Episode 45
The snow-covered streets of the Imperial Capital were beautiful and peaceful.
Artius and Elonia first entered a street lined with shops catering to the nobility.
Elonia crunched through the snow, observing the shops that caught Artius’s eye.
Or rather, she tried to.
“…What are you looking at?”
“Don’t mind me.”
“How can I not mind you when you’re staring holes into my head?”
Artius’s gaze was fixed on her, making her feel self-conscious.
‘He must be nervous since it’s his first time out in public.’
Elonia couldn’t understand why he was so anxious, considering they were surrounded by a small army of guards and servants.
With such a large entourage, their disguise as nobles was pointless.
Anyone could tell they were royalty.
‘Ugh, such a scaredy-cat. He doesn’t deserve the title of Sword Master.’
Artius might not know it, but they were a formidable duo – the reincarnation of the War Demon Chelon and the conqueror of the continent.
Nothing in this street posed a threat to them.
‘I need to distract him.’
She had come here to observe his preferences, not to be subjected to his laser-like stare.
Elonia tugged on his hand, pointing to a shop.
“Dad, let’s go in there.”
“Stationery?”
She had pointed to a stationery shop.
It wasn’t a request, but a command, leaving Artius with no choice but to comply.
He opened the door.
The owner, an elderly man with years of experience, immediately recognized them as high-ranking nobles and greeted them respectfully.
“Welcome. This is Cedric’s Stationery Shop, with 50 years of tradition. Please, browse freely and let me know if you need anything.”
Elonia, upon entering the shop, completely forgot about her original objective.
‘This is my dream come true…’
She loved stationery as much as she loved studying, and she had a particular fondness for fountain pens and quills.
Everything in this shop seemed to cater to her tastes.
The ink section was particularly impressive, filled with inks that shimmered like the night sky, infused with gold dust and fine pearl powder.
Blinded by the dazzling display, Artius’s preferences were the furthest thing from Elonia’s mind.
She reached for a beautiful quill that caught her eye.
But she was too short to reach the high shelf.
‘It didn’t look this high before.’
She had grown considerably in the past year, but she was still small.
She ate well and exercised regularly, but time seemed to be moving at a snail’s pace when it came to her height.
She stood on her tiptoes, struggling to reach the quill, when a large hand cast a shadow over her.
Artius picked up the quill and handed it to her.
“Do you like this one?”
“Huh? Oh.”
Elonia took the quill, momentarily stunned.
But she was quickly captivated by its elegant design, the beautiful feathers, and the intricate craftsmanship.
“It’s so pretty…”
She murmured, mesmerized.
The owner, seizing the opportunity, spoke up.
“Would you like to try it out? Please, choose an ink you like.”
“!”
Elonia’s eyes sparkled as she quickly chose an ink that caught her eye.
The owner brought her a piece of parchment, and she tested the quill, writing a few words.
Her handwriting was still a bit messy, but the ink flowed smoothly, and the writing experience was superb.
‘I want them all.’
She had momentarily forgotten, but the purpose of this shopping trip was to observe Artius’s preferences for his birthday gift.
But Artius was quicker to regain his focus.
“I’ll take everything here.”
“Excuse me?”
“Dad?”
Elonia stared at him with disbelief.
But Artius was resolute.
It was rare to see Elonia so excited.
‘She asked to go shopping for the first time, so I’ll get her everything she wants.’
Artius, who had come prepared to spoil his daughter rotten, didn’t hesitate.
“What are you waiting for? Hurry up.”
They had to buy clothes, jewelry, and have a nice meal together at a restaurant.
He also planned on buying her some books and even ordering a few swords for her to use when she was older, even though it was still too dangerous for her now.
Time was of the essence.
“Y-yes, sir. Thank you very much. Please, wait a moment.”
The owner, recovering from his shock, quickly ordered his staff to pack everything in the shop.
Elonia, dumbfounded, tugged on Artius’s sleeve.
“Dad, are you crazy?”
“Crazy?”
“You’re buying everything?”
“We don’t have time to choose each item individually. Besides, you clearly want everything here.”
“That’s true, but…”
He was sharp.
But still, buying out the entire shop?
Just as Elonia was about to protest, she remembered the clothes, accessories, and jewels Artius sent her every season. It seemed like his spending habits were always this extravagant.
If she hadn’t received those heirloom jewels for her birthday, she would have been mortified by his generosity.
‘Well, at least those previous gifts softened the blow. But is it okay for an Emperor to spend money so freely?’
She knew Ravanta was wealthy, but she didn’t know the specifics of their finances.
‘Well, it’s Artius. He must be managing things properly. And Aaron will keep him in check.’
Her anxiety quickly dissipated as the owner presented them with boxes filled with their purchases.
“Thank you for your patience, sir. Here are the items you ordered.”
“My servants will pay and take care of them. Come on, let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Artius held out his hand.
Elonia took it reluctantly, leaving the shop.
‘This is already exhausting…’
She tried to ignore her fatigue.
She couldn’t tire out before finding a birthday gift for Artius.
***
…And yet, here she was, three shops later, completely exhausted.
“These shoes are very popular these days. They’re made with soft, flexible soles, so they’re very comfortable. You can run around for hours without any discomfort.”
Elonia and Artius were at the most popular children’s boutique in the Empire.
At the jewelry store, their second stop, Elonia had barely managed to prevent the reformed tyrant from buying out the entire inventory, reminding him of his duties as Emperor.
Artius, mistaking her fatigue for physical exhaustion, had brought her to the boutique to get her new shoes.
“Would you like to try them on, El?”
Elonia had lost count of how many pairs of shoes she had tried on.
He was calling her by her nickname, something he rarely did, and seemed to be enjoying himself immensely.
He was probably fascinated by the fact that shoes smaller than his hand fit perfectly on her tiny feet.
“…Dad, I’m tired.”
She had reached her limit.
Clothes, for Elonia, were always something Sarah or Artius took care of.
As Chelon, she had never had a reason to dress up. And on the rare occasions she needed a dress, she just grabbed whatever was available in her closet. She had never imagined that shopping for clothes would be so tiring.
Artius, seeing Elonia’s exhaustion, quickly relented.
“I’m sorry. I should have been more considerate.”
“…”
He apologized, but he couldn’t hide his disappointment as he clutched the tiny shoe in his hand.
How could someone with such a fierce appearance look so pitiful?
Elonia, her heart softening, gave in.
“Fine, buy them.”
Artius’s face brightened instantly.
The shop assistant, watching them, smiled wistfully.
“You two are such a lovely father and daughter.”
Elonia had briefly wondered if they looked like a real family before leaving the palace, but hearing it said out loud was unexpectedly embarrassing.
Pretending she hadn’t heard Artius declaring that he wanted to buy every shoe she had tried on, Elonia got up.
As soon as they left the boutique, she complained,
“I’m hungry, Dad.”
“Then let’s go eat.”
“I want something delicious.”
“Of course. I know just the place.”
Artius reached out to pick her up.
Elonia, startled, protested vehemently.
“I-I can walk!”
“…?”
But Artius was faster.
He realized why she had protested so vehemently.
He narrowed his eyes, feeling the hard object concealed beneath her layers of skirts.
“…Elonia, why did you bring a dagger?”
“…Because I wanted to.”
No matter how many petticoats she wore, the dagger couldn’t be completely hidden.
She didn’t say it out loud, but his gaze alone made her feel like she was being scolded. She retaliated by tugging on his hair, shouting,
“So what? Are you going to take it away from me again?”
“That’s not the point—”
“Oh, right. What was it you said before? A true Emperor needs to be shameless?”
“No, El.”
“And before that? ‘The day I acknowledge you as my daughter will never come’?”
“How do you even remember things from when you were a baby…”
“Confine yourself to your room and copy ‘The Prince’ for four hours a day?”
“I was wrong, please, have mercy…”
Artius, unable to defend his past actions, surrendered.
He blushed, his head bowed in shame.
Elonia, who had been trying to maintain her defiant facade, burst into laughter.
“…Pfft, ahahaha! Oh my god, you’re so funny, ahahaha!”
He had never seen her laugh so freely before.
Artius chuckled softly, realizing that he would never be able to win against her.
***
Elonia, satisfied after finishing her pudding and Artius’s portion, left the restaurant.
She had been tired, but the food had energized her.
However, they still had a lot of places to visit, so Elonia let Artius carry her as they continued their exploration.
‘Okay, enough shopping for me. Time to find a gift for Artius.’
So far, everything they had bought was for Elonia.
But her resolve quickly crumbled as she was bombarded with distractions.
She forgot about her true age and acted like a five-year-old, her eyes darting from one interesting object to another.
No one treated her like an adult anyway, so her 24-year-old consciousness remained dormant.
And it wasn’t entirely her fault.
Artius, unable to resist her curious gaze, kept entering shops and buying everything that caught her eye, making it increasingly difficult to find a gift for him.
Elonia, holding a newly acquired ice cream cone, thought,
‘Maybe I should give up for today!’
She had always been pragmatic, capable of making quick decisions.
She had gotten carried away, excited by her first shopping trip in the city.
‘There’s still time before Artius’s birthday.’
Not much time, but still.
She pondered her deadline, taking a bite of her ice cream, when Artius suddenly stopped.
“…?”
Elonia looked up at him curiously, following his gaze.
He was staring at an antique-looking art shop.
Several family portraits were displayed in the window.
“Dad?”
“Ah, I’m sorry.”
Artius seemed to have snapped out of his trance, flustered. He quickly changed the subject.
“Do you like the ice cream?”
‘He’s trying to distract me.’
Elonia continued to eat her ice cream, staring at him intently without answering.
‘Paintings… Portraits…’
Come to think of it, Artius had a lot of portraits in his office.
He had loved his family deeply, even though they were all gone.
And among all those portraits, there wasn’t a single one that depicted her and Artius together.
“Dad, I want to go in there.”
“There?”
Elonia pointed to the art shop Artius had been staring at.
He looked surprised.
She tugged on his hair, urging him to enter the shop.
Artius hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly followed her inside.
Elonia smiled triumphantly.
‘I found the perfect gift.’