Chapter 21

While waiting for the Emperor to return, Dianne emptied two full pots of tea and finished an entire book.

When she had hesitantly asked if she might borrow something to read, the chief steward had responded without hesitation:

‘Of course, my lady. If you tell me the title, I will bring it immediately.’

To browse the Emperor’s private library was a rare opportunity. She could have requested a valuable or rare volume. That would have been the sensible thing to do. And yet, the words that came out of her mouth surprised even her.

‘Could you bring me something His Majesty enjoys reading?’

‘Something…His Majesty enjoys?’

‘Yes. I don’t mind the subject matter.’

It was an odd request, and yet the chief steward had neither questioned nor commented further. He simply bowed and disappeared. When he returned, he was carrying a well-worn volume with a faded cover.

‘His Majesty has read this dozens of times.’

When Dianne read the title, her eyebrows rose in surprise.

The book the Emperor treasured was <The History of the Arathos Empire and the Catalos Empire (Years 1-500 of the Continental Calendar)>, written by one of Arathos’s most esteemed scholars. Dianne had always been interested in history, but as someone from Catalos, she’d never had reason to read a version written by the other side. After all, a nation’s history was typically best read through the eyes of its own people.

But the Emperor had deliberately chosen a book written by an Arathosian, and Dianne had a sense of why. She opened it carefully, feeling as though she were glimpsing into his mind.

‘I’m glad I know the Arathos language.’

The knowledge she had painstakingly acquired proved useful for more than just putting a rude noblewoman in her place.

Dianne quickly became absorbed in the book, so much so that she didn’t even notice when the Emperor entered the drawing room.

He looked a little tired, but when he saw the book in her hands, he showed no sign of surprise. Accepting her greeting with a nod, he said,

“I wouldn’t have thought it was a particularly entertaining book.”

Dianne shook her head.

“It felt fresh, seeing the same history from an Arathosian’s point of view.”

“It was a gift from the old priest who tutored me. His final lesson, he said. He gave me this book, and to Ravellan Arathos, he gave <The Great Catalos Empire and Arathos: 500 Years of History> by Romers.”

He had given the Catalos crown prince an Arathosian perspective, and the Arathos crown prince a Catalos one. Dianne couldn’t help but ask, curiosity winning over caution.

“Where is that priest now?”

“He’s passed.”

Dianne lowered her head. She regretted asking.

“I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need for that face. He was already quite old when I first met him. He spent his life traveling between the universities and monasteries of the continent, choosing not to serve either empire. He passed peacefully.”

If he had been a man worthy of mentoring both empires’ heirs, Dianne was sure she must’ve heard of him before. But pressing further seemed discourteous.

The Emperor had already shared a remarkable amount with her. More than she had ever imagined he would. Still, surely he had his boundaries, and Dianne feared crossing them, even by accident.

As he took the cloak the chief steward handed him and began slipping it on himself, he spoke again.

“We should go. I imagine you’ll want to sleep at some point tonight, Miss Ortenza.”

“Yes… Thank you for going through the trouble of accompanying me.”

He smiled faintly.

“I’m enjoying it. It feels like going on an adventure. And if I can catch a glimpse of Lira’s face, even from afar, that would be even better.

“When was the last time you saw Her Highness?”

A faint crease formed on his smooth forehead. The Emperor seemed to search his memory for a long moment before sighing quietly.

“I believe it was at Edric Reussen’s funeral.”

“Ah…”

That meant the Emperor hadn’t seen his only sister’s face in over half a year, since the previous year.

He spoke again, almost as if offering an excuse.

“No one but me has the authority to compel her. And I have no desire to force Lira into anything. So, this is where we are.”

“I understand…”

“All those royal lessons were useless. I am an emperor who cannot even persuade his own sister.”

Dianne bowed her head, humbled by the gesture.

It was unthinkable, an emperor belittling himself. Dianne had no idea why she had been granted the privilege of seeing this vulnerable side of him.

‘I’m just a governess, nothing more.’

An incompetent one who hadn’t even managed to teach a single lesson yet. Still, if she could face Princess Elphenlira and reach her, perhaps tonight would mark the end of that disgrace.

Squaring her shoulders, Dianne followed the Emperor out of the drawing room with steady steps. Come to think of it, roaming the palace at midnight with the Emperor at her side wasn’t so bad. There was no safer place than by his side, and no one else in the empire could open as many doors as he could.

If one of those doors happened to be the one that led to the Princess’s heart, then perhaps, it would all be worth it.