n

n

n“……Your Majesty?”

nWhen the Emperor heard it, he hurriedly let go of Dalia’s hand, as if he had come to his senses.

nBut he still looked at his palms with a surprised look. Dalia glanced at Hikan. Even he seemed a little flustered.

n“……No, it can’t be.”

nThe Emperor muttered to himself and regained his composure. He smiled again at Dalia.

n“Sorry, Miss Dalia. I guess I was mistaken for a while.”

n“It’s, it’s okay.”

nShe doesn’t know the reason, but Dalia shook her head.

nThe Emperor looked at Dalia, touching his chin with a strange expression.

n“By the way, a cute girl like Miss Dalia still doesn’t have a fiance yet. What about my son?”

n

n

nDalia laughed because she thought it was a joke.

n“Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty.”

n“It’s not a joke. I’m being serious.”

nBut the Emperor answered in a serious tone unexpectedly. Dalia’s complexion, which met his eyes head-on, gradually grew pale.

n‘Uh, uh, eehh?’

nDalia was thrown into confusion.

nWhy all of a sudden? Why is the conversation jumping this way all of a sudden?’

n“One of my sons is about the same age as Miss Dalia……yes, there’s Leonard and Cedric. Of course you know Leonard, the Crown Prince, right? He’s a little silly, but he’s a good kid. Cedric is my second son. He’s not a bad kid, even though he’s a wanderer.”

nOf course her mind thinks it’s a joke, but the Emperor’s expression was so serious that it could not be dismissed as a joke.

n‘Wha-wha-what? Are you being serious? Am I really going to get engaged like this? Can you do this easily?’

nNo matter how young the nobles in this world get engaged, but by her standards, this is ridiculous.

nDalia felt like her head was spinning. Suddenly, she was conscious of Hikan standing behind her.

n‘If it’s real, there’s no reason for my brother to refuse.’

nIt’s a great opportunity to marry off the useless little sister to the prince and get rid of her.

nBut……if she gets engaged to the prince, her face will appear in the newspaper. Then the plan to run away and live with a new identity will be impossible.

nIt seemed that her life plans are becoming more complicated.

n“Well, it-it’s too much for me…”

n“Dalia.”

nHikan stops her from behind with a firm voice.

n‘Ah, it’s hopeless now.’

nNow, the only future left is when my head flies with my brother.

nDalia shut her eyes tightly.

n“She will not have the engagement, Your Majesty.”

nHikan’s calm voice rang out in the audience room.

n‘…..Huh?’

nDalia slightly opened one eye that had closed tightly to the unexpected situation.

n“She said she doesn’t want to be engaged.”

n“……Really?”

n“Yes, absolutely not.”

nHikan’s bad way of speaking has never been more welcome than today.

nDalia looked back with tears in her eyes. But Hikan didn’t even look at her sparkling eyes.

n“Why?”

n“Well, personally, I don’t think I want that either.”

nThe Emperor’s gaze went to Dalia. She couldn’t bear to nod, but her eyes gave her assent.

nThen the Emperor sighed sadly.

n“Hmm, that’s too bad.”

n“……”

n“I wanted to see Miss Dalia become my daughter-in-law.”

n‘So it was a joke after all.’

nWhy are you making a joke with such a serious expression?

nOnly Dalia felt bitter inside. Hikan greeted the Emperor when the conversation was roughly settled.

n“……Then we’ll be going.”

n“Okay.”

nThe Emperor gave a nod indifferently.

nDalia, who had overcome one crisis, also gave her greeting.

n“Your Majesty, thank you for your generous offer and your considerate thoughts.”

nStrange as it was, the Emperor looked at Dalia for a long time as if he’s in regret.

nThen he smiled gently.

n“Yes, Miss Dalia. See you next time. Hikan, you too.”

nThat’s how the royal audience ended.

nDalia and Hikan left, closing the door of the audience room.

nThe Emperor looked back at his hand after Dalia left.

n‘As expected, am I mistaken?’

nEveryone envies the Transcendents. Because of their superior intelligence and special abilities.

nHowever, the life of a transcendent is like swimming forever in endless suffering.

nIs it because the power of non-human is being implanted in humans which is different in nature?

nEvery time you use power, reason becomes blurred, and only the desire to destroy all the things that are inconvenient to your eyes becomes stronger.

nHe has endured well so far.

nHe played the role of a kind and friendly Emperor.

nBecause of the humans that he loves, because he didn’t want to see this world destroyed.

nHe will have to endure endless suffering forever in exchange for love.

nBut the moment he held Dalia’s hand, he felt his head clear for the first time. It felt like he went back to the time before the “Blooming”, when he knew nothing.

nFrom the child’s hand to the head, it felt slowly but surely like his soul is being purified.

nBut, as everyone knows, it was impossible to return a soul that was once tainted with mana.

n‘I stayed up all night yesterday and I guess I was confused.’

nFor now the Emperor just dismissed it over. He glanced at the place where the two siblings had disappeared.

n‘By the way, I’m a little worried about those two.’

nSensitive to human emotions, the Emperor quickly noticed the conflict within Hikan.

nNo matter how much he pretended to be an adult, he was old enough to hurt something precious just because he didn’t want to admit his feelings.

n‘He’ll make a big mistake and regret it.’

nThe Emperor clicked his tongue.

n* * *

nDalia opened the audience room door and came out. Hikan was walking ahead without waiting for her. But now she was grateful.

n‘Heuk heuk, I’m alive.’

nI really thought my life would end by marrying someone I didn’t know.

nI was glad it was a joke, and I was glad Hikan defended me there. Dalia caught up with him and greeted him.

n“Thank you, brother.”

n“……”

n“I really didn’t want to get engaged.”

n“His Majesty is always saying that to anyone. If you react seriously to it, you’ll be ridiculed for life. Usually, very stupid people fall for it.”

n“……”

n‘You won’t hear nice words from his mouth until the end.’

nDalia pouted her lips out of his sight and followed behind him.

n“But it was surprising that you said you didn’t want to. Doesn’t everyone usually covet the position?”

nHikan said indifferently.

nDalia walked faster to catch up with him, choosing what to say in her head.

n“That’s……I……if possible……because I want to stay with brother longer……”

n“……”

nHikan glanced at her. The expressionless face, as usual, was hard to know what was on his mind.

nThe answer came back after a while.

n“Don’t be mistaken. I wasn’t trying to help you, I just didn’t want Pesteros to be treated like a fool.”

nDalia hangs her shoulders like a dead puppy.

n“I-I see. I’m looking forward to nothing…”

nWas it wrong to force myself to speed up? At that moment Dalia’s shoes broke.

n“Ah.”

nWith a little scream, her body tilted sideways, and fell right on the floor on her bottom.

n‘Why are you doing such stupid things today?’

nDalia sighed heavily and raised her head. Hikan, whom she thought would go right away, stopped in front of her.

n“……”

n“I’m sorry.”

nHikan breathed a short sigh.

n“Just what the heck are you doing?”

n“……I, I can get up on my own!”

nIn vain, Dalia stretched her arms forward.

nBut then, Hikan grabbed her waist without a word and lifted her up and put her on his shoulder.

nDalia was never so small as to be lifted at once like this. He was only sixteen years old, but Hikan was really strong.

nDalia flapped her legs in surprise at the feeling of floating.

n“Stay still.”

nHikan grabbed Dalia’s leg with the hem of her dress.

nDalia held on tightly to Hikan’s neck so that she wouldn’t fall. Then Hikan’s body stiffened for a while and loosened again.

nDalia felt a little strange.

nShe recalled Hikan’s handsome blue eyes carrying her. Although he is a villain with a terrible and mean personality, he helped Dalia today.

n‘What if I get attached to you?’

nHe won’t hold her like this in ten years. If the plan worked then, she’d already be somewhere else.

nIf it is in 10 years Hikan will be 26 years old?

nDalia, who was thinking of Hikan’s figure, said casually.

n“I think my brother will grow a lot.”

n“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

nShe can’t say that she knows the future, so she just speaks vaguely.

n“I just want to say it once.”

n

n

n“You’re talking nonsense.”

nHikan started walking again.

nDalia was excited for no reason. It was the first time that the atmosphere between the two was so good.

n‘It would be nice if we could always be this close.’

nWith a little wishful thinking in mind, Dalia also started cosplaying her cute and dainty little sister antique like a habit.

n“It’s really nice to have my brother hugging me.”

nShe kept on talking.

n“If I continue to like my brother like this, you’ll love me someday, right?”

nThen, inadvertently, I crossed the line. The line I didn’t even know was there.

nHikan’s steps came to a standstill.

n