Daughter of the Emperor

“Was it you? Were you the one who caused my daughter to cry so ferociously.”

Even though he was my dad, when he came to visit which was quite frequent, I often clicked my tongue thinking how good looking this bastard was. However, that place was my room and the only one to compare him to was Serira, so I was like yeah. That’s why I reacted that way…

“Why is there no answer?”

However, I never knew his frivolous attitude with that faint smile on the edge of his lips made him shine so much. Ah, so shiny. When he gave me that frivolous face before I had always wanted to hit him. I didn’t know if it was because his arrow was pointed the other way, but today his figure looked appropriately desirable.

The princess was shivering pitifully. Just glancing at her physical state, one could tell how much she was shaking. She was only in her mid-twenties. Did I just cried for nothing and summoned a demon? I regretted it a bit.

See, why did he have to hold me! Who told him to hold me!

It was such an uncomfortable situation, I felt quite peculiar. At that moment the princess lowered her head.

“I just held her, that’s all”

Her voice was already breaking due to the fear running down her spine. Usually, when such a delicate lady spoke while shivering, it would cause a person’s heart to be moved, and their sympathy would prevail even if they had none, but my father is an exception, or perhaps, he’s just not a man, he was too spoiled with all the women he has, but his face showed blatantly that he didn’t pity her at all.

“With whose permission?”

Caitel gaze was cold as he cut her off.

Instead of being dunked in cold water like before, the atmosphere was now in a snowstorm in Siberia. I never knew a person could look at another human being with such cold eyes until now.

“With what right did you hold my princess?”

Ah, um… you were just calling me your daughter, why was it princess all a sudden?

No. This isn’t the problem right now.

Because for a moment, I broke out in cold sweat.

Ah, goosebumps.

It was such a strong killing intent that if I had been a normal baby, I would have felt my life in danger and burst out crying. Seriously, this man is a ticking bomb. I think It was a hundred times better when he was just sneering at people with his usual twisted smile.

His current expression was not the usual one he was showing when it was just the two of us. Both expressions were unreadable, but this was the first time I felt this much horror at not being able to see any expression in a human face. I didn’t know what he was thinking. I didn’t know what he was feeling.

There was a feeling of something crawling slowly on my skin.

I couldn’t take it anymore, I whimpered at the sight of him.

Serira, save me! Even if this guy’s my father this was not right!

As soon as I let out a sound, Caitel lowered his sight to look at me. As soon as he did, I tried to straighten out my scrunched up face.

Would he really kill a three-month-old baby for scrunching her face?

…yes he would definitely do so.

Uncertainty had always taken people. This was not an uncertainty since it seemed like he would definitely kill me! I lowered my eyes without making a fuss.

Then suddenly he laughed.

“This is the first time I held my own daughter.”

His eyes gently turned into the shape of a crescent moon. His smile was as attractive as a masterpiece painted by an artist. The Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa with a mysterious smile, and through many generations, it had caught the hearts of all people on Earth. Therefore, this man’s smile right in front of me could also mesmerize everyone in this world. I heard too much beauty was poison.

So this saying was for him. I wailed inwardly.

The pale princess Faylene apparently had already crossed the river of no return. Her face had always been pale, but now all of the blood had left her face I thought she’s an A4 paper. Her lips that were like red rose petals turned purple.

“Was it five thousand gold?”

Why are you suddenly asking about gold, father?

I thought it was so random when I heard a sigh.

Huh?

I slowly turn my head and saw Serira standing still clasping her hands. Nanny was also pale, but not as much as the princess. She was barely staying in her place. Of course, the cause of all this, Ellien, was playing dead, standing still with her head bowed down.

She was a serious troublemaker.

“For the price of your body?”

With his chin lifted and a with a gaze similar to that of a man looking at bugs, he looked down on her. The look he gave her was full of contempt and disgust. His eyes were cold enough to freeze a heart, and his face was no longer blank, but it held a bright smile. That gentle smile he gave pushed the recipient further into a comer.

Ah, I really hate it.

I already knew he was the king of the heavens and a lone tyrant, but I have never, until now, met someone who could shamelessly display this attitude right in front of someone’s face. Of course, I included my past life too. I could not describe it simply with words. He was so arrogant, cocky, and imperious that it was impossible to express properly.

Was I this inarticulate? I need to study more about the use of language and learn to be a lot more articulate since I couldn’t even express this feeling with my own words.

“There’s no answer.”

Caitel said lazily as he caressed my cheek with a hand as if he was stroking a cat.

That’s called talking to oneself. No, he’s not talking to himself… .but rather, he was urging her to give a reply.

“It was twenty, twenty-five thousand.”

She wasn’t an idiot who couldn’t understand what he meant, so she fearfully made herself busy by answering him.

“The dowry payment was twenty-five thousand for my sister and me.”

She had a sister. Oh no. What to do? She was so pitiful.

Now I wanted to cry for another reason. I couldn’t even cry when I wanted to! Just by crying at the wrong moment, what kind of great case was this that I caused?

The way this is going, I will set a record for killing a foreign princess in my infancy.

Ah, father, father, please have mercy.

Of course, he would probably be like “What is mercy?”. He’s that kind of guy. Even though I knew it would happen, I couldn’t help myself from begging. I hated that woman, but I didn’t hate her to the point of wanting to kill her! What kind of person would kill someone he disliked?

“Ferdel”

A moment of silence passed when a fresh voice responded from behind.

“Yes, your highness.”

Wait, stop. Ferdel?

For some reason, his name sounded familiar. His voice seemed really familiar too. I felt like I heard it before. I didn’t know if it was because there were few voices I heard since my birth, but I could immediately recall his voice.

Ah! He was the man who followed Caitel like a stalker. He seemed like a person of high status. What kind of man was he?

“Tell the Emperor of Praezia I will send another twenty-five thousand.”

At the word Praezia, everybody held their breath.

What emperor? I was quite taken back there was another emperor other than Caitel. So this empire was not the only empire, and what were you saying, dear father?

“Your daughter has broken the Agrigiant laws, so she will be executed.”

In the back, I heard the short gasps of people as if they were taking a dump. I guess they were troubled.

“…on what charge?”

At the lingering question, he looked back, no, actually, he turned his body back.

“Lèse-majesté.”

An execution just for making a baby cry? Wow, just look at this crazy bastard.

“Majesty! Your Majesty!”

“Put her in confinement for now.”

He didn’t even spare a glance at the sorrowful cries coming from the back. Ah, what a seriously pitiful sight.

The emperor’s entourage’s only job seemed only to throw people who offended him in jail or to kill them on the spot. So was this what a tyrant looked like? Was this the face of the dignity of a tyrant?

Steam it and eat it all.

Could I grow up safely under a guy like this? As if I had been hit by a wave when I was treading water, I was swept up in regret and became lost in thought by myself. I was furrowing my eyebrows, not minding my surroundings, when the emperor entered the largest garden in the royal palace and towards the empire’s symbol, the winter tree.

What is it, Emperor, do you want to take me for a walk?

Ah, but the torso she pinched was seriously hurting me. Was this bruised?

“She grew a lot”

“She is in her growth spurt. She’s at the age where she will have changes by the day.”

That was all he was saying as he lightly carried me.

Hey! I was a three months old newborn baby. It was natural for me to grow at this pace. Could you seriously take a parenting class? Was there graduation for a regular class?

“I haven’t seen her for just a week.”

Has it really been that long? I tilted my head. It had been quite a while since I saw your face, quite a bit of time had passed. No, it was because it actually felt like a month.

Caitel wasn’t the emperor for nothing, after all. In the first month, I was thinking this bastard didn’t work, and he only insisted to everyone that he was an emperor, but later that month, his visits lessened, and it was harder to see him.

I felt a bit, and only a bit, sorry for him, so I gave him a big smile.

Look at this, my million dollar smile!

“Heavy.”

You bastard? You, that’s insulting to a lady!

“How mysterious, a small life form that I could just kill with one hand grew bigger.”

He doesn’t look like the type of person who would talk to himself, but for some reason, only when he was with me, this crazy guy seemed to have a lot to say to himself. I must be mistaken. Yeah. Definitely.

It had been uncertain to say that he’s talking to me…..

“Like a bug”

Crazy bastard. For a moment I was so taken aback, my mouth dropped open.

Wow. Crazy. What did you say? Do I have to live like this while getting insulted? Do I?!

…Ah. Of course, I did. I had to live like this. Yes, I had to live like this. What could I do?

I’m so hurt. I was so frustrated, tears started to come out.

Yet I couldn’t cry. Ah. I feel even more frustrated. You’re dead to me. You’re not my dad. To tell his own daughter that she’s like a bug was too much.

I wasn’t the only one hurt by what he said. No, actually I was the only one hurt by this, the others were just simply surprised, especially Serira…

“Your Majesty, your expression is a bit…”

“What?”

Was your name Ferdel? You are quite an upright kid. That’s right, keep that form! Keep walking!

Tank! Show off your skills! Ferdel who received a mouthful of my cheers showed a disturbed expression and continued speaking his mind.

“To say she is like a bug. She is a princess.”

At Ferdel’s words, Caitel looked at me for a moment, then he thought for a bit.

Huh? Do you want to fight with our eyes? Huh?

“She a weak life form who can die with the lift of a finger. So how should I describe it?”

…Does that mean you could kill me off with a finger, dear father? I deeply apologize. This lowly daughter of yours was not well learned and somehow had committed a great offense against you for saying all that nonsense.

Please spare my life.

“…flower?”

“Relearn poetry.”

In this way, Ferdel was completely defeated.

To tell someone to relearn poetry, he’s the one who should take a child development class! Hurry and apply for classes! Right now! You really needed to learn more about babies.

Yet like always, I couldn’t talk, and my wishes were ignored.

“Are you seriously going to kill her? To kill someone just for making a baby cry is a bit harsh. She is a princess sent over as a peace offering from the emperor of Praezia.”

After being picked up and held by him, I had no choice but to be in Caitel’s arms, but for a second, our eyes met. The red eyes glowed from the sunlight and the setting sun right in front of my nose. Normally, I would sit there and ask what he was looking at…

Ah, I know. I am so cowardly. I laughed cheerfully and gave him a bright smile.

Papa, I can’t die now.

Looking at my smile, he laughed.

Dude, you liked it when your daughter smile at you, huh?

After laughing, he started to pet my hair and turn to face Ferdel.

“My princess doesn’t cry easily.”

Yup, that is correct.

“And…”

Huh? Is there more?

I perked my ears up. What would you say? I forgot to swallow back my spit and held my face up to Caitel and stared at his red lips while he held me. At exactly that moment, he look down at me.

“I am the only one allowed to make my daughter cry.”

…Hey! This perverted bastard!