IYAMD 178

Side Story 3

Ian Yandel, currently on guard duty, was feeling a bit tense. Judging by the expression on Joshua’s face as they stood watch together in front of the doors across from them, he must be feeling the same way.

Originally members of the Black Knights, the emperor’s personal knightly order, the two had become bodyguards to the twin prince and princess three years ago.

Normally, the Red Knights would have been responsible for guarding the heirs to the throne. However, since the Empress frequently went on monster-hunting expeditions from spring through fall, the Red Knights had been placed under his direct command for quite some time.

There had been talk of splitting the unit to form a new order, but due to a shortage of personnel, several members of the Black Knights had been drafted to take turns providing the escort, and it had already been three years.

It was now the time when the twins, who had once been tiny, had grown tall and were running wild throughout the palace.

It was late at night, a time when the children, who had just turned four, would normally be fast asleep. Ian and Joshua were on edge for a different reason.

It was because the empress, who had been away from the palace for over a month on a monster-hunting expedition, had returned that very afternoon.

Ian sighed inwardly at the sound of the door behind him opening and exchanged a glance with Joshua. When he saw the door behind Joshua also opening, he let out a full sigh this time.

He glanced down and saw the princess, wearing a round bonnet. She looked up at him through the door crack with a finger pressed to her lips.

Another round head peeked out from behind Joshua as well.

“Sir Yandel?”

Ian turned to face the princess, who was calling out to him in a hushed voice. He knelt on one knee and replied as calmly as he could.

“Your Highness. Haven’t I always told you that you should be sleeping when the moon is rising toward the top of the sky?”

The princess pulled herself back through the crack in the door. She clutched the rabbit doll she’d dragged along to her chest and said to Ian with a defiant expression.

“Heli and I promised we’d go see Papa.”

From behind him, a voice whispered like an echo, “We promised.”

In a way, it was only natural that the young prince and princess would want to spend time with the empress, whom they had been separated from for so long.

But the problem was that the children weren’t the only ones waiting for the empress’s return.

There was someone else who had been waiting with bated breath more than anyone else.

Knowing that the emperor had spent the entire dinner with bloodshot eyes, staring at the empress, Ian was at a loss as to how to explain this to the innocent children.

Completely unconcerned with Ian’s dilemma, Princess Lotis opened her lips with a sullen expression.

“Lead the way.”

Her voice was so firm that it left no room to appreciate [visit our site]the cuteness of the lace bonnet that half-covered her forehead.

Joshua shrugged beside him. What can you do? his expression seemed to say. If she tells us to do it, we’ll do it.

Honestly, it wasn’t their duty to make the children understand, right? Ian and Joshua exchanged a brief glance, and that was the end of their communication.

The emperor will handle it, I suppose.

And so, Ian led the twins, who were shuffling along behind him, toward the emperor’s bedchamber. Behind the children, he could hear the sound of Joshua’s listless footsteps, as if to say, “Whatever will be, will be.”

Before turning the corner of the hallway, Ian gestured backward and paused.

He could feel the children scurry up and press themselves against his calves. When he turned around, two pairs of eyes, sparkling with excitement, were fixed on him.

When Ian raised a finger to his lips, the children giggled quietly and mimicked his gesture.

All he could see were their round, puffy cheeks beneath the lace of their white sleeping bonnets.

The two children buried their faces in the rabbit dolls’ heads to stifle their laughter. They didn’t seem to mind in the least that the rabbit dolls, slightly smaller than their own bodies, were blocking their view.

While Ian checked the area around the corner, the children pressed themselves flat against the wall, waiting for his next instruction.

Ian glared at a guard wandering around obliviously and waited a moment until the man scurried away.

The innocent guard vanished into a nearby room without a sound Read onafter seeing Ian’s demonic expression, and only then did Ian move again.

A smile slipped onto his face unconsciously as he felt the excited children tiptoeing to follow him. The prince and princess always enjoyed these secret escapades away from the adults whenever they visited the Emperor’s bedchamber. This little game was a bit of a hassle for him as an adult, but it was also entertaining.

There was the minor issue that it took quite a bit of time.

Since this game only lasted until they made it out of the bedchamber, it usually ended sooner than he expected.

Going along with the children’s enthusiasm, Ian made his way out of the sleeping quarters and turned onto the garden’s shortcut.

The distance to the emperor’s bedchamber was far to cover at the children’s pace, so he glanced back briefly, but neither the prince nor the princess seemed to notice his thoughts.

Ian and Joshua already knew there was nothing they could do until the children asked to be carried first. Therefore, they adjusted their walking speed while looking ahead as carefully as possible.

If even one of the children were to fall on the gravel path, this week’s overtime pay would go right down the drain. But if being careful were enough to make everything go his way, Ian wouldn’t be standing here right now.

“Ow.”

Before his worries could even subside, he heard the sound of Helios falling down.

“Your Highness!”

“Heli!”

The voices of two adults speaking in hushed tones and a young [Read on]girl who’d forgotten to keep her voice down echoed through the quiet garden. Before the two adults could help the prince, who’d slipped and fallen onto the gravel path, Lotis stepped forward first.

“Heli, are you okay?”

“U… uh-yes.”

He was barely holding back tears. As Helios slowly got to his feet, Lotis crouched down and examined his knees.

“Your hands? Are you hurt?”

Helios’s cheeks twitched as he held out his tiny hands. One hand was awkwardly extended because he was clutching the rabbit doll, but both were scraped by the gravel.

He’d only injured his hands because his face had been buried in the rabbit doll he was holding.

This was a disaster. At the thought of their pay going down the drain, Joshua and Ian both wore grim expressions.

That was one thing, but seeing such a cute child get hurt was also heartbreaking. It wasn’t just because they were worried about getting scolded by the emperor.

After spending every day together for three years, they’d grown attached to him. How could anyone not grow fond of someone so adorable? It was only natural to feel a pang of sorrow watching his chubby cheeks quiver as he fought back tears.

Lotis let out a sigh as she watched the prince struggling to hold back his tears.

“You have to be careful, you fool.”

The princess took the prince’s hand. She grumbled as she channeled her divine power. A small, stolen contenttwinkling light, like a firefly, flowed from Lotis to Helios, and a gentle breeze enveloped him.

His calf-length nightgown fluttered briefly, and the short brim of his lace-trimmed bonnet swayed in the breeze. As the wound on his hands healed, Helios blinked away his tears and gave a shy smile.

“Are you alright?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Nod, nod. The child nodded quickly, then bravely wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve and reached out his arms toward Joshua.

“I want carry.”

“Would you like me to carry you?”

“Yes.”

The child looked a little downcast as he nodded, then nestled into Joshua’s arms as he bent down.

Feeling awkward, Ian looked at Lotis. The princess, who was even more stubborn than the prince, put on a sullen expression unbecoming of a child. She sighed and reached out her arms.

“Pick me up.”

“Of course. Excuse me, Your Highness.”

The two knights ran quickly ​stolen content​while carrying the children and soon reached the emperor’s sleeping quarters.

The knights standing guard saw them, gave a wry smile, and allowed them to run unimpeded all the way to the floor where the emperor’s bedroom was located.

However, when they reached the hallway where the emperor’s bedchamber came into view, their legs stopped of their own accord. Ian and Joshua exchanged glances as they stood in place.

You go first.

Ian sighed inwardly as he looked into Joshua’s wide eyes.

Damn it. It’s always like this, he uses his rank to push me around.

With each step he took as he led the way, it felt as though he were stepping into the fires of hell.

There was no way the emperor, a Sword Master, hadn’t sensed their presence. The emperor, whose intimate time with the empress had been interrupted, was probably grinding his teeth in fury at the sound of their approaching footsteps.

As proof, the door to the emperor’s bedchamber swung open before the group could even reach it. A man as broad as the door itself blocked the crack from which a dim light was seeping out. He leaned against the closed door, glaring at Ian with eyes that shone as fiercely as a hellhound’s.

But that lasted only a moment.

“Papa.”

As the twins called out to him in unison, a warm breeze blew through his eyes, which had been as icy as frost just a moment ago. The emperor scolded the children affectionately.

“Who are these little troublemakers wandering about at this late hour? Hmm?”

As Ian and Joshua set the children down and stepped back slightly, the emperor’s stern gaze followed them. But when he looked at the children who had approached him, he smiled.

“The empress has already gone to sleep. If you promise to go to sleep quietly, I’ll let you in.”

The twins nodded quickly. Then they waved to Ian and Joshua and slipped through the door.

“Good night, Sir Yandel.”

“Good night, Joshu.”

After the children had gone inside, the emperor stared at the two men and moved his lips.

After reading the shape of his lips as “We’ll discuss this later,” Joshua placed his fist over his heart and bowed.

“Good night, Your Majesty.”

Ian said nothing further and followed Joshua in bowing. Only when the face, which had been a dark shadow, vanished through the door did he sigh.

“Phew, that was close. Thank goodness the empress had already gone to sleep… haa.”

“You’re right. Ah, that really could have been a disaster.”

The two men patted their chests in unison and stepped back. Thanks to the prince and princess, ​visit our site​they’d gotten an unexpected day off today, so they were satisfied.

The emperor’s retaliation would come tomorrow, but… well, since they’d be sticking close to the prince and princess anyway, they weren’t really afraid.

It was just a shame to lose a day’s worth of overtime pay.