Chapter 105.1

“are you threatening me right now?”

“threatening?”

no matter how you looked at it, it was a threat, but dad only shrugged his shoulders as if he knew nothing.

it was just like my father, but he seemed a little brazen.

“then what are you doing now?”

“i’m just saying that if you touch me, i won’t let you go. even if it’s a trivial thing, you’ll be bitten if you’re stepped on. i’m just trying to protect myself and my people.”

for some reason, i feel like my father’s arm holding me was stronger than before. my father, who was looking at the emperor, smiled at me for a moment as if he felt my gaze.

meanwhile, the emperor did not hide his discomfort.

“even so, it is not a problem that can be overlooked, grand duke.”

“then your majesty will speak for yourself. i don’t know what i’ve done wrong, and i don’t know what you’re going to say about my daughter.”

only the voice of the emperor could be heard. standing behind him, the emperor looked at us with his head tilted as if he did not know the details.

“i don’t think you would think that i was going to say anything. or… was it because of something else, not me? is that why you didn’t hesitate to come here?”

after i saw my dad saying that, i felt like i knew why he hugged me tighter.

‘i think it’s because of me.’

come to think of it, i think the emperor mentioned me briefly earlier, and i stared at the emperor just in case. in the past, when i was trapped in the imperial palace with my mother, the emperor seemed like a huge person, but with my father, he couldn’t be that small.

i don’t know if it’s because i’m looking down at him in my father’s arms.

‘i’m not scared anyway!’

before, he looked like a monster, but now, he looks like a dog; a dog who only stared at you.

i don’t know if it’s because the knights are bigger than the emperor, but i’m not scared at all today. the emperor’s face changed to see if what my father said was true. was he trying to hide his feelings or could he not? anyway, it was clear to me, even as a child.

“it’s because of something else. first priority, what the grand duke did was wrong…”

“the word ‘priority’ means that there is something else after all. the other purpose of you coming here… is to be honest. your majesty, why are you here? even though the emperor journeyed all the way here, it was done in secret.”

“i never came in secret.”

that’s what he said, but it was a little strange. it felt like he came here in a hurry.

i heard that the emperor’s journey was not like this. hundreds of knights followed, and huge wagons came one after the other, and it was too much to say that the imperial palace itself was moved.

however, although a lot of knights had come, it was definitely different from what i heard.

“you haven’t completely ascended to the throne, but aren’t you sensitive to external events? is that why you’re here?”

“anyway…”

“don’t change the subject, just be honest. your majesty, i have heard that you are really curious about my daughter.”

in a way, it was natural for the emperor’s face to harden at those words.

“how could i be interested in such a girl?”

“then are you really here for my sins?”

as if my father’s prediction was correct, the emperor hummed and turned his eyes to me.

“well, i can’t say completely no. first of all, the last time the grand duke ame to the imperial palace, i was so distracted that i just let you go. that child… i think it’s the kid i’ve been looking for.”

my body almost flinched for a moment, but my father stopped him.

“you’re suddenly saying that to my child? well, that’s a lot of fun. she’s already been identified as my child through the imperial family’s treasure.”

“well, i don’t know because i haven’t seen it myself, and there’s been a big mistake with the imperial family in the past. she had a baby in the imperial family and had the same blond hair as her. now that i think about it, her face looks quite similar.”

“it’s very interesting. so now you’re saying that it looks like my child?”

perhaps he had made up his mind that he was going to talk about what happened anyway, but the emperor took one step at a time and shook his shoulder.

“well, actually, i’m not interested in her. she was the one who made a huge mistake to the imperial family. the child is here, so she’s probably here too.”

“that’s why you mentioned my child.”

“yes, let her go. she made a great mistake for the imperial family.”

“you want to take my child with you, but i feel like you can’t.”

“i wondered if it was true, but the appearance of the emperor biting his lips seemed to shed some truth to my father’s words.

“give her up, anyway.”

“well, you’ve come this far, so i have to give it to you.”

it felt like my dad’s sky was falling down.