“Can’t sleep? Because we’re going up to the capital tomorrow?”

“When I left the imperial palace, I thought I would never go back, so it feels strange now.”

Even before he was cursed, he had planned to leave the imperial palace, and after being cursed, he had vowed never to return to the imperial palace due to his sense of betrayal. Within that determination was also his lack of courage to face the empress and his younger brother whom he had trusted. He didn’t want to see their faces looking at him with disgust again.

“But why did you decide to go back?”

“As rumors keep growing, I can’t just leave things as they are, and there are also things I want to confirm in person.”

“Confirm? With His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Yes. Before, I thought I couldn’t do anything unless the curse was lifted, but now I know there are many things I can do even with the curse.”

When he cupped her cheek with his hand, Olivia took his hand and nuzzled her face against it. At this small display of affection that fit entirely in his small hand, Alois smiled and embraced her. He carried her back to bed as she naturally wrapped her arms around his neck, and he lay down again, offering one of his arms to Olivia.

“What do you think it will be like when you meet?”

“Well……”

Alois hadn’t yet decided how to face the emperor. If in the past he had felt great betrayal and fear, now his emotions were somewhat ambiguous. His desire to meet the emperor again stemmed from his certainty that the administrator had met with the emperor before coming to see him. Although the imperial investigation concluded that the administrator had acted independently, only Emperor Julian could have given the administrator the heat stimulant to provoke him. Only the emperor and his now-dead mother knew in detail about his curse and what drug could stimulate it.

Did he want to kill me, or save me?

Since he needed to decide his path forward depending on what attitude the emperor showed, Alois resolved to face the past he had been avoiding until now.

“Whatever happens there, you don’t need to worry about anything.”

“I’m not afraid of His Majesty the Emperor. I’m worried that you might get hurt.”

Alois smiled lightly at Olivia’s answer and closed his eyes, holding her tightly. His touch, patting her back rhythmically as if apologizing for waking her in the middle of the night, was tender.

He deliberately didn’t say that now only she could bring joy to his life, and only she could wound him.

* * *

Although the title conferment ceremony was a major event in the Empire, it was exclusively for nobles, so it wasn’t crowded with people. The families attending with the ceremony’s protagonists were commoners, so they all followed the servants in a daze, exclaiming in admiration at the imperial palace they had never even dreamed of seeing. The same was true for Olivia, but thanks to the guide beside her who had extensive experience with the imperial palace and answered all her curiosities, she was able to enjoy the sightseeing in various ways.

“Is there a room where you used to stay?”

“That was already decades ago, so it would have been changed to something else by now. Besides, since it didn’t end well, they would have tried to erase all traces of me.”

He guessed that even in the place where portraits of all imperial family members hung, his picture would have been taken down or replaced. He assumed that only the former empress or the current emperor would have images of his past self. They headed toward the audience hall where the ceremony would be held, through corridors familiar to Alois.

At the end of the long room, on a high platform, stood the emperor’s splendid seat, and nobles and officials who had already arrived were standing on both sides, waiting for the ceremony to begin. The light from the hanging chandeliers shone so brightly it hurt the eyes. Shielding his eyes with his hand shadow and looking up at the high ceiling, Alois recalled memories of coming here as a child. He realized that the chandelier on the ceiling, which had seemed so high back then, didn’t seem quite so high now.

The servants took the protagonists away, and the rest of the family retreated to a corner guarded by soldiers. The interior, which had been buzzing briefly, instantly turned solemn as the band began playing music. Majestic music flowed gently, and the ornate doors at the front of the audience hall opened. The emperor, dressed in ceremonial attire, walked out slowly and stood in front of his chair. When he raised his hand once, the music stopped, and all those present showed their loyalty to the emperor. Alois took Olivia’s hand as she awkwardly bowed her head, following others.

Olivia thought that perhaps Alois would be unable to hide his emotions. Anger or perhaps sadness. But Alois’s expression as he took her hand and slightly bowed his head, showing loyalty to none other than the emperor, was just calmly composed. He didn’t seem to be hiding his emotions and genuinely showed no signs of pain or distress, which brought Olivia a quiet sense of relief.

The ceremony proceeded naturally. One by one, they read oaths of loyalty in front of the emperor, and the emperor accepted their oaths with his sword. After receiving medals and donning cloaks bestowed by the emperor, those who had been commoners became nobles from that moment.

“Lime Friche.”

Though she thought she wouldn’t be nervous, Olivia watched her younger brother step forward with more tension than the person involved. When receiving a title, one could either keep their original name or accept a surname bestowed by the emperor, but Lime chose to keep his original name. Olivia felt strange, as if the weight of the surname they had been called by all their lives had changed.

“I hear you achieved great deeds in war? I hope your outstanding talent becomes a sharp sword protecting the Empire.”

“It’s an honor, Your Majesty.”

As nobles reached higher positions, they all focused on protecting their own territories, and not many nobles went to war for the imperial family. So the emperor patted Lime’s shoulder with a pleased expression, as nobles who directly traversed battlefields and achieved merit were rare.

“Then tell me one wish you have.”

Everyone who received a title could express one wish to the emperor. However, since making an unreasonable wish could instantly earn the enmity of the nobles gathered here and the emperor, people usually asked for a reasonable amount of gold or power to take one step forward.

“My wish is to personally gift flowers chosen by Your Majesty from the imperial palace garden, known as the most beautiful in the world, to my beloved.”

But the wish Lime expressed was one that no one in this place had ever imagined. First, it was surprising that all he wanted was mere flowers, and the condition that the emperor would ‘personally’ select flowers from the imperial garden was also challenging. The emperor briefly looked at Lime with a surprised expression before asking about the true meaning behind this unusual wish.

“Not gold or power, but flowers? Is there a reason for such a wish?”

“My sister loves flowers, so I want to give her the most precious flowers in the world as a gift.”

Lime answered without hesitation, as if he had thought this way for a very long time, and his answer surprised not only the emperor. Olivia perked up her ears with a surprised expression. She did like flowers, but still, for Lime’s once-in-a-lifetime wish? She blankly stared at his back in surprise, while Alois beside her raised the corner of his mouth crookedly.

‘I didn’t expect him to come at it this way.’

They had made a separate agreement with Lime beforehand. Alois wanted time for a private audience with the emperor, and Lime wanted time alone with Olivia without Alois. Since the garden was a suitable place for conversation, they had already agreed to guide the wish in that direction, but Alois was hearing about “flowers for Olivia” for the first time.

He wanted to break the promise to let Lime and Olivia be alone together right then and there, emperor or not, but Alois forcibly composed himself. After all, Olivia held his leash, and he was in the process of learning that sometimes he needed to wait patiently.

* * *

As expected, the emperor’s garden lived up to its description as the most beautiful in the world, so dazzling that one didn’t know where to look. Olivia agreed to wait in the resting area at the garden entrance, while Lime and the emperor moved deeper into the garden.

Since they had entered the garden unarmed, there were no knights following them. Lime told the emperor stories about his childhood with Olivia as he followed the emperor’s guidance.

“It seems you were very close since childhood.”

“Yes. Though we weren’t connected by blood, she was the most precious family to me.”