“What are you doing?”
Carson couldn’t help but ask as he watched his father’s behavior. He was packing things in a large box next to him.
“Packing.”
“Where in the world is there an Emperor who packs his own luggage?”
The Emperor clicked his tongue at those words.
“Even Emperors have their favorite things. Things they don’t want others to touch. And I’m so bored. I wonder if there’s anything I can do.”
The Emperor announced to Carson that he would abdicate and completely abandon his duties as Emperor as if he had been waiting for it. Carson gritted his teeth at those words.
“You’re so... bored.”
“Yes, I’ll stay in the imperial palace for about a year. My last name will be Merienne.”
Merienne was an old castle located in the far corner of the imperial palace. It was built in the early days of the nation’s founding and had symbolic significance, so instead of rebuilding, it was being renovated and maintained.
And Carson’s mother had lived in that palace.
Carson swallowed the saliva that he couldn’t swallow. Whenever he talked about his mother, his throat was strangely dry. Was it because he never remembered being loved so much?
“Modesty is good when it’s appropriate.”
“You’ve become the Emperor, so you’re scolding your father. But I’m not trying to be humble. Now, come and sit here.”
The Emperor sat Carson down and stood up himself. Then he left the room for a moment and came back. He was holding a small box in his hand.
“Do you know what this is?”
He asked in a slightly excited voice before even sitting down.
“It’s your mother’s keepsake.”
Carson couldn’t help but glare at the Emperor. But the Emperor turned away from him.
“I don’t care what you say. I’m not afraid of your resentment anymore.”
“You’re really comfortable.”
The two men, who had taken off their masks and stood facing each other, looked at each other not as Emperor and Prince, but as father and son. Through a series of events, their relationship had completely changed from before.
“The woman I loved the most was your mother.”
Carson thought it would be better to say that the Emperor did not love his mother.
No, he wished he had said nothing about his mother. He was so angry that he could not find the words to describe the emotions boiling inside him. Something kept bubbling up in his chest.
“I did not know that there were degrees of love.”
“You may say that. But I loved your mother more than any other woman, and I loved the son I saw from her more than any other child. What good would it do me to tell you this now? I am only saying it now that I can.”
So he ended up venting his resentment.
The Emperor put down Carson’s maternity clothes and approached him. Then he held him in his arms. Carson’s surprised eyes shook endlessly. His father patted his son’s back.
“I’m sorry, son. I’m so sorry that I raised you alone.”
“...”
“I’m sorry that I even gave you the throne. But aren’t you that Carson? No one said it was possible. You, the eighth Prince with a powerless mother, becoming the Emperor.”
Carson finally closed his eyes. He couldn’t define the overflowing emotions right now.
“I, your father, want you to be with that woman. Don’t become a lonely Emperor like your father.”
He pulled away from Carson so quickly that it seemed like he had never held him. Then he took out a beautiful hair ornament with small red jewels from the box he was holding.
“Give it to the woman who will be your wife. The day your mother put this on was truly dazzling. It was a moment you will never forget. I wish she could give you that moment.”
Carson received his mother’s keepsake from his father with trembling hands.
In his memory, his mother was dazzlingly beautiful on the day she put this hair ornament on. At the same time, he thought of Ines putting this on her hair and smiling brightly at him. His heart raced at the scene he had imagined without ever seeing it.
Carson left the palace without paying proper respects to his father due to some inexplicable emotions.
As Ines had expected, Count Grandel attacked Landhill.
He hired mercenaries from Yamanta to attack by sea, and his own private army tried to attack Landhill by land.
However, just as she had told her father, Count Grandel could not even anchor in the sea.
Ines, who had received information about the time of his arrival, set sail first to intercept them at sea, and nip those who came by land before they could cross the gates of Landhill.
This was because she had been preparing for a long time for a possible attack.
Ines thought that Count Grandel, who was of the Margrave, would lead the war in the vanguard. However, he did not show up by sea or by land.
Ines immediately placed a huge bounty on his head. It was only natural that he was easily caught hiding in a village inn near the port.
After capturing Count Grandel and sending him to the Isles, her father sent a letter to Viscount Damian to discuss the union of the two families. At the same time, Ines fled from Landhill.
It was a dawn journey without a single servant, but she was not afraid.
She headed for the Isles where Carson was without delay.
If Susan had not married, she would have taken her with her, but she had been away from home for so long and had no reliable maid.
There was plenty of money, so there was no need to worry about where to stay or how to live. When she settled into a luxury hotel, she had the servants assigned to her.
Two nights after arriving in the capital, she was able to see Carson in Jacohena Square for the first time in a long while.
He finally ascended to the throne of the Emperor without stepping on the blood of the crowd.
That night, Ines stayed for a long time after everyone had left and looked at the platform where Carson had stood. She celebrated the moment when her God had risen to the highest until the hot heat of the people and the noisy crickets that announced the summer night had all disappeared.
Carson couldn’t help but ask as he watched his father’s behavior. He was packing things in a large box next to him.
“Packing.”
“Where in the world is there an Emperor who packs his own luggage?”
The Emperor clicked his tongue at those words.
“Even Emperors have their favorite things. Things they don’t want others to touch. And I’m so bored. I wonder if there’s anything I can do.”
The Emperor announced to Carson that he would abdicate and completely abandon his duties as Emperor as if he had been waiting for it. Carson gritted his teeth at those words.
“You’re so... bored.”
“Yes, I’ll stay in the imperial palace for about a year. My last name will be Merienne.”
Merienne was an old castle located in the far corner of the imperial palace. It was built in the early days of the nation’s founding and had symbolic significance, so instead of rebuilding, it was being renovated and maintained.
And Carson’s mother had lived in that palace.
Carson swallowed the saliva that he couldn’t swallow. Whenever he talked about his mother, his throat was strangely dry. Was it because he never remembered being loved so much?
“Modesty is good when it’s appropriate.”
“You’ve become the Emperor, so you’re scolding your father. But I’m not trying to be humble. Now, come and sit here.”
The Emperor sat Carson down and stood up himself. Then he left the room for a moment and came back. He was holding a small box in his hand.
“Do you know what this is?”
He asked in a slightly excited voice before even sitting down.
“It’s your mother’s keepsake.”
Carson couldn’t help but glare at the Emperor. But the Emperor turned away from him.
“I don’t care what you say. I’m not afraid of your resentment anymore.”
“You’re really comfortable.”
The two men, who had taken off their masks and stood facing each other, looked at each other not as Emperor and Prince, but as father and son. Through a series of events, their relationship had completely changed from before.
“The woman I loved the most was your mother.”
Carson thought it would be better to say that the Emperor did not love his mother.
No, he wished he had said nothing about his mother. He was so angry that he could not find the words to describe the emotions boiling inside him. Something kept bubbling up in his chest.
“I did not know that there were degrees of love.”
“You may say that. But I loved your mother more than any other woman, and I loved the son I saw from her more than any other child. What good would it do me to tell you this now? I am only saying it now that I can.”
As he spoke, the Emperor took out something from the box.
“Do you see? This is your diaper. Here is your sister’s too. Oh, and I see the letter I gave your mother.”
He stroked the old clothes as if they were precious. Carson could not bear to watch him any longer, so he got up from his seat. The Emperor looked up at him blankly.
“You came here to tell me something?”
“Yes.”
Carson looked the Emperor in the eye without hesitation.
His father had never known the bottom since birth. He was born a Crown Prince and became the Emperor without any objections. He was the captain of a slowly sinking ship, but his sea was peaceful throughout the voyage.
“Since I'm here, just go.”
“I’m going to get married. I’m not here to ask for permission. I’m just here to pay my respects to Your Majesty the Emperor who will become the former Emperor.”
“Is that the woman from back then? Ines Swenden, the only daughter of the Viscount Swenden.”
Carson’s eyes hardened at the name of the person he longed for.
“It won’t be easy.”
“...I know.”
“A person with a criminal record becomes the Empress? It’s impossible.”
Carson ignored it.
“Do you think I don’t know?”
He asked sharply, but the Emperor simply stared at his mother’s remains with deep eyes.
Carson turned away as if he didn’t want to talk anymore. It was hard for him to get used to the sight of his father holding onto the belongings of the deceased.
“Stop hating me.”
But the Emperor's words stopped his steps.
"Stop hating me and your mother. If there is hatred in the Emperor's heart, it will be hard for the people, the subjects, or even the people you love."
Carson turned to him. He felt like he would die from hatred for the Emperor who easily shook his insides. He felt resentment toward his father who always made him a child who was starving for love, and in the end, he clenched his fists like back then.
"Even the love of a coward is love."
“I won’t live like that. I won’t have such a lonely face even with so many wives and children.”
“Do you see? This is your diaper. Here is your sister’s too. Oh, and I see the letter I gave your mother.”
He stroked the old clothes as if they were precious. Carson could not bear to watch him any longer, so he got up from his seat. The Emperor looked up at him blankly.
“You came here to tell me something?”
“Yes.”
Carson looked the Emperor in the eye without hesitation.
His father had never known the bottom since birth. He was born a Crown Prince and became the Emperor without any objections. He was the captain of a slowly sinking ship, but his sea was peaceful throughout the voyage.
“Since I'm here, just go.”
“I’m going to get married. I’m not here to ask for permission. I’m just here to pay my respects to Your Majesty the Emperor who will become the former Emperor.”
“Is that the woman from back then? Ines Swenden, the only daughter of the Viscount Swenden.”
Carson’s eyes hardened at the name of the person he longed for.
“It won’t be easy.”
“...I know.”
“A person with a criminal record becomes the Empress? It’s impossible.”
Carson ignored it.
“Do you think I don’t know?”
He asked sharply, but the Emperor simply stared at his mother’s remains with deep eyes.
Carson turned away as if he didn’t want to talk anymore. It was hard for him to get used to the sight of his father holding onto the belongings of the deceased.
“Stop hating me.”
But the Emperor's words stopped his steps.
"Stop hating me and your mother. If there is hatred in the Emperor's heart, it will be hard for the people, the subjects, or even the people you love."
Carson turned to him. He felt like he would die from hatred for the Emperor who easily shook his insides. He felt resentment toward his father who always made him a child who was starving for love, and in the end, he clenched his fists like back then.
"Even the love of a coward is love."
“I won’t live like that. I won’t have such a lonely face even with so many wives and children.”
So he ended up venting his resentment.
The Emperor put down Carson’s maternity clothes and approached him. Then he held him in his arms. Carson’s surprised eyes shook endlessly. His father patted his son’s back.
“I’m sorry, son. I’m so sorry that I raised you alone.”
“...”
“I’m sorry that I even gave you the throne. But aren’t you that Carson? No one said it was possible. You, the eighth Prince with a powerless mother, becoming the Emperor.”
Carson finally closed his eyes. He couldn’t define the overflowing emotions right now.
“I, your father, want you to be with that woman. Don’t become a lonely Emperor like your father.”
He pulled away from Carson so quickly that it seemed like he had never held him. Then he took out a beautiful hair ornament with small red jewels from the box he was holding.
“Give it to the woman who will be your wife. The day your mother put this on was truly dazzling. It was a moment you will never forget. I wish she could give you that moment.”
Carson received his mother’s keepsake from his father with trembling hands.
In his memory, his mother was dazzlingly beautiful on the day she put this hair ornament on. At the same time, he thought of Ines putting this on her hair and smiling brightly at him. His heart raced at the scene he had imagined without ever seeing it.
Carson left the palace without paying proper respects to his father due to some inexplicable emotions.
***
As Ines had expected, Count Grandel attacked Landhill.
He hired mercenaries from Yamanta to attack by sea, and his own private army tried to attack Landhill by land.
However, just as she had told her father, Count Grandel could not even anchor in the sea.
Ines, who had received information about the time of his arrival, set sail first to intercept them at sea, and nip those who came by land before they could cross the gates of Landhill.
This was because she had been preparing for a long time for a possible attack.
Ines thought that Count Grandel, who was of the Margrave, would lead the war in the vanguard. However, he did not show up by sea or by land.
Ines immediately placed a huge bounty on his head. It was only natural that he was easily caught hiding in a village inn near the port.
After capturing Count Grandel and sending him to the Isles, her father sent a letter to Viscount Damian to discuss the union of the two families. At the same time, Ines fled from Landhill.
It was a dawn journey without a single servant, but she was not afraid.
She headed for the Isles where Carson was without delay.
If Susan had not married, she would have taken her with her, but she had been away from home for so long and had no reliable maid.
There was plenty of money, so there was no need to worry about where to stay or how to live. When she settled into a luxury hotel, she had the servants assigned to her.
Two nights after arriving in the capital, she was able to see Carson in Jacohena Square for the first time in a long while.
He finally ascended to the throne of the Emperor without stepping on the blood of the crowd.
That night, Ines stayed for a long time after everyone had left and looked at the platform where Carson had stood. She celebrated the moment when her God had risen to the highest until the hot heat of the people and the noisy crickets that announced the summer night had all disappeared.
And soon she got busy. The work for him was not over yet. Ines started to release the grain she had stored near the island the next day and collected the money that had not yet been distributed.
And she immediately began to look for a way to get to him.
There was no way to contact Carson directly. Of course, she could send a letter with the family seal, but of course, she did not have the seal.
Of course, she could send a letter by any means necessary. But what would that mean?
Ines had not come to the capital to meet Carson briefly.
She wanted a place where she could always see him up close. She had promised herself that she would be someone who would not be strange to be by his side and that she would definitely go to him on her own.
She had no choice.
The conditions for becoming a maid of the Keynes Empire were as difficult and strict as the empire’s long history.
About 800 palace maids were working in the palace, and about 200 of them were called maids, servants, and pageants.
All maids, servants, and pageants could only be of noble birth.
A maid and pageant could not have a criminal ancestor, and there could not be a second generation of people in the direct line who died of illness at a young age. Of course, illegitimate children were not allowed. In addition, even if the family was in league with a political power, it was impossible to become a maid or pageant.
In addition, maids had to confirm their virginity before entering the palace. This was a procedure implemented to emphasize the solemnity and purity of the palace.
The servants and maids were usually children of famous families, and they placed the greatest importance on the etiquette for serving high-ranking officials.
Therefore, it took a long time to train them.
Knights would take in other knights' sons as their servants and assign them to miscellaneous tasks such as armor maintenance, and gradually teach them writing, martial arts, horseback riding, and dancing, and raise them as knights.
The maids also had servants, and young girls who were selected as servants would enter the households of Counts or higher, build connections, study, and become secretaries for the people they served.
And she immediately began to look for a way to get to him.
There was no way to contact Carson directly. Of course, she could send a letter with the family seal, but of course, she did not have the seal.
Of course, she could send a letter by any means necessary. But what would that mean?
Ines had not come to the capital to meet Carson briefly.
She wanted a place where she could always see him up close. She had promised herself that she would be someone who would not be strange to be by his side and that she would definitely go to him on her own.
She had no choice.
The conditions for becoming a maid of the Keynes Empire were as difficult and strict as the empire’s long history.
About 800 palace maids were working in the palace, and about 200 of them were called maids, servants, and pageants.
All maids, servants, and pageants could only be of noble birth.
A maid and pageant could not have a criminal ancestor, and there could not be a second generation of people in the direct line who died of illness at a young age. Of course, illegitimate children were not allowed. In addition, even if the family was in league with a political power, it was impossible to become a maid or pageant.
In addition, maids had to confirm their virginity before entering the palace. This was a procedure implemented to emphasize the solemnity and purity of the palace.
The servants and maids were usually children of famous families, and they placed the greatest importance on the etiquette for serving high-ranking officials.
Therefore, it took a long time to train them.
Knights would take in other knights' sons as their servants and assign them to miscellaneous tasks such as armor maintenance, and gradually teach them writing, martial arts, horseback riding, and dancing, and raise them as knights.
The maids also had servants, and young girls who were selected as servants would enter the households of Counts or higher, build connections, study, and become secretaries for the people they served.
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