"Indeed," The Emperor nodded. "Although young and inexperienced, she possessed the forbidden technique of the Eye of Prophecy. In return for the technique in her Martial Art, I offered the Silas Clan a powerful Sage-level artifact that would aid in obscuring them even further. And thus, an exchange occurred."
He smiled. "She was pregnant with you even before we bade the Silas Clan farewell and returned to the Kandrian Empire…"
His smile grew sorrowful. "And that was when things took a rough turn."
"…What happened?"
"She grew revolted and disgusted at the toxic, poisonous relationships within the Royal Family," The Emperor heaved a sigh. "Princes and princesses plotting and scheming each other's downfall and deaths. Scheming to one day ascend the throne after I died or abdicated it. Anybody who bore the blood of the royal family was in danger of being targeted to eliminate competition."
"…Like what happened to Rajak," Rui realized.
The Emperor nodded. "Indeed. You might think that what happened to him was special, but really, it's rather tame compared to what has happened and what does happen."
Rui's eyes sharpened at those words.
The Emperor shook his head, heaving a sigh. "She sought to distance herself away from me. She refused to let her baby become embroiled in the venomous and hateful conflicts between the members of the Royal Family. I tried my best to convince her, but she demanded that I abdicate the throne and leave Kandria with her forever if she wanted us to remain together as a family. However, so long as the crown rested upon my head, she deemed that it was a threat to her growing fetus."
"And you chose the crown." Rui narrowed his eyes.
The Emperor heaved a sigh. "I had truly come close to abdicating. Maybe I would have, had I had just a little bit more time. Unfortunately…"
His voice grew grave. "…Time I didn't have, for that was when true disaster struck."
The air grew a few shades darker.
Rui narrowed his eyes. "What happened?"
"…A few weeks before her delivery, she foresaw her own death." The Emperor heaved a shaky sigh. "She told me that it was inevitable and that no force in the world could save her life, refusing any help. I desperately begged her to accept the medical intervention of the Royal Doctors of the Royal Court, but she refused. She did not want her existence to be alerted to the princes and princesses who would undoubtedly learn of her and her baby should any Royal asset come into contact with her during pregnancy or childbirth. After all, that was how Rajak was exposed."
The Emperor paused as his expression grew darker.
"I…lost my temper that day. I said things that I now can never take back."
Deep regret and guilt churned in the depths of his voice.
"Yet the last time I saw her, she extracted an oath from me." The Emperor breathed in shakily. "That you would grow up with the true love that every child deserves. That you would grow up with the love of a family that she and I were unable to give you. That you would never be preyed on by the darkness of the Royal Family."
The Emperor sighed as sorrow flashed in his eyes. "Back then, I was truly resentful of her for walking away from me and refusing my aid. However, I never forgot the oath I made to her."
A sorrowful smile returned to the Emperor's face.
"I…found a place far away from the politics of the Kandrian Empire. An orphanage about an hour away from the town of Hajin by carriage. An orphanage created and run by a woman who was once a trafficked orphan, determined to offer a loving home to orphans that she had been denied as a child. After months of rigorous vetting, I deemed her orphanage worthy of being the home that you deserved. The home that would also fulfill my oath to Miriam, your mother."
The Emperor smiled at Rui. "That was the Quarrier Orphanage."
Rui stared at the Emperor in amazement as the Emperor recounted the tale that had gone on to shape his life!
"So you made it so that Mother Lashara accepted me as an orphan?" Rui whispered, shocked.
"T'is but a trivial matter for my wide set of competencies," The Emperor shrugged nonchalantly.
"..And then you, what, decided to forget about me until recently?" Rui narrowed his eyes. "Hide the truth from me until you needed me? And then reveal the truth to me alongside the entire world in a manner that forces my hand?"
A hint of resentment echoed in Rui's voice.
He was not pleased about the emotional rollercoaster that the Royal Addressal Ceremony had been.
The Emperor heaved a sigh. "I did not forget about you. I have never forgotten you."
His demeanor grew solemn yet soft.
His eyes peered into Rui's.
"I watched over you your entire life. I rejoiced alongside you, celebrating your accomplishments. I mourned alongside you when you suffered from the tribulations life thrust upon you. Yet, I never forgot about you, watching your miraculous life with more pride than I ever thought I had. I even actively protected you before you became a Martial Artist, though I wonder if you even remember…it was so long ago, then again, I don't know if I should…"
The Emperor's voice trailed off as he murmured to himself.
"What do you mean?" Rui's eyes furrowed with uncertainty. "I don't follow your words."
The Emperor's eyes shifted to meet his. "…Then I suppose it would be better to show than to talk, isn't that right? Sayfeel?"
For a moment, nothing happened.
"…Huh?" Rui frowned, wondering if the Eternal Dream disease accelerated mental decline. "There's no one else here but us."
Oh, but there was.
A familiar Realm of power unfolded behind Rui.
His eyes widened as he felt a titanic surge of pressure weighing down on him.
Not just him.
Everything.
The very world around him seemed to shiver.
Heaven and Earth seemed to bend.
They bent under the weight of his being.
Rui leaped away in terror as he turned around to catch a glimpse.
Yet what he saw shook him.
A man.
A Martial Sage.
Yet, it was not his Realm of power that shocked him.
It was his appearance.
"You…!" Rui gasped with recognition.
The Martial Sage smiled.
Rui stared at his face with bewilderment.
This was the man who had saved him from being kidnapped by a trafficker at the age of seven, many years ago!
