049 – Silence

‘This knee…can I relax it?’

It wasn’t that there wasn’t anyone nearby.

There was someone watching from afar, keeping their distance.

Unable to unbend her knee, she remained seated.

Because…

‘…Do I get punished if I don’t follow this order?’

‘You may go home.’

‘Make yourself comfortable.’

She hadn’t received any instructions from His Majesty…

‘Is this some kind of test…?’

If she made a wrong move here, she’d be disobeying an Imperial order…

‘Ugh, Imperial order my foot, I’m just kneeling here.’

Thinking about it, His Majesty had never actually issued a command like, “Kneel.”

Sitting comfortably shouldn’t be a problem.

‘He’ll be back soon.’

So, deciding to kneel again when the Emperor was about to return,

She blankly began to wait for the master of the Magic Kingdom.

…

“Myaong?”

I sat, lost in thought, for what must have been thirty minutes or so.

Thankfully, Lady Isabella deigned to approach one as lowly as myself.

“When will His Imperial Majesty arrive, I wonder?”

I passed the tedious hours in quiet chatter with Lady Isabella, making them a little more bearable.

…

“So, I would block Lady Isabella’s foot with my right hand.”

“Can’t block it.”

“Why not!”

“Master is weak, isn’t he?”

“I won’t lose to a cat.”

“Weak, yet Master…”

“A week of confiscated sleep.”

“Nyaong… Isabella collapses…”

“I’ve won again.”

“The most underhanded Master in the world…”

It had already been two hours since His Imperial Majesty was expected.

Finding myself quite bored, I began an imaginary sparring match with Lady Isabella.

Of course, being born a human, I couldn’t possibly lose to a cat, and so I was currently on a winning streak of three.

…

Surely, I had used the Orb of Truth only this morning.

Yet the hour had crept into the evening, with the sun now painting the sky with its dying light.

Incredibly, the Emperor had still not returned to the Imperial Palace…

“I’m hungry…”

Mikhail, the kidnapper, hadn’t eaten a thing and was practically starving.

“…At this point, isn’t it more likely he’s forgotten about me rather than testing me?”

“Definite!”

“To call someone and then forget about them, what…”

After so much time had passed, it was now certain.

His Imperial Majesty wasn’t deliberately testing my patience by leaving me abandoned…

But had simply forgotten his guest while enjoying pleasantries with the Princess.

However…

“Shall we just go home?”

“..At this point, I deserve to get something for this. After waiting this long, I should at least get some compensation.”

“Master is the first person to demand recompense from the Emperor.”

Now, the very time I had wasted waiting spurred me on, I absolutely must see His Imperial Majesty’s face.

…

“He’s coming.”

Finally, from beyond the door, the voice I had been awaiting reached my ears.

I quietly resumed my kneeling position, and waited.

“This is where Father usually is…”

I could hear His Imperial Majesty’s voice as he pushed open the colossal doors of the Imperial Palace and entered.

Of course.

I remained kneeling, head bowed, as was expected in such a situation.

“…Mihan?”

As if proving he’d forgotten I was even here.

I could hear the Emperor’s flustered voice.

“Your Majesty.”

“…You haven’t left?”

‘You never told me to! What lunatic would abandon a place after being summoned by the very power of the nation, without permission…!’

In my heart, I was already unleashing a torrent of resentment.

But I couldn’t utter such drivel to the highest authority in the Magic Kingdom.

“You did not grant permission for me to depart…”

I managed to voice my honest feelings.

“Ah…”

Judging by the mixture of regret and guilt in His Majesty’s voice.

If things went well… I might obtain a worthwhile compensation, satisfactory to both parties.

‘And sell the elixirs.’

I would also sell the elixirs I possessed.

Just as all my plans were unfolding according to my will.

“Hello!”

I heard the voice of a very bright young girl.

“We greet the Princess.”

Since His Majesty himself used the term ‘Father’.

Anyone could deduce that the owner of that cheerful voice was the Princess.

And so, I offered the appropriate respects to the Princess.

“Who are you, mister?”

“…?”

So unlike the elegant Princess I had imagined… I heard the voice of a purely innocent girl.

“…Pardon?”

“I’m Asher!”

“…It is a pleasure to meet you, Asher Leon.”

What is this… innocent child?

She is somewhat adorable, but…

If one is of Imperial lineage, should they not display a more noble bearing?

Soon, His Majesty would surely scold the Princess…

“That mister is… Father’s… friend. Yes. Father’s friend.”

A friend?

Not a guest, but a friend?

A commoner like myself, a friend to the noble Imperial bloodline??

“…”

“Is this mister the friend Daddy told me about?”

“Of course~ It’s that mister.”

Ah…

I really don’t get it.

Since when was I friends with His Imperial Majesty?

…

“Daddy’s friend has to go now. Should our Asher be off to sleep?”

“Yes, good night Mister.”

“Yes, our Asher… sleep well, hm?”

Having spoken informally to the Princess, he glanced at His Majesty, gauging his reaction.

‘…Is this right, Your Majesty?’

He’d been receiving those looks from His Majesty periodically, urging him to play the part of a friend appropriately.

Acting like a genuine friend of His Majesty felt like a waterfall of cold sweat was cascading down my entire body.

A nod.

‘Whew…! Thank goodness!’

Judging by the nod of His Majesty’s head, it seemed my actions were, thankfully, what he desired.

Just then.

“Before bed! I want to make a wish to Daddy’s friend!”

“That’s, Asher…”

“Can’t I?”

“…You can.”

‘…Make a wish? To me??’

The Princess’s sudden pronouncement of wanting to make a wish to me, and His Majesty’s subsequent permission…

No, in the first place, what am I, a friend of the Emperor of Madonia, that she’s making a wish to me and not her dad, who can grant anything?

“Alright, Meehan. Well… I entrust my daughter’s wish to you.”

“Of cour… …se.”

Ah…

I’m going crazy.

I still haven’t gotten informal with Ella-ssi, and now I have to speak informally to His Majesty?

For now, let’s just gauge the situation and spit out whatever answer they want to hear.

“Quickly!”

“I’ll come back in 10 minutes.”

“Okay!”

“???”

At the Princess’s urging, His Majesty vacated the room.

‘What does he think I’m going to do to the Princess…just leaves?’

He doesn’t know what kind of a person I am since its the first time he’s met me, and he leaves me and the Princess alone together in one room?

What is this…

“Mister!”

“Ugh, yes…! Okay, Asher.”

With that, it became clear.

These days, at the Imperial Palace, reception through neglect was all the rage, it seemed.

Otherwise, how could putting an unknown like me in the same room as a princess possibly make sense??

“I want to make a wish too!”

“Wish for anything.”

First, though…

My job felt like surreptitiously listening to what Asher Leon wished for, without His Majesty knowing.

And then, when she fell asleep again, delivering the contents of that wish to His Majesty.

So, quietly, I prepared to listen to her words…

“Heehee… You know.”

“Tell me.”

“Even if I die, I don’t want Papa to be sad.”

“Hmm…?”

Words that were far too premature to be coming from the lips of a nine-year-old child spilled out.

“Isn’t it possible?”

I felt guilty, having said I’d grant her anything, and then immediately saying no.

What father in the world wouldn’t be sad if his child died?

This was a request that, no matter how much it was the Princess’s wish… I absolutely could not grant.

“That… that seems difficult.”

And because I gave her that answer…

“Papa said his friend can grant him anything he wants…”

I could see a look of genuine disappointment on the Princess’s face.

‘Why?’

Just, why?

Why was this young child talking as if death were right before her eyes?

Just, why?

Why was this young child so calm in a situation where her death seemed so certain?

“It would be best if our Asher is healthy.”

“Is that possible?”

Without knowing the situation or the reasons, everything felt cautious and precarious.

“Uncle doesn’t seem to know much about Asher’s situation, could you explain it a little bit, as Asher knows it?”

I wanted to hear.

Why was this young child sensing her own death?

…

“I’m very sick!”

“I know my own body! Ummm… after sleeping eight? Nine? more times, I feel like I’ll just keep sleeping!”

“I sleep for a month at a time, unlike other people. They say if I don’t, I can’t endure the aether that eats away at my life.”

“Papa cries every day when he looks at me like that! Actually, I can hear sounds even when I’m sleeping!”

“So, I don’t want Papa to cry. Because every time Papa cries, I get sad too.”

* * *

*Snores, soft and shallow…*

The Princess, having vaguely explained the circumstances of her plight, had already drifted off to sleep.

“…”

The Emperor’s friend, spoken of as some sort of superman capable of anything in the Magic Kingdom.

The wish that she had made upon her all-powerful Papa’s friend… ‘That, after her death, her Papa, whom she loved more than anyone, would not grieve.’

‘So *that’s* why… His Majesty rushed out so urgently.’

Too heavy a burden for an innocent child to carry.

Too heavy a wish for an innocent child to bear.

‘No wonder… I would have done the same…’

The Princess, capable of hearing even in her sleep, had absorbed every word that had fallen from His Majesty’s lips.

Thus, she even knew the reality of her impending death.

And was also a devoted daughter, worried that her father would be consumed by sorrow every day after she was gone.

“…”

He could tell her the words.

He could offer her a lie.

That he would not grieve.

That her Papa would continue to live happily.

But…

“I’m sorry, Asher, that I can’t grant your wish.”

He wasn’t the Emperor’s secret confidant who could grant anything, as His Majesty had described.

“But I can give you an experience even greater than that wish.”

He carefully placed his hand upon Asher Leon’s head.

“Silence.”

He placed a small iron chain upon her heart.

* * *