Just knowing that there was a recording inside the magic tool was enough—Caesar could erase it.
He didn’t need to know exactly what the video showed. He didn’t need to see how Evelyn moved in it. It didn’t matter.
With this principle, his ability could be used in many different ways.
‘If I can erase things that are more abstract…’
Memories. Beliefs. Love.
Depending on how he used it, there might be no limit to this power.
‘I just have to keep testing it.’
“Let’s try something else. Bring me a book—one where it won’t matter if the contents disappear.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Alvin bowed and turned to leave, but then hesitated.
“Um, Your Majesty… may I ask something?”
“What is it?”
“Are you really planning to keep this power a secret?”
Alvin’s voice was firm, as if he had thought about this for a long time.
“I have never seen an ability like this before. This is greater than magic. If people knew you had this power, the empire’s military strength would increase significantly.”
“Well… People fear what they don’t understand. No one knows how the empire would react.”
“But—”
Caesar cut him off.
“That’s enough. This conversation ends here.”
“…Understood.”
Alvin looked like he wanted to say more, but in the end, he simply shut his mouth.
“I will go find a book.”
As Alvin left, Caesar sat alone, staring at the smooth surface of the seedless apple.
‘How long can I keep this hidden?’
What he told Alvin sounded reasonable, but it was just an excuse.
The real reason he was hiding his ability… was Evelyn.
‘How long… can I deceive her?’
If Evelyn ever found out the truth—
Caesar’s face twisted with guilt.
****
After hearing the ridiculous rumor that Caesar was a tyrant, I couldn’t think straight.
I didn’t even remember how I managed to finish the picnic with Floria and Katana and return safely to the palace. My mind was completely filled with a single thought.
‘His Majesty… is actually a cruel tyrant?’
Even the next morning, the words of the maid kept echoing in my head.
Of course, I didn’t fully believe it. No one knew Caesar better than I did. At the very least, I had seen and experienced far more than those maids, who had probably never even had a proper conversation with him.
If Caesar had exiled a noble family, there had to be a justified reason.
The real question was—who started this rumor, and why? There were too many strange details for it to be dismissed as mere gossip.
‘Who? And why?’
The most obvious explanation was that the noble faction was behind it, trying to damage Caesar’s reputation. It wouldn’t be surprising if they were.
‘Ever since Baron Gobet was humiliated, they’ve probably been waiting for revenge.’
If that were the case, I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.
If the rumor had already spread among the maids in the former princess’s palace, then it was safe to assume it had spread throughout the entire imperial palace.
And it might not stop there.
I had to find proof that this was all a lie.
‘First, I need to find out if a noble family was really stripped of their title and exiled by Caesar. And if so, which family it was.’
That family would hold the key to uncovering the truth behind the rumor.
“Ugh!”
After thinking for a long time, I suddenly jumped out of bed.
This wasn’t a problem I could solve by sitting around and worrying. If I had questions, the fastest way to get answers was to go find them myself.
I immediately headed for Katana’s room.
“Katana!”
I burst in without knocking, startling Katana, who groggily sat up in bed.
“…Evelyn? What the heck? It’s so early.”
“Can you find some records for me?”
“Ugh… What records?”
Still half-asleep, Katana asked with her eyes barely open. I sat down on the edge of her bed.
“I need to know if any nobles have been exiled from the empire recently.”
“Exiled…? Hold on…”
She closed her eyes.
I remembered the maids exchanging papers while gossiping. I had no idea what was on them, but it was clearly solid evidence—enough to be widely accepted.
‘And they specifically mentioned that Caesar found an excuse to exile them.’
Whatever the truth was, there must have been an official justification for the exile. That meant there had to be a record of it somewhere.
I watched Katana closely as she lay still with her eyes closed. Was she searching for records… or just falling back asleep?
How long had I been waiting? Suddenly, Katana’s eyes snapped open.
“How is it?” I asked impatiently.
She answered casually, “Yeah, there’s one. A noble family was exiled recently. The official reason given was plundering their own citizens and engaging in unfair trade.”
That did seem like a serious crime, but… it felt like a weak excuse to strip a noble family of their title and exile them completely.
‘Of course, if he really wanted to, he could have done it. But it does feel a bit excessive…’
I could understand why people would think he had fabricated an excuse. So far, the maids’ words had been correct.
“Who was it? Which noble family?”
I asked nervously. Katana answered nonchalantly.
“Vivian Sancia.”
“…Huh? Vivian?”
I was shocked. I had expected the name of some noble from the aristocratic faction. But it was Vivian’s family that had been exiled?
“The whole family lost their titles and got kicked out. Oh, and… their youngest daughter, Vivian, used to be a maid in the imperial palace. Do you know her?”
“…Yeah, I do.”
That was the problem—I knew her too well.
‘So that’s why she suddenly disappeared after the debutante ball. It wasn’t voluntary—she was exiled.’
Why on earth would Caesar exile Vivian? The Sancia family didn’t hold much influence. That meant the reason had to be personal—something related to Vivian herself.
The maids had said that she was exiled for “speaking to Caesar.” And yes, I did remember her approaching him at the debutante ball… so technically, the timing matched up.
‘But would Caesar really exile an entire family just for that?
No. That didn’t make sense.
Caesar wasn’t some ruthless tyrant. He wouldn’t do something so petty.
Then… what if the real reason was because of what Vivian did to me?
He must have noticed how suddenly I changed my mind and insisted on dancing with him at the debutante ball. That probably made him curious.
And if he later found out that Vivian was the reason…?
‘Could it be… that he did it for me?’
It wasn’t exactly the most righteous thought, but honestly, I felt relieved.
The idea that Caesar had secretly avenged me was… strangely endearing.
‘Then… could Vivian be the one spreading the rumor?’
It did seem like something she’d do. She must have been humiliated after the debutante ball.
But how would she have known about Caesar’s power?
Did she just make a wild guess that happened to be true?
‘No, that’s impossible.’
It was too specific to be a coincidence.
And besides, Vivian was already exiled.
How could someone banished from the empire spread rumors inside the imperial palace?
That meant there was someone else—someone who knew both Vivian’s story and Caesar’s ability. Someone who had deliberately spread this rumor.
There was one more thing that didn’t make sense—Caesar wasn’t supposed to be awakened yet.
How could anyone know about a power he didn’t even have?
‘Did they just make it up?’
Maybe they heard whispers about his abilities and exaggerated them to turn him into a fearsome figure.
It wouldn’t be hard to take an existing rumor and spin it into something worse—like calling him a tyrant.
Yes. That was the logical conclusion.
‘Then why… do I still feel uneasy?’
A strange feeling gnawed at me.
‘Is that really all there is to it?’
It wasn’t just the rumor—this uncertainty had been haunting me for days.
The fact that the recording inside the magic tool had vanished without a trace—an impossible event.
If there was one truth that connected both incidents…
It was that Caesar had successfully awakened.
That he had been hiding his power all along.
Once again, there was only one way to know for sure.
I had to ask him directly.
“Katana, thanks. I should get go—”
I turned around mid-sentence—only to see that Katana had already fallen back asleep.
I carefully stepped out of her room and walked straight to Caesar’s chambers.
After knocking, I entered to find him just waking up and getting ready.
“Your Majesty.”
“You’re here?”
Caesar greeted me with his usual calm expression, completely unaware of what was coming.
He got out of bed and walked behind the curtain to change.
I watched him, trying to figure out how to bring this up.
But the moment he stepped out from behind the curtain, before I could stop myself, the words just spilled out.
“Your Majesty, you haven’t awakened yet… have you?”
Comments (0)