A Second Divorce is Difficult - Side Story 3 - The Emperor and the Empress (15)

Side Story 3 – The Emperor and the Empress (15)

“Aper.”

“Mother.”

Aper, the crown prince of the Luben Empire, hugged his mother.

“You seem to be in a good mood today.”

“Of course I am. Today is a special day.”

“It is. Isn’t it your birthday?”

“Yes!”

Katrina patted her son’s now 7-year-old head.

“More flowers, I see.”

Aper said, looking at the flowers in a small box on the table where his mother was sitting.

Ever since he could remember, there had always been a single flower on his mother’s table.

He only learned later that it was a flower his father presented to her every day. One day, while strolling with his father.

“Can you wait for a moment?”

As his father affectionately stroked Aper’s head, a familiar pair of flower scissors emerged from the head chamberlain’s embrace as if it were natural.

Taking it, he carefully selected the flower and cut it off. Only one flower.

“What are you going to use it for?”

“For your mother.”

“Why just one? Can’t you send more?”

“No, I can’t. I don’t want to overwhelm her.”

“Why? Isn’t it better to express more love? Why not?”

“Then your mother will get sick of it.”

“Mother likes flowers, so she’ll like it more if you give her more.”

“Then you should give her more instead of me.”

With that, he carefully packed the flowers in a small box that could fit only one flower.

Only then did Aper realize who had sent the wooden box with the single flower that sat on her mother’s parlor table every morning.

“My father is really bad at expressing himself, isn’t he?”

Aper said, recalling his father’s gestures of affection that he thought were unusual when he was younger. Even now, his father has only sent his mother one flower every day.

Katrina only smiled softly at Aper’s words.

From what he’d heard, his father had been adamant in taking in a royal concubine considering it took how many years for his mother to produce an heir, which had caused a lot of backlash from the nobility.

He’d heard that the backlash had died down after his own birth a few years later, but he could only think of what his father must have suffered during that time.

“Liz is coming today, too. Do you think we should be doing this?”

“Oh, I’m going to go get ready; see you later, Mother.”

Aper kissed Katrina lightly on the cheek and left the parlor.

She watched her son’s hurried retreat with a wistful glance before turning her attention back to the table.

She looked at the flowers on her table, which had been there every day for ten years.

At some point, Shannua stopped expressing his affection with words.

Instead, he looked at her with affectionate eyes hidden behind a neutral expression or silently brought flowers like this.

It was as if speaking like someone who understood her position, unable to fully accept or push him away.

Even after a long time, the flower placed on her table every morning seemed to say, “Nevertheless, I still love you.”

Just as he had replaced the words “I love you” with “I’m sorry” until she gave birth to Aper and got better.

As Aper said, it was a clumsy way to express love. Only now did Shannua seem to understand that this might be the best he could do, given his past ways of easily getting what he wanted.

* * *

The celebration of Aper’s birthday, the sole heir to the Lubern Empire, was held annually with great fanfare.

In addition to a large-scale ball attended by most of the empire’s nobility, festivities continued in the capital for several days.

“Your Majesty.”

“Duke Viers. The Duchess is here.”

“Your Majesty, congratulations.”

Eli and his wife, Ruby, who had been newly conferred the title of Duke of Viers three years ago, greeted the crown prince, Aper.

“It’s been a long time, Your Imperial Majesty.”

“It’s been a while.”

Cheerful voices echoed. It was Eli and Ruby’s son Zion and daughter Liz.

Zion, now ten years old, had a mature demeanor, while Liz, still six, was shy and huddled a bit against Eli’s leg.

“I see. You came this year too.”

Shannua smiled gently at the two children.

“Liz, how were we supposed to say hello?”

Ruby asked, and after a glance at her and then at Eli, Liz moved out of her hiding place and stepped closer to Aper.

She gripped her dress in her tiny hands and bowed politely.

“Happy birthday, Crown Prince.”

Aper smiled with a twinkle in his eye, then turned away and coughed when his eyes locked with Liz’s.

His ears were flushed.

“Thank you for coming.”

“You look lovely today, Your Highness.”

“Ah……. I’m having Lady Liz’s favorite dessert today; would you like to join me?”

Everyone thought that his mind must have gone blank, as he quickly changed his words.

That’s because Aper’s scenario didn’t include Liz’s compliment about how cool he looked.

Then, in hindsight, he realized he should have called her pretty, but he seemed to regret it.

“I’ll come with you, Your Highness. Mother, father, I’ll see you.”

“Okay, please take good care of them.”

Zion, the oldest of the group, waved goodbye to Eli and Ruby, then disappeared with Aper and Liz.

“Wow, the kids are all grown up already.”

“Yeah, you can tell by looking at them how fast time flies.”

Katrina and Ruby stared after them as they walked away.

“Duchess Viers, shall we go outside and talk to the other ladies?”

“Yes. Eli, see you later.”

Katrina and Ruby stepped aside so that Shannua and Eli could talk to each other in private.

Unlike Eli, who greeted Ruby with a light kiss on the cheek, Shannua exchanged a simple greeting with Katrina with her eyes.

The gaze lingered until she pulled away and was out of sight.

“Is everything okay now?”

“Yes.”

As he answered, Shannua caught Eli’s eyes, looking at him pityingly.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m happy enough.”

Shannua thought of Aper, all dressed up and hugging him, and Katrina, who stood by his side, looking at him with a smile on her face.

“Father!”

“He was excited that Liz was coming.”

“……You did.”

Shannua responded, not taking his eyes off Katrina.

Aper asked his parents cautiously.

“How do I look today?”

“Cool.”

“Do you think Liz would think so?”

“I think so?”

Anticipation flashed across the face of the boy in love.

Suddenly, he pulled away from Shannua’s embrace.

“I think we should try Liz’s favorite dessert beforehand.”

Before he could finish his sentence, Aper was already running.

“I can’t stop him. If Aper likes Liz that much, Liz must like our Aper.”

Katrina looked up at Shannua and smiled.

“I’ll have to have a word with Duke Viers later, that’s what power is for.”

“I look forward to it.”

Seeing her smile, Shannua looked at Katrina, a cautious smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Shall we go?”

He asked Katrina, holding out his hand. Katrina nodded and took his hand.

Shannua’s hand tightened in hers.

“I didn’t say anything.”

Only Eli’s voice pulled Shannua out of his reminiscing.

“Forget it. How can you know my heart?”

“I have my share of mistakes, so I can understand.”

“…It’s reassuring to have a loyal subject like you by my side.”

The words had multiple meanings, but Eli nodded, taking them in the way he wanted to hear them.

“How can we all live the same way? Everyone has their own way.”

“……Yes. That’s right.”

Eli was right.

It was enough for Shannua to be able to stand close to her on happy days and laugh with her.

He did not doubt that if there were even a few more days like today when they could smile at each other, he would be even happier.

-The End of A Second Divorce is Difficult-

*****

TL Note: I hope you enjoyed the whole story as I genuinely did while translating it. Thank you so much for the warm support that you gave for this story.  

Visit dusk blossoms for more amazing stories.