Chapter 74
‘What is this place?’
Seeing the ornate door, Evi guessed it must be a room where something important was kept.
Inside, there was a small table by the window.
‘A vacant spot!’
Moreover, this room was tucked away in a corner, so other children wouldn’t come close.
Sure, someone might come later, but for now, it seemed like it would remain quiet.
‘Can I use it?’
There was no sign forbidding entry, so Evi cautiously stepped inside.
The room was filled with luxurious bookshelves, different from those outside.
The books themselves were as lavish as the shelves.
The deep red leather gleamed, and the corners were reinforced with metal to prevent damage.
Evi looked at the titles of these extravagant books, unlike anything seen in the upper school.
“Imperial Family Tree?”
Seeing the title, she realized why the book was so extravagantly made.
It was a record of past emperors and their families—an imperial family tree, after all.
Ordinary people usually didn’t know much about the royal family aside from the emperor and his direct descendants.
‘I only know His Majesty’s name…’
Evi recalled the emperor’s name that shone below her enrollment certificate.
‘Klois Arelkian Harkia.’
In fact, many didn’t remember the emperor’s full name, because there was rarely any need to use it.
Emperor. Empress. Crown Prince. That was usually enough.
Currently, the emperor had no family, so only his identity mattered.
More detailed knowledge was reserved for nobles, not commoners.
Nobles were expected to meet the emperor or other royals and serve them, so they needed to know.
‘We’ll learn about this next semester.’
At the academy, students would study the royal family, noble houses, and proper etiquette starting next semester.
The children of noble families found this boring—they had learned it from a young age.
Looking at the guidebook, Evi realized that all the books listed there were stored in this room.
‘Just a little peek won’t hurt.’
Though she knew she should be studying, the sight of these extravagant books captivated her.
After hesitating several times, Evi pulled a book from the shelf and sat at the table by the window.
“Ugh.”
Even the cover was heavy; she had to use both hands to hold it, yet she quickly became engrossed.
The first page was filled with names of the royal family and their family tree.
Flipping further, it listed the emperor’s name, birth dates, achievements, and events during their reign.
Usually, such books only summarized facts briefly.
But this imperial edition contained far more detailed accounts than any noble family’s records.
“The Battle of Erkaten.”
It was always considered one of the most important events in the empire’s history.
In reality, the battle itself wasn’t particularly large.
But the emperor and his dozens of retainers had faced thousands of soldiers—and won.
It seemed unbelievable, yet there was overwhelming evidence that it really happened.
Ever since, whenever the royal family was praised, this battle was always mentioned first.
In upper school history books, it was described in text only, but this book illustrated the battle.
Evi couldn’t take her eyes off the detailed drawings.
The emperor was shown raising his hand toward the approaching enemies, a glowing light swirling from it.
“Huh?”
One part caught Evi’s eye: the back of the emperor’s hand.
It was small, but there seemed to be a strange mark on it.
At first glance, it looked like a stain.
“….”
Evi looked at her own hand. It seemed impossible, yet the mark in the illustration resembled one she had seen on her own hand.
She stared at her blank hand, then turned the page.
Though curious, she knew she had to focus on her studies.
‘I really should study now…’
Yet she quickly became absorbed in the book again.
Before she knew it, she had reached almost the last page.
“Klois Arelkian Harkia…”
The current emperor’s name was written on the final page. Next to it was another name.
“Lilian Shell, Ivbien Shell Harkia?”
She recognized it. But from where? When had she heard it?
Suddenly, she remembered where she had seen Ivbien’s name.
“That tomb!”
In the forest where she first met Professor Sian, there had been two gravestones with those names.
But why was it in a book?
She looked back at the page.
Ivbien’s name was listed below, connected by a line to the emperor’s name.
So…
“Lilian Shell is Her Majesty the Empress, and Ivbien… is Her Highness the Princess.”
Yet there was no empress or princess now.
Only the emperor existed in the empire.
Everyone assumed he would adopt either Arsel or Ruska.
Evi looked at the names again. There were two dates next to each.
She knew what they meant: the birth and death dates.
Lilian Shell and Ivbien died on the same day.
A strange heaviness filled Evi’s chest as she read on.
Like the previous entries, the book conveyed the facts about the emperor without emotion.
It also described the deaths of the empress and princess.
Reading about their deaths, Evi murmured softly:
“They must have been in pain…”
Her chest ached at the thought. Before the emperor ascended, the empress and princess had been killed by enemies.
How heartbroken must the emperor have been?
When one loses family to a place they can never return from, it is unbearably painful.
It was the same in Elam City.
Even though it was on the empire’s outskirts and mostly avoided the war, many young people had left for battle and never returned.
Their families erected gravestones, mourning and crying for them.
Yes, just like…
“…Professor Sian.”
Evi remembered the first time she had visited those gravestones.
In front of a quiet grave adorned with flowers, Professor Sian had been weeping alone.
‘Why?’
Why was the academy’s professor crying at the empress and princess’s graves? Did he know them?
No matter how much she thought, she could not answer.
Evi turned the page. Two portraits were drawn there.
Like the other emperors, this section depicted portraits of the emperor and empress.
“This one is blank.”
There were portraits of princes and princesses, but the last one was empty.
Only Ivbien’s name remained.
Evi stared at the name for a long time, then looked up. She was curious about the current emperor’s portrait, which she had not seen at the museum.
“Uh…!”
The moment she saw it, she jumped from her chair.
“It’s the professor.”
Anyone could recognize it: it was Professor Sian.
“Professor…”
Bright, short golden hair. Deep blue eyes. The face was unmistakable.
But there was a difference.
The emperor in the portrait showed no expression, but Professor Sian…
“Smiles so brightly.”
Evi recalled how he smiled when he was with her.
At first he had seemed scary, but now, it wasn’t that he was scary—rather, being without him felt scary.
After staring at the portrait for a while, Evi glanced to the side.
“Lilian Shell.”
The deceased empress. She had fiery red hair and deep green eyes.
She was also the figure in the portrait that had seemed to whisper to her that everything would be alright when she was trapped in the museum.
Evi placed her hand gently over the painting, brushing the surface cautiously.
As if she truly wanted to touch the empress.
At that moment, a breeze wafted in through the open window.
As it brushed against her hair, Evi murmured unconsciously:
“…Ma.”
A word she had never spoken before, barely able to utter the final sound.
