Chapter 128

Astelle talked to Count Ecklen for a long time that day.

“Seibel always compliments the Prince on how clever he is.”

Seibel is the nephew of Count Ecklen.

It is said that he is his nephew who lost his parents when he was young and was adopted by the Count.

The two exchanged light topics such as the story of Seibel, Theor, and the Count’s estate.

It wasn’t long, but the more they talked, the closer they felt to each other.

They hadn’t known each other, so it was a strange thing.

Astelle said with a little hesitation.

“I heard from my grandfather about the old days.”

Count Ecklen was perplexed for a moment, but he soon smiled softly.

“I forgot all the bad things in the past. I don’t have the least bit of a grudge against the Marquis, so don’t worry.”

Had he forgotten about my mother?

I was curious about how close the two were, but I couldn’t ask the person involved.

‘Whatever their relationship was, it doesn’t now matter because it’s over.’

Astelle decided to forget about it.

Count Ecklen said goodbye to Astelle in a low voice before leaving.

“Your Majesty, if there is anything I can do to help, I will do anything.”

Astelle looked into Count Ecklen’s earnest eyes and pondered.

Can I use this man to take my father down?

My father hates this man very much.

He probably knows that the Count was close to my mother.

If I ask him for help, maybe I’ll be able to make the plan a little easier.

However, it’s not certain that Count Ecklen will help Astelle to that extent.

They are not even close, so it’s kind of hard to ask for help with such a thing.

“Thank you.”

The Count smiled. It was a smile full of affection.

For a moment, Astelle looked him straight in the eye.

The color of his eyes looked completely different in the sun.

Upon closer inspection, the Count’s eyes are also slightly light green.

‘It’s a strange coincidence.’

***

The next few days passed quietly.

Kaizen didn’t let Theor take classes until he fully recovered.

In fact, he recovered in three days, but……

“I want to go out……”

Theor struggled with boredom in the room for several days.

It’s been a week.

For successfully recovering his health, Kaizen gave Theor a gift.

“Let’s go see a play in the Grand Theater.”

At the center of the capital is the Grand Theater. It is a splendid and majestic building built many generations ago.

They perform plays, operas, and ballets depending on the season.

“Let’s go! I want to see a play!”

Theor, of course, is delighted.

He loves theatre and has been in his room for a few days, so he is ready to rejoice wherever he goes.

Astelle said, “You’ll have to get ready before you leave.”

It’s not easy for the emperor and prince to go to the theater.

It is important to inspect the theater to prevent any danger and check the roads to and from the theater in advance.

Kaizen smiled slightly as he watched Astelle worry.

“Don’t worry. It was prepared three days ago.”

Did you secretly prepare it?

This must be a surprise gift for Theor.

Theor happily prepared to go to the theater right away.

“Can I take Levin too?”

“Okay. Instead, you should both sit quietly and watch.”

***

The Grand Theater of the capital is a large building with three floors.

In terms of scale, it is almost the size of the banquet hall in the Imperial Palace.

The three of them sat on the balcony seats on the second floor prepared in advance.

It is the best place to see the stage.

The nobles sitting downstairs glanced at this side.

This is the first time the three of them went out together, so the attention is on them.

Fortunately, the play started right away. The content of the play was cliche.

It was an adaptation of an old legend about a prince and a princess who defeat a dragon.

Kaizen spoke to Astelle, lowering his voice so that Theor could not hear.

“This is enough for Theor to see. It’s just a political drama.”

“This is a good one.”

Theor didn’t even hear what the two were saying.

He was holding Levin tightly in his arms and concentrating on the play.

It is his first time seeing a drama in such a big theater.

Besides, the stage setting and props are very reasonable as it is the capital’s grand theater.

There are also special effects using gunpowder or smoke in the middle.

On the balcony seat, there are the finest candies and cookies prepared in advance for the young prince, but he didn’t even have time to taste them with so much concentration.

The play was over in an hour.

It seems that the time was not long unlike other plays.

If the content is too long, young Theor will get tired of watching.

After the play, the two main actors came to say hello.

“The princess is so pretty.”

Theor presented the prepared candy basket to the actors.

“I am flattered, Your Highness the Prince.”

The actors felt moved in their own way when the young prince was happy and gave them a gift.

“Did you enjoy the play?”

“Yeah! It’s so much fun, can I come again tomorrow?”

Theor continued to talk about the play even after the carriage left for the Imperial Palace.

However, after leaving the center of the capital, he fell asleep.

Indeed, it was already midnight, so it was understandable that he was sleepy.

Kaizen laughed as he watched Theor sleep in Astelle’s arms.

“Theor really likes theatre. When he becomes emperor, he’ll build several theaters.”

Astelle laughed too.

The memories of showing Theor a play on purpose and practicing the play together came to mind.

It’s not a very old memory, but it feels like a very long time ago.

The carriage is passing through a quiet night street.

The deserted streets are quiet and gloomy.

Looking out the window, Kaizen said quietly.

“We’ve been out together before.”

He seems to be talking about going to the night market in the capital city with Theor.

That day, they went to the night market together like this.

“I thought about it sometimes. What would the three of us be like if we hadn’t gone there that day?”

Kaizen said with his eyes fixed out of the carriage.

“You two must have left the capital and never came back.”

“……”

Astelle remained silent.

She didn’t even have to answer. Because that’s true.

‘At that time, I thought I had to go home somehow.’

Seeing Theor so happy changed her mind.

“Still……”

Astelle said impulsively.

“I think the current situation is good for Theor.”

Kaizen looked at Astelle with surprised eyes.

“How about you?”

He asked in a low voice.

“Will there ever come a day when you too will think that it’s a good thing you’re still here?”

“I do not know.”

Now, I’m not sure if I can leave in five years.

Although it wasn’t something she started from the very beginning, she promised to divorce in five years.

“You don’t have to think about it like that. The past can’t be undone.”

“……that’s right.”

After that, neither of them spoke.

At that time, the carriage running down the street suddenly stopped.

Looking out the window, it’s on a small bridge.

“What’s going on?”

“There is a fallen tree in front of the bridge. We will clean it up.”

The drivers should have checked the way back in advance, but why all of a sudden……

Even after waiting for a long time, the carriage showed no sign of departure.

Frustrated, Kaizen went out of the carriage.

“How long will it take you to clean it?”

Lyndon who was at the front came running over.

“Your Majesty, please stay inside. It may be dangerous.”

“Okay.”

Kaizen turned around and walked towards the carriage.

This is the capital city, and since the knights have already checked this street, there is nothing dangerous.

Astelle who thought so heard a strange sound for a moment.

The sound of splashing water was heard from under the bridge.

‘Sound of water?’

It was a strange situation. The carriage suddenly stopped on the bridge. The sound of water under the bridge. Astelle screamed the moment she realized it.

“Your Majesty!”

And at that moment, an explosion broke out.

***

An eerie roar broke the silence of the night.

There was a bitter smell of gunpowder all around.

Astelle, who was hugging Theor in surprise, slowly raised her head.

Fortunately, nothing has changed outside the window.

The knights surrounded Kaizen, but no one seems to be hurt.

“Mom? What’s wrong? What happened?”

Theor, who had been sleeping, was startled and opened his eyes.

“It’s okay. There’s been an accident. Everyone is safe, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

The bridge did not appear to have collapsed either.

What was that sound?

Kaizen ran to Astelle.

“I’m glad both of you are safe.”

“Are you all right, Your Majesty?”

“I’m okay.”

Lyndon run over and reported.

“There is a small amount of gunpowder inside the joint of the railing. I should have checked it first in advance. It’s all my fault. I apologize, Your Majesty.”

If it had been invisible to the eyes of the knights, it would have been a very small bomb.

Well, since it was a small bomb, no one was hurt.

“Search around and catch the culprit.”

That’s weird.

If it was a bomb so small that it could not be seen, it would not have been able to hurt people.

Was it really necessary to do this while the emperor and his wife were passing by?

Of all things…… When Kaizen went out, the bomb exploded as if someone had been waiting.

Others seemed to have similar thoughts.

One of the knights said as if puzzled.

“That’s strange. It didn’t attack the carriage……”

Kaizen turned his gaze to him.

The young knight looked at the emperor’s sharp gaze and hurriedly bowed his head.

“I won’t let you go if you talk nonsense again.”

Astelle said nothing, but she was feeling confused.

‘Who did it?’

It can’t be my father’s work.

Astelle said that she would seduce the emperor herself and keep an eye on him.

It’s only been a few days since they met and had a conversation

There’s no way her father tried to kill the emperor after having such a conversation.

So who the hell did it?