When she tightened her grip around the quill and looked thoroughly disgruntled, Gray gave a light shrug.
“Would you rather I lie to you?”
“It isn’t that, but to say you don’t like anything at all…”
Having prepared her questions in advance in the notebook, she began aggressively scribbling across the page with broad strokes as she stammered.
“There is one thing.”
Her head snapped up, eyes gleaming as if two stars had taken root in them.
“And what is that?”
“Here. This place. This garden where I can enjoy myself alone, undisturbed by anyone. That is what I like.”
“Ah, I see. You like gardens.”
Her face lit up with enthusiasm as she jotted down his words.
“Write ‘alone, undisturbed by anyone’ in large letters.”
“Understood!”
Dalia abruptly froze mid-stroke, narrowing her eyes as she looked directly at the Emperor.
“You are teasing me right now, aren’t you?”
“Not in the least. I merely spoke the truth.”
A faint smile, devoid of his usual artificial edge, brushed his lips before vanishing just as quickly.
Why did he look so desolate while talking about something he loved?
Dalia glanced toward the grand main palace in the distance, then back at the modest garden.
A man who owned all that majesty and splendor, yet cared only for this little patch of green.
He was truly impossible to understand.
Or was it because he possessed everything that there was nothing left for him to desire or cherish?
“Time is up.”
She glanced at the hourglass to find that every last grain of golden sand had run through.
‘What a mess… All I learned is that the Emperor likes gardens!’
Did that mean she had to find him a woman who loved gardens?
A woman who tended to them?
Or one who could stroll through them by his side?
“We will meet again.”
The moment the Emperor rose, Dalia scrambled to her feet and blurted out,
“One last question!”
His unreadable gaze settled on her.
“What is your favorite color?”
“None—”
He broke off mid-word, staring at her for a long moment before turning away.
“The color of dawn.”
Watching his retreating figure, Dalia murmured with a pout,
“And what color is that supposed to be, anyway…?”
Her attempt to deduce the Emperor’s tastes had ended in total failure.
Just as Dalia reached out to push open her bedroom door in utter exhaustion, Cole stepped forward to open it for her.
“Thank you.”
Cole offered a quiet smile and stepped aside.
“Goodness! Miss, you’re back already!”
Hart, who had evidently been cleaning the room and dusting off luggage, rushed over with wide, surprised eyes.
“Yes. He seemed rather busy.”
“Who? The Commander?”
“Um…”
Dalia fumbled for an answer and sank into a chair, looking completely drained.
Lemon, having escorted her back to the room, fluttered his wings and slipped out through the window.
“Goodbye.”
“Are you asking me to leave?”
Hart asked, standing beside her in confusion.
“No. You can stay if you like.”
“Did something go wrong with the Commander? You look so worn out.”
“Trying to understand people is simply exhausting.”
Dalia managed a faint, rueful smile, speaking half the truth.
“That’s true enough. But the more someone tries to hide, the easier they are to figure out.”
Dalia looked at Hart with sudden interest.
“How so?”
“Because there’s no such thing as an eternal secret in this world. And the best approach is to start with the people closest to the person you want to know about.”
“…Those close to him?”
At that moment, Dalia’s eyes flew wide.
“Hart, thank you!”
She sprang to her feet, renewed energy coursing through her.
“Goodness, where are you off to the second you got back?”
“To see my brother!”
The moment she stepped out of the room, Cole, who had been guarding the door, fell into step behind her.
“Where should I escort you?”
“To my brother Ryan.”
The easy, natural way she said it made Cole stumble over his words for a second.
“Ah, right. I will escort you.”
“Thank you.”
Cole led her up to the third floor, where she knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
Recognizing Ryan’s voice, she eased the door open to find Annie and Ryan inside together.
Why hadn’t Annie been back in their own room?
“Brother.”
“Ah, yes.”
Ryan took her form of address with mild surprise, having resolved to speak more casually ever since learning a maid had been assigned to Dalia and Annie.
As Dalia slipped inside, Cole quietly pulled the door shut from the hallway.
He took up his post outside, turning from personal escort into a sentry at the door.
Dalia hurried over to sit beside Annie, turning her expectant gaze on Ryan.
“I have a question, Brother.”
Ryan gave an uneasy smile and rubbed the back of his neck.
“It is a relief His Majesty isn’t here to hear this. What is it you want to know?”
“I want to know about the people surrounding Emperor Gray.”
“You seem awfully interested in the Emperor, Dalia.”
“I have my reasons. Will you tell me?”
Ryan let out a soft sigh and began,
“Emperor Gray is notorious for keeping everyone at arm’s length. The closest figures to him are Advisor Orin, Commander Ethan, and Head Butler Rosen. From the imperial family, there is Marchioness Mary Sundo.”
“She is his aunt…”
“Didn’t you mention he has a sister?”
“Rumors say his relationship with his sister is strained.”
“Why?”
“They say he avoids women entirely, to the point of keeping even his own sister at a distance.”
“Just because of that?”
When Dalia asked in disbelief, Ryan chuckled softly.
“Aren’t rumors always like that? Even in our kingdom, there were rumors that our princess never left the palace because she was terribly unsightly.”
“That’s ridiculous. Annie, did you know about this?”
Dalia smirked and turned to Annie.
Annie nodded, her expression chilling into one that clearly said how absurd the whole thing was.
“We never brought those rumors to the Princess back home because they were blatant lies.”
“Still, the Princess would have found it amusing, wouldn’t she?”
Dalia turned back to Ryan.
“Still, why does the Emperor keep women away?”
“I heard it is because he is simply too popular.”
Dalia nodded in understanding, recalling the chaos that had erupted when the Emperor first appeared.
“Then how can I get close to the people around him?”
“What? Why? What could you possibly gain by getting close to them?”
“I need to learn more about the Emperor.”
Ryan and Annie traded a glance at the exact same moment.
Could it be that the Princess wasn’t merely feigning interest… but had genuinely fallen for the Emperor?
If a romance blossomed between them, the international balance of power would be thrown into chaos.
A small realm like the Wyvern Kingdom would find itself in an untenable position, as the neighboring empires might treat it as a vassal state of the Lucifon Empire.
Sensing the alarm written across their faces, Dalia’s eyes went wide.
“I know what you two are worrying about, but that isn’t it at all!”
“Are you certain?”
Ryan studied her expression warily.
“Yes! It really isn’t like that. I just need the Emperor to hurry up and marry anyone at all.”
“Why are you so invested in the Emperor’s marriage, Lia?”
Annie asked, utterly baffled.
Dalia answered in dead earnest,
“At his age, he should have been married long ago, yet he still has no heir. If anything were to suddenly happen to him, the Empire would collapse into civil war, and the chaos would spill straight into our neighboring kingdom!”
Ryan and Annie exchanged another stunned look.
Was this the grand design behind the Princess’s crusade for world peace?
