The Place Where I Was Sold as a Slave Was the Imperial Palace

(58)

＜ fake and real ＞

* * *

An attendant, still somewhat young, entered and announced the emperor’s imminent arrival. All the attendants in the room went out into the hallway and lined up.

Last time it was at the far end, but today’s Rudy is at the front. It is said that it is because he serves the emperor closest to him.

The emperor, whose fat body was wrapped in fancy clothes, approached with the chief of staff and several civil servants.

Next to the emperor was the prince with a pale face.

Standing next to the emperor, who has a presence like a villain, the prince looks like a paper doll that is about to fly away.

It’s usually like that, but it seems to be worse today. The prince’s expression turned white as if he would collapse at any moment.

The escorts standing here and there and the attendants who opened the doors stood upright like stone statues and did not move even when the emperor came nearby.

However, the attendants with Rudi bowed their heads a little as the emperor approached.

Rudy also lowered his head slightly.

Being a servant is not so easy, so there are many things to memorize.

Not only when to lower your head and when not to lower it, but also the angle at which you tilt your head at different times. It’s crazy and crazy.

This time it was a case where I had to put my head down.

Rudy’s gaze moved to the floor, and a little later, the emperor’s feet passed in front of him.

The attendant next to him lightly touched his arm.

Rudy used his short legs to follow the emperor and civil servants.

The heavy door of the audience room was already open.

Today’s interview is said to be informal, but for some reason, the entrance as well as the other door are wide open.

Outside the reception room, people gathered at some distance.

According to the attendant, they are imperial nobles or ambassadors to other countries. They said they had come after hearing the news that the successor of the Duke of Watoring had been discovered.

Today’s interview was to be seen by those people, so I was warned to be careful about my actions. It’s okay to make a few mistakes, but you shouldn’t show embarrassment.

Rudy only slightly rolled his eyes and looked at the people.

Most of the nobles I’ve seen so far were either disparaging or looking down on others, or pretending to be conceited.

But now they are just like hungry wolves. The child who was said to be the heir to Watling hadn’t even arrived yet, but his eyes were wide open to take a closer look.

It seemed that he knew that Rudy’s eyes were looking elsewhere. One of the attendants quietly touched his shoulder with his finger.

I’m obviously standing behind him, so how did I know? If you want to play the role of a servant, you may have to learn the superpower of recognizing facial expressions with the back of your head. In this case, it must be magic.

Rudy fixed his gaze.

The Emperor sat down in a large chair. The prince was right next to him.

Rudy’s seat is the emperor’s right hand. As I had heard before, I stood quietly next to the armrest of the emperor’s chair.

The attendant standing on the other side of Rudy looked towards the entrance.

The attendant standing like a stone statue at the entrance of the reception room recognized it from a distance and shouted in a clear voice.

“Norman who wants asylum from a foreign country to the Empire, come in!”

Why? It is not the name of the Duke of Watoring.

Rudy quietly gazed at the space beyond the door.

In some castles, there are spaces connected by rather narrow corridors, but sometimes spaces that are too large to be called corridors are connected.

When the door dividing the space is closed, it becomes a room, and when the door is wide open again, it can be used as a hallway or a large hall.

This reception room is one of the rooms connected to such a space.

Ambassadors from various countries and imperial nobles were lined up in the direction of the space where the fake successor of Watoringu, called Norman, would walk.

In the eyes of those people, a group of people walked down the wide hallway.

A small child stood in the forefront, followed by several servants and military escorts.

Right next to the child, an attendant was leading the way, holding his hand.

The child walked slowly, with a rather clumsy gait.

‘oh my god!’

Rudy bit his lip from the inside so that no one else could see it.

There was a long knife cut in the child’s eye.

One eye was sunken, and the area around the wound was dirty, probably from suppuration. There is a small amount of blemishes under the eyes.

The white and lovely face made the scars stand out even more.

The dark-haired child was dressed in beautiful clothes and jewels, but skinny, like the people he had met as a slave. He was so thin that his clothes seemed heavy.

The attendant is helping the child almost as if to support it, but it seems to be out of power.

Every time she walked, her red lips parted slightly as if excited by the heat, and she breathed lightly from time to time.

However, those who watched from a distance do not seem to be interested in the situation of such a child. A tumultuous voice was heard among the excited people.

“Black hair.”

“Are you really the successor of Watoringu?”

“To get even the Corea dynasty…”

“I must hurry up and inform the home country…”

Amidst people’s attention, the child spent a long time walking down the aisle.

As the child entered the audience room, the emperor stood up.

The prince did not move. He was staring at the child’s face with a pale face.

The emperor quietly moved the giant body and approached the child. Before reaching the child, the emperor deliberately made some footsteps.

Have you ever met a blind man before? I thought he was a no-brainer, but surprisingly he acts considerate of others.

The attendant who supported the child spoke in a low voice.

“Norman, His Majesty the Emperor is in front of you.”

A dark-haired boy named Norman stretched his hand out in the air, slightly embarrassed. The legs moved slightly to the side, and as the hands moved down in a circle, the feet moved again.

Originally, it was a gesture holding a hat, but the child did not wear a hat. Maybe it was the intention to reveal more black hair to people.

The child paused for a moment, placing a hand on his chest, slightly bent at the waist.

It couldn’t be said to be elegant, but the child’s behavior was imbued with the manners of a nobleman.

If he was from Dicoquaria, he would have traveled to a foreign country when he was young, so it seems that there was someone who taught him the manners of an aristocrat.

“It is extraordinary. Good job coming a long way.”

When the emperor’s words fell, the child straightened his back with a nervous face. Maybe because I can’t see, I was a little clumsy in trivial actions.

The emperor held out his hand slightly, and the attendant handed over the child’s hand.

“Norman, from now on you have nothing to worry about. I’ll give you the best doctor. You will just have to rest comfortably here.”

The emperor took the child’s hand and walked slowly across the audience room.

In the middle of the reception room was a rectangular table and chairs. There is also a small chair that seems to have been prepared for Norman.

An attendant headed toward it with a tray of drink and some refreshments.

Rudy also made fun of his short legs and went to the Emperor’s side.

He must stay by the emperor’s side while he stays in the audience room today. I was told in advance that I had to do so without saying anything.

The Emperor himself guided Norman to a chair and sat down next to him.

Such a thing seems very rare. The onlookers murmured in bewilderment.

The prince was still sitting like a stone statue, but he seemed more surprised than anyone else in the room.

The emperor leaned over and whispered something to the child, and Norman nodded nervously, saying yes.

The servant naturally held out a tray and placed drinks and snacks in front of the child and the emperor.

Each snack was very small, probably with children in mind. It was a confectionery that did not stick to hands.

As Rudy had heard before, when the emperor’s eyes moved, he quickly lifted the cup and brought it close to his hand.

The emperor took a sip of the drink and exchanged a few words with the child.

Whether there were any hardships while coming here, and whether there was anything I wished for, such things.

The child seemed a bit nervous, but answered without much difficulty.

Listening to the conversation between the two, Rudy realized that the emperor did not ask the child about the ducal family or say anything reminiscent of it.

I just asked about what the child experienced.

Perhaps the child did not even know that he had come to this place as the successor of the ducal family.

Since the child didn’t appear to be faking anything, he might not even be aware that the voices he heard nearby were directed at him.

The child is blind at all. It would be possible to make someone believe that there are other people nearby.

However, the conversation between the two cannot be heard by people outside the audience room.

Even the prince wouldn’t hear it.

The emperor’s voice was so low that Rudy standing next to him could barely hear it.

“…”

The image of the emperor deliberately whispering in the child’s ear was sure to make it look like he was telling a secret story to someone he didn’t know.

The emperor was deliberately doing something that seemed meaningful.

‘Emperor, servants, everyone knows that this child is not the successor to the Duke of Watoring. I’m using it knowingly.’

Perhaps, only the crown prince did not know. It is possible that he, whose slave was killed by the emperor last time, has no idea what his father is doing.

But why are you behaving like that?

Standing upright, Rudy took the cup from the emperor’s hand several times and returned it.

Several times the attendant put sweets in the child’s mouth or fed him a drink.

Each time, the emperor smiled meaningfully and asked something. It was delicious, had you ever eaten something like this, these were the words.

Each time, the child answered the question with a serious expression.

The emperor sometimes nodded his head with a plausible expression at the child’s words.

Everyone standing at a distance must have thought that the emperor was asking about the Duke of Watoringu.

Who would dare to think that what the emperor was hearing was at best a cookie that tasted too good, or that he had never eaten it before.

While talking for a while, the attendant who served on the child slightly bowed his head toward the emperor.

‘What’s going on.’

When Rudy slightly shifted his gaze, he saw the child’s forehead. Although it was very little, the white powder on her face was stained with sweat.

The emperor opened his mouth with a soft smile.

“You look tired. I’ve been holding on too long Now go back and rest.”

The emperor took the child’s hand, raised it up, and handed it to the attendant.

Following the guidance of the attendant, the child bowed in the direction of the emperor and took a few steps back. Since I can’t see, the attendant helped me with everything.

The Emperor smiled and nodded in satisfaction.

The emperor turned around with a benevolent expression on his face, but his gaze stayed on Rudy’s face for a moment.

I lowered my head slightly, but the emperor’s voice fell from above.

“How is Nadia?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. You always miss your Majesty.”

“okay. I miss her often too.”

It was a somewhat forlorn voice.

The emperor took his gaze away from Rudy and moved on.

The prince got up with a blank face and followed the emperor, but suddenly saw the child.

Norman was embraced by an attendant before he knew it. He must have been tired. The child’s head landed on the servant’s shoulder.

As if he was accustomed to handling a child, the attendant supported the child with one arm and gave a slight pat on the back with the other hand.

Rudy paused slightly.

Although it was only for a moment, the prince’s eyes as he gazed at the child were filled with murderous intent.

why?

I don’t understand the meaning of the prince’s hostility toward that child.

But those eyes quickly disappeared, and the prince followed his father and quietly went out into the hallway.

When the emperor disappeared, the attendant took the child and headed in the opposite direction.

The eyes of people watching with lights on also follow the movement of the child and bend their direction.

A few got closer to get a closer look at the child, but were stopped by escort officers.

However, most nobles and foreign ambassadors left the building in a hurry. Everyone seems to be going to their home countries or their own territories to spread the news.

Everyone seemed to think that the child was the successor to the Duke of Watoring.

‘···.’

I don’t know if that will make the child happy or unhappy.

He would have been furious at the act of deceiving an ignorant child.

But now I know the reality of this world.

Looking at the child’s face, he must have been in a difficult situation.

I don’t know what will happen after this, but for the time being, the child will be able to stay in a warm building with good food and medicine.

Considering the medical situation of this era, the child may not live long. People die surprisingly quickly. The child’s wound looked very bad.

‘If that’s the case…’

Rudy secretly sighed.

If there is nothing to eat right in front of your eyes, a person becomes no different from an animal.

Human dignity, pride, and the pursuit of happiness mean nothing in the face of hunger and cold.

Only those who have been through it know it.

Rudy stared at the child until the figure disappeared completely, then turned away.

‘What are you thinking?’

The Emperor must have known that the child was a fake. But why do they deceive people by pretending to be real? What makes people believe that the child is real?

I thought something was strange.

＜Fake and Real＞ End