The palace I faced was very different from what I remembered.
I was able to look at the palace through the carriage door.
It was my mother and I who were always in the building in the most remote place. It was a room that was so shabby that it was hard to see it as part of the Imperial Palace.
However, the Imperial Palace looked like a star through the carriage.
âDo you want me to hug you?â
As I stepped out of the carriage door and stood still to look around, my dad opened his arms to me.
I jumped in place like a child; just like Harris did. I was so surprised that I was following her that I stopped doing what I was doing, and my dad held me in his arms.
âIâm afraid you wonât like it.â
âWhy wouldnât I like it?â
âBecause Harris⊠is like a child.â
Dad, who was rubbing his face on my head at those words, smirked.
âYou can be like a child. You are a child.â
âYou can whine, cry or complain. Thatâs what you do when you grow up as a child. If a child learns to hide their feelings first, they will end up an emotionless, boring adult.â
When I raised my head, I met my eyes with my dadâs.
Today, soft and friendly eyes stared at me.
âSo did your dad become a boring adult?â
ââŠDaddy, am I not fun?â
âOkay. I wonât hide from my dad. What do I want to do⊠Iâll try it in a bit.â
No wonder my dad, who looked perplexed, smiled.
âOkay, letâs go. If youâre scared, you can bury your head in my shoulder.â
But I wasnât afraid when I was with my dad. My dadâs the Grand Duke! Heâs so reliable and he loves me like this.
âIf I go there because Iâm scared⊠Operation: Kidnap the High Priest might fail.â
In the end, it would be revealed that my dad was the one who kidnapped the High Priest, but at least todayâs operation should not fail because I have to save my mom.
I straightened my back more than ever.
âDonât worry! Iâm not scared. I have my dad.â
Only then did Dad slowly move.
âYes, donât worry.â
The servant standing in front of us bowed his head as if he waited.
âItâs been a long time since the Grand Duke came to the palace, so the Emperor is very happy.â
âLetâs stop with useless talks and start. My child is tired from coming from far away.â
I thought he was a kind father to everyone, but he was only kind to my mom and I. Even his expression was different for the servant.
My father and I walked down the palace corridor, which seemed unlikely to ever come back.
Then, I noticed that several knights who had been monitoring my mom and I were approaching. I tried to move my gaze quickly in case they recognized me, but instead, they only bowed their heads and greeted us⊠as if they didnât recognize me.
âI gained a little weight and wore something nice, but⊠Thatâs the only difference you canât even recognize.â
I thought it was just one person, but none of the people who alternatively watched my mom and I recognized me.
In the meantime, we arrived in front of the room, which looked so big.
âThis is the audience. His Majesty the Emperor is here.â
As soon as Dadâs short answer came out, the servant guarding the door quickly opened the door. As expected, there was a large room inside the softly-opened door compared to the size of the large door.
âThe knights who came with us should be waiting here. Perhaps the armed knights in the room are going to see His Majesty the EmperorâŠâ
âIt doesnât matter.â
I was embarrassed, but as expected, my father embraced me and went into the large room that was hard to see.
Unusually, only the sound of Dadâs footsteps filled the room.
âI didnât expect to see you like this, Grand Duke.â
It was a voice heard from a distance. The Emperorâs voice made my body freeze.
I thought he would recognize me because I wasnât recognized by others, but I couldnât stop my body from freezing.