By Zephyria 
Even after laughing for a while, no one laughed along with me. Feeling awkward, I stopped laughing and awkwardly put the hood back on Aska.
Aska has a sense of social decorum, after all… Though everyone probably already saw it.
Everyone else looked at me with pale faces and worried eyes. It was only natural, considering I suddenly caused such a commotion in the middle of a conversation. Feeling a bit embarrassed and drained, I steadied myself on the table and stood up.
“I have a bit of a headache, so maybe we can talk again later…”
I paused, about to suggest we talk later. The strength left my legs, and I stumbled, but Aska firmly grabbed my waist.
“Can’t you walk?”
“No, let go and back off a bit.”
The distance was too close, and as I pushed him away, I almost fell again. Without permission, Aska suddenly picked me up. My vision swam as my perspective suddenly changed.
I didn’t have the strength to argue, and my head was spinning, so I ended up saying to Abyss and Zero while being carried:
“You guys…”
I should order them to stay confined until I called for them, but the words wouldn’t come out. It wasn’t like they did it for any other reason than to save my life, so was it right to say anything?
But if they had been caught, everyone might have ended up in danger. Does the Emperor even…? Ah, is the Emperor not that perceptive right now?
As I tried to recall, I felt a familiar throbbing pain in my temples again. I stopped thinking and said weakly,
“Just wait until I call you again.”
At my words, Abyss asked in a deeply subdued voice,
“Shall I call a physician or a Wizard?”
“Never mind that, just bring some ice-cold water. And prepare water for washing. Use unscented toiletries.”
I heard them saying something more after that, but that was the last of my energy. I rested my cheek on Aska’s shoulder, let all the strength leave my body, and lost consciousness.
¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸
The father of the child who had been assisting with my bath was sick, so I sent a physician to him. He said that if I had been just a little later, it would have been a big problem. Fortunately, he was treated in a timely manner and was recovering his health.
Seeing him kneel before me, crying and thanking me, made me feel at ease.
“Good.”
With this, I gained another Servant who wouldn’t fall into that wretched temptation.
But people’s hearts are fickle, like easily broken objects. You always have to keep a close eye on them and maintain them well. That’s why I didn’t let my guard down.
One by one, the Servants who had received help from me smiled. Wouldn’t this reduce the chances of me going to hell, even a little? It reduced the chances of them betraying me, and it reduced the chances of me going to hell, so it was a win-win situation in many ways.
“Your Highness! Please try this!”
“…”
But these guys, who couldn’t even make eye contact with me at first, were gradually losing their nerve after I helped them a little. I thought this might lead to trouble, so I gathered everyone again and scared them.
“You seem to have forgotten where this is. This is Sa Dillin. If you get on Your Majesty’s bad side, getting your head cut off is commonplace, so don’t act presumptuously and always keep your heads bowed. Understand? And don’t start laughing just because you accidentally made eye contact.”
“Yes, thank you for your concern. But Your Highness, do things like moisturizers count as necessities? My skin is cracking a lot from constantly putting my hands in cold water.”
“Have you ever seen such a crazy bastard…”
Seeing the Servant asking for moisturizer in Sa Dillin made my blood pressure rise. As I clutched the back of my neck and collapsed, the guard fussed over me and held me.
And so, peaceful days continued without any major incidents. Rumors occasionally circulated that the Emperor had killed someone or was causing a ruckus in a drug-induced haze.
Whether he had forgotten or not, he never came to find me again after that.
Which was all the better.
“Your Highness, it’s my birthday today.”
“Your hair seems too long, cut it.”
“Eh, but it’s so pretty… Can’t I just grow it out?”
“How dare you talk back to me?”
As I frowned, the Servant pouted and cut his hair short.
And I thought that if they had to work even on their birthday, which only comes once a year, life would be too hard. Living with that kind of mindset would make them more susceptible to temptation. After much deliberation, I made adjustments so that they could take time off on their own and their family’s birthdays.
“What is that?”
I asked, looking at the necklace around Jia’s neck. She always wore the same thing, so I was just curious, but Jia’s face lit up.
“Would you like to see it?”
“…”
Why is she so happy? With a slightly reluctant expression, I nodded, and Jia took off her necklace and handed it to me. I examined it for a moment and pressed a small protruding part. With a click, the lid opened, revealing a picture of someone.
“Who is it?”
“My daughter.”
“She’s very young.”
“She’s three years old this year.”
Three years old is too young, isn’t it? A young child should have her mother by her side, but Jia only goes home once or twice a month.
“What’s her name?”
“Sakira. My husband spent days agonizing over the name.”
Sakira, Sakira…
I murmured the name a few times and then gave the necklace back to Jia.
“Bring her with you next time.”
Anyway, I have a lot of schedules, so I spend most of my time away from Jia. So this was a matter of efficiency.
A few days later, Jia came to the Imperial Castle with her daughter. The child, who couldn’t even speak properly and drooled as she toddled around, was much smaller than I had imagined.
I had never seen anything smaller than myself in my life, so I was uneasy about touching her, afraid that she might break.
Anyway, I told her to bring her often in the future and went back to my daily routine.
Until she turned six and then seven, my schedule was as fixed as ever. Learning, building resilience, wielding a sword, and occasionally being so sick that I was on the verge of death.
“It’s dangerous to injure your muscles while you’re still growing.”
“Can’t you just heal it with magic?”
“Magic isn’t a panacea. And don’t you feel any pain?”
Khalifa’s words that the First Prince went to the battlefield at my age sometimes came to mind, so I also put effort into training. But there were limits until my body was fully grown, so I turned to magic.
Only a very small number of people can feel Mana, and even fewer can learn magic. So I didn’t have high expectations, but fortunately, I had a magical talent, and it was entirely limited to destruction.
“Since I’m only going to use it when I fight anyway, it’s a great deal.”
“A great deal? Where did you learn such language?”
“Mind your own business, you pathetic fool. You can’t even teach me properly. All you can say is ‘this is not allowed’ and ‘that is not allowed.’ What are you even capable of, you incompetent bastard?”
“Still, what’s not allowed is not allowed.”
I glared at the guy who kept telling me I couldn’t train because of the risk of injury and left the Training arena. I had some time before meeting the physician, so I went to my room, but Jia wasn’t there, only Sakira.
“Your Highness!”
Now that she’s a bit older, she can speak well. It’s still a bit clumsy, but it’s improved a lot compared to the beginning.
“Where did Jia go, leaving you alone?”
“She said she was just going to get something.”
“What?”
Why would she leave such a young child alone? I frowned and moved anything that looked dangerous to a high place where she couldn’t reach it.
“I’m going to sail the seas on a ship and go on adventures when I grow up.”
“Are you going to pillage?”
“What’s pillage?”
Sakira came closer and grabbed my sleeve.
“Get away. And that’s a crime, so you can’t do that. Besides, you’re a girl, so you can’t do such dangerous things. Jia earns money well, so you can just spend that money and play at home… No, really. You’re saying such nonsense because you’re looking at things like this. I told you not to look at things like this, didn’t I?”
Sakira was looking at another strange picture book. Last time, she saw a thief stealing and giving coins to people… At that time, Sakira said that she would become a thief when she grew up.
“But this is super cool.”
What’s “super”? Did she see it in a book again? Because Jia reads books that she brought from outside the Imperial Castle to Sakira, my speech was unknowingly becoming contaminated.
I roughly understood it to mean “very cool” in context.
“The sea is dangerous, so you can’t. And how many times have I told you not to speak informally? If someone else hears you, your tongue will be cut off, you know?”
“Your Highness only tells me that I can’t do this and I can’t do that. Tch… And someone else heard me last time, but no one said anything?”
“That’s because they’re our people… Ha.”
Maybe it’s because she’s young, but she doesn’t understand. What’s the point of lecturing such a young child? I just need to warn Jia to strictly supervise Sakira later.
As I sighed, Sakira asked hesitantly,
“But why are you so busy every day, Your Highness?”
“…”
She seemed to think I was angry because she was smiling awkwardly and speaking more formally. It was a bit absurd, but I wasn’t angry enough to get upset, so I picked up Sakira, sat her on a chair, and said,
“Because I have a lot to do.”
“Mom said that you study very hard and train in swordsmanship very hard. And you eat well without being picky, and you wake up early in the morning… Can I do that too? I want to study and train in swordsmanship like you, Your Highness.”
Looking at Sakira, who was suddenly full of motivation, I frowned.
“Are you going to learn that to become a pirate or a thief?”
“No? No?”
An earthquake was happening in Sakira’s eyes.
“No. You don’t have to study, and you don’t have to train in swordsmanship, so just eat well, sleep well, and grow up well. That way, Jia won’t worry about you.”
“Why? Can’t I do it too?”
“You’re too young to do that.”
“But you did that from the same age as me, Your Highness.”
Sakira puffed up her cheeks and made a stubborn face. I felt like I should be leaving soon, but I didn’t know where Jia was or what she was doing that she still hadn’t come.
“You and I are different.”
“How are we different?”
“I’m royalty, and you’re a human.”
“Are royalty and humans different?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She was asking the obvious. But I didn’t know what to say.
How can I explain that the sky is the sky and the earth is the earth?
¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸.•¨•¸
I woke up and slowly opened my eyes.
“…”
What did I say back then? After thinking about it for a long time, I suddenly felt weak and said something I shouldn’t have…
“Kyle.”
My vision was blurry, so I couldn’t see well, but fortunately, my ears seemed to be fine. As I turned to the direction of the sound, Aska hugged my back.
“I had a childhood dream, and Sakira appeared. It seems like we’ve known each other since we were very young. Jia… Who was Jia? Was she a nanny? Jia…”
Come to think of it, where did Jia go? Is she still in Talim? Or did she retire and go back to her hometown?
“Do you know Jia?”
“I’ve never seen her, but I’ve heard her name.”
I was still half-asleep and dazed, but I suddenly raised my head. I tried to look at Aska’s face, but my eyes still couldn’t focus properly.
“Did you cry?”
His voice was excessively hoarse. But even as I asked, I didn’t think Aska had really cried.
“No.”
“…”
His voice was even more hoarse than before. And this time, it was mixed with a nasal sound. I rubbed my eyes and looked ahead again, and Aska’s face was much clearer than before.
His eyes and the tip of his nose were incredibly red.
“You did cry?”
“I didn’t cry.”
“Why did you cry?”
“I didn’t…”
His face looked like he had cried to anyone, but tears eventually fell from Aska’s eyes as he insisted to the end. I was so flustered that I could only watch his face become increasingly distorted.
Aska buried his face in the pillow to hide it and mumbled,
“I’m sorry…”
“What?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”
What’s going on all of a sudden? I don’t know why he’s apologizing, but he’s crying so much that I forgave his sins for now.
“Okay. It’s okay, so stop crying.”
It wasn’t a very good method, as the sound of his crying only started to get louder.