Chapter 22

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Majesty.”  

Her feelings toward him may have been cold, but her outward attitude had to be nothing more or less than any ordinary Imperial citizen meeting the Emperor. She was already exhausted today, and didn’t want to show her true feelings and get bombarded with questions from Solei.  

But the problem was Lyle. When Ethea greeted him formally, he exaggeratedly acted surprised and clapped his hands with delight. Then he said something outrageous.  

“Why are you being so unfamiliar? Don’t be formal. Just act like you always do.”  

“Your Majesty, I don’t understand what you mean.”  

“Etty, you’re so shameless.”  

“Your Majesty…?”  

“Judging by your recent attitude, shouldn’t you be complaining about why I keep coming and going and bothering you? That’s more like you, isn’t it?”  

Ethea gritted her teeth to control her rising emotions.  

‘I really want to teach you what “being myself” means—in a violent way.’  

She kept her smiling face, biting her teeth hard, and lowered her voice so only he could hear.  

“Zg dzg gn hhh, hhhh, gnlg drg egl tng sg hhhh (right now, I might just take Gin and leave)…”  

Even though her words were a mess, Lyle understood like a ghost and shamelessly retorted.  

“Take Gin and leave? No way. Can you do that?”  

“Mt grl gt mnd (Why couldn’t I)?”  

“I could kick you out first.”  

“Ha!”  

Ethea was so dumbfounded she was speechless.  

Suddenly, Lyle raised one corner of his mouth in a smirk. His handsome face wore a deliberately mean smile, and he even crossed his arms, looking truly arrogant.  

And with that arrogant expression, he called Ethea,  

“Mother.”  

Mother? Ethea couldn’t believe her ears. Sure, she was Gin’s mother, but she’d only been out of her twenties for a few years. She didn’t want to be called that by a peer, especially someone who knew all the circumstances. Mother? Really?  

“Thank you for bringing Gin here. I’m glad his cheerful friends came, too. But did I… did I invite you to this place?”  

She didn’t understand his words and stared for a while before asking,  

“Your Majesty, what are you trying to do?”  

“When I invited Gin, I can’t remember if I invited you too… If you don’t mind, could you show me the invitation?”  

‘Invitation, huh. In short, he doesn’t remember inviting me, so he wants me to leave, right? Fine, I’ll go.’  

She’d followed to keep an eye on what nonsense he might say to Gin, but if Lyle was acting like this, she couldn’t stay any longer. Since she was at the Imperial City, she might as well visit her father’s house nearby.  

Ethea turned away without hesitation.  

Wait. It was quiet around her. Just a moment ago, everyone had been nearby—where had they gone?  

Ethea looked around and saw the group paired off, chatting. Seisil was laughing with Solei over something amusing, and Gin was making a flower crown for Lily out of metallic wildflowers. Everyone was adapting remarkably well to this unfamiliar place.  

Ethea didn’t mind. She trusted Solei would bring Gin back even if she left alone.  

But how to get out of this forest? Since it was a magically altered space, she’d need Seisil’s help. But it felt awkward to approach Seisil, who was excitedly chatting with Solei, and ask how to leave.  

‘I don’t know. I’ll just walk back the way I came.’  

Ethea, drained, started walking away. Lyle followed behind her like a puppy.  

“I asked you to show me the invitation, didn’t I?”  

‘Childish guy. If he weren’t the Emperor, I’d flip him off.’  

He walked in step beside her. Ethea tried to walk quickly to avoid him, but his long stride easily matched hers. Even when she slowed down, he shortened his stride to stay by her side, as if walking in place.  

He seemed to want attention, but that was all the more reason to ignore him. Ethea treated him as if he didn’t exist and just kept walking.  

Suddenly, he plucked a flower and showed it to her.  

“This looks like metal, but it’s soft and fragrant, just like the original. Try touching it.”  

So what?  

“Walking like this feels good. I’m excited today. I was thrilled to meet Gin.”  

He insisted on placing the flower in her hand. Just as he said, it was soft and fragrant. Of course, the lavender scent from his body was stronger.  

“But I’m even more excited because you came.”  

Ethea handed the flower back to him and said,  

“I’m not in the mood for jokes.”  

“I’m not joking.”  

He stopped, lips pressed tightly, and looked at her. Then he spoke in a subdued voice.  

“I’m more serious than anyone in the world right now.”  

“Then do whatever you want.”  

“Mother.”  

“You—!”  

“I’m not joking. Even without an invitation, you are very welcome here.”  

Lyle spread his arms as if to welcome her, then hesitated at her expression. He wasn’t so stupid as not to realize she wanted to slap him.  

Ethea really couldn’t understand why Lyle acted this way. He never explained what happened, and he kept doing things she hated to their child. Was this all a game to him? Did he think she was so easy?  

Looking at Lyle, Ethea felt not just anger but deep pain.  

On the day they reunited, Lyle apologized, but that was all. She never got an explanation or excuse. Seeing him act as if nothing had happened since then made all her struggles and emotions feel meaningless.  

This time, Ethea turned back the way she came, walking quickly uphill as if running. She wanted to shake off her suffocating feelings, even if it meant struggling up a steep path.  

Maybe Lyle noticed her mood had reached its limit, because he stopped talking. He was probably watching her, following slowly from behind.  

She hated being so conscious of him.  

How long had she walked like that?  

“Huff, huff… huff…”  

Exhausted, Ethea sat down in the grass to catch her breath. Maybe because she’d only eaten a yellow apple today, she was hungry.  

Suddenly, she wondered what all this was for. Why was she here, doing this?  

‘I would have reached my father’s house by now. Should I have just gone there instead of coming to Lyle’s invitation?’  

Sweating made her feel chilly, so Ethea hugged herself. The metal forest looked warm, but even the wind wasn’t warm.  

Footsteps sounded calmly behind her. It was Lyle. He stood before her, looking down. She released her arms and looked up at him.  

Strange. She couldn’t read his expression. When he was young, he was simple—one look and she could tell what he was thinking. Now, even though he teased and annoyed her like before, sometimes when he gazed at her blankly, it was as if all his silly actions were just an act. What was he feeling inside?  

‘If you won’t tell me, don’t look at me. Stop… stop looking. If you won’t share your hidden feelings, don’t provoke me.’  

Ethea tried to ignore his gaze and stand up. Suddenly, his hand reached for her head.  

For a moment, a memory overlapped. Because of their height difference, Lyle used to look down at her and often pat her head. She hadn’t minded it back then, but now she hated it.  

“What are you doing!”  

She slapped his hand away and stepped back, face flushed with irritation or something else. He seemed startled by her reaction and stepped back.  

“No, I was trying to brush away a bug.”  

He should stop lying. In this shining golden forest, any bugs would be blinded and faint.  

“Don’t touch me. I hate it when you do that.”  

“Sorry.”  

Lyle looked at his hand, which he’d tried to touch her with, and gave a bitter smile.  

Ethea started up the path again, but then saw a strange form in her bangs. It was, indeed, a bug. Shining gold, with dozens of legs and four pairs of wings, it crawled from her bangs toward her shoulder. Ethea froze.  

A bug was a bug. No matter how golden and shiny, it was hard for her to touch and disgusting. This one didn’t even make a buzzing or wing sound, which made it worse.  

She needed to brush it off, get it off her body, but she couldn’t move. All she could do was clench her fists.  

Lyle, watching her, approached and grabbed the bug, slamming it to the ground.  

Thud!  

The bug hit the ground hard, its wings trembling, then stopped moving. Just to be sure, Lyle stomped it dead.  

That was unlike him. Picking flowers, or making sure to kill a bug. He used to avoid even ants.  

“See, there really was a bug.”