Time Healer Ceres - Chapter 45

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The others felt the same way.
After all, Cheyeon had only just stepped into the conference room moments ago.
He’d arrived a mere five minutes before the Emperor and Crown Prince, yet here he was making such a statement.
‘What wind brought this on?’
Aselain found his sudden appearance rather remarkable.
After sending him a formal request to attend and even going to find him in person to urge him to come, the fellow had let it go in one ear and out the other — so what was this about?
Had the appearance of the Black Forest in the Capital made him take matters seriously?
‘Not a chance.’
That simply wasn’t who he was.
Cheyeon was the sort to tell others to work harder at their defenses while standing idly by himself, watching from a distance.
Emperor Debrica too regarded his son with a bewildered expression.
Whose shamelessness had he inherited, exactly?
‘Perhaps from the late father. It does seem familiar.’
Yet as he watched Cheyeon smiling with such bright, guileless cheer, a small laugh escaped the Emperor’s lips.
His son, whom he saw so rarely, had not changed in the least. Fearless of his father and older brother alike, stubbornly doing as he pleased.
But wasn’t that also the very reason he could not help but love the boy?
“Come in, Cheyeon.”
“Yes, Father.”
The other nobles, too, could not easily tear their eyes from Cheyeon, who had appeared in the conference hall for the first time in so long.
Even at the Emperor’s birthday banquet earlier in the year, Cheyeon had sent a gift without showing his face, and that alone had set the Imperial Palace abuzz for weeks.
Rumors had spread that relations between the Emperor and Cheyeon had soured.
But those rumors had not lasted long. Everyone had seen the Emperor wearing the Brooch that Cheyeon had given as a birthday gift without fail, every single day.
Regardless, there were plenty of people eager to cultivate a relationship with him — not merely because of his position as second prince, but far more because of his attractive status as Tower Master.
The problem was that, despite his gentle appearance, Cheyeon did not easily let others close.
Though he always wore a kind smile, that very smile seemed to create an invisible barrier, keeping people at arm’s length.
Today too, as Cheyeon habitually turned his bright smile toward those who stared at him intently, his eyes suddenly widened.
A flicker of something different crossed his features as he spotted someone in the crowd.
“We meet again.”
The person Cheyeon greeted so warmly, even waving his hand, was none other than Kainel, the Grand Duke of Persha.
…….
Kainel, who had kept his gaze lowered in silence until then, glanced sideways at Cheyeon.
But he closed his eyes again without offering any further response.
“Oh, come now. We’re regular customers, you and I.”
…Regular customers? What did he mean by that?
Did the two of them know each other?
At Cheyeon’s sudden remark, everyone in the chamber widened their eyes.
There were plenty of nobles who had yet to have a proper conversation with the Grand Duke of Persha. And Cheyeon knew him?
Brushing aside the heated, curious stares of the nobles, Cheyeon clapped his hands once toward Crown Prince Aselain.
“Shall we start the meeting? I’m a busy man.”
“…Very well. Let us begin.”
Aselain bowed his head slightly, as if to say he could not stop him.
Yet noticing that his brother’s participation had clearly pleased him, evidenced by the noticeably softer look in his eyes, the Emperor felt a quiet smile bloom in his chest.
* * *
‘This place has changed quite a bit.’
Near the conference chamber, a separate space had been prepared for the secretaries and aides of high-ranking officials to rest.
Stepping into the rather spacious room, Seress gazed out the window and found herself overcome with nostalgia once again.
The Imperial Palace too was a place she had once frequented regularly.
The reigning Emperor at that time — Grace — was an eccentric who refused treatment from anyone but her.
‘It’s been so hard to see your face.’
‘What good does seeing my face do you?’
‘Just looking at you seems to heal all my ailments.’
‘Stop your nonsense and take your medicine properly. Why didn’t you finish the medicine I gave you this time?’
‘The medicine was too bitter.’
‘…Mix it with honey, then.’
An Emperor could not be forced — though had he been a prince, she would have pried his mouth open and made him swallow it herself.
At any rate, unlike the Mana Tower, which showed little sign of change, the Imperial Palace had transformed considerably from how she remembered it.
The overall structure and layout seemed the same, yet new buildings appeared here and there, and the surrounding landscape was quite different.
“The gardens are truly beautiful, aren’t they?”
Just then, someone approached quietly from the side and spoke to her.
When he turned, a man in his early thirties stood before him with a gentle smile.
‘Why does his face seem familiar?’
The man’s features struck an odd chord—not quite forgotten, yet not quite remembered either.
“I’m Del. I’ve visited your shop before.”
“The shop?”
Had he been a customer at the shop?
But unless he was a regular, she rarely remembered customers’ faces.
So why did his feel familiar?
“I came by to pick up a to-go order once.”
“Ah, the pot.”
“Ha. Yes, that’s right.”
Only then did Seress understand why his face wasn’t a complete stranger.
She’d seen him just once, but the impression had lingered.
There had been a customer who came to the shop—which rarely got takeout orders—and bought a single bowl of stew, bringing his own pot with him.
The image of him in an expensive, pristine suit holding a modest little pot had been oddly striking and memorable.
‘An advisor, perhaps?’
It was strange, really—meeting someone from the shop in a place like this.
“I serve the Grand Duke Persha.”
“……!”
At Del’s next words, Seress’s eyes widened slightly.
This man was Kainel’s advisor?
Then the stew he bought that day was possibly……!
“…Ah.”
One puzzle finally clicked into place.
She’d wondered all along how Kainel had found the shop.
‘So he brought it for him.’
She still wasn’t sure why he’d gone to the trouble of getting takeout stew in the first place, but he must have liked the familiar taste, recognized it, and then come to the shop himself. That made sense.
Knowing that Del served Kainel, Seress’s eyes softened considerably.
“You must work so hard.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“It’s nothing, really.”
The simple fact that he was that difficult man’s advisor was enough for Seress to give him high marks.
Del’s eyes widened briefly at the sudden comment, then his gentle smile returned.
“Are you still working as a secretary?”
“Yes.”
“And you’ll continue with the work?”
“Only for one more month.”
“I see.”
“……?”
Seress noticed a deep wave of relief flash across Del’s face, then fade. She tilted her head, puzzled.
Why that expression over her working for just one more month?
“So you’ll return to the shop after that month? Thank goodness…….”
“That’s not quite it.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I was only helping at the shop because an employee was injured. Now that he’s recovering, there’s no real reason for me to stay.”
Mark’s arm had healed completely.
She wouldn’t abandon the shop entirely, but she wouldn’t be there every day managing the kitchen as she had before.
“Ah…….”
Del couldn’t hide his disappointment.
Seress found herself puzzled once more by his reaction.
Did he want her to keep running the shop?
Why?
“Is something wrong?”
“That’s……!”
—BEEEEEEP!
“……?”
Everyone’s gaze snapped toward the door.
“Wh-what is that noise?”
“An alarm device?”
“Why is it……!”
“No… surely not…!”
The moment Seress understood what that sound was, she and Debrica bolted through the door.
Could the Black Forest have somehow manifested inside the Imperial Palace itself?
That sound—it was unmistakably the alarm for a Monster appearance.
-Screeeeeeeech!
Outside, the sound grew even louder.
Panicked nobles were scrambling out of the conference hall in disarray.
Bang!
“Monsters! There are monsters!”
“…Cheyeon.”
Moments later, Cheyeon and Crown Prince Aselain emerged from the conference hall as well.
Only then did Seress understand where the alarm was coming from.
In Cheyeon’s hand was a red Alarm Device, shrieking with a horrific wail.
Why on earth had he brought that into the conference hall?
“Your Highness! There are monsters, real monsters!”
“…….”
“At last monsters have appeared even in the palace…….”
“Enough.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
At Aselain’s terse command, laced with a sigh, Cheyeon’s mouth snapped shut as if by reflex.
“You triggered that Alarm Device on purpose, didn’t you?”
“You figured it out?”
The anxious expression fell from Cheyeon’s face, replaced by a brilliant smile.
“Cheyeon.”
“What? They looked like monsters to me. Isn’t their senseless prattling more horrifying than any creature’s cry?”
“…….”
Aselain couldn’t bring himself to deny it, so he simply exhaled a long, weary sigh.
‘What am I going to do with this brat.’
“You can’t just trigger an Alarm Device like that, you fool.”
-Screeeeeeeech!
As the nobles milled about in confusion, the creature’s cry pierced the air once more.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————