2 - Can I Cry Now?
Episode 2
"......!"”
Clois's words surprised the ministers.
“I leave the rest to you. I shall take my leave.”
He rose from his seat and turned away, as if he would not pay any more attention. The ministers also rose and bowed to him.
As Clois left, he said to the State Affairs Minister,
“See to it that the child has no problem entering the Academy.”
“Understood.”
Clois went straight outside. Then, he even dismissed the attendants who were following him.
As he headed to his chambers, he thought about what he had just done.
Even he thought it was unusual.
To deliberately enroll a child he had no reason to care about.
‘But… what was her name again?’
After walking for quite a while, Clois realized that he didn't even know the name of the child he had chosen.
He stopped walking for a moment and let out a short sigh.
‘What does it matter?’
He had only chosen the child as a warning because he didn't like the ministers' behavior, and she wasn't someone he needed to pay attention to.
Clois turned his head and looked down the long, dark corridor.
‘How tedious.’
Perhaps it was because he had been listening to children's stories all day.
He felt more tired than usual.
He turned away from his chambers and headed to the only place in the Imperial Palace where he could rest.
The place where his wife and daughter were buried.
As he walked, he thought.
Is there any reason for me to continue living in this world where there is nothing for me to love?
\ \ \
When the State Affairs Minister returned to the conference room, the ministers rushed at him and questioned him as if they were interrogating him.
“Who is that child?”
“What did His Majesty say? Did he say anything about adoption?”
They seemed worried that a commoner child had caught the Emperor's eye, surpassing their own children.
The State Affairs Minister sighed and said,
“No. He simply told me to take care of it.”
“Did he say anything else…?”
“Nothing. He didn't even ask for the child's name. So let's continue the meeting.”
Having confirmed that the Emperor had no interest in the child he had chosen, the people breathed a sigh of relief.
While the conference room became noisy again, the State Affairs Minister looked at the admission application in his hand.
Seven years old. A girl.
“Let's see, the name is…”
The State Affairs Minister muttered the name, emphasizing each syllable as he had written it down.
“Ibi Elden.”
\ \ \
“Wow…!”
Ibi gaped at the sight of the massive Imperial Palace visible through the carriage window.
“It's so wonderful…”
Ibi stared blankly at the Imperial Palace for a long time before turning her head at the gazes of people mocking her from across the aisle.
Next to Ibi, the Headmaster of the Poorhouse held her hand tightly and said,
“It's a really wonderful place. I wouldn't get tired of looking at it all day, would you?”
Ibi's expression brightened at those words.
“Right? It's so beautiful and wonderful, it makes my heart race!”
Excited, Ibi looked at the Imperial Palace again.
‘It's even more wonderful than I read in the books.’
She thought of the travelogue she had read so many times.
The book described the capital, Lanset, like this:
[The Imperial Palace. The most sacred and beautiful place in the thousand-year-old capital, Lanset. The Imperial Palace is like a huge city in itself. In its deepest part, His Most Exalted Majesty, the sole member of the Imperial Family of Harkia, resides.]
A smile spread across Ibi's face as she looked at the Imperial Palace, recalling the contents of the book.
The Imperial Palace.
The Imperial Palace where His Majesty the Emperor resides!
‘To think I'll be able to enter such a place, it's like a dream.’
Just as she was about to grin, the man sitting across from her scanned Ibi and the Headmaster up and down before chuckling.
“I guess you're from the countryside, so enjoy the sights while you can. When else will you see the Imperial Palace?”
At those words, the Headmaster, who was holding Ibi's hand, puffed out her chest and said in a proud voice,
“Thank you for your concern. But our Ibi will be living in the Imperial Palace from today, so there's no need to rush. Isn't that right, Ibi?”
“Yes!”
When Ibi nodded her head vigorously in response to the Headmaster's words, the man openly sneered.
“Living in the Imperial Palace, how? Hey. Do you even know what kind of place the Imperial Palace is? If you've been tricked by some swindler into thinking you can get a job at the Imperial Palace…”
“We didn't come here to work. Our Ibi is going to enter the Academy for the Gifted in the Imperial Palace from today.”
The Headmaster tilted her chin up as much as she could and said in a haughty manner.
“T-The Academy for the Gifted?”
The man's eyes widened at the words "Academy for the Gifted." The Headmaster became even more elated at his reaction.
Seeing the Headmaster looking so happy as if it were her own accomplishment, Ibi smiled.
‘The Headmaster was the happiest.’
A week ago, the Poorhouse where Ibi was staying received a call from the Imperial Palace.
It was a notification that she had been accepted into the Academy for the Gifted and was to enter the Imperial Palace by the appointed date.
“Really? You're going to the Academy for the Gifted? Oh my! What is this! Of course, it's our Ibi! You'll definitely be the smartest one even in the Academy for the Gifted!”
The Headmaster, who had been doing laundry, ran over without caring that her clothes were getting dirty and hugged Ibi, who was holding the letter from the Imperial Palace, and jumped up and down.
Seeing the Headmaster's smile, Ibi was also very happy.
The Headmaster was the one who had saved her from that terrible place when she was five years old.
She was happy that she was a great joy and pride to such a person.
‘And… the other kids might be able to have more to eat because of my share.’
Ibi swallowed the words she couldn't bring herself to say to the Headmaster.
The Poorhouse in Elam City, where Ibi lived, was not in good condition, although the people of the city helped a lot.
It was because the Headmaster of the Poorhouse accepted as many children as possible who had nowhere else to go.
They always had to save everything, and the garden behind the Poorhouse had to be planted with crops that could be eaten all year round.
Ibi, too, except for the time she went to school, went to the garden with the children and spent all day pulling weeds, catching bugs, and growing crops.
Still, it was hard to keep up with the appetites of the growing children.
“I want to eat more!”
On the day the young children in the Poorhouse fought over who would get to eat one more potato in the morning, Ibi saw a notice posted on the wall of the upper school.
[Academy for the Gifted Admission Notice]
It was a notice that had been posted in all the upper schools across the country by Imperial order.
As Ibi read it, her eyes sparkled at the condition written in small letters on the very last line.
[All food, clothing, and shelter will be provided by the Academy for the Gifted during the period of stay at the Academy for the Gifted.]
‘If even one person is gone, the Headmaster might be a little more comfortable.’
Of course, the fact that it was a place that taught things that were more difficult than upper school was also very attractive.
‘Besides, they said that if you graduate from the Academy for the Gifted, you can find a better job later.’
Most of the graduates of the Academy for the Gifted either worked in the Imperial Palace or became professors at the Academy, the top educational institution in the Empire.
She didn't know how much they paid, but it would be more than working as an orphan in Elam City.
‘If I earn a lot of money, I can help the Headmaster more…’
Ibi looked at the Headmaster, who was constantly bragging about her to the man across from her.
‘I have to be a big help.’
But if she said that, the Headmaster would surely say that she didn't need to worry about such things.
So she said she wanted to study more and immediately submitted an application to the Academy for the Gifted.
Actually, she hoped she would get in while applying, but she thought the chances of being accepted were very low.
The Empire was excited about the news of the opening of the Academy for the Gifted. The rumors spread quickly.
All the noble families and wealthy families in the Empire were making every effort to get their children in.
There was no way that she, a commoner, and from a Poorhouse in a small city, would get in.
So on the day she sent in her application, Ibi sat alone by the window at night and made a wish.
‘Mom, Dad. Please let me get into the Academy for the Gifted.’
The moment a shooting star fell, Ibi quickly prayed in her heart.
She wouldn't normally look for her mom and dad. Even just calling out to them in her heart made her feel choked up.
But she really wanted to get into the Academy for the Gifted, so she unconsciously looked for her mom and dad.
Parents who she didn't know if they were alive or dead. Maybe they abandoned her because they didn't need her.
Even so, Ibi wanted to grab onto anyone and pray.
Please let me get into the Academy for the Gifted.
So that I can help the Poorhouse.
And when I grow up and become an adult… please let me find my mom and dad.
I want to meet my mom and dad.
