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Chapter 67




My neck tingled. It felt as if something was trickling down. Dad extended his large hand towards me.
“Mabel, I’m sorry. I’m not... I’m not in my right mind right now...”
“Hic!”
I couldn’t stop hiccuping, probably because I was too startled. Just before Dad’s fingertips touched my cheek, I took a step back. It wasn’t by my own will.
“Mabel.”
Dad’s face contorted as if he was about to cry. I wanted to tell him it was okay, but no words came out, and I just shook my head. My body wouldn’t listen to me. I knew better than anyone that Dad hadn’t meant to threaten me and that he was now regretting and worrying. But why did the face of that person come to mind right now? My father from my past life.
‘I thought I had overcome it, but I hadn’t...’
The image of my father, who would become violent when drunk and not in his right mind, flashed through my mind. Even though the father in front of me was different from that one, I slowly took a deep breath to calm my startled heart.
‘I’ve overcome it. I’ve overcome it, so I’m fine.’
I had no intention of being held back by the past. I lifted my head and looked straight at Dad, who was looking down at me. Dad, who couldn’t bring himself to touch me out of fear, was a different person from my past father. As I kept repeating this in my mind, my startled heart gradually calmed down.
“I’m sorry, Mabel. I’m sorry.”
“Gah, cough—!”
Just as I was about to say it was okay, a cough burst out. It seemed to be due to the thick, unknown incense smoke in the bedroom.
“...Oh, dear.”
Following my gaze, Dad’s eyes widened when he saw the incense. He immediately got up, pulled back all the curtains, and opened all the windows. As fresh air came in, I finally felt better. Dad quickly came to me and examined me.
“Your wrist... this thin, delicate wrist.”
Dad, in shock, kept repeating, “Your wrist, your wrist.” When he saw the cut on my neck from the blade, he almost fainted.
“I must have been out of my mind. Otherwise, I couldn’t have done such a terrible thing to you.”
“I’m, I’m fine.”
I shrank back, trying to pull my wrist away from Dad’s grip. His excessive worry was burdensome, but he looked even more desperate, as if he had misunderstood my attitude.
“I’m sorry, Mabel.”
“Mmm.”
“Did you get a big scare?”
I hesitated for a moment before nodding honestly.
“...Mmm.”
I was very scared. Dad suddenly held a knife and spoke in a cold voice, how could I not be scared? I looked at Dad, who was bowing his head like a sinner and wouldn’t meet my eyes. In fact, I had many questions. Why hadn’t he attended meetings for days? Why hadn’t he come to see me? And why did he call my name when he saw me? But I didn’t ask.
‘Dad must have his reasons...’
Just like I had secrets I couldn’t tell him.
“I’m fine, I am.”
I reached out and patted Dad’s large hand. Then Dad closed his eyes tightly and—thud!—knelt in front of me.
“...”
‘I made Dad kneel...’
At a loss for words, Dad spoke in a gloomy voice.
“...I’m sorry, Mabel. This father deserves punishment.”
“I’m fine.”
“It’s not fine, Mabel. If I can earn your forgiveness, I’ll do anything.”
“I didn’t ask you to do anything...”
“I’ll do anything you ask.”
It seemed he wouldn’t get up unless I asked for something. Sometimes, Dad’s stubbornness was unbreakable, and this was one of those times. Sighing, I looked at Dad, who was in penitent mode.
“Will you do anything I ask?”
“Yes, anything. What do you want?”
“Hmm.”
I thought hard. What should I ask for so that Dad’s kneeling wouldn’t be in vain and I could make a good wish that would spread as a rumor? As I pondered, my merchant instincts kicked in.
“Then, two things!”
Dad nodded in admiration at my bold declaration.
“I won’t use one for now.”
“Of course, my daughter. You’re thinking ahead. What’s the other one?”
“Lift the no-entry order.”
“...What order?”
“The no-entry order. To play with Enrique.”
“That’s...”
Dad hesitated, looking troubled. But he had already promised to do anything I asked.
“You’re not a liar, are you?”
“...Alright, Mabel.”
That’s how I successfully lifted the long-standing no-entry order for boys. *** Late at night, when Mabel was asleep, Esteban leaned back with a glass of wine.
“You should have stopped him, Lisandro.”
“As I’ve said many times, I can’t stop the Emperor. You know the situation is the same.”
“...That’s true.”
Esteban smiled bitterly and poured the strong liquor into his mouth. He wanted to lose himself in the alcohol, but no matter how much he drank, he couldn’t get drunk. His body, trained to resist poison, was frustratingly resilient. Esteban laughed sarcastically and buried his face in his hands.
“Siana hasn’t appeared in my dreams for a while.”
Siana had been gone for five years. At first, he couldn’t bear the pain of losing her, but he managed to live on. He had children to take care of. But living in a world without Siana was incredibly difficult. The only comfort was seeing her smile in his dreams, but even that was gone now.
“...Siana’s voice is getting fainter.”
“...Your Majesty.”
“How frustrating. I miss her so much, but she won’t even show herself once. Isn’t it supposed to be possible to meet in dreams?”
After vowing to live for Oscar and Mabel, Esteban had tried to cover up his overwhelming longing and get through each day. Seeing the children grow made him happy, so for a while, it was okay. Esteban filled his empty glass with more wine.
“I hate the night. It’s when useless thoughts take over.”
“Saying that, you shouldn’t have touched the hallucinogenic herbs.”
“Ah, the hallucinogenic herbs.”
Lisandro flared up at Esteban’s nonchalant smile.
“You know they’re not good for you.”
“It’s fine. I saw Siana.”
Seeing Esteban’s satisfied smile, Lisandro facepalmed. There was no sign of remorse.
“Don’t touch the hallucinogenic herbs again.”
“...We’ll see.”
“Even after the Emperor smelled the incense?”
Hesitating, Esteban’s movement stopped as he brought the glass to his mouth. He remembered Mabel, shivering and coughing softly.
“Siana would scold me.”
“She wouldn’t just scold you. She probably wouldn’t see you for a year.”
Lisandro’s words made sense, and Esteban laughed softly.
“I can imagine her scolding me.”
Today, that image would help him get through the long night. *** On the day of the priest’s lesson, I boldly asked the new king, who was pretending to be an educational priest.
“Why can’t I heal my own wounds?”
“I can.”
The new king slashed his hand with a knife and healed it right away.
“Ugh.”
I made a disgusted face and moved away. What a show-off.
“So, you can heal everyone except yourself?”
“Mmm.”
“Sometimes priests can’t heal themselves. The cause is still unknown.”
The new king’s gaze shifted to my neck. It was already healed and bandaged. A simple bandage would have been enough, but the excessive bandaging was clearly overkill.
“Who did that?”
“It just happened.”
“Situation?”
“...Huh?”
How did he know? I looked at him in surprise, and he shrugged.
“I saw it.”
“...”
“Recently, your biological father’s condition has been precarious. He wasn’t in his right mind.”
“Dad...?”
I felt uneasy. This morning, Dad looked exhausted but seemed fine, which made me feel even stranger.
‘Is he more hurt emotionally than physically?’
The new king, who couldn’t heal my wound no matter what, healed it effortlessly. After the so-called holy power lesson, which was more like a chat, Gustav came to me.
“A teacher has been appointed to educate the Emperor. We’ve invited the headmaster from the Academy.”
“Wow. A professor?”
“No, the headmaster.”
Huh?
“...The headmaster? The principal?”
“Yes.”
“T-That’s intimidating.”
I thought they would bring just one of the professors, but the Academy headmaster was a much bigger deal. But Gustav seemed to think there was no problem.
“What are you talking about, Your Majesty? You are the Emperor of the Empire. Bringing the highest authority in education is the right thing to do for quality education.”
His logical yet illogical statement made me frown.
“Troublesome. Rather... rather, I’ll learn from Lisandro!”
Oscar was learning swordsmanship and other subjects from Lisandro, so I thought I could just sit next to him and listen. But Lisandro, who was nearby, started laughing loudly.
“Hooray! H