Chapter 30

Ethea’s first party came to an end.  

As night deepened, everyone went home. Gin, exhausted from opening presents with Lily, fell asleep, and Lily fell asleep beside him.  

Solei whispered so as not to wake the children, most of her conversation about Seisil.  

“I wondered who Seisil was so handsome like, and it turns out his big sister is handsome too. And Seisil eats sweets so well—how does he not gain weight? I’m jealous… Hey, are you even listening?”  

“…”  

“Etty?”  

“Huh? Oh.”  

Ethea barely heard Solei, lost in thought about Azure, the Emperor’s fiancée.  

Azure was nothing like the image Ethea had imagined. She’d expected a typical noble lady, but her voice and appearance were so androgynous, she could be mistaken for a man. Sometimes, seeing her play with the Mage Tower men, she seemed even rougher than a man.  

But even if she was rough, she didn’t seem like a bad person. You couldn’t judge everything by looks or atmosphere, but the occasional smile seemed kind.  

She’d probably suit Lyle well. That should be enough.  

No, what’s the point of thinking about it? It had nothing to do with Ethea. Truly nothing.  

Ethea shook her head. Suddenly, Solei asked,  

“Isn’t it about time you told me the truth?”  

“Huh?”  

“You’ve been keeping too many secrets from me lately.”  

Ethea wanted to run away. Solei pressed persistently,  

“It’s one thing for your father to suddenly go traveling far away. But isn’t it time you told me about your relationship with His Majesty? I find Seisil and all those Imperial City people coming and going suspicious. Whenever I try to ask, you change the subject to Gin or the birthday party, and it’s honestly annoying! Oh… are you thinking I’m annoying for asking so much?”  

Ethea just laughed sheepishly.  

“Solei, um… can’t you just let it go?”  

“How could I just let it go?”  

Solei grabbed Ethea’s arm and made her face her directly, but only for a moment.  

“Oh!”  

“…?”  

“Is it that?”  

“That?”  

“Is it some Imperial Family secret… like, if I find out the truth, I’ll lose my head or something? Then don’t tell me. Don’t. I won’t listen.”  

Solei covered her ears and shook her head. Her sudden shift was a little cute despite her persistence.  

Ethea took Solei’s hands off her ears.  

“Solei.”  

“Yeah.”  

“If I ever want to talk about it, I’ll tell you then. For now…”  

“Okay.”  

Solei brushed Ethea’s bangs aside, then yawned a long yawn.  

“Yawn, the kids are sleeping so well. I’ll sleep here tonight too.”  

“Okay.”  

In the quiet house, Ethea finished cleaning up alone. She washed up and got ready for bed, but felt strange.  

‘Is it normal to feel so empty after a party?’  

She soaked herself in the bath, and her nose stung. She didn’t know why, and didn’t want to know.  

***

The one who covered Ethea with a blanket as she slept on the sofa was her son Gin.  

“Huh? …It’s morning. Thank you for covering me, Gin.”  

Gin must have watched over his mother for a long time. The child’s sleepy voice sounded oddly touching to Ethea today.  

“Um, Mom.”  

“Yeah.”  

“You talked in your sleep.”  

“Sleep-talking?”  

“You called a name.”  

A name? Ethea’s heart pounded with nervous anticipation.  

Gin smiled and went to the table to pour water.  

“Mom, you must have been really close friends with His Majesty. Like me and Lily.”  

“Ah, haha…”  

Ethea was startled, wondering if the name she’d called in her sleep was Lyle.  

Gin handed her a cup and told her to drink. Ethea took it and avoided his gaze.  

‘What is it? Sometimes that kid makes my heart drop.’  

Looking back at Lyle’s actions toward Ethea, maybe it was stranger that Gin hadn’t noticed anything.  

Anyway, Ethea decided she’d have to be careful when sleeping. Of course, even if she tried, it wasn’t like she could control whether she dreamed about those peaceful days with Lyle.  

***

A few days passed since the party.  

It was time to collect child support. But Ethea didn’t go to the Imperial City. She couldn’t get as much money as before, and didn’t want to meet Lyle directly. If she accidentally ran into the Emperor’s fiancée, it would be awkward for both. So she hoped he’d just send it appropriately.  

According to the Imperial Palace newsletter, the elders of the Imperial City were pestering the Emperor to marry. Since he had a fiancée, they wanted him to marry and produce heirs, but kept asking why he delayed marriage.  

Villagers who read the newsletter said it was obvious—the elders were pushing for Lyle to break off his engagement with Azure and instead marry their own daughters.  

And Lyle showed no reaction to their demands. He was said to be obsessed with his work. These days, his work was dealing with enemies hiding throughout the Empire.  

It was like he was showing unwavering commitment to his engagement with Azure. Ethea and the villagers all thought so. Ethea felt frustrated without knowing why.  

‘Yeah. There’s no way a bond that’s lasted since Lyle was six would break so easily.’

From morning, Solei came holding Lily’s hand.  

“Etty, I’m going to buy supplies—can I take Gin with me? Gin loves the marketplace.”  

“Sure.”  

“Wow! Thanks, Mom! I’m so excited!”  

Gin jumped for joy at the mention of going to the marketplace. Lily gleefully told her mom how glad she was to bring Gin. Ethea found them so cute, she kissed both their cheeks.  

Solei said to Ethea,  

“Why don’t you come too?”  

“I’d like to, but today’s the cheese delivery day. I have to pay the balance and clean up.”  

“Well, nothing to be done then. Let’s have dinner together after. I’ll buy something delicious.”  

“Okay.”  

Ethea sent them off and spent a busy morning. She thought about taking a nap but the sunlight was so nice, she went out to the yard. As she stretched and walked around, she noticed something on the garden wall.  

Three crabapple fruits. She stared at them for a while before realizing—they were a signal. Lyle was waiting in the crabapple orchard, a signal full of childhood memories. No one but him would do something like that on Ethea’s wall.  

Luckily, even in Oak Village, there was a crabapple orchard like in the old days. Crabapples grew everywhere around the capital.  

If he put crabapples on the wall, it meant he wanted to meet at the orchard.  

But Ethea didn’t want to go meet him. What was there to talk about now? She didn’t want to get entangled again. She’d rather clean.  

She’d rather clean, but…  

“But… right.”  

Thinking about it, Lyle could have just barged in like before. But he was waiting outside like this—it felt strange.  

He might have something serious and polite to say to Ethea. Ignoring that would be rude.  

“I should go.”  

Before she knew it, Ethea had thrown off her apron. She went out the gate, walking to the crabapple orchard faster than she expected.  

At the promised spot, he was standing.  

She shouldn’t have, it was strange, but Ethea was calling his name before she knew it.  

“Lyle.”  

She didn’t want to admit it, but her heart was fluttering.  

But before he turned around, she hardened her expression. She didn’t want to show him her feelings. Just days ago she’d said she couldn’t allow him to stay by her side, but now she’d come running at his call, and she didn’t want to let her excitement show.  

“Ethea.”  

From far away, Lyle’s voice calling her was faint.  

He looked worse than before. Like a tall thorn tree turned human. His features, sharper than when he was a boy, looked gaunt and sickly. They said the Emperor was working hard lately, mostly eliminating enemies—a chilling reason—so his haggard appearance made sense.  

It was strange. Lyle, the friend, was just a bright boy who liked alchemy, but Emperor Lyle was an unfamiliar being from another world.  

Wait. His golden eyes looked unusually red today.  

‘What is this?’  

As Ethea felt uneasy, Lyle forced a smile and approached her. She stopped, and heard his voice, now much rougher than before.  

“Why didn’t you come?”  

“What?”  

“You should have come to collect it.”  

“Oh.”  

He must mean child support. That was anticlimactic. Had he gone to all this trouble just to ask about that?  

Ethea shrugged and answered vaguely.  

“Um… just.”  

Lyle didn’t like her answer, biting his molars. His slowly moving chest seemed to be holding back a sigh full of frustration.  

Ethea massaged her neck and continued,  

“Uh, well. I don’t need that much money, and going to collect it in person was awkward. It’s uncomfortable to go to the Imperial City often. So I’d prefer if you just sent it. Opening a separate account at the Hillus Empire Bank wouldn’t be bad, either.”  

Lyle didn’t say much about child support. Instead, he changed the subject.  

“Recently.”  

“Hm?”  

“Seisil bragged.”  

“About what…?”  

Lyle glared at Ethea, then ran his fingers through his long hair, complaining with a deeply dissatisfied look.  

“Will you tell me why? How could Seisil go to the party but I couldn’t? You didn’t even send me an invitation. I’m Gin’s father.”