Chapter 141: Chapter 141 Don’t come to the Raney Forest (6)
“You must go then. I will escort you to Kingsbray Palace. The captain ordered me to protect you,” Pascal said with a meaningful smile.
Pretending not to have noticed it, she put her hand lightly on his hand.
As always, the emperor welcomed Wendy with some exaggerated words and actions.
She discovered something strange in him, which she had not noticed in the past. It was a sign of anguish and trouble on his face. There was a sign of unbearable pain on his face, which had always been bright like a young boy.
“I hear you were in big trouble,” said Emperor Isaac, clicking his tongue.
She lightly replied, “Oh, it wasn’t something you should worry about.”
“By the way, I have something to ask you.”
“Yes, please go ahead.”
“… Can you grow Montrapi? ”
She stared into his face without replying. Despite her disgraceful attitude, the emperor gave only a deep sigh without pointing it out.
“I’ve heard that the blight and damages by insects usually take place after the Montrapi flowers bloom. They had similar damages from the southern end to Jopiern. Botanists found the cause of the damages in the flowers of Montrapi. According to them, the insects suck up all the essence produced by the flowers, so the flowers dry out and do not form grains at all…So, don’t you think you can solve the problem after the flowers fall?”
“… I am not sure what you are trying to say. ”
“I wonder if you can grow Montrapi flowers with grains.”
“Of course I can, but I’m asking you what’s the point of growing such flowers.”
“Oh, what I mean is I wonder if you can grow Montrapi enough to appease the farmers seizing the capital.”
“… ” She did not hide her embarrassment. Although he sensed it, he persuaded her once again, “Could you help me as much as you can? I won’t forget your help.”
“I don’t know how. It’s beyond my ability to grow Montrapi enough to appease the riot farmers. Even if I use the power of my index finger for 100 days, I won’t be able to fill their needs.
Even if I put my finger on the soil until it’s bruised, I won’t be able to grow Montrapi as much as you want,” she said resolutely.
She couldn’t do it even if he tried to appease and persuade her. A ray of hope that emerged in his brown eyes quickly faded. He pressed his forehead with his hand as if he was tired.
Watching him quietly, she opened his mouth with a sigh.
“Are you playing these days? ”
He looked at her in embarrassment, when she mentioned his playing all of a sudden.
“I mean the violin.”
“… How can I play the violin? My violins were all burned.”
The recent fire in Cheddar Palace burned the few violins he had kept. As the palace was burnt, he no longer played the violin, whether he wanted it or not.
“If you want, you can get a good violin, right?”
“Nope. You need some conditions to obtain a good violin. Namely a great violin craftsman and great instrument materials. It’s not easy to meet these conditions,” he said, standing up from his seat. Obviously he was displeased with her talking about the violin.
She remembered his lively and dynamic attitude at Jerus Hall when he was the crown prince, which was quite different from his helpless and subdued attitude now.
If Isaac had something he couldn’t give up besides the throne, it would be the violin.
“Try playing the violin again.”
She felt sorry for that, so she advised him to resume playing.
She stood up and approached the emperor, who was deeply devastated.
He didn’t ignore her advice or get upset with her, but just looked into her green eyes up close.
“Well, that’s good. Anyway, my late father didn’t like it. Don’t you think I should keep dignity as the emperor? ” He said, with a smile.
She felt pitiful, discerning his disguised feelings, because she felt his strange behavior as well as his dreams and aspirations as a young politician all seemed to have disappeared. She knew it was rude to think so, but that’s what she felt. But she didn’t have the gift of gab, nor she had the knack of understanding his troubled heart well. Comforting him hastily was not worth any try from the beginning. So, she no longer spoke pretentiously and remained silent.
“I’m sorry if I have disturbed you with an absurd topic… I did not forget the oath of the day when the palace collapsed. Don’t worry.”
“I am sorry I can’t help you.”
She was about to part with him after exchanging routine pleasantries. A royal guard hastily came to the emperor with an urgent message. As the emperor okayed, he came inside.
“What’s the matter?”
“Your Majesty! The western gate of Borams was taken over by the mob!”
He used the expression ‘the mob.’
In fact, he was referring to the farmers who gathered in the capital. The peasants who used to be good were now called the mob. She curled up at the threatening implication of the word.
“… Any casualties? ”
“We have no updates on the injuries of the knights yet.”
The emperor frowned at his reply, saying, “No, I’m not just talking about the knights. You have to report about any injured peasants, too.”
“I hear there were many injured among the peasants. However, no deaths have been reported. ”
“… Is Sir Schroder still on the eastern tower of Aluso? ”
“I hear that as soon as the riot broke out, he headed to Borams.”
“… Send him my message. Avoid armed conflict with the peasants and try to ensure their safety. Let me send doctors there to treat the wounded peasants.”
When the guard bowed out, the emperor called in the chief imperial doctor and asked him to dispatch some doctors to Borams.
“… It would be a lot easier if we were to suppress them by force. Why did you tell Sir Schroder to avoid armed conflict? ” She asked.
The emperor stopped sweeping his haggard chin and stared at her. He was apparently disappointed.
“I don’t think you are asking that because you want it. They are my people, too, even if they committed the crime.”
“… You might have to see the wounded among the knights if something goes wrong.”
“If the clashes were severe enough to cause injuries among the knights, there would be deaths among farmers. My knights are excellent. For a long time, they have been trained to cope with this situation. I believe that they will carry out the mission while obeying my order.”
She looked at his face silently, who sometimes seemed to be infinitely weak, but suddenly appeared strong. After adjusting his collars for a moment, he opened his mouth again.
“Isn’t it funny that I am saying this? You know I once promoted you as a shield to protect myself. At that time, I had the power to put your life at risk. What should I do? I’m such a contradictory person…I can’t sacrifice my people.” Isaac looked at her bitterly.
She couldn’t do anything to make him feel a acute sense of guilt as long as she could not shake off her bad feelings about him, so she didn’t say anything. If he were conceited and acted rudely, she would respond correspondingly. But she didn’t want to harass him when he confessed his own contradictions.
“I promised to improve the difficult lives of the commoners, so if I took their lives because they went out to the streets to protest, I would lose my legitimacy. ”
The emperor spoke with a heavy heart, looking at the portraits of the former emperors hanging on the wall. He continued, as if her silence made him more comfortable. Obviously, what he needed at this moment was neither comfort nor condemnation.
“…As for the bill I proposed, do you know why I want it so much? Do you know why I’ve been obsessed with it for so long. ”
He asked, but she knew he didn’t ask to hear her reply. She just listened to him.
“I won’t say I loved more than any other emperor these innocent commoners. Everybody would ridicule me if I said so. I just had no other choice but to love them…I was just one of them, and they were like me as a human being. They were my mothers and sisters.”
In the tense atmosphere there was heard the sound of a horse’s hoof on a well-paved road. Lard, who turned his head to the sound, soon received a messenger from the emperor. The messenger delivered the emperor’s command to him.
“…Got it. Go back and help the emperor.”
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