Namgung Se-ga, the warrior, was reincarnated in Romance

Ruber calmly continued talking about his parents and siblings.

The most interesting part was his story about how the current emperor tried to provide fair love to his children.

The emperor rarely met with all three of his children at once, but he made sure to spend the same amount of time with each of them on the same day to talk about various things. However, he also made sure that they didn’t share too much about how they spent their personal time with each other.

Ruber said he enjoyed presenting his swordsmanship to his father or listening to his father’s troubles about running the country.

He also heard that Lucilla liked to talk about her father’s favorite foods and culture.

When they had time to themselves, they would sometimes go hunting together, practice swordsmanship, or simply devote their attention to each other.

Ruber also shared stories about their mother, the Empress Kate Antines.

“…My mother has a strong desire for power. She had been aiming for the position of empress since the previous empress passed away. Since the day Lucilla and I were born, she’s been desperately hoping that one of us would inherit the throne, and she’s done a lot of things to make that happen.”

“What kinds of things?” I asked.

“She built up support through my grandfather beforehand, things like that. Nothing too grand. She’s done everything she could as empress, but she never engages in dishonorable actions.”

“…Hmm.”

“Because of that, she’s been partial to me, and distanced herself from Lucilla. She probably thought that if Lucilla inherited some of the support she had built, it might flow into a future emperor who isn’t her child.”

“…”

“That’s why I never talk about our mother in front of Lucilla. It just feels like I’m taking away her sense of having a mother.”

Without even a drink, the boy was spilling his joys, sorrows, and secrets so easily that I was taken aback. I wasn’t sure how to comfort him, so I held my tongue.

It was unclear whether he just needed someone to listen or if he considered me a close confidante.

After listening quietly, I patted the back of his hand a few times, and Ruber gave a faint, melancholic smile.

As I looked at his face, something suddenly struck me.

“So, do you think you want to be emperor because of your mother’s influence?”

“It’s not just that. I… I mean… I have very different political views from Richard, my brother. I respect my father, and I often think I’d like to be an emperor like him…”

“Hmm.”

“I wanted to be emperor before I even thought about fulfilling my mother’s dream. This is my dream, not hers.”

Ruber’s expression and eyes were firm.

I didn’t know what to say in response, so I remained silent. After a moment, Ruber seemed to choose his words carefully and started talking about the country he wanted to build.

I, too, was very interested in the land where my bloodline would live, so I listened closely to his story.

As we shared various thoughts, time passed quickly, and before I knew it, night had fallen.

It was already well past dinner time, and I should have been hungry, but I wasn’t.

Although I hadn’t trained as much as I had planned, I didn’t feel regret since I had spent the evening talking so much with Ruber.

We promised to make time for more conversations in the future and parted ways.

* * *

On the weekend, I studied at the library without any particular events.

I spent most of my time in the library with my friends.

For a while, Ruber came by and wandered around, but Marianne and Jenny, who had a stack of books beside them, were sitting together, and since I had many things to memorize, I promised to talk to him later.

After Ruber left, I noticed some curious gazes on me, and I shrugged.

When Sheiden, who was sitting next to me, mentioned that it seemed like I had gotten closer to the prince, I was able to give a different answer than before.

“Do you think so too? He’s more down-to-earth and has a good personality.”

“…Prince Ruber is down-to-earth? In what way?”

“Well, he’s calm, doesn’t seem to dislike much, smiles a lot, and is pretty shy.”

“Are you talking about the second prince?”

“There can’t be two second princes.”

“Ah… I see…”

“And he’s diligent, seems to really pay attention in class, and has good manners, so there’s nothing wrong with getting close to him. Now I understand why you said that before.”

“…Well… The second prince isn’t an adult yet, though.”

“Hmm.”

There was a subtle hesitation in Sheiden’s words when he was talking about supporting the second prince in front of the other children, but he caught on immediately and nodded.

He had paid close attention in history class, so he could probably lend me his well-organized notes, and since he also listened attentively in archery, his form was probably just as proper when he helped me.

What a diligent and good-hearted child.

It was better to be gentle and well-behaved than aggressive and rude.

Every action he took seemed carefully measured, and if someone like him were to become emperor, wouldn’t the future of the country be bright?

Deep down, I found myself agreeing with his ideas about the country he wanted to build, especially the ones about Sieron. Although I didn’t plan to actively help him, I found myself supporting him in my heart.

While I was flipping through thick books, writing a report on how to speed up magic, Marianne, who had been absorbed in her work, suddenly looked up, her eyes sparkling as she chattered.

“The second prince is definitely a model student. He’d probably be number one for the guy who’d look best wearing glasses at the Sieron Academy. I wonder what would’ve happened if he’d joined the magic department instead of the swordsmanship department. A lot of people wish he had.”

“That’s ridiculous! The second prince *has* to be in the swordsmanship department. With those shoulders, it would be such a waste for him to be in the magic department!”

“But with black hair and red eyes, doesn’t that mean he should be in the magic department?”

“No way! Judging people based on their genetic traits is so shallow. That’s just as silly as the rumor that all men with black hair and red eyes are cold and cruel!”

I couldn’t argue, given that I had a father with black hair and red eyes.

I sat quietly, blinking as I listened to Jenny from the academic department fervently defend her point. It was the first time I had heard that a person with red eyes was thought to be cold and cruel, so I was left speechless.

“Is that really a thing?”

“Well, it’s not about Count Ernhardt’s family or anything…”

“Yeah, it’s just one of those common sayings. People often associate lighter-colored hair with beauty, so it’s something that gets said a lot… but honestly, it’s ridiculous to judge beauty based on hair color.”

“But with such a textbook definition of a handsome man right in front of us, I can’t really argue with that.”

I sighed softly at the attention I was receiving.

In the end, it seemed that Marianne had influenced even the usually calm and reserved Jenny. It reminded me that it was important to be selective about who you made friends with. They continued to discuss my appearance and hair color in front of me.

I never understood why people enjoyed talking about appearances as if it were a fun game. I found it hard to understand why they were laughing so much.

Once again, the topic shifted to hair color.

Since I had learned about my parents’ marriage in class, I had become aware of how noticeable my pink hair was. However, this new topic still seemed curious to me.

Marianne, Jenny, and even Sheiden all joined in, saying that blonde hair was the best, red hair wasn’t bad, black hair was the mark of a handsome man, and that red and brown hair were the traits of secondary male characters. They were so distracted by their conversation that we neglected our studies.

I understood about half of what they said and didn’t understand the other half. They mentioned it was the kind of story that appeared in plays or romance novels, so I decided not to worry about it.

“What about Ernhardt Young Master? Does he have any specific hair color that he finds ideal?”

“If I had to say…”

“If you had to say?”

“… I think black hair would be better.”

There was no deep meaning to it. It was just that I was used to it.

In the Central Kingdom, pale white skin and black hair like ebony were considered the standard of beauty.

They preferred a slender, long neck like a deer’s, and an elegant gait as if walking on clouds.

I thought the most beautiful people were those with strong bones and broad hips.

At least women with delicate, fragile appearances who looked like they might die giving birth were the kind of people I would avoid talking to, as if the slightest brush of a sleeve could break them.

That’s why, among the women of the Nangung family, the ones who were close to me were all bold and spirited, like boys. Thinking of them made me feel a sense of nostalgia.

Come to think of it, Ernhardt’s second son, Michael, also had black hair.

When I looked closely at his bright blue eyes that took after his mother and the black hair that resembled his father’s, his cheerful and lively personality was easy to read. The thought of the cute boy brought a smile to my face.

When I thought of Michael Ernhardt, I couldn’t waste my time at the academy.

Instead of indulging in the playful voices of the kids, I picked up my materials again. After letting some questions slide by, the kids went back to their books as well.

The materials contained information about the imperial family that we had learned about in the previous class.

It was said that an emperor’s evaluation shouldn’t be made during their reign.

Professor Calyps Agrizent had not talked about the current emperor’s strengths and weaknesses in class. Instead, he said to remember everything and evaluate it later after seeing things for ourselves.

For Ruber Anti-Sieron, the emperor was a kind and wise father.

He said that the emperor tried hard to listen to the stories of many people. Despite his busy schedule, he made an effort to spend as much time as possible with his children.

However, I didn’t think that approach was right.

It didn’t seem ideal to meet each child separately and tell them how precious they were, showering them with sweet words, and then throwing them all together in one room. I couldn’t imagine what kind of results would come from that.

In the Central Kingdom, there was a separate way for direct descendants and collateral branches, and the oldest son and the second son followed different paths.

What couldn’t be said in front of their father shouldn’t be said behind his back either. Younger brothers were supposed to respect their older brothers, and older brothers were to take care of their younger brothers.

But when I thought about it deeply, I realized that throughout history, there had been many younger brothers who were more capable than their older brothers. I didn’t know what kind of lives they had led.

Maybe for them, Sieron’s way of doing things would sound more appealing.

There was no clear right or wrong, and it was difficult and confusing.

I read through the materials again and memorized them. At the very end of the materials, there were densely written sections about the Antines family and the Floyd Kingdom. I memorized the names of not only the direct descendants of the imperial family but also the names of collateral relatives.

The Floyd Kingdom was the country of Princess Merisa Floyd, who had caused the price of yellow dye to skyrocket in the past. I thought that if Richard Flo Sieron inherited that bloodline, his personality would be quite eccentric.

It was the first time I realized that the first prince, Richard Flo Sieron, had blonde hair and blue eyes when I read the materials.

He was described as a pale, delicate-looking handsome man who had studied law at the Sieron Academy. Although he had attended a few magic department classes, it was said that he did not show any talent for magic.

Ruber, with his calm nature and qualities befitting a top-tier martial artist, naturally came to mind. I was starting to understand why Sheiden had so confidently spoken about the qualities of the future emperor.