Chapter 41

As cherry blossoms petals danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

Romalis stood at the entrance of the classroom, took a deep breath, and firmly held the letter containing the secret that his mother had given him.

Romalis shouted, "I am Prince Romalis! Please let me see the Emperor! Please let me see the Emperor! Please let me see the Emperor!" Despite being chased away by the guards at the entrance several times, Romalis continued to raise his voice.

His sister's voice was weak. Just like a kitten, his sister would eventually stop moving and become cold.

"I am Prince Romalis! Please let me see the Emperor!" His outstretched hand was shaken off by the guards. "The Emperor is busy!" "My sister is being locked up! My sister will die!"

No matter how many times he was chased away, Romalis did not give up. He thought that if he continued shouting, the Emperor might hear him one day, so he shouted with all his might.

Eventually, a crowd began to gather around Romalis, who was crying and shouting, and a guard knight who happened to pass by noticed the commotion.

It was an unbelievable story, but the Empress was indeed Romalis's step-sister. Perhaps he was really talking about the Empress.

The guard knight knelt before Prince Romalis and tried to listen to his story. However, the prince only repeated that he wanted to see the Emperor directly, and the story was incoherent. Despite his face being a mess of tears and snot, the small prince did not seem to be making a frivolous joke.

The guard knight made up his mind and turned to report the matter to the Emperor.

"Prince Romalis wishes to see you."

"Romalis can wait!" Alek interrupted the guard knight irritably.

In the end, neither the guards nor the knights could find Via. It had been a full day and night, and they still had no leads on her rescue. The frustration was almost unbearable. Alek had no time to think about his neglected brother.

"I will hear about Prince Romalis later," said Lord Ruitas Ladus, who was standing beside him, trying to mediate, but the guard knight shook his head.

"I don't know how much to trust him. However, Prince Romalis keeps shouting that his sister is locked up and is asking for the Emperor's help."

Alek was taken aback by the unexpected words. "His sister is locked up?"

He thought it was impossible. The Empress and Romalis had no acquaintance. Still, he could not dismiss the words as mere nonsense. He looked at Ruitas, who was also staring at the guard knight with a serious expression.

"What else did the prince say?" Ruitas asked, and the guard knight opened his mouth with a stern face.

"I am Prince Romalis. Please let me see the Emperor. My sister is locked up. My sister will die. The prince kept shouting these words."

Alek clenched the armrest of his chair. It could be Via. "Bring Romalis here."

Romalis was led into a luxurious room he had never seen before. On the throne in front of him sat a young, handsome man who was looking at him with a slightly pale face.

"Do you have something to say to me?" Romalis looked up at the man in front of him. "Are you the Emperor?"

"Yes."

Romalis had been told by his sister not to give the item to anyone else. So, he wanted to make sure. "I want to meet the real Emperor. Are you the real Emperor?"

"In this country, only I can call myself the Emperor. If anyone else does, they will lose their head."

Romalis thought hard about these words and decided to hand over the item he was holding to the Emperor. "My sister asked me to give this to the Emperor."

As Romalis approached the Emperor, a guard stepped in between them. "It's fine," Alek stood up and approached Romalis. A small hairpin fell into Alek's palm.

"This is..." Alek gasped. It was slightly bent, but there was no mistaking it. It was the hairpin he had bought for Via in the lower town, which she had loved very much.

Ruitas's face also changed. Camie had said that the Empress had fallen into a hidden passage while trying to pick up the hairpin.

Alek took a deep breath to calm himself. "Where is your sister?"

Suddenly, the Emperor appeared with a large number of knights in the usually quiet and forgotten Ruby Palace, causing a commotion in the palace. At the front, little Romalis was running.

"Here it is."

A slight movement in the mural in the corridor revealed a gap. Peering through the gap, green dress and scattered golden hair were visible. "Via!"

Alek tried to push open the mural but cursed. A large oak display cabinet was blocking where the mural should move, and it was even secured with metal fixtures.

"Break the mural!"

The mural was firmly attached to a wooden board. The knights started to ram their bodies into the wooden board. After a few collisions, a crack began to form, and one of the knights kicked it hard, being careful not to hit the fallen Empress.

Camie immediately entered and carefully lifted the fallen Empress, carrying her out. The Empress's body was quickly handed over to the Emperor.

Laying her in the corridor and supporting her upper body, Alek felt for Via's carotid artery. Feeling a weak pulse, Alek sighed in relief.

"Via." He called her name several times and gently shook her. One of the knights soaked a clean cloth in water from a water flask and handed it to the Emperor.

"Via, just wet your mouth at first. Understand?" While speaking, Alek carefully moistened Via's lips and let a small amount of water into her mouth. He knew that if he gave her water suddenly, she might choke, and in the worst case, she might suffocate without being able to choke.

Via slowly swallowed the water that had gathered in her mouth and opened her mouth again, as if she wanted more. Alek took a mouthful of water from the water flask and, leaning over Via, gave it to her mouth-to-mouth. Her throat made a gulping sound, and Alek, relieved, held her again. This time, he directly placed the water flask against Via's lips.

"Drink a little at a time. Understand?"

Via nodded and took a sip, then another, from the tilted water flask. After drinking about half, she closed her eyes, looking tired.

"Are you hurt?" Via shook her head. She had just slipped and fallen. She was just too thirsty to move.

"Thank goodness." Alek finally smiled. It was enough that Via was safe and back in his arms.

Via blinked a few times but seemed to have reached her limit. She buried her face in Alek's chest, looking tired. Her body became heavier in his arms as she fell asleep. Carefully readjusting her in his arms, Alek stood up slowly, being careful not to wake her.

As he was about to take her back to the Imperial Palace, Alek suddenly noticed little Romalis, who was standing in a corner, looking worried and staring at Via.

"Romalis." As he called out, the knights who were standing between them parted like the tide, making a path for the two.

"Thank you, well done."

Romalis, who was used to being ignored by people around him, was surprised to be called and smiled happily. "Yes, Your Majesty."

Looking down at his flushed face calmly, Alek paused for a moment before speaking to Romalis again.

"Call me brother."