The Daughter Who Returned from the Grave
Albrecht thought it impossible. In this world, people could look alike, and hair could be dyed. This was surely another of the Schwab faction’s cunning schemes. They were likely trying to make him voluntarily accept her and give her his heart...
Fearing he might drop the lock of his daughter’s hair, he clenched his fist tightly and glared at the woman, telling himself he would never be deceived.
The woman spoke in a low, steady voice.
"Most people in the world say that Your Majesty loved Lilian. At least, that was the case when Princess Roella was conceived... and that the Schwab Duchy had carefully cultivated a woman who matched Your Majesty's tastes."
"......"
"My maternal grandfather thinks the same. I know that afterward, Your Majesty stood against the Schwab Duchy and suffered defeat, but that does not mean you did not love Lilian Krause."
The surroundings were so still that not even the sound of moving air could be heard. Olivia felt her own voice ringing clearly amidst the pouring sunlight.
Her hollow chest ached intensely, but she managed to maintain a calm, cold expression. She felt like crying at the thought that what lay before her was the grave of a mother whose face she couldn't even remember, but she shoved that emotion deep beneath the floor of her heart and slammed the lid shut.
Duke Klaus had asked if it was really necessary to meet the Emperor separately.
"The Emperor betrayed your mother. Of course, betraying his wife might not mean he abandoned his daughter, too. But I do not think he buried you in his heart."
He was sincere. Not only with Adelaide, but he had lost young children before. That was why he knew. If he had been consumed by the sorrow of a child who died tragically, he would not have been able to take another woman into his bed to indulge in pleasure during the mourning period.
The Duke worried that Olivia might harbor expectations of her father and end up hurt.
"If it is about proving your identity, my guarantee should be more than enough. We have the letter from the previous Count of Lutgarth, too. If you wish to see the Imperial Palace, just go with this old man. Even if the Captain of the Imperial Guard is a lackey of the Schwab faction, he cannot stop me from requesting an audience with the Emperor."
"No. I just want to meet the Emperor myself first."
"Via..."
"It makes it easier to plan. In any case, the Emperor has stood against the Schwab Duchy for a long time. If by any chance the Emperor is still hostile toward them, isn't that a card we absolutely cannot afford to miss?"
Because her words were correct, Duke Klaus nodded as if he had no choice.
"If we can join hands with the Emperor, we will be able to create a much better situation than simply revealing your identity unilaterally. Considering that the Emperor has never explicitly shown support for Princess Roella, I believe the possibility is sufficient."
That was why Olivia had come here.
It wasn't that she had no personal feelings. She had told Duke Klaus and Theodore that it was for strategic gain, but perhaps the reason she had insisted on meeting him in person was, in fact, for that very reason. To meet the biological father she had never encountered, even through three lifetimes.
She had never felt a lack of paternal love, so she didn't yearn for the Emperor with affection. To her, the Emperor was like a character in a story. In her first and third lives, when it was revealed that she was an Imperial Princess, he had never come to see her or taken any action.
Still, she wanted to meet him once. Perhaps, just as she hadn't known her maternal grandfather, she simply hadn't known her father, either.
"So, I was curious. Whether you mourned my mother enough, whether you grieved for my death... though, in truth, I might just be doing this because I want to believe in you, Your Majesty."
As he listened to her speak, Albrecht had been trembling violently since halfway through.
Her voice was even more similar than her face. His gaze touched Olivia's earlobes and swept up along her hair. Those earlobes and hair were adorned with the jewelry he remembered. The diamonds sparkled as if wings had sprouted behind her ears.
"Father has already bought those. You're so impatient. Wait, why is your face turning red? Don't tell me you've already prepared for my sixteenth birthday?"
The delicate voice revived in his mind as clearly as if it were yesterday.
Strength left Albrecht's hands, and the faded baby hair fell and scattered on the floor. Olivia saw tears welling up in his grayish-brown eyes.
"Surely... I am not, right now, seeing a hallucination, am I?"
"......"
"There is no way such a thing could happen in reality. The Schwab Duke's handiwork is..."
He meant to say it was terribly good, but Albrecht collapsed to the spot. Tears finally streamed down his cheeks. If this were a trick, it was a wicked act that wouldn't even exist in hell. But if it wasn't...
"Could it be, Via...?"
Olivia looked down at him as he gazed up at her in a daze, then looked past his shoulder at the two bouquets of roses. The crystal angel statue on the small tombstone reflected the sunlight, scattering five-colored light.
Her own eyes grew moist. No matter what the world said, she was certain that her father had missed her.
So, she stood there quietly, lifting the hem of her skirt and bowing with an elegant grace. The very image he would have seen had he not lost his daughter.
"Olivia, daughter of Empress Adelaide, offers her first greeting to Father. Have you been well all this time?"
Albrecht reached his hands forward, fumbling as he crawled up from the floor. Then, with a staggering gait as if he might collapse, he finally reached her.
His hands, clutching her sleeves, were like those of a begging pauper. He pulled her arms, drew her into his embrace, and slumped back down to the floor.
Olivia's hands hugged his back, stroking it as if to soothe him. He sobbed, forgetting even how to breathe. The child he had buried in his heart had returned alive, and though the pit he had barely covered over in his heart was torn wide open again, there was nothing he found more joyful than this.
***
It was around the time the sun was beginning to set when the Chief Chamberlain entered the family cemetery to find the Emperor, who had not returned for a long time.
The Emperor was sitting on a bench in the middle of the path.
"You've come."
The Emperor said in a calm tone and expression. However, his clothes were covered in dirt and his jacket was wrinkled. His eyes were red as if he had been crying, and his voice was hoarse. Seeing his hair was damp, the Chief Chamberlain surmised that he had likely washed his face at the fountain along the way.
'Poor man.'
He must have collapsed and wailed while hugging the tombstone. The Chief Chamberlain thought that must be why he had dismissed his guards and entered alone. He had come to find him alone because he had expected as much.
He spoke in a gentle voice.
"It is time for you to return, Your Majesty."
"Yes."
The Emperor answered more readily than expected. The Chief Chamberlain was slightly surprised that he didn't make a sarcastic remark or crack a heart-wrenching joke, but he didn't particularly suspect anything. He must have been exhausted from crying for so long.
Even after answering, he sat in that spot for a while without moving. The Chief Chamberlain stood by and waited calmly. Eventually, the Emperor stood up and began to walk in the lead. The Chief Chamberlain followed him with a respectful attitude.
As the Emperor stepped out of the family cemetery, the Imperial Guards, who had been standing in formation for a long time, corrected their relaxed postures. He didn't even cast a glance at his surroundings and boarded the carriage immediately.
The Chief Chamberlain intended to ride in a different carriage this time, but the Emperor caught him.
"Get in."
"Pardon?"
"Get in. I have something to ask you."
He didn't say another word and climbed into the seat opposite the Emperor. An Imperial Guard closed the door from the outside.
Even until the carriage departed, the Emperor remained silent. The Chief Chamberlain didn't suspect, didn't wonder, and as always, emptied his mind completely, waiting for the question. Thinking was not his role.
"With what happened with Lilian, I imagine the Princess must be feeling melancholy. What do you think?"
"That would be the case. It is only human nature, Your Majesty."
"I must meet her once. If nothing comes up, I shall have dinner with her this evening."
The Chief Chamberlain gasped. Even though he had emptied his mind, this was a far too bewildering statement.