry favor.
But when Clois truly lost his position, they fled without looking back.
They had regretted it endlessly after Clois became emperor, thinking they should have stayed in Solem.
"Then do you perhaps remember Empress Lilian?"
"Of course. I met her several times!"
"Good. Then do you remember the maid by her side? A woman named Savina."
Of course they did.
She was the one who glared at them with axe-like eyes and told them to leave her lady alone when they approached Lilian to build ties.
She died in the war, but if alive, she might have held a high palace position.
"I remember. Get to the point."
At his words, Count Aradman smiled and said,
"I'm giving your viscountcy a chance to rise greatly."
They thought the count had finally lost his mind. As they moved to leave without hearing more, he said,
"Princess Evebien is alive. Her nanny Savina will testify. So when you see Savina, you'll believe it too."
Those who had stepped forward now looked at Eve clinging to Clois, recalling the past.
On the child's hand was a vivid mark.
The Imperial Mark, now known only to those studying imperial lineage.
They had guessed Clois wore gloves because of it.
"Your Majesty! Please look at Princess Evebien's hand! Proof of noble blood exists!"
"That's right!"
At their loud cries, Clois's frozen gaze turned to the hand gripping him.
The child grinned impudently and thrust her hand before him boastfully.
"Ah..."
The moment he saw it, Clois let out a sigh.
On the child's hand was an all-too-vivid Imperial Mark.
'Impossible.'
Everyone with this mark was now dead.
Only one remained in the world.
No more new wives or children could enter his life, so it would finally vanish completely into history.
Yet it was on the child's hand.
"Your Majesty! Open the doors! Count Aradman can explain everything!"
"Yes! Please don't panic and hear him out!"
The ministers' cries sounded distant.
Clois looked at the child clinging to him.
The blond girl with green eyes looked puzzled.
As if wondering why he wasn't hugging her, she demanded love and affection as if it were natural.
At that moment, Clois thought of another child.
The child who had once watched him carefully.
Now the one who loved his hugs so much.
The one who, when he tried to put her down in bed, would cling to his neck even in sleep, wanting to stay in his arms longer.
'Evi.'
The moment that name came to mind, he snapped back to reality.
Turning his head, he saw Evi standing between Irene and Ruska, looking at him.
Shocked like the others, yet somehow sad.
When their eyes met, Evi's blank face crumpled, as if holding back tears.
Then she took a step back. At that sight, Clois's heart sank.
He no longer cared about the child claiming to be his dead daughter before him.
He just wanted to rush to Evi and hear her call him dad.
The moment he thought that—
Slap!
Clois unwittingly struck away the hand clutching his sleeve harshly.
