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nThe moment I bit my lip, choked up with emotions, I suddenly recalled what he had told me a long time ago.

nWhen I was still avoiding the then crown prince, my father told me about it when I was depressed after my oath of blood was rejected. He said what our family had been handed down for generations was the oath of blood only, and that he would take care of my problem in the worst situation if I tipped him off in advance.

nI didn’t remember well what I replied to him on that day, but I was relaxed a lot by his reassurances. Perhaps this was what my father referred to on that day.

n‘Oh I see. That’s why my father seemed relaxed even when I was struggling hard to get over my difficult situation. That’s why the late emperor could not force me to marry his son, even though he wanted it so much. The late emperor was well aware that unlike other nobles who could not willingly use that precious right for the safety of their daughters, my father could use it without any reservation, given that he risked his life to win my mother’s heart. And if the late emperor forced me to marry the crown prince, he knew his ties with my father would go sour even without achieving his purpose. Wait a minute. Did I just mention my father would risk his life?’

nI swayed suddenly when I guessed something shocking in my head. He hurriedly grabbed me and asked with a worried voice, “Are you okay, Tia?”

n“… Ah yes.”

nAlthough I barely answered, I was still reeling from the shock from my sudden speculation. I felt dizzy as if I was hit by something.

nMy father, who wouldn’t hear or say anything bad about the imperial family, once asked the emperor unexpectedly as follows.

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nAfter hearing that Jiun was pregnant, my father told me with a sigh when I almost lost my mind.

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nMy father spoke with a determined expression!

n“Ha…”

nI was filled with indescribable emotions deep down. My conversation with my father and his reaction on that day that I thought I had forgotten, and his determined look came to my mind vividly as if I saw him yesterday. At that time I could not figure out his exact intentions, or how he could take me, the emperor’s concubine, out of the palace. His confident voice back then hovered into my ears.

n‘That’s why you did so, Daddy? Is what I’m guessing right? Did you also try to use the right to immunity to save me at that time? Was that the reason why you didn’t use the right for yourself and save it for me even when you were falsely charged back then? Or did you make a deal with the emperor to release me at the risk of your life? Right?’

n“Aaah…”

nI burst into moaning mixed with tears. Although I could not figure out whether all kinds of thoughts about my father’s actions were true or just speculative, my father’s affection for me at that time was as deep as his affection for me until recently, even though I was half in doubt about it at the moment I faced death.

nAfter I read the letter, I firmly vowed that I would never cry, but when I realized the truth of my past after a long time, the bank of tears in my eyes collapsed, after all. I cried loudly, pounding on my throbbing heart, feeling so sad at my belated awakening to the truth and the absence of my father who I wanted to express gratitude.

nHow much time passed?

nA stream of tears gradually stopped flowing from my eyes, and my trembling body also began to subside. Only then did I realize that I was crying, held in his arms. As I wiped away tears, catching my breath, he said, who was patting my back when I was crying, “…Are you okay now? ”

n“Yes, Your Majesty.”

n“I thought you had already known it for a long time…I just can’t understand why your father didn’t tell you about it. Even though I know he kept the principle, you went through so many things, but he didn’t tell you about it to the end.”

n“Pardon? What do you mean by the principle?”

n“Well, only two people, namely the head of the Monique family and the emperor are supposed to know about the immunity right. So, I also came to know about it only after I rose to the throne,” he replied, gently patting my back, “Do you remember that I told you about the episode about your late mother when I was the crown prince? I mean I was given a good scolding by her as a child.”

n“Yes, I remember.”

nAlthough he asked me about it after a long time, I vividly remembered his conversation with her.

nOne day shortly after Jiun appeared in the empire, and when I felt really depressed because I might be forced to be the crown prince’s concubine and the family background of my mother was revealed, he told me about an episode about my mother instead of blaming me.

nHe said my mother was excellent, bright and warm, but determined enough to scold even him, the crown prince, if he did wrong.

nReally? Suddenly I raised my head and looked up at him because something flashed across my mind.

n“Then, was this the thing you told me you took out secretly?”

n“Yes, that was it. At the time, it was placed like a mere ornament, so I never thought it was a thing of such great importance. You will never know how surprised I was when I found out the truth. Come to think of it, your father was indeed a great figure. How could he keep such an important thing carelessly?”

n“Well, I hear that the more precious things are, the more carelessly people should treat them. Maybe that’s why he maintained it without much caution. I think he was stunned when he heard that you almost took it. So, I think that’s why he kept it here after that.”

nWhen I spoke with a gentle smile, he nodded lightly and said with mixed feelings, “By the way, Tia, are you going to keep this?”

n“Well, I think I had better leave it here because it belongs to the Monique family, and given my father’s will, I think I have to keep it personally…”

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n“Wouldn’t it be better for you to leave it here for its security? It seems like this is a secret space that only the head of the family and its successor can get access to.”

n“That’s true. Then let me leave it here.”

nI agreed with him and put the ruby rod and parchment back into the box and closed the lid.

nAfter messing up the gears like before, I put the box back in its original position. Then he reached out to me as if on a cue. I was a bit puzzled by his unnatural actions, but I silently left the place, holding his hand.

nWhen I closed the door disguised as a wall and pulled down the tapestry, the office was restored to its original interior. After neatly putting my father’s keepsakes on the desk in order, I looked around the room for the last time before I went outside.

nAs I walked through the quiet hallway, I suddenly came to recall a special memory about my father. When I opened that door, my father used to welcome me, emitting the peculiar smell of books in his study. While he was reading a book, I used to brew tea for him with a throbbing heart. When he said with a smile that my tea tasted good, I smiled at him, too, with a sigh of relief. All those memories came back to my aching heart while I walked along the hallway.

nWhen I could not sleep at night, he came into my room and gently patted my chest until I went to sleep, and gave me a goodnight kiss. He stroked my hair gently and spoke to me kindly all the time. His navy blue eyes looked sometimes icy, and sometimes kind to me…and I could lean on his broad chest for comfort.

nAll those days when I shared joy and sorrow with him now became a distant memory. As I walked through the spacious hallway, I buried all those dear memories of my father in my heart.

nAlthough a lot of time had passed since his funeral took place, I felt I could now let him rest in peace only now.

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