“…… Your Majesty.”
“Oh, it’s Hikan. It’s not good to overprotect your sister like that. Why don’t you just go home?”
“I came out because for some reason, I feel like Your Majesty will try to steal.”
“Hmm, I can’t say no to that.”
Hikan gently pulled Dalia toward him. Dalia felt like she was being handled like a package from the courier service.
“Have you found the Second Prince?”
“Hmm, I’m going to find him from now on.”
“I’ll be rooting for you. Also, thank you for bringing my sister.”
Grind. (*t/n: I’m not sure what is the onomatopoeia for grinding teeth hehe)
For some reason, it seemed like that sound came from Hikan’s teeth. The Emperor greeted with a smile.
“Bye, Miss Dalia. Come and see me again next time.”
“Yes! I will.”
The Emperor rode the carriage again and left.
Then, Hikan only looked at Dalia. She was afraid that he might get angry with her, but Hikan just reached out to her.
Dalia held his hand. She thought that it was a much more enjoyable outing than she expected.
And the next day, Dalia learned that the phonograph was originally priced at 5,000 dillon, exactly ten times the price she paid.
* * *
Hikan’s birthday was held in a simple manner with just the two of them.
The employees collected money among themselves and bought gifts, but Hikan refused to refund as he did every year.
Dalia’s gift arrived in time.
Hikan went out to look at it and his expression became complicated.
“Y, you don’t like it?”
“……No, I like it.”
However, it was an expression that certainly bothers him.
‘Why is that?’
Dalia’s question was quickly answered by her nanny, who was surprised at the gift.
“My goodness, Miss. How did you buy that?”
“Huh? Why?”
“That’s, the price……”
The nanny whispers to Dalia the approximate real price. Dalia’s expression turned white.
If it’s 490 dillon, it’s about 1 million won worth of money from her previous life. So she thought that would be enough, but it was ten times more.
‘H, His Majesty……has paid for me instead!’
There seems to be some kind of conversation between the clerk and the Emperor. Dalia should have been suspicious of him from the time he spoke to her as soon as he saw the two of them coming into the store.
That means the whisper was……
Hikan glanced at the nanny as if he was asking why she said that. The nanny hiccups.
“You don’t need to worry about it. His Majesty has a lot of money. This is a gift from you.”
“……”
‘It’s……really okay to think like that right?’
Hikan patted Dalia’s head when he saw Dalia still had a complicated expression. And he showed the light smile that can only be seen almost once a year.
“This is what I wanted. Thank you.”
Dalia’s thoughts disappeared seeing that rare smile. She forgot all the worries and had fun with the rest of the birthday celebration.
This year, she finally succeeded in putting the party hat on Hikan’s head.
This wonderful scene must be recorded, but it was regrettable that it could not be left as a picture as there is no photography technology in this world.
Dalia took off the hat from Hikan’s head after some time as she knew that he hated it.
Hikan brushed his hair roughly and said.
“Damn it, I’m glad nobody’s here.”
‘Maybe this is why we don’t have a birthday party?’
Dalia thought.
It would be nice if only this day continued.
She thought so before going to sleep. But at the same time she thought that things wouldn’t go that easily.
Hikan still had one hurdle left.
“It will start by the end of the year at the latest.”
The Emperor said so.
Mana Awakening. In the original, it happened when Hikan was 18. It’s already late by a year, so it wasn’t strange if it started anytime now. (*t/n: I change Mana Blooming to Mana Awakening cuz it sounds better hehe)
Dalia fell asleep while preparing her heart for the disaster that would come one day.
* * *
Hikan was preparing for his mana awakening. He could feel how close it was.
There was no need to worry until last year, but as of this year, the flow of mana in his body has increased remarkably.
He had about three months to spare, but it would be better to be prepared in advance.
He guessed that he would be the same as others, from his experiences seeing those around him. Since his temper is worse, he knew that it wouldn’t be that much less than others.
Stress is the biggest factor in mana awakening.
So he’s been cutting back on his workload and deliberately staying away from the annoying news these days.
Now the next step.
He called in the butler to ask how they controlled the transcendents of the Pesteros in the past. But the butler’s answer was unexpected.
“……that’s……there’s no records left.”
“What?”
“Because of the explosion caused by the former Duke of Pesteros……all the relevant records were burned.”
He ran into the first obstacle.
At this time, he can only contact the one he can trust, the Emperor.
The reply arrived shortly.
[Busy with work. Figure it out yourself.]
He crumpled the letter.
Unexpected stress hit him.
Stress is the most effective trigger for mana awakening. He barely managed to calm down and left only a few instructions for the butler.
However……a month after Hikan’s birthday party.
Dalia blankly looked around the completely ruined study.
‘Goodness, no matter how much I have prepared my mind.’
The chandelier fell to the floor and the pieces of the crystal sculpture were everywhere.
The bookshelf was thrown out of the window, the windows were burned, everything thrown out, and even the garden was ruined.
The sofa was broken with the cotton inside bursting out, and the wooden table was split in half.
And in the middle, Hikan stood with an expressionless face.
‘You don’t have to start this fast, do you?’
Dalia screamed inwardly.
* * *
It was a week after the birthday party that Hikan’s abnormalities were first observed.
“Miss, please stop the Duke.”
The nanny cried and complained to Dalia.
“I feel like I’m going to get neurosis because of that horrible phonograph every day.” (*t/n: neurosis: a relatively mild mental illness that is not caused by organic disease, involving symptoms of stress (depression, anxiety, obsessive behaviour, hypochondria) but not a radical loss of touch with reality.)
“I, I’m sorry……”
Dalia turned her gaze away in guilt. In a way, that gift was Dalia’s fault.
The sound of the phonograph was really good for an hour or two as it was expensive, but Hikan left it on almost all day.
The noise was causing the complaints from employees to grow day by day.
‘But……’
Dalia, who knows that Hikan has become especially sensitive these days, was cautious. Maybe she had a little bit of luck yesterday.
“It’s not the surroundings that are noisy, my head is.”
Hikan said so with a gloomy look. It was not an atmosphere where she could say anything more.
By that time, Dalia had already figured out the reason.
‘It’s almost time for the mana to start to awaken.’
She really thought about visiting the Emperor, but he hasn’t gone crazy yet. So Dalia decided to wait a little longer.
‘……a hug of love?’
She’s thinking of cheering for him.
“I’m sorry, nanny. I think my brother’s mana is about to awaken.”
“……it, it must be that, right?”
There was fear in nanny’s eyes.
Transcendents were still terrifying in the eyes of the ordinary people.
Public opinion has improved a lot since the current Emperor’s ascension, but even she is sometimes scared when Hikan is angry.
“Yeah. Tell that to the others too. Stay away from my brother for a while. “
She quietly soothed the nanny.
And another ten days have passed.
“Butler, the pile of papers is crooked.”
Hikan put the paper he was reading on the desk roughly.
“I’m sorry.”
“Damn it, I’ve said it three times. Do I have to tell you again?”
Hikan raised his voice.
Dalia looked at him, startled. He looked at her, sighed and touched her forehead.
“Forget it. Get out.”
The butler went out quietly. Hikan looked at the papers again while gritting his teeth.
For ten days, Hikan’s symptoms got worse. He has now turned off the phonograph, but that doesn’t mean the symptoms have improved.
It was rather the opposite. Now even if they can or can’t hear the music, it’s the same.
His annoyance got worse, and now Dalia stayed in his office all day, worried that he would hurt the employees.
Hikan was a little weak whenever he saw Dalia. But Dalia wasn’t exactly what she used to be.
Just in case the hug of love would work, she crept up from behind to hug him.
“Don’t touch me. Because I’m not sure if I can stand it.”
He spoke coldly and avoided her arm.
Dalia did not give up immediately just because she failed once.
However, Hikan’s mood should not be stimulated too much. He’s holding it in because of Dalia, but she can’t let him explode.
