âBut Iâm a woman, arenât I?â
âIt doesnât matter. The important thing is how much you inherited his blood.â
Blood? I tilted my head, and Dranste grabbed my hair.
âAgrigent is just like any other country. The bloodline is what comes first. And the standard measure for that is the blood of a fairy, which is proven by the silver-red hair. More silver means you have more fairyâs blood in you, so your inheritance would come first.â
âThen, arenât we the same?â
âNot at all. Thatâs because fairyâs blood isnât that easy to inherit.â
He kissed the end of my hair, and then Dranste bounced his finger on my forehead.
Ouch, it hurts!
âAmong the twenty-eight children of Caitelâs father, Emperor Ivan, only three had silver-red hair.â
âWait, what? Twenty-eight?â
I was shocked and frightened at the fact that just heard. What a surprise.
What did I just hear? Twenty-eight?
I looked up as if what I heard was true, and Dranste replied with a playful look.
âThere were sixteen princes and twelve princesses. Caitel was the 14th prince among all of them.â
Fourteen princes, I didnât know that! Whatâs up with that number?
I opened my mouth wide.
âIs, is that even possible?â
âWell, the formal Emperor really got around. It was normal for him to go to bed with at least five women at a time. He had over forty mistresses in the palace alone.â
ââ¦so dadâs been modest.â
So this was him being modestâ¦
I always thought dad was just a vulgar lowlife, but it turns out heâs been rather decentâ¦Dranste smiled as I shook my head at a belated realization.
Why is he smiling when Iâm serious?
âAnyway, you have Caitelâs blood in you and itâs very strong.â
That should be a good thing, but why does it sound more like a prophecy that Iâll grow up to be mad later on?! Aah, no! Iâm a kind person. I wonât become a lunatic like a dad. I donât want to become an evil lunatic!
Oh, no! No, my personality was gentle. I would never be like Abby, a crazy bitch in this area. I didnât want to be that kind of thing.
âBut I donât want to become the Emperor.â
âWho said youâre going to become the Emperor?â
Oh, he has a talent making people feel mad even when he says the same thing. I stared straight at Dranste. I would bite him off if given a chance.
I would rush to him, but more than I thought, Dranste knew me too well.
âWould you like some? Itâs quite tasty.â
âAre you giving me leftovers? are you treating me like a beggar?â
âNo, Iâm giving you something you havenât tried.â
âGive it to me.â
The sound of food softened further, and Dranste smiled.
What I received was dried food that looked a little like dried fish jerky.
Beef jerky? It was similar to the dried squid. It felt like I was chewing squidâs hind legs.
âDelicious?â
Seeing his smile of satisfaction as if he knew that I enjoyed it, I wanted to say no, but⦠Letâs put up with it. Bless is fore those who bore it.