Mom’s meticulously drilled manners were rendered ineffective, as the emperor greeted us in a more ordinary and comfortable setting than expected.

His demeanor was also very friendly.

As Mom tried to kneel upon seeing him, the emperor laughed so hard that he almost fell over.

Mom’s face flushed red, and it wasn’t until Dad pulled the emperor into a seat that things settled.

Only then did the emperor gesture for us to sit down.

‘…are you close?’

He seemed quite close to both Mom and Dad.

An unexpectedly informal treatment.

But what felt most familiar was, strangely enough, his appearance.

The platinum blonde hair. The deep, distinct green eyes. The peculiar curve of his eyes when he smiled.

Though the details of his features were different, the emperor had the exact same physical traits as Mom and Eciel.

‘So, this is why Mom chose only remote places to live.’

Mom and Eciel with their platinum blonde hair and green eyes.

Even though I dyed my silver hair, I have purple eyes that couldn’t be hidden by anything.

The three of us, a combination that anyone with a hint of connection to the heart of the Roman Empire wouldn’t fail to recognize…

Beyond these realizations, Mom politely spoke up.

“…I see you, the Most Honorable One.”

“Do you need blessings and glory, Duchess Chelsiers?”

“…I ask for blessings and glory.”

“Oh, come on. You have to state your lineage. Again, please.”

The emperor, though it might be irreverent to say such a thing…

‘…he just seems like a boy teasing his little sister or older sister.”

I unexpectedly realized that the emperor was just a person. Eciel, by my side, observed the emperor with a curious gaze.

Dad, who couldn’t bear to see it, intervened.

“Your Majesty, please stop.”

The emperor seemed momentarily disappointed, then shrugged and turned his gaze towards us. His green eyes widened as he looked at me and he broke into a wide grin.

That smile was entirely different from the teasing one he directed at Mom.

It was ominous.

Dad introduced us while on guard.

“… the eldest is Claire, resembling me, and this is Eciel, the younger sister.”

“Yes. Claire, Eciel, nice to meet you. Blessings and glory be with you.”

His gaze remained fixed on me from start to finish as he spoke.

A clear focus.

I quietly cast my eyes down. My mind was surprisingly clear.

“I greet the Most Honorable One. With loyalty and sincerity, may all blessings and glory be returned to you.”

Glory belonged to the emperor while loyalty belonged to the subjects. Loyalty came from the subjects while glory came from the emperor.

This was a statement made by Lucius I, who established the empire and laid the foundation for strong centralized politics.

All official greetings to the emperor in the empire started from these two sentences.

The blessings and glory the emperor gave to the subjects ultimately returned to the emperor, a proud and bold statement.

In the end, all the subjects could say was that he would be loyal forever.

As long as the subjects kept this basic rule… It didn’t matter how they responded this time.

Because it was this person who first twisted the custom of subjects asking for blessings and honor first and the emperor returning them.

The emperor grinned broadly.

Innocent and mischievous. Not at all like someone who had thrown such complicated problems at us from the first meeting.

“Oh…”

Eciel couldn’t hide her astonishment as she stared at me. But for now, I couldn’t hold her hand and explain what it meant.

…Because Mom hadn’t received confirmation of her pardon yet.

A cold sweat ran down my spine.

I wasn’t this afraid even when I first met Dad.

The emperor didn’t care that Eciel didn’t respond. He stared at me piercingly and his expression grew even more amused.

“As expected, you’re Astariol. What’s your ability?”

“I can summon the wind.”

“Good, I’d like to see it myself. Follow me.”

He stood up with a laugh.

Dad called out in a low, deep voice.

“Your Majesty.”

“Oh, come on, friend. Sorry, but could I give you an order? ‘Don’t do anything and stay here.'”

Suddenly, a sky-blue magic circle appeared in the air.

Tiny, consistent symbols and undulating patterns. The golden lines emitting a blue light rapidly disassembled and transformed into long, elegant chains.

The chains swiftly bound Dad’s mouth, neck, arms, legs, and ankles.

Mom’s eyes widened while Eciel choked back a gasp of surprise.

I understood.

That was the sin Mom committed against Dad.

The emperor flicked his finger playfully. With that casual movement, the chains around Dad’s neck also moved.

Seeming to loosen, about to unravel, loosening, unraveling …

The emperor smiled at me.

“You already stood up. Good girl.”

A very calm voice flowed out.

“I am honored.”

I realized a moment later.

Ah, this was my voice. Calm, composed, and somewhat indifferent, just like my usual tone and demeanor.

Mom tried to say more, but… the emperor turned to her kindly and asked.

“Dear cousin.”

His voice was affectionate, tender, and benevolent.

“May I have a moment to talk with your daughter? Like we used to when we were young?”

Mom’s face turned pale.

Accepting the silence as permission, the emperor smiled brightly and walked towards the door.

Eciel screamed.

“Claire!”

I heard the sound of knights grabbing Eciel from behind.

I didn’t look back.

I just sent a breeze their way.

The knights were pushed aside like a collapsing wall, and Eciel was quietly placed back where she had originally sat.

And when she tried to leap off the sofa again to come to me, I firmly restrained her.

The emperor, who had been watching my back with interest, clapped his hands.

“Indeed… The Astariol family of Judgment is famous for being born with powers that are advantageous to ‘judgment.’ You haven’t even grown up in the main household yet, but you’re quite remarkable.”

“It’s too much praise.”

“Well then, shall we go for a conversation?”

Struggling to wriggle free, Eciel asked with a trembling voice.

“Do you already… already know? What Claire’s power is, how she uses it… you’ve seen it, haven’t you?”

The emperor looked at Eciel in person for the first time and said with great delight.

“You’re just like me when I was young.”

“…yes?”

“Of course, that was a lie. You shouldn’t trust what strangers say so easily, Eciel.”

It was a truly kind advice.

Without looking back, I walked out the door. If I saw Mom crying, my eyes would probably turn red too.

There was no point in crying. I didn’t want to waste tears meaninglessly.

Furthermore… there were more important things to attend to.

Impulsive actions and confusion quickly drowned beneath the rationality of urgent reality.

What mattered now wasn’t pondering over the first overwhelming moment of power in my life, but rather deciphering the intentions behind the emperor’s actions.

‘What is his purpose?’

I knew too little.

With insufficient information, my mind raced even more fiercely.

Let’s just focus on what was certain for now.

The emperor had been my father’s lord and friend for at least ten years.

If it had been a relationship accustomed to coercion and domination, my father would have been at least slightly surprised when the emperor acted kindly towards Mom.

It was rather when he was given an ‘order’ that my father seemed surprised.

I didn’t know if I could call that burning purple eyes simply being surprised.

Naturally, my thoughts flew from Dad to ‘orders’.

The perfectly rearranged chains in the air. The golden-blue letters swayed obediently according to the emperor’s meaningless hand gestures.

‘I can understand it better when I see it with my own eyes.’

It was literally a spell that made one obey. An absolute obedience that couldn’t be refused, resisted, or rebelled against.

‘Is he trying to use that spell again?’

Unknowingly, I found myself biting my lip.

I didn’t know how much power Mom put into that spell.

Still, if a tyrant could activate the spell, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to call the next emperor someone who could control it, right?

Already knowing its utility, could an emperor who would refuse a spell that could completely control Astariol?

Confusing questions.

Rapidly developing logic.

As my insufficient deductions multiplied endlessly, my head throbbed with tension.

Whether the emperor knew my bleak thoughts or not, he cheerfully chattered ahead as we walked.

“Oh, by the way, it’s quite amazing. Did you see it, Clair? That spell has been active for over ten years, or is it fifteen years? It’s been that long since it was cast, but I, who am not even a magician, can use it with just a flick of a finger. Even against Astariol.”

“… do you often use that spell?”

At my question that couldn’t be held back, he suddenly stopped.

The emperor looked down at me with a gleam in his eyes. His eyes still remarkably resembled Mom’s and Eciel’s.

Enough to send shivers down my spine.

“If I say something now, would you believe me?”

“I will accept whatever you say.”

“You’re very different from your sister.”

You were good at lying.

The emperor said with a smile. It wasn’t a lie, but it felt like a slap in the face. My cheeks flushed red.

To avoid making any more mistakes, I lowered my gaze to the floor altogether. After that, the emperor didn’t initiate any more conversation.

Sadly, it wasn’t particularly helpful.

When he did initiate conversation, I was busy extracting answers as he spoke, but when he didn’t, my mind was flooded with speculative thoughts bordering on delusion.

No matter what the emperor did, it was unsettling.

‘If he really wants to bind me with magic, can I avoid it?’

No. The stage of pondering whether I could avoid it had long passed.

I let out a bitter laugh inwardly.