Capitulo 127

Arc 14. The end of first love

Episode 127

News has arrived that raids are being conducted on Cassel’s business establishments throughout the Empire.

Not long ago, Ethan was attacked.

Fortunately, there were no major injuries, but Ethan refrained from going out due to the scare.

Heh, I didn’t like him from the start.

Lily stroked Fio’s head with a prickly expression on her face.

Because it was worse than the princely wizard seeming somehow insidious.

Princely wizard?

At my question, Lily startled and bowed.

Mr. Raymond.

…

It was a plausible nickname.

Fio, who was standing next to her, wagged his tail as if in agreement and barked.

Sasha, who was busy brushing my hair behind me, stepped back and announced she was ready.

Now it’s done!

My loose braided hair was decorated with unglamorous floral embellishments.

The dress was also chosen in a dark navy blue with minimal decoration.

Come on, you’ll be late for this. You must leave now.

Yes, let’s go.

Today is the day of the preliminary inspection of the Royal Medical Center, which is about to conclude.

Not only me but Aster was also going to attend.

Soon after, the cart arrived in front of a simple looking building.

It was built without being too flashy for the purpose of being a hospital.

Come here, princess. It must have been hard to walk a long way.

When I opened the door and got off, Aster, who had arrived earlier, greeted me.

No, Your Majesty. I thought he would arrive first, but His Majesty arrived first.

Behind him, I saw three men wiping away a cold sweat.

Without realizing it, laughter escaped my eyes.

There was a time when I also had a hard time with Aster like them.

At that time, I never dreamed we would see each other and smile like we do now….

What’s going on?

Nothing, Your Majesty. Shall we go in first?

I took his hand and entered the building.

We were the first to build a general hospital in the Empire.

The newspapers these days have been flooded with articles praising the emperor and Duke Pioneer.

Expectations were also high among the people of the Empire.

This is because the Imperial Medical Center is a high-level medical facility that can be used by everyone from nobles to commoners.

This is the lobby. If you apply here, you will be assigned to each department on each floor.

Since the size of the hospital was large, the system was very important.

Because there are not only many departments, but also nobles, it was also important to assign the line of movement considering the class.

Much of that was devised by Allison and Eric pooling their opinions.

State-of-the-art medical equipment was lined up on each floor.

Equipment development, which had faced difficulties, was quickly improved with the help of mages.

«Because wizards aren’t geniuses for nothing.»

They located the error and fixed it with just a few glances.

Moreover, some wizards who were interested in medicine even came out to help.

And this is a facility for the victims of the Cassel family.

At Robert’s words, Aster and I stopped in our place.

Several people were already being treated there.

How is their condition?

Robert answered Aster’s question.

It is not very good. It is even more difficult because they have been neglected for over ten years without any treatment, and since most of the research data has been lost, we have no choice but to guess what kind of experiment they were subjected to.

Eric and Allison also had dark faces.

First, I will ask if there are any other documents on Cassel’s side. I don’t think we can get rid of that much data so easily with so many people.

Can you please?

Allison’s face lit up.

We greeted the people coming in for treatment and made sure there was no disturbance.

The last person I saw was Martin.

His complexion looked much worse than the last time I saw him.

Thank you for taking such good care of us, Your Majesty.

He looked like he was really moved as he saw the tears welling up.

We have never trusted those in power. But… We ignored our appeal to escape from the laboratory. Some of them suffered a lot because they could not believe what the commoners were saying.

The Cassel family was not just an ordinary family.

They were a group of powers that controlled the economy of the empire.

The nobility would not want to do anything obnoxious to the Cassel family.

Aster quietly grasped Martin’s hand and opened his mouth.

My father and I didn’t look inside properly, making victims like you. If the imperial family is not responsible for the people of the empire, who is going to be responsible?

Martin bowed his head several times at Aster’s words.

Aster did not say a word until he left the floor and looked around.

After he finished the inspection, he left the living room and sat down on the couch as if he was collapsing with a sigh.

I was very lucky. A medical center was created at such a perfect time.

What happened?

There aren’t one or two aristocrats pointing to the medical bills paid by the Cassel family. They all clamor that they can treat them in their own hospital.

If there’s a place with better facilities than the Imperial Medical Center, not bad.

But there was no such place.

At least, it was the only hospital that had medical devices developed with the participation of a large number of magicians.

If this hospital had not been built, it could have been entrusted to the other hospital being built by the Grand Duchess. They say they use equipment that Sir Raymond had developed in the past.

Tatiana was building a hospital.

Isn’t it the Grand Duchess’s specialty to do everything you do?

I laughed quietly at Aster’s words.

Strictly speaking, it was on my side to continue.

Because I got all the trophies Tatiana got from different finals.

She won them by giving them away to the protagonists, so this was business enough.

Aster looked pretty tired, maybe because he was busy with the Cassel family.

Sitting at his desk, I stood in front of Aster, who was resting with his eyes closed.

A beautiful scowl caught my eye, with blond hair shining in the midday sun. It was hard to believe that such an Aster was not one of the male protagonists.

Without realizing it, I reached a face that looked as perfect as a sculpture.

Then his eyes, which had been closed in surprise, opened.

Her cheeks were soft and warm to the touch.

The princess is really like a goddess of fortune to me.

Aster murmured as she brought her cheek close to the inside of his palm.

Also.

Aster had a side that stimulated people’s fighting spirit.

Because it was the first time I met him and thought he would break the rules of this world.

I was steeped in those thoughts as I looked into eyes that sparkled like jewels.

I used to think those eyes were scary.

A beautiful emperor covered in the blood of his brothers.

That was the description of Aster in the game she knew.

But in reality, he was completely different.

The wounds he suffered from his father, his precarious position.

And the inferiority he felt towards Andrew.

He was a very human and fragile person.

Are you very tired?

His eyes were curved.

I could be tired because I saw you.

My heart was beating fast.

Was Aster that beautiful?

When I took a step back without realizing it, he shrugged his shoulders as if it was a pity.

And he smiled softly, covering his mouth with his hand.

Come on, don’t play games.

It’s not a joke. I’m always honest with you.

The fingertips he touched were hot as if they were on fire.

For some reason, it was hard to get a good look at Aster.

Glancing slightly at Aster who couldn’t stop laughing, I remembered our forgotten engagement.

I want to have the engagement.

Did the duke allow it?

Dad was not the problem.

Surprisingly, my mother objected, saying that marriage was never allowed without certainty.

Otherwise, it might be the tower master’s side that was the problem.

Yes…

I understand. Because my mother and the tower master were close.

It was the first time Aster spoke about Selena with her own mouth.

My mother, even when I was young, had a hard time with that situation. My father was tough, and Marquis Liberty tried to take everything lightly.

I am different from Aster’s mother. And Aster is also different from His Majesty the Emperor.

Aster said with a bitter smile.

You trust me more than I do.

Because His Majesty showed me something.

He thought for a moment, then pulled out a small box from his pocket.

Opening the lid revealed a pair of beautiful earrings with diamonds around the emerald.

But it wasn’t just an emerald.

This… what?

I’ve been doing some thinking. How can I reassure your parents?

She handed me the earrings and continued.

I’m glad you know how to use magic.

What the hell is this, what are you talking about?

It felt somehow sinister.

If I ever try to hurt you, I can put magic in this earring and activate the magic.

He spoke as if nothing had happened.

Then all memories of you will disappear from me.

Without realizing it, I took a step back.

He smiled apologetically and continued.

I can’t say I’m willing to risk my life. At least I don’t want Andrew to become emperor. If my obsession chokes you….

I threw the earring to the ground before he could finish speaking.

Stop talking nonsense.