Chapter 35

“I did not lie.”

“Then, are you saying that I’ve lied?”

Unable to bring herself to ask him to please shut his mouth since it was true, Roselina just broke out in a cold sweat.

“I would never deceive Her Majesty the Empress would never deceive me! Right, Your Majesty?”

“….”

Roselina used to tell Gerard that in this cutthroat palace, the only person he could trust was his mother. She told him to never trust anyone else and to only believe in her.

“Your Majesty?”

How could she betray the trust of this child who looked up to her with eyes that held not an ounce of doubt? And so, Roselina made the ‘usual’ unavoidable choice.

“I understand that you want to protect Consort Camilla, but lying is not good. Please tell the truth.”

“Your Majesty. This may be presumptuous, but….”

A hollow laugh escaped Reinhardt’s lips.

“Aren’t you ashamed?”

Having been thoroughly outwitted by a mere child, Roselina’s face contorted as shame bubbled up inside her, just as Reinhardt had said. However, she forced a graceful smile onto her face as if nothing was wrong.

“Why would I be ashamed?”

“If what I said was a lie, how do you explain the fact that I am older than Gerard?”

At those words, doubt flickered across Gerard’s face for the first time. Unable to hide her agitation any longer, Roselina’s voice trembled.

“That’s because… even though I was the first to marry, Consort Camilla was the first to get pregnant.”

“The day I was born was December 1, Imperial Year 173. And the day His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress were married was October 1, Imperial Year 174… About ten months before I was born, Your Majesty was unmarried.”

Realizing that her lie was about to be exposed by Reinhardt’s logic, Roselina glanced at Gerard.

“How can you say such things when your birthday is after the date of His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress’ marriage? You’re trying to trick me with your illogical nonsense. Apologize at once. What is this nonsense?”

Roselina heaved a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it seemed that Gerard’s adorable brain still needed more time to understand Reinhardt’s logical argument.

‘Gerard mustn’t remember this incident when he’s old enough to understand what I said.’

She decided that it would be better to overwrite it with a stronger memory. Roselina ordered him to break off a branch from a tree in the garden.

And then, she pointed it at Reinhardt’s calf and uttered.

“As the mother of the Imperial Family, I have a duty to guide the children on the right path. I will punish you until you tell the truth.”

She then made Reinhardt walk while aiming the branch at his calf and struck him with the rough branch. No matter how mature he was for his age, Reinhardt was still just a child. If he were punished, he would eventually spill the beans.

“I’ve been telling the truth all along, but since you don’t seem to understand, I’ll say it again. My mother did not commit adultery. She was betrayed by His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress.”

Reinhardt spat out those words boldly, his expression unchanged as if his calf didn’t even hurt.

‘Like mother, like son. He’s no pushover either.’

Whack!

The branch struck his calf again. A bruise formed on the child’s soft flesh, but the boy’s face remained unchanged.

Roselina, even more enraged, began to strike Reinhardt’s calf mercilessly.

Ignoring Gerard’s pleas to stop because he was scared, she continued to beat his calf for a long time – until Reinhardt suddenly collapsed.

“Ugh…”

Unable to hold back any longer, he let out a groan and even shed tears.

His face flushed red as if he had a fever, and the boy said, “I… didn’t tell any lies. Doesn’t Your Majesty know that too…”

* * *

A distant memory scattered like mist in Reinhardt’s mind. Reinhardt woke from his sleep, gasping for breath.

“Whew….”

Was it because his strong will to never tell the lie that Roselina wanted him to, no matter what, remained deep within him? Whenever Reinhardt told a lie, he was tormented by the trauma of that time.

If possible, he wanted to avoid lying because he didn’t want to lie, but there were times when it was inevitable.

Today was one of those times.

“What’s wrong, Reinhardt?”

Irovel, who was awakened by Reinhardt’s panting, sat up in bed.

“It’s nothing.”

“Are you sick?”

It was a weakness that was not good to be known to others that he was sick whenever he lied. That was why Reinhardt desperately hid his trauma.

Especially from Irovel.

If she found out that he was sick because of a lie, Irovel would think about that first.

‘Was he lying when he said he didn’t like me?’

And perhaps, she would immediately say this.

“Actually, you like me, don’t you? Let’s get a divorce right away!”

Even imagining it made him feel like the world was collapsing.

So Reinhardt had no choice but to lie again.

“I’m not sick.”

His body, which suddenly knew how to lie, immediately felt uncomfortable. The fever that had just subsided after taking the medicine Jade had given him seemed to be rising again.

“Then, did you have a nightmare? You seemed to be in pain….”

“Not really.”

Reinhardt answered shortly in case he let out a groan. However, Irovel, who didn’t know his circumstances, seemed to have misunderstood something.

“Reinhardt. Do you hate it when I worry about you?”

He got up from the sofa where he had been sleeping and pulled the curtains open. The moonlight that seeped through the window illuminated the bedroom, and Reinhardt looked at Irovel’s face, which he had been trying to avoid.

A pure white face. A round forehead. Amethyst eyes that shone like jewels under the moonlight. The beautiful woman was looking at him with a stiff face.

“I don’t hate it.”

How could he hate it? He was just scared whenever Irovel showed even the slightest interest in him. He was afraid that she would leave him if he showed his heart fluttering with joy.

“But why do you keep avoiding me these days? Are you awkward because you misunderstood that I liked you last time?”

“No.”

“Then why are you doing that?”

“Because I’m worried.”

How should he treat her, who seemed like she would run away if he got any closer?

How could he win her heart if he had to maintain his beauty so that she wouldn’t get tired of him even though she didn’t approach him because she thought he was handsome? What should he do about the fact that it’s hard to give up on her even though it’s something he doesn’t need to worry about?

Swallowing a confession that he couldn’t tell, Reinhardt smiled bitterly.

“What are you worried about?”

“…What if.”

Reinhardt continued carefully.

“there’s a very cute cat that shows off its cute belly by flipping over in front of me but runs away when I try to touch it. What do you think?”

“Oh my. Are you worried about that? Um… I think I’ll be very upset.”

“On top of that, cats are creatures that hate being touched too much, so even if they barely accept my touch, they might find me annoying.”

“That’s too much. If you’re going to be annoying, don’t be cute!”

“That’s why!”

Reinhardt raised his voice without realizing it. Really, before she told him not to seduce her because she would fall for it, why didn’t she look at her own charm?!

That was what he wanted to say.

“How did you put up with it until now? If it were me, I wouldn’t have been able to put up with it and would have grabbed it and scratched its belly.”

“….”

Reinhardt was a little taken aback. He wondered if it was right to keep enduring as he did.

“Even if it ended up avoiding you?”

“I’ll think about what to do later. I can’t help it when I see something lovely.”

What should he do with this hateful and lovely wife? Reinhardt felt his patience running out.

“Is that so?”

Hence, he pushed Irovel onto the bed.

She was surprised by Reinhardt’s sudden action when he got on top of her, kissing her stomach. He could feel her soft skin through her thin slip.

“Reinhardt. What are you doing…”

Smooch.

It was a smaller smooching sound than he thought because it was over her clothes. Reinhardt lifted his face from Irovel’s stomach with regret.

“….”

When he saw her surprised face, he felt refreshed. He smiled with satisfaction like a lion who had eaten its fill.

“It’s a pity it’s not bare skin.”

“…What, what are you saying?!”

“The sound didn’t come out properly.”

“Ah, no…!”

Before he knew it, Irovel’s face was as red as a ripe cherry. She protested, growling.

“Do that to a cat, why are you doing that to me?! It’s like you’re comparing me to a cat, so it makes my heart flutter a little…!”

Since his prediction was correct, it would be nice if she fluttered a lot, not a little. If that excitement continued forever, there would be nothing more he could ask for.

“Don’t do this again! I’m telling you, I misunderstand even actions that don’t mean anything!”

It wasn’t an action that didn’t mean anything. If she just trusted her instincts a little…

Reinhardt replied dully.

“No. Be careful not to misunderstand on your own.”

—