“It’s obviously not something you can afford.”
“I have enough to buy that necklace.”
Yerhan answered firmly, and the man’s forehead narrowed. He rolled up his sleeve and shoved the ring with the emblem on the top forward and said,
“You don’t seem to know, but have you heard of the Top of Marvell?”
Yerhan thought about the name of the Marvell Top for a while.
Looking back on his memory, it was the top that said that they would deliver goods in large quantities to his coronation ceremony.
It was a large-scale top which actively traded with foreign countries.
When Yerhan did not speak, the man shrugged his shoulders.
“I think you know. I’m the vice-president there.”
It was only then that Yerhan realized that he had once seen this man before. He remembered the scene where he entered the Imperial Palace while shaking hands with the owner of the top.
This man had an eye for things, but he didn’t seem to have an eye for people.
At that time, he almost threw himself on the floor, but now he was talking down to him.
He was thinking about changing the deal to another top because they had not delivered the goods yet.
“So what do you want me to do?”
“What do you mean by that?”
The man frowned, as if he did not expect such an answer to come.
Yerhan looked down at the man with an expressionless face.
The man flinched at the strange pressure. But he raised his voice as if he did not want to give up the necklace.
“Don’t you know that a man should live by one’s means?”
Yerhan, who was listening quietly, asked back, abandoning honorifics.
“Follow your means, huh? Do you need to follow your means to wear a necklace?”
The man must have been speechless, his face was blushing and his lips twitched.
Realizing that he couldn’t win, he saw Illian standing next to Yerhan. The man whose mouth had briefly parted in surprise upon seeing Illian, who looked like a doll, coughed out.
“You’d better give way before you get embarrassed in front of your child.”
When Yerhan didn’t budge, the man crossed his arms and scowled. Then he took out a heavy pocket from his arms and put it down on the table with a loud sound.
“I can pay this much for the necklace.”
He beckoned to the clerk, signaling to end it with money.
The hesitant clerk opened his pocket slightly. The pocket was full of big gold coins. This amount was enough to buy the earrings and rings even after paying for the necklace.
But Yerhan looked down at the man with no expression on his face.
“Give up if you can’t pay that much!”
The man spoke triumphantly.
Then Yerhan took out a piece of paper in his pocket inside the cape. The eyes of the man and the clerk were wide open.
It looked ridiculously light compared to the heavy pocket offered by the man.
Yerhan jutted his chin at the clerk, putting a piece of paper on the table with nothing written on it.
“Write the amount you want.”
The man realized that the paper Yerhan gave was a blank check.
“You’re bluffing. I also have a blank…”
The provoked man paused as he tried to search his arms for a check. Later, the check from Yerhan caught his eyes.
At the bottom of the check was the issuer’s sentence, which looked very familiar.
It was a sentence that symbolized the imperial family.
“Gasp.”
The man sank to the floor in astonishment.
Cheques with imperial sentences, not banks, could only be used by the imperial family. And now the only imperial family members left in the Imperial Palace was the third prince couple and the imperial grandson.
The man, sitting on the floor, trembled and raised his head. The bright blond hair and blue eyes hidden under the hat clearly stood out to the man.
All of this was emblematic of the Imperial family.
The man recalled what he had said so far and immediately threw his head onto the floor.
“Fo, forgive…”
The man threw away his pride and began to beg forgiveness.
Yerhan looked at such a man with no expression.
“You better leave quickly because you’re wasting my time.”
The man stood up from his seat after being dazed at that one sentence. The man checked if his head was still properly attached, and hurriedly left the store.
In an instant the store became quiet, and the clerks turned pale and looked at Yerhan and Illian.
However, Yerhan asked calmly, as if nothing happened.
“When can I see the necklace?”
The startled clerk immediately took it and put it out.
Yerhan and Illian sat face to face on the sofa and checked the necklace.
At first glance, he thought it was a ruby, but when he looked closely, it was an oval-shaped red diamond.
The two, as meticulously scrutinized as jewel appraisers, briefly imagined Rosena wearing the necklace. It was perfect.
“Please bring me earrings too.”
There was nothing more to see. This was Rosena’s thing.
While Illian looked at something else for a moment, Yerhan glanced at the display case. He saw a small belt with jewels like the necklace.
It also looked appropriate to wear as a sword sheath.
Yerhan picked up the belt while Illian was preoccupied with something else.
Yerhan, who paid all the bills, called Illian.
“Let’s go.”
The two left the store with light steps.
When Illian moved first, Yerhan, who was standing behind, stopped.
“Illian.”
“?”
When his name was called, Illian put on a strange expression. It was because there were only a few times he called Illian’s name.
Yerhan held out a small paper bag to Illian.
Illian blinked when he received the paper bag. When he opened the paper bag wide, a beautifully wrapped belt came out.
“I’m sorry for not paying attention to you until now.”
Yerhan said, stroking Illian’s head.
Illian touched his belt again and again without saying anything. It wasn’t the first time he received a gift, but it meant something different.
“I’ll buy you something better next time.”
Since they will continue to be together in the future, he wanted to do better than what he has been able to do until now.
Illian held the paper bag tightly and nodded.
Yerhan smiled without realizing it, perhaps because Illian was shy, the way he clamped his lips were adorable.
The two men roamed the streets in a friendly manner.
After buying the necklace and earrings, they saw a hat that matched them well.
At the same time, Yerhan and Illian pointed to the hat and looked at each other.
You have good eyes.
They complimented each other with their gazes before opening the store door without hesitation and went inside.
And so, Yerhan and Illian forgot the purpose of going out and shopped for a while.
***
Time passed and it was the day before the coronation ceremony.
It was only when the dress and the crown for the coronation came, that she felt it real.
Rosena thought of what had happened one by one. It was all hard times, but thinking about it now, it was all memories.
After finishing the morning routine, Rosena looked out of the window. The sun had already risen above the sky.
“It’s already time…”
There was a place she was supposed to go with Yerhan today.
As soon as Rosena stood up, the bedroom door opened. Through the open door came Yerhan, who held an armful of roses.
“Are you ready?”
Yerhan, who came to pick her up, asked Rosena.
She nodded a little, and Yerhan reached out his hand.
Holding hands together, Rosena left the bedroom with him.
After bringing in Illian, Rosena got on a carriage that was ready in front of the building.
The carriage ran on a busy road, and pulled out of the capital.
By the time the sun went down, the carriage stopped.
Rosena pulled the curtains and looked out the window at the view. An old but large building caught her eyes. It was the mansion of the Count of Estarot.
Rosena got off the carriage and looked around.
The mansion was very different from when she came here a year ago. The colorful but numerous plants were tidy, and the fresh-looking vegetation filled the garden.
The mansion was also neatly painted, reducing unnecessary luxury and fitting into practicality.
While Rosena was looking at the garden, someone came out of the mansion.
“My lady!”
It was Count Estarot’s old butler who called for Rosena. The gray-haired old butler was so happy to see her.
The gray-haired old butler walked to Rosena with a look of surprise. A man followed behind such an old butler.
Rosena had seen this man in the divinity ceremony.
“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Count Estarot.”
Rania’s ex-husband, Count Estarot, greeted her politely.
Rosena glanced at the count. His face was ordinary, but he was neatly dressed and there seemed to be intelligence in his eyes.
Rosena had heard rumors about him.
Count Estarot took good care of the people of land, and was popular even within the territory.
Looking at his face, she could roughly see his personality.
When she was led into the mansion, Rosena had a brief conversation with Count Estarot.
He wondered how the previous count set up the estate. His enthusiasm reminded her of her late father.
While talking to the count, the story of Rania and Macella naturally came out.
Count Estarot, with a slightly subdued face, shared what had happened with Rania. That though he didn’t marry her out of love, he tried to like her.
However, it was discovered that Rania was having an affair with another man even after marriage.
The count said bluntly that he could not satisfy her vanity, and that they had completely lost their relationship.
When Rania was sentenced to death, he frankly confessed that their relationship had already reached catastrophe, so he filed for divorce to protect the honor of the county.
Macella also blamed the count for not helping Rania, but secretly stole money from the safe late at night and spent it profligately, which eventually led him to drive her away.
“The last I know was that she was caught stealing from a residence, got beaten and kicked out.”
Rosena nodded slowly when she heard the last news of Macella. She was from a family that had been together with her for ten years.
She felt a little sore in the chest while listening to their ends. But it didn’t occur to her that it was sad. They did everything for themselves.
Rosena rose from her seat. The reason she visited the county today was not to meet the count.
“I’ll show you around.”
Count Estarot spoke, bowing his head.
“You don’t have to. I’ll stay for a while and go quietly.”
The count no longer offered.
After coming out of the mansion, Rosena looked at Yerhan and Illian.
The two men remained silent the whole time they arrived at the mansion.
Rosena climbed the hill, and behind her back was Yerhan and Illian, who dressed in black.
There was a tomb in the middle of a hill owned by the count.
It had been more than a decade since her father was buried here, but the area around the tomb was clean.
Rania and Macella didn’t seem to have arranged it, perhaps the current count managed it.
Rosena slowly sat in front of the grave, not caring about the dress getting dirty. Then she put the bouquet of roses handed over by Yerhan on the floor.
Rosena looked at the grave in silence for a moment.
“Long time no see. Father.”
The whisper dispersed with the spring breeze.
Even after a long time, her father’s face was still vivid as if he was in front of her.
After losing her father first, Rosena regretted it a lot. She should have done better when he was alive.
He didn’t have to overdo it, she should tell him he was the best father ever.
She should have often expressed that she loved him no matter what….
But it was too late, and her father was buried in cold ground.
Rosena recalled the memories she had with her father one by one.
When she was young, her father said that it was his wish for Rosena to enter the wedding holding hands with him. She thought it was a long way off then.
“I’m already old enough to get married. I also have a child.”
Rosena murmured, who was sweeping down the rough grass.
“I wanted to show you how I got married…..”
She was sorry that in the end, she couldn’t enter the wedding hall by holding father’s hand.
“Although you couldn’t keep your promise… I will be happy.”
A wet voice came out of her locked throat.
She failed to comply with his request to run away from the imperial family. But she could keep her father’s last will.
– Always be happy.
Rosena looked down at the grave for a long time, and Yerhan, who was standing behind, came forward. Slowly, he knelt in front of the grave.
Yerhan said nothing with his head down.
Illian equally knelt beside him and stared at the grave. It looked as if they were talking with their hearts.
Rosena, looking at the father and son who looked alike, smiled.
Rosena was happy now. To the point there’s nothing more to ask for.
“It’s obviously not something you can afford.”
“I have enough to buy that necklace.”
Yerhan answered firmly, and the man’s forehead narrowed. He rolled up his sleeve and shoved the ring with the emblem on the top forward and said,
“You don’t seem to know, but have you heard of the Top of Marvell?”
Yerhan thought about the name of the Marvell Top for a while.
Looking back on his memory, it was the top that said that they would deliver goods in large quantities to his coronation ceremony.
It was a large-scale top which actively traded with foreign countries.
When Yerhan did not speak, the man shrugged his shoulders.
“I think you know. I’m the vice-president there.”
It was only then that Yerhan realized that he had once seen this man before. He remembered the scene where he entered the Imperial Palace while shaking hands with the owner of the top.
This man had an eye for things, but he didn’t seem to have an eye for people.
At that time, he almost threw himself on the floor, but now he was talking down to him.
He was thinking about changing the deal to another top because they had not delivered the goods yet.
“So what do you want me to do?”
“What do you mean by that?”
The man frowned, as if he did not expect such an answer to come.
Yerhan looked down at the man with an expressionless face.
The man flinched at the strange pressure. But he raised his voice as if he did not want to give up the necklace.
“Don’t you know that a man should live by one’s means?”
Yerhan, who was listening quietly, asked back, abandoning honorifics.
“Follow your means, huh? Do you need to follow your means to wear a necklace?”
The man must have been speechless, his face was blushing and his lips twitched.
Realizing that he couldn’t win, he saw Illian standing next to Yerhan. The man whose mouth had briefly parted in surprise upon seeing Illian, who looked like a doll, coughed out.
“You’d better give way before you get embarrassed in front of your child.”
When Yerhan didn’t budge, the man crossed his arms and scowled. Then he took out a heavy pocket from his arms and put it down on the table with a loud sound.
“I can pay this much for the necklace.”
He beckoned to the clerk, signaling to end it with money.
The hesitant clerk opened his pocket slightly. The pocket was full of big gold coins. This amount was enough to buy the earrings and rings even after paying for the necklace.
But Yerhan looked down at the man with no expression on his face.
“Give up if you can’t pay that much!”
The man spoke triumphantly.
Then Yerhan took out a piece of paper in his pocket inside the cape. The eyes of the man and the clerk were wide open.
It looked ridiculously light compared to the heavy pocket offered by the man.
Yerhan jutted his chin at the clerk, putting a piece of paper on the table with nothing written on it.
“Write the amount you want.”
The man realized that the paper Yerhan gave was a blank check.
“You’re bluffing. I also have a blank…”
The provoked man paused as he tried to search his arms for a check. Later, the check from Yerhan caught his eyes.
At the bottom of the check was the issuer’s sentence, which looked very familiar.
It was a sentence that symbolized the imperial family.
“Gasp.”
The man sank to the floor in astonishment.
Cheques with imperial sentences, not banks, could only be used by the imperial family. And now the only imperial family members left in the Imperial Palace was the third prince couple and the imperial grandson.
The man, sitting on the floor, trembled and raised his head. The bright blond hair and blue eyes hidden under the hat clearly stood out to the man.
All of this was emblematic of the Imperial family.
The man recalled what he had said so far and immediately threw his head onto the floor.
“Fo, forgive…”
The man threw away his pride and began to beg forgiveness.
Yerhan looked at such a man with no expression.
“You better leave quickly because you’re wasting my time.”
The man stood up from his seat after being dazed at that one sentence. The man checked if his head was still properly attached, and hurriedly left the store.
In an instant the store became quiet, and the clerks turned pale and looked at Yerhan and Illian.
However, Yerhan asked calmly, as if nothing happened.
“When can I see the necklace?”
The startled clerk immediately took it and put it out.
Yerhan and Illian sat face to face on the sofa and checked the necklace.
At first glance, he thought it was a ruby, but when he looked closely, it was an oval-shaped red diamond.
The two, as meticulously scrutinized as jewel appraisers, briefly imagined Rosena wearing the necklace. It was perfect.
“Please bring me earrings too.”
There was nothing more to see. This was Rosena’s thing.
While Illian looked at something else for a moment, Yerhan glanced at the display case. He saw a small belt with jewels like the necklace.
It also looked appropriate to wear as a sword sheath.
Yerhan picked up the belt while Illian was preoccupied with something else.
Yerhan, who paid all the bills, called Illian.
“Let’s go.”
The two left the store with light steps.
When Illian moved first, Yerhan, who was standing behind, stopped.
“Illian.”
“?”
When his name was called, Illian put on a strange expression. It was because there were only a few times he called Illian’s name.
Yerhan held out a small paper bag to Illian.
Illian blinked when he received the paper bag. When he opened the paper bag wide, a beautifully wrapped belt came out.
“I’m sorry for not paying attention to you until now.”
Yerhan said, stroking Illian’s head.
Illian touched his belt again and again without saying anything. It wasn’t the first time he received a gift, but it meant something different.
“I’ll buy you something better next time.”
Since they will continue to be together in the future, he wanted to do better than what he has been able to do until now.
Illian held the paper bag tightly and nodded.
Yerhan smiled without realizing it, perhaps because Illian was shy, the way he clamped his lips were adorable.
The two men roamed the streets in a friendly manner.
After buying the necklace and earrings, they saw a hat that matched them well.
At the same time, Yerhan and Illian pointed to the hat and looked at each other.
You have good eyes.
They complimented each other with their gazes before opening the store door without hesitation and went inside.
And so, Yerhan and Illian forgot the purpose of going out and shopped for a while.
***
Time passed and it was the day before the coronation ceremony.
It was only when the dress and the crown for the coronation came, that she felt it real.
Rosena thought of what had happened one by one. It was all hard times, but thinking about it now, it was all memories.
After finishing the morning routine, Rosena looked out of the window. The sun had already risen above the sky.
“It’s already time…”
There was a place she was supposed to go with Yerhan today.
As soon as Rosena stood up, the bedroom door opened. Through the open door came Yerhan, who held an armful of roses.
“Are you ready?”
Yerhan, who came to pick her up, asked Rosena.
She nodded a little, and Yerhan reached out his hand.
Holding hands together, Rosena left the bedroom with him.
After bringing in Illian, Rosena got on a carriage that was ready in front of the building.
The carriage ran on a busy road, and pulled out of the capital.
By the time the sun went down, the carriage stopped.
Rosena pulled the curtains and looked out the window at the view. An old but large building caught her eyes. It was the mansion of the Count of Estarot.
Rosena got off the carriage and looked around.
The mansion was very different from when she came here a year ago. The colorful but numerous plants were tidy, and the fresh-looking vegetation filled the garden.
The mansion was also neatly painted, reducing unnecessary luxury and fitting into practicality.
While Rosena was looking at the garden, someone came out of the mansion.
“My lady!”
It was Count Estarot’s old butler who called for Rosena. The gray-haired old butler was so happy to see her.
The gray-haired old butler walked to Rosena with a look of surprise. A man followed behind such an old butler.
Rosena had seen this man in the divinity ceremony.
“It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Count Estarot.”
Rania’s ex-husband, Count Estarot, greeted her politely.
Rosena glanced at the count. His face was ordinary, but he was neatly dressed and there seemed to be intelligence in his eyes.
Rosena had heard rumors about him.
Count Estarot took good care of the people of land, and was popular even within the territory.
Looking at his face, she could roughly see his personality.
When she was led into the mansion, Rosena had a brief conversation with Count Estarot.
He wondered how the previous count set up the estate. His enthusiasm reminded her of her late father.
While talking to the count, the story of Rania and Macella naturally came out.
Count Estarot, with a slightly subdued face, shared what had happened with Rania. That though he didn’t marry her out of love, he tried to like her.
However, it was discovered that Rania was having an affair with another man even after marriage.
The count said bluntly that he could not satisfy her vanity, and that they had completely lost their relationship.
When Rania was sentenced to death, he frankly confessed that their relationship had already reached catastrophe, so he filed for divorce to protect the honor of the county.
Macella also blamed the count for not helping Rania, but secretly stole money from the safe late at night and spent it profligately, which eventually led him to drive her away.
“The last I know was that she was caught stealing from a residence, got beaten and kicked out.”
Rosena nodded slowly when she heard the last news of Macella. She was from a family that had been together with her for ten years.
She felt a little sore in the chest while listening to their ends. But it didn’t occur to her that it was sad. They did everything for themselves.
Rosena rose from her seat. The reason she visited the county today was not to meet the count.
“I’ll show you around.”
Count Estarot spoke, bowing his head.
“You don’t have to. I’ll stay for a while and go quietly.”
The count no longer offered.
After coming out of the mansion, Rosena looked at Yerhan and Illian.
The two men remained silent the whole time they arrived at the mansion.
Rosena climbed the hill, and behind her back was Yerhan and Illian, who dressed in black.
There was a tomb in the middle of a hill owned by the count.
It had been more than a decade since her father was buried here, but the area around the tomb was clean.
Rania and Macella didn’t seem to have arranged it, perhaps the current count managed it.
Rosena slowly sat in front of the grave, not caring about the dress getting dirty. Then she put the bouquet of roses handed over by Yerhan on the floor.
Rosena looked at the grave in silence for a moment.
“Long time no see. Father.”
The whisper dispersed with the spring breeze.
Even after a long time, her father’s face was still vivid as if he was in front of her.
After losing her father first, Rosena regretted it a lot. She should have done better when he was alive.
He didn’t have to overdo it, she should tell him he was the best father ever.
She should have often expressed that she loved him no matter what….
But it was too late, and her father was buried in cold ground.
Rosena recalled the memories she had with her father one by one.
When she was young, her father said that it was his wish for Rosena to enter the wedding holding hands with him. She thought it was a long way off then.
“I’m already old enough to get married. I also have a child.”
Rosena murmured, who was sweeping down the rough grass.
“I wanted to show you how I got married…..”
She was sorry that in the end, she couldn’t enter the wedding hall by holding father’s hand.
“Although you couldn’t keep your promise… I will be happy.”
A wet voice came out of her locked throat.
She failed to comply with his request to run away from the imperial family. But she could keep her father’s last will.
– Always be happy.
Rosena looked down at the grave for a long time, and Yerhan, who was standing behind, came forward. Slowly, he knelt in front of the grave.
Yerhan said nothing with his head down.
Illian equally knelt beside him and stared at the grave. It looked as if they were talking with their hearts.
Rosena, looking at the father and son who looked alike, smiled.
Rosena was happy now. To the point there’s nothing more to ask for.
