Chapter 7

I was able to move faster because I had gotten used to it. Although it couldn’t be helped that it felt like I was running while lugging heavy tires behind me.

I felt skeptical of myself while I did this. Truthfully, life in the Ruby Palace was so nice that I wanted to keep living here forever.

But there was a bomb that could go off at any second called Claude. No matter how nice life was, I couldn’t put my life at stake, right?

So these babies….they were my insurance. Yeah, so I would be able to leave the palace whenever I needed to.

I followed the flower field for the 5th time. And soon, I walked into the quiet palace that was no different than any other day.

But today, I didn’t go straight to the garden and went to a place that I had my eye on from last time.

I wasn’t sure what it was because I saw it from far away, but they were indeed angel statues.

They were in various sizes and shapes. Some were even taller than me. And they were all made of gold! Gosh! Everything in my palace was marble, but this gold?

I was exhilarated. There were so many statues that no one would notice if one went missing. Once I got older, I would be able to swipe one of these. But this is real gold, right?

I examined a statue that was close to me in all its nooks and crannies and bit into the butt of it. Since my teeth were pretty strong now.

But suddenly, I felt someone’s presence behind me. I was frozen with my teeth still biting the butt.

“When did insects like these start living in my castle?”

A cold voice entered my frozen ears.

***

My whole body shivered when I heard this voice.

I turned around instinctively and stepped back, bumping into a statue.

When had he gotten this close? Two people had soundlessly approached. And one of them was so far away that I couldn’t see his face, but he seemed to be a knight based off of his outfit. And the person in front of me was…

*crash*

Once I confirmed his face, my body lost its strength.

As the pouches in my hands fell to the floor, it’s contents spilled out. The funds I steadily gathered for 3 years are all sparkling on the floor.

The man standing in the back looked down at them with a strange expression.

But the man in front of me didn’t look elsewhere and kept his eyes on me.

“That face.”

His low voice and coldly glimmering eyes pierced through me. Mysterious eyes that had a strange color.

It was like looking at a mirror, but his eyes didn’t have any expression, so they looked like real jewels.

“I feel like I’ve seen it before.”

I had never seen his face before, but I knew at a glance.

Gold hair scattered by the wind. The eyes that only the royal family had. The expressionless face looking at me, and a beastly aura.

Claude de Alger Obelia.

She was Athanasia’s father, and the Emperor this land.”

“Yes. The dancer from Siodona. You look like her.”

At the unexpected meeting, no words came out of my mouth. My head became blank.

I-is this what people called a mental stupor? This guy, he’s that one. The one that kills Athanasia when she’s 18.

No, but why was he in front of me right now. I’m 5 right now. And this isn’t even the garden of the Emperor’s palace.

Claude, who seemed to be in his mid 20s, quietly looked down at me.

“Well. It doesn’t matter.”

I couldn’t even afford to be curious about what that meant. I blankly looked at the man who slowly raised his hand.

“Your Majesty.”

And the knight that had been standing behind him called out in a calm voice.

I looked stupidly at the hand extended to me.

And his hand stopped midair. It seemed like his emotionless eyes were discerning my face again.

Unbelievably, a faint smile appeared on the face of the man who had been emanating a certain light.

“Now I remember.”

His eyes changed from a black to a deep navy color.

“The name that girl gave you.”

And I let out the breath I had been holding when he said my name.

“It was Athanasia.”

To me, it sounded like a death sentence. My heart that had stopped beating from shock was now palpitating like it had just realized the situation.

“You were a blood covered thing that couldn’t even protect it’s life.”

So Claude had met Athanasia 5 years ago.

‘That thing ‘s name is Athanasia?’

In the novel, it said Claude first met her when she was 9, but their first meeting was actually right after she was born.

And that day, the Emperor Claude had given her his middle name, because her name amused him.

Because names to do with immortality were only given to those would be the next emperor.

And those names could only be given by the Emperor, so that’s why Jannette’s name meant ‘god’s blessing’, not ‘immortal’ or ‘forever.’

That was why Jannette’s aunt considered Athanasia an obstacle.

But a mere dancer had given her daughter the name ‘Athanasia’, the name of an Empress. She was definitely a brave person.

‘It’s amusing.’

And the reason why Claude had given her his middle name wasn’t because of his affection for her, like Lili said. That day, he had gone to find Athanasia to kill her.

‘I’m curious if she’ll really be able to live up to her name.’

Wow, then I was looking at someone who wanted to kill me? Shit.

I had read the book so I knew that he was a character, but it was different than actually meeting him.

“You’ve grown a lot.”

You’ve grown a lot. That didn’t mean that it was time for her to die since she had already grown to this much, did it? He just passed by the 9 year old Athanasia without a glance at her. What about my plan to leave the palace before I turned 18?

And while I was thinking all kinds of thoughts, something slipped from my legs and fell to the ground.

*clang*

All 3 of us looked at the source of the sound. Shining jewels were revealing their existence, and the pouch that Hannah had sewn a cute rabbit on was really quite cute.

“…..”

“…..”

“…..”

Oh shoot. I was done for. I thought that the strings around my leg were loose today, but this happened! I couldn’t believe my babies number 7 and 8 got caught like this!

I broke out in a sweat, and sideways looked at the two people. Claude had an unreadable expression. He was alternating his gaze between me and the jewels.

And a moment later, he walked towards me.

And suddenly, he lifted me by holding me under my armpit!

I looked into the eyes that were now on the same height as me. I was so surprised that what I was going to say got caught in my throat like a rock.

“You’re heavy.”

“I thought your cheeks were on the verge of exploding, but I didn’t know you would be this heavy.”

…..This crazy bastard! How dare you talk to a woman about her weight? I’m not heavy at all!

No, other than that, why are you talking to me//? You’re the cold dictator father! You only love Jannette!

“But what were you doing in my palace?”

My face crumbled when I heard what he said.

His palace? Well technically, all the palaces in the Imperial Palace were his. But based off of his loungewear, this was probably the palace that he actually used.

I had stepped into a minefield. Was this the Emperor’s palace? But it’s emptier than the Ruby Palace!

This was crazy.

Claude looked past me. Sweat dripped down my back because I knew what was behind me.

His knight turned his expression to the butt of the angel statue that had the markings of a bite on it.

“It seems like she thought it was a toy, sir.”

Ack! Are you gonna kill me? Huh? Because I entered your castle without permission? Because I left bite marks on your angel statue?

“I guess you got lost because you were busy playing.”

I was still in shock that I didn’t register him turn while carrying me.

“Felix.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Hold it.”

‘

My body was swapped arms midair without my consent. The knight who held me was quite good looking. But as he looked at my face, I saw a mix of surprise and confusion. It was expected that he was surprised since Claude just handed me over like that.