Conquering the Emperor - Chapter 84

“There’s so much gold here. Do you like it?” I asked, curiously.

“Oh, that. Honestly, I’m so-so with it. Most of the golden statues, decorations and…other stuff were mostly installed in by my grandfather and then my father when they lived here,” Ren said as he pointed to a statue of a horse made of gold.

“This place is so…out there…” I murmured.

“Yeah, I can see why you would say that. I think I had the same impression when I first moved here…” Ren said as if reminiscing of the past.

“Don’t you have work to do? You don’t have to show me around, you know…” I said as I turned to offer him a smile.

“I do. Want to help out?” Ren asked.

“Sure…but I don’t think I’ll be much use…” I replied.

Ren led me by the hand to a large room filled with books, paper scrolls and shelves. There was a very large wooden desk and a few chairs there as well and I could figure out that that was Ren’s work desk. I didn’t know if I should laugh or sympathize with him.

His desk was piled up with paper, books, and scrolls. I guess a week away from his palace had led to work piling up. If someone offered me the job of being the crown prince, I would immediately turn it down…

Apart from the worktable there was a large wooden sofa set with pearl shell decorations. That was probably for receiving guests. I turned around and looked around the room at the high shelves that were all filled with books and stacks of paper.

“So…what can I help with?” I asked, eager to be of help.

“You can read, right?” Ren asked.

“…of course, I can. My father taught me,” I replied with full confidence.

Sure, I didn’t have the impeccable manners or grace of a lady, but I could read and write just fine. I could do mathematics too and that was saying something for women of this age and time. My father taught me all those skills so that I could study medicine and treat patients.

“I’m just making sure. I guessed that you do know how to read because I’ve seen you study medical text,” Ren said as he thought back to our time together.

“You’re right. I can’t study medicine properly without being able to read, write and do mathematics. Mixing potions and medicine required understanding of the formula and the mixture. That’s all mathematics,” I explained to Ren.

Ren nodded in understanding before he pointed towards a large stack of books. Is that my work?

“Can you help me sort these piles of books based on subject and put them where they belong on the shelf?” Ren asked.

“Are these books that you took out and didn’t bother to put back?” I asked in disbelief. Tell me this doesn’t look like what it looks like…

“You’re absolutely right,” Ren replied with a bright smile.

This crown prince…is such a messy guy…

“Has anyone ever told you that your workroom is a mess?” I asked.

The pile of books that Ren had pointed towards wasn’t the only pile in the room and don’t let me get started on the other mess in the room. There was paper randomly scattered all around on the floor. Piles of books stacked so high that the pile was taller than my head. Some piles must have been there for ages because they have tipped over.

“No. Never,” Ren stated with self-confidence.

“Really?” I asked, in shock.

“I usually don’t let anyone in here except for Shin…and I don’t usually listen to what he says so…” Ren explained with a shrug.

I didn’t know what to say in response as I shook my head at him. Who would have guess that the crown prince of the Flame Dragon empire would be such a messy guy. The rest of his palace that I’ve seen so far was pristinely cleaned and well organized, clearly that was the work of the maids. I bet he doesn’t let the maids in here as well…this place was also dusty.

“I guess I’ll put the books away as you suggested and then…we’ll probably need to clean this whole room,” I said with a huge sigh.

Perhaps staying with Jeely for my water painting lesson would have been the better choice. As I busied myself sorting out the books based on subject and arranging them by alphabetical order back on the shelves, I glanced over to see that Ren was deep in thought as he focused on sorting out the work on his worktable.

I wanted to ask him what he was doing but decided to save my questions for later. Ren seemed too preoccupied with his current tasks right now and I didn’t want to disturb him. I had many tasks to complete as well; however, I was sure that clearing all the books and cleaning the room was something that I couldn’t achieve alone in the span of a day.

“Rin?” Ren called out for me.

“I’m here!” I called back.

“Are you done?” Ren asked.

I rolled my eyes as I hid behind a pile of books. How can I possibly be done? I bet these books have been stacking up here since the beginning of time.

“No…” I said.

“Enough for today, Rin,” Ren called out.

My eyes widened in surprise. That’s it for today?

“But I’m not done yet…” I said softly as I peeked out to look at Ren from behind the tall pile of books.

“You won’t be done today anyways, right? Let’s go…” Ren said as he got up from his chair.

I walked towards his worktable as I wondered if he would tell me anything if I asked him about what he was just doing.

“Umm…Ren, can you tell me a bit about the work that you were just doing?” I asked.

“Oh, this? I guess I can but it’s really not as interesting as you might have imagined,” Ren said with a tired sigh.

“Tell me…then I’ll decide for myself if it’s interesting or not,” I prompted him.

–To be continued…