47
He remembered the diamond you sent him. That diamond which, when he and Seraphina entered the diamond storehouse, had captured his attention for a long time.
Since he had overheard the ministers' conversation, Cloyce had been thinking all day about what gift he should send.
He thought about her while working, during his tea break, while reading a book, and even right before bed.
At first, he intended the gift to be merely an official duty, nothing more.
After all, she was the child he had chosen himself to come here. He may not be able to take care of her very carefully in every little thing, but shouldn't he, at least, provide her with what is essential?
Perhaps if his Minister of the Interior had been assigned this task, he would have handled the matter with the same competence with which he chose her guardian.
“But...”
The image of that little girl handing him the handkerchief kept dancing before his eyes.
If she had just been a character whose face he had never seen, things would have been different. But the idea that she knew him as “Xian Ruochen” made him unable to send a trivial or passing gift.
“Then I owe her a return for that handkerchief.”
He felt that returning the handkerchief alone without anything to accompany it would be inappropriate behavior. As soon as he decided to give her something as a gift, the worries continued.
“A permanent ink pen? Everyone seems to give away things like this.”
Since he made the decision to give a gift, he wanted it to be special and precious. Obtaining something valuable was not a problem in itself.
“But to give her what others give? I don’t like that.”
Consider giving her clothes or jewelry. But he realized that he knew nothing about these matters.
What is her clothing size? How big are her feet? Which colors do you prefer? What kind of jewelry does she like?
In fact, in his entire life, he had never bought or even seen items belonging to children.
“If I send something and she doesn’t like it, that will be disappointing.”
So, wouldn't it be better if he took her shopping and let her choose for herself?
“But, how can I go with her?”
He decided not to meet Ephebe Alden again. Rather, it should be so. He unintentionally lied to her, claiming to be a professor.
He could not have said to her at that moment: “I am the Emperor, and now you are breaking into the tomb of the Empress and Princess without permission.”
Even if he said that, there wouldn't be a problem, but… he didn't want to startle her.
Anyway, that little girl saw him. You may have heard about the Guardian Gift and are eagerly awaiting it.
“At least, I hope it will be a joyful memory, as much as the other children are.”
If she received the gift, wouldn't she think that the professor she met once was a good person?
This alone is enough, and he does not aspire to more than that.
But the problem was that he could not make up his mind about the gift. Everything he thought about didn't seem perfect.
“At the very least, I want to send something as much as, or more than, what other ministers are sending.”
If he didn't send anything, no one would notice. But since he was sending a gift for the first and perhaps the last time, he wanted it to be something durable, long-lasting, and of value.
“But, what exactly is it?”
Cloyce continued to suffer from this unanswered question, thinking about it all day until his head nearly exploded.
Perhaps it was clearly visible, others noticed it.
"Your Majesty, are you okay? You've seemed distracted all day, and it's worrying me. Is something bothering you? Do you want me to call a doctor?"
The Minister of State spoke to him cautiously, his face reflecting deep concern. And he was justified in doing so.
Clouis, who was never negligent in meetings related to state affairs, no matter how tired or exhausted he was, today seemed clearly distracted, immersed in deep thoughts.
It didn't stop there. Some saw him suddenly smile to himself, then frown and mutter: “No, that doesn’t seem right.”
This sight astonished the ministers, as Clouis was always that man with an expressionless face, showing nothing but anger, contempt, or intense boredom.
How can he smile? That's why the Minister of State rushed to ask about his health.
“No, it's not like that.”
It was only after hearing the minister's anxious words that Cloyce realized that he had spent the whole day thinking about Effie's gift.
Since his accession to the throne, he had never been preoccupied with such a trivial matter. He had never thought about one issue for such a long time.
This was not a normal situation. However, even after realizing this, he did not want to delegate this task to anyone else.
He continued for days thinking about the gift, until when he returned to his bedroom, he kept thinking. Then, as he turned off the light to sleep, the room suddenly became dark, and he remembered what Seraphina had told him a few days before.
That night, Evie is found in the museum room where portraits are hung. It was well past dusk.
How long did that little girl spend alone in that dark and cold place, shivering?
“She must have been scared.”
He wondered, worriedly, if she was still suffering from that incident. If so, it must be difficult for her to sleep every night... If she had a lamp or something like that next to her...
At that moment, Cloyce suddenly got up from his bed and went out.
He was followed by the astonished servant who was standing outside. Cloyce walked confidently towards the diamond store.
His sudden appearance startled the guards, who stood stiffly in salute. He greeted them with a quick nod and entered.
As soon as he entered, he found what he was looking for: a diamond that only had the ability to emit a faint light and a slight warmth, with no other powers.
The next morning, he ordered it to be carefully refinished, so that it would be completely safe for a little girl to hold. Then he ordered it to be wrapped and sent.
He couldn't hide his satisfaction.
“With that, it should be a decent guardian gift.”
Little did he know that it was not only a decent gift, but something that would amaze everyone.
That diamond, which reminded him of fleeting memories of Lillian, he had no regrets in sending to someone else.
Instead of lying abandoned in the warehouse, if it could ease a little girl's fear, that was the best use for it, and that's what Lillian would have thought of as well.
—
**The next day**
The atmosphere in the girls' dormitory was different from usual. Every morning, the students would gather in front of Irene's room to go to class with her.
But today, strangely, there was no one there. This scene confused Evie, who started sneaking glances at Irene.
"What is with you?" Irene asked.
“Well...no one's here...”
“Obvious, right? Izrella probably spent yesterday walking around telling everyone not to come to me first.”
Irene shrugged as if it were self-evident. This action of Irene made Evie feel relieved.
“If you were sorry that things had to come to this because of me... you would be very sad,” Evie thought privately.
Irene understood what Evie was worried about, so she clapped her shoulder and said:
"Anyway, isn't our first lesson today about mathematics? I changed my teacher to Professor Mallis, so let's go together. But before that, let's have breakfast. Whoa, I'm so hungry!"
Perhaps because she sensed Evie's anxiety, Irene deliberately raised her voice and extended her hand to her. Evie held out her hand and smiled excitedly:
“Yes, let's go!”
—
Professor Mallis walked quickly towards his classroom. He deliberately chose that hall to disturb the students, as it was a quick ten-minute walk from the main building.
“Seraphina, that trickster! She said she would check it out!”
Seraphina told him that there were no halls available, and that getting a new hall would be difficult.
“Can’t the dean secure something like this?”
“Since she is the dean, shouldn’t he abide by the rules?”
Despite his anger, he couldn't create a hall out of thin air. Then, with her evasive look, Seraphina said:
“But… there are no classrooms, but there is a master professor’s office available. By chance, there is only one left. If you apply, sir, you might get it...”
“Major Professor? Doesn’t this position mean staying in it for years without resigning?”
“Didn’t you say you would keep working anyway? Then why don’t you apply and get a good hall?”
Seraphina was not wrong.
“If I were to work until Evie graduates...”
A few more years wouldn't be bad if he applied. But he felt that being associated with the institute in this way was like falling into Seraphina's trap. So he said he would think more and came back.
When he entered the corridor, he felt movement inside the hall.
“What a diligent student!”
He was sure Evie had arrived early. Mallis opened the door, but he heard the voice of a student other than Evie:
"The hall is too far away, isn't it? What if we change to another math teacher?"
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