Sera could not tell if she was still dreaming. Never in her life would she expect the Emperor to reach out for a tutor personally!
No, this was incomprehensible!
āYoā¦ Your Majesty.ā
Sera lowered her head awkwardly and greeted the Emperor. She sneaked a peek at him and his face looked so gorgeous that she found it hard to digest it all.
āI apologize for startling you, Miss Popo. I have to visit you in this manner because it is my personal request. I am Helios Adelio. Did you receive my previous letters?ā
Sera felt at ease with his pleasing voice, it matched his gentle and graceful smile.
āMiss Popo.ā Helios called Sera gently.
āHis charming deep voice really matches his beautiful faceā¦ā She lifted her head and stared at him with her eyes wide opened.
Suddenly, she remembered that the Imperial etiquette forbid commoners like her to look at Royalty directly. Her body stiffened as she feared for her life and she quickly lowered her head.
āPlease raise your head, Miss Popo. We can skip the formalities here.ā
Sera hesitated for a moment and slowly raise her gaze to face Helios.
Her neck was still stiff from the tension of meeting someone who could easily take her life if she did anything disrespectful. His Majestyās stunningly gorgeous face did not help ease her tension at all.
āI hope you can reconsider my proposal to become a tutor for the Royal Family.ā
āIs that the only reason you come all the way here?ā
Of course, the Emperor had sought her out several times already. But why did he come here undercovered? He could have just summoned her to the palace, right?
Sera was at a loss for words. She continued to stare at him.
It had only been a week since she received the letter from the Emperor asking her to become the royal twinās tutor. Since then, she had sent over 30 letters, rejecting the request, citing various excuses she made up. As she had no longer received any reply, she thought the Emperor had given up.
āDiā¦ Did your Majesty come regarding the position of their Highnesses Princess Rosaline and Prince Ferreritanās tutor?ā Seraās voice trembled. Anxiety had taken hold of her.
āMiss Popo, I sincerely hope that you can consider becoming the tutor for my dongsaeng.ā
āUrgh, what excuses should I use?ā
Sera bit her lips. To be honest, she could not remember any of the excuses she had sent out previously. In order to make up all the 30 excuses, she had strenuously collected many references from real life complications and events.
She had naively thought after looking at how popular magazines could easily publish smut fanfics of the Emperor, his Majesty would easily let her go if she sent 30 rejection letters.
āAnd yetā¦ here you areā¦ā
Was the situation so dire that the Royal Family had to hire a tutor disregarding her low status?
Sera shook her head, brushing off any bad thoughts.
āYoā¦ Your Majesty. I apologize for not visiting the Palace personally to decline your offer. Buā¦ Butā¦ Iāmā¦ā
āIām going crazy. How should I explain this?ā
Sera glanced at him with the most pitiful and servile expression she could muster. However, she quickly lowered her gaze as she realized her plan was bound to fail immediately.
The Emperorās purple eyes looked straight at her. It was obvious that he had seen through her intentions to make up more excuses to reject him.
Sera took a deep breath and showed him a troubled face.
āJuā¦Just as your Majesty know, my statusā¦ is not sufficient to enter the Royal Palace. If I become the tutor for the twin Highnesses, there will be people who become upset, and even try to disrupt their Highnessesā education.ā
āSo, itās not simply because my siblings are too troublesome to teach?ā the Emperor asked bluntly.
Sera raised her head, her hair which was tied up wobbled gently. She could not hide her shocked expression. āHow did you know that?ā
Helios turned his head toward the pile of magazines she had read last week.
āUrgh! I know I should have cleaned them up when I have the chance.ā
āI was curious about how their Highness Princess Rosaline and Prince Ferreritan are like.ā Sera became restless and were biting her lips like a hamster.
āIām not blaming you, Miss Popo. The articles the magazine published about the royal twins are all true.ā Helios sighed heavily.
It was at that time, Sera became aware of the Emperorās fatigue. She noticed his weariness hidden under his beautiful face. Unlike the person shown in the magazine, he looked more emaciated as if he had not rest properly for a very long time. This was further proven by the dark circles under his eyes.
āIām sure thatās all because they are still seven years old.ā Sera muttered unconsciously after listening to Heliosā story. It was an occupational habit. She was too used to responding to childrenās whims that she would unconsciously respond to other peopleās complaints.
This had unfortunately worked against her as she needed to stay silent if she wished to reject Heliosā proposal. The Emperor might take her comments wrongly as ābeing interested in the proposalā.
Additionally, wasnāt this an opening for Sera to get involved with the twins? It was just like taking the first step to become a tutor for the two children.
Helios grabbed onto that opening and proceeded to take full advantage of it. From the start of his visit, he had no intention of letting Sera go. Visiting Sera in person at her home reflected his deep resolve to bring Sera back as Rose and Ferreās tutor.
āMy siblings are looking for their parents in meā¦ā
Helios showed a pitiful smile on his face. Though he had not intended to use his charming looks initially, he realized through Seraās reaction that she was weak to his smiles.