Civil Servant in a Romance Fantasy - Chapter 896



896 – Dazzling Dawn – 5

It’s fucked.

It’s a conclusion I reached after thinking about it for only a few seconds, but it’s certain. I can guarantee it because I’ve pushed my brain to its limits and reviewed it over and over again.

I think this is seriously fucked up.

‘What should I do?’

Before I knew it, I was starting to sweat. I noticed it too late, but my hands were shaking slightly.

Peddie running towards the crown princess with silver coins, and the crown princess smiling brightly at Peddie. At first glance, it is not a particularly special sight. Everyone knows that the two are close friends and siblings. It is a common occurrence for the two children to laugh and chat together several times a day.

So, that sight itself is not a strange sight. It is a sight that a third party who does not know anything would look at with warmth or pass over as something that happens all the time.

‘That kid’s eyes are so delicious.’

But the third party, the emperor, has an unusual look in his eyes. The man who should be flustered upon seeing the princess’s smile is keeping a serious expression and keeping silent.

As if she had noticed something. As if she had found out a secret between me and the Empress.

‘Why already?’

Of course, I was prepared for it to be discovered someday. There is no such thing as an eternal secret in this world, and I expected that the other party, the emperor, would find out voluntarily. After all, the emperor has eyes and ears called the intelligence department. It is unconscionable to expect that it will be hidden forever.

But this is not it. I never imagined that I would be caught at the speed of light like this. I couldn’t find a way to survive the Emperor’s blindness.

‘It’s still safe.’

I was so scared that I took a deep breath. I tried to calm my heart that was pounding like crazy.

Yes, it’s still safe. No, it’s still quite dangerous, but not so dangerous that it will kill you instantly.

Common sense tells me that if he had fully grasped the situation, he would not have remained silent. He would have immediately retaliated against me, or given me a blatant warning with a creepy expression and voice.

But there is no response. This means that the Emperor may feel uncomfortable about this situation, but he is not sure.

‘Okay then.’

The Emperor’s intuition and intelligence far surpassed the level of ordinary people. He had been in a fierce competition for survival since the time he was the first prince, not the crown prince, and he was eventually crowned crown prince after killing the second prince. If you only look at his abilities, separate from his personality, it would be rude to compare him to an ordinary person.

Since he is that kind of person, he can quickly notice the Crown Princess’s changes, but if he is not sure, he cannot move rashly. It is a habit, just like an emperor’s instinct, to be wary of his own rash actions.

So let’s calm down. Being agitated won’t bring about good results. In times like these, we need to remain calm, composed, and rational. If we act rashly, we’ll end up strangling ourselves.

“Long live His Majesty the Emperor! I, Karl Crassius of Tylglehen, head of House Crassius, greet Your Majesty the Emperor!”

“hmm?”

He gave a loud greeting to the Emperor, who was silently looking at the Crown Princess.

The greeting is more exaggerated than usual. This loud greeting may make the emperor more suspicious.

‘It is a sacrifice of cattle for the greater good.’

But the Emperor is already suspicious. That damn b*stard is not the type of b*stard to easily let go of his suspicions once he has them, so no matter what I do, the situation will not improve.

In that case, I will act loudly and arouse the Emperor’s aggro. If I avoid the Emperor or treat him indifferently like I usually do, the Emperor will only spend more time alone and lost in thought. Then, the Emperor will be more likely to become convinced.

‘Absolutely not.’

We must keep him from becoming suspicious and from becoming certain. We must keep him from thinking deeply about the Crown Princess’s strange behavior.

Imperial White’s tearful aggro show. He’ll do anything to survive…!

Fortunately, the tearful clowning had some results.

The Emperor’s brow furrowed slightly at the loud greeting that interrupted his thoughts, but my status was that of the Crown Princess’ godfather and the Emperor’s confidant. If I ignored the greeting of such a person, useless rumors of discord would only spread. This would not be a pleasant thing for the Emperor.

Thanks to that, the Emperor’s attention, which had been focused on the Crown Princess, was now focused on me, and in order to survive, I spoke to the Emperor without stopping.

“How wonderful it is that Your Majesty has graced this occasion. Duke Yeomyeong is a pillar of the empire, but privately, he is also my family. It is an honor that Your Majesty has joined us in our family celebration.”

“Is that so?”

From noble mtl dot com

“Of course. The place for the Dawn Duke has become a truly shining place thanks to Your Majesty. All of this is the glory of Livnoman and the grace of the Great Emperor.”

As the speech went on, the emperor’s eyes became slightly clouded.

I understand. Even I, the one speaking, don’t know what I’m saying, so how confused would the emperor be if he was suddenly captured?

But the Emperor’s suffering is not something to consider. I have to live first.

‘Let’s just keep going like this.’

When the Emperor secretly turned his gaze toward the Crown Princess, he saw the Empress secretly leading the Crown Princess away from him.

As expected, she is the empress. She is doing her best without saying anything. If you shake the emperor’s mind like this and remove the crown princess from his sight, you will be able to endure this banquet─

“But Count.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Please give your order.”

“By any chance, did anything unusual happen in Barandi’s territory?”

I was left speechless by the direct question that broke the board in an instant.

Yes, there was a huge incident.

“Baran, are you talking about the Marquis of Diga? Why are you suddenly…”

“Since my visit to Barandiga, the Crown Princess has been acting a bit strangely. As her father, I can’t help but be concerned.”

It felt like the cold sweat that had just dried up was flowing again.

This fucking kid. If I keep getting attention by being funny like this, you should at least pretend not to notice. It’s not polite to ask outright.

‘This kid is serious.’

Looking into the Emperor’s burning eyes, my lips feel parched.

In normal circumstances, even the emperor would have fallen for my tricks. With his confidant causing such desperate aggro, he would have been so nervous that he wouldn’t have been able to think about anything else.

But to the Emperor, the Crown Princess is someone who should be placed above all else. It seems that the tearful aggro of the confidant is not noticeable. The way she seemed to be listening to me was more like, ‘Let’s see how far this brat can go.’

“count.”

Finally, the emperor opened his mouth again.

As if he were telling me to just speak the truth.

“Barandi gave a doll as a gift to the young lady of Kran in the Marquisate of Pedi.”

That’s why I opened my mouth instinctively. If Ainter or Barandi asked the Marquis about what happened in the Marquis’ territory, they would know right away. If I kept silent about this and tried to hide it, I was afraid of the consequences.

“It’s a doll.”

“Yes. It was an item that Her Majesty the Crown Princess had secretly coveted. However, since my son always sees Her Majesty at the mansion, I guess she thought Her Majesty would have no need for a doll.”

“If you keep playing in the same place, you might think so. Even if you give it to me as a gift, I’ll just bring it back to the mansion anyway.”

The emperor, who had been stroking his chin, nodded slightly and placed a hand on my shoulder.

“But that’s strange. If the thing she coveted had fallen into someone else’s hands, the Crown Princess would have been hurt.”

“Oh, yes. But fortunately, he was pleased when Pedi brought him a new gift.”

“I see.”

This time I closed my eyes.

I’m anxious. I wish I had said something so I could feel a little better. They say the most fearsome weapon is the sword that sleeps in its scabbard.

“That gift, it seems, was a flower.”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

Of course, I was wrong. It wasn’t comfortable at all.

“The Crown Princess, who had been somewhat disappointed by Pedi, received a gift of flowers… and her heart was lifted.”

‘No, shit.’

The Emperor’s hand on my shoulder tightened. His speech ability seemed to have suffered somewhat, as he began to speak in a rather impressive tone.

“Since I received the flowers, I’ve been wanting to look better to Pedi… Handara.”

“yes?”

What are you talking about? What happened in the palace for you to say something like that?

However, the doubts were quickly resolved before long. To be exact, it would be more accurate to say that they disappeared because there was no room to harbor doubts.

“knife.”

Before I knew it, the emperor was holding my shoulders and looking at me with a sinister gaze.

“What should I think about this?”

Because they started calling me by my name instead of titles like minister or count, and they started referring to themselves as me instead of a burden.

“I hope not, but more than a little circumstance tells me that I am right. What should I do about this?”

“I, I do not know what Your Majesty is saying─”

“What a conviction. How can someone who might become my in-laws say something like that?”

and.

I don’t think even the expression “fucked” is enough.

***

There is a saying that you should keep your heart warm but your head cool. This means that even if you have grand ideals, passion, and pride, you should look at reality with your head and act rationally.

But my heart and head began to burn hotly. Because of the crazy situation where there was no evidence but my suspicions were too strong. Because the discomfort that had been stimulating my head like crazy had revealed its true nature.

‘The Crown Princess has feelings for Pedi.’

For a moment, my eyes feel hot. Just thinking about the possibility makes my stomach turn and I feel like vomiting blood.

This can’t be. This can’t be. The young and tender Crown Princess, who should be smiling brightly in her father’s arms, is already in love with someone else.

No, no. I’m not sure yet. I could be guessing.

But is it really just a guess?

No way, Gilbert. Don’t you already know that? Objectively speaking, your thoughts are right, and the whole world says so.

‘He’s still young, so it might be a mild emotion.’

However, no matter how light it may be, it does not change the fact that it is the Crown Princess’s own emotion.

What starts out lightly can turn into something heavy, and the emotions you harbor as a child can stay with you until the day you die.

Then, the Crown Princess holds Pedi’s hand and says that she likes Pedi and wants to marry him.

‘no.’

This is unacceptable. Our crown princess has to live with this father for the rest of her life.

‘You’re bewitching our innocent princess.’

Soon, the anger turned towards the dark man in front of him.

Peddie? What sin could that child, who is younger than the Crown Princess, have committed? Peddie is not guilty. Peddie is just a good friend and younger brother who plays nicely with our Crown Princess.

But this black guy is not it. He is the guy who once caused a stir in the system and even the empire because of his love affairs. It is the sin of this guy who passed on the amazing and surprising charm that even the world’s best devil king was captivated by to his children.

This damn guy. He should have stopped shaking the empire in his father’s generation, so why are you passing it on to your son? What the hell is he doing?

“Holding the reins and being upright─”

“My nephew is the best!”

So, just as I was about to let go of the last restraint in my heart and shake off that hideous black b*stard, the voice of the Dawn Lord echoed throughout the banquet hall.

“Ugh.”

I turned my head to see what was going on, and saw Julia crawling precariously.

Julia, Pedi’s full-length younger sister and the youngest niece of the Yeomyeonggong. The child who had clearly been held in the arms of an adult just a few minutes ago began to move on her own.

‘Tsk.’

Today doesn’t seem to be the day. I can’t shake off my father’s sorrow over my daughter’s birthday.

“count.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I’ll call you to my office soon, so get ready.”

You made me angry by touching my daughter, and yet you are saving my life by using your own daughter.

You’re lucky, black guy.