Chapter 79

Gesta's words sounded incredibly dangerous. The current emperor being a fake, and the exiled emperor being the real one. If this word were to spread carelessly, it could lead to a major uproar.

"Y-Young Master, you need to be careful with your words."

Trie turned pale and muttered, then checked the windows, doors, corners of the walls, and even the large vase he had just carried.

"We might be misunderstood."

"It's true. I'm sure of it."

"Why are you so sure?"

"That."

Gesta pointed to the books on the shelf, the books given as gifts by the emperor.

"Weren't those the books we promised?"

"Not just a little different... The promise I made with His Majesty was to spend time together and go out. But when His Majesty said he hadn't forgotten the promise, he seemed to have no idea about it at all."

"He might have forgotten."

"He might have forgotten, but if he had forgotten, he wouldn't have given me the books with such confidence. But the fake emperor, pretending to remember the promise he made with me, handed me those books..."

Trie covered his mouth with both hands and trembled.

"Then, what should we do? Prince Lean brought up the story of the fake emperor. So there's a high possibility that Prince Lean is in league with the fake emperor, right?"

"That's right."

When Gesta answered gloomily, Trie's face turned white, and he called out to him with great determination.

"Why?"

When Gesta looked at him, Trie, with a tearful face, pleaded.

"Let's keep this between us. Don't tell anyone."

"What are you talking about?"

Gesta frowned, but Trie, knowing that Gesta was upset, could not back down.

"It's a matter involving the prince. It would be good if the real emperor returns, but what if he doesn't? The fake emperor is so similar to the real one in appearance and behavior that if the prince supports the fake emperor, the game is over."

"Is that what you think?"

"If we try to reveal the truth and fail, we might be exiled along with the real emperor. Think about how the real emperor was exiled under the false accusation of being a black magician."

Trie whispered, almost on the verge of tears.

"If things go wrong, not only you, Young Master, but also the masters might suffer terrible consequences. But if we just pretend to know nothing...!"

Gesta covered Trie's mouth, preventing him from finishing his sentence. Trie, whose face was covered by Gesta's large hand, only blinked. Gesta still looked gloomy but had a heavier expression than usual.

"I didn't come here to become a courtier. I came here to be that boy's husband."

Gesta removed his hand from Trie's mouth and, with a sad look, asked his loyal attendant.

"Do you want to keep this a secret? Even if I don't want to?"

His expression was as lonely and sad as the last withered leaf on a tree, but beneath the pitiful look, a cold thought was brewing. Gesta was considering that if Trie insisted on keeping this a secret and didn't follow his words, he would have to, regrettably, abandon this useful subordinate. What he needed was a servant who would follow his words, not one like this.

"Y-Young Master."

Fortunately for himself, Trie didn't know about Gesta's cold inner thoughts, but he cherished Gesta more than anyone else. With Gesta pushing him this far, Trie couldn't stick to his own opinion.

"Alright. I'll do as you wish, Young Master."

When Trie answered gloomily but obediently, Gesta quickly wrote a letter and handed it to him.

"Deliver this to my father. He will believe me right away."

"Yes."

Even though Trie still seemed uneasy, Gesta approached him, hugged him tightly, and spoke in a kind and gentle voice.

"Trie, you've grown up with me since you were little. We're like brothers. Brothers and friends. You know that, right?"

"Y-Yes!"

When Gesta, who had let him go, looked him in the eye with a trusting gaze, the loyal attendant felt a strong urge to do whatever it took to return the real emperor to his rightful place. He had to, for Young Master to feel at ease.

"Don't worry. I'll do everything in my power for you, Young Master."

* * *

Meanwhile, Latil, who had impersonated the Black Forest to gather Tashir's subordinates, began to move back to Carisen.

'I wonder if Sir Sosran has met Sir Sernyet.'

He was curious whether Sosran had met Sernyet and delivered the message, but there was no way to find out here. After a few days, Latil finally arrived at the capital of Carisen.

"The Black Forest isn't acting quickly, it seems."

However, despite the time that had passed, the assassins of the Black Forest had not yet arrived, making Latil anxious. Perhaps they were too proud, or maybe they were afraid because the King of Mercenaries was nearby. At least, it was fortunate that Callain, who had been depressed after the Ori incident, had returned to his usual expressionless self.

"How do you plan to enter the palace?"

"That's the problem."

Latil crossed his arms and looked at the palace, built in a different style from Tarium, from a distance.

"I need to meet them first to ask for help."

He thought about disguising himself as a maid again, but unlike Tarium, there was no perfect fake identity that could pass the document checks here. He considered hiding among the merchants who were delivering goods to the palace, but they refused, saying they would be responsible if they brought in an outsider and something went wrong. He couldn't use the identity of the King of Mercenaries either, as the story of the King of Mercenaries becoming the concubine of the Emperor of Tarium was already well-known. After staying for two days and trying to find a way to enter the palace, Latil finally had a good idea.

"I need your help, Callain!"

When Callain heard Latil's idea, his already pale face became even paler.

"Really... really going to do this?"

"Yeah. I can't think of any other way."

* * *

"Your Majesty, the merchants are bringing in workers to install the decorations."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Would you like to go and see?"

In the Carisen palace, the entire hall's decorations were changed with each season. The old decorations that were still usable were stored in the warehouse for reuse, and those that were no longer usable were removed. It was time for the change, so the hall was bustling again.

"Sure. Let's go."

Hysinth, who was interested in art, walked to the hall to personally check the new decorations despite his busy schedule. The workers were setting up platforms around the hall's columns and placing sculptures on them. There were several carts, and the workers were carefully unloading the sculptures. Each sculpture was covered with cloth, so the contents were not visible, but they seemed to be very valuable, as the workers handled them with great care. When Hysinth entered the hall, the people inside whispered and glanced at him. One of them had particularly sharp eyes, but with so many people, Hysinth didn't notice.

"Oh! My goodness! Your Majesty! You're here!"

At that moment, the merchant who had brought the sculptures saw Hysinth, quickly approached, and bowed while laughing.

"Thank you for purchasing items from our merchant guild. You will never regret it. Although our guild is not the best in Carisen, I can confidently say that we have a higher appreciation for art than any other guild in the world."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. We always strive to prepare high-quality artworks by discovering and supporting excellent artists. The sculptures you ordered this time are among the best."

After finishing his speech, the merchant signaled to his assistant, who was wearing a deep cap, to remove the cloth from the nearest sculpture. However, the assistant hesitated, looking at Hysinth, and the merchant glared. The assistant reluctantly removed the cloth, revealing a small, white sculpture with wings. The merchant smiled proudly and began an unsolicited explanation.

"Do you see those delicate toes? The shape expressing the movement of the fingernails and fingers? Isn't it amazing? And the drapery, too."

"Indeed."

Hysinth nodded and asked.

"What's the title?"

"<An Angel Pondering Whether to Shoot an Arrow or Not>."

When the workers set up the sculpture on the platform, the merchant removed the cloth from the next sculpture and explained.

"This is <A Dog Personified as Angry Because the Owner Won't Give Coffee>."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. Isn't the expression well done? Look at the eyes."

"Indeed."

As the merchant removed the cloth from the next sculpture and continued his explanation, he became more enthusiastic when Hysinth seemed to listen with interest. Then, at one sculpture, the merchant suddenly stopped, smiled proudly, and boasted in a higher voice.

"This sculpture is especially remarkable, Your Majesty. You will be truly amazed. This is a masterpiece by the genius sculptor Menelang, who only appears once in a hundred years, and it took him five years to complete."

"Wow. Is that so? What's the theme?"

"The smile of the goddess of beauty, Blythe!"

"Interesting. Show me."

"Yes!"

The merchant, calculating the benefits his guild would gain from this successful delivery, confidently removed the cloth with a wide smile, but he gasped and his eyes widened like peanuts.

'What is this?'

The merchant stared at the sculpture with wide eyes and opened his mouth. The goddess of beauty was nowhere to be seen, and there was an unfamiliar sculpture instead. It looked more like a "passerby" than the "goddess of beauty." The merchant, unsure whether to cover the sculpture again, glanced at Hysinth.

"Wow."

Hysinth, too, raised his eyebrows, seemingly finding the title and the sculpture a bit mismatched.

"Very dynamic. I'm not sure if it's the goddess of beauty, but Menelang is indeed a genius. It looks like a living person."

"Y-Yes."

The merchant, stammering, signaled to his assistant with trembling eyes. What is this? Where is the Blythe sculpture, and what is this strange sculpture? The assistant, trembling, shook his head, indicating he didn't know. This looked highly suspicious, but he couldn't question it in this situation.

"Merchant."

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty!"

"Even if the title includes 'goddess of beauty,' why is 'smile' included? This sculpture doesn't have a smiling face."

"Y-Yes?"

In response to Emperor Hysinth's question, the merchant tried to remain calm and examined the sculpture's expression. As the emperor said, the expression was ambiguous. If pressed, it could be considered a smile, but it looked more like a painful expression, as if the sculpture was shouting, "I'm going to drop my jaw from smiling too much."

"T-That is..."

While the merchant was floundering, Hysinth, in the midst of this, seemed to have a sudden realization and nodded.

"I see. Perhaps the goddess of beauty and her smile are ultimately the creation of people's fantasies? The person inside is suffering so much that their muscles ache to create that smile? Profound."

Although it was a ridiculous interpretation, the merchant nodded and clapped like a seal.

"Y-Yes! Absolutely!"

He was grateful that the emperor was interpreting it well on his own. At that moment.

"Hmm?"

Hysinth suddenly frowned and tilted his head. The merchant's heart sank as he followed the direction.

"Merchant."

"Y-Yes, Your Majesty!"

The merchant, trying to hide his urge to cry, quickly answered. Hysinth pointed to the sculpture.

"That sculpture."

"Y-Yes."

"Didn't it just move a little?"

"Y-Yes?"

The merchant was already on the verge of madness from the changed sculpture. Could there be a crack in the sculpture? Is it about to break and move? The merchant panicked and insisted it couldn't be.

"I'm sure it just moved."

But Hysinth, believing what he saw, approached the sculpture. The merchant, behind him, stomped his feet and continued to protest silently to the guild's assistant and the workers who had transported the sculpture. Meanwhile, as Hysinth approached the front of the sculpture, he was amazed to see the arm of the sculpture, which looked like a person despite being completely white, and he pressed it with his finger.

"Very realistic."

At that moment, the part he pressed sank in.

"!"

Hysinth, surprised, quickly lifted his head. Why did the sculpture have flesh...? At that moment.

"It's me, Latil."

The sculpture muttered. Hysinth, with a shocked face, looked up at the sculpture.

'Latil?'

Of course, Latil, who was disguised as a sculpture, couldn't answer.