Chapter 9: 8

“Greetings to the pinnacle of the noblest blood. May the blessings of nature be with you.”

“Come in.”

A voice immediately rang out as if having waited for Renato’s greeting. The Emperor, Tristan, who was leaning against the head of the bed with the chamberlain’s help, raised his hand and gestured for Renato to come closer.

“I heard that you shared the final moments together with the Imperial Consort. Thank you.”

Tristan thanked Renato as soon as he sat down. His emerald-colored eyes, cloudy like jewels covered with bubbles, gleamed with tears.

“If it wasn’t for you, Trudy would have been alone there. Thank you so much, thank you……”

A hoarse voice came out from his white, blistered lips. Renato faintly smiled when Tristan thanked him again and again.

“I just did what I of course had to do. And above all, I have received a lot of favor from Her Highness.”

“Favor…… Come to think of it, you and Ludmilla had a really good relationship.”

Cough, Tristan let out a dry cough, perhaps because it was difficult for him to even say a few words, and recalled the past. About 10 years ago, when she was having a hard time adjusting to palace life, Ludmilla took an instant liking to Renato whom she met by chance.

‘Your Majesty, may I become close with His Imperial Highness?’

Tristan accepted Ludmilla’s request to interact with Renato. Because he thought it was a good opportunity for both of them.

The reason was that, while Ludmilla was ostracized because she was a stranger, Renato was ostracized because he was a Beta.

Fortunately, the two quickly became close. Ludmilla was no longer lonely, and Renato also followed her well because she was kind to him.

‘His Imperial Highness wasn’t born as a Beta because of his own will, but…… everyone is too harsh! I’m disappointed with you too, Your Majesty! How could you be like that as a father?!’

When she came to know about Renato’s story, Ludmilla burst into tears. And Tristan realized his fault only after receiving harsh criticism from her.

Of course, he didn’t abuse Renato as Blanche did. He was disappointed because the child was a Beta, but since Renato was his child, he tried to take responsibility as a parent.

However, Tristan was the Emperor of the Empire, and he was very busy. Because of his expeditions, he usually left the palace.

Because of that, he only occasionally took care of Renato through the chamberlain. And with that, he defended himself as a better person than the Empress. When he heard Ludmilla’s words, Tristan became unbearably ashamed.

‘I’m really sorry for all this time. I know it’s a shameless thing to ask now, but will you forgive this foolish father?’

Tristan accepted Ludmilla’s advice to correct his mistakes even if it was late and apologized to Renato.

The child, not knowing what to do with his sudden apology, quickly nodded his head slightly with a face holding back tears. From that day on, Renato called Tristan ‘Imperial Father’, not ‘Your Majesty’.

Although their reconciliation was achieved after many twists and turns, a rift of 10 years was not easily fixed. The two maintained an awkward relationship.

There was no dramatic improvement in the environment surrounding Renato. On the contrary, it had become worse than before. It was because of Blanche and Marquis Medus’ hindrance since they feared that their influence on Renato would diminish.

‘I hope that His Imperial Highness will be happy.’

Ludmilla couldn’t help but feel sorry for Renato’s situation when it was not getting better. But she couldn’t do much.

All she could do was hug and embrace the child who had been hurt by his mother’s coldness and neglect.

‘It would have been great if His Imperial Highness was really my son……’

Ludmilla became attached to Renato and treated the child like her own. Even after Trudy was born, her attitude remained the same. Trudy also followed Renato as an older brother.

Seeing three people with a good relationship, Tristan felt relieved. He had hope that if it went on like this, maybe someday there would be a way.

But Tristan’s hope was soon shattered. Tristan himself was seriously wounded on the battlefield and suffered from the aftereffects, while Ludmilla also collapsed from an unknown disease.

“How is your body?”

“Hmm? Ah…… It’s still the same. But I feel a little better today. Yesterday it was hard to even control my body.”

When Renato asked about his condition, Tristan slowly blinked and pulled himself out of the old memories.

“I always feel sorry for you, Renato. If my body hadn’t been like this, the Empress and Marquis Medus wouldn’t have been as unruly as they are now.”

Tristan blamed himself with a gloomy expression. The palace doctors warned him that the more he felt depressed, the worse his condition would become, but he couldn’t stop blaming himself.

A few years ago, when Tristan rushed on an expedition to assist Margrave Lianhardt who guarded the eastern border, he was unexpectedly attacked and seriously wounded.

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His wound was so severe that an ordinary person would have died right on the spot, but Tristan survived thanks to the body blessed by the Fairy King. However, a terrible aftereffect remained, and he could never hold a sword again.

For Tristan, a knight by nature, not being able to hold the sword any longer was like a death sentence. Unable to accept the change in his body, he suffered from severe depression.

As his mind collapsed, his recovery was also slow. No, it became worse. Tristan could not get out of his sickbed even as years passed by.

Even the Fairy’s Tears, the imperial elixir, could not heal a mental illness. Maybe because of the ingredients, the medicine originally didn’t have much of an effect on the imperial family members.

To make matters worse, even Ludmilla was declared to not have much time left. Tristan’s body was completely devoured by a mental illness and successive shocks.

“You will be able to recover soon. No, you have to recover. You have to be healthy again, for Trudy as well.”

“Yes, I should.”

Tristan helplessly nodded his head. Then, with his upper teeth, he bit his lower lip which was covered with white dead skin, perhaps because his emotions were surging up. Renato quietly waited for Tristan to settle his emotions.

“……I have something to tell you, Imperial Father.”

Seeing that Tristan had calmed down to some extent after a while, Renato opened his mouth with a determined expression.

“To me? What is it?”

“Before Ludmilla-nim passed away, she left a separate will to me.”

“What? The Imperial Consort did so?”

Tristan’s eyes widened when hearing his unexpected words. Forgetting that his body was aching, the man raised his upper body.

“What did she leave behind for you?”

“She…… asked me to protect Trudy.”

Ah. A sigh leaked out from Tristan’s mouth when he heard about the arduous will left to Renato. Focus disappeared from the man’s flickering eyes, and strength drained out from his stiff shoulders.

“I see, so Ludmilla told you so……”

Tristan muttered with a blank expression as if he was out of his mind, then closed his mouth. His contorted eyes became wet.

‘I entrust Trudy to you. Please protect that child.’

Recalling Ludmilla’s will, Renato clenched the fist on his thigh. Even though it had already been 6 years, it felt as vivid as yesterday.

Don’t cry, what rights do you have to even cry?

Renato took a deep breath in, lashed out at himself, and exhaled. An incompetent coward like him did not deserve to cry.

“I want to keep Ludmilla-nim’s will at all costs. To do that, I need your help, Imperial Father.”

“……Helping Trudy also means that you will have to take down the Empress in the future. Are you still saying this despite knowing that?”

“Of course. Otherwise, I will not be able to protect Trudy. I already made up my mind.”

The moment Tristan met Renato’s unwavering lavender-colored eyes, he realized that Renato’s determination was firm. He really intended to confront the Empress and Marquis Medus.

When the adult himself struggled with sadness and despair, the child, who had just become an adult, decided the direction he would take and was prepared to even abandon one of his parents.

In a moment, Tristan felt a terrible sense of shame. He wondered what he had been doing when Renato made his decision.

“I know that you cannot fully believe my words, no, you cannot fully believe me, Imperial Father. The blood of the Medus family also runs through my body. Until now, I have never properly disobeyed His Majesty the Empress, and I have only been swayed around……”

As Renato continued to speak, Tristan’s face darkened. It was also his fault that Renato could not escape from Blanche.

Over the past few years, the noble faction, including Marquis Medus, had taken advantage of Tristan’s bedridden time and rapidly grown in strength. Accordingly, Blanche’s influence within the Imperial Palace also increased.

As a result, Renato was oppressed by Blanche and Marquis Medus and forced to live as they wished. Unable to stand the rush of guilt, Tristan lowered his head.

He was a foolish father who didn’t take care of Renato in time, and couldn’t properly protect his child even after realizing his fault.

“In reality, it is difficult for me to get away from His Majesty the Empress right now. That’s why I need Imperial Father’s power. Can you trust me and help me just once?”

Renato earnestly appealed to Tristan, hoping that he would understand his sincerity. But Tristan didn’t answer right away.

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