Chapter 130

Aitor smiled bashfully as he carefully packed the portrait and said he would cast a preservation spell on it. Louis thought Aitor’s smile resembled Caspian’s in the portrait.  

“Thank you.”  

Aitor said. At his words, Louis raised his eyebrows as if asking what he was thankful for.  

“You promised to let me receive an apology.”  

“Ah, that…”  

Louis let out a faint laugh and watched a bird flapping its wings as it landed in the middle of the quiet park and waddled around. Soon, one bird became two, then three.  

“I didn’t do anything…”  

Louis felt despair from this incident. Robert Fame’s voice still echoed vividly in his ears.  

The words that he wouldn’t be able to do anything. Those words were etched deeply into his heart. Louis smiled bitterly, crossed his legs, and looked up at the sky.  

Aitor, watching Louis’s profile, cautiously asked,  

“Are you hesitating to ascend to the Emperor’s throne because of me?”  

Louis, still staring at the sky, shook his head. Squinting as if the brightness was too much, he continued to watch the clouds drift lazily across the blue sky.  

“What are you talking about? It’s not because of you.”  

Louis closed his eyes and chuckled softly.  

It was simply that he had realized his own limitations. It was never because of anyone else. Louis spoke in a low voice. At the steady tone of Louis’s voice, Aitor exhaled deeply and looked up at the same sky Louis had been watching earlier.  

“Do you remember the land reform you implemented for tenant farmers, Your Highness? If you go to my hometown, the people who looked after me when I was young still sing your praises.”  

Aitor listed the policies Louis had proposed and executed one by one, watching the passing clouds.  

While working for the Mage Tower and carrying out tasks assigned by the Imperial Family, Louis had traveled extensively throughout the empire. Aitor recounted the traces Louis had left behind, the things he had seen and heard during those journeys, before turning to look at him.  

“And you saved me.”  

Louis slowly opened his eyelids. The birds, pecking at the ground with their beaks, suddenly flapped their wings and flew away for some reason.  

“Your Highness… you are more than capable of taking that position.”  

Aitor’s voice was filled with sincerity. Louis tried to smile, but his lips faltered and fell weakly instead.  

“If my strength can help, I will stay by your side, Your Highness.”  

Louis’s eyes widened. His golden eyes wavered slightly at Aitor’s unwavering gaze.  

“You have Rayden, Allen, me, Lucas, Master, and Vivian by your side, Your Highness. What are you afraid of?”  

Louis felt as though Aitor’s words had struck him like a hammer.  

He had been terrified and anxious, thinking he couldn’t protect his people. But he now realized that this fear stemmed from his arrogance.  

That position wasn’t something one could hold onto with their strength alone. Just as he had saved Vivian, if he couldn’t protect everything by himself, he could protect it together with others.  

“Haha. Hahaha.”  

Louis burst into laughter. After laughing heartily for a while, Louis wiped the tears from his eyes and spoke to Aitor.  

“I want to become Emperor.”  

The smile had disappeared from Louis’s face. His expression was firm, without the slightest hint of hesitation.  

Aitor stood up, moved in front of Louis, knelt on one knee as if making a knightly vow, and bowed his head.  

“I swear loyalty to Crown Prince Luideos Lindez Tapeullon. Though I am not a knight.”  

Aitor raised his head and smiled bashfully. But Louis knew there wasn’t a single ounce of falsehood in Aitor’s vow.  

***

Louis, Rayden, and Aitor returned to the Dinever estate and headed to the Duke’s study. After spending a long time talking in the Duke’s study, Louis went to see Vivian at dusk.  

Knock, knock. 

At the sound of knocking, Vivian, who had been reviewing matters to handle at the Raspol estate, which was already feeling the early arrival of summer, looked up.  

Louis was leaning against the doorframe, smiling softly at her.  

“Have you finished talking with Father?”  

“Yes.”  

At Louis’s response, Vivian hastily gathered the documents she had been reviewing, stacked them to one side, and stood up.  

When Louis offered to wait if she still had work to do, Vivian shook her head.  

“It’s fine to handle it tomorrow. There’s something more important right now…”  

Vivian smiled brightly and approached Louis.  

The two walked hand in hand toward the garden. The garden, adorned with blooming roses of various colors, appeared even more splendid.  

“This time of year, the Empress’s garden is absolutely beautiful. Do you know how meticulously Her Majesty tends to it?”  

Louis, keeping his gaze fixed on Vivian as she chattered like a chirping bird, shook his head. The corners of his lips showed no intention of lowering.  

Vivian, with a serious expression, looked around the garden, saying that such a sense couldn’t be learned.  

The Dinever Duke’s garden was entirely entrusted to the gardeners. While it was flawless, Vivian couldn’t help but feel it lacked something compared to the Empress’s garden.  

Louis chuckled softly at Vivian’s overly serious expression, then hugged her from behind, resting his chin on the top of her head.  

Vivian flinched in surprise, and the tips of her ears began to turn red.  

“I think it would be a good idea to occasionally seek the Empress’s advice and manage the garden accordingly. I could never create such a garden on my own.”  

Louis tilted his head at Vivian’s slightly odd words.  

“Why does it sound like you’re worried about the future of the Empress’s garden?”  

“Of course. I’m terrified I might ruin that beautiful garden.”  

Louis lifted his chin from Vivian’s head, leaned down beside her face, and met her gaze as she turned toward him. Vivian smiled brightly when their eyes met.  

“So, are you going to the palace tomorrow?”  

Louis’s thick black eyebrows slowly arched upward. Letting go of Vivian, Louis stood in front of her, slipping his hands into his pockets.  

“How did you know?”  

“I just had a feeling.”  

Vivian knew Louis would accept Emperor Henry’s decision. She just didn’t know when it would happen.  

She had genuinely told him that he didn’t have to become Crown Prince. If he didn’t want the position, she would respect his wishes. However, she couldn’t imagine Louis as anything other than Emperor.  

Perhaps Louis felt the same way.  

That was why she had sent a letter to Empress Annette, reassuring her not to worry too much since Louis would soon return to the Imperial Family.  

When Tia mentioned that Louis had returned with Aitor and had been talking with his father in the study for a long time, Vivian knew the time had come.  

“Is there anything you don’t know, Vivian?”  

Louis’s question made her think of the small bookshelf filled with romance novels in one corner of the room, but Vivian simply shrugged her shoulders.  

Louis pulled his hands out of his pockets and drew Vivian into his arms.  

Vivian always carried a faint floral scent. Holding her close, Louis felt as though he were standing in a flower field, the fragrance filling his nose.  

“I will become Emperor.”  

“…Yes.”  

“If I become Emperor, Vivian, you must become Empress.”  

“Yes.”  

Louis tightened his arms around Vivian. No matter how tightly he held her, it never felt like enough for him.  

“Take good care of me.”  

“Please take good care of me, too.”  

That evening, in front of everyone, Louis declared his intention to return. Late that night, the Crown Prince packed his belongings and headed to the Dovelia Palace.  

***

He woke up at the same time as always. The bedroom he had always used and the path to the training grounds, which he had walked every day since he began learning swordsmanship, felt strangely unfamiliar.  

Relying on the faint light of dawn, Louis stretched his stiff shoulders as he made his way to the training grounds.  

“How does it feel to return after running away?”  

Louis picked up a wooden sword and threw it at Rayden in response to his joke. Rayden caught it effortlessly and swung it lightly through the air.  

“Stop talking and start training.”  

Thus, Louis began his day as usual. After finishing his physical and swordsmanship training, Louis dressed in formal attire without the help of an attendant and looked at himself in the mirror.  

After putting on his jacket and fastening the buttons, Louis checked for any imperfections.  

Looking impeccable, he left the Crown Prince’s palace and boarded a carriage to head to the Emperor’s palace.  

The familiar scenery of the Dovelia Palace passing by the carriage window seemed unusually vivid today.  

When Louis stepped out of the carriage, Emperor Henry’s chief aide, Dave, greeted him with a deep bow.  

“His Majesty is waiting for you in the study.”  

Nodding, Louis strode toward the Emperor’s study. Following behind him, Dave smiled faintly as he noticed how broad Louis’s back seemed today.  

When Dave knocked, the Emperor’s voice promptly invited them in. Entering, Louis saw Emperor Henry seated on the sofa, watching him.  

“I greet His Majesty, the Emperor of the Empire.”  

The Emperor laughed at Louis’s formal greeting and gestured for him to sit.  

“There aren’t many days left for me to receive that greeting.”  

The Emperor’s expression was bright. Watching his father’s face, which held no lingering regrets, Louis cautiously spoke.  

“What will you do afterward?”  

The Emperor, tapping the armrest of the sofa with his finger, leaned back against it as he listened to his son ask about his retirement plans.  

“Well, I’ll choose a detached palace and spend my days leisurely there.”  

“…What about Mother?”  

“Annette said she’d stay in the palace for a while to help Vivian. She said it would be difficult for the Imperial Family to have no elders around.”  

The Emperor glanced sideways at Louis’s stiff expression, then looked around his sparse study. Though he had no regrets, he couldn’t help but feel a slight twinge of sentimentality.  

“So, take care of Annette for me.”  

The Emperor opened a small drawer beside the sofa and handed something to Louis.  

“This week, once the agreement with the Mage Tower is finalized, I’ll announce my abdication. There may be some noise, but no one will be able to strongly oppose it.”  

The documents the Emperor handed over contained the policies he had worked on and information about kingdoms showing suspicious movements.  

“Dave will assist you for the time being, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.”  

Though it was a lonely position, the Emperor felt oddly reassured that his son would be fine.  

The Mage Tower master’s death, connected to anti-imperial mages and Inferna, had been publicly discussed in Palterno, speeding up the agreement process.  

The agreement, crafted after endless meetings with scholars and ministers, was soon to be delivered to the Mage Tower. Once finalized, the Empire would be able to conduct more stable transactions with the Mage Tower.  

The Empire would continue in a form different from the one the Emperor had built. Looking forward to observing this change from the sidelines, the Emperor found himself eager to step down.  

“There’s one thing I’d like to ask of you.”

As Louis slowly flipped through the documents, he raised his head to look at his father. The Emperor nodded, prompting Louis to speak.  

“Before the coronation, I’d like to have my wedding first.”  

The Emperor’s study fell silent for a moment. Narrowing his eyes, the Emperor stared at his son, his lips moving slightly but unable to speak.  

It was the marriage of the future Emperor and Empress. Even if rushed, the preparations would take two to three months.  

“You just said there wouldn’t be much difficulty. Staying here a little longer while the wedding is prepared shouldn’t be too hard for you.”  

The Emperor scoffed and shook his head at his son’s words.  

“You’ve become a bit shameless.”  

Louis grinned and replied,  

“I’m in a bit of a hurry.”