Chapter 291
"You want me to teach you?"
"Yes, please."
Perez bowed his head again.
However, Gallahan refused.
"I"m not a great father enough to teach anyone."12
There was a sign of loneliness on his face of saying so.
"I"m just a lucky father."
Florentia resembles his strong wife.
She grew up on her own, and suddenly she became a tree big enough to provide shade to so many people.3
All Gallahan did was watch the child grow by her side.
"So, Your Majesty"s request..."
"No, father deserves it."
It was a firm word.
Gallahan"s gaze, which had been sinking into the empty gla.s.s like a habit, headed back to Perez.
"As you know, I grew up without knowing that it was blood affection. Not to mention the warmth of parental affection." (TN: Sobs... Perez)5
Perez said quietly.
"But I vaguely know what it is. It"s because I watched Tia, who was happier than anyone else, from her father"s infinite affection and trust."
Suddenly, a soft smile appeared on Perez"s lips.
"It"s not because you"re Tia"s father. I"m asking someone I know who has done the best job of a father."11
"Your Majesty."
"Give me a chance to be a good father, too. I want to be a person who is not ashamed of Tia and her future child."1
Gallahan stared for a moment at the red eyes, which looked like they had no candy applied.
A younger face overlapped as they faced each other without avoiding their gaze.
Even then, Perez looked over there.
He thought so.
He thought Perez was a strong child like Tia.5
He smiled and asked while touching his mouth.
"You mean that you think you"re not good enough to be a good father because you grew up without knowing injustice."
"Yes, that"s right."
Gallahan nodded his head and got up from where he was sitting.
And as if he were doing it to a child, he stood in front of Perez and bent his back half-way to meet his eye level.
"I don"t think so. Your Majesty will be a good father."4
"But..."
Gallahan touched the shoulders of the young emperor, who looked unconfident of himself.
"Your Majesty, you will be a good father."
"Oh..."
Strict and unwavering words were like incantations.
His heart, which had been fluctuating with anxiety, gradually calmed down.
Perez looked at a firm hand on his shoulder and thought.
Yeah, maybe.
Maybe he can be a good father, too.1
Suddenly, such a feeling came to mind.
Perez clenched his fists at the unfamiliar sensation he had felt for the first time, but one side of his chest was rea.s.suring.
It"s awkward and he doesn"t know what to do.
Watching the reaction right next to him, Gallahan smiled.
Then he patted Perez on the shoulder as if to soothe him.
"By thinking about how to become a good father, Your Majesty already has the qualities."2
"Thank you."
"Besides, Your Majesty is already far ahead of me in the past."
"Me?"
"Yes. At least Your Majesty is fine. When I first found out that Shan was having a child, I cried like a child..." (TN: Pfft— Perez. XD)24
Gallahan"s words became more and more blurred.
"...No way."
Perez averted his gaze.
"Pfft! ...Cough."
Gallahan, who somehow managed to catch the laughter that was about to burst out with a cough, took a breath and said.
"Anyway, don"t worry too much. I, and the people of Lombardi, will be there to help."
Then, suddenly, something that could be of direct help to Perez came to mind.
"Please wait here for a moment, Your Majesty."
Having said that, Gallahan went into the bedroom.
"Whoa."
Perez, who was left alone, glanced at the back and sighed and swept away his awkward face.
And he looked down at his hands.
The feeling of frustration, which seemed to be standing alone in front of the waves as big as a house, disappeared.
But his shoulders became a little heavier.
"Good husband, good father."4
Maybe it"s the difficult homework he"s ever done.
However, there was a faint smile on Perez"s lips.
***
The wedding is soon approaching tomorrow.1
Perez returned to the Imperial Palace early in the morning, saying he had something to prepare.1
For a while, I felt like I was back to my daily life.
Besides, I was busy too.
It was because I had a lot to prepare for after the wedding, as I had to officially take over the work of the Empress.
All day long, the heads of the va.s.sal families came and went in and out of my office.
I didn"t forget to congratulate everyone on hearing the news.
And the last turn, finally.
"Welcome, Clarivan."
I greeted happily.
"h.e.l.lo, Lady Florentia."
...Huh?
Something was strange.
The polite greetings and neat payment doc.u.ments were all Clarivan-like.
A strange sense of incompatibility crept up.
"There"s a lot of things to pay for today."
"It"s kind of like that."
What, what could it be?
I was troubled as I signed the doc.u.ments handed over by Clarivan one by one.
Sark sark.
There was only a sound of a flag pen moving in the quiet office.
"Ah."
And I realized.
Clarivan was silent.
Even the usual jokes.
I took a break from exchanging doc.u.ments, looking at Clarivan"s face.
Unbelievable.
It was the most expressionless face I haven"t seen in a long time.5
It was Clarivan who always smiled in front of me.
"Ugh."
In the end, there was only silence in the office until the last signing.
Oh, I can"t.
It was when I first tried to break this strange atmosphere.
"...Clarivan."
"I just want to ask you one thing."
Clarivan opened his mouth, organizing the signed doc.u.ments.
"Was the incident that the Matriarch collapsed the other day also had something to do with the baby?"
Oh right.
I bit my tongue in my mouth.
I completely forgot.
Clarivan was one of the few people who knew that I suddenly collapsed.
He must have been very worried about that.
There have been so many things that I forgot to explain the reason properly.
"He"s angry. It"s understandable."
I responded quickly with a sense of apology.
"That"s right. It happened because I had severe morning sickness."
Even if Clarivan complained about my indifference, even if he was angry, I was going to accept it.
However.
"I see. All right."
"Is that all?"
When I asked puzzledly, Clarivan added briefly.
"Congratulations, Lady Florentia."
It really looked like it was over.
In the end, I asked out of curiosity.
"Are you... angry?"
"What?"
"No, I think so."
I don"t know about others, but I should have told them in advance that I was in a state of emergency because I thought I was in bad health.
That was right.
No, even if that wasn"t the case, I should have paid more attention to Clarivan.
He is my teacher, the most trusted colleague, and a friend who has been with me for a long time.
"I"m sorry, Clarivan."
Hearing my apology, Clarivan had a strange expression on his face.
He put down the payment doc.u.ment he was holding in his hand for a moment and then asked.
"May I speak as a person who has been watching Lady Florentia for a long time, not as the top owner of Lombardi for a while?"
Finally, the time has come.
I nodded resolutely.
"Then excuse me for a moment."
With my permission, Clarivan made strides forward.
What will he say?
Will I be scolded for not fulfilling my duty as a matriarch?
I looked up at Clarivan standing in front of me with a slightly nervous mind while thinking about this and that.
"Cl- Clarivan?"
A smile built like a lie on a cold face was all out of my expectations.
It was as if I had witnessed the moment when ice flowers were blooming.
"I"m proud of you."2
Something ruffled my hair while I was still looking up blankly.
It was Clarivan"s stroking hand.
"When did you grow up so much, my little girl?"37
Teary.
Something rushed up without a break.
"If there is an opportunity, this Clarivan will teach the next baby with all my heart."7
"Ah really."
I tried not to cry.
Still under the hand gently stroking my hair, I was back to the child of the day when I first met Clarivan with a book in my arms.
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"You know this is cheating."
Suddenly, my voice was wet with water.2
"I know. But I really wanted to tell you."
"...Thank you."
Eventually, a drop of tears flowed down.
Clarivan wiped away those tears without hesitation with a smile on his face.
But without that reward, the things that I had endured until now, even in front of my father and Perez, burst out so easily.
I buried my face in Clarivan"s arms and cried.
How long has it been?
There was a sense of embarra.s.sment belatedly.
"From top work to education. There is nothing except that I can"t do it because it"s hard to go there."
"There"s no such thing as that."
Even with my little grunts, Clarivan"s hand, stroking my head until the very end, was warm.
I sat down for a while and took a few deep breaths.
Since I cried to the fullest, it was time to return to my seat.
I stood up, stealing my swollen and red face with the back of my hand without looking in the mirror.
"Thank you, Clarivan."
"I am glad that I"ve been of help to you."
Clarivan, who returned to the top of Lombardi, politely replied, taking a step back with his luggage behind his back.1
The Matriarch of Lombardi, the Empress, and Mom.20
The fear of doing all that well disappeared neatly.
I"m not alone.
So, just keep doing what I"ve always done.
Another life awaits me as an empress from tomorrow, but the anxiety that has weighed on me has disappeared.
"I cried and now I"m hungry. Shall we go eat? What do you think? Do you have time?"
"Anytime for the Matriarch."
As always, I naturally took the lead.
And, as always, Clarivan"s reliable steps followed me.
***
It was the day of the wedding.15
While the main ceremony was to be held at the Lombardi mansion and the reception at the Imperial Palace, the outside was already crowded with guests.
Except for the bride"s waiting room where I was sitting.
Knock, knock
"Tia, are you ready? Can I go in?"
From outside the door came a voice of my father asking cautiously.
"Come on in."
With the sound of the door opening softly, the sound of my father"s footsteps came closer.
As I sat still, I smiled at my father in the mirror over the white veil.2
"How do I look, Dad?"