The Emperor Who Was Chapter 72 : Chapter 72

Chapter . 72

Nanette hugged

tightly. But she looked sowhat confused. Nanette had that conversation with her sister and brother-in-law.

Yolande, who approached

quietly, said.

“It was a luxury for . Will it be possible for that child?”

If I eventually fell, those relying on

shared the sa fate. Yolande was right to wish for her young sister to choose a profession that would be valuable even to enemies.

Considering the unstable future, I had eventually neglected that child's survival because she was simply too cute.

“You are right. But I once wished soone had said to

what Nanette heard.”

Maybe even now.

Words that had already beco aningless to

or Yolande. Words I could say to Nanette, but not to Michelon.

However, if people like us could gather our strength and send only our child to a different path. Towards a direction where the future we did not have shines down like sunlight.

Yolande did not speak further and hugged

tightly like a sister.

“Isn't the lovers' play over? You even brought Vincent, so what are you doing as a married woman?”

When Michelon burst in and interfered with a stuffy remark, Yolande, who was just pulling away, hugged

once more.

“What are you doing?”

“This is for Vincent. Since Lord Michelon said n are not supposed to hug, I must do it.”

Michelon glared, but Yolande, looking in a good mood, smiled brightly, waved at him, and left.

Although Yolande did not know Michelon's true identity, she seed sowhat afraid as if she sensed sothing with her intuition, but now she had beco quite close to him.

I do not know what conversation passed between the family mbers after that, but Nanette happily read other books she usually liked while looking at the dical books. She wrote poetry and exercised mimicking Michelon. Always laughing and chatting.

Such a child brought joy to all of us and beca a great strength for Vincent's recovery. However, amidst the joy, I was tense that Desmond might demand the revived Vincent back.

‘Then I must take Vincent instead of the reward the Empress promised .’

If that happened, enemies would suspect that I cared too much about a re mage. But it was enough that I saved Master.

Even if Father officially stated that the mage's loyalty oath was released, they would not be able to make an issue of it.

However, Desmond's reaction missed my expectation.

“My dear brother Leontes has finally fallen into his first love!”

He was busy spreading this fact all over the court, so he did not care about Vincent's fate.

“However, unfortunately, his first love was a mage who cast Charm Magic!”

“Ohhh!”

“Ahhh!”

Then the courtiers surrounded him and chid in like a chorus.

“Even the husband is a mage who was my subordinate!”

“Oh my!”

“Gasp!”

Looking only at his actions, he was no different from a street clown. A clown breathing fire and swallowing it again.

“When the mage couple had a tearful reunion at my quarters, my brother was heartbroken by his first lost love! My heart aches too!”

“Aiiiieee!”

“Whoaaaa!”

So Prince Desmond the rciful ended by praising himself for being considerate enough to let the couple live together by my side, and Vincent naturally beca my person. He liked that he could dump the disposal of a mage who could not use magic anyway onto .

Gaining Vincent ant Yolande no longer needed to be more loyal to Father, so I had effectively gained a mage couple at the sa ti.

‘An unexpected windfall.’

But my enemies did not agree.

First, the First Prince barged in. Together with Duke Grimiati.

“What is all this! What kind of first love is this without the permission of your eldest brother! A first love in our family, even a passing dog would laugh! Everyone will mock that a greenhorn was bewitched by a woman!”

The dog and the cow would be you. Why don't you try barking while lying down too?

“It is not just a disgrace, but a huge disgrace, and on top of that, a heartbreak! My brother is heartbroken!”

My brother jumping up and down was one thing, but Duke Grimiati also had his arms crossed with a look of distinct displeasure.

Both were good to see. Especially when the Duke, who was like a stone statue even when kissing my hand, could not hide his blatant displeasure this ti, I felt proud.

“Are you not always lying down due to the shock of heartbreak too, brother?”

I answered to make him angrier, and it worked imdiately.

“What nonsense! How could I be heartbroken! I scatter heartbreaks as I go, if anything!”

“I thought so because you are always lying down. Or not.”

“This impudent―”

“Ah, First Prince!”

At that mont, Yolande, whom I had told to stay in the room, ca out and pleaded to my brother with her hands clasped.

“Please calm down, Your Highness. I had no choice but to use Charm Magic. It is not Prince Leontes's fault!”

“Do you not even have a Charm Magic detection artifact as a Prince? You wasted the price of holy relics adorning this man and that woman like commoners! I warned you so, but you took Mother's keepsakes claiming they were the cheapest ones with nonsense, and what is this ss! I cannot bear that my brother has beco a laughingstock of the Lauderdale woman's offspring!”

More enraged, my brother, who was coming to grab

by the collar without even glancing at Yolande, suddenly stopped and turned around to look at her.

“Wait, who are you? Seeing that red hair, surely you are not the mage sent by Father, the woman said to be Leontes's first love?”

“It is not first love but―”

Yolande hurriedly denied, but the Duke cut her off.

“That woman is right. She was His Majesty the Emperor's mage, from Eno, nad Yolande. She is presud to be the sister of the apprentice mage Nanette who was at my house, and it is certain she volunteered to co when Prince Leontes took Nanette. The husband is from Jebel, nad Vincent, and was Desmond's mage.”

Duke Grimiati, reciting even the hotowns of the couple that I didn't know, pointed at Yolande with his index finger as if pointing at an adulterous man and woman. As if his hand was itching to strike with a sword. Yolande flinched.

I grabbed that finger pointing at Yolande and twisted it down. Even though I applied force rcilessly, the Duke, who didn't even flinch, smiled.

“Touching

for fear I might kill that woman, your pure love is impressive, Prince.”

Then he placed his other hand, which was not caught by my hand, on my shoulder and said.

“Are you really free from the charm? I will prepare a ritual to clarify that point and prevent you from being caught again, so co with . I believed you would not be used by enemies, but it seems that is not the case.”

“I have no business at your mansion or estate!”

“It is really you!”

But my brother, who received a great shock, interrupted the murderous conversation between the Duke and .

“My brother's first love is... not royalty nor nobility... and not a peerless beauty but a commoner! Mother in heaven!”

Certainly, there was no royal who fell for soone who did not et those three conditions. Since it is hard for a commoner to be more beautiful than a noble who hasn't suffered from labor under the scorching sun, people's expectations were high that if one had a commoner mistress, she would be a rare beauty.

My brother clenched his fist and looked as if he wanted to hit . Resentnt overflowed in those blue eyes.

“What on earth is wrong with you! Even when I thought you had a secret eting with an adulterous couple, I thought you were just cheeky for a young kid, but now you are blind from being starved for love! You should have just had a secret eting with those wretches back then!”

“Whether I like a dog or a cow, what does it matter to you, brother?”

It was a sarcastic remark aning even a commoner mage who cast Charm Magic was better than you, the First Prince, but my brother's ears were blocked and he only heard what he wanted to hear.

“You still haven't co to your senses! Where is he! The man whom Desmond is rumoring all over the Imperial Palace that you were even jealous of as the husband of the woman you fell for!”

With the montum to finish Vincent off, my brother ran to the room Yolande ca out of and threw the door open.

Vincent, whom we had put to deep sleep with a magic potion, opened his eyes at the loud noise, looked at my brother, blinked a few tis, and fell back asleep, drunk on the dicine.

“…That is… an old man…….”

In all his life, my brother would never have made such a frail sound, even as a baby.

Before he was broken because of my brother, he had an ordinary face. He just had white hair and wrinkles early because he suffered too much. Since he was sleeping while sick, he did look a bit like an old man.

The next mont, my brother's hand closed the door. Grimiati and I made eye contact in surprise. My brother is a person who doesn't even open a door with his own hands except when barging into my room.

To think that such a brother knew how to close a door. Reinhard, who failed to close the door before my brother by a hair's breadth, looked as if he had committed a cri.

“…You, were you heartbroken by that old man.”

Although unintentional, it was an opportunity to deal a huge blow to my brother's aesthetic sense. If I missed it, I would be a fool as Michelon said.

“That is exactly right.”

“…Surely not that man. Did you not hide him elsewhere and put up a double? Otherwise, how could you boldly present such a person before Maxim and .”

It was rewarding that even Grimiati was shocked and making wild guesses. As soon as he said that, my brother, who had been speechless for a mont looking only at , burst into anger.

“This is all because of your maternal uncle! Because he raises the child like a monk, he falls for anyone wearing a skirt! Since this happened, it is no wonder the Lauderdale woman's offspring is running wild with excitent! I, your brother, am asking because I am dumbfounded, and you say ‘that is exactly right’ with your eyes wide open without knowing sha!”

It was an absurd venting of anger since neither of them had done anything for my growth. However, unlike Rhiannon, Grimiati had never opposed my brother.

“I humbly admit my fault. Therefore, should I not take the Prince to my estate and guide him to enjoy a more noble life.”

“I opposed it because I was worried about sending that troublemaker far away, but that might be better than being heartbroken here by the Lauderdale woman's offspring's commoner old man.”

“If the Duke and brother retire from politics and go down to the countryside, I welco it. But do not include .”

I spoke firmly, but my brother still did not understand. Instead, he started introducing won who would not offend his aesthetic sense even if I took them as lovers.

“They are all people I have dated once. I guarantee they will never break your heart like that woman.”

“I am not grateful, but since this incident, I have decided not to fall in love until I co of age.”

“Who told you to fall in love? If rumors spread that you were heartbroken by a commoner old man's wife, you should fill your surroundings with noble beauties! Do you not even know that? Do you live alone in the mountains or sothing?”

“You know well there was a ti I wanted to do that because of you!”

The Duke, for his part, said that if I went to his estate, I could have discreet etings even with commoner won. Without needing to be jealous of commoner n.

“If the Prince's taste is not elegant, I must apologize to Her Majesty the Empress.”

“The inelegant thing is your proposal, not .”

My half-brother, for his part, approached with a sly smile.

“Why are Maximilian and Desmond so excited? Being extrely immature, it is a common mistake of those who do not know court romance. First love, indeed; it is rely the fresh fluttering of a heart soft like peach fuzz that occurred briefly during puberty. The true court romance in the Prince's life starts now.”

But Alexander had another grand dream besides arranging his half-brother's court romance debut.

“The ti has co for the two of us to shatter the illusion of the flower of chivalry, Duke Grimiati, whom noblewon cherish like a single blossom in their hearts.”

Breaking Grimiati's pride is always welco, but I did not want to form an alliance with my half-brother even in that regard.

However, what my brothers and even the Duke failed to realize was the reaction of the noblewon.

“It is truly a beautiful thing.”

The noblewon raised their voices in unison.

“Look how generously Prince Leontes treats his lover.”

“It does not matter what kind of partner he loves. We must focus on how pure the favor he bestows upon the partner is.”

“Even if the lover deceived him about having a husband, even if the lover went to another man, isn't a man who willingly forgives and bestows rcy the true man!”

“That is right. Prince Leontes is indeed the real man himself, the model for all n!”