Chapter 25

While the attendant of Lana Moon was worried about the signs of her growing jealousy, the attendant of Gestar was no less anxious, though his concerns were entirely different from those of Lana Moon's attendant.

“Lady Lana Moon would have already passed by now.”

“I know.”

Gestar’s attendant looked at him with anxious eyes. It had been a while since Lana Moon passed by, yet Gestar was still looking down at the grass on the ground. Seeing his powerless appearance, the attendant sighed again.

“Then, why don’t you lift your head? What have you done wrong?”

Gestar looked at the attendant with an awkward smile. His embarrassed expression was so gentle and warm. The attendant sighed again. If he knew Gestar could smile so cutely, he wouldn’t have said anything. Though the smile was worth a million barts, it always froze in front of the person who should see it.

“Are you far away?”

“Very far away. Don’t worry.”

Ignoring the attendant’s frustration, Gestar finally continued on his way. The attendant grunted and hurried to follow. Noticing the sound, Gestar glanced at him and asked,

“Why? Do you have something to say?”

“Doesn’t His Majesty treat you kindly, Lady Gestar?”

“Ah… yeah.”

Gestar’s extremely embarrassed expression made the attendant momentarily confused about whether he had said ‘treat kindly’ or ‘treat roughly.’

“He treats you kindly.”

When Gestar repeated his words, the attendant was relieved that he hadn’t misheard and continued,

“Then why do you seem so timid? You know that the emperor’s favor is power among the concubines, don’t you?”

“Yeah.”

Between his listless and spiritless responses, the sound of twigs and stones crunching underfoot could be heard.

“Lord Atreks and Lord Rold are fierce rivals. I don’t understand why you seem so intimidated in front of Lady Lana Moon. Don’t be. It’s upsetting.”

Gestar laughed awkwardly again, fidgeting with his light brown hair, and his face turned red. Why was he so embarrassed this time? The attendant, puzzled by his sudden blushing, looked at him, and Gestar mumbled,

“It’s just that… we haven’t… reached that… stage yet. The emperor hasn’t come to see me separately… we’ve only met in the library… I’m not sure.”

“Ah, you mean the bed?”

“Trie! Be careful with your words…”

“Then, should I call it a night affair?”

“Trie!”

Gestar looked shocked, as if he couldn’t believe how such crude words could come out of someone’s mouth. The attendant, feeling a bit offended, frowned and pursed his lips. Though he had come as an attendant, Trie was actually a bodyguard of Gestar’s age. When Gestar was young, Lord Rold, to protect his ‘frail and gentle’ second son, had chosen a talented young commoner boy to be trained as a bodyguard, and that was Trie. Trie had attended many of the same classes as Gestar, and according to his memory, Gestar had received sex education. At the time, he had been a bit embarrassed, but not to this extreme. Why had he become more shy than when he was young? Just then, the attendant suddenly pressed Gestar down and drew his sword.

“Trie?”

Gestar, whose head had been pressed down, bent his waist and looked at the attendant. Instead of a response, a clanging sound was heard as the attendant’s sword clashed with something. Gestar stared blankly at the attendant, still not understanding the situation. The attendant, still holding his sword up, asked,

“What flew by, Lady Gestar?”

“Huh?”

“What fell? What I just deflected.”

Gestar slowly confirmed the ‘fallen object’ and let out a small exclamation. It was a stone. * * *

“Gestar almost got hit by a stone?”

After the state council meeting, Latil, while having lunch in the dining room, recalled the letter and the warning carved on the tomb, and was surprised by the urgent report from the head attendant.

“Really?”

The men in Latil’s harem were so distinctive that their personalities could be discerned within three minutes of conversation. He had expected them to fight fiercely, and even looked forward to it. But to throw stones just a few days after entering the palace? Would they start throwing rocks next?

“Who threw it?”

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Latil asked, and the head attendant sighed in response.

“It seems they don’t know.”

“Why not? Was there no one around?”

“Gestar’s attendant was there, but since he also serves as a bodyguard, he couldn’t track the culprit while worrying that an accomplice might attack Gestar.”

“Huh?”

Latil, still not understanding, asked again.

“Why? Gestar could have run with him.”

The head attendant, puffing his cheeks like a pufferfish, replied,

“…Lady Gestar can’t run.”

“Oh…”

Indeed. He always reads books in the library. It’s not just a few years; he’s been doing it since he was young, so it’s no wonder his stamina is poor. Latil nodded in agreement. Still, he looked quite healthy on the outside. Not just healthy, but tall, broad-shouldered, and sturdy. He thought Gestar could use his body appropriately. Maybe not.

Those broad shoulders were just his natural build. The head attendant asked again,

“What will you do, Your Majesty?”

“I’m not sure. What do you think, Lord Sablé?”

“I suspect Klein.”

“Without personal bias.”

Latil narrowed his eyes, and the head attendant cleared his throat and changed his answer.

“Without personal bias, I have no idea. Lady Gestar is gentle and hasn’t shown any significant prominence yet. There’s no need to suppress her.”

“Is that so?”

“In the same vein, it’s hard to see it as a grudge. Lady Gestar is so mild-mannered that she doesn’t make enemies.”

“True…”

Latil, deep in thought with his fingers interlocked, stood up.

“Whoever did it, someone did. I need to give a general warning.”

* * *

Latil went straight to the harem and gathered all the palace staff, concubines, and their hired help. The people, frightened by the emperor’s sudden appearance, gathered. Latil, looking at the many palace staff, deliberately spoke in a colder tone than usual.

“Gestar was hit by a stone thrown by someone in the harem.”

“…”

“Of course, you all probably already know. It happened here.”

After laying the groundwork with the palace staff, Latil turned to the concubines, making eye contact with each one and warned,

“I won’t say to get along. It’s impossible anyway. But I’d prefer no bloodshed.”

When it was Klein’s turn, whom the head attendant had suspected with personal bias, Latil, despite telling the head attendant to be unbiased, still had a ‘what if?’ feeling and looked at Klein more closely. However, Klein, far from being afraid, smiled and made a heart shape with his hands, as if to say, “What can you do?”

‘Ah… really, that weirdo.’

Latil, momentarily staring at the heart, couldn’t help but laugh. * * *

“In short, if something like this happens again and we can’t identify the culprit, we might have to do a group pep talk. Got it? Don’t take the pep talk lightly. It’s not a cute shape. After running 100 laps in a donut shape, your soul will leave your body.”

After the emperor’s fierce warning, Tahir clicked his tongue.

“I don’t know if this is a mercenary group or a knight group. A group pep talk out of nowhere.”

For the nobility, chivalry was both a duty and an honor. Duels for honor were common, so even if they weren’t talented in swordsmanship, they received basic training. Tahir, however, had always been a merchant and still was, so he had never received such training. This doesn’t mean he was weak; he just hadn’t experienced a group pep talk.

“His Majesty has been following knights since childhood, so it seems the rumors were true, Sub-Commander.”

“Seems so.”

Tahir, turning his head for no reason, muttered,

“With such a personality, I wonder if he’d draw his sword during a marital spat.”

“Really, Sub-Commander. How can you have a marital spat with the emperor?”

“Why not? They say even emperors have marital spats in history.”

“True, but to have a marital spat, you need to be married first.”

And you’re not fully married yet, the attendant’s pointed advice made Tahir walk away with a silent laugh.

“Have you found out? The emperor’s first love.”

“I was just about to tell you…”

“Why didn’t you say it before I asked?”

“Well, I needed to be more certain. The information isn’t solid, and the person involved is… well, you know.”

Tahir, walking slowly with his hands behind his back, turned to the attendant’s strange tone.

“What? Is the first love a king from another country?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Tahir, getting a serious response to his joke, stopped and opened his mouth.

“Really?”

“Yes, a king.”

“A king… Let me think.”

Tahir paused, thinking for a moment, and after 5 seconds, sighed.

“It must be Emperor Carisen. Emperor Haysin. Right?”

“How did you know, Sub-Commander?”

The attendant, who had deliberately used ‘king’ for a more dramatic effect, was surprised. Tahir explained as if it was nothing.

“Looking at the ages of the gathered concubines, he doesn’t seem to like men much older or younger. Looking at their faces, he must have a certain standard. If he were an unmarried king, he would have pushed for a royal marriage, but since he didn’t, the person must be married now. And Emperor Haysin studied in our country for a few years. Who else could it be?”

The subordinate, impressed by the quick answer, clicked his tongue.

“I feel like a fool after investigating for days.”

“You’re not a fool. You found out it was a king, and I just deduced the rest.”

“Still…”

“Anything else?”

“Huh?”

“If Emperor Haysin is the first love, there must be some story about their romance. That’s what I want to know.”

“What kind of person was Emperor Haysin?”

Tahir recalled his visit to Carisen for business. He was good-looking and had a nice voice, but that was all he remembered. He had only exchanged a few words with the emperor of Carisen, and those words didn’t reveal much about his personality.

“He didn’t seem to have a difficult personality.”

“Are you going to imitate him?”

“Hmm. If the first love is a married man, it means the relationship didn’t end well. I might have the opposite effect if I imitate him poorly…”

Tahir, frowning, poked his black hair with his fingertips.

“Besides, it’s hard to gauge the emperor’s personality. It’s difficult to approach him privately.”

“Yes. Still, I’ve tried to investigate as much as possible. The head of the merchant guild also said to assist you as much as possible.”

“Thanks.”

After giving a perfunctory compliment, Tahir, sensing a presence, turned his head to look at something. After a moment, his lips curved slightly upward.

“I could also find out myself.”

The attendant, following Tahir’s gaze, flinched. On the opposite path, Prince Klein, the emperor’s brother, was walking.

“Y-You’re going to ask him directly?”

Surely not, the attendant gasped, but in that short time, Tahir had already reached Prince Klein.