Seven years old, as a child would be. I didn’t know why she was wary of me. It didn’t seem like she was upset because she loved the Emperor and didn’t want him to marry just any woman.

It was a bit strange for her to say she really didn’t like the look of me just now. It’s not like I was putting on airs.

“So I thought the reason Luredelo was rejecting me was because of Luredelo’s mother……”

Was it because of those memories etched in her bones? I couldn’t tell.

“The reason for being wary of Shasha is somewhat inferred, though.”

Rejecting a child felt like being wary of one’s own kind. A look as if she were afraid of having her place taken.

“This is all part of growing up, don’t think too badly of it.”

I don’t think there would be a child who would say ‘get lost’ to a person they meet for the first time in the process of growing up.

“Yes…… well……”

“Let’s get to know each other gradually since we’ll continue to see each other, and let’s go out. Luredelo, go to your room and rest.”

Luredelo did not move easily even at that command. She only glared at Shasha as if she had much to say.

“Don’t keep looking!”

“Luredelo.”

“……”

“We’re going to be family now……”

“We’re going to live together? Not? Just stopped by for a while?”

Seemingly determined to be wary of Shasha rather than me, Luredelo pointed at Shasha.

“That thing? It’s Shanencia. Shanencia will live with Isabella.”

“Why?”

“I’ll explain later.”

“I don’t want to. Is it allowed for anyone to live in the imperial palace? Well, since she’s not a woman with a child, that woman might not matter, but she doesn’t need to live with us.”

Shanencia bared her teeth as if she had become a puppy. More annoyed by the words ‘no reason to live together’ than the words ‘anyone.’

“Enough, Luredelo. It’s already been decided. Let’s get along well. There’s no one your age in the palace, and you’ve been bored, so why not play together?”

“I don’t want to……”

But the Emperor did not listen to Luredelo’s words any further.

The Emperor went on ahead, leaving the disappointed Luredelo behind.

A picture of the Emperor neither appearing to love Luredelo nor seeming affectionate. Perhaps a feeling of not knowing how to love someone or be loved by someone.

“Aren’t you coming?”

The Emperor, who had gone out first, asked me in a cold voice as I stood idly in the room.

So it was then that I was about to rush out like a puppy.

“It’s only rustic…… I don’t like it.”

“Am I rustic?”

“Yeah. What’s that? The bag you’re carrying behind you.”

“Oh, this is the trend these days.”

“What is that……”

“Everyone follows this outside, don’t you know?”

I must be becoming a child, too. Even though I could just pass it over, I’m picking at it one by one.

“Is…… it a trend…… to carry a bag smaller than the body?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Luredelo, who seemed to have easily accepted my words, was closely examining my bag, as if she intended to carry it around herself.

‘Even if we continue to talk like this, maybe we’ll become a little closer.’

Even if it’s a little unadultlike. Even if it’s a little childish.

I don’t have the confidence to give plain advice and talk like others.

I’ve already failed. I’m just going to live like myself. Thinking of the present rather than the unknown distant future.

“Isabella.”

In the meantime, the Emperor’s voice calling me again was heard. I rushed out in haste in case he had something to say to me.

“I’m sorry.”

“No, I was just worried that Luredelo might make unnecessary remarks……”

“You worried about me?”

“What’s worrying. Just…… I don’t want to create trouble needlessly because of the words of a child.”

He said so, but it was a clear concern. Whether it was for me or for Luredelo, I couldn’t tell.

“Yes.”

After that, there were no words. From there until moving to another place. What was strange was that even though I had walked quite a distance from the second floor where Luredelo was, I barely saw any servants.
It was not somewhere else but the imperial palace, yet it was so deserted. It was so quiet that there was no feeling that people were living there.

After parting with Leandro Soleven, the feeling grew stronger because of the emperor who kept his mouth shut.

It seemed that I was not the only one who felt the silence, as the emperor spoke as soon as he came inside.

“I didn’t prepare properly as I prepared hastily. I think it would be better to stay with your sister in the villa rather than the main palace, so I prepared it there.”

“The villa?”

“Yes. Where we have been until now is the main palace. And the place we are going to is the villa.”

At the same time, what caught my eye was a forest path. An utterly random forest path. When getting off the carriage, I was captivated by the glamour of the imperial palace and didn’t see it, but the cedar trees were surrounding the area as if protecting a single palace.

We were walking between those trees. Trees lined on both sides. The trees filled the sky, creating a dense feeling, as if to prevent us from knowing where we were going.