Chapter 61 – Burned Away

Ethea cried as she blamed herself.

“It’s my fault. I left with the wood fire still lit, and that’s why the fire happened. Hk……”

She was not crying simply because the house had burned. She was heartbroken because the place where her memories with Gin had soaked in had become a pile of ashes. A house could somehow be built again, but traces of memories could never be made again.

“Mom, don’t cry. No one got hurt, and a house can always be found again anyway.”

Ethea was the mother, but Gin comforted her like he was the mother instead. But even if he spoke that way, in truth Gin’s eyes were red too from the sorrow of losing their home.

Ethea could still see it vividly. The sight of Gin being happy together with her because she was happy after bringing in the new furniture she had chosen herself. Since all of that had burned away, the child’s heart surely could not be alright either. It was a shame too that the children’s carriage Seisil had given him had burned, and he must also be deeply saddened that the letters and gifts Lyle had given had burned away.

The ones who comforted the grieving pair were Lily and Solei, their closest neighbors. Then Seisil also came over to comfort Ethea and Gin, and Azure, who had been watching, joined in as well.

“Ethea, I’m sorry. I should have watched more carefully.”

“What?”

Ethea could not understand. Why was Azure apologizing?

The last one to come comfort them was Lyle. As the Emperor approached, everyone else stepped back.

Lyle pulled Ethea into an embrace in front of everyone. Ethea was startled by the sight of him not caring about anyone’s gaze.

“Yo-Your Majesty. What are you……”

But the people watching were not as flustered as Ethea.

“Ahhh, His Majesty!”

“His Majesty is comforting her!”

They understood it as the scene of the Emperor consoling a subject in despair because her house had burned down. And reasonably so, because with his long arms, the Emperor was embracing not only Ethea but Gin as well.

Lyle whispered so softly that only Ethea could hear.

“Don’t cry, Etty. I’ll restore everything. I’ll restore it all.”

Ethea slightly raised her head and asked,

“Pardon? Why would you, Your Majesty?”

“What do you mean why, this happened because I asked you to come out and have fun.”

Ethea shook her head and said firmly,

“That won’t be necessary. You don’t have to help.”

“Then how are you going to build a house……,”

“I have the account. The one with no limit.”

People who had grown curious about the conversation between the Emperor and Ethea began to come closer and closer. Feeling burdened by that, Ethea moved away from the Emperor.

“Ah.”

Lyle let out a small laugh. Not knowing why he was laughing, Ethea quietly asked,

“Why are you laughing?”

Then he answered her in a whisper.

“Because even while sniffling, your answer is funny.”

“What exactly…… is funny, Your Majesty?”

“The fact that you’ll use the money I gave you, that you’ll actually use it, somehow makes me feel proud just from that.”

Ethea thought he felt proud over the strangest things. In truth, more than the money, the issue was time. The house could be rebuilt as much as needed with the money he had given her, but time was still time, and there were so many things that needed attention.

Then, suddenly, as if thinking of something, Lyle muttered,

“Should I just make you come live at the palace?”

“What?”

“The more I think about it, the better it sounds. There’d be no need for us to go back and forth to meet, I could see Gin every day, and there’d be no safer place.”

“Yo-Your Majesty?”

“No, even aside from those reasons, it’s just good. The answer is the palace, the answer is the palace!”

Even while Ethea’s house had burned down, for some reason Lyle clenched his fist as though this were all wonderful.

At that moment, Solei carefully approached Ethea and made an offer.

“Stay at our house, Etty. We have two rooms free anyway.”

“How could I do that when I feel so sorry……”

“Sorry for what. What’s the point of friends otherwise? The children can play together too.”

Ethea disliked burdening her friend. But realistically, no proper method came to mind.

As though hoping she would decide quickly, Solei looked into Ethea’s eyes, nodded, and urged her on.

‘But since when has the Emperor kept staring holes through me like that?’

The gaze was cold. Without meaning to, Solei looked at the Emperor with caution.

It was just then. Someone came over and suddenly grabbed Ethea’s right hand tight. Then, in a worried tone, he cried out and asked,

“Etty! Are you okay? I heard your house burned down! What do we do! It’s all because of me. Because I didn’t faithfully do my role as a guard, your house……!”

It was Hassen from the fruit shop. As Hassen rushed over like that, someone else came from behind and grabbed Ethea’s left hand.

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry! I should have at least protected your house well!”

“Luth?”

It was Luth from the vigilante corps. Luth glared at Hassen and shouted as if displeased.

“That guy Hassen said we should go cut wood to rebuild the village barricades. So while all the guards went to cut wood, the fire ended up……”

Hassen protested to Luth as if dumbfounded.

“I clearly said we should go a few days later. Luth, you’re the one who said we might as well do it quickly, so that’s why we left our posts!”

“Either way, if you hadn’t said we should go cut wood, Etty’s house wouldn’t have burned! Honestly, Hassen, you’re an idiot who doesn’t even know what’s important!”

“You! Just because your mouth works……!”

Even while blaming each other and arguing, the two of them each held onto one of Ethea’s hands and did not let go. In the middle of all that, Lily cheered for whichever one of them.

“Win! Win! One of the misters, anyone, win!”

Gin, as if he had a headache, closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side.

Seisil pulled Lily and Solei back in case spit might fly onto them from being so close. Then he also covered Lily’s ears with both hands. The voices of the men fighting were too loud.

“Our Lily shouldn’t hear sounds like pigs being slaughtered.”

Hassen and Luth glared at each other and shouted to Ethea.

“Etty, come stay at our fruit shop for the time being! We have rooms to spare anyway, so a place for you and Gin to stay……!”

“Etty, don’t listen to that guy and come to our house. You know my parents run an inn, right? As for rooms, we have plenty……!”

But one heavily dropped sentence calmed the overheated commotion.

“Come to the palace immediately.”

It was Lyle’s voice. In a voice cool and lowered as though throwing cold water over the tension between the two men, Lyle continued.

“Live in the palace.”

Ethea answered while minding the eyes around them.

“But, Your Majesty……”

“It’s safer there, so come at once.”

“……”

“This is an order as Emperor.”

Seisil clapped his hands with a ‘tak.’

“That sounds like a fine order.”

＊  ＊  ＊

An order, really-as if being Emperor meant he could do anything.

And yet Ethea was now on the way to the palace together with Gin. It was because, when she had tried to refuse, Gin had taken her hand and said,

‘Mom, let’s just go to the palace.’

Somehow, the child also seemed to want to go there.

Ethea did not have many choices.

Solei had said she had a room, and at first Ethea too had thought it would be good to stay there, but when she considered it again, that room was the one Solei used as her woodworking workshop. She did not want to impose by interfering with something that was practically Solei’s main work.

It was the same with depending on Hassen’s or Luth’s house. Ethea somehow found them burdensome. And they were not that close, either.

And it would be difficult to wander from inn room to inn room alone with a child. It might be one thing for a day or two, but until the house was fully built, it would be too much of a burden.

So she was riding in the carriage to the palace in accordance with Lyle’s words, but…….

For some reason, Lyle’s expression looked sulky. Whenever his eyes met Ethea’s from time to time, he would even blush and sharply turn his face away. Of course, when Gin spoke to him, he answered kindly and warmly.

Right now, the one speaking the most inside the carriage was Seisil. Seisil kindly explained the palace to Gin in great detail.

“It would be convenient to move by magic, but I think it’s better to ride in the carriage and explain things here and there along the way. First of all, the very first thing you have to do when you get to the palace is meet Her Majesty the Queen Dowager, the hostess of the place……”

Her Majesty the Queen Dowager? Did that mean Lyle’s mother?

Thinking of Lyle’s mother made Ethea feel heavy-hearted. Not only Lyle’s mother but other members of the Imperial Family would be in the palace too, and she worried how they would think of commoners brought there by the Emperor.

What was the atmosphere in the palace like? Ethea had never heard anything at all about life inside the palace. Javir had been a man of few words, and he had never once taught her such things. At best, through history books, Ethea had only indirectly encountered the fierce power struggles that took place in the Imperial Palace.

Out of anxiety, Ethea kept clenching and unclenching her fists. Lyle’s gaze turned toward her hands.

“Ethea.”

“Yes?”

“Are you cold? Why are you moving your hands like that?”

At that, Seisil, who had been listening, lightly chanted a spell and cast magic. The inside of the carriage became warm in an instant. Ethea thought that this much was just right, but the air went beyond warm and gradually became hot.

“Um, Sir Lint. I’m grateful, but…… it’s too hot.”

“I told you to call me Seisil.”

Lyle cut in.

“Too hot is better. Better than catching a cold again.”

Then he took Ethea’s hand. Or rather, it would be more accurate to say he warmly enclosed it.

‘What is this.’

Ethea’s face turned red. Lyle’s face, holding her hand, was just as flushed. Perhaps embarrassed by Ethea’s gaze, he added one more thing.

“This makes it warmer.”

Watching Gin out of the corner of her eye, Ethea spoke quietly to Lyle.

“Um, Your Majesty. This……,”

“Stop calling me that now. Gin knows everything. That we’re friends.”

“L……yle.”

“And between friends.”

He paused for a moment, then held her hand more firmly as if making a vow.

“Holding hands is fine. As much as we want.”

How childish. Did people know the Emperor acted like this?

Ethea looked at Lyle with a gaze that was a little exasperated. Then, perhaps awkward, Lyle asked Gin for agreement.

“Right, Gin?”

As if Gin was thinking the same thing as Ethea, he only gave an awkward smile.

At Gin’s side, Seisil shook his head and silently signaled at the Emperor’s childish behavior, but the more he did, the more Lyle only pretended to be confident.

But then it happened.

Screeeech!

The carriage wheels let out a harsh sound.

Since it was a rented carriage rather than an imperial one, Ethea had already felt earlier that the driving was not smooth. Even so, this shaking did not seem to be simply because of the driving.

Suddenly, screams erupted from the people outside.

“Aah! A person……!”

“Stop the carriage!”

“Hurry!”

Ethea realized that the carriage they were in was just about to hit someone.