Ch#74
'What's this room?'
Judging by the ornate door, it seemed like a room for important books.
Peeking inside, there was a small table by the window.
'An empty seat!'
Moreover, this room was in the corner, so other children weren't likely to come nearby.
Someone might find it after a bit more time passed, but it seemed quiet for a while.
'It should be okay to use it.'
There was no sign saying not to enter, so Ibi cautiously stepped inside.
The room was filled with luxurious bookshelves made of different wood from those outside.
The books inside were just as splendid in appearance.
The deep red leather gleamed, and the corners were reinforced with metal to prevent damage.
Ibi stared at the title of a book she had never seen at advanced school.
"Imperial Family Tree?"
Upon seeing the name, she understood why the book was so excessively ornate.
It was a family tree detailing the emperors and their families, so it was only natural.
Commoners generally didn't know much about the imperial family beyond the emperor and his immediate relatives.
'We only know His Majesty the Emperor's name......'
Ibi recalled the emperor's name shining below the admission permit.
'Clois Arellkian Harkia.'
In fact, many people didn't remember the emperor's full name.
They had no occasion to address him by name.
Emperor. Empress. Crown Prince. Knowing just that was enough.
Moreover, since the emperor currently had no family, knowing only the emperor sufficed.
More detailed knowledge was for nobles, not commoners.
Nobles had frequent occasions to meet the emperor or other imperial family members, and serving them was their duty.
'We're supposed to learn it starting next semester.'
Thus, Yeongjae Academy would teach etiquette related to the imperial family, various noble houses of the empire, and more in liberal arts classes from next semester.
The noble children had reacted bored at the announcement.
They had already learned it all from childhood.
The notice had listed the names of books they would see, and it seemed they were all stored here.
'Should I just look a little?'
She knew she needed to study for exams, but her attention was already captivated by the ornate book she was touching for the first time.
After hesitating several times, Ibi pulled out the book and sat at the table by the window.
"Heave-ho."
The cover alone was so heavy she had to use both hands to turn it, and Ibi was instantly engrossed.
The first page was filled densely with imperial family names and their family tree.
Turning more pages revealed the emperor's name, birth date, achievements, and events during his reign.
Such books typically summarized only the facts briefly.
But those produced by the imperial family contained far more detailed accounts than those in other noble houses.
"The Battle of Erkaten."
It was the battle always cited as the most important in imperial history.
In truth, the battle itself wasn't on a massive scale.
But it was the unbelievable tale of the emperor and dozens of his retainers defeating thousands of enemy troops.
Though it sounded implausible, overwhelming evidence remained.
Whenever praising the imperial family, this story always came first.
At advanced school, it was just text in the history book, but this book had illustrations of the battle.
Ibi couldn't tear her eyes from the detailed drawing.
The picture showed the emperor raising his hand toward the oncoming enemies, with brilliant light swirling from his hand.
"Huh?"
Then one part caught Ibi's eye. It was the back of the emperor's hand in the drawing.
It was a small detail, but something like a strange pattern was clearly drawn on the emperor's hand.
It looked like a smudge at a glance.
"......"
Ibi looked at her own hand. Though she thought it impossible, the smudge in the picture seemed similar to what had appeared on her hand.
Ibi stared at her now blank hand before turning the page again.
She was looking out of curiosity, but she needed to study for exams quickly.
'Now I really have to study......'
But soon, Ibi was drawn back into the book's contents.
Before she knew it, she realized she had reached near the end.
"Clois Arellkian Harkia......"
The final page had the current emperor's name. And beside it, other names were listed.
"Lilian Shel, Evbien Shel Harkia?"
They were familiar names.
Who? Where had she heard them?
Then Ibi recalled where she had seen Evbien.
"That grave!"
The forest where she first met Professor Sian. The two tombstones inside. Those were the names inscribed on them.
But why were those names in the book?
Ibi turned back to the book.
Connected by a line to the emperor's name, with Evbien listed below.
So......
"Lilian Shel is Her Majesty the Empress, and Evbien...... is Her Highness the Princess."
But there was no empress or princess.
The empire had only the emperor.
That was why everyone said he would adopt one of Arcel or Ruska.
Ibi looked at the two names again. Dates were listed beside each. Two dates per name.
She knew what they indicated: birth date and date of death.
Lilian Shel and Evbien had passed away on the same day.
Ibi felt an inexplicable heaviness as she read on.
Like the previous emperors, the book faithfully conveyed only emotionless facts.
Thus, it described the deaths of the empress and princess factually.
Reading about their deaths, Ibi murmured quietly.
"It must have hurt......"
Her chest ached at the same time. Before the emperor arrived, the empress and princess had been killed by enemy forces.
Then how heartbroken must His Majesty the Emperor have been?
Losing family to a place from which they could never return must hurt terribly.
It had been the same in Elam City.
Though a city at the empire's edge that avoided the war, many young people had gone to the battlefield and not returned.
Their families erected tombstones engraved with the departed's names and wept in longing before them.
Yes, just like......
"......Professor Sian."
Ibi recalled how he had been when she first went to the gravesite.
Professor Sian had been quietly crying alone before the quiet tomb overflowing with flowers.
'Why?'
Why was Yeongjae Academy's professor crying at the empress and princess's graves? Did he know them?
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn't find the answer.
Confused, Ibi turned the page. There were two portraits there.
Like the previous emperors, this section likely had portraits of the emperor and empress.
"This one's empty."
The previous ones had portraits of princes and princesses too, but the final one was blank.
Only the name Evbien remained.
After staring at the name for a long time, Ibi looked up. She was curious about His Majesty the Emperor's portrait, which she hadn't seen at the museum.
"Ah......!"
But the moment she saw the emperor's portrait, Ibi jumped up from her chair.
"It's the professor."
The person depicted was unmistakably Professor Sian.
"Professor......"
The bright, short golden hair. The very deep blue eyes. Even the face was definitely him.
But there was a difference.
The emperor in the portrait had no expression. But Professor Sian......
"He smiles a lot."
Ibi recalled him with her.
He had been scary at first, but now he wasn't scary at all—she was scared without him.
After gazing at the portrait for a long while, Ibi looked to the side.
"Lilian Shel."
The late empress. She had fiery red hair and deep green eyes.
And she was the person in the portrait who seemed to whisper that it would be okay when Ibi was trapped in the museum.
Ibi placed her hand over the picture. And gently stroked it.
As if truly wanting to touch the empress in the painting.
At that moment, a breeze rustled in through the open window.
The moment the wind brushed Ibi's hair, she murmured unwittingly.
"......Mama."
A word she had never spoken before, managing only the ending sound.
