Rebecca kept her promise to deliver the news. And Evelyn soon heard about the Emperor who wanted to meet her.
Evelyn nodded without shaking her head. Looking closely, Evelyn, whom she met after a few days, was quite thin.
“Princess, are you all right….?”
“Ah … this?” Evelyn placed her finger under the dark shade of her eyes. Her dark circles were obvious, and her body seemed to be dripping with exhaustion. “Since two days ago, Adrian … had toothache.” Evelyn’s face was hollow due to a lack of sleep.
“The speed of teething varies from child to child, So I thought he’d be fine as the first time.” Evelyn sighed deeply. It was so strange to see Adrian crying out loud. Evelyn couldn’t sleep because Adrian, who was usually so gentle, cried all night long.
“Why don’t you leave him to your nanny?”
“I didn’t think of anything at that time. All I could do was held and soothed him until morning.”
Evelyn called a doctor because she was worried about his condition. After hearing that Adrian’s teeth were growing and he was suffering from the pain, she felt sorry for him. He was crying so hard that Evelyn didn’t want to leave him to someone else.
“If like that, you will harm your health. But has he not suffered from toothache a while ago? The King Majesty looked so proud of Adrian.”
“Ah, do you mean when his upper teeth and lower teeth were 8?”
“Yes.”
Why the people in this royal palace so interested in the number of teeth of the little young prince?
“He didn’t feel the pain that time. This is the first time he had a real toothache. Well, it’s a big teeth, two molars up and down. ·········So now I have to go to stop my father.”
“Why?”
“It’s a big deal if he hold a festival because Adrian has more than 10 teeth. Rebecca, you know my father, right?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Yes, my father is always serious with his words.”
Miriam had left the palace to fulfill her official duties. So for a moment, Evelyn entrusted Adrian to Rebecca. Most of the time, babysitting would be performed by a personal maid, but Evelyn asked her to be Adrian’s playmate. And when Rebecca was readily accepted, Evelyn dashed to find King Arthur.
“How old do you think you are, can’t you calm down a little?”
Arthur, who was sitting alone in the living room, saw Evelyn out of breath. It was an effort to protect her father’s honor in future generations, but she felt a little unfair.
“Did you know about Adrian’s teeth?”
“Of course. I know everything about Adrian.”
“But his tooth will falls out soon.”
Suddenly, Arthur’s eyes widened.
“Did you forget? My first tooth fell out quickly and after that my real tooth came out.”
“Oh I think it was true” But in truth, Arthur had forgotten about it since he was already old when he raised Evelyn.
“If you hold a festival to celebrate Adrian’s teeth that will fall, the festival’s meaning may change a little.”
“Ah, you’re right, it can be ominous, ….Then, I’ll have to postpone this festival.”
And eventually, Evelyn managed to convince Arthur to postpone the festival festivities to the next few years.
“So … did you come by yourself?”
Evelyn looked puzzled this time, “Yes.”
“There you go. Go away.”
The sullen Arthur shook his withering hands. As if he had no business with Evelyn, who had not brought Adrian. Evelyn, Arthur’s only daughter, was dumbfounded. Still, she had no choice but to sigh as she looked at her father’s childish behavior. Besides, Evelyn decided to go back because she already missed Adrian.
“Princess, have you meet the King Majesty already?” Lily asked. And Evelyn smiled at her, who was standing at the door.
” I wanted to see Adrian, so I ran away secretly from my father.”
Lily smiled together at Evelyn’s lively appearance and opened the playroom.
“Adrian? Rebecca?”
As she rushed into the room, she heard Adrian’s cheerful laugh. Evelyn didn’t know what he was doing. Still, she was grateful to Rebecca for making Adrian laugh happily, who always cried these days.
“Adrian? ····Oh, Rebecca!”
The view that unfolded before her eyes were the exact opposite of what she imagined. The only thing that looked happy was Adrian, and Rebecca climbed to the sofa and ran away from him.
“What, are you doing? Adrian? Did you bully Lady Rebecca?”
“No, Princess. First of all, …… Please remove that.”
Evelyn turned her head, and she found a fairy tale book with a big black hawk on the floor and a doll made of real bird feathers. The black hawk, the man’s dream all over the continent, stole tole the boy’s heart as well.
The problem was that Rebecca was trying to get Adrian’s attention, so she told him the story of the black hawk. Adrian, excited at the moment, then he brought his black hawk toys. Rebecca ran to the sofa when he chased her with a doll made of real feathers.
“Adrian, let go of this.”
“Uh, noooo.”
“You have to let it go, and you have to speak politely.”
“Ebulinnn…noooo !”
Adrian, he began to struggle with his body. He was very heavy now, and it was hard for Evelyn to handle him alone. Now his vocabulary had expanded, so he was talking quite a lot. That’s why he was able to articulate exactly what he wanted in words.
Actually, Evelyn didn’t know which part was terrifying, but she couldn’t let Rebecca tremble like that.
“Nora, Lily.”
At Evelyn’s call, two maids came in and carried Adrian out. Just then did Evelyn sigh, and she saw her best friend shivering on the sofa. A moment later, after drinking a cup of tea, Rebecca had a pale face, as if she was having a nightmare. Face as if she had a nightmare.
“You might think of me as a dumb woman because I’m afraid of birds.”
“No, everyone must be scared of something. It’s all right.” Evelyn reached out and comforted Rebecca’s trembling shoulder. “I’m scared of sparrows, but I love black hawks, they’re so beautiful just by looking at their feathers.”
“I told the tale of the black hawk to get his attention, I forgot that the prince was a man of this continent, too.”
“Adrian is still young, so he won’t be interested in that.”
“No. You saw it earlier. His black hawk collection, ·····, and he was happy to know that there’s a black hawks near here.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Oops. Rebecca tried to shut her mouth, but it was too late because Evelyn already looked at her with her blue eyes.
“His Majesty, he’s coming is to give you the black hawk.”
“So?”
“His Majesty is bringing a black hawk to the Felice Palace.”
“What? It’s the same thing?”
“Yes. And Prince Adrian seemed understood exactly what it meant.”
Blinking, Evelyn slowly closed and opened her eyes.
“I’m so sorry…..”
Adrian, who had become more stubborn and assertive, mostly if he had decided and asked for something. Rebecca knew about the situation, so she begged for her forgiveness first.
“No, I’m sure you can convince me of this. What did you do when Sir Liam was so obsessed with something when he was a kid?”
“Well, I usually hit him.”
“Except for hitting?”
“I kicked him.”
“Oh yes, other than using your body?”
“Ah,…I dropped a big pot in the kitchen over his head.”
The two were facing each other, but their attitude to handle their younger brothers was too different.
“No, I need to think of more peaceful way.”
“The only thing that can stop my brother who’s already starting to get naughty is violence.”
“I … … believe in Adrian’s intelligence!”
Speaking clearly, Rebecca sighed as she looked at Evelyn’s back as she left the playroom. Younger brother and intelligence, in her experience, the two elements had never been together.
Fabian needed to thank Rebecca because she had done more than he expected. Adrian started to rebel and put up the first resistance in his life. His crying made Evelyn gave up and decided to accept the Emperor’s visit with the hawk.
“Your Majesty, because of the prince’s extraordinary interest in the black hawk, the Felice Kingdom is begging you to come as soon as possible.”
“Oh really? The prince is young, but he has a good eye. A man should be chasing a black hawk.”
“The hawks have completed their training, so they will get along well with any master they meet.”
“Well, let’s give him one of those.”
“Your Majesty is very generous.”
He thought that he would never meet Evelyn again. That day, there was not a grain of regret left in her back, as if she had put down all the stories. But, Fabian didn’t imagine that he would come to the Felice Palace with a black hawk as an excuse.
This animal made things easier because they captured the little prince’s heart. Although it was unpleasant that the Emperor was treated less than the little prince’s stubbornness, Fabian couldn’t help it. If it was for Evelyn’s sake.
“Your Majesty, this way.” Serus guided him to the Felice Palace’s garden. There was a cage with hawks installed in advance. Looking at it, Fabian nodded satisfactorily. Soon after, Evelyn and Adrian appeared in the garden. The meeting was made on the condition that the prince would be allowed to see the hawk.
“I see you, Your Majesty.” Evelyn gave a simple example.
“Do you think I’m shameful?” asked Fabian.
“No.” Evelyn’s face with she raised her head up was quite gaunt but still pretty.
“Just… I won’t deny that I’m a little tired.” Evelyn didn’t say this for no reason; her face was so haggard. At the moment, looking at her, Fabian felt a complicated feeling of pity and guilt.
“Since the prince has been looking forward to it, could you show me the hawk?”
Only
“……..Okay.”
When Fabian nodded to Serus, the curtain covering the birdcage was removed. When they saw the light, the hawks spread their huge wings all at once. And Adrian’s eyes were full of admiration for those wild and brave creatures.
“Hawk! Hawk! Like!” Adrian’s vocabulary improved again. When Fabian looked at him, Serus himself took a hawk out of the cage and placed it on the back of his arm and made contact with Adrian’s eyes.
Adrian approached the hawk with curious eyes, and, fearlessly, he touched the black hawk’s beautiful figure.
Evelyn looked at such Adrian from behind with a loving glance.
“I can’t believe I’m losing my presence to the animals.”
Fabian, standing from a distance and watching the scene, talked to himself so low that nobody could hear it.
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