“Ah, no! Not that!”

“It’s okay. If it was hard, just say it was hard.”

Now you can say that. I’ll protect you. I’ll make sure that those people can’t get near you. I’ll protect you instead of ‘that child’ whom I couldn’t protect.

But Shasha just shook her head vigorously.

“Hehe… It’s okay now! Earlier, I was scared that my mom and dad might take me away… It’s fine being with my parents, but being without my sister was a little… scary.”

“I see.”

“Yes… Hehe.”

Whether it was embarrassment or not, Shasha was busy looking around, rolling her eyes vigorously.

“The carriage is really big. The backrest is really comfortable!”

“That’s right. The Emperor’s carriage is certainly different.”

I, too, looked at the carriage with a slightly surprised expression, and the Emperor protruded his chin. Even though he didn’t say anything, his expression was quite satisfied. It’s like saying, “This is my class.”

Anyway, the carriage was much more comfortable than I thought.

“That’s right! It’s much better than the temple’s carriage.”

“Was the temple’s carriage bad?”

“Yes… It was really hard. The chair.”

Suddenly, the Emperor’s and my eyes became uncomfortable at the same time. The carriage of the temple couldn’t be bad. Come to think of it, I didn’t remember the temple’s carriage that Shasha used to ride in.

I only saw it once last time. Since then, I told them I didn’t need to go to the temple, so I didn’t remember anything in particular.

‘But it shouldn’t have been hard.’

The temple always had a strange rivalry with the shrine. Better than the shrine, more splendid than the shrine. Their goal was always that, so the carriage should have been the same.

“Hmm…”

“Sister, but I feel sleepy here.”

Shasha leaned on my body and rubbed her head. The child’s hair moving back and forth tickled my arm.

“Do you want to take a nap?”

“Also… Is it okay to sleep in the carriage?”

“Of course. Who says it’s not allowed?”

“No… That’s not what I mean…”

Yawning broadly, Shasha relaxed her tension and quickly began to nod her head.

Still, she was holding her bag tightly, not letting go. That looked somewhat cute, so I placed the child’s head on my lap.

Fortunately, whether she was tired or not, Shasha didn’t wake up. The child fell asleep like that.

The carriage swayed to a steady rhythm, like moving over a piano. After Shasha fell asleep, a quietness settled in the carriage, almost too much. I looked out of the window because I didn’t like the silence.

But I kept feeling the Emperor’s gaze on me. His gaze was so piercing that I felt like it would make a hole in my face.

“Do you have something to say?”

Finally, I turned my gaze to him.

“No? Why. Do I look like I have something to say to you?”

“Yes. You were staring at me too much. Or else… nothing.”

“Hmm.”

He always did that. The Emperor would stroke his throat like that when he had something to say. Speaking as if it had become a habit. Like he wanted to focus attention on himself with that coughing.

Helplessly, I looked at the Emperor. As I suspected, he had something to say, and he looked into my eyes.

“The part we talked about earlier.”

“Which one?”

“The part where they change their minds, if they are prepared to take care of the child, I said I would give her back.”

“Ah.”

I nodded my head loosely at that.

“You were making a minimum concession. Even though you are the Emperor, I thought you couldn’t just take my side outright. I understand very well.”

“That’s true. But it won’t be easy to hand her over. Even you, all grown up, have people trying to control you, so I know how they would treat a child. It looked much more serious than what I have seen and heard.”

Whether it was because he was a father or because he lost a sibling at Shasha’s age, the Emperor seemed to be quite sincere about Shasha’s affairs.

“Yes. That’s right.”
“If you want, I will continue to delve into their problems. I will continue to create words and evidence that they are not ready. And Isabella. If Her Majesty says it’s okay, then I’ll send her back.”

She slowly nodded her head.

“There will be no such thing. Sending her back.”

Even if I part with the Emperor, I will protect Shasha. Until the child becomes an adult. So that she can live doing what she wants to do,

The Emperor looked at me with quite a puzzled expression.

“I don’t understand.”

“What?”

“Why do you want to protect your sister so much? Are you also going to use her?”

“No. To keep her from being used, to protect Shasha because I love her. Until she has her own will, until she can live alone.”

“Why do you do so much?”

“Because I love her?”

“Because I love her…… yes.”

He chuckled and shook his head. I gently stroked the head of Shasha, who was sleeping on my lap.

“There are many kinds of love. Love between men and women, love between family, love with friends. It’s one of those many loves.”

“Love…… yes.”

Though I said so, I knew that my love was not completely truthful.

No, the loving heart is real, but not as pure and clean as Shasha’s. It’s such a heart that I had to lessen my damn guilt.