I Live With My Villain Uncle Chapter 14

“Your Majesty.”

My uncle rose first and greeted him.

“It’s rather difficult to see you in private, Marquess.”

“As you know, I’m busy.”

I held the sides of my dress, moved one leg slightly behind me, and bent it in a curtsy.

“Hello, Your Majesty! I’m Aika de Vallier!”

Then I raised my head.

“…So you’re Aika.”

His Majesty the Emperor bent one knee and met my gaze.

The clothes His Majesty the Emperor was wearing were more splendid than anything I had seen while passing through the Imperial Palace.

Winchester Gaia Seledore.

Mom had told me that I absolutely had to know the name of His Majesty the Emperor, the sun of the Empire, so I had memorized it.

His violet eyes, which I had heard were the symbol of the Imperial Family, were so radiant and mysterious that they almost seemed unreal.

Strangely enough, his pitch-black hair, like the night sky, was exactly the same color as mine.

Mom had said it was the most beautiful color in the world.

His Majesty the Emperor gazed at me intently from that position for a long while.

And only after even more time had passed did he finally ask, as though forcing the words out with difficulty.

“If you don’t mind, may I hold you?”

I nodded without the slightest hesitation.

“Of course!”

It was a very easy thing to do.

However, contrary to what I expected, His Majesty the Emperor only opened his arms and hesitated.

It was only after I took another step closer that his enormous, enormous arms enveloped me.

Along with a low, long sigh, as though he had been holding his breath before finally letting it out, I felt him tremble slightly.

“I didn’t even realize you had grown this much……. I have looked forward to the day I could meet you for such a long time. Thank you for coming.”

I remained in his arms for several minutes, as though time itself had stopped.

But how long was I supposed to stay like this?

Unable to bear waiting any longer, I popped my head up and spoke.

“Your Majesty?”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

His Majesty the Emperor hurriedly pulled me from his arms as though he had been startled.

Even then, His Majesty the Emperor was still trembling as though he were cold.

“It’s okay.”

“You’re a good girl.”

His Majesty the Emperor smiled gently, but there was something strange about his expression.

It was a face filled with countless emotions, yet I couldn’t quite tell exactly what any of them were.

I blinked quietly.

“…Are you really Mom’s friend?”

“Of course. Seria was my friend, and so is Cassel.”

“I see.”

I nodded, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the black hair shimmering right in front of me.

His Majesty the Emperor’s gaze shifted to below my chin.

“That’s a cute necklace.”

It was because of the enormous necklace.

I felt my face suddenly grow hot.

“M-My uncle told me to wear it.”

“It’s very splendid.”

“Ah!”

I suddenly remembered and hurriedly rummaged through my bag before taking out the brooch.

“This is a present.”

“…For me?”

His Majesty the Emperor’s eyes instantly grew twice as large.

As he held out both hands, I carefully placed the brooch on them.

“Yes. Thank you for inviting me. I made it myself!”

His Majesty the Emperor’s eyes curved like crescent moons.

“Thank you. It’s the most special gift I’ve ever received. I’ll treasure it.”

“Yes!”

“Shall we have something delicious now?”

“Okay!”

“I don’t know what you like.”

His Majesty the Emperor rose from his seat and beckoned someone over with a small wave of his hand.

Not long after, far more drinks and snacks were brought out than what was already on the table.

I sat beside my uncle and spent time talking with His Majesty the Emperor.

His Majesty the Emperor laughed more and was warmer than I had imagined, and he also seemed to have many things he was curious about regarding me.

For example, what foods I liked, what colors I liked, what things I liked, and what I enjoyed doing.

“I think I understand why it’s so hard to see your face. If I were with Aika, I’d hate to see the time pass, too.”

“What nonsense.”

“My uncle doesn’t play with me very much.”

I took this opportunity to tell my uncle for all his misdeeds.

They said he was even higher than Grandfather, and higher than Mom too, so it seemed like a good idea to report things like this to him.

When my uncle’s eyebrow twitched, His Majesty the Emperor burst out laughing again.

“Cassel doesn’t play with me much either. He always has plenty of excuses about being busy.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. So I’d be happy if Aika came to visit often and played with me.”

“Can I really come again?”

“Of course. You can come anytime you want. Then your uncle will bring you. I can know his schedule whenever I wish. Isn’t that right, Cassel?”

“Why drag me into this? What a nuisance.”

“Now, now. That’s quite rude to say to your Emperor.”

“I was saying it to my friend.”

His Majesty the Emperor gave him a pleasant smile, while my uncle pressed his fingertips against his temple with a look of disbelief.

“Then are His Majesty the Emperor and I friends now?”

His Majesty the Emperor raised an eyebrow, then nodded just as I had.

“Of course. From now on, if your uncle bullies you, you can tell me.”

Gasp! What wonderful news!

I was so happy that I nearly started bouncing around, but after glancing at my uncle, I gestured for His Majesty the Emperor to lend me his ear.

“Um…….”

“Hmm?”

I leaned toward His Majesty the Emperor, who bent down toward me, and cupped my hand around his ear as I whispered.

“If Uncle bullies Your Majesty too, you can tell me. Because we’re friends.”

His Majesty the Emperor burst out laughing again.

“Hey, what did you say?”

My uncle, who had been wearing an expression as though he had taken all the world’s complaints upon himself, asked.

I rolled my eyes around and shrugged.

“Ah, n-nothing.”

“It’s a secret between us. Right?”

“That’s right.”

I quickly nodded my head up and down.

And as I watched His Majesty the Emperor like that, I thought it would be nice if he and my uncle could split their personalities exactly in half.

“Ah, right. Sola, could you bring that?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The woman with short dark-green hair, her buttons neatly fastened all the way to her neck, bowed at the waist and soon returned with a small box.

His Majesty the Emperor took it from her and held it out to me.

“Here. This is the gift I wanted to give you.”

It was a box covered in pitch-black velvet.

“What is it?”

When His Majesty the Emperor opened the lid, a long silver key appeared inside.

“It’s the key to the Imperial Family’s Ancient Book Room.”

“What are ancient books?”

“They’re very old books. They contain wisdom we didn’t know and hold many things within them.”

“Wow, really?”

“Long ago, Seria asked me to give this to you, saying that Aika was very smart and would surely need it. I’m only giving you the gift now.”

I reached for the key inside the box, then froze.

Mom?

“Mom?”

I looked back and forth between my uncle and His Majesty the Emperor.

My uncle nodded as though everything was all right, without getting angry as he normally did.

“She told me, ‘Aika will be able to find something special inside that only Aika can know.’”

“Really…… Mom said that?”

“Yes. Whenever you’re curious, you may come and look. And you can ask me for anything else, too. From now on, always.”

“Ah.”

A gift Mom had asked him to give me.

A gift Mom had given me.

I clasped the key between both hands and hugged it to my chest.

Somehow, it felt as though I could feel Mom’s warmth.

I held it for a long time, until the key had grown warm, then bowed my head.

Oh, right. I should thank him.

“Thank you!”

I put the key back in the box and handed it to my uncle.

“Uncle, I’ll keep this.”

Even if my uncle was a little prickly, he was the only person I could trust with it.

“I see. Making me carry things around for you now.”

“You’d be in big trouble if you lost it.”

“I heard Lord Ruspe has arrived.”

I heard someone who seemed to be one of His Majesty the Emperor’s subordinates quietly whispering into his ear.

“Oh, he’s here. Let him in. I heard my niece had entered the palace, so I called him here, thinking he might become friends with Aika.”

A little while later, a boy who looked to be around my age entered alongside the subordinate who had quickly gone out.

“I greet His Majesty the Emperor, the sun of the Empire.”

His Majesty the Emperor rose from his seat as if welcoming him.

The boy bowed deeply and greeted him in a clear, precise voice before taking a few more steps toward us.

“Ruspe, come here.”

His hair, which fell halfway over his eyebrows, was a very bright silver.

Like moonlight. It’s really pretty.

The ends curled slightly, making it look like it would be fluffy and soft if I touched it.

And his violet eyes, the symbol of Imperial blood, had sharp, narrow corners that made him look rather aloof.

The boy approaching us suddenly stopped when his eyes met mine, as though he had been startled.

The sharp, aloof eyes that had seemed so haughty quickly became round and beautiful.

Why is he looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?