Chapter 78

"Your Majesty. Lord Gestar wishes to see you."

When the voice calling from outside was heard, Shait was sitting side by side with Lean, going over some work. Lean muttered, "Gestar?" and then, realizing who it was, asked Shait, "Shall I step aside?"

Shait was about to say no, but then thought, 'Given Ratil's personality, would he really be able to enjoy himself with his concubines with his older brother right beside him?' and changed his mind. "Go ahead."

While Lean stepped aside, Shait quickly skimmed through a report he had pulled out of a drawer, which summarized the personalities of each concubine and their connections with Ratil. "Your Majesty."

Even after Gestar entered the room, Shait continued to look over the report with a broad gaze and asked, "So, what brings you here?"

His eyes were sharply curved, giving the impression that he was busy rather than ignoring the other person. "I'm sorry to come so abruptly when you're so busy."

"It's fine."

Only after spotting the phrase 'His Majesty was kind to Lord Gestar' in a corner of the report did Shait finally turn his gaze to Gestar. Gestar, who was usually dressed in comfortable sweaters and spent most of his time in the library, was dressed exactly as described in the report today. A comfortable and simple atmosphere, like the smell of books and dried sunlight, seemed to emanate from him, making it hard to believe he was the son of the Lord Chancellor. A young man free from the pretentiousness that noble heirs often fall into. 'He seems like a decent guy.'

But the position of the imperial consort isn't one that can be filled by just being simple. At times, one must wear the most splendid clothes and bear them. The imperial consort represents the country alongside the emperor. But could this seemingly innocent young man handle such a role?

"Your Majesty?"

Perhaps finding it strange that Shait was just staring silently, Gestar tilted his head. "I noticed you look particularly well today."

"Huh?"

Shait, who had been making a casual excuse, put down the report and asked, "So, what brings you here?"

"I've heard you've been busy with various matters lately..."

"Yes. There are many things to attend to. I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit often."

"Actually, about my next birthday..."

Since Shait had already checked Gestar's birthday and Ratil's calendar, he wasn't taken aback and immediately replied, "Yes, it's not far off. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten."

"No, it's not that. With everything so complicated, I'm not sure if you can keep your promise..."

As Gestar hesitated and lowered his gaze, Shait recalled the 'book' Ratil had written in the calendar and naturally responded, "Of course. I remember it well, so don't worry."

* * *

On Gestar's birthday, Shait didn't hold a separate celebration. Instead, the day before, he sent someone to Gestar to inform him that if he wished, he could invite his family and friends into the harem to play as he pleased. However, since Gestar refused, saying he didn't want to make a fuss amidst the palace's chaos, Shait called Gestar to the dining room around 6 PM on his birthday. There, they had a meal together, and Shait gave him a few precious books he had prepared. These were all rare or antique books, which Gestar, who loved books, would surely appreciate.

"Here, the books I promised."

As Shait handed over the books, Gestar's eyes widened in surprise as he looked down at them. Was it because there were too few? Or did he not like these books? As Shait pondered, Gestar soon smiled, his eyes crinkling. His beaming face shone like the stars.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

As Gestar, holding the books wrapped in thin, transparent paper, bowed, Shait nodded, thinking, 'This should do.' "I'll throw a grand celebration for your next birthday. This time, let's keep it simple, but don't take it to heart."

"I'm more than happy."

After Gestar bowed and left, Shait took out the documents he had been reviewing before Gestar arrived and spread them on the desk. Gestar, unable to hide his joy, quickly returned to the harem. Shait, having received a report that Gestar was deeply moved, completely forgot about the matter and began to ponder the issues concerning Tlara. Neither Shait nor the person who reported Gestar's reaction to Shait knew that as soon as Gestar entered his room in the harem, the innocent and clear smile he had been wearing suddenly vanished.

"Master, did you have a good trip?"

Gestar's attendant, Tiri, who had been repeatedly moving a large vase sent by the duchess as a birthday gift for her son, turned around with a wide smile when he sensed someone approaching. "I'm not sure if it's true, but I heard that Lord Kallain had a fling with a maid and ran away. Since the source is Lord Kallain, everyone is whispering about it... Master?"

But Tiri was startled by Gestar's stern expression and nearly knocked over the vase. "Master, what happened?"

Tiri set the vase down and hurriedly approached Gestar. After taking the books from him and placing them on the shelf, he kept glancing at his master. "Did His Majesty scold you?"

"No. He didn't say anything."

"But why do you look so... Is something wrong?"

After placing all the books on the shelf, Tiri approached Gestar and cautiously observed his side profile. Gestar, instead of answering, took off his coat and handed it to Tiri, then sat in front of the vanity. His expression was serious, and Tiri, holding the coat, was at a loss. "Yes."

Gestar answered surprisingly willingly. "What really happened?"

Tiri's eyes widened as he tried to imagine what could have happened. Gestar looked at Tiri with frightened eyes. Though he didn't say anything, Tiri could tell from his expression how frightened he was and felt sorry for his sensitive master. However, the words that came out of Gestar's mouth were something Tiri had never expected.

"Didn't a fake emperor appear and was chased away a while ago?"

"Yes... That's right. It was quite a shock. I never thought someone could impersonate His Majesty."

"He's the real one."

"Really?"

* * *

Around this time, Ratil was leaving Tarium and heading towards Carisen. "Hyacinth knows I'm the real one. We met by chance when I secretly left the palace and traveled together. He will be helpful."

I can't just bring Hyacinth alone to prove my innocence. After all, Hyacinth is the emperor of another country. If Ratil only brought Hyacinth as a witness, people would gossip, saying, "The Emperor of Hyacinth must be in league with the black magician," and wouldn't believe Ratil was the real emperor. But if he brought other witnesses to assert his innocence, Hyacinth would be a great help.

"And I need to call Tashir."

Just before crossing the border of Carisen, they arrived at a town. After choosing an inn to stay for the night and settling in the first-floor dining room, Ratil whispered to Kallain. Kallain, folding a napkin and placing it in front of Ratil, asked, "Tashir?"

"Yeah."

As a waiter approached, Ratil asked for a typical large meal and, once the waiter left, leaned in close to Kallain, lowering his voice. "There's a secret signal to call Tashir."

"A secret... signal?"

Kallain's eyes flickered at the mention of a secret signal between them. But he quickly averted his gaze, hiding his reaction, and asked, "What is it?"

"I can't show it here."

"Seems like you don't want to tell me."

"Actually, there's no real way to show it."

Ratil nodded, and Kallain sadly arranged the fork and spoon. It was more like he was fidgeting with the fork already on the table. After the food arrived, Ratil sat there, deep in thought, drawing strange symbols in the air with his fingers. It seemed like he was practicing the secret signal with Tashir, so Kallain didn't interrupt and just stirred the soup with a spoon. About 15 minutes later, Ratil stopped his actions, looked up, and frowned at the untouched soup in front of Kallain.

"Are you feeling sick?"

The soup in front of Kallain was still full. The inn seemed to prioritize quantity over quality, and the soup in one bowl was already quite a lot, but Kallain hadn't touched a single spoonful. The same went for the salad they had shared. Ratil's salad was almost finished, with only a few cabbage leaves left, but Kallain's salad, including the dried fruit, was untouched.

"Does it taste bad?"

Of course, it did taste bad. But Kallain, who had lived as a princess all her life, knew that in a hurry, it wasn't the time to fuss over the taste of food. After traveling through various dangerous areas and facing risks, Kallain wouldn't complain about the soup being bland or the salad fruit being rotten. "Are you feeling sick? If you really can't eat it, I can order something else."

Under normal circumstances, he would have just told her not to eat it, but they had camped out many times on their journey, and during those times, they had to either starve or eat mushrooms and fruits they picked and cooked. Kallain, who carefully checked the mushrooms each time and cooked them, while Ratil, every time he ate, thought, "If I die from eating this, I'll be the most absurdly recorded emperor. Or maybe not even recorded at all." Especially the last colorful mushrooms they ate. Given this situation, to maintain his strong muscles, shouldn't he eat as much as possible when he can?

"No, I was just thinking. It's fine."

What could he have been thinking for 15 minutes? Ratil glanced at the clock, but Kallain had already picked up the spoon and was pushing it into the soup. Seeing her force herself to eat the soup, which looked unbearably tasteless, Ratil finally grabbed her wrist. "If you're full, just don't eat it."

Kallain put down the spoon, seemingly not wanting to eat it at all. She then stared at Ratil's almost empty plate and, trying to change the mood, smiled faintly and muttered, "When we enter Carisen, shall we eat duck skewers? You always liked duck meat, didn't you?"

Ratil, who was about to finish his meal, paused with the spoon in hand and frowned. "Me? I don't eat duck."

Who are you mistaking me for? Which lady likes duck? Ratil suppressed the words that almost slipped out and put the spoon of yellow soup in his mouth. "You don't like it?"

But Kallain, who really believed Ratil liked duck, was a bit surprised. "Why would you think I like it?"

"Frankly, I'm closer to disliking it."

"!"

* * *

Who did you mistake me for... The next day. As they passed through the border town of Carisen, Kallain's expression remained stiff, making Ratil feel uneasy. Could this guy have confused what his first love liked with what I like? But he couldn't ask directly, so while looking for a suitable place to draw the secret signal for Tashir, Ratil kept glancing at Kallain. After about two hours, he found a suitable place to call Tashir before Kallain's expression improved.

"This should do."

The place was a path that people rarely walked but might occasionally pass by. There were a few graves around, some intact and some half-collapsed.

"Are you going to leave the secret signal here?"

Kallain, who had been following Ratil silently, seemed a bit surprised when she saw the place. "Yes."

Ratil answered and suddenly started digging the ground. "I'll do it."

Not understanding, Kallain helped dig the ground. "That's enough."

After all the work was done, Ratil smiled and gave another instruction. "Now, just fill it back up."

"Fill this... as it is?"

Why bother? Kallain, confused, asked, but Ratil answered, "Yes," and started filling the ground back up. What does this have to do with the secret signal for Tashir? Kallain didn't understand but, since she had offered to do it, she filled the ground back up. After all the work was done, the ground looked as if something had just been buried and hastily covered.

"Perfect."

Ratil looked at it with satisfaction and then started drawing something on a large rock nearby with a black chalk he had brought. Kallain's eyes widened when she saw this. "That... Your Majesty. Is that...?"

What Ratil drew was not a romantic secret code he shared with his concubine but the symbol of the assassins' group, which they drew after an assassination. In other words, Ratil was impersonating the Black Forest. "This. Our secret signal."

Kallain, looking at Ratil with a disbelieving expression, saw Ratil smile contentedly and proudly shrug. "He'll come as soon as he sees this."

"Are you going to kill the impersonator with a sword?"

"It's fine. I'll catch him and send him on an errand to Tashir. Isn't that right?"

"..."