TDKSR 19

Chapter 19

Jonathan jumped to his feet. He fumbled around his waist.

“I don’t have my sword. My sword is gone!”

“Your Highness?”

Olga’s flustered voice could be heard.

“Where is the imperial army? Why am I here? What about the enemy?”

“Your Highness, this is the imperial capital, the imperial palace. The war is over.”

“The war is over?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

As Yona spoke in a soothing manner, Jonathan muttered and sat back down.

From that moment, the atmosphere at the table turned strange.

“Jonathan.”

“Something’s wrong. Something is wrong. The war couldn’t have ended like this. I definitely saw them charging at us to kill us…”

Jonathan muttered as if he couldn’t hear anything, then shouted when he saw the wine in his cup.

“Blood! You’re making me drink blood! Have the northern barbarians kidnapped us! Soldiers! Draw your swords! It’s a trap!”

Jonathan screamed at the top of his lungs, grabbed the knife prepared for the meal, and leaped onto the table.

“Who are you people! Did you think you could deceive the imperial army and trap us with such a lowly scheme!”

Jonathan glared at the two women of the Blanchet family.

Then he soon twisted his lips into a crooked smile and cackled.

“Tern! There are enemy soldiers here to take as prisoners! Come and bind them!”

“Jonathan!”

The Dowager Empress’s voice rang out.

“Your Highness!”

Yona pulled Jonathan down.

“This isn’t the time to be here. I can’t see our allies. We need to go.”

“Your Highness, the war is over. Didn’t we sign the armistice and come to the capital?”

“Yona? Why are you here? Is the situation so bad that even you had to be deployed?”

“Your Highness.”

“Let’s go! Let’s escape this place quickly! We need to help our allies! Follow me!”

Jonathan shot out the door like an arrow.

“Charge!”

Jonathan shouted for quite a while.

After wandering the garden like that, swinging his luncheon knife, he was struck on the neck by Tern, his guard and close aide, and returned to his room unconscious.

“You should have hit him moderately. That Tern fellow has no sense of moderation.”

“It can’t be helped if we want it to look genuine.”

“What was Mother’s expression like? I was so focused I couldn’t see properly.”

“Her expression was serious.”

“As expected, pretending to be crazy from the war is the best.”

“I’m not so sure. Given Your Highness’s past behavior, I don’t think Her Dowager Majesty will give up easily.”

“What did I do?”

“You’re always unpredictable.”

“That’s called being creative.”

“Honestly, it is entertaining. There’s no need to watch operas or plays. Living as Your Highness’s close aide means various genres of stories unfold before your eyes.”

Jonathan glared at Yona.

“Why does it sound like an insult when you say it, Yona?”

“It might be because my voice has a tone that awakens reality.”

“Would you please leave?”

“I’ll call Livga Wilton before long.”

“Huh?”

Jonathan was taken aback by Yona’s words.

“Aren’t you going to take her as your partner to Duke Robert’s wedding?”

“If I take her in this situation, Her Dowager Majesty, whom I respect, will try to marry me off to Livga immediately.”

“Hmm, then shall we have Livga act a little? She’s good at acting.”

“I can just bring her in as a maid or interpreter. I’m only going to see whether Anath is an Aura manifestor anyway. What’s with the acting?”

“Since it’s come to this, wouldn’t it be good to block all the marriage proposals coming to Your Highness at the same time?”

“I don’t want to use a child to make my life easier.”

Yona stared intently at Jonathan, then continued.

“Livga is twenty now. It’s a bit of a stretch to call her a child.”

“She’s still young, younger than me.”

“She is of marriageable age. Twenty is the time to be searching for a good man. I think it would be fine to set it up as Your Highness having a one-sided crush on Livga.”

“Stop it.”

Jonathan waved his hand.

“Why not? If Your Highness simply sees Livga as a young subordinate, then that much is just a matter of giving an order, isn’t it? It would also avoid various troublesome situations.”

“I said no.”

“…Do you like Livga that much?”

Yona’s words were sudden.

“What are you suddenly talking about?”

“Isn’t it strange how you only ever protect Livga?”

“You protected her just as much while I was gone. I received reports, you know.”

“That’s because Your Highness treasures her.”

“Just go. I’ll sleep.”

Jonathan said as he took off his outer garment.

“Your Highness has a habit of issuing dismissal orders when you don’t want to reveal unorganized feelings to the other person. You need to fix that habit.”

“Ah, really!”

Jonathan threw a pillow.

Yona dodged to the side and bowed politely.

“Sweet dreams. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Don’t come. Send someone else. As of today, you’re fired from your position as my aide. Understood?”

“Yes, I understand. Starting tomorrow, I will arrange for someone else to attend to Your Highness.”

Jonathan thrust his middle finger at the irritating Yona.

Yona shrugged and closed the door.

* * *

That night, Jonathan had a bizarre dream.

“Actually, I have admired Your Highness for a long time. I know well that it will never come to pass anyway. I just… wanted to at least confess my feelings.”

Livga had confessed to Jonathan.

“I have no thoughts of marriage—for the sake of the empire, for my brother’s reign.”

Jonathan was flustered and took a step back from Livga.

“Your Highness, I would be fine even as your mistress. If only I could be by your side.”

“A mistress! That’s not something you say so easily. Where did you learn such talk… Besides, you said you would marry the person you love and live with them.”

“The person I love is Your Highness, and since Your Highness has no thoughts of marriage, then please let me be by your side in any form.”

In that dream, Jonathan agonized fiercely.

Livga looked at Jonathan pleadingly, her eyes brimming with tears.

“Livga, that’s not right. Keeping you by my side like that could never make you happy.”

Livga bowed her head, tears dripping down. She looked so pitiful that Jonathan unconsciously reached out and brushed her cheek.

Jonathan asked as if sighing.

“Even if I were to cast aside my status, would you still want to marry me?”

“Such things don’t matter to me.”

“Truly? If my position were insignificant, there would be many inconveniences.”

Jonathan asked again, as if wanting to confirm something.

“I never had anything from the beginning anyway.”

Livga smiled slightly.

Jonathan’s lips moved, and he barely managed to speak.

“Would you wait just a little? Giving up the ducal title and the right of succession and going to live in the provinces wouldn’t be so bad either. It’s about time I left my brother’s side.”

“Your Highness.”

Livga’s eyes shone.

“Since this war ended in victory, the imperial authority will be stabilized to some degree. After that, let’s go down to the provinces and marry. Alright?”

Livga embraced Jonathan.

“Ah, if you would go that far for me, I could give up anything. As long as I have you, I don’t care about anything else.”

Jonathan held Livga.

“I also… you…”

He couldn’t remember what he said at the end.

He woke up just like that.

At first, he stared blankly at the blurry ceiling in a dazed state, and as his mind gradually returned, he was dumbfounded.

‘Crazy! What am I supposed to do?’

Even though it was a dream, it was humiliating.

‘Give up my title and succession rights and go to the provinces? For whose benefit? Crazy…’

If Jonathan gave up everything, the succession rank of Anath, Duke Robert’s adopted son, would rise considerably.

In this situation where the Emperor has no children, what kind of crazy act would it be unless he intended to properly empower his uncle Duke Robert?

It was a bizarre and insane dream.

Jonathan was in a bad mood and couldn’t even eat breakfast properly.

It was just as well that Yona’s face wasn’t visible.

He would call him back before long, but for the time being, he planned not to keep Yona as his aide.

However, there was something Jonathan hadn’t thought of.

Yona was extremely capable, and moreover, he understood Jonathan too well.

“Your Highness, I’m bringing the washing water.”

“Yes.”

A maid entered carrying a basin of water and a towel. Behind her, the successor Yona had designated followed in.

“Huh?”

“Interim aide Livga Wilton reporting in.”

“Eek! What!”

Jonathan was so startled he covered his body with the towel.

He wasn’t even wearing a top.

“Sir Yona said he was suddenly dismissed and that I was the only one trustworthy. I was also surprised when an intelligence department official suddenly contacted me at dawn.”

Yona, you bastard!

“I did hurry to the Ministry of Finance early in the morning to take emergency leave and come out, but was I perhaps a little late?”

“No, that’s not the issue… First, leave. Um, yes. Please leave.”

“I am thoroughly familiar with Your Highness’s schedule for today. I heard that Your Highness’s mind clears after washing your face in the morning, and that you like to hear reports on daily affairs around that time.”

“I understand, so please leave first. Please. In a little while.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Livga replied with a bewildered face and went out.

Jonathan wanted to scream.