Episode 74
“Where am I?” Evie asked as she stared at the stately door in front of her. It seemed to her that this room was intended for storing books of special importance.
She looked inside and found a small table by the window.
“Empty place!”
I also noticed that the room was located in a secluded corner, away from the gatherings of other children. Maybe someone would come in a little while, but the room seemed quiet for now.
“Can I use it?”
There was no sign prohibiting entry, so Evie stepped cautiously inside.
The room was filled with luxurious bookshelves, made of a wood completely different from that found outside.
The books arranged on the shelves were no less luxurious than the shelves themselves; Their dark red leather covers shine brightly, and their corners are decorated with metal frames that protect them from damage.
Ephebian had never seen such fine books in graduate school before, so she approached to examine the title of one of them.
“Imperial family tree?”
As soon as I read the title, I realized the reason for this exaggerated luxury. A book documenting the family tree of the empire, including successive emperors and their families, must be this elegant.
The general public usually does not know much about the imperial family, other than the names of the emperor and his immediate family members.
“I only know the name of His Majesty the Emperor...”
Evie remembered the name that flashed under her academy acceptance statement: *Clois Arelkyan Harkia*.
In fact, few people memorize the Emperor's full name, because only a few need to call him by it. It is enough for people to know:
Emperor, Empress, Crown Prince. And right now, with the Emperor having no family, his name alone was enough.
As for the deeper details, they are for the nobles who are obligated to study them, as they may one day be asked to meet and serve the emperor or a member of the imperial family.
“They said we would start studying that next semester.”
At the academy, starting from the next semester, students were scheduled to begin studying the imperial family, the families of the nobility, and the literatures associated with them during general culture classes.
The children of noble families were bored by this announcement, because they had studied these subjects since they were young. Evie noticed that the names of the books mentioned in the ad were the same as the ones here.
“Shall I take a quick look?”
Even though she knew she had to study, the allure of these luxurious books that touched her for the first time overcame her.
After a brief hesitation, Evie pulled out a book and sat down at the table by the window.
"Yes!"
The cover was so heavy that she had to use her hands to turn the pages.
Evie was immediately immersed in the book's content. The first page was filled with the names of the imperial family and their meticulously drawn family tree.
As she progressed through the pages, she found the names of the emperors, their dates of birth, their achievements, and the events that took place during their reign.
Usually, such books are written in a concise style that conveys only the facts, but this book, which was prepared in the imperial palace, contained more in-depth details than found in noble family books.
“Battle of Erkaten!” I read Evie. This battle was considered one of the most important events in the history of the empire.
The battle was not huge in scale, but it witnessed the victory of the emperor and a few of his men, no more than dozens, over an army of thousands of soldiers.
The story seemed like a figment of fiction, but ample evidence proved it to be true. Since then, this story has been told whenever the empire is glorified.
In high school history books, the battle was documented in words only, but the book in front of Evie contained an accurate drawing of it.
Evie couldn't take her eyes off the drawing that depicted the Emperor raising his hand towards the streaming enemies, while a bright light glowed from his hand.
“Hey!” A small part in the drawing caught her attention: the Emperor's hand.
On the back of his hand, there was something that looked like an inscription or drawing.
At first glance it looked like a spot. Evie looked at her hand.
Although she felt it was impossible, she noticed that this inscription looked like something she had seen on her hand before.
She examined the now empty back of her hand, then went back to turning the pages.
She was curious, but remembered that she had to study for the exam.
“I have to start studying now...”
But she quickly fell back into the book. Suddenly, she realized she had reached the last pages.
“Claus Arelkyan Harkia…” The name of the current emperor was written on the last page.
Next to it, another name: “Lillian Shiel, Evpian Shiel Harkiya?”
The names seemed familiar. Where did you hear it? Then I suddenly remembered
. “The grave!”
These names were engraved on the two stone monuments in the forest where she had first met Professor Cian.
But why are these names in the book? Evie looked back at the page. The Emperor's name was connected in a line with Lillian Shell's name, and below it was Evpian's name.
“So, Lillian Shell is the name of the Empress, and Ephebian… is the name of the Princess.”
But, clearly, there is no empress or princess. The empire has only the emperor alone.
Therefore, everyone was saying that he would adopt Arcel or Lusca. Eppie looked at the names again.
Next to each name, there were dates: date of birth and date of death. I noticed that Lillian and Evpian died on the same day.
Yvette felt a vague heaviness as she continued reading. The book, as it did with previous emperors, conveyed the facts in a neutral, emotionless manner.
Thus, he accurately described how the Empress and Princess died
“How painful…” Eppie whispered softly.
She felt pain in her chest. Before the Emperor arrived, the Empress and Princess were killed by the enemy.
“How sad was the Emperor?” Losing your family to a place where you can't meet them must be unbearable pain.
In the city of Ilam, although it was far from the ravages of war because of its location on the outskirts of the empire, many of its young men went to the front and did not return.
Their families were erecting memorials bearing the names of the departed, and crying in front of them with longing and sadness.
“Like… Professor Sian.”
Evie remembered that moment when she first saw him at the two graves.
He was standing alone in front of the grave decorated with blooming flowers, crying quietly.
“Why?”
Why was a professor at the academy crying in front of the tomb of the Empress and Princess? Did he know them?
She tried to think, but couldn't find an answer. Confused, she turned the page and found two pictures drawn. As in the previous sections on other emperors, these were meant to be portraits of the Emperor and Empress.
“This page is blank.”
Unlike previous pages that included pictures of princes and princesses, this page had only Evbian's name, no photo.
Evie looked at the name for a long time, then raised her eyes, wishing to see a picture of the current Emperor that she had not seen in the museum previously.
"Oh, my God!"
As soon as she saw the picture, she suddenly got up from her chair.
“It's the professor!”
The person in the photo was, without a doubt, Professor Sian. His short, shiny golden hair, his deep blue eyes, and his facial features, were all his.
But, there was a difference. The emperor in the picture had no expression on his face. While Professor Sian…
“He was always smiling.”
Evbien remembered how he was with her. At first, he had frightened her, but now, his absence was what frightened her.
After contemplating the picture for a long time, she looked to the other side.
“Lillian Shell.” The late Empress, with glowing red hair and dark green eyes.
It was the same woman in the photo who seemed to be whispering to Evie that everything would be okay when she was locked in the museum.
Evie placed her hand on the picture, carefully running her fingers over it, as if she really wanted to touch the Empress.
At that moment, a breeze blew through the open window, ruffling Evie's hair. Unconsciously, she whispered:
“…what.” A word she had never said before came out with a faint ending, as if she was trying to conjure something she had never known.
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