“…Exactly!”
Mia’s eyes widened, trying hard not to cry, but the tears only poured out more heavily. Adilot looked at her in confusion as Mia Celestial met his gaze directly.
“Adil, I have something to tell you.”
Adilot’s eyes widened slightly. He noticed the guards, who had been pretending not to hear their conversation, flinch.
Calling the emperor by a nickname was audacious, and Mia Celestial still hadn’t been fully cleared of treason.
Yet, strangely, Adilot didn’t feel offended. Instead, a forgotten voice came to mind.
“Adil, my beloved son.”
It was the voice of Empress Lea, who, thanks to Empress Chrysor, no longer even had a portrait left.
He thought he had forgotten it all.
But as Mia stood in front of him, without pushing her away, she spoke firmly and earnestly.
“You were too young back then, Adil.”
She couldn’t have known the details, but Mia seemed as if she had looked right into his heart.
“Even if you weren’t young… the desire to survive is not a crime.”
In her pink eyes, there was an expression of pain.
“No one can blame you for that. Not even Empress Lea.”
“What do you…”
“I don’t know! That’s right, I know nothing!”
Mia shouted as if it pained her.
“But I do know that it wasn’t something a nine-year-old should have had to endure!”
Her grip tightened on Adilot’s hand.
“Back then, you were only nine… You were just too young…”
And with that, Mia couldn’t hold back anymore. She began to cry loudly.
Adilot was taken aback. It was the second time he had seen such raw tears. The first time was also from Mia, and now it was Mia again.
She didn’t cry quietly or gracefully like a typical noble lady. Instead, she scrunched up her face, sobbing like a child with her throat fully exposed.
“The saddest person is you, Adil, but why won’t you allow yourself to grieve properly…?”
All Adilot could do was stare at her in a daze. Something that had darkened his heart for so long felt like it was being lifted.
He had always thought he didn’t deserve to grieve his mother’s death—after all, he had turned away from her out of fear.
But now Mia was telling him it was okay.
Watching her cry, Adilot realized that maybe he should have cried like that back then.
He saw his nine-year-old self reflected in Mia’s trembling, childlike sobs.
“…”
After a moment of hesitation, he took Mia’s hand in his. Without saying anything, he just watched her cry.
—
Adilot’s official duties didn’t end until nighttime, long past midnight. Before him, Joachim and Ferdian had finished their report and were standing up to leave.
“Did she really assist in the rebellion?”
Ferdian immediately responded to Adilot’s murmuring.
“We can’t be certain of anything yet. Mia Celestial is far too compliant. It makes her even more suspicious.”
“True enough.”
Adilot agreed lightly.
“It’s as if she’s known me for a long time.”
Her pale skin, peach-colored cheeks, and sharp chin, paired with her slightly droopy eyes that resembled a puppy’s.
Her light pink eyes looked at him with surprising warmth and familiarity. She would laugh, showing her white teeth, and then immediately pout and complain.
She even called him by his nickname without fear. He couldn’t even remember the last time someone treated him with such ease.
Adilot crossed his arms inside his wide sleeves, tilting his head from side to side.
“She seems to know about my mother.”
“Given the involvement of the Celestial family in the rebellion, it’s no surprise Mia Celestial knows about that.”
Ferdian, seemingly aware of what had happened during the day, responded stiffly. He didn’t seem to appreciate Mia’s use of the emperor’s name.
In contrast, Joachim smiled softly, remaining silent. Adilot signaled to him.
“What about you, Joachim?”
“…I don’t think Miss Mia assisted in Count Celestial’s rebellion.”
“Why not?”
Joachim lightly tapped his cheek with his fingers.
“Her face gives everything away.”
That was true…
All three men thought of Mia at the same time. Whether she was laughing or crying, her expressions were always more varied than anyone else’s. There were even moments when her face would go blank, as if she knew everything, like a blank sheet of paper.
Perhaps it was because of those rare, indifferent expressions that every other emotion she displayed shone even more vividly.
“She could be acting.”
Ferdian still couldn’t shake his doubts.
“As a marquis of extraordinary skill, you know better than anyone, Lord Kito, that physical reactions like pupil dilation can’t be faked.”
Ferdian frowned. He wanted to argue, but Joachim wasn’t wrong. With a shrug, Joachim smiled.
“Well, I’m not an investigator. I can only judge awkwardness in facial expressions or actions.”
“…However, it is a fact that Mia Celestial raised funds for Count Celestial’s rebellion through the Miromis Trading Company.”
“She could have helped without knowing, Marquis Kito.”
“To accumulate such astronomical wealth and never question its use? That’s absurd.”
“That part is strange, I admit. Any ordinary person would have at least some greed. And those involved in trade, even more so. Just look at Marquis Hochschild, for instance.”
As he spoke, Joachim’s light green eyes narrowed behind his glasses.
“…She is quite an intriguing person. The more we talk about her, the more curious she becomes.”
“Anyway, with Count Celestial still at large, it’s too early to make any conclusions.”
“I agree. You can’t keep her by your side forever, ‘monitoring’ her, Your Majesty.”
Joachim’s light green eyes gleamed through his glasses as he looked at Adilot. It was the kind of gaze that made people shiver, feeling as if their very soul was being scrutinized.
But Adilot didn’t even blink.
“If you have something to say, just say it clearly, Joachim. That’s why I appointed you as chancellor.”
“Haha. I just didn’t realize that ‘monitoring’ these days involved holding hands.”
“Ahem.”
Ferdian let out a small cough. Joachim was certainly a ‘chancellor of iron’ for saying the things Ferdian wouldn’t dare say. Adilot crossed his arms and shifted his gaze.
After a brief pause, he nodded.
“I’ll be careful.”
A smile appeared on Joachim’s face. This was one of the reasons he had chosen to follow Adilot.
“In that case, I have a suggestion.”
“Go ahead.”
“Why not test her?”
“Test her?” Adilot asked.
“Yes. Marquis Kito is uneasy, so it wouldn’t hurt to test her in a simple way.”
“How?”
“I’ll submit a written report. It won’t be a complicated method, so preparation shouldn’t take long.”
Adilot hesitated for a moment, recalling the image of Mia sobbing uncontrollably.
‘Adil, back then… you were only nine… You were too young…’
Adilot could already predict how Ferdian and Joachim would react if he brought up the matter of his mother.
Joachim, the chancellor and sage, would say:
“Even lions lower themselves when necessary. It was a strategic choice. The Empress Dowager has the title, but no real power. This battle will end in your victory, no matter what.”
Loyal knight Ferdian would give a much shorter reply:
“I’ll lead the charge.”
Both were words of loyalty, but somehow, they felt different from what Mia had said. It was as if Mia saw him not as an emperor, but as Adilot.
‘Even so, she’s the daughter of a traitor…’
Adilot sighed and stood up.
“Submit the report by dawn tomorrow. Both of you, dismissed.”
“What about your guards…?”
“This will do.”
Adilot lazily tapped the dagger at his waist. Ferdian nodded, knowing the emperor was also a skilled swordsman.
Before leaving, Adilot added with a yawn, “Oh, and get in touch with the old man. Tell him to come.”
“You mean Lord Girotti?”
“Yeah. I want to hear his opinion too.”
“Understood.”
Waving a hand behind him, Adilot left the room, walking through the quiet corridors. But when he opened the door to his bedroom, he stopped in his tracks.
“…?”
Curled up like a rabbit in the corner of his large bed was Mia.
Why is she lying like that?
Adilot suppressed a laugh, covering his mouth with his hand. He moved closer.
Mia’s cherry blossom-colored hair was spread across the white sheets like petals. Her face was a mess. Her eyes were red and puffy, stained with dried tears. She must have rubbed them raw.
Silently, Adilot poured some water from a nearby jug and dampened his sleeve. Sitting beside the sleeping Mia, he gently wiped the corners of her eyes with his wet sleeve.
“Mm…”
Mia grimaced in annoyance, letting out a small groan, still sound asleep. Adilot couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You’re really confusing…”
Moonlight softly illuminated the two of them.
—
Mia woke up again to the sound of birds chirping. She was in Adilot’s bed, but he was nowhere to be found. The events in front of the prison played out in her mind like a movie.
‘But that wasn’t something a nine-year-old should have had to endure!’
Mia covered her face with her cold hands, then began punching the pillow in frustration.
“Ugh! What on earth was I babbling about!?”
In front of the prison, surrounded by countless knights, she had spoken informally to the emperor like some kind of pet.
How ridiculous must it have been for Adilot to listen to all that…
“Waaah! I sounded like some over-emotional drama queen!”
She remembered the expression Adilot had made. He seemed quite flustered, and yet he hadn’t said a word until Mia had finished crying.
At least he hadn’t shaken off her hand. In the end, he had even handed her a handkerchief without saying anything. But Mia had felt his glances on her the entire way back to the bedroom.
