Chapter 52

“How’s the preparation going for the party?”

“Yes, I’m doing great!”

Her body was tired from being dragged around, but the preparation was smooth. If this continues, she doesn’t think there will be anything embarrassing for Serwin.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“I heard you were struggling with dancing.”

“Yes. I’m still confused, so I’m just stepping on people. Oh, but since other people are helping me, I’ll get used to it by the day of the party.”

“I heard the knights will be your practice partner.”

“Yes, I’m not good at dancing. Mrs Enard said that I can’t improve my skills in a short period of time, and that I should look decent only when I dance with Your Majesty. So I’m practicing with people of similar physique to Your Majesty.”

Amelie added with confidence.

“Anyway, don’t worry. I’ll do my best not to step on Your Majesty’s feet by mastering it perfectly!”

Why is she making that effort with someone else? Serwin frowned. When he thought she was dancing holding hands with someone else, he felt emotional and his mood worsened slightly.

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be best to match it with me?”

“That’s right.”

As Amelie nodded and answered, Serwin stared into her eyes.

‘Why are you looking at me like that?’

His golden eyes seemed to be hoping for something. What is that? No matter how much she thought about it, there was nothing to point out.

‘What Serwin needs of me— disaster— yes, that’s it!’

Amelie, who was enlightened, looked at Serwin and answered with confidence.

“The investigation into the disaster is going smoothly! The notes given by Your Majesty are very helpful.”

“….”

Contrary to her expectations, however, a light of disappointment passed by Serwin’s face. Is this not it? Amelie blinked her eyes.

‘It doesn’t seem like she’s slow-witted at all—’

Serwin sighed. The nagging he wanted to give her almost reached the end of his throat. But when he met Amelie’s clear eyes he calmed down. Yeah, it’s not her fault that she’s not smart enough. Serwin decided to be generous.

“It helps, but that’s it?”

Serwin decided to match Amelie’s rhythm. His notoriety would have been cut in half if he had shown the same understanding to others as he had given to Amelie.

“—Yes, actually. I don’t think we’ll be able to figure out the true nature of the disaster or how to seal it by continuing to investigate just this.”

“It’s so old, there are only these records. Because disasters are top secret, no one knows about it.”

It wasn’t like he had just been waiting for the witch for the past two decades. While searching for her he also anxiously searched for disaster-related information. But it was all in vain. It was because the disaster had been sealed for too long, and it was a secret entity that should not have been recorded at all.

“So I’m trying to approach it in a different way.”

“How?”

“I want to go to the place where the disaster was sealed. And I’m going to find a witch.”

It was the witch who sealed disaster into Serwin’s body. In addition, the witch had even predicted the meeting between Amelie and Serwin. Judging from that, it was clear that there was a connection between the disaster and that witch.

“You can go there with me later. Can you find the witch?”

Serwin had the same thoughts as Amelie, and had been looking for a witch for a while. However, in the aftermath of the witch hunt 20 years ago, most witches hid and cut off communication with people for a long time. Of course, there were a few witches who interacted with people like Amelie, but those witches were mostly protected by their communities, so it was not easy to find them.

“I was reading a book a while ago and found out. There is a way to call witches among witches. It’s a magic used for meetings—”

Amelie had never been to a meeting of witches because she was born after the witch hunt. According to the words of her grandmother witch, witches originally gathered twice a year and had a big feast. At that time, this magic was the magic that informed attendees of the venue and time of the meeting.

“I left the tools I needed at my house in the forest.”

“I’ll send the Knights.”

“Yes!”

After the party is over, she’ll be free, so she’ll be able to do her best to find the information about the disaster. At that time, she was thinking of using magic to call a witch meeting.

“Can you call the witch?”

Serwin asked. Perhaps he meant the witch who sealed the disaster twenty years ago.

“By the way, I don’t know anything about that person. What kind of person was she? What’s her age or name?”

“Well, I don’t know anything.”

Serwin frowned.

“On the day that the seal of the disaster was released, she dragged me along, explained the disaster, and sealed it over my body. When I opened my eyes, she was already gone.”

“Then you don’t know about what would happen if the seal of disaster was lifted?”

Serwin nodded.

“I don’t know. I was imprisoned right after I became Emperor, so I didn’t know what was going on outside. The knowledge about that time is secondhand and I mostly remember the pain after the disaster came into my body. It’s not too different from what you know.”

“I see.”

Amelie’s shoulders drooped down. She knew it was difficult to find a way to fight the disaster, but she didn’t know there was no clue like this.

‘Serwin doesn’t know either—Well, Serwin was only seven years old at the time, and if he had lived trapped, he wouldn’t have known more about the world. Huh—?’

Suddenly Amelie found something strange in his words.

“Do you live imprisoned? Your Majesty?”

“In the past.”

Serwin became emperor when he was 5 years old. His father, the late Emperor, died of an illness at a young age, and his only child became Emperor. At the age of 7, the seal of disaster was lifted and sealed again in Serwin’s body. If so, that means he was imprisoned for two years.

Serwin smiled.

“You can’t believe it?”

“—Honestly yes.”

“Because I was young at the time. On the other hand, the regent king ruled the Empire from the time of the Emperor. It was completely in the palm of his hand.”

“Is it the regent king who locked up Your Majesty?”

“Yeah.”

Amelie was very surprised. Amelie knew about the regent king. He was often mentioned in the original novel, and his name was often heard while learning the history of the Empire.

The Regent King, Albert Henesia, is the younger brother of the previous Emperor and the man who had become Serwin’s guardian. Since Serwin became Emperor at such a young age, Albert became regent, and people called him the Regent King.

From generation to generation, the Emperors of the Empire were madmen, paraphiles, and fools. Albert led the Empire by correcting the mistakes of his predecessors, and received full support and love from the people. Many people still remember the regency period as the best time to live.

Among the nobles, there were several followers of the regent king. In particular, Duke Odorus followed him so much that he entered a long seclusion after the death of the regent king. He was that well-known and respected a person.

“He’s a common hypocrite. The man I’d usually see was the most gloomy man in this palace. I’ve only seen him twice in two years, and if I’m alone with him, the surrounding area becomes gloomy as if it would rain.”

Serwin was fed up. Even now, after a long time, he couldn’t get rid of the bad feelings for that man.

“Can’t you trust me?”

“It’s just different from what I knew—”

“Do you want me to tell you something interesting?”

Serwin smiled grumpyly. His voice became even lower.

“It was the regent king who led the witch hunt 20 years ago. For your information, I’m sure it’s him who unsealed the disaster.”

“Why?”

“He needed more power? It seems like he wanted to become the real Emperor.”

Serwin shrugged. Amelie opened her mouth wide. The regent king was a total trash, right?

“There’s not much I can tell you. I’m not hiding it, I actually don’t know much.”

At that time, Serwin was only seven years old, and no one explained to him what happened. All he knew was what he found out himself after everything was over or what disaster was in Serwin’s ear.

“Your Majesty has been fighting a disaster. That’s the greatest thing. We’re winning as long as the disaster is sealed.”

Amelie patted Serwin’s hand. A glimmer of sympathy gleamed in her mint green eyes. How dare you sympathize with the Emperor. It’s something to get angry about, but he’s not angry. He felt very embarrassed by his desire to lean on her a little more.

When Serwin held Amelie’s hand, Amelie also held his hand. This isn’t enough. He leaned his head still over Amelie’s shoulder. Amelie covered Serwin’s eyes with her other hand. As his vision was blocked, peace came to Serwin’s world.

‘I can’t say no anymore.’

Serwin had to admit it. He knew that the reason he was sharp and tense was because he didn’t see Amelie.

Meanwhile, Amelie felt sorry for Serwin. He was so strong and terrifying today that she had not been aware of it until now, but twenty years ago he was also a child. At an age where he should have grown up with the protection of adults, he was rejected and alone with the huge burden of disaster. He could not tell anyone that he was in pain, and about how he has been fighting alone until now to protect the world.

‘I have to become a person he can rely on.’

Amelie was determined once again. The fact that he had been waiting for her, waiting to meet her for the past twenty years came heavier than ever.

The two didn’t say anything for a while. Listening to each other’s breaths and heartbeats, they leaned on each other and stayed still.

How much time had passed? From outside the room came the servant’s words that Milena had come to pick up Amelie. Serwin had work to do, and Amelie had a tight schedule with all the party preparations. The two of them were forced to get up from their seats.

“I’ll go back first.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“It’s okay. Your Majesty still has work to do.”

As Amelie headed to the door, Serwin looked at Amelie’s back, turning away. Then he couldn’t stand it and asked.

“Why don’t you ask me to help you?”

Serwin asked. Amelie replied with a face that she didn’t understand.

“Your Majesty is busy enough to reduce sleep these days. How can I ask for more? The party was held because of me. I have a sense of shame, of course.”

“—No, the reason for reducing sleep is—”

Serwin was speechless. He couldn’t say that he kept his distance from her because of her naive ‘I’ll do my best on my own!’

“—So you didn’t come to me even if you’re curious?”

Amelie nodded her head. Serwin swallowed a sigh. She didn’t know that he was deliberately coming late, and rather than talking to her, he became arrogant and expected her to need his help. The disappointment that had accumulated so far quickly turned into shame. It’s his own fault. He pretended to be busy. In the end, he was left staring at his own feet.