One, two, three.
Had it been three seconds?
Ian sighed and opened his mouth.
"Okay, come here."
He knew what Rachel wanted.
Ian sighed quietly as if he couldn't help it, and tapped the seat next to him with a small chubby white hand.
Only then did Rachel smile again, and sit close to him.
As Rachel sat next to him, Ian put down the thick book he was reading and opened up a thin fairy tale book that was lying around.
"A long time ago, there lived three bears."
Then, with a short sigh, he began to recite the fairy tale.
The voice of the boy resonated in the quiet room.
Rachel scooted even closer to Ian, as if trying to see the illustrations in the book, and stuck her face close to the picture.
"Hey, go away. I can't see it."
Ian sighed again, pushed Rachel's head with his hand and said.
"Stay still."
He cautioned again like a parent who was reprimanding an unruly child, and then read the book again.
"The bear family lived in a strong and huge house."
Red sunlight was coming through the window of the room.
The sun had already fallen close to the horizon, and had colored the sky with red as if it was squeezing the last of the light.
Rachel pretended to look at the picture and got close to Ian again. The little Ian frowned as if he was bothered, but he didn't push Rachel away this time.
***
Ian Dakendov, the emperor of the Levskaya Empire, was leaving the Imperial Castle alone shortly after dawn.
In the early morning, the deserted streets were still, and the only noise on the quiet street was the sound of horses' hooves.
Ian's muscular black horse was walking on it's own, as if it had already gotten used to walking this route.
The hair on Ian's horse was swaying gently along with the light breeze and the horse's movements.
The autumn morning air, the sunshine and the wind. The atmosphere was quiet and peaceful, but there seemed to be a sense of urgency in the air.
His violet-purple eyes were a little red, as if he had missed sleep, and his face seemed a little pale.
He exhaled tiredly, and squeezed his eyes shut.
After some time had passed.
Neigh
The emperor's clever black horse cried once when he arrived at his destination.
"Good job."
Ian only opened his eyes then, and stroked the black horse. He handed over his horse's reins to a waiting attendant.
Ian stepped into the mansion a little more urgently than usual.
However, the moment he opened the front door, he frowned in disappointment.
He looked around for a moment as if he was looking for someone.
"She hasn't woken up yet, Your Majesty. Should I wake her?"
"No, it's fine."
Ian gave a small shake of his head at the butler's question.
"I'll wait."
