Chapter 75

 

First, I put my bag back on and this time went to Mom’s room.

 

When I came to my room myself, I remembered almost everything and realized that there were no useful items in it.

 

So, all that was left was the office where Momworked.

 

She slept there, so she almost shared her office and bedroom.

 

When I opened the door and entered, I found myself in a neatly organized office.

 

“Here, I stamped the seal instead of Mom.”

 

I don’t know anything else, but I could confidently say that I was the best among kids my age in stamping the seal straight.

 

In fact, there was a time when Mom took the seal I had stamped to the Imperial Palace and received the approval.

 

Because unlike Mom, who stamped it roughly while saying, “Phew, this one here isn’t even over,” I did it very straightly.

 

But all the books that filled one wall here had disappeared.

 

“Did they take this?”

 

I think this is what Roa packed in the box earlier.

 

There are a lot of important things here, so they’re going to be kept at Uncle’s house.

 

I opened Mom’s desk drawer, but it was empty too.

 

“…”

 

It’s not here too.

 

I thought there would be something left behind when I got home.

 

“Heave-ho.”

 

I bent down and went under the desk in the office and looked up, yet there was nothing there.

 

“Not here.”

 

Was it just my thoughts?

 

I sat there feeling regretful, but something suddenly occurred to me.

 

“Ah!”

 

“Why?”

 

“Wait.”

 

I crawled off the desk, jumped up, and headed back to my room.

 

As soon as I entered, I closed the door, went to the closet, and opened the door wide.

 

“…”

 

If I’m right.

 

All the clothes here had been moved to Grandpa’s house and Uncle’s house, so it was empty.

 

But the wooden board under the closet remained.

 

A place where I played hide and seek many times.

 

I sat down and removed the wooden board with all my might.

 

The window was open and the closet was wide open, exposing the inside of the wooden board.

 

“…I don’t know what it is, but I think you’re right.”

 

With Ser’s quietly low voice, I blankly looked at the scene unfolding before my eyes.

 

“I guess Mom knew I would be here.”

 

She knew I would look in here.

 

I reached in and took one out.

 

A bundle of paper rolled up as if it were a bundle of documents and tied neatly with a yellow ribbon.

 

There were also several scrolls, books, and boxes underneath.

 

I took them all out one by one.

 

The book had a yellow ribbon attached to it, and the box was also tied with a lemon-yellow ribbon.

 

As if each gift had been carefully wrapped.

 

The sunlight filled the closet so brightly that the yellow ribbon seemed to sparkle.

 

“Mom…”

 

I swallowed the saliva that had started to pool in my mouth.

 

I bit the inside of my mouth in pain to keep myself from crying.

 

And I quickly wiped away my tears.

 

No. I should never cry while thinking of Mom.

 

Like an obsession, I kept reciting a mantra to stop crying.

 

At most, there were about 10 items left behind by Mom.

 

This place used to be empty.

 

When did Mom put it here?

 

As soon as the accident happened, I went to Grandpa’s house.

 

I hugged them in my arms one by one, holding the items Mom had prepared.

 

Then I quickly put down my bag and opened it.

 

I felt like I shouldn’t be caught crying by Uncle, Zenda, or Roa.

 

They’ll think something big has happened and they’ll be worried.

 

“Let’s go and see first.”

 

I don’t have time to think about Mom right now.

 

I put the items neatly in the bag so they wouldn’t get wrinkled.

 

***

 

[Hello, Russphe!]

 

Russphe read the letter that started with a greeting that could be heard in Aika’s confident voice.

 

As soon as he heard that the letter had arrived, he felt his cheeks turn red and his heart feel full as he read the letter.

 

Aika always writes her letters on yellow papers.

 

She said she always chose the prettiest one, last time it was forsythia colored paper and this time it was banana colored one.

 

[The flowers you gave me were really pretty! The purple flower was like a star flower and the yellow one was round and pretty like the moon.]

 

She said she has been praised for her improvement in Imperial language since she started taking classes.

 

But Russphe thought that Aika seemed so smart that she could have written letters well without learning the language.

 

It was also written that he shouldn’t get sick in the estate and for him to have a safe trip.

 

As expected, Aika is the kindest.

 

“I wanted to meet you.”

 

Actually, he wanted to meet up with Aika and hang out one more time before going down to the estate, yet his schedule was rushed.

 

Russphe put the letter back.

 

In fact, this was already the fifth time he had read the letter since it arrived.

 

“Young Master.”

 

Kamaye, his immediate aide and guard, approached.

 

Originally, Kamaye was in charge of everything, but in the past few days, the number of escorts and aides has already increased to two.

 

It was added by Marquis Kelpodia as he began training for a successor to the throne in earnest.

 

The reason was that the collateral interference was getting worse day by day, so he was placed there to protect the child.

 

Although he received a greeting, Russphe was usually very careful and cautious, so Kamaye still handled most of the work.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“The head of the family is calling.”

 

“Father? Alright.”

 

Russphe, who had been smiling until her cheeks turned red, suddenly became expressionless.

 

Kamaye, who had been with Russphe even before he learned to speak, was amazed every time he saw him like this.

 

Rather, it’s the same as usual now, as when he is with Princess Valliot at the Marquis of Leguier, he really becomes a bright child of that age.

 

Russphe didn’t get up right away, but he took out his favorite book.

 

It was a book in which he had collected letters to take with him when he went down to the estate.

 

There were letters he had already received here and there like bookmarks.

 

Then he unfolded it at a certain point and inserted Aika’s letter without crumpling it.

 

His small hands were very careful and detailed.

 

Russphe stood up with a calm expression as if he had never done that before.

 

“I’ll be there now.”

 

***

 

“Father, did you call me?”

 

“You’re here. Come and sit comfortably.”

 

Marquis Kelpodia welcomed his son as he entered with gentle eyes.

 

Ricardo Willow Kelpodia.

 

Vivid purple eyes that clearly indicate that he belongs to the Imperial family.

 

He had the same black hair as the current emperor, Winchester Gaia Selledor, but unlike Winchester, who had a gentle appearance, he had sharp features.

 

“What class did you take this morning?”

 

A man who was born under the royal name Ricardo Willow Selledor and was in check with his younger brother for the throne until he gave up that surname. He then gave up the throne himself a few years ago.

 

Then he met his lifelong companion and gave birth to Russphe.

 

“I took two classes: a history class and an economics class. For economics class, we solved two paper exam questions together.”

 

“I see.”

 

Naturally, the forces that supported Ricardo split into two and turned to Winchester, the current emperor.

 

Even then, there was no intention of having his child inherit the throne that he had given up, yet the Emperor remained unmarried until Ricardo married and gave birth to Russphe.

 

Uneasy about an unmarried emperor. An unmarried emperor has no future.

 

It was a risky choice that could easily have caused people to rebel and turn their backs on him.

 

The best thing would have been for the Emperor to change his mind, but if that were possible they would have done so starting with Winchester.

 

“There were no mistakes.”

 

Ricardo stared blankly at Russphe’s calmly speaking face.

 

“You can have some mistakes. That’s okay.”

 

“But.”

 

As the emperor’s position became unstable, let alone the aristocratic faction, which was ready to take the sword at any time, even the Imperial faction began to put pressure on him.

 

Therefore, the alternative for the Imperial support forces, including collateral, was to elevate Russphe as the successor to the throne.

 

Ricardo and his wife, Rosetia Homm Kelpodia, also had to consider the alternative.

 

If this alternative wasn’t accepted, there was a risk that even the Imperialist forces would turn their backs on.

 

It was obvious that Ragia de Deslin, who was the leader of the aristocratic faction, would rise up at any moment when he sensed the danger.

 

Then, not only the Emperor, but also the Kelpodia family is in danger.

 

“Did the Young Duke Notium mess with you again?”