Your Meaning

Episode 28: Jealousy is My Middle Name II (3)

TL: thursdays 

PR:  altacco

Dayeon kept tilting her head in question all through the language class. Theo’s attitude was strange today.

She wondered if she should ask what was going on, but she didn’t think that they were close enough to ask such an intimate thing. And regardless of what was happening, it wasn’t any of her business.

If Theo knew what she was thinking, he would have hit his chest in frustration.

Throughout the class, he had been broadcasting with his whole body that he was unhappy and that he had something to say. But as there was no response from Dayeon, he caved and spoke first.

“Are you dating the emperor?” Theo asked, closing his book. His tone was pointed. 

At the sudden question, Dayeon looked at Theo like she was asking, “What?”

What? The emperor? Is His Majesty your friend? The knights in the room put their hands on their swords with looks that said, “You’re busted.”[1]

However, the priest did not pay attention to the knights’ rising animosity. With his mild looks, he didn’t seem that gutsy, but he carried on.

“I asked if you’re going out with the emperor.”

“Um.”

Dayeon pondered about it. They weren’t like that yet, but a denial in this situation would make her feel unfaithful and guilty toward the emperor.

Theo took her hesitation as an affirmative, and his expression hardened even more. Dayeon didn’t know what was bothering him, but the priest looked really frustrated, like she was missing something.

He cast away his usual soft tone and spoke sharply and clearly. “The emperor is a cold and wicked man.”

“Hey you. You better stop now, if you don’t want to die.”

A knight who couldn’t hold back anymore drew his sword half-way out of its scabbard.

But Dayeon was disturbed by something Theo said.

Cold? The emperor? He’s supposed to be a cold person?

She couldn’t agree with that.

Temperature-wise, the emperor was hot. He was someone who carried the sun in his heart. Why was Theo talking so rashly about the emperor when he didn’t even get to know him properly?

Dayeon frowned.

The emperor worked so passionately, and he always brightened his surroundings. Didn’t the priest know how much the emperor loved his life and his role?

He was a man who always overworked himself due to his position, but he never complained or said that it was unfair. He always went his own way, confidently and honestly.

Dayeon liked the emperor for that. She liked him so much that she felt angry when she heard what Theo had to say about him.

Suddenly, she wanted to defend the emperor. She wanted, with all her heart, to make sure no one could condemn him.

“Do you know His Majesty very well? That person is… He’s a really good person. You say that he’s cold, but I don’t think he is. At least, he is always warm to me.”

Now that she had said her piece, Dayeon felt something surging in her heart.

The people around her were flustered because they thought that she stopped speaking because she was crying, but that wasn’t the case.

Dayeon was not someone from the imperial palace, where schemes and intrigue ran rampant, and she didn’t know how to express the words hovering in her mind in a beautiful way. That was why she had always been smacked around at work and treated more unfairly than her ability justified.

But she really wanted to say it. So Dayeon paused a few times to organize the words in her head and finally opened her mouth.

“There were many people who treated me warmly when I first arrived because I am the figure from the oracle. The temple included. But in the end, everyone was disappointed in me because they knew I was nothing. Of course, His Majesty was like that too. But even while knowing that I’m nothing… it was only His Majesty the Emperor who paid attention to me as a human.”

As Dayeon spoke, her emotions swelled, and she clenched her fists. One of the knights gasped a little.

The priest’s expression was shocked, as if he had been hit. Soon, the light in his eyes sank.

He began speaking in a voice of cold indignation, like someone reading a passage about suffering from the scripture.

“You don’t know this yet, but that man has committed many evil deeds against the temple and Herunia. You, as one of Herunia’s people, cannot love him.”

It was the first time that he left before Dayeon after class ended.

Theo didn’t listen for her answer. He took his book and told her he would see her in two days before leaving first.

Dayeon, who was left behind, was bewildered.

“…Jeez, why is he acting like that?”

He started it first, so why did he get angry on his own and close the door behind him?

Dayeon was dazed for a long time because she was so dumbfounded. Was he crazy? What did she do wrong?

When she looked around, everyone else just coughed.

So it was possible to dump someone so refreshingly.

The knights had seen something new. They didn’t even feel like they had to go beat up the priest for his nonsense. He was an imbecile, but he wouldn’t be able to recover for a while after being dumped like that.

If he left the palace, he’d probably go out for a drink by himself.

But were priests allowed to drink?

In the first place, were priests allowed to drool after women?

As they thought, that bastard might not really be a priest.

Inwardly, the knights felt admiration for Dayeon.

After watching by her side for a long time, they too knew about Dayeon’s nature to some extent. She wasn’t someone who liked to fight, nor did she like to put herself forward.

It was because of her wallflower nature that she had such a rough time at the lateral palace at first from some of the employees who didn’t know their place. She wasn’t the type to nitpick or confront people.

However, she had been so affected by what someone said about the emperor that she clenched her fists to the point they turned white. She refuted Theo’s words. It was obvious that she would not have done so if she were the one being judged.

Dayeon was more honorable and cooler than they had thought.

They all knew the women the emperor had been with before. They knew some noble ladies who were rumored to become the empress as well. Those ladies all had beautiful looks, good families, and talent.

However, they couldn’t imagine those ladies arming themselves with such honesty and defending the emperor against his political opponents.

Honesty was an amazing weapon. Nobody could deny her words head-on. Not even a priest from the temple.

Following the group of attendants from last time, the group of knights decided.

Let’s make her the empress!

That insensitive, dull mentality that doesn’t waver no matter how much another man sniffs around! Her generosity that listens to and lets slide even His Majesty’s merciless verbal attacks! The honest spirit that says everything she wants to say when she’s angry! As a match to His Majesty, who chose to make an enemy of the temple, she doesn’t fall short!

If His Majesty had heard her himself, he would have loved it, the knights thought. They resolved to write a report to bring some small happiness to the emperor.

The attendants, ministers, knights—all workers had shed tears before because of the emperor. However, the emperor was much more popular with knights than with the bureaucrats.

It was because of the differences in their mindsets.

Unlike the officials who dreamed of a stable life with a roughly set salary, knights were constantly improving their swordsmanship. Knights held back from appraising others when they reached a certain level. It was not just a matter of courtesy, but also of rivalry.

However, the emperor who didn’t care about such things at all, was always relentless, including in his feedback.

The emperor had no thoughts of becoming the number one in swordsmanship. He always thought only of himself. The emperor’s stinging advice was painful, but in the end, it pushed them higher, and those who walked the path of the sword admired and respected the emperor who did not remain complacent.

“May I sit down?”

The knights, who rarely had a chance to talk privately with Dayeon even though they attended every imperial language class, had the chance to have a proper conversation with her for the first time.

Dayeon nodded, even though she looked puzzled.

Nowadays, the emperor’s mood was different in the morning and in the evening, switching from pole to pole. He wasn’t an easy person to serve normally, but he wasn’t a fickle person either.

However, the emperor was extremely in love, and he seemed to be suffering from extreme emotional ups and downs. He was very happy, and then he became furious, and then he was uncharacteristically hurt and depressed, too.

They all knew why the emperor was like that. It was because he truly fell in love.

The youngest knight started first.

“Like you said… His Majesty is a very good person…”

What was this about?

The unexpected words made Dayeon burst out laughing, but she was still confused. The youngest, who was accustomed to ill treatment, did not mind it. He continued speaking nonchalantly.

“Blood lines are important in life, but it is also important in becoming a knight. More than half of a person’s born talent determines their future ability. But when that’s not the case, it means that the person worked to their bones. It isn’t a metaphor; they literally put their blood and sweat into it.”

The knight who had been clearing his throat picked up the conversation with a determined expression.

“His Majesty is just that sincere and steadfast. He’s so busy that he won’t look at any other women. I’ve been watching him for a long time, and he’ll never do something like that.”

“Please accept His Majesty. Of course, as he’s human, he may have some minor shortcomings, but he is overall a very diligent and good man. He’ll be a very responsible husband,” added the senior knight, who had been listening.

Dayeon almost laughed again. The knight had a big build and always wore a stiff expression, so she thought he would be difficult to talk with, but the way he spoke was so cute. Struggling not to laugh, she cleared her voice and asked,

“Mm, well. What are his shortcomings?”

It came out again, Marie thought.

The employees of the lateral palace all knew about that technique now.

People usually looked down on Dayeon at first. However, Dayeon was not that simple.

There was a stubborn part to her that didn’t open her heart well. She seemed calm, but she was the scariest when she spoke like that. She was someone who took a long time to understand someone without attacking them.

Such people took their time. They didn’t capture people all at once. However, if they stayed in position for a long time, they eventually became a force that no one could ignore.

As the table was set, the youngest knight did not hesitate.

“Of course, there are only a few, very very minor shortcomings. First of all, he’s a workaholic, so he’s a little busy, and his nagging is a bit… It isn’t short, and it’s kind of intense, but you can just think about it as a habit. If you don’t, it’s bad for your mental health, so you have to do that. And he’s a little picky and a perfectionist, but, well, he’s all doing it for our sakes?”

Hey, shut up. Are you complimenting him or screwing him over now?

As the youngest knight rambled, the senior knight hit his head.

However, Dayeon laughed and smiled cheerfully. People really liked him, she thought.

It felt like they were supporting her judgment.

Her low spirits rose up again. She felt happy. As expected, that man was someone who deserved to be loved.

꘏꘏꘏

[1]: Theo refers to Mikhail as just “the emperor” instead of “His Majesty.”