5- I don't want to be an emperor.

The carriage stopped, the knights stood in position, and then his companion got off the carriage first.

Raihle had a bad feeling, but he shook it off.

“Don’t expect me to maintain your reputation.” He mumbled his words to the Real Raihle.

He wasn’t planning on playing Raihle’s role even if he was in his body; Hyun Wa was Hyun Wa, and since he didn’t know what kind of things Real Raihle would do with his body, he wouldn’t hesitate to act however he liked.

The carriage door opened, and Raihle got off but instantly paused before getting down from the carriage step.

He stood in front of a majestic marble palace with towers that reached the sky; they were huge enough for him to think that there was a whole city across the golden bars. The white marble reflected the sunlight and looked like it was made of solid clouds.

There were different types of people standing there waiting for his appearance. On one side, people wore different luxury clothing and looked at him with gazes like knives, stabbing him from head to toe.

On the other side were people in black clothing who looked humble and sincere and looked at him with friendlier looks.

And in the middle, a white-haired man sat comfortably with a wide smile that curled the skin under his eyes. His grin was hidden underneath his thick mustache, but his teeth showed as Raihle took his steps towards them.

The nobles, the priests, and finally the emperor.

Raihle held a straight back and an emotionless look.

The closer he got, the sharper his gaze got. He could feel the heat touching his skin. He kept his eyes forward, only at the emperor.

He could see how thrilled and overwhelmed the emperor was just by looking into his eyes.

“Raihle! My grandson!”

The emperor suddenly stood and opened his arms, making the two men next to him flinch in surprise and try to make him settle down.

Raihle stopped at his place and was about to bow.

“I’m back, yo_”

Your majesty?

Why should he say that?

He had no reason to act as a respectful prince; after all, the real prince was a thief and rude as hell.

“Grandpa.” He bowed slightly and straightened his back to show him a stoic, cold look. “I’m glad to see you well.”

The atmosphere turned instantly freezing; it looked as if everyone stopped breathing at the same time.

It was only Raihle who enjoyed that shocked, pale expression on everyone's faces.

“What…what did you just say?” The emperor pointed at him while shaking.

‘What is wrong? Are you angry?’

Raihle kept his gaze fixed and tilted his head.

“Grandpa? Are you starting to feel ill again?”

The emperor's eyes widen more, his shaking increases, and he seems about to fall dead before he shouts.

“My grandson called me Grandpa! It’s the first time! Did you all hear that!?”

‘Hm?’

“Did you hear him, Hugo? My adorable grandson finally called me grandpa! This must be a national celebration day! All grandpas in the empire must celebrate their grandchild today!”

‘Excuse me? That’s not how you were supposed to react?’

“Okay, I understand. Your Majesty,  just please calm down.”

Hugo, the red-headed man on his left, held him and tried to put him back on the chair.

The emperor was still grinning and giggling, as all the diseases in the world wouldn’t kill him right now.

Raihle somehow regretted what he had done.

He was taken to rest inside the palace rooms before the emperor called for him.

He went reluctantly; their last encounter didn’t go as planned, and he naturally found it hard to communicate with a loving grandparent. Moreover, he had his suspicions about the emperor and his true relationship with his grandson. 

The emperor, who claimed the throne back after the late emperor and empress died,  banished the prince away. He was a mere five years old, yet the rumors about his disqualification as a crown prince spread over the whole empire. Logically, how can you determine someone’s qualification and disqualification when they just learned how to spell their own name?

There was a scheme involved, and Raihle was sure the emperor was behind it.

“There he is! How’s my dear grandson?”

The emperor was sitting on his wheelchair, but he opened his arms wide to welcome Raihle to come in.

Raihle tried his best not to frown after hearing his shout, then his eyes moved to a redheaded man sighing beside the emperor and rubbing his temples. Either he is bold enough to act as recklessly as him, or he is close enough to the emperor to not care about the behavior he shows.

He calmly sat on a chair across from the two of them.

“How were you?” The emperor’s eyes glowed. “I heard there was a bit of a mess in your place.”

A bit of a mess?

Was he talking about how the Lumier army almost infiltrated one of the empire’s territories?

Raihle looked down at the tea on the table with the snacks. If he had kept his eyes on the emperor, he would have scoffed and blamed his poor peace policy for it.

“I also heard you cut that bastard’s head off.”

“Yeah, I suppose.” He said dully.

He raised his head and accidentally saw the doubtful look on the red-headed man.

“As expected from my grandson! HAHAH”

Unlike his grandfather, who was giggling at the top of his lungs, the other man looked at him as if, ‘You want me to believe that this scarecrow boy cut a man’s head off? He doesn’t look able to cut a carrot!’

Raihle’s eyes slightly widened when he realized how easy this man is to read; it’s like his thoughts show up written on his forehead.

The emperor suddenly wore a solemn face. Raihle quickly removed his eyes from him and looked at the emperor.

“Raihle, from now on, you will stay close. Something like this might happen again any day, and we can’t put your life in danger. You’re the only and last heir of this empire.”

‘Man, please stop putting your whole empire on my shoulders.’

He had grown tired of hearing the same sentence over and over.

“I will give you the western palace to stay in for now.” Then he pointed at the man next to him and said, “This is Duke Hugo Miola; he will be the responsible person to take care of you_”

“Pfftt!”

Hugo was distracted drinking his tea before he spilled half of it in the air.

“Excuse me?” He slammed the tea cup on the table. “Responsible? ME? Your Majesty, what kind of nonsense are you talking about? Please tell me you just skipped your medicine and you’re not serious.”

Raihle raised an eyebrow as he took a small cookie from the snack plate. “You know, I’m not really as stupid as others say, if that’s what’s concerning you.”

He didn’t admit it, but he took Hugo’s reaction to the emperor's words offensively.

Hugo glanced at him once, then pleaded with the emperor. “There are hundreds, no, thousands of people better than me. You literally describe me as an alcoholic garbage."

“And you are.” The emperor spoke calmly, then smiled at Raihle. “You probably don’t remember, but he was a good friend to your parents, and he had been a dragon wing before their death.”

“Dragon Wing?”

The 'alcoholic garbage'? Raihle looked at him doubtfully.

He didn’t get what a dragon wing meant, but since he was living in a place worshiping dragons, he could only imagine how important this title is.

“Yes, your father chose him to be one of his dragon wings and gave him a portion of his powers. He and two others were given those titles.” He glowered at Hugo at the edge of his eyes. “Yet this man brought every bit of shame to it.”

“I see.”

It seemed like another thing he should search for later. Raihle thought.

Hugo wasn’t bothered by the little insults the emperor gave him. “Since you already know that, how can you entrust your grandson to someone like me? Ask Lain instead.”

“Lain isn’t a free man slaking around with his duties thrown aside like you. He has his own responsibility as the Imperial Priest.” The emperor turned back and assured Raihle. “Now he isn’t a dragon wing, and he is barely a Duke. You can say he is almost useless, but there is no one more suitable than him for you to slowly start building a reputation without drawing unnecessary attention.”

Hugo was at a loss for words, while Raihle understood what he meant.

If he suddenly started hanging out with someone known and powerful, people might assume he was planning something big.

He didn’t want to be under the spotlight, so this is perfect for him.

“Thank you for your consideration.” He then eyed Hugo coldly, and for some reason, Hugo flinched. “I’m looking forward to being under your care.”

Hugo shook his head and then his hands “Don’t. Don’t look forward to it.”

Raihle ignored him and got up.

“Can I go to see my palace now?”

“Of course, the servants will lead you.” The emperor sent him off with a grin.

Hugo dropped on his knee and looked up at the emperor in his wheelchair. “Why are you doing this to me?” His voice sounded like a sob.

“I’m doing you a favor.” The emperor responded sharply, “For how long are you going to avoid that kid?”

Hugo’s jaw stiffened, the furrow on his brow loosened, and he spoke clearly without whining. “I’m not.”

The emperor kept his gaze on his face and sighed. “Bring him some servants and guards; he needs tutoring as well. Make him into a proper prince that people will claim as an emperor.”

Easier said than done, Hugo wanted to cry.

The servant went through the rooms of his palace with him; there were more offices than bedrooms, and he had a library on each floor. There weren’t many servants or maids, Raihle noticed, but then realized it was probably Duke Hugo’s job to hire them and bring a little life to the wide, soundless palace.

“And this is the main kitchen; this is where most of your meals will be made." The servant accidentally put his eyes in Raihle's, then slightly flinched, lowered his head, and mumbled. “Not that you need to know that, your highness.”

Raihle was confused. Were the Imperial family usually strict and hard on their employees?

He didn’t get that impression from the emperor when he met him so he wondered what made the servant look frightened.

“Lastly, this is your breakfast room; it has a door linked to the garden outside.”

Raihle's eyes squinted as the bright sunlight reflected through the glass ceiling.

The room was filled with greens and freshness, plants were thriving inside the wide glass room, the air felt light and clean, and the dining table was next to widows, where all the warmth came from.

It took onlya few seconds for Raihle to like this room.

He looked up at the clear ceiling standing between the ground and the bright blue sky.

His chest started to tighten and trap the air inside. It’s been a long time since he laid his eyes on the clear sky and felt the sun tickling his skin.

When he first became Raihle, he was a little relieved when he looked outside the window and saw the moon floating in a pitch-black sky.

That meant that this place was different from his world.

His world was gray, dusty, and unbearable to breathe in.

This world, however, made him uncomfortably light and vulnerable but also coated him with warmth.

His eyes were fixed on the sky for minutes before his lips muttered in a voice only he could hear. “If only they could have the chance to see this too.” The gloom in his voice brought him back to reality.

“I will stay here for now.” He told the servant.

“Should I bring something for you?”

“No.”

The servant ran out of the room as soon as Raihle answered strictly.

He took a few steps in, then saw the door leading to the outside garden and decided to take a walk. He didn’t spend three minutes standing outside until he found a spot of clear, wet grass and laid down on it.

His back absorbed the wetness of the grass, and his long hair spread around his face. He slowly closed his eyes and sensed every air blow on his skin and the rustle of the trees moving with the wind around him; everything felt so alive to the point of addiction.

He enjoyed the calmness for a couple hours before he was interrupted.

“Your highne_” The servant from earlier spoke like a whisper.

Raihle wasn’t asleep, so it was unnecessary. “What is it?”

“The Duke wants to see you.”

Raihle opened his eyes. He thought the duke would do his best to avoid the heavy duty, but it turned out he failed.

He got up, grass stained his clothes, and leaves got tangled in his messed-up hair. He didn’t bother to shake it off, and the servant didn’t have the courage to mention it out loud.

“Come in.” Hugo's voice came from behind the door after he knocked.

"Ah, finally, what happened? Did you roll on the ground?”

“No, I was lying down on it.”

Hugo was speechless for a second, then shook his head.

“I just wanted to ask you some questions. First of all, do you want me to bring any of your old servants here?”

Does he mean the people in the old mansion who absolutely despised him?

Raihle didn’t hesitate to shake his head.

Hugo’s frown was visible; he looked like he was about to click his tongue.

‘This kid really has no affection for others, does he?’

Raihle, who read that thought on his face, had nothing to say; obviously, Hugo was misunderstanding Raihle’s relationship with his previous servants.

Hugo sighed before continuing, “I already sent letters to start your education tomorrow; they are all good tutors, so don’t make it hard for them.”

Now things started to be a little interesting; after all, Hyun Wa was originally a teacher, and he liked learning different styles of teaching. He also wanted to learn about this place faster; this is exactly what he needed.

He just remembered how much he liked to learn new skills when he was younger, unless it involved Math of any sort.

“Okay.” Raihle reasoned with him.

Raihle’s expression was difficult to read, so Hugo was a little concerned.

“Do your best, okay? Don’t bully them.”

“What makes you think I would bully them?”

Hugo didn’t answer that question; he couldn’t explain that Raihle somehow had the face of a natural bully. His eyes were sharp and mean, and whenever he opened his mouth, Hugo felt like he would shudder from the coldness.

Hugo has nephews and nieces; he knows exactly how a spoiled child can be unbearably annoying.

He got a headache just by thinking of how things can go horribly wrong, so he snatched the wine bottle he had on his desk and drank what he had left of it.

“Also, your secretary will arrive tomorrow too. Be nice to him; he is a nice kid.”

Raihle didn’t say another word and simply left.