That evening, Chiaros finally met the Emperor.
The Emperor looked somewhat tired, but not exhausted.
“Kiaros, are you feeling okay?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Kiaros spoke politely.
“The doctor said I wouldn't have any problem using my arms after a few days.”
Then the Emperor laughed and waved his hand.
“No, not the arm.
It’s you.”
Only then did Kiaros realize that the Emperor was asking about the Dark Period.
Kiaros spoke in a defeated voice.
“I'm not feeling well, Your Majesty.
And… I feel bad.
As soon as I said out loud that it was the dark period, something like this happened.”
“Haha.
However, didn’t you gain anything?”
The Emperor spoke gently as always.
“If you had not been attacked, we would have returned to the capital without knowing that there was a group that carried out such terrible experiments on monsters.”
“Ah…”
“Experimenting on monsters... how lucky we are to be able to prevent this.”
During the operation to blow up the base, the Emperor was injured in the leg and lost a lot of blood, but he was fine as a dragon.
"The dark period... it must be frustrating and difficult.
My dark period came when I was 12, and I still vividly remember the feeling of having my limbs amputated.
I think I'll probably never forget it for the rest of my life."
The Emperor patted Kiaros's hand gently.
"Even when bad things happen, there are things to be gained.
Things you will be grateful for in the long run."
“Ah…”
"Once you realize how the world works, you become humble in life.
This may be a difficult concept for you right now."
The Emperor was an incredibly powerful man, unmatched by anyone.
But in normal times, he was very kind to his family and kind to everyone.
He spoke kindly.
“Now, let's go to the capital.
It's time to choose your fiancée...”
Kiaros blinked.
Originally, the Empress presided over the Crown Prince's engagement.
However, his mother, the Empress, died while giving birth to him.
Even now when Kiaros was ten years old, the position of Empress was still vacant.
The Emperor, being the kind father that he was, seemed determined to arrange Kiaros's engagement himself.
“Is there a child you've been watching?
Everyone is fine, so please speak up.”
Kiaros knew why his father said that.
The Emperor became engaged to Kiaros' biological mother when he was approximately Kiaros' current age.
She was a princess from a foreign country far away.
It is known that they met for the first time on their wedding day.
“Really, it's okay to choose anyone.”
However, before marriage, the Emperor had a woman in his heart for a long time.
Because of the engagement he had when he was young, he had to give up those feelings.
"You can postpone it further if you want.
I just brought this up because it's time, so don't feel pressured."
There were many records about the emperor’s request to break off the engagement and express his desire to marry the woman he loved.
However, the woman to whom the Emperor gave his heart was a commoner orphan.
Therefore there was strong opposition from the imperial family.
The Emperor said several times in passing that it would be good for Kiaros to marry out of love.
“Ah… Your Majesty, indeed...”
Until recently, the answer was: “There is no one in particular, so take your pick.”
But Chiaros can no longer answer that way.
In a way, he became bound by the promise.
The Emperor's eyes lit up when he saw Kiaros hesitating.
"…there."
The Emperor's mouth slowly fell open.
“There's a girl, there's a girl...
Honestly, I thought there wasn't a girl, but I guess parents don't know everything about their children after all.”
The Emperor spoke with a gentle smile, as always.
“I thought you were going to say: ‘There is no one in particular, so just choose whoever you want, Your Majesty.’”
“A ten-year-old boy, who has not yet reached puberty, suddenly becomes interested in a girl.”
“Your Majesty!
But it was Your Majesty who asked me to say something!”
Kiaros shouted in embarrassment without realizing it.
The Emperor answered kindly.
“I still didn't expect you to actually have one.
Your old father here finds it really amusing.
"I'm holding back now because I can see you're embarrassed, but I plan to laugh when I get back to my room until my stomach hurts."
There was a smile in the Emperor's eyes as he looked at Kiaros.
“At that age, I didn’t even know what sharing meant… Kids these days are really fast.”
“Your Majesty!
This, that, that, that's not it!”
“Who is she anyway?
If you don't say it, this father won't be able to sleep tonight because he's nosy, and the effects of insomnia will hit his already tired, old, and sick body, and he'll probably be in pain tomorrow.
So, can you tell me who she is?”
Chiaros was more distracted than ever by the Emperor's kind and soft words.
He muttered in his distracted state.
“She...she's the girl who saved my life yesterday...that girl...”
But what should he say?
That the girl said she wanted to marry a rich man and he thought he fit the bill?
The Emperor smiled softly while Kiaros quickly blinked in distress.
“Ah, the moment when the arrogant little boy who acted as if the whole world was his oyster tasted the bitterness of life for the first time, the savior who appeared as if it were destiny...
Yes.
This is a good novel.
"It's easy to fall in love at first sight."
“Your Majesty, I did not fall in love at first sight… I did not even see a single hair on her head!”
“So?
My son doesn't care about appearances.
“You are just like me.”
Kiaros was about to respond but decided to remain silent.
After all, this issue will be resolved once the girl is found.
You may not even want to marry him, so you don't have to worry about it.
“Once I find her… everything will work out.” If only I could find her
So said Kiaros, lowering his shoulders.
“So, Your Majesty, until I find that child, my engagement… can you postpone it?”
"Yes, of course.
I had no intention of pressuring you into marriage in the first place."
The Emperor smiled compassionately and patted Kiaros on the shoulder.
Kiaros smiled at the Emperor.
The strongest, most caring father in the world, who even cherished his child by a woman he didn't love.
Chiaros also had something he wanted to say to his father.
“Then, Your Majesty, don’t worry and get married again.”
“…Huh?”
“Mrs.
Fron.”
“You, you…what…”
She was a great knight with amazing skills, but her movements were no longer what they used to be.
In fact, her life as a knight was over.
An ordinary orphan and mercenary knight who had been in the Emperor's heart for a long time.
Naturally, the Emperor hid the truth from Chiaros.
But rumors inside the palace were inevitable.
Kiaros had already compiled the various clues and understood everything.
“I'm fine, Your Majesty.
Indeed.”
The Emperor looked unusually confused.
Chiaros decided to swallow the words: “I'm not so hungry for women that I fell in love at first sight with a girl I met for the first time without even seeing her face or speaking to her properly.”
Instead, he calmly said the following to put the Emperor's mind at ease.
“Father will protect my first love.
So, I must also protect my father’s first love.”
To be honest, he didn't really consider her his first love...
However, he wanted to put his father's mind at ease.
That was the moment he officially got his first love.