Chapter 79
The next day, Calix headed to the Emperor’s Palace for the first time in years. Every time he felt disappointment in his father, he had deliberately kept his distance in order to suppress those emotions. Out of sight, out of mind.
That was how Calix learned that, no matter how close something was, it could still feel infinitely far away. Just when he thought he was becoming completely isolated, Lea would constantly call for him or come find him.
She had been annoyingly persistent, but at the same time, it was also true that her presence had brought him a sense of relief, the reassurance that he wasn’t truly alone.
But then Lea had abruptly changed and began to distance herself from him, and he nearly found himself truly alone.
If not for Luna.
“Inform His Majesty that I am here.”
At the appearance of the Crown Prince, the doorkeeper of the Emperor’s private office called out with nervous urgency.
“His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince has arrived, Your Majesty!”
At the doorkeeper’s announcement, the door opened. Andrio, the chief steward to the Emperor, greeted him with a look of delight.
“Your Highness, you’ve arrived. Please, come in.”
Calix offered no response to the greeting and strode inside with a blank expression. The Emperor was seated at his aged mahogany desk.
“I pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire.”
“That’s enough, Cal. I have no intention of receiving such grand greetings from my own child.”
“…Thank you, Your Majesty.”
As Calix raised his head from his bow, he stared directly at his father. The Emperor studied him with a strange look in his eyes.
“…I’m glad you’re safe.”
Whether it was genuine or not, Calix felt a surge of anger at the Emperor’s words, but he didn’t show it on his face. Instead, he asked a question.
“If things had gone wrong… what choice would Your Majesty have made?”
Even for the Crown Prince, it was a provocative question, and Andrio’s expression stiffened. But the Emperor showed no visible reaction. Instead, he replied coldly.
“Then it would simply mean you weren’t fit to be a successor.”
“…Do you feel no sympathy for an Esper who went so long without receiving guiding?”
“Hard to say. I take it you’ve never actually seen a truly withered Esper who’s never been guided, then?”
“Pardon?”
Aside from the recent sensation following his rampage symptoms—which he still wasn’t sure was real—Calix had never received a proper guiding. So why would his father say something like that?
The Emperor, who shared the same hair and eye color as him, let out a long hum as he stroked his chin.
“No matter how I look at you, you don’t look like someone who’s never been guided.”
“…I haven’t received one. Because Her Majesty the Empress harbors hostility toward me.”
“Then… was it that girl…”
The moment those words slipped from the Emperor’s lips, Calix couldn’t hide his expression. He had always referred to her as ‘the woman from the dream’, but he had never truly believed it was only a dream.
He had wanted to find out who she was, but she had left no trace behind. He had been struggling with how to proceed.
And yet, the Emperor knew?
Then why hadn’t he revealed that there were other Guides?
A tangle of questions swirled through his mind. As he stood there, lost in thought, the Emperor, Luke, gazed at him quietly and asked softly:
“So, did you come to confront your father? To ask why I didn’t order Bianca to save your life?”
“…Frankly, yes. I just wanted to know what Your Majesty’s intentions were.”
“Then let me ask, why did you antagonize Bianca?”
“…I never made the first move. It was Her Majesty the Empress who hated me from the start.”
“If that were the case, then you should’ve licked her feet and begged her for a guiding session.”
At the Emperor’s harsh words, Calix showed a stunned expression. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard had actually come from his father’s mouth.
“What? Did you think, ‘How dare a mere Guide’?”
“…I’ve never thought that.”
“Or were you upset because some woman of unknown origin took your mother’s place?”
“That’s not it!”
“Then you should have begged. ‘Please, make me your son.’ If you had done that, Bianca might have used you to her advantage. Isn’t that right, Cal?”
His voice came out in an eerily calm tone that sent chills down Calix’s spine. He felt pathetic for having so dEsperately longed for his father’s recognition all this time.
And now, he could understand what his father truly meant by those words.
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.