That was the night of ten days ago. Emperor Iken is said to have been furious at the military meeting that day, spewing out his fury at his Privy Council like an enraged boar. Even many words have completely departed from the aristocratic pulse warmth, and there is a bit of a taste of scolding the street in the alley. Of course, when His Majesty the Emperor was only the Duke of Césaire, he led his troops to pacify the horse thieves between the province of Césaire and the Kingdom of Garrod, and perhaps he really learned a lot of new postures from the other party before he pinned the heads of those bandit leaders to the side of the avenue...... Ah no, I say knowledge.

Although the maids and servants were naturally so shocked by His Majesty the Emperor's dragon might that they couldn't even speak, the entire Yongchen Palace was destined to fall into a deep depression in the next few days. However, in the eyes of discerning people, when the emperor loses his temper, it not only means that he has lost his rational judgment, but also loses his prestige and prestige as a superior.

The Emperor then sat alone in the Pallas Room for a long time before leaving the hall. Walk to the children's rooms. The servants and attendants along the way trembled as if they saw the flock of hungry and angry lions when they saw the emperor striding forward, but they did not dare to run away like a flock of sheep, so they could only stay where they were, their heads hung down with their eyebrows bowed, and tried their best to disguise themselves as a small pebble on the side of the road, sincerely hoping that the emperor would ignore them. This is indeed a wonderful contrast with their previous attempts to brush up on their presence in front of the emperor, which is indeed a wonderful contrast with the value of realism.

Of course, Emperor Iken really didn't care about the reaction of the little servants around him. Like a ghost who had lost his soul, he walked slowly through the palace until he stopped in front of his youngest son, Kalman's room.

He lingered in front of the room for a while, and finally opened only the attendants, pushed the door open, and entered.

......The little boy who was lying on the bed had not yet fallen asleep when he saw his terrible father come in. But he showed a tired but bright smile.

Emperor Iken, who was stubborn and old-fashioned and did not mince words about his older children, finally showed a rare doting smile. Of course. The expression was more like a twitch than a smile. It looked even more terrifying, but the little prince didn't care at all. He was very happy that his father had come to visit him in the midst of his busy schedule. But the simplicity is so, this child who is only less than 5 years old is happy, but he also said in a worried tone: "Father, you are too busy with work today, you should go to rest early." ”

After all, a human being cannot be a real hard-hearted robot. In the face of such a child, what parent will not hurt to the bone?

"Why haven't you slept yet?" asked the Emperor softly. But the expression and tone are still slightly stiff. He had almost never done the job of coaxing children before.

The little prince hesitated, his eyes flickered a little, as if he didn't dare to look at his father, but he still said cautiously: "...... Because, um, reading a storybook today. Miss Emma is only halfway there, and I want to finish reading it before I go to sleep. ”

The so-called Emma is probably the name of the personal maid who takes care of Prince Kalman's daily life, but these are arranged by Queen Selene, and after she is under house arrest, the Imperial Household Agency is directly in charge. His Majesty the Emperor Iken, who is constantly in a hurry, naturally would not know about these trivial matters.

If it were in the past, the emperor would have taught him very bluntly: "You should sleep when you go to bed, and what kind of storybooks ...... you read" and so on. But this time. As if he had fallen into an evil spirit, he walked to the child's bedside: "Usually, it's your mother who tells you stories, right?"

“…… Well, yes. Kalman lowered his eyelids, his long girlish eyelashes twitching. He didn't complain, but his expression was extremely heavy, like an abandoned puppy.

"Reading at this time, even pictorials are not good for your eyes. The emperor took the fairy tale book from his son's hand. Sit down at the bedside: "Speaking of which, I've never told you a bedside story." ”

"This. This...... Father, you are so busy......" The little prince looked at his father blankly. showed obvious surprise, full of anticipation, but there were three points of hesitation and struggle: "No, I'll sleep now." You might as well go back and rest. ”

"No matter how busy you are, you don't even have time to tell your son stories. Emperor Iken smiled with the kindness of all fathers, a little stiff, but sincere. He opened the book and began the first time of telling a story in his life in his characteristic cold and stubborn voice: "...... Once upon a time, on the north side of the Norda Forest, under the peak of Hegalos, there was a small mountain village of warmth and abundance......"

In all fairness, even such an interesting fairy tale, told by His Majesty the Emperor, is still full of undulating flat tones, occasionally mixed with a little admonition or even a threatening "domineering exposure" below zero, and Shengsheng reads the warm and lovely call story into a dry and terrifying big report. If it were any other child, he would have been scared to tears, but Kalman gradually closed his eyes, his breathing calmed down, and a very happy smile appeared on his cute face.

The emperor looked at his son, who should have fallen asleep, put down the fairy tale book, and gently stroked the child's hair with his hand.

"O my son, on the day you were born, your name was whispered throughout the forests and fields of Césaire. I don't just want Césaire to pay tribute to you, but I want the entire empire to bless you. Child, I am proud to watch you grow day by day, and to see you become such a smart, sensible, humble and polite child...... I should have been waiting with pride to see you become a great knight, a noble nobleman, worthy of the pride of the ancestors of the Empire and the Holy Springs royal family. And one day, when my life will come to an end, I will see your brother become a great king, and your sisters will have husbands and children whom they love. You stand by their side, they love you, they respect you, and the people and empires are proud of you. The Emperor muttered to himself as if he had fallen into some kind of stumbling spirit.

He looked at his son's sleeping face, and for a moment it was difficult to suppress his sadness and sorrow in his heart: "But. Oh my son, I can even do such a thing...... I'm losing the empire little by little, in front of your cousin. I'm stupid, stubborn and stupid. There is no hope of success. Your uncle has betrayed us, and your cousin (referring to Archduke Dilisa of Dragonkeep, who is a distant relative) has betrayed us, and their army should have arrived in Serokhia in the first place to make peace with me. If their army were there, your cousin's rebels wouldn't even be able to cross the Whispering Hills. Not only that, but even the Praetorian Guards, who were supposed to swear allegiance to me on the first day of the new emperor's coronation, were unwilling to obey my orders. The Emperor whispered. It's not like he's talking about his own son. It is as if to say to myself: "What a humble Auckland Supreme I am, and from the first day of my ascension to the throne, I will face countless betrayals and deceits...... How will I fight Karin, who has been preparing for a long time?"

It still seems that he still can't frankly admit that his ability is far inferior to his niece, and he still blames the "betrayal" of others for the situation he has fallen into today. It seems that he has forgotten from the bones that his fate lacks the genes of victory. He even forgot that at the beginning of the civil war, he was the one who owned the core territory of Auckland, from Césaire and Seredith to the Whispering Hills, and it was he who had the emperor's righteous name, and he was the one who controlled most of the troops. It's still him.

The little prince showed an uncomfortable expression, shook his head a little unnaturally, and twisted half of his body. He continued to fall asleep, but his face showed a painful and uncomfortable expression, as if he had encountered a nightmare.

The emperor withdrew his hand, trembled slightly, and obvious distress and pity appeared on his expressionless face: "Yes, my child...... I can't let you accept that fate. I should give you a happy future, which should have been my responsibility. Yes, this is the responsibility of the father, and it is the responsibility of the emperor. Your elder brother should be the future emperor, and you should also be a virtuous king who assists him in democracy. Yes. This should be the future I can give you. I'm trying to do my best to fulfill my responsibilities, but. But there are always people who forget their glory and their responsibilities. My children, should I let them remember it again?"

As soon as he finished saying this, his high-spirited situation suddenly turned into a painful struggle: "...... No, it can't. Even if they betrayed me, it may be just the pride of being a warrior that makes them unwilling to pierce the chest of the Empire's people with the sharpest sword of the Empire...... Yes, they were the finest knights and generals in Auckland, and even if they were momentarily confused, they could not question their loyalty to the empire and the people, their honor, wisdom and courage. What have I become if I had acted on them in such a despicable way? I would have fallen into the devil's path...... Such a me, not only is I not worthy of sitting on the throne of Qingyao, but I don't even have the qualifications to be a human being. Yes, what will the fathers and fathers of the Holy Springs royal Dimahia think of such unworthy descendants as me. The descendants of the Dimahia family, the descendants of the Twelve Heroes, even if they die, they must not give up their glory!"

"No, I can't do it, I can't do it! Bartoli is a poisonous snake with honey in his lips and teeth, and I must not be fooled by him......"

"But if I don't, I'm doomed. Even if Karin is defeated with the help of Dragoncastle and Kaiyan, Dimahia's glory will be once again ruined. I may once again be reduced to a puppet of the lords, just like the nobles of the Holy Spring before my father. How can this be endured?" the emperor muttered, as if a madman with a split personality and completely lost his ability to control himself: "Yes, the emperor belongs to the emperor, and the nobles belong to the nobles, and the emperor must respect the autonomy of the nobles, but the nobles will never insult their feudal lords with their own strength!"

"Yes, it was my Praetorian Guards who insulted their emperor. By the time they are unwilling to bow to the rightful Oakland Supreme, they have abandoned their honor...... Why, then, can't I retaliate, can't I fight back, can......'t I punish them like a true emperor? Can't you get everything on the right track in your own way?" the emperor slowly stood up, put away his smile, and his tone once again turned to his original calm and cold arrogance, but the rocky stubborn and waveless mountain also flashed with a very obvious madness. He added in a muttered add, as if to increase his resolve: "Yes, I should get everything back on track, whatever way." Baltoli is my magical advisor...... All the suggestions he made, all the practices, belonged to me. No matter how evil he looks. ”

"Those who achieve great things are not informal...... Those who do great good also need small evil...... Even Emperor Knous said that when you want to accomplish a great thing, when you imagine the true righteousness, you must also have the consciousness to do cruel and even despicable means. If I want to be a great king, and if I want to leave a picturesque legacy for my children, then I must also have the consciousness to renounce these moral purities. The Emperor seemed to have finally made up his mind. At that moment, the strange ide madness twisted into a truly hideous smile on his face, as if he had been possessed by an evil demon.

He looked at his son beside the bed, and only then did he return to some normality and gentleness. He hurriedly took a deep breath before silently leaning down and reaching out to stroke his son's warm curls, and after a moment of hesitation and hesitation, he left a gentle kiss on Kalman's forehead before he stood up.

"Don't worry, Kalman, Dad will help you create an environment where you can grow up in peace and prosperity, and where you will be praised by all people in the future. No matter how evil it is, even if it is for me to make a deal with the Demon God, I will definitely do it. ”

Emperor Iken, who had left these words, shook his cloak and strode out of his youngest son's bedchamber. When he came in more than an hour ago, this supreme was decadent and humble, as if he was about to die, but when he left, he was majestic, and the failures of these days seemed to have no effect on him at all.

If Emperor Iken really had such courage, I'm afraid he wouldn't have let the situation develop to this point, right?

Of course, what he didn't know was that when he left, the little prince, who he thought was already acquainted, suddenly opened his eyes again and again, looked at the place where his father left, and showed a sad and sad expression. (To be continued.) )

ps: The first update of the new year, ask for votes. Hawkers, but if you want to party in the evening, it's a shift. I'm going to go out of the city tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and I guess there's a wood. I was so good last month, I need to take a break. Anyway, let's watch.