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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Not Your Fault
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Drip.

The sound of a water droplet falling from the Former Emperor’s armor to the floor echoed with unusual clarity.

A heavy silence fell over the space where they had moved to sit around a long marble table.

And what broke that silence,

“So. Is this supposed to be proof that the Duke summoned a sealed warlock?”

was Enoch’s voice, slightly hoarse, perhaps from shouting in the rain.

His eyes were sharp as he scanned the documents spread before him, the ones detailing the circumstances of the Duke stealing a forbidden book related to warlocks.

“Yes. It was likely out of greed to inherit the dukedom. I’ve been keeping an eye on the Winter Forest, as he’s been visiting frequently of late. But then Riana, that child, started climbing the mountain. In this weather, all by herself.”

“Is that why you instructed Pavel to inform me?”

“It is.”

“……Is that so.”

Thump.

Enoch set down the papers in his hand and, as if stifled, undid a couple of buttons on his shirt.

“What was the reason?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean your reason for digging into the Duke’s past. Looking at this, it doesn't seem to be the work of just a year or two. When did it start?”

Enoch stared at the Former Emperor seated before him, his eyes dark with emotion.

“Was it from the beginning? Did you keep the Duke by your side knowing everything?”

“……No. It was only after I stepped down from the throne. I, too, only learned of it then.”

“Then why did you push for the state marriage with the Duke’s Daughter even after you knew? Ah…”

Heh.

A weary laugh escaped him, and Enoch swept back the hair that had fallen onto his forehead.

“Because it would help solidify imperial authority? Even if that power was backed by a warlock.”

“……I thought it was for the best. I thought you could never win if a warlock joined forces with the Duke, who was already a handful.”

In contrast to Enoch, who was running a hand through his hair, the Former Emperor wearily wiped his face with a dry hand.

“So I thought it was right to keep him close for now and wait for an opportunity.”

“……”

“Yes, I know. It’s just an excuse.”

The Former Emperor smiled bitterly at Enoch, who was watching him without a word.

“I was simply scared. Both you and even Riana, that small child, were already prepared to face the Duke. I was the only one who was scared and hid.”

Unlike the blunt demeanor he had maintained for so long, the Former Emperor’s nervous gesture of constantly wiping his hands revealed the cufflinks hidden beneath his jacket.

[“Hmm… Where have I seen this butterfly drawing before…? Oh! Was it on Father’s cufflinks?”]

A few days ago.

Enoch’s gaze shifted to the Former Emperor’s sleeve as he recalled Riana showing him an ugly butterfly drawing and smiling innocently while he was reading a book.

“Why didn’t you tell me? Why did you place Pavel by my side? Did you… never trust me?”

“No…!”

Clatter.

The Former Emperor, rising halfway to his feet in his haste, clenched his teeth and sat back down.

“It’s not like that. Not once, not ever, have I thought you were untrustworthy.”

“Isn’t that what you’ve always told me?”

“……I thought it was for your own good. I thought it would make you stronger.”

Clasping his hands together tightly, the Former Emperor’s lips trembled slightly.

“After Letrishia, your mother, died, I always regretted the things I shouldn't have said to you. But… I didn’t know how to approach you after you’d already been hurt.”

“……So. You’re saying that keeping the Duke close was for my sake?”

“Yes. To prevent you from being deposed as Crown Prince amidst those trying to drag you down for not being able to control your power, I needed the Duke’s strength.”

Not even knowing he was someone who would step on you to climb higher.

Haha. With a bitter laugh, the Former Emperor wiped his mouth self-deprecatingly.

“Back then, I thought all I had to do was protect you from danger. I thought that was enough for a father.”

“……”

“By the time I realized something was wrong, it was already too late. For both you and me.”

…I’m sorry.

With that slightly late, long-overdue apology, the fierce rain outside the window began to subside.

***

Creak. I quickly waved my hand at the person who carefully opened the door and tiptoed inside.

“How is it? Are the two of them talking things out?”

“It doesn’t seem to be going badly.”

At my question, the Black Elder, who had just returned from spying on the room where the Former Emperor and Enoch were talking, clutched his chest in relief.

While the two were talking, I had heard the full story from the Black Elder, and my eyes narrowed.

Of course, it wasn’t just me, but the White Elder and Arun in the room as well.

“Why, why is everyone looking at me like that?”

“So the traitor was here all along.”

At Arun’s blunt remark, the Black Elder jumped in place.

So violently that I worried about his old knees.

“A traitor! How could you use such a horrid word…!”

“A spy, then?”

“Little Marquess! You too? After I worked so hard to help those two repair their father-son relationship.”

The Black Elder’s eyes welled up as I casually chimed in.

But what he received was not comfort, but the White Elder’s sharp voice pointing out reality.

“What’s the use of trying? It’s not like it had any effect.”

“Hey, man… Even if it’s true, saying it like that hurts my feelings.”

“I’ve been hurt too. How could you hide it so perfectly for so long? From me of all people?”

“Are you sulking…?”

The White Elder, who had his back turned petulantly, turned his head just slightly.

“Still, you did well to keep an eye on the Winter Forest. If it weren’t for you, our Little Marquess would have been in big trouble.”

“Right? I did well, didn’t I?”

“Hmph!”

“Ah, what’s with you now? You just said I did well.”

As the Black Elder repeatedly poked the sulking White Elder in the side, the closed door opened again.

“Father!”

The Former Emperor, looking haggard after just a short while, trudged into the room, his conversation with Enoch apparently over.

Seeing him sink powerlessly into a chair, I got out of bed and scurried over to him.

“How can a child who just escaped death be so lively? Weren’t you scared?”

“Of course I was scared. But I’m okay because you came to save me, Father.”

Pat, pat.

After tidying up my disheveled clothes from lying down, I bowed deeply to express my sincere gratitude.

“Thank you, Father. I survived thanks to you.”

“……Such nonsense.”

The Former Emperor waved his hand as if to dismiss it, and as I straightened up, I glanced at the still-open door.

“Are you looking for that boy, Enoch?”

Somehow, he knew.

The Former Emperor, who had divined what I was looking for as if by magic, told me where Enoch had gone.

“He probably went to the Emerald Palace.”

“The Emerald Palace?”

“……The Empress’s Palace… that is.”

“Ah… Then, I’ll be right back.”

“Wait, stop right there.”

The Former Emperor called me back as I was about to leave the room. He gave an order to an attendant, and before long, the attendant brought an overcoat and draped it over my shoulders.

“It’s quite cold outside. How can someone who nearly froze to death be so careless? Can’t you do something about that clumsiness of yours?”

“Thank you. And I’m sorry for being clumsy…?”

At his consistently gruff tone, I crinkled my nose and smiled playfully, and his thin lips followed mine, rising ever so slightly.

“So good-natured, honestly.”

With a slightly more relaxed smile, the Former Emperor placed another overcoat in my hands.

“Go… and stay with him.”

***

“The Emerald Palace is… ah, this way.”

Following the path where the rain had now stopped, I found the entrance to the Emerald Palace and stepped inside, my mouth falling open.

“Wow…”

My first sight of the Emerald Palace was breathtakingly beautiful.

Though not extravagant, the quaint and tidy garden and the emeralds decorating the roof were wet with rain, reflecting the moonlight.

The palace had been without a master for a long time, yet it was a space that clearly showed someone had cared for it with affection.

Rustle, rustle.

As I walked deeper, listening to the sound of wet grass brushing against my shoes, I stopped short.

In the center of the garden, Enoch was sitting in a pure white marble gazebo.

I watched his back for a moment as he leaned his head against a pillar, gazing up at the sky as if looking at the moon, then I quietly approached.

“The moon is beautiful tonight.”

“……You’re here.”

“Aren’t you cold? I brought a coat.”

I carefully wrapped the coat the Former Emperor had given me around his broad shoulders and took a seat beside him.

“The palace is so pretty. It’s very well-maintained.”

“Is that so.”

Enoch smiled faintly at my words and lowered his gaze.

After a long silence, just as the moonlight grew a little brighter, Enoch’s lips parted.

“……She was a person who resembled this place. My mother.”

“She must have been beautiful. And kind.”

“Yes.”

After another long pause, when he spoke again, Enoch’s voice was trembling slightly.

“My father…”

Enoch paused for a moment, bowing his head a little lower.

“My father told me it wasn’t my fault.”

“……”

“That my mother’s death… wasn’t my fault…”

Drip, drop.

Raindrops fell onto the black gloves bathed in moonlight.

But the rain had already stopped in the sky.

“He said it wasn’t because of me. That it wasn’t my fault. That I… wasn’t a bad person.”

“……”

As I carefully cupped his bowed face, the back of my hand grew wet with falling drops.

The lingering warmth of the liquid, unlike the cold rain, made me feel a strange sorrow, and I bit my lip and met Enoch’s eyes.

“……Of course it isn’t. Why would you be a bad person, Enoch?”

As I gently wiped his tear-streaked eyes, his transparent gray irises wavered.

“It’s not your fault, Enoch.”

“……Ugh…”

As I spoke each word once more for confirmation, a suppressed sob escaped through his tightly sealed lips.

It was heartbreaking to see him only shed tears, unable to even make a sound, so I pulled his large frame into my arms. My shoulder quickly became soaked with his tears.

“It wasn’t because of you, Enoch.”

“……”

“It was never anything like that.”

No matter how many times I stroked his hair as he buried his face in my shoulder, no matter how many times I told him it wasn’t his fault,

Enoch could only let out an occasional stifled sound.

Unable to even cry properly.

Chapter 75