Chapter 126

It was a tree frog, even smaller than the frog that had appeared in the small pond of the Crown Prince’s palace. Vivian burst into laughter, clutching her stomach, at Louis’s overly cautious and serious expression.  

“Pfft. Haha.”  

As Vivian suddenly laughed loudly, both the tree frog and Louis tilted their heads, staring at her. Then, when the tree frog hopped closer, Louis abruptly stood up.  

Vivian, wiping away her tears at Louis’s peculiar expression—whether he was scared or genuinely thought the frog was being impudent—placed the frog on her palm.  

“You shouldn’t frighten the imperial family.”  

Vivian released the tree frog into the garden, where flowers bloomed in abundance, as she spoke.  

“Who said I was scared?”  

Louis asked knowingly, causing Vivian to stifle her laughter and sit back down on the pretty blanket.  

“I wasn’t scared. I was just startled because it appeared suddenly. Why do you keep laughing like that? You shouldn’t mock the imperial family.” 

Louis muttered, rambling on.  

Even so, as Vivian continued to chuckle quietly, Louis plopped down on the blanket with crossed arms.  

“Well, it’s good to have some humanity. I’m a person too, so isn’t it fine for me to have at least one thing I’m afraid of?”  

Was this his new approach, being shameless? 

At Louis’s new strategy, Vivian nodded and picked up an éclair from the basket.  

When he was younger, Louis’s cousin—who is now the Queen of the Kingdom of Rakus—had hidden a fist-sized frog in his bed. After finishing his lessons and lying down, Louis turned his head to the side at the damp sensation on his cheek, only to meet its eyes.  

Since then, whether big or small, frogs had become difficult for him to handle. He aimlessly poked at the pretty blanket spread on the ground with his finger.  

Recently, Louis had been showing new sides of himself. Stepping back from his position as Crown Prince, he seemed more relaxed, which was refreshing to see.  

When Vivian, her cheeks puffed out like a squirrel’s, chewed and stared at him, Louis awkwardly poured himself another cup of tea.  

“Is there a kind of date you want to go on?”  

Vivian, stuffing the remaining dessert in her hand into her mouth, rolled her eyes as she thought about it.  

She liked just being with him, so nothing specific came to mind. As Vivian’s brows furrowed in thought, Louis glanced at the few remaining desserts and spoke.  

“Should I look into a famous dessert shop in the city center?”  

Vivian nodded vigorously, saying it was a good idea. As Louis watched her adorably, he noticed the white cream smeared on the corner of her lips.  

“You must’ve enjoyed that.”  

Louis tapped the corner of his own mouth with his hand. Vivian, watching him, handed him a handkerchief.  

Looking at the handkerchief in front of him, Louis chuckled and wiped the corner of Vivian’s mouth with his hand instead.  

Startled, Vivian pulled back, seeing the white cream on his hand. She hurriedly wiped it off with the handkerchief.  

“You could’ve just said something…”  

Louis’s heart fluttered at the sight of Vivian’s face turning bright red in an instant.  

“Vivian.”  

Louis called out to her. Vivian glanced up slightly.  

When their eyes met—her peridot-colored gaze—Louis swallowed hard without realizing it. He lifted his hand and gently held the end of her hair.  

Vivian and Louis’s eyes locked, unable to look away. Just as Louis’s Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably again, a sharp voice suddenly interrupted the moment.  

“No! Zero! Don’t go!”  

“Woof!”  

And then came Zero’s bark.  

“Ah! Zero!”  

Thanks to Zero barging in between Vivian and Louis, the remaining tea spilled, and the desserts were ruined, rolling across the ground.  

Zero’s tail, wagging as he cozied up to Vivian, lightly smacked Louis’s face.  

Louis brushed away Zero’s bothersome tail and clicked his tongue loudly as he saw people rushing over from who knows where.  

Though today’s date had to be substituted with a picnic at the estate, Louis made a firm resolve: next time, he would take Vivian outside.  

***

The Dovelia Palace was as grand and beautiful as ever today.  

In the Emperor’s palace, the Emperor’s office was filled only with the sound of papers being turned and pens scratching across them. Dave, observing the Emperor, who seemed the same as usual but somehow different, waited for the right moment.  

“Any updates from the Mage Tower?”  

“We’ve conveyed our stance, so we should receive a response by tomorrow. I believe proper negotiations will take place this time.”  

“Select those, including Hugo, who are necessary for the new agreement, and submit a list.”  

The Emperor nodded and moved on to the next matter, flipping through another document.  

“Your Majesty.”  

At Dave’s call, Emperor Henry looked up.  

“Why are you pushing yourself so hard?”  

Though the Emperor had always been diligent, since that day, he had been cutting into his sleeping and eating hours, throwing himself into his work. Dave couldn’t help but feel uneasy about it.  

“…I must handle the matters I’ve caused.”  

At the Emperor’s cryptic response, Dave furrowed his brows. Watching the Emperor immediately immerse himself in the next task, Dave let out a small sigh.  

“Your Majesty. Her Majesty the Empress has arrived.”  

At the attendant’s announcement of Empress Annette’s visit, the Emperor looked up from his documents. He glanced at Dave as if asking what it was about. Dave shook his head, indicating he didn’t know.  

The Emperor, resigned, set his papers down and rose from his seat.  

It was the first time they were meeting since the day she had appeared in the courtroom with Lady Vivian.  

When the door opened and Empress Annette entered, Dave bowed and quickly left the office.  

The Emperor and Empress sat down, and Alina poured tea for them before quietly leaving. Until then, neither of them said a word.  

The Emperor was the first to speak, lifting his teacup.  

“You look quite worn out…”  

At his words, Empress Annette softly touched her face, her expression relaxing. She, in turn, looked at the Emperor’s haggard face with concern.  

“I heard you’ve been overworking yourself lately. You should take care of your health.”  

“This much is nothing.”  

The Emperor sipped his tea, which suited his taste perfectly, and slowly opened and closed his eyes.  

Watching him intently, Empress Annette finally spoke with difficulty.  

“I heard that Robert Fame… was someone Consort Violet cherished. I vaguely remember his face as well.”  

The Emperor, about to take another sip of tea, froze. It was the first time the Empress had brought up Consort Violet on her own.  

Even when he had proposed taking Violet as a consort, when Violet had become pregnant, or when Annette’s father had attempted to assassinate Violet and he had confronted her in anger—never had Empress Annette mentioned Violet first.  

“I heard that his death, along with the death of Marquis Cloak, has quickly stabilized the political situation.”

“…It’s not stable enough yet.”

At the Emperor’s words, Empress Annette smiled faintly. For some reason, the Emperor could not look directly at her smile. He turned his head and hid his cowardice behind the teacup.

“Louis is doing well.”

At Empress Annette’s words, the Emperor showed no reaction. The Empress thought perhaps someone else had already reported this to him.

“I’ve prepared a place for him beside Consort Violet’s grave.”

The Emperor’s eyes widened. His hand, holding the teacup mid-air, trembled slightly.

“That’s what I came here to tell you.”

Empress Annette had to summon great courage to come here today. And now, she felt strangely relieved.

As Annette watched the Emperor, who seemed confused, she quietly rose from her seat. She bowed her head, saying she would leave now and that he shouldn’t overwork himself. Then she turned her back and began to walk out of the Emperor’s office.

“Empress.”

The Emperor called Annette urgently. She stopped and turned around, her violet-like eyes meeting the Emperor’s gaze.

At 12 years old, the two were engaged. The eyes of the young Annette, who had looked at him as a child, overlapped with the eyes of the Annette who had become Empress and endured so much.

It was an engagement born solely out of duty.

He hadn’t wanted to become Emperor. He resented the Emperor and her father, who saw his feelings as mere rebellion.

Then, by chance, he met Violet.

Though her status was low and she was a woman, she had found her own path and seemed free. She was beautiful.

The pressure of knowing that countless lives in the Empire depended on his decisions, the guilt of having to put a blade to the neck of a cherished subordinate without hesitation, and the suffocating frustration of being unable to speak freely—all of it sometimes left him breathless.

But after meeting Violet, he could finally breathe properly. When he was with her, he could easily take off the masks of Crown Prince and Emperor.

So he became greedy. He forcibly brought Violet, who had refused to come to the Imperial Family, to the palace. Because of that, both Violet and Annette were hurt.

He remembered the day he first introduced Violet to Annette. Her face came to mind so vividly.

The Emperor, looking at the Empress who had stopped at his call, realized. He had never once hated her.

He had resented her father, but not her.

Empress Annette had tried to hide it, but the Emperor was not unaware of the warm affection in her violet eyes. Her feelings, which she had never once voiced, were sometimes so overwhelming that he wanted to turn away, but he had never hated her.

That was right. Even now, it was the same.

And then another realization struck the Emperor’s mind like a strong blow. He had never had the right to hate her in the first place.

“There is… something I haven’t told you…”

The Emperor spoke slowly.

The Empress waited patiently for his words. However, the Emperor did not easily open his mouth. Annette wondered if she should sit back down.

“I’m sorry.”

At the Emperor’s words, Empress Annette’s eyes grew wide. Her trembling eyes shook as the Emperor spoke again.

“I’m… sorry.”

The Empress turned her back. The Empress, who had turned away from the Emperor, remained silent. It was an apology she had not expected to accept.

Looking at Annette’s shoulders, which seemed smaller than usual today, the Emperor regretted. What if he had done this? What if he had done that?

With an apology and regret that had come far too late, the Emperor swallowed dryly and bowed his head.

“Annette. There is one thing I need to discuss with you. I don’t think it’s something I can decide on my own.”

The Emperor spoke while looking at Annette, who was still standing with her back turned.

“I’ve been wondering what the position of Empress means to you.”

Emperor Henry clasped his two hands tightly together. Empress Annette still did not respond, and only the faint sound of the large fountain outside the Emperor’s palace drifted over.

“I intend to abdicate the throne, Annette.”

The Emperor’s voice sank heavily to the floor of the office.