“At the last banquet, you agreed to tell me about what happened between you and Her Majesty the Empress.”

Cedric had a troubled smile.

“Yes, I did. Do you really want to hear it? It’s a bit embarrassing.”

Dalia nodded.

“Like Sir Cedric, I have changed my mind a bit.”

“How? Are you going to have lunch together at our palace every day?”

“……I don’t know how you come to such a conclusion! No!”

Cedric lowered his eyes and had a sad expression. Dalia was no longer fooled.

“I want to know what kind of person Sir Cedric is.”

“That’s a good thing. Love starts with understanding each other, right?”

It’s been a while since she had heard Cedric talking about love.

But this time, Dalia knew he wanted to change the subject. When she did not back down with an intense gaze, Cedric eventually sighed and began to talk.

“Dalia, who do you think were better as a child, me or Leonard?”

Cedric began his story with a question.

Dalia pondered for a moment, but couldn’t answer.

Needless to say, Cedric is not the kind of person who can be filial to anyone. He must have been worrying his mother quite a bit during that time as he frequently escaped the Imperial Palace.

After that, he asked to borrow the necklace for his partner, so she could understand why his mother was sad.

On the other hand, if you think about Leonard in the original work, he was a little ignorant, but he had a soft heart and a good side.

Cedric smiled.

“Leonard would be better than me, right?”

“……uh that’s…….”

“It’s okay. As a partner for a banquet, I’m definitely better.”

That’s true.

Dalia nodded timidly. Then Cedric’s smile deepened.

“I know roughly what happened between Hikan and the former Duchess. Of course it wasn’t much. My mother loved and respected me.”

“…….”

“That’s true, but still…….”

Cedric slurred his words.

And he looked very, very hesitant. Before Dalia could question it, he said.

“Dalia, do you know what power my father had?”

Dalia’s eyes widened at the unexpected question.

“Oh, of course, this Empire……”

“Not like that. My father reads other people’s feelings through physical contact. He doesn’t really hide it, so I’m sure you know.”

‘Ah, so that’s what he means.’

Dalia nodded. Cedric furrowed his eyebrows and smoothed his temples.

“I inherited a little bit of that power.”

It was the first time Cedric had said this to someone else with his own mouth. But he continued.

“Reading other people’s minds is a trifling ability. It’s not like it can do whatever I want, it only chooses bad feelings.”

Actually, that is incorrect.

Cedric was not a politically competent person like his father, but he could use it to exploit the malice of others.

However, that’s why he had a surprisingly clean personality.

It was revolting to talk to such people.

So he never had a deep relationship with anyone. Because he was tired and sick of it.

Contrary to other people’s predictions, Cedric did not do anything great even though he fled the palace.

At times, he was filthy, collecting money, and hanging out with the sleazy kids, but it didn’t last long. If it was more disgusting, it was disgusting, not less.

“People say that Leonard, the eldest, became the Crown Prince because my mother doesn’t like to fight for succession, but if you think about it, it’s nonsense. Until now, there were only a handful of Emperors who were not transcendent. It’s because I really don’t want to be up there. I’m sick of people.”

Cedric said bluntly.

“Besides, the other party are usually reluctant to be friendly to people like me. Even if you don’t contact each other, your secret parts will be revealed. That’s why my parents didn’t tell anyone about my abilities.”

“But doesn’t His Majesty the Emperor have the same power?”

“My father is the Emperor. Rather, he was able to secure his political position as it became known that he was a man who could not be fooled. Besides, he’s not as sensitive to bad feelings as I am, and he can’t read the deeply hidden malice like me. He can control it.”

“…….”

“A person who reads other people’s feelings, it’s a bit uncomfortable, isn’t it?”

Cedric said with a casual smile. Dalia shook her head in astonishment.

“That’s not true.”

“…….”

“It really isn’t.”

“Yeah, you probably think so.”

Cedric said with a faint smile.

While Dalia was pondering in her head what it meant, he spoke again.

“Anyway, my mother probably didn’t. Even though her child is a transcendent, she loved him equally, but she must have felt burdened because he is a child who knows her feelings at will. That’s how we felt each other’s walls, and eventually we ended up like this.”

“Ah……”

“Do you have the answer now?”

Cedric grinned again. Now he seems to have returned to his original self.

Dalia did her best to organize her thoughts.

‘Sir Cedric has the power to read others’ malice. That’s why he hated other people so much.’

That explains why.

However, it was still unknown why Cedric showed favor to Dalia when he only met her twice.

She wanted to ask, but that wasn’t the point now.

‘Sir Cedric thinks Her Majesty the Empress feels guilty about him.’

It’s different.

The last time Dalia overheard the conversation between Beolde and the Empress, the Empress apparently blamed herself for Cedric. She thought she ruined their whole relationship.

Cedric, on the other hand, thinks his mother feels burdened by his natural abilities. Their views were very subtle, but they were different.

The relationship between the two may have begun to crumble from the difference.

‘…… It’s weaker than I expected.’

When she heard it, there was no big incident between the two.

With this alone, it was weak to say that Cedric’s fate was determined by Her Majesty. But there is one clue.

“Anyway, I understand what you mean. With my mother…… I will try harder.”

A straightforward reply came back.

This, can she be relieved? Dalia looked at him suspiciously. He closed his eyes slightly as their eyes met.

“I know. I’m being mean to my mother too.”

“……I don’t mean it like that.”

Cedric smiled softly and waved his hand.

“But during that time, I couldn’t afford enough to take care of her. However, it’s different now, so I’ll try my best.”

Cedric had never once disappointed Dalia by saying that.

She shook hands with Cedric with a nod of firm faith. Before her hand fell, he grabbed her hand and pulled Dalia toward him.

“Since you’re here, stay a little longer. I bought some board games to play with you.”

“…… I think I will lose in everything no matter what I do.”

“No way. I’m really bad at games.”

Cedric seduced Dalia.

It’s an obvious lie, but she let it slide.

Most of the games he bought were cooperative games, so Dalia could win very easily.

After playing all the games, she unwrapped Cedric’s birthday present together.

Because it happened to be the day of his birthday. (*t/n: just in case you forgot, they held the banquet earlier than his actual birthday)

The birthday present that Dalia had prepared was a small perfume. It was a mixture of floral scent and refreshing scent. Cedric was embarrassed when she said that she had prepared it because she knew he sprinkled it on the paper for their letter from time to time.

By the end of the conversation, Cedric said as if to pass by.

“Then, when are you going to pick up the letter? It just so happens that the third annex has a separate section for Imperial Family history.”

“Oh, are you coming with me?”

“Except if you don’t like it.”

Cedric said with a pretty smile.

Who in the world can say no to that?

Dalia thought that it would be lonely to search for it alone, but now it turns out well. She smiled and nodded.

* * *

Going to the Imperial Palace library with Cedric was a little later than planned.

It was because Cedric had delayed his appointment because he had an urgent matter.

Meanwhile, Dalia decided to go out with Adrisha. It was stuffy to be in the mansion, so she sometimes wanted to get some fresh air.

Adrisha said that she is into shooting these days.

“I think I’m too weak to protect Dalia, so I want to become stronger. So I saved up a lot of money and bought a gun store.”

“……is, is that so?”

Adrisha smiled brightly, saying that even His Majesty the Emperor jokingly asked if she was preparing for an assassination.

“Would you like to go bird hunting together next time?”

“Sorry……”

Dalia shook her head.

No matter how much Dalia thought about it, it wasn’t her taste. Besides, Dalia gave up on being strong long ago.

“But I’m kind of curious because it’s your store. Do you want to go with me while I’m out?”

Then Adrisha looked remarkably happy.

But Dalia soon regretted the decision. Once Adrisha entered the gun store which is located in the corner of the city, her gaze changed and she looked like a different person. She and the owner talked for a while about things that Dalia didn’t understand.

“These days, the firepower…….”

“Safety has not been verified yet…….”

“Caliber……. versatility…….”

Dalia spent a meaningless time looking at the hanging guns.

At that moment, among the passers-by outside the store, Dalia found a familiar figure. He was still a young boy.

“Oh, is that kid, perhaps?”

Dalia thought for a bit then left the store and approached the boy.

The closer she got, the more certain she was.

It was the boy Dalia met when she discovered Meldon’s fraudulent activities at Vesta half a year ago.

At the same time, he was also the boy who gave Dalia a piece of quartz at Meldon’s request.

“Aiden!”

When Dalia called his name, the boy turned around. His eyes were filled with delight.

“It’s, it’s been a while, Miss!”

Translator Note: Haluuu…Sorry that I went MIA last week hehehe, I was busy and I forgot to inform you guys (￣▽￣*)ゞ++A thought that I had while tling this chapterMe: Haa Cedric is soo sweet..where do I find a man like this..Also me: *a guy showed some interest in me and initiate the conversation* NO. (it’s something that happened 2 weeks ago btw ╮(￣～￣)╭ my mom even tried to help the guy hahaha)