09
At that moment when Evie realized that the man's eyes were red, she unconsciously uttered:
“Were you crying?”
Hearing Evie's words, the man twitched slightly, then slowly got up.
“How big!”
The strange man was tall. He wasn't as big as the sailors who sometimes came to help the orphanage, but Evie felt a stronger pressure than she did with them.
However, she was not afraid.
As Evie stared at the man, she remembered the redness of his eyes.
She knew when the eyes became like this:
When the sadness is so deep that you want to cry, but those tears have to be suppressed.
Holding the bouquet in one hand, Evie dug into her pocket.
"Here is!"
In her pocket, she found a handkerchief she had received with her clothes that day.
It was completely clean, without any stains, and was decorated in one of its corners with the logo of the Gifted Academy.
It looked pleasing, so I folded it carefully and put it deep in the pocket.
New handkerchief, never used.
For fear of damaging it, she hid it deep in her pocket, but Evie did not hesitate for a moment to give it to the man.
“…”
“…”
But the man remained silent, staring at the handkerchief Evie had offered.
Evie had to be the first to speak:
“Use it.”
“…”
Despite her words, the man did not move, but merely looked.
Evie opened her mouth again:
“I received it today, and it's completely clean!”
One time, while she was cleaning a high school, someone fell.
At that time, Evie was carrying a handkerchief made by the home director, and she quickly took it out to wipe the blood from the wound.
But the person violently rejected the handkerchief, shouting: “Where did you get this dirty handkerchief from the orphanage?”
Evie remembered that moment, so she quickly said:
“I swear it was never used...”
Suddenly, a large hand grabbed the napkin Evie had offered.
The hand was so large that it grabbed not only the handkerchief, but Evie's hand as well.
Then the man carefully took the handkerchief from her hand.
Evie felt warmth remaining in her hand from the man's touch, so she unconsciously closed and opened her empty hand.
"Thanks."
The man replied in a harsh, curt voice.
At first glance, he might seem angry, but Evie didn't feel afraid.
The man took the handkerchief, but did not wipe his eyes.
Instead, he looked at the handkerchief and at Evie, then asked:
“But who are you?”
Cloyce was astonished as he looked at the small handkerchief in his hand.
He wondered who this daredevil person was who had snuck in here, only to discover that she was a little girl.
At first glance, he thought she was five or six years old, but he noticed that she was wearing a Gifted Academy uniform.
So, you must be at least seven.
When he realized this, Cloyce almost hissed his tongue.
Even if she was seven, the child was very young.
Unless she was sick, it meant she was not well fed.
He wondered if she was sick, but her sparkling eyes and natural movements confirmed that she was healthy.
“Who on earth are her parents?”
Cloyce cursed the child's parents secretly as he examined her.
“But how did a girl from the Gifted Academy get here?”
There is no path from the academy to this place.
If she had tried to cross through the forest, she would have had to pass through dense undergrowth, but the child's clothes were clean, and she showed no signs of sneaking through the forest.
Besides, why would a strange child put flowers on Lillian's grave?
At that moment, the little girl blinked her eyes and smiled gently, saying:
“I'm Evie Alden.”
Cloyce looked at Evie in amazement.
He always saw Ephebian's misty specter, imagining what she would look like if she were alive, how she would laugh, how she would talk.
But, despite seeing girls her own age, he could not clearly imagine Evpian's features.
But at that moment when he saw this little girl's smile, Clowes felt certain.
If Ephebian were alive, wouldn't she be smiling like this?
But he quickly laughed at himself sarcastically.
If Evpian were alive, she would be the only princess in this empire, surrounded by all the love and care.
How could he imagine her features in such a small and skinny girl?
Then Cloyce realized that the name the little girl said was familiar.
Evie Alden.
The girl from the orphanage he chose in a moment of anger.
He realized why she was small and thin, and why she seemed confused when he hesitated to take the handkerchief, stressing that it was not dirty.
Cloyce grabbed the handkerchief Evie had given her tightly.
At that moment, Evie said:
“But who are you, sir?”
Cloyce was surprised by the title “Master,” which he had never heard before, and his words suddenly stopped.
"Mr?"
Then he remembered that he had left his decorated coat in the palace before he left.
In the girl's eyes, he looks like an ordinary palace employee wearing a shirt and pants.
Of course, if you got closer, you would notice that his clothes were much finer than those of others, but that alone would not be enough for anyone to know that he was the Emperor.
“I do not intend to say that I am the Emperor, of course.”
Regardless of whether she would believe it or not, he wanted to ask her how she got from the academy to here. But if he said he was the Emperor, she might be confused and unable to answer clearly.
At that moment, Evie asked again:
“Are you one of the academy staff?”
While Cloyce was thinking about what to say about himself, an idea came to his mind.
Sian Rushen.
The professor mentioned by the minister, who is no longer at the academy. Clowes decided to borrow his name temporarily.
“I am Sian Rushen, a professor at the Gifted Academy.”
At the word 'professor', Evie's face lit up. The fact that he was from the academy, even if he was a professor, seemed to make her feel at ease.
At that moment, a large bell rang in the distance.
Evie startled and turned her head.
The academy manual mentioned that a bell would announce the curfew.
Upon hearing it, all students must return to the dormitory, no matter what they are doing.
“Oh, I must go now! I have to go back!”
Evie gave Chloe the bouquet, then quickly picked up her bag from the floor.
After hastily gathering her things, she bowed to Cloyce as written in the manual, and then ran down the path of bushes by which she had come.
Clowes grabbed the bouquet that Evie had given him, looking at her in amazement.
“Was there a trail like this?”
When he regained consciousness and tried to summon Evie, the child who had been disappearing quickly turned and waved her hand, laughing:
“I'll see you later!”
At that moment when he saw Evie disappear, Cloyce felt a tingling sensation in his chest.
He must stop her.
His instinct was screaming: Don't let her go, bring her to your side now.
But his mind, saturated by his years as Emperor, quickly suppressed his instinct.
What will he do if he brings her?
She is a child who just entered the palace today.
A little girl thinks he is just a professor at the academy.
If he brought her now, wouldn't she be frightened and confused?
While he was hesitating, the little girl disappeared into the bushes.
“…”
Cloyce remembered Evie's face as she waved at him, smiling.
What if she knew that he was the Emperor, and that this place was forbidden to others?
She is smart enough to enter the academy.
You will quickly realize the extent of the crime you have committed.
Will she still be able to smile and greet like she did?
Cloyce's eyes turned to the bouquet of flowers in his hand.
It was a carefully arranged bouquet, though simple, like the wreath on Lillian's grave.
Most likely, she intended to place it on Evpian's grave.
But he took it in the end.
“Huh...”
Cloyce sighed long and sat down in front of the two graves.
Normally, there would have been dry grasses scattered here and there, but the shrine and tomb were completely clean.
No doubt Evie was the one who cleaned them.
“Do you know who owns these two graves?”
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