The Emperor’s Smile and a Family Dinner

The sun rose in the east.

That shouldn’t be possible.

I clung to the railing, staring at the sky where the sun was just beginning to peek out. Of course, the sun rising in the east is a natural occurrence in this world too, but today, it felt like it shouldn’t have been.

“Is that the east over there?”

“It is, Your Highness.”

“Really?”

Sir Ashley answered my strange question faithfully.

“Shall I bring a compass?”

I took a step back from the railing. I still couldn’t believe the sun dared to rise in the east, but I couldn’t involve the innocent knight in my foolishness any longer. I declined his offer and slumped down onto the floor. I hugged the cushion they had provided so I wouldn’t sit on the cold ground.

Kallios smiled.

It… couldn’t have been an illusion. I don’t have the kind of imagination that could conjure up such a sparkling face. The only smiling face I could imagine was a phone emoticon—two dots and a curved line. But the face Kallios made wasn’t like that.

It felt like the whole world brightened.

It sounds like a truly cliché and ridiculous expression, but that’s how it was. This was surely a delusion, but I even saw a halo behind him. Does that make sense? His looks were already incredible when he was expressionless, but when he smiled, it was downright destructive. I guess the term ‘a beauty that topples empires’ didn’t come from nowhere. With a single smile like that, he looked capable of unifying the continent or destroying the world.

I stared blankly at the sky and then toppled over onto my side. Sir Ashley picked me up and moved me to the bed. I was moved like a piece of luggage, dropping the cushion I was holding onto the floor. It was a truly nonsensical smile. A completely impossible smile. No way…

Sir Ashley pulled the blanket up to my neck. It was a level of service even Isaac hadn’t provided. To my words of thanks, the usual answer returned: “It is my pleasure.” I watched Sir Ashley return to the door and then wiggled my way deep under the covers to hide.

That fellow was like a finely crafted doll. A work of art created with great thought on how to make it look beautiful. He seemed like he would be hard and cool to the touch. He was good to stare at vacantly for eye candy, but there was no deeper inspiration. Even in my past life, I had no interest in art. I even went to an exhibition for a liberal arts assignment and did nothing but yawn before leaving. I bought a review for 3,000 won, and it was such a mess that I regretted buying it, thinking I should have just written it myself. People who take others’ money for nothing deserve to be scolded.

Even when I closed my eyes, his face appeared. Not the expressionless face I had seen for ten years, but the way he looked while smiling. Thanks to that, the conversation that felt like deferred homework and the pile of questions all felt meaningless.

Are your wounds all healed?

The question I asked indirectly was a confirmation.

If not Lamier, what else could extend this thread of life that feels like it’s about to snap?

I had not forgotten the fact that on the night the former Emperor died, Kallios was also seriously injured.

Perhaps, maybe.

I considered Kallios my brother because he called me “Brother,” but… honestly, there wasn’t much affection built up between us. For one thing, he was busy, and I was sick.

Most of our meetings consisted of him visiting me after a major illness. He would sit beside my bed and read books.

Well, when my condition was good, we sometimes had conversations.

They were excessively brief, often missing too much, and the important parts were always left out.

When I was curious about what book he was reading, I checked the cover.

When I was curious about how he was doing, I guessed by piecing together what other people said.

I never once asked him.

What is the title of the book you are reading? What is it about? Why are you reading it? Is it interesting?

How have you been lately? Are the people around you treating you well? How are you feeling?

I hoped Kallios wouldn’t live according to the contents of “The Dragon’s Empire.” I hoped he wouldn’t become a villain. But this long-held wish of nearly ten years had a premise: Kallios’s essence would be exactly as the author intended.

Even if I was curious, I couldn’t ask. I was afraid that in the returned answer, I would find a fragment of the “merciless and cruel villain.” I thought it was better to just guess.

But he is a person, not a figure preserved in a book. He is my brother.

And my stupid self didn’t realize that.

I emerged from under the covers, which were starting to feel suffocating. Just then, unfamiliar attendants entered the room carrying boxes of various sizes. Before I could ask what they were, Sir Ashley answered.

“They say they are from the Emperor’s Palace.”

I sat up. An attendant who greeted me politely began to take things out of the boxes and explain them one by one. It was a navy formal suit, shoes, and accessories to match.

Since he’s coming in formal wear, is he telling me to wait in formal wear too?

“Tell him I was very pleased.”

I accepted a small box handed to me by the attendant. Inside the box was a pocket watch made of platinum. It was a truly useless gift for someone like me who couldn’t go out, but it seemed like it would match well with the navy suit. I took it out, opened and closed the lid, and then put it in my pocket.

I… my premise was wrong.

The villain of “The Dragon’s Empire” doesn’t do things like cutting his own flesh to save someone. He doesn’t provide this kind of strange consideration. He doesn’t smile like that.

I put on the navy formal suit while listening to the music echoing from afar.

Although it was a banquet to appease the offended nobles, the pretext was the young First Princess’s birthday party, so the music could be heard from an early hour. Since it started early, it would end earlier than usual. It was certain, as I had received a note from Sierra saying she was looking forward to a “late dinner.”

I took the gifted pocket watch out of my pocket to check the time. If I just turned my head, there was a wall clock… but I should use a gift. And this would probably be more accurate. It’s new. The platinum chain of the pocket watch made a clinking sound as it brushed against the back of my hand. Actually, I took it out because it looked cool. It has real style.

Anyway, the time was 8:17 on the pocket watch and 8:20 on the wall clock.

I hope it’s not too late. Our Sierra is at the age where she’s growing, so she needs to sleep early and wake up early. Kallios… he’s already taller than me, so he doesn’t need to grow. Last time I saw him, he was a whole head taller than me. I’m not short, but I become a dwarf next to Kallios.

When I finished preparing, maids from the Emperor’s Palace entered.

A dark red cloth was spread over my table, which was used for tea time, meals, and sometimes as a desk. Gold plates with flowers and fruit and gold candlesticks were placed on top. Is the Imperial ‘proper dinner’ always this flashy? I don’t know because I’ve never had one.

A luxurious chair was placed instead of the original one. When the tableware for three was set before it, a perfect ‘Emperor’s Table’ was completed—one so grand that you wouldn’t notice if someone’s head was lopped off while you were eating.

The maids left as quietly and quickly as they had entered. After they were all gone, I walked around the ‘Emperor’s Table’ to take a look.

Music was still playing in the distance. I took out the pocket watch to check the time. Five minutes to 9:00. I went to the window and leaned my arms on the railing. Instead of being buried in the night darkness, the castle could be seen shining brightly like a white jewel.

I recalled the banquet hall inside that castle, which I had only visited once. The grand chandelier, the beautiful murals and sculptures depicting the legends of the Arneb-s Imperial Family, the golden chair on the high platform, the shards of light broken as they passed through the chandelier’s crystals, and the two beneath them.

Every time Sierra spun while holding Kallios’s hand, her skirt fluttered like rose petals.

My formal sleeve wrinkled because I had my arm folded for a moment. I smoothed it out and straightened my back.

“Brother.”

After the sound of the door opening, I heard Sierra calling. I turned around with a smile. My princess in a sky-blue dress and the Emperor in a black formal suit with a burgundy cloak were approaching me with elegant steps. My two siblings, sparkling even without a flashy background.

“Did you have fun?”

Instead of running to hug me, Sierra held her skirt and bowed to greet me. Such a polite greeting. Should I also observe etiquette? Kallios solved the dilemma I was having while watching the cute sight. He simply picked Sierra up and handed her into my arms.

“We are a bit late.”

The hesitating Sierra wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me. I kissed her cheek and then held her up so she wouldn’t fall. I want to take her to her chair like this… but I don’t have the strength, so that’s probably impossible. Actually, even now, I’m leaning slightly against the railing. What a pathetic brother, unable to properly carry his ten-year-old sister. Though our Sierra stays leaned against me, entrusting her whole body as if she likes even such a brother.

“No. I thought you’d be even later… I guess it wasn’t very fun.”

I spoke jokingly, but I didn’t expect an answer. My fault certainly accounts for a large share of our conversations where so much is omitted, but the next largest share belongs to Kallios’s way of speaking. If you’re not used to it, he just blurts out what he has to say, and he passes over words that don’t strictly require an answer as if ignoring them.

Watching Sierra, who was leaning against me with her head down, perhaps because she was tired or because of yesterday’s argument, I kissed her forehead, which was exposed thanks to her updo. My precious kid. I’m sorry I got angry yesterday.

“It is a good thing you did not come.”

“Pardon?”

“There was nothing interesting. Even so.”

I was about to give her a third kiss but stopped and raised my head.

“The First Princess did very well. Please praise her.”

Sierra snapped her head up. Her face looked as if she had seen a ghost. Unfitting for her surprised expression, her eyes were slightly damp. I felt like I shouldn’t laugh, but it was funny, so I bit my lower lip.

Sierra, my princess. You were going to cry in my arms, but your second brother made your tears disappear, didn’t he? It’s okay. There’s no need to be embarrassed. If you weren’t surprised, I would have been. Of course, I wouldn’t have been as surprised as Sierra. I used up my lifetime’s worth of being surprised by seeing Kallios’s smiling face.

“Is that so? You must have done a dignified and good job.”

“It was… average.”

“For it not to be average to our Sierra, even the Founding Emperor would have to come.”

“It really wasn’t to that extent.”

Sierra began to speak. She hesitated at first, but soon poured out ‘unimportant things’ like a chatty little bird. How she dealt with a challenge, how she scolded someone who treated her like a child, and how she helped a poor young lady who spilled a drink on her dress.

“Ah. I, I want to get down.”

Furthermore, even while speaking, she immediately noticed that the strength in my arms was fading and her body was getting closer to the ground. After a tight hug of regret, I set the princess down. She tidied her disheveled clothes and then pulled my hand toward the ‘Emperor’s Table.’ I followed for a few steps and then laughed.

“Your Majesty too…”

Sierra pouted and pulled Kallios’s hand as well. Kallios was also quietly pulled along by Sierra’s hand.

A short while after we sat in the seats the princess assigned, attendants with gold trays entered. This is the ‘Emperor’s Full Course.’ Even the tray for moving the tableware is gold. The attendant skillfully placed the plates of food in front of the three siblings. The dishes were shining, but even the menu wasn’t unfamiliar.

The meal began with me picking up my fork. The story of the birthday party’s protagonist also continued. The story, which had been only small episodes, changed to ‘work talk’ as we got closer to the main course, but it wasn’t bad. My two siblings, who love work, began to exchange opinions amicably.

“What are you going to do about the south? No troops for a while.”

Sierra asked in a sharp tone. Kallios, who was neatly deboning a quail, deferred his answer with a “We’ll see.” I chimed in while digging out the rice that filled the quail’s belly with a spoon.

“There’s no need to sweep through it like the northwest.”

The southern coastal nobles were different from the northwestern ones who were rolling their heads while interacting with Apellion.

First, the southern coastal nobles… that is, the nobles based in the ports, had no interest in private armies. Navies cost a lot of money, but they aren’t very useful. Instead of building a navy to fight pirates, they prefer to give a certain amount of money to the pirates. It’s cheaper that way.

A noble can do that, but a state cannot. So the navy currently protecting the southern coast is entirely under the Imperial Family. Hmm. I heard the current Admiral is a very strong force thanks to being capable and ambitious.

Anyway, there’s no need to treat the southern nobles, who have money instead of power, like the northwestern bast*rds. Of course, if we kill them all and confiscate their property, our Imperial fortune would become very generous. The rumor that the new Emperor is a blood-crazed war monger would also become generous.

Sierra put down her utensils early, perhaps because the poultry course wasn’t to her taste.

“The eldest son of the Miles Count family is said to be smart.”

I looked at Sierra while putting a spoonful of rice, which was all I could scrape together, into my mouth.

“Please arrange a meeting, Your Majesty.”

“Pffft!”

I hurriedly covered my mouth with both hands. I almost sprayed grains of rice over the table before the meal was even finished. Kallios stood up and patted my back as I coughed. There’s no need, so go back to your seat. I’m going to take out the grain of rice that came out of my nose when you’re not looking…