62
When Cloyce realized that he had lost Evie, his thoughts froze in an instant, unable to think. The vision before his eyes blackened, and he felt as if the ground was collapsing beneath his feet into an endless void.
But after a few moments, he woke up to the noise of those around him. He regained consciousness with difficulty and began examining the faces around him.
“Evie?”
He called out relatively loudly, but the answer did not come. His gaze turned to the young children near him.
Even at this modest event, children were happily walking around, holding their parents' hands, laughing innocently.
Cloyce quickly examined the children, holding in his heart the faint hope that Eppie, by some innocent mistake, had taken someone else's hand, mistaking it for him. But, unfortunately, no trace of Ibi appeared among them.
“Did you get lost in the crowd?”
Cloyce remembered a moment earlier, when a noisy group of people had passed between him and Evie before he lost her.
They were many, moving noisily. A little girl like Evie might have been swept away by the currents of the crowd.
“Was this a trend?”
He headed towards where the crowd had rushed, but Evie wasn't there either. The longer she was gone, the more troubled his heart became.
He knew in his mind that he had to calm down and search rationally, but his hands trembled from the horror of the thought of the child's disappearance, and his breath caught in his throat.
A familiar feeling like this had visited him before. He remembered that bitter moment on his way back to the castle where Lillian was, when he met wounded soldiers, crying as they told him that his loved ones were no longer in this world.
“Ah…”
Cloyce put his hand to his mouth, as if trying to suppress the terror sweeping through him. The fear and despair he felt now were similar to that ancient moment.
The feeling of profound defeat came back to tear his soul apart again.
“I have to find her.”
But how? How can he find her? While his mind was wandering in temporary paralysis, a group of people passed by him, laughing.
“I have to stop everything.”
He thought that the Season Festival should be stopped immediately, and the security forces, and even the Imperial Knights, should be called in to search everyone. If any harm comes to Evie in the meantime...
Suddenly, a wave of anger and deep despair swept through him. Feelings that he had suppressed for a long time began to quickly creep into his consciousness.
After becoming emperor, there were moments when he indulged in destructive impulses.
In those days, he saw everyone who laughed as an enemy, and the sounds of laughter turned into annoying screams in his ears.
However, he kept it all secret, striving to be a great emperor whose name would be immortalized in history.
The reason is simple: because that's what Lillian wanted.
When he decided to go to war to protect his family and their peace, Lillian said to him:
“You should become emperor.”
Her words were not motivated by greed, but rather carried certainty, as if she saw the future. But her face was covered with deep sadness.
"Others will oppress and kill people in order to rule. If you want people to live happily, you must be the one who ascends the throne."
Lillian kept telling him to be an emperor, stressing that he must care for the people, understand what they suffer and what they aspire to.
Even his teacher had never demanded that he be a great emperor with such insistence.
Perhaps because of her words, after ascending the throne, Cloues spent himself rebuilding cities and people's lives.
After the war ended, the first thing he ordered was to build hospitals and schools.
In the worst affected areas, send Imperial Knights to provide security and rebuild roads and buildings as quickly as possible.
Unlike the emperors of the past who sought the welfare of the wealthy minority, Cloys devoted his efforts to ensuring a stable and prosperous life for the majority.
His efforts soon bore fruit, and the empire rose from the ruins of the war with amazing speed, until it seemed as if the war had never happened.
Even the kingdoms that were lurking behind the empire abandoned their dreams and submitted.
Most importantly, people's minds have changed. They no longer ignore those who fall hungry in the streets as they did in the past.
They began rushing to help those in need, informing the security forces, and protecting their consciences away from greed. All of this was based on the foundations of stability and luxury provided by Cloyes.
But, although everyone was happy, Cloyce was not happy. There were days when his soul collided with its limits, and dark thoughts crept into his mind:
“I wish they would all die and it would be over.”
Perhaps this tendency of tyranny ran in his blood, inherited from his father and brothers.
He could do whatever he wanted, so who would dare to oppose him after he ascended the throne by force?
However, he was suppressing those uncontrollable desires with all his might, driven by Lilian's voice whispering to him: “After the war, everyone will suffer, so if you take care of them, it will be great.”
He remembered a small hand that had been holding his clothes a moment ago.
A little girl, finding a busy road exciting and terrifying at the same time, was clinging to it tightly.
That little girl seemed adorable and touching to him, so he let her hold him without commenting. But when she received a toy, she hugged it with both hands, unable to cling to it any longer.
He should have caught her instead.
“If I find her again, I'll…”
At that moment, a deep voice whispered from deep within him:
“Do you think you'll get another chance after losing it once?”
He felt like his breathing stopped. If he couldn't protect her in the past, how could he protect her now?
Suddenly, he heard a voice:
“Sir!”
Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Cloyce turned around with a sharp look, and found a man standing in front of him.
"Are you looking for a baby girl? A little girl, with golden hair and green eyes, right?"
Cloyce almost grabbed the man by the collar, but the man, fortunately, continued sadly:
"Security took her to the Missing Children's Center. Go there."
Then he added:
“The little girl was standing quietly, waiting for her father. She did not cry, and she looked so touched... Go quickly, she is waiting for you.”
Cloyce did not wait a moment. He turned around and ran madly toward the center.
He didn't say goodbye or thank him, but the man wasn't upset. How can a father who lost his child be fully conscious?
The man's wife approached and said:
“How did you know he was the baby’s father?”
The man answered confidently:
“I know. They look exactly alike.”
"truly?"
The wife tilted her head hesitantly. The man, who was supposed to be the father, seemed to her an unusual person.
Even if you ignored the handsomeness of his face, there was a solemnity in his stance, his movements, and the tone of his voice, indicating nobility and strength.
“Maybe he is a noble.”
On such occasions, it is not unusual for nobles to roam freely. But the child, on the contrary, did not look like a noblewoman. Her clothes were clean, but worn out and had many patches on them.
The man said more confidently:
"She's his daughter, of course. How else could someone look like the world came crashing down on them?"
***
When Clowes arrived at the missing children's center, panting from running, he didn't need to ask. He saw Eppie immediately.
She was sitting in a corner, curled up in a small chair. Even without seeing her face, he knew it was her.
“Evie!”
He ran to her and hugged her tightly. The little girl looked at him with surprised eyes.
"I'm sorry."
Cloyce hugged her, patting her shoulders affectionately. Eppie did not cry, but clung to his neck and hid in his chest.
This made him feel deeper pain. If she had cried and clung to him, he might have been able to comfort her.
But to see such a little girl, quietly swallowing her fear as if she had given up everything, was heart-wrenching.
As he embraced the trembling Evie, he said:
"I'm sorry. I was too late to find you."
Evie raised her head from his embrace and said in a low voice:
“It's okay.”
She was definitely frightened, but she smiled with difficulty and said:
“Because… you came to get me after all.”
As if that alone was enough for her.
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