183 – Angela
“Did you call me, Your Majesty?”
The warrior who represented the king knelt before the emperor and showed respect.
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“I’m sorry for suddenly calling you out like this.”
“No.”
Unlike the warrior who answered politely, a whispering sound was heard from behind her.
“If you’re going to be sorry, you shouldn’t have called me in the first place.”
It was Thalia who seemed to have a lot to say to the emperor who had summoned them in the morning without any contact.
“Sister…!”
Although the saint was beside her and warned her, she did not hide her discomfort and aired her dissatisfaction.
“Why? Did I say something wrong?”
No matter how much you are the emperor, how dare you treat me, the owner of the tower, like this? With that feeling.
In some ways, it could be seen as a natural battle of wits. The Magic Tower and the Empire were in an alliance with each other, and were not vassals like other kingdoms.
Before she was the mage of the warrior party, she was the owner of the magic tower. So she can’t just ignore this treatment.
‘I made a reservation at a restaurant to go with Ian today….’
Of course, her personal dissatisfaction seemed to play a bigger role here.
“Anyway, you little bastard, why are you doing this?”
Thalia asked curiously as Rayna, who seemed to rush at this kind of treatment with foam at the mouth, remained calm without saying anything.
She said she would do so because she had no intention of serving anyone other than the goddess, but she was not an elf.
Then Reina opened her mouth in a weak voice.
“Don’t worry….”
Last night, she waited for her Ian with a swollen heart, but what came back to her was an endless play of neglect.
For a moment, she was caught up in the thought that she might have grown to hate herself, to the point where she had to get counseling from Kyuendoli.
“I even wore such embarrassing clothes…”
Even though she didn’t do it intentionally, she ended up drinking tea and went back to her room. Raina was still suffering from the aftermath.
“Heh heh heh.”
But the emperor just laughed at their attitude.
‘It seems that what Gilbert said is true.’
If I share my daughter and her husband, we are almost like one family now.
“Why is it like that… Did I eat something wrong…”
When Thalia saw the emperor like that, she was disgusted.
After laughing for a while. The emperor asked the warrior.
“I heard about the situation from Gilbert. I heard something pretty big happened.”
I flinch.
The hero’s heart sinks as he gets straight to the point.
Although she had made up her mind to some extent, breaking the news that her son had changed gender was still a daunting task.
“Your Majesty, that is….”
“I’m not trying to hold you responsible, so there’s no need to be that nervous.”
“….”
In the end, the warrior confessed.
What is Aria’s current condition?
“I see.”
Contrary to the hero’s worries that he might faint from shock, the emperor reacted calmly.
However, that seemingly innocuous attitude struck the warrior as a source of fear. Because he seemed like a person who had lost his mind after being so shocked.
“So, where is Aria? I want to see it with my own eyes.”
Sigh.
Then someone walked out among the party members.
The man, with his hood pulled down deep, knelt down on his knees like a warrior and showed respect in front of the emperor.
“…Abama.”
The emperor was moved to tears for a moment when she heard a thin voice calling him “Father,” But she tried to control her emotions and opened her mouth.
“…Show me your face.”
-Sarak.
I soon pulled back the hood and the face that had been hidden until now was revealed to the world.
Golden hair and red eyes.
It was a characteristic of the imperial family that could not be seen except by himself and his son, Arya.
But other than that, he was not the son he remembered.
No, in the first place, would I be able to call him my son after seeing him?
A smaller body size, thinner skeleton, and even a pretty face.
Arya was currently taking on the appearance of a woman.
-Torrr.
Seeing the clear change in appearance, a stream of hot tears flowed from the emperor’s eyes.
“Are you okay?!”
Arya rushed over and helped the emperor.
“…I’m fine.”
The tears weren’t flowing because I was sad that my son had become a woman. This was closer to welcome.
‘I can’t believe I can see the face I’ve only dreamed of like this….’
The son who became a woman looked more like his dead wife than himself.
‘Angela….’
A woman who permeated her life came to mind.
***
After conquering Voltaire, the most powerful kingdom before the establishment of the empire, Caias used his momentum to suppress the remaining kingdoms and obtain their unconditional surrender.
Afterwards, he declared an empire under the name Arachnen and ascended to the position of emperor himself, and the empire was entering a period of stability.
“Hey.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t you think it’s too much these days?”
As I was wrestling with documents to lay the foundation for the empire, I heard the voice of a close friend grumbling next to me and raised my head.
“Do you not know how important this time is? The efforts made at this moment will become the rock that will support the empire in the future.”
When I dismissed him and told him to stop saying something immature, Gilbert couldn’t stand it any longer and questioned me.
“What did you say to me that day? You said you wouldn’t leave it to me to use your brain!”
Then, as if his concentration had been broken, Keas put down the feathered pen and frowned as he answered.
“Is this something you need to use your brain to do? It’s just a bit of a hassle.”
They were currently gathering and synthesizing the parts that seemed useful in the way each kingdom ran its country. In order to lead the empire based on this.
“So, what I’m saying is, why are we sitting here doing this? There must have been people here who were originally working for the government.”
When asked if it would be okay to just let the guys below do it, Keas responded as if asking something so obvious.
“They are so corrupt that we have already executed them a long time ago. We are currently looking for talent, so please be patient.”
“Oh really!”
Gilbert screams in frustration, saying that he is going through all the trouble because of his needlessly incorrupt friend.
“For now, you are the only one I can trust. Please cheer up a little.”
Kias expressed infinite trust in such a friend and hoped for his cooperation.
“This kind of fraudster is the emperor…”
Gilbert, who had already suffered what he deserved, began to organize his desk, saying he couldn’t live like this.
“What are we going to do now?”
“Can’t you tell when you see it? I’m getting off work. I’m getting off work.”
“What are you talking about when the work isn’t even finished yet?”
“Just look outside and talk about that.”
Gilbert pointed his finger to the window.
It was already dark outside the window, and faint lights were coming from each building.
“It’s already dark. What kind of person is doing this?”
Gilbert insists on his work-life balance, saying that now that he has built the empire he wants, he should go home and rest when the sun sets.
But Keias was not so gentle.
“Isn’t it natural that a person who reigns over others should be busy?”
Buried with responsibility as an emperor, he asked to sit down again, asking where he had time to rest.
“Are you the emperor and am I the emperor?”
After retorting like that, Gilbert was about to leave his seat, telling him to take it in moderation.
“Why aren’t you going?”
“Let’s go first. I’ll finish this before I go.”
When Gilbert saw Kayas holding up her pen again, he looked as if he was fed up.
“Haa….”
Gilbert took a deep breath and went straight to Keas and snatched the document he was looking at.
“What are you doing now?”
“I’ve built up an empire, but it would be a waste if you were to fall behind first. It’s good to work, but you still need to take it easy.”
“It’s useless interference. Come on, put it out there.”
-Poof.
Gilbert avoids Keas’s hand trying to take the documents.
“You sit and look at paper all the time, but now you’ve become duller than before?”
“You guy…”
At that time, he was gaining strength by not only disturbing him but also provoking him.
“Come on, calm down. Who doesn’t want to work?”
Gilbert speaks naturally.
“You’re doing that right now, aren’t you?”
When Keias accepted, he said this.
“What I’m saying is, don’t do this here, let’s go out and do some work.”
***
“…What does that have to do with coming here?”
Keas, who followed Gilbert in disguise, looked at his friend with pitiful eyes.
“Why doesn’t it matter? Since ancient times, an emperor should see, hear, and feel firsthand the hard work of his people.”
The place he brought him was a shabby-looking bar located in a remote place.
“As long as I live… By the way, I was lucky enough to find a place like this.”
“That’s because I don’t stay locked up in my room like everyone else.”
“…What does that mean?”
“Okay, that’s fine.”
Gilbert said that and opened the door of the bar alone and entered.
Left alone, Keas pondered Gilbert’s words.
‘Look and listen…. What you said is not completely wrong.’
Since he didn’t realize that he was worried about him, he decided to trick him just this time and followed his friend into the bar.
-Squeak.
As soon as he stepped into the bar, leaving behind the creaking friction of the wood, a bustling noise inside greeted him.
-Let’s drink and die today!
-Hey you bastard! Why does the card appear there?
-Lady! Here’s another drink!
A chaotic scene came into view, along with the smell of alcohol that stung my nose.
While there were people who drank alcohol indiscriminately, there were also people who overturned tables and extended their fists at the other person.
‘I feel dizzy.’
That was when I started off with a not-so-good first impression.
“It’s here!”
Gilbert, who had already taken a seat in a corner, waved his hand at himself.
As I approached and sat down, Gilbert asked jokingly.
“What do you think? Isn’t it nice and smells like people are living there?”
“Where can I see you smelling like alcohol?”
He sincerely suggested that I visit a priest.
“This is why he is a royal guy…”
Gilbert reprimands him for coming all the way here to say something like that.
“Didn’t I tell you before? What kind of past did I overcome?”
Personally, Keas, who spent his childhood in a brothel, did not like this hedonistic atmosphere very much.
Every day must have been hell for his mother.
“Still, this is a healthy place. Since you’re the emperor, you can’t tell the difference?”
“That’s only natural. I got rid of everything.”
He said that his empire did not need such a filthy place, so he banned brothels from operating, at least in the capital.
It was the first law he enacted when he became emperor.
“Anyway, listen carefully. What do people usually talk about after finishing their work for the day?”
After saying that, Gilbert stood up.
“Where are you going now?”
“I’m going to the bathroom. To the bathroom. Do I have to ask for permission to go there too?”
Just like that, Gilbert left. He sat down and was able to hear many stories.
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Gilbert’s words were certainly not empty. Because most people were dissatisfied with life.
At that time, he was trying to figure out how to run the empire in the future.
“Over there!”
Someone called him from behind and stopped him.