Chapter 75
****
Albrecht thought it couldn't be true. There could be someone in the world who looked like someone else, and hair could be dyed. This was surely Schwaben's cunning trick. To make him accept it willingly and give his heart...
Fearing he might accidentally drop his daughter's lock of hair, he clenched his fists tightly and glared at the woman. He was determined not to be fooled.
The woman spoke in a low voice.
"Most people say His Imperial Majesty loved Lilian. At least, that must have been the case when Princess Loella was conceived... The House of Schwaben cultivated a woman well suited to His Majesty's tastes."
"......"
"My grandfather thought the same. I know the Emperor later fought against the House of Schwaben and was defeated, but that doesn't mean he didn't love Lilian Krause."
The surroundings were so still that not even the rustle of air could be heard. Olivia felt her own voice ring out clearly in the sunlight.
Though her hollowed-out heart ached terribly, she managed to maintain a calm, detached expression. The thought that the tomb before her held her mother, whose face she could not even recall, made her want to cry, but she buried that emotion deep within her heart and sealed it shut.
Duke Klaus asked if it was truly necessary to meet the Emperor separately.
"The Emperor betrayed your mother. Of course, betraying his wife doesn't necessarily mean he abandoned his daughter too. But I doubt he ever truly cherished you."
He meant it sincerely. Not just with Adelheid, but before her, he had lost young children too. That's why he knew. Had he been truly consumed by grief for a child who died tragically, he wouldn't have sought solace in another woman during the mourning period.
The Duke feared Olivia might harbor expectations for her father only to be hurt.
"If it's about proving your identity, my endorsement alone should suffice. We have the letter from the late Count Lutgard. If you wish to enter the imperial palace, simply come with this old man. Though the captain of the guard is a lackey of that Schwaben scoundrel, he cannot prevent me from requesting an audience with the Emperor."
"No. I simply wish to meet His Imperial Majesty first."
"Well..."
"It makes your plans easier. After all, His Majesty has long opposed the House of Schwaben. If he still harbors hostility toward them, wouldn't that be a card we absolutely cannot afford to lose?"
Duke Klaus nodded reluctantly, acknowledging the truth in her words.
"If we can join hands with His Majesty, it would create a far better situation than simply revealing our true identity unilaterally. Considering His Imperial Majesty has never explicitly shown support for Princess Loella until now, I believe the possibility is quite sufficient."
That was why Olivia had come here.
Personal feelings weren't entirely absent. She had told Duke Klaus and Theodore that persuading the emperor was strategically advantageous, but the real reason she had come to meet him in person was likely this. To meet her biological father, whom she had never encountered even through three lifetimes.
She had never felt deprived of paternal affection, so she did not yearn for the Emperor with longing. The Emperor was simply a figure from stories. When her status as an imperial princess was revealed in both her first and third lives, he had never come to meet her or taken any action.
Still, she wanted to meet him once. Just as she had never known her maternal grandfather, perhaps she simply hadn't known her father either.
"So I wondered. Whether you mourned Mother sufficiently, whether you grieved my death... Though even this might just be me wanting to believe in Your Majesty."
As she spoke, Albrecht had already begun trembling uncontrollably halfway through.
Her voice was more familiar than the face itself. His gaze touched Olivia's ear before sweeping up through her hair. That earlobe and hair held the jewelry from his memory. Diamonds sparkled as if wings had sprouted behind her ear.
"Father had already bought such things. He really is too hasty. Wait, why are you blushing? Surely you haven't already prepared for her sixteenth birthday?"
Adelheid’s beautiful voice came back to him as clearly as yesterday.
The strength drained from Albrecht's hands, and the faded baby's hair fell to the floor, scattering. Olivia saw tears welling in his gray-brown eyes.
"Surely... I'm not... hallucinating right now?"
"......"
"This couldn't possibly be real. The Duke of Schwaben's handiwork..."
He was about to say it was terribly good when Albrecht collapsed to the ground. Tears finally streamed down his cheeks. If this was a trick, it was a wicked deed beyond hell itself. But if it wasn't...
"Surely not...?"
Olivia gazed down at him as he stared up at her in a daze, then saw two bouquets of roses beyond his shoulder. The crystal angel statue atop the small tombstone reflected the sunlight, scattering a rainbow of colors.
Her eyes welled up. No matter what the world said, she was certain her father had missed her.
So she stood still, lifting the hem of her skirt and bowing gracefully. Just as he would have seen her had he not lost his daughter.
"Olivia, daughter of Empress Adelheid, greets His Majesty for the first time. Have you been well?"
Albrecht fumbled forward, crawling on the floor to rise. Then, with unsteady steps that threatened to collapse, he barely managed to reach her.
The hand grasping her sleeve resembled that of a beggar. He pulled her arm, drawing her into his embrace, then collapsed back to the floor.
Olivia's hand wrapped around his back, holding him close and stroking him. He sobbed, forgetting even to breathe. The child he had buried in his heart had returned alive. The hole he had barely managed to cover over in his chest was torn wide open again, but nothing could bring him greater joy.
***
It was late afternoon, the sun already dipping low, when the chamberlain went to the imperial mausoleum to find the emperor, who was taking an unusually long time to return.
The Emperor sat on a bench halfway along the path.
"You've come."
The Emperor spoke with a calm tone and expression. Yet his clothes were dusty, his jacket crumpled. His eyes were red, perhaps from crying, and his voice was hoarse. Seeing his damp hair, the chamberlain guessed he must have washed his face at the fountain along the way.
‘Poor soul.’
He must have collapsed, clutching the tombstone and weeping. That was likely why he had dismissed his guards and come alone, the chamberlain thought. It seemed so obvious that he himself had come alone to find him.
He spoke in a soft voice.
“It is time to return, Your Majesty.”
“Yes.”
The emperor answered more readily than expected. The chamberlain was slightly surprised he hadn't sneered or made a dark joke, but he didn't particularly suspect anything. He must be exhausted after crying for so long.
Even after answering, he remained seated for a moment, unmoving. The chamberlain stood at attention, waiting calmly. Finally, the emperor rose and began walking ahead. The attendant followed behind with respectful demeanor.
As the Emperor stepped outside the mausoleum, the palace guards who had stood at attention for a long time straightened their slackened postures. Without glancing around, he immediately boarded the carriage.
The chamberlain again attempted to board a different carriage, but the Emperor stopped him.
"Get in."
"Pardon?"
"Get in. I have questions to ask."
Without a word, he climbed in after the Emperor. Outside, a guard closed the door.
The Emperor remained silent until the carriage began moving. The chamberlain, neither suspicious nor curious, waited for questions as he always did, his mind clear and empty. Thinking was not his role.
"With what happened to Lilian, the princess must be feeling down. What do you think?"
"She likely is. It's only natural."
"I should see her. If nothing else comes up, she'll join me for dinner tonight."
The chamberlain gasped. Even with his mind cleared, this was too startling a request.
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