TL: Zimmings
Honghae, who said so, dragged me into the laboratory and said, âCome on, letâs go!â
Juliet, who was outside, shouted nervously.
âDonât break anything again, Honghae!â
Honghae moved her hands without hearing her words.
âHuh?â
I looked at Honghae with my eyes widened. As a princess of a country, I thought she would not be great at cleaning. But she was skillful.
She cleaned the dust on the desk, table and every corner.
Even if her skills were not up to par to janitors, it was still amazing compared to other princesses.
When I blinked, Honghae smiled and asked, âWhy?â
âYouâwe so good at cweaning.â
âI did it often since I was young.â
âBut youâwe a princess!â
âI have to do everything to survive.â
When I made a puzzled expression, she lightly grabbed my cheek and fondled it.
âYou donât know because you came from a strong country, right? In some countries, the emperor may be weak.â
âThe emperor?â
âYes. In a distant country full of black-haired people, sometimes the emperor doesnât hold absolute power. His servants, or the people, or if not, the empress dowager could control the emperor.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âAs soon as my father came of age, he became an emperor. The empress dowager wanted a foolish king who could listen well. She slaughtered all relatives who had the right of succession in front of him.â
Saying that, Honghaeâs eyes become cold.
âSo my father became terrified and became a weak emperor. According to the will of the Empress Dowager, he has dozens of wives and became a parrot who pretends not to know anything and repeats only âMother is right.'â
ââ¦â¦.â
âWhen the empress dowager passed away, he became the parrot of his nephew, the prime minister.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âFear make people stupid. Anyway, thatâs why the emperor always tells his children that we should do everything to survive.â
âWhat else do ywo do?â
âWhenever something happens in the country, I should sort that out. I also pretended to love my people without actually loving them, pretending that their pain is mine. I also clean up like a maid.â
âWhat about other princes and princesses?â
âMy siblings and I are in a different situation. Iâm a child of a fisherman before my father became an emperor.â
âThe man who was said to have been a fishermanâs lover is Honghaeâs mother.â
The rag was crumpled in Honghaeâs hand. Biting her lip, she looked back at me and, as usual, she smiled.
âWell, letâs get it over with. Can you tell your father and uncle to vote later?
ââ¦Yes.â
I nodded and began to clean sincerely.
***
After cleaning, I returned to Henryâs room. When I told my three brothers the story from Sandra and Honghae today, Isaac nodded.
âHonghaeâs family history is complicated. Rumours said that the emperor kneeled down to the prime minister to bring the mother and daughter to the palace.â
âEh? Really?â
When I was startled, Henry said,
âI donât know if itâs true or not, but that means that his authority is weak. Do you have time to worry about other peopleâs affairs? I also knew about Sandraâs affairsâ
As expected of Henry. He knew everything.
âSandraâs brother has been suffering from lung disease since he was born, and it was serious. Heâs been unconscious for half a year. I think heâs still breathing because of the priests.â
âThen she wonât be able to weject tempwe wequest? (Then she wonât be able to reject temple request?)â
âYes, itâs a famous story. Heâs Justin, the countâs sleeping-â
âWhat?!â
âHuh?â
I got up and grabbed Henryâs sleeves.
âWhat dwid you just say?â
âThe countâs sleeping sonâ¦â
âJ-Justin?â
âYes.â
Oh my god.
That Justin was Sandraâs brother?
I covered my mouth with both hands and screamed silently.
âLeblaine?â
Henry called me, and I thought ecstatically.
âChul-soo, this is that, right?ââ
When I remembered what Chul-soo taught me, I raised my arms and shouted.
âEureka!â
I shouted passionately.
Ah, Iâm glad I came to Odis Academy.
This place was really a field of golden connections. Isaac, Henry and Johann looked at each other.
âAre you plotting something?â
I do!
I immediately called Emeline. When she arrived at Henryâs room, her mouth was agape while looking at me.
âI heard that youâve gotten smaller, but you reallyâ¦â¦ Itâs the size of a rat.â
âHey⦠anyway Emeline go to Sandra.â
ââ¦What do you want me to do when I meet her?â
âIâll gwice you the instwuction there.â
I handed her a tweaked communication device made by Henry (who ignored the school rules) and laughed wickedly.
***
Emeline, who put the communication device in her ear, headed to the bench.
Sandra was already there as she had been contacted in advance by Henryâs lackey.
Sandraâs expression became stiff when she saw Emeline.
âThis letter, Emeline, was it from you?â
âLetter?â
[Thatâs what I swent her. Say yes]
Emeline replied with a sigh.
âYes. Itâs me.â
âWhat does it mean that you know my secret?â
âWhat?â
When Emeline paused in surprise, a voice came from the communication device again this time.
[Twat is what I wrote.]
âWhatâ¦!â
When Emeline bit her lips, Sandra urged her.
âIsnât it the letter you wrote?â
âAh, I wrote it. Yes, I wrote it.â
âIâll se you later. Blaine.â
Sandra held her jacket anxiously.
âI donât know what threat youâre trying to make, but this doesnât work for me. I donât have any secrets.â
[Follow what I say fwom now on.]
Emeline copied the words coming out from the communication device.
âDid you really have no secret? What about your younger brother who has lung disease and needs to be healed by a priest?â
âWhat are you talking about? I have no such secret-â
âActually, heâs Sandraâs son- What?!â
When Emeline, who was surprised, shouted, a grumble came out of the communication device.
[Why did you cut off the flow!]
âWhat is that? What are you talking about?â
Sandraâs younger brother was her son? Really? She was particularly pretty, but she didnât think thatâ¦
She shook her head and as she was organizing her thoughts.
Then Emeline looked at Sandra.
Sandraâs face turned pale.
â⦠Oh my God.â
âWell, I donât know what youâre talking about. If youâre playing around, Iâll get going.â
[No, no! Hold on. And tell her agwain!]
Emeline hurriedly grabbed her wrist and shouted.
âWait. I have something to say. I understand how you feel. I know you had no choice but to do that.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âYou gave birth to a priestâs child⦠priestâs childâ¦â
Emelineâs expression hardened. Because she was also a hidden child of a priest. Sandra shook off Emelineâs hand, stepped back l and murmured.
âItâs a lie. What you say is not true, and even if it is true, you will never understand my heart.â
â⦠Even if I couldnât understand you, I could understand your son.â
âWhat did you say?â
This was not what Leblaine told her to say. Emeline soon sighed and asked in a cold voice.
âWhat about your father? Does he know that you gave birth to a baby?â
âHeâs not my son.â
âWhat did he say to you? Heâs going to see you and your son soon. That nonsense? Does he want you to be obedient? Did he tell you to carry out the templeâs tasks?â
âWhat do you knowâ¦!â
âI know it! Because Iâm also a child of a priest.â
ââ¦â¦ What?â
âDonât be reluctant to abandon him because of your child. Your child wouldnât like it.â
ââ¦â¦ Pardon?â
âI can live well without my father. He is not a responsible person, but I have a good mother who takes care of me.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âThatâs what I want to tell my mom. Please donât give up your happiness because of me.â
Emeline sighed and took out the communication device in her ear.
âLet me tell you one thing because weâre in the same situation, hold Leblaineâs hand.â
ââ¦â¦.â
âShe never avoided responsibility.â
Emeline, who said so, turned her back. And muttered to the communication device.
âSorry. I messed up because of my temper.â
[No, youâre gweat.]
âWhat?â
After that,
âWhat should I do?â
Sandraâs desperate voice reached her ears.
***
After finishing the call, I grinned. Isaac, who was holding his chin, asked.
âWhy are you trying to hold onto Justin?â
âThe youngest mage candidate. His specialty is cloning items.â
He replicates relics well, but he was caught before. However, because of his outstanding ability, he ends up entering the magic tower.
âMinaâs etwal. What if I duplicate it?â
âIf you have amethyst, you donât need to duplicate it, right? After all, it was said that the passage was one of the things she had received from the priest the other day.â
âThe amethyst is not twaken by Sandra.â
â¦â¦ The culprit it someone else.
âThen letâs go get back at the criminal who stole my amethyst.â