Normally, when the children of the town gathered together, they argued about where they could play—sometimes on the rooftop of a house, sometimes in a narrow alley. Each time, they had to make sure no one had taken over their spot. But ever since they started visiting the Walker estate, there were no more meetings. The garden had become their permanent playground. In the afternoons, the sound of children playing could be heard everywhere.
Today was one of those days. Daisy was watching the children from afar as they played tag, when she saw one of the boys fall badly. She ran toward him:
"Jones, are you okay?"
She helped him stand. Fortunately, he wasn't hurt. The boy, eager to return to the game, said:
"I'm fine, nothing happened."
Then he ran off to join the others.
At that moment, Daisy felt someone standing beside her. She turned—and was surprised by the face she saw:
"Emperor… what are you doing here?"
Elias had hurried over to talk to her about the competition. But when he saw Daisy's face, he remembered how much he had missed her. He smiled:
"I came to see you."
No matter how much Daisy tried to figure out what had happened for the Emperor to come in person, she couldn't find an answer. She had thought their meeting at the palace would be the last. In fact, she had hoped so.
Elias said:
"Aren't you going to show me the garden?"
Daisy stopped staring at his face and composed herself:
"Yes, of course. This way."
They began walking side by side. To break the silence, Daisy said:
"Sorry about the noise. The children usually come here to play at this hour."
Elias glanced at the children. He had already heard about Daisy's charitable work, but this one surprised him:
"I thought the Walker estate was closed to everyone. But it seems there's an exception."
"That's right. After my parents died, I closed the gates. But after two years, I slowly started my activities again. I just made sure not to draw attention."
She didn't even know why she was saying these things. Maybe she felt an involuntary sense of trust toward Elias.
Silence again. As they walked, Elias heard a sound in the distance—like flowing water:
"That sound…?"
Daisy perked up her ears, then smiled at him:
"That's the river. Would you like to take a look?"
Elias, who wanted this walk to last longer, nodded:
"Of course."
They left the path, and after passing through a few trees, they reached a small river. It was shallow and narrow enough that if you stepped on the stones in the middle, you could easily cross it. But the other side was rocky and uneven, impossible to stand on. In contrast, the side they were on was flat and grassy—perfect for sitting.
Elias said:
"It's a beautiful place. It makes you feel calm."
Daisy:
"Then why don't we sit here and talk?"
"What?"
Daisy turned to him:
"It seems His Majesty has been very busy these days."
From the very beginning, Daisy had noticed the paleness of the Emperor's face. When she looked a little closer, she also saw the dark circles under his eyes. And yet, he had come. So, ignoring his "there's no need to worry," she went and sat under a tree. Elias had no choice but to follow her.
They both sat under the tree and stared at the river.
Daisy asked:
"Why did you want to see me?"
Elias took a deep breath:
"Today is the last day for registration."
When he saw Daisy show no reaction, he continued:
"I didn't see your name."
He waited long enough until Daisy finally said, still looking straight ahead:
"I don't intend to participate."
Elias turned to her:
"Why?"
"As I said. I'm not interested."
That answer didn't convince Elias:
"I thought you were interested in power?"
Trying to avoid his intense gaze, Daisy said:
"Yeah, becoming Empress is tempting. But I'd rather follow my own plan."
Elias was more confused than before. He thought everything had been going well. How was he supposed to make her understand that this plan she spoke of would never work?
"Can you tell me why you changed your mind?"
"Let's just say we both got what we wanted. I got my revenge, and you turned the situation in your favor. Then what? What are you planning to do next?"
Elias didn't know whether it was anger or the light reflecting off the water into his eyes, but he suddenly felt a headache.
"Didn't I tell you, I want to—"
The pain shot through his head so sharply that he groaned without meaning to. He covered his face with his hand and curled up from the pain.
Daisy panicked when she saw him like that:
"Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Elias lowered his hand:
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a bit of a headache from the lack of sleep."
Daisy looked at him skeptically:
"What's keeping you from sleeping? Are you really that busy?"
Elias preferred to agree with that rather than admit he saw her death in his dreams every night.
Daisy thought: This is not good. Not good at all. Now that she knew, she couldn't just ignore it. So she lifted her hands, grabbed the Emperor's head—and in one motion, placed it on her lap!
Elias was so shocked he said nothing for a moment, then suddenly tried to get up. But Daisy held him firmly in place.
"What are you doing?"
"You should sleep a little."
Even Daisy didn't know why she had done that. But now that it had happened:
"Lack of sleep causes confusion, and in the long run it can even lead to a stroke. This place is quiet, so you should take the chance and rest."
Elias, feeling awkward, said:
"Does it really have to be like this?"
Daisy was glad he couldn't see her flushed face:
"I know you're uncomfortable. But I can't let the Emperor rest his head on dirty grass."
Elias thought:
"The problem is that it's too comfortable."
Afraid he might lift his head at any moment, Daisy kept her hand firmly on the Emperor's hair. Other than the sound of the river and the rustling leaves in the breeze, nothing else could be heard.
Elias finally gave in. His eyelids grew heavy, and he drifted into sleep.
When he woke up, it was the last hours of the day. He opened his eyes and stared at the branches of the tree above him.
"You're awake."
He turned his head. Daisy was looking down at him. For a moment, he thought he was still dreaming. It took him a few seconds to remember why he was there—and when he remembered where he had rested his head, he quickly sat up:
"You should've woken me."
Daisy said:
"But you seemed to be sleeping very comfortably."
Elias joked:
"I hope I didn't drool on your skirt!"
Daisy frowned:
"That wasn't funny at all."
Elias stood and looked at her. Daisy was still sitting, her face looking a little tired.
Elias said:
"I think I should go now."
He reached out his hand to help her up. Daisy was getting to her feet when she suddenly stumbled. She almost fell, but Elias caught her. The image of their meeting at the palace flashed before his eyes—the moment Daisy had begged to stay alive.
Daisy let out a small laugh:
"I think my legs fell asleep."
She tried to pull away, but Elias held her tighter. Daisy gave him a questioning look.
Elias stared at her face:
"Why don't you trust me?"
Daisy, wanting to end the conversation, said:
"Let me ask your question differently. What do you have that I can trust?"
Elias thought. What indeed?
Should I tell her I've seen the future?
Prove how much I love her?
…Maybe I should take the hardest path?
Daisy thought their conversation was over. She tried to step back, but Elias leaned in and whispered something quietly in her ear—a plan that had come to him at that very moment.
Daisy's eyes widened at what she heard.
---
It was a quarter to midnight.
Arthur sat at his desk, staring at the clock's hands. Ever since Elias had left, he had been counting the seconds.
"Only fifteen minutes left."
And again, in silence, he watched.
Tick-tock, tick-tock…
"Fourteen minutes."
Tick-tock, tick-tock…
"Thirteen minutes."
Tick-tock…
Suddenly he shouted:
"Ughhh, hurry up and end already, damn it!"
He immediately swallowed his voice. The last thing he needed was to wake the whole household. He yawned:
"I'm sleepy…"
He stared at the paper on the desk. Everything was ready. He just had to stamp it, and registration would officially close. All he needed to do was dip the seal in ink and press it down—done. Then he could finally go to sleep. But he had promised to wait until midnight. He looked at the clock again. Ten minutes left.
"I hope that girl is worth all this trouble."
The day after the celebration, when he had returned from Elias, Arthur had ordered an investigation on Daisy. To his surprise, he had found nothing. That only made him more suspicious. And when he didn't see her name on the participant list, he decided it was better not to tell Elias. To him, that girl seemed suspicious from head to toe. But Elias was practically throwing himself into fire and water for her.
He muttered under his breath:
"If you want that girl so badly, just marry her. Why drag me into this?"
He thought to himself:
"This lack of sleep is really making me think nonsense!"
Five minutes.
Arthur calculated:
"If someone submits the registration form to the office right now, even if they reach it in one minute, the office is closed, so they'll have to wait fifteen minutes for approval before bringing it to me. It'll be one o'clock."
Arthur gave a wicked smile and picked up the seal:
"Sorry, Elias."
He dipped the seal into the ink:
"I kept my promise."
He raised it dramatically to finish the job:
"Coastal city of Leo, here I come…"
At the very last moment, someone knocked on the door.
Arthur froze in place:
"Who is it?"
The door opened and one of the guards entered:
"I deeply apologize for disturbing you at this hour, sir."
Arthur snapped:
"Hurry up, spit it out!"
The guard took out an envelope and approached Arthur:
"This letter came from the Walker estate. They said it's very important and you must see it right away."
"Walker?"
The name sounded familiar. Arthur suddenly remembered:
"OHHHH!"
He snatched the letter and tore it open. As he expected, it was a registration form—sent not through the office, but directly to the overseer.
He quickly looked at the clock.
One minute left.
Arthur grabbed his pen and added Daisy Walker's name to the list. Then he stamped the paper.