﹡ ⊹ ⊰ Chapter 234 ⊱ ⊹ ﹡
Perez came to the front of the Imperial Palace to see Firentia and the Head of Lombardy off.
"Second Prince." Rulhac was about to get into the carriage when he suddenly turned back and called Perez.
"It was His Majesty's order, so I will give you permission. But don't even think about using Tia for your personal gains."
The Head of Lombardy, whose fatigue can be seen on his face, was still taking care of his granddaughter.
"With or without the money of Angenas, leave Tia alone. The Prince should be able to take care of most things by himself."
Rulhac's love for his granddaughter was something Perez knew well, so he nodded his head without uttering a single word.
"Grandpa! It'll be a huge sum of money!"
Next to him, Tia grumbled with dissatisfaction.
"I mean, Clerivan Pellet should also be rewarded."
"Get as much as you need from Lombardy. That's fine, is it not? I don't see why my granddaughter is picking up their mess."
"Did you forget that Pellet Company is mine, too? Do you want me to take your money to fill the hole in my business? That's more of a loss!"
"Well, that's true, but..." Rulhac couldn't refute Tia's words and was flustered.
"I have to get all the money back. I'm going to tear down Angenas mansion and sell the bricks if I have to." Tia said, clenching her fists followed by her murmur, 'Though I don't know who will buy it because it's bad luck.'
Rulhac could no longer say anything to his granddaughter but stared briefly at Perez.
"Do well on your own, Second Prince."
"Yes, I understand."
Tia grabbed Perez's arm when he gave out a flat answer and was eyeing him like, 'You don't understand anything. You don't!'
Even without speaking, he could hear what she was saying with her eyes.
Perez quietly escorted Tia to their carriage with a smile on his face.
"You should take it easy, and don't overdo it," Tia told Perez through the closing door and was nagging him full of worries.
Click.
The carriage door closed, and Lombardy's carriage started to move.
Perez, who stood looking at the back of the carriage for a moment before he turned around and began to move quickly.
After confirming that the Empress had arrived in the dungeon, he made a list of the Imperial Knights who followed the Empress.
Then he sent a trusted troop to the Angenas mansion located in the Imperial City to seal its gates.
He sent letters to influential families, including Killian who is the chairman of the aristocratic council, explaining what the Empress's clan had committed and the imperatives to punish them severely.
Finally, he sent a letter of the Crown Prince's appointment, written by Jovanes in blurry letters, to the representative families of each region.
As if it has been prepared for a long time, Perez has done the task continuously without any delay.
The officials who were helping with the task were amazed and their eyes were wide open seeing Perez work. Everything was done in just a few hours.
As he worked like a machine without eating, drinking, or resting, Perez rose from his seat all of a sudden.
"I will go alone."
He continued walking, leaving only those words to the Imperial Knights that were about to follow him.
Perez had wandered aimlessly, then at some point, arrived somewhere and stopped.
Whoosh~
In winter, dreary-looking branches devoid of its leaves made a wretched sound in the wind.
Perez looked up at the palace in the secluded forest. The doorknob was broken, and the rusty door rattled every time the wind blew.
Perez took a few more steps towards the crumbling palace. He stepped on fallen leaves that had not yet rotted.
"Mother." Perez frowned slightly at the awkward word that he hadn't spoken for a very long time.
It felt like he was wearing clothes that didn't suit him.
The word 'mother' didn't suit him.
Likewise, Perez's mother, Kayla, a maidservant, was far from being a mother.
"My Prince, Your Highness."
His mother always called Perez that way. Not as a son, but as if she was serving her master.
Kayla smiled broadly when his young self read the book for her and happily talked about it.
Even in the eyes of a young Perez, that smile is so beautiful. Seeing that she looks so happy, Perez eagerly continued to read.
But that only happened once...
Only once did Kayla show something similar to affection.
He still remembered that time in midsummer the gentle hand wiping away his sweat after running around in front of the detached palace that was still well maintained.
"You aren't hurt, are you?"
Sadly after that, most of the memories of his mother were horrible things.
With a sobbing voice, she looked up at the Knight.
"I'd rather you kill me. Kill me now, please!"
Her shriveled hands held onto the Knight that the Empress sent to prevent her from entering the Palace.
Kayla wanted to die. Soon after that, she refused to eat on her own.
It was the only resistance Kayla could have made against a world that didn't give her the graces of death.
Perez opened the door that was swaying in jeopardy and stepped into the palace.
The birds that were building their nests in the collapsing ruins were startled and flew away. Some of the feathers they dropped were the only thing remarkable in this place.
The Palace, which was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time, was filled with dust that could no longer be distinguished between black and white.
"Mother. Don't die, mother."
Perez listened to his young self's pitiful voice, thinking that his voice seemed to come from somewhere in the ruins.
Eyes that were dry because she refused to drink water didn't even shed tears as Kayla cried.
"Poor Prince. The Prince must live."
She leaves behind her eleven-year-old son and chooses to die. Then she started to speak that seemed to have no end.
"I have something to ask you, Prince. The Prince loves me, right? So will you listen?"
"Listen carefully. Will you follow your mother's words?"
"Live. And in the future, kill the Emperor and Empress. If you feel sorry for me, please avenge me."
The ordinary brown eyes that seemed powerless gleamed fiercely at that time.
"Before that happens, the Prince must not die until you avenge me."
"Mother...?"
"If you love me, please do me a favor. Survive and avenge me..."
Baiting a child's blind love for his mother, Kayla made such a cruel final wish.
"It's not over yet." Perez's rough voice echoed in the high ceiling of the palace.
"Are you a little satisfied now?"
Mother.
The word mother was swallowed in the end.
A wind blew from somewhere and swept Perez's hair. Perez closed his eyes as the wind caressed his face
The dark shadows of those days, when he longed for a piece of affection and endured the horrible things while surviving alone, seemed to seep into his whole body again.
It was then.
"I thought I told you to rest."
The dark energy that had been imprisoning Perez was instantly shattered by a bright clear voice heard from behind him.
"Is our future Crown Prince not going to listen to me anymore?"
He could tell without looking back.
"...Tia."
"What are you doing here, Perez?"
His heart skipped a beat at the sound of small steps approaching without hesitation.
"I was just organizing my thoughts." Perez slowly turned around as he replied.
"Yeah, I thought you'd come here," Tia said, looking at him with her green eyes that seemed to glow. And she said, looking back at the old palace.
"It's been a long time since I've been here. This is a place full of memories."
"...Memories."
"Is it not? The first time we met was in the forest in front of this palace, and the second time was when we shared chocolate cookies in the bedroom over there."
"Ah." Perez's red lips were slightly wide open, remembering the times.
"If I'm the only one who thinks so, then I'm a little disappointed." Tia laughed.
"No, me too." Perez said as if urgently making excuses.
"I'm kidding, Perez. I knew how you feel about coming back here, so I made a joke on purpose." Tia, who said so, reached out to Perez's chest.
"Aren't you odd?"
"Hhmh?"
"You should be proud, happy even since you've won."
Tia's vivid green eyes were as intense as seeing through everything.
"Is that okay?"
"Of course, you survived and came this far." Tia said in a low voice.
"Good job. You're really amazing. So from now on, live a life for yourself, Perez. Not for anyone else, but for you—!"
Perez quickly hugged Tia. For fear of hurting Tia, his hands trembled as he struggled in wanting to hug her tighter.
Tia seemed a little surprised and quickly patted Perez on the back.
"Tia."
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
Hugging her body tightly once more, Perez thought.
'From now on, I will live a life for you.'
'I will live a life for us.'
Right now, he revised his plan to demolish this palace.
"I have to rebuild this palace."
"Why all of a sudden?"
Buried in his chest, Tia's voice became muffled. Hearing it, Perez replied with a quiet smile.
"As Tia said, it's a place that contains our memories."
In the woods near the Empress's Palace, this little palace without a name would now be remembered by him in that sense.
***
"This young lady should go to work now!" I shouted, checking myself in front of the mirror.
"Do you like it that much? About liquidating the properties of Angenas, my Lady?" Laurelle asked as she smiled at me.
"Of course, they have a lot of hidden assets! There was no money left to pay off all their debts, but there will be money if we collect all their jewelry."
How many secret places with expensive items are hidden throughout their large mansions?
Today's the third day, and seizing the assets of the Angenas family was fun as if we were going on a treasure hunt.
"What are you looking for this time? Ruby? Diamond?"
While humming in a good mood, I was about to answer when...
"Sister!"
"Oh, Crenny!"
From afar, Crenny approached fast with a big smile on his face.
"I heard you just came back from the academy. But I was so busy that I completely forgot."
"I thought so, so I came looking for you."
Crenny was quite tall and had a much brighter face than the time in his previous life.
Is my early education paying off?
It was natural since he was doing so much better in the academy right now than in his previous life.
"Where are you going?"
"Oh, to do some cleaning."
"Cleaning?"
"Yes, something like that. Do you need anything? Is it urgent?"
Crenny shook his head at my question.
"No, I just wanted to see my sister's face, so I came to say hello."
"Oh, my lovely boy." I said, patting his head like when he was a kid.
"Would you like to come back here tonight and have a meal together with me?"
"Yes! I want to tell you about what happened at the academy, and I also have a present for you!"
"Okay. This evening—Oops!"
I stumble down the stairs while talking to Crenny.
"Ah, are you all right?"
I almost sprained my ankle. Thanks to Crenny, who was next to me, I didn't get hurt.
"This won't do. I'll escort you to the carriage, sister."
I thought he was only tall, but he has a lot of power in his hand that was holding me.
"When did you grow up like this?" I tried to stroke Crenny's head again while saying so, however.
"...Crenny?"
I saw Crenny's smiling face turn white. And the reason was immediately revealed.
"Who are you?"
Perez was approaching with a cold look with his gaze stuck in my hand holding Crenny's.
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March 03, 2022
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