“What do you mean? What does Caesar’s ability have to do with you?”
Katana demanded, but Evelyn only responded with a small smile, dodging the question.
“Just… in many ways. He’ll be coming of age soon, the imperial authority is stable now…”
No way—
Unlike Katana, Caesar understood immediately.
She was talking about the awakening that could only happen once he became an adult.
She was saying that once he awakened… she would leave his side.
It felt like his heart had plummeted straight to his feet.
Up until now, Caesar had thought of his awakening as nothing but a good thing.
A newfound power would strengthen his rule, and with that, he’d be able to protect Evelyn even more.
How foolish.
He had known Evelyn might not feel exactly the same way he did—but not to this extent.
And yet, he had been worrying about something as trivial as the debutante ball.
Through the slightly open door, her indifferent voice reached him.
“I’ve been thinking about this from the very beginning. I’ve done everything I needed to do.”
From the beginning.
From the very start, she had planned to leave.
Every time she had helped him, watched over him, worried about him…
It had all been in preparation for the day she would walk away.
Memories of everything Evelyn had done for him flashed through his mind.
While he had spent all this time growing attached to her…
She had been thinking about leaving.
Caesar felt something inside him crumble.
****
I turned nineteen.
To celebrate my birthday, I spent a night at my family’s estate.
Then, the next morning, as I was getting ready to return to the palace, my mother suddenly burst into my room.
“I should have called Tialen while you were here! But I completely forgot!”
“Huh?”
Hearing Tialen’s name out of nowhere, I gave my mother a puzzled look.
“It’s almost time for the debutante ball! This time, you must do it properly, so we need to get you a new dress!”
“Oh…”
Right. The debutante.
Last year, I had missed it because of Caesar’s unexpected rampage.
That meant this time, I would finally be attending my real debutante.
I had told my mother that I couldn’t attend last year because of a special order from Caesar.
She had been outraged, insisting that not even the emperor should have the power to stop someone from attending their own debutante.
But since my father had been thriving thanks to Caesar’s support, she seemed to have conveniently forgotten all about it.
“But I already have a debutante dress. The one from last year is perfectly fine, so why bother getting a new one?”
Of course, it was in perfect condition—I hadn’t even set foot in the ballroom before ending up taking care of Caesar instead.
My mother looked scandalized.
“Are you serious? Fashion trends change so much in a year! And besides, you’ve grown! The dress might not even fit you anymore!”
“…Do you really think so?”
I glanced at my reflection in the mirror.
Objectively speaking, I was still smaller than most girls my age.
Sure, my baby fat had faded, making my features a little more mature, and I had grown a bit taller…
But not enough that the dress wouldn’t fit.
Even if the skirt was a tiny bit shorter, no one would care.
“Anyway, I’ll reach out to Tialen within the week—”
“It’s really fine, Mom.”
“No, absolutely not! This is a once-in-a-lifetime event—”
“I’m really busy! I don’t even have time for a fitting. So don’t contact Tialen, okay? Alright, I have to get to work now—bye!”
“What? But, Evelyn—!”
Ignoring her protests, I quickly rushed out of my room before she could say another word.
Last year, I had already gone through enough trouble being dragged around to dress fittings.
There was no way I was going through that again.
‘Honestly, what’s so special about a debutante?’
It wasn’t like I was excited about it, anyway.
By the time I arrived at the palace, the sun was high in the sky.
Since I had been gone all day yesterday for my birthday, I headed straight for the emperor’s palace.
Knock, knock—
I knocked before stepping into Caesar’s office.
He was seated at his desk, eyes fixed intensely on a stack of documents.
“Your Majesty, I’m back.”
“…I see.”
Even after I greeted him, he only spared me a quick glance before returning to his paperwork.
‘Is he really that busy?’
I settled into my usual spot at the small table meant for me.
When Caesar was handling government affairs, I usually stayed here as well, working on my own tasks.
Today’s work involved documents related to the debutante.
As emperor, Caesar had to give a short congratulatory speech at the event, which required some scheduling and preparation.
Flipping through the papers, I suddenly remembered something.
“Oh, and I got the birthday present you sent. Thank you.”
“Good. I’m glad you received it.”
Once again, he didn’t lift his gaze from his documents.
His voice lacked its usual energy.
‘What’s going on?’
Something felt off.
And not just today.
Lately, Caesar had been acting strangely.
He seemed… deflated.
As if he was disappointed, frustrated, or maybe even angry.
At first, I thought he might be upset with me.
But that didn’t make sense—if he were truly mad, why would he have still sent me a birthday gift?
‘Is it something else?’
As far as I knew, he had been eating properly and was in good health.
The noble faction had also been unusually quiet lately, causing no trouble.
“Um, Your Majesty… is something wrong?”
“…No.”
His answer was curt and cold.
But anyone could see that wasn’t true.
Normally, he would have at least asked why I was bringing it up.
‘What is going on?’
I stopped working and simply watched him.
There was no way he didn’t notice my gaze, yet he didn’t react at all.
‘Hmm…’
Hours passed.
Not once did Caesar look at me.
It was only when it was time for his sword training that he finally spoke.
“I should go change.”
After he left, I remained seated, organizing my thoughts.
Then, I happened to glance at his desk.
And realized something was very, very strange.
Even after hours of sitting there, the number of completed documents was far too low.
‘That settles it.’
Without hesitation, I left the office and headed for his bedroom.
I would wait there until he returned.
No matter how long it took.
We needed to talk.
I had no idea how much time had passed when Caesar finally returned.
The sky was completely dark.
Even after sword training, he was never out this late.
Yet another unusual thing.
Entering the room with a weary expression, he immediately froze upon seeing me.
“…Evelyn?”
“Yes, it’s me.”
His lips parted slightly as if he wanted to say something, but he hesitated.
Then, he turned his head away.
“Why are you here? Why didn’t you go back to your room?”
I narrowed my eyes.
Normally, he would be happy to see me.
Something was definitely wrong.
“I’ve been waiting for you because I need to talk to you.”
“…About what?”
He didn’t even look at me when he spoke.
His head remained tilted downward, eyes fixed on the corner of the room.
He looked… sad.
Without thinking, I stepped forward and took his hands in mine.
“What’s wrong?”
“…What do you mean?”
“You’ve been acting strange for days now.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You don’t seriously think I wouldn’t notice, do you?”
Caesar stubbornly avoided my gaze.
His lowered eyelashes trembled slightly.
“Your Majesty…”
I sighed softly.
“Please, just tell me. Whatever it is, you don’t have to keep it to yourself. I want to help you.”
“You… want to help me?”
“Of course! If there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it.”
Slowly, he lifted his head.
For the first time in days, our eyes met.
And what I saw stunned me.
He looked just like the lonely boy I had once found crouched alone in the royal garden—filled with sadness and fear.
“Evelyn…”
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
His lips parted, then closed.
He seemed to be choosing his words carefully.
I waited patiently.
Finally, he spoke.
“Can you… not go to the debutante?”
“…What?”
The debutante?
That’s what this was about?
I blinked in confusion.
At that moment, a single teardrop slipped from his golden eyes and fell.
It was so breathtakingly beautiful that, for a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
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