Whose Playmate?
On a sunny day, the emperor summoned the Marquess of Orephia and his daughter to the Imperial Palace. Taken by surprise, Faenia followed her father with a dazed mind. When her father opened the envelope and read the letter she was coincidentally there and had also read it. She almost fell off from her father's lap, her back was covered with cold sweat.
'What the fuck is going on? What does the emperor want from me? I swear I haven't made a move yet.'
In comparison to her reaction, her father only let out an understanding sound. He patted his daughter on the head and said, "Seems like the emperor wants you as a playmate to the crown prince. Little Fae, you're amazing."
Faenia looked at her father in disbelief. 'Hey, Father, please don't joke around like that. It's not funny, not funny at all, I tell you… Fuck, is the world playing a trick on me?'
But then she saw something she thought she would never see—her father was sneering.
"Right, as if I would let my dear daughter near that little brat. The emperor must be jesting."
She widened her eyes at his words. 'What is this? Father isn't on good terms with the Imperial family? Wow, your good daughter fully supports you! Let's trash-talk them together, yeah? '
No matter how much the father-daughter pair disliked the reason for being summoned, they still needed to go. Watching them depart in the same manner, both in a bad mood, Lady Orephia was helplessly worried.
'Definitely like father like daughter. Ah, when will it be like mother like daughter? But… I hope they will return without an issue…'
Sitting in the carriage with crossed arms, her father spoke, "Don't worry, little Fae. If you don't want to play with the crown prince, you don't need to."
'Don't need to? Father, you may be a powerful man but you can't believe you can dismiss the emperor's words, can you?'
"I don't wanna. I don't wanna spend time away from home where I can't see everyone," Faenia spoke quietly, acting pitiful.
"Okay, Father will handle this."
"But… will it be fine? If Father refuses the emperor and the emperor becomes furious, it won't turn out pretty."
Her father looked at her daughter who had a worried expression. "No."
"Huh?"
"Everything will turn out fine. The emperor will not become furious," he said.
Her father made it sound like it was a fact, making her curious as to how he could be so confident. Before she knew it, they had already arrived at the Imperial Palace. Her father extended his hand like a gentleman and helped her get down from the carriage. They entered the palace and were led by an imperial knight. This would make it the second time for her to come and she really couldn't get over the artistic walls. However, she couldn't look around too much and had to reluctantly keep her head straight as much as possible as she walked.
The door leading to a room opened and they walked in. The emperor was standing with his treasured cane, his back facing them. Faenia and her father calmly greeted the emperor upon seeing him. The emperor turned around and told them to take a seat.
The emperor wasn't that old and was actually pretty good-looking. His hair had the same golden hair colour as the crown prince, but his blue eye colour was a lot deeper.
He glanced at the little figure and said, "Lord Orephia, your daughter is indeed well-mannered."
Lord Orephia nodded slightly and replied, "Thank you for your praise, Your Imperial Majesty."
Faenia observed their exchange and she could almost feel the temperature lower. They looked at each other in the eye for a moment, as if they were having a silent battle.
'Is their relationship that bad? Hey, Emperor, what did you do to offend my father?'
The corner of his mouth rose. The emperor said, "Stoic as always. How mean."
Lord Orephia nodded again. "Thank you for your praise, Your Imperial Majesty."
The emperor scrunched up his face. "Is that all you can say? Has your mouth deteriorate so much since last time?"
He waited for a proper response but all he received was a cold shoulder. The emperor huffed before he sat down in his chair. He propped his head on his hand and frowned at the man sitting opposite him with a neutral expression.
"Whatever," he said, "I don't care anymore. Let your daughter become my son's playmate."
"No," Lord Orephia unhesitantly rejected.
"Oh, why is that?"
"Your son is inferior to my daughter. Simple as that."
"Simple?! My son is the crown prince, he's inferior to no child. Who are you trying to trick?"
The emperor gritted his teeth and knitted his eyebrows, he was clearly angry. However, Lord Orephia didn't pay heed to it.
"Your Imperial Majesty, a no is a no. Find someone else."
Other than the Marquess of Orephia, no one had ever opposed him so openly and straightforward. Such kind of attitude was unacceptable but yet the emperor didn't punish the marquess.
Faenia was speechless; the relationship between her father and the emperor seemed to be more complicated than she had thought. She glanced at her father, saw his calm demeanour and couldn't help but admire him. To go against the emperor without a care, he didn't fear the emperor a bit—not even the tiniest. Indeed, her father was simply no ordinary man. She inwardly nodded her head proudly.
Compared to her father, she thought the emperor was kind of… pitiful.
"It is like this every time! All you know how to act is being against me! Do you want me to chop your head?" The emperor pointed his finger at the marquess, feeling vexed.
"Your Imperial Majesty, please stop acting like a tyrant. It is unsightly."
The emperor opened his mouth again only to close it right after. No words came out and that only made him feel annoyed. He wanted to vent his anger but he couldn't do it at the moment, lest he wanted to ruin his image and regret it in the future.
He took a deep breath and looked at the infuriated man with vengeful eyes. "... Alright, I have heard your opinion on this matter but…" he slyly shifted his gaze to the little figure and continued, "what about the little girl's opinion? I am sure she would want to play with the crown prince of Viterra."
This time, the marquess didn't speak immediately. He only turned his head to his daughter and asked, "Do you want to become the crown prince's playmate?"
Faenia was slightly taken aback at the question—did she want to befriend the male lead? 'What a joke! Who wants to be near a red flag? I'm not that crazy yet.'
She wanted to scoff and frankly reject, expressing her strong disapproval, but she couldn't recklessly act in front of an Imperial member, let alone the emperor. Though, it didn't mean she was going to accept it. In fact, she was ready to voice her opinion until a knock on the door interrupted.
When she saw the person entering the room, she clicked her tongue in annoyance and regretted that she didn't speak up faster.
"Well, well… Isn't this my son? What have you come to see me for?" the emperor asked.
After greeting his father the emperor, the crown prince answered, "This son heard that Father is looking for a playmate for this son."
The emperor rubbed his chin and hummed lightly in response. "So after hearing that, you came to me because…?"
"I firmly oppose this idea. I'm fine without one. Having no playmate means that I will have more time to concentrate on improving myself and become stronger."
'Wow, a mutual feeling. Yes, tell your daddy that you're a strong, independent son so I can leave this place already with my father.' Faenia grinned; with the male lead rejecting the emperor's plan, the emperor would surely listen to him.
"Is that so? What a shame…"
'Alright, time to go—'
"... that your opinion doesn't matter."
'—nevermind.'
It seemed like the crown prince didn't expect the outcome and lifted his head at his father in surprise. "Father, I don't understand."
The emperor lifted a corner of his lips and said, "Since you personally came to me to oppose my intention with such determination... I can't disappoint you now, can I?"
That was the moment Faenia found out that the emperor was rather sadistic, even towards his son. Something that made her recall that the very emperor was said to be killed by his son in the novel, which she had forgotten until now.
'Then did he really kill his own father...?'