A sense of relief washed over me.
Talking about school life was far more comfortable than bringing up Nicolaus.
Before I could speak again, he gestured to the teacup.
I took a sip and answered his question.
"I'm doing well. I can only thank you for all your usual help."
"Isn't it the other way around?"
"Pardon?"
"The Crown Prince hasn't been tiring you out?"
Tiring?
I doubted my ears. From what I'd seen in the novel, this wasn't the kind of man to speak so disparagingly of his own son.
"Not at all."
"That can't be."
When I looked at him with a questioning expression, he continued.
"The Crown Prince hasn't spoken to you about your magic?"
"...Ah."
Now I understood what he was talking about.
Come to think of it, of course he would know about Leo's passion for magic.
"He has."
Strictly speaking, the brat hadn't actually said anything, but still.
The Emperor laughed, his demeanor relaxing noticeably.
"Hahaha! I thought it was strange when he threw a tantrum about needing to make a citizen card for a classmate. I should have known. If that friend is Lucas Ascaniën, it makes sense."
"I suppose so."
"He must have fulfilled a childhood wish. When he was little, we gave him every teacher he wanted, so he probably thought he could make friends the same way."
I already knew this from the novel's internal monologues about Leo, but saying such things outright couldn't be pleasant from a child's perspective.
If Leo were here, he'd want to cover the Emperor's mouth.
'Well, right now Leo is the only person we both know...'
It seemed conversations detrimental to Leo would keep coming up until we got to the main point.
He smiled while looking out the window, then spoke again.
"I mentioned I had already met you, Lucas Ascaniën."
"Yes."
"Even at that young age, you were producing the strongest magic in your family's history. I remember everyone was delighted, saying you would become the family's pillar. Especially Duke Anhalt."
"..."
What was the point of telling this dream-like story now...?
I wasn't Luca, but hearing this story now, when I was recognized by everyone as him and had to live his life, began to make me uncomfortable. Not everyone can listen so casually about lost glory.
"Come to think of it, I wonder if you know how outstanding your magical qualities were that Hohenzollern wanted to adopt you."
"...Pardon?"
The question slipped out before I could stop it.
It was actually common for powerful mages born into lower families to be scouted by wealthier or higher-ranking families. That was generally the case, but requests also went back and forth between families of similar standing.
It was purely for political purposes. Because magical strength was wealth, honor, and social standing.
But even if it was common, the Imperial family was the Imperial family.
Since the direct line already had a successor, the place that wanted to take Luca must have been one of the collateral lines. But still, to kick away such a good opportunity and raise him like *this* because you didn't want to give him up?
'...Sigh...'
I remembered the cigarettes I quit long ago.
Anyway, there were always people called family who were of no help whatsoever in life...
"Your reaction is intense."
"No..."
"Since Ascaniën refused outright, I thought you might not know. Actually, we also had a discussion on our side, though we never seriously considered it."
He narrowed his eyes, tracing his memory.
"It was right after the second visit, when bad rumors about you were already circulating, so the timing wasn't appropriate."
"..."
The second visit meant he was already six, when rumors spread that Luca had killed someone.
The Pleroma rumors spread throughout the empire regardless of class a few years later, but within noble society, questions about whether Luca was a Pleroma began spreading right after the murder incident.
They brought it up during that period?
'I can guess who brought it up.'
Who else would bring up adoption after the murder incident...
It could only be the young Leo who visited our duchy.
'Scary talk, just to make one friend.'
No matter how legitimate Leo's bloodline was, in a world where magical power was supreme, bringing in the wrong person could lead to a succession fight and that would be the end. Trying to make one friend could create a lifelong nemesis.
But a normal six-year-old wouldn't see that far. It was a very age-appropriate idea.
Perhaps reading my thoughts from my expression, the Emperor laughed heartily as if understanding.
"Hahaha, I think I know what you're thinking now."
"Yes... I'll pretend I didn't hear it."
"Good. It's not like I'm going to suggest you switch sides now anyway."
The Emperor continued immediately.
"Then do you know why I'm telling you this story?"
"I have an idea."
"Good. I remember it was between the first and second visits. That second son of Ascaniën killed someone, right? Because he was born with Pleroma tendencies."
I gave a small nod.
There was nothing else to say.
"Strong magical power is an object of awe only when it's on our side, not when it's on the side of evil. Isn't it obvious what he would do with that power in the future? And what happened to Ascaniën after that... I think I know without you saying."
"I know."
The Emperor silently drank his tea, then calmly spoke.
"Is your body still alright? Let's drink before it gets colder."
"..."
Even though I answered properly, the conversation was gradually speeding up.
My mood sank every time we talked about the past, probably because now I had to bear the full weight of that name. I thought of an appropriate answer and offered a brief apology.
"My apologies, Your Majesty."
"Not at all. It's a natural reaction."
You know full well what you're doing...
I tried to wipe the awkward expression from my face as I thought.
"I still remember the Imperial family warning Ascaniën many times around then to send you away. From the Imperial family's perspective, they couldn't just stand by and watch the strongest successor in Ascaniën's history become a Pleroma, so it was natural they'd try to intervene somehow. Right?"
"Yes."
"As a result, Ascaniën could only keep you at the estate after swearing an oath that they would absolutely not disturb the Empire."
The moment Luca was sent to the Imperial family, the fact that he wasn't a Pleroma would be exposed, so my brother desperately protected Luca and made an oath with the Imperial family.
This was the first time I was hearing it from someone else's mouth, but I already knew the story up to this point.
But he didn't summon me here just to seriously discuss a story Luca already knew.
Before that thought even finished, the Emperor looked into my eyes and quietly continued.
"And one of the surveillance states that participated in that oath was Bavaria."
I met his ice-blue eyes and sank into thought.
'Surveillance states.'
So it wasn't just Ascaniën and the Imperial family who participated in the oath.
This was definitely new.
"We were the first to participate after the Imperial family brought it up. From that day, Bavaria took on the role of surveilling you, the Pleroma."
"..."
"Do you feel betrayed?"
The Emperor smiled leisurely and clasped his hands together on the table.
I stared at the Emperor's face for a moment before smiling.
How could I feel betrayed?
If anything, I felt grateful.
"No."
The Emperor burst out laughing.
"I wondered if you'd be briefly flustered or figure it out right away. As expected, you noticed immediately."
"How could I not? My life was at stake."
"Right, it would be stranger if you, the person involved, didn't grasp it immediately. I stood on Ascaniën's side to stop the Imperial family from trying to kill you. That's the meaning of a surveillance state, a surveillance family."
Considering that no one knew the Pleroma rumors were false, the states that voluntarily stepped forward to surveil in exchange for not killing him actually had no ill will toward Luca, so it could be viewed positively.
If I had been captured by the Imperial family back then, my brother's plans would have been completely shattered...
But it was hard to say now that the surveillance states were a key factor in my brother's plan's success.
Because from the Imperial family's perspective, there was no reason to refuse the oath Ascaniën proposed.
Once Ascaniën declared they would take responsibility for Luca even to the point of making an oath, if any problems arose in the future, the Imperial family could shift all responsibility to Ascaniën.
"I wasn't interested in whether you were born with Pleroma traits or not. Whatever you were born with, your future would depend on Ascaniën's education and support, so I judged there was room for you to live normally. But..."
"..."
"To not even have those traits from the beginning?"
The laughter completely disappeared from his face.
Just as I was wondering about that reaction, he cleared his throat and continued.
"Adrian Ascaniën schemed against his four-year-old brother to become the ruler of the Duchy of Anhalt... At first glance, it's an absurd story that sounds like nonsense. After all, that guy was only eleven years old fourteen years ago."
I didn't answer, just gave a slight nod.
That's understandable.
But however it felt, it had already happened.
Eleven years old here would be twelve in Korea.
Questions about how a twelve-year-old could have such a mind, how he could plan so meticulously, were meaningless.
Being young didn't mean low intelligence, and besides, my brother was someone whose natural disposition, if it flowed well, made him a politician, and if it flowed poorly, a swindler.
And the question of how a twelve-year-old could harbor such thoughts... when examined afterward, the answer was clear.
Seeing how he killed someone just with the thought 'I want to succeed, not my brother,' you could tell he was fundamentally different from others from the start.
If you thought about it, the one the Imperial family should have executed wasn't me, but my brother.
"But considering how they consistently refused Bavaria's proposals to directly examine and confirm your condition, and how Adrian Ascaniën was never considered the successor to the Duchy of Anhalt anywhere after your magical power manifested, it wasn't a completely nonsensical story."
The Emperor continued immediately.
"Of course, that doesn't mean I could be completely convinced by the Crown Prince's words. Before I confirmed your identity with my own eyes—that is, until just yesterday—I wouldn't have believed this fact even if it came from the Crown Prince himself."
"I understand."
"So I have no right to press you and the Crown Prince about why you didn't tell the truth. I probably wouldn't have believed that our Empire had been manipulated by lies for over ten years."
How honest.
Actually, that was the normal position.
He paused for a long moment before speaking.
"But now that things have come to this, there's no reason to stand by with my hands behind my back. So I'll make you a proposal."
"Please speak."
He smiled gently and clasped his hands together.
"Before that, let's hear one thing. When do you plan to reveal your identity? Would you reveal it now if you had my help?"
—-----------
T/N:
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