'My Imprinting Partner Will Be You. Sepia.'
“I will tell him so.”
The servant cautiously left.
The mornings were suddenly free because there was no breakfast with the Emperor.
“I will have to eat at the Empress’s palace today.”
“I will tell them to get ready right away.”
The maid hurried out of the bedroom.
Sepia drank the tea Madame Nightingale gave her and thought about it.
“What is it?”
She pretended that nothing happened, but she was nervous.
Their meal was one of the few times they had together as a couple.
He knew that and thought that he had kept that time.
“There was no urgent news. Is there something wrong?”
If it was a national issue, the news would have reached her as the Empress.
The servant also kept quiet about the situation, so it was right to wait a little.
Sepia finished breakfast with the maids.
After that, she prepared for the party that would be held two weeks later.
It was a victory party for the Duke who had swept away the barbarians who had been a long-standing problem for the empire.
“I have never met the Duke before.”
These were the words that the girl's little wolf, Demios, would whisper like a habit.
Sepia, Duke of Arte's daughter.
To Sepia, who had been raised by the Huron Imperial Family since childhood, the palace was a vast prison.
Day by day, she withered away while receiving the Empress's hatred.
The only light that appeared in front of such a girl was Demios, the Crown Prince of the Beastkin Empire.
The boy who had come to study abroad in the Empire was said to have inherited the blood of an animal.
At first, it was just strange.
Because he looked like a very handsome boy.
However, Demios's true nature was a wolf, and when he revealed his true form, she finally realized it.
That the boy was different from herself.
The gray-colored wolf licked the girl's cheek.
Sepia's eyes widened at the warm and soft sensation, which was completely different from her own tongue.
After that, Demios, who had returned to his boyish form, asked.
'Were you scared?'
'...No.'
Sepia shook her head.
In fact, she was a little scared, but her heart was pounding more than that.
The young lovers were getting closer like that.
That's how the children met secretly, avoiding the eyes of the Empress.
One of their hobbies was talking about the differences between humans and beastkin.
'Beastkin have something called names.'
'Names?'
'Yes. It's something that is rarely found among beastkin. One day, suddenly, the name of the destined partner is engraved on their body.'
'Hey, a lie. Where is that?'
She asked back, but Demios's expression was even more serious.
'beastkin with engraved names are said to search for and fall in love with the person with that name, regardless of the reason. When beastkin with that name meet, no one can separate them.'
That's why they are destined partners.
Sepia's eyes sparkled at the words she emphasized.
It was like a magical story. Demios smiled at the girl's interest and spoke.
'But, I feel like your name will definitely appear on my body.'
'But... I am human. Even if you were to have an imprint, it wouldn’t be me.’
Sepia, Duke of Arte's daughter.
To Sepia, who had been raised by the Huron Imperial Family since childhood, the palace was a vast prison.
Day by day, she withered away while receiving the Empress's hatred.
The only light that appeared in front of such a girl was Demios, the Crown Prince of the Beastkin Empire.
The boy who had come to study abroad in the Empire was said to have inherited the blood of an animal.
At first, it was just strange.
Because he looked like a very handsome boy.
However, Demios's true nature was a wolf, and when he revealed his true form, she finally realized it.
That the boy was different from herself.
The gray-colored wolf licked the girl's cheek.
Sepia's eyes widened at the warm and soft sensation, which was completely different from her own tongue.
After that, Demios, who had returned to his boyish form, asked.
'Were you scared?'
'...No.'
Sepia shook her head.
In fact, she was a little scared, but her heart was pounding more than that.
The young lovers were getting closer like that.
That's how the children met secretly, avoiding the eyes of the Empress.
One of their hobbies was talking about the differences between humans and beastkin.
'Beastkin have something called names.'
'Names?'
'Yes. It's something that is rarely found among beastkin. One day, suddenly, the name of the destined partner is engraved on their body.'
'Hey, a lie. Where is that?'
She asked back, but Demios's expression was even more serious.
'beastkin with engraved names are said to search for and fall in love with the person with that name, regardless of the reason. When beastkin with that name meet, no one can separate them.'
That's why they are destined partners.
Sepia's eyes sparkled at the words she emphasized.
It was like a magical story. Demios smiled at the girl's interest and spoke.
'But, I feel like your name will definitely appear on my body.'
'But... I am human. Even if you were to have an imprint, it wouldn’t be me.’
She felt regretful that this story didn’t apply to humans.
However, Demios was confident.
‘Then it doesn’t mean anything. My destiny is you.’
Where does this confidence come from?
The girl’s heart raced as she thought that.
When Sepia laughed shyly, Demios also laughed along.
As she looked at the boy like that, a question suddenly arose.
‘But what if it’s not both?’
However, Demios was confident.
‘Then it doesn’t mean anything. My destiny is you.’
Where does this confidence come from?
The girl’s heart raced as she thought that.
When Sepia laughed shyly, Demios also laughed along.
As she looked at the boy like that, a question suddenly arose.
‘But what if it’s not both?’
What if the other person’s name appears only on one side, and the other side is missing or has a different name?
Is that fate? Or is it misfortune?
Sepia’s heart thumped and sank as if it had become her own.
‘That’s...’
The boy’s lips moved. Strangely, she couldn’t hear a voice.
Her vision gradually darkened. Soon, it was darkness.
“Your Majesty, it’s time for you to wake up.”
Sepia’s eyes opened wide at the clear, bird-like voice.
‘Ah, it was a dream.’
It felt like she had a dream from when she was very young.
It had only been a short time since she became the Empress of the Beastkin, and yet she had dreams about Demios’s study abroad days.
As she laughed at the old memories, the maid who was pulling back the curtains asked,
“Did you have a pleasant dream?”
“Well, it ended a bit ambiguously.”
However, it was a dream that would have been fine even if it didn’t continue.
A week after their conversation in the dream, Demios returned to his homeland.
“Just wait. I’ll definitely come get you.”
Despite those words, Demios never returned.
Even after Sepia became an adult and heard the news that he would ascend to the throne.
“Oh my, I should have woken you up five minutes later. It’s not often that you sleep this soundly.”
The voice of the Nightingale maid quickly made her sleepy.
“It’s okay. Let’s get ready.”
Today was the day she was supposed to have breakfast with Demios.
How would he react if I told him that he appeared in my dream?
Sepia smiled faintly and pulled her feet out of bed.
As the Empress began to cough seriously, the maids in charge of washing and combing came in one after another.
The ladies and young ladies who were solely responsible for serving the Empress were all new attendants.
They looked human but were essentially animals. Because he had been fighting in the war since before Sepia became Empress.
It had already been five years since they had been living together here.
“I’ll let my hair grow long.”
“I’ll just put up a little decoration. Instead, I’ll use the sapphire pin that His Majesty gave me as a gift.”
The maids were the first people Sepia had brought to the Beastkin empire. They knew her tastes well enough to quickly prepare.
While Sepia was looking in the mirror, the Beastkin person who was finishing up her hair laughed.
“Are you happy to have breakfast with His Majesty? You’re pretending not to be. I think you might even get a name...”
“Betty.”
“Ugh. I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
The young lady closed her mouth at the warning of the Nightingale lady.
The youngest maid was cheerful and bright, but sometimes she crossed the line like this.
However, Sepia didn’t really care.
“It’s okay. They say it’s increasing these days, but... Even so, names are still rare among beastkin people.”
However, she felt a slight distance between them, as they were beastkin people, and she was human.
In the spring of her twenties, Sepia received a marriage proposal from Demios, who had become the Emperor.
It was salvation.
She had no idea that the letter she had sent with her last hope would reach him.
As Sepia grew, the Empress’s hatred grew.
After Demios left, Sepia’s childhood was a painful one, and the Empress declared that she would send her to be the 18th wife of a distant desert King. Not only was she banished a thousand miles away, but she had to marry a man who had a history of murdering his wife.
She had to live.
She had to run away, no matter where.
At that moment, the person who came to mind was Demios.
“Wait until I contact you first.”
It was a promise she had made to him.
However, the wait was too long, and Sepia had already reached her limit.
She sent a letter to Demios for the first time.
Not long after, a marriage proposal arrived in the empire.
In the spring of her twenty-first year.
When she met him again, he had become a man taller than Sepia’s head.
“Just like everyone else.”
Demios was a blunt and cold man.
He was different from when he was young, and it was strange, but Demios was definitely her savior.
The wedding was held quickly.
People talked about the two as special lovers, along with Demios’s time studying abroad.
However, the couple’s relationship was not as affectionate as it was known.
He had become a person who rarely smiled, and Sepia could not overcome the temporal distance.
‘It’s okay, though.’
Demios treated Sepia as an Empress and always kept the minimum line.
That was enough. So...
‘What’s the big deal about imprints?’
Romantic dreams could only be had when you were a girl.
That was when she was finishing up her preparations.
“His Majesty has told me to tell you that breakfast today will be difficult.”
He was the Emperor’s attendant.
The maids blinked in surprise for the first time.
“Oh my, someone who never missed a meal.”
“Is there something big going on?”
The maids whispered. Sepia calmed them down and said.
“It’s okay. I guess there must be a reason. Please tell him that I understand."
Is that fate? Or is it misfortune?
Sepia’s heart thumped and sank as if it had become her own.
‘That’s...’
The boy’s lips moved. Strangely, she couldn’t hear a voice.
Her vision gradually darkened. Soon, it was darkness.
“Your Majesty, it’s time for you to wake up.”
Sepia’s eyes opened wide at the clear, bird-like voice.
‘Ah, it was a dream.’
It felt like she had a dream from when she was very young.
It had only been a short time since she became the Empress of the Beastkin, and yet she had dreams about Demios’s study abroad days.
As she laughed at the old memories, the maid who was pulling back the curtains asked,
“Did you have a pleasant dream?”
“Well, it ended a bit ambiguously.”
However, it was a dream that would have been fine even if it didn’t continue.
A week after their conversation in the dream, Demios returned to his homeland.
“Just wait. I’ll definitely come get you.”
Despite those words, Demios never returned.
Even after Sepia became an adult and heard the news that he would ascend to the throne.
“Oh my, I should have woken you up five minutes later. It’s not often that you sleep this soundly.”
The voice of the Nightingale maid quickly made her sleepy.
“It’s okay. Let’s get ready.”
Today was the day she was supposed to have breakfast with Demios.
How would he react if I told him that he appeared in my dream?
Sepia smiled faintly and pulled her feet out of bed.
As the Empress began to cough seriously, the maids in charge of washing and combing came in one after another.
The ladies and young ladies who were solely responsible for serving the Empress were all new attendants.
They looked human but were essentially animals. Because he had been fighting in the war since before Sepia became Empress.
It had already been five years since they had been living together here.
“I’ll let my hair grow long.”
“I’ll just put up a little decoration. Instead, I’ll use the sapphire pin that His Majesty gave me as a gift.”
The maids were the first people Sepia had brought to the Beastkin empire. They knew her tastes well enough to quickly prepare.
While Sepia was looking in the mirror, the Beastkin person who was finishing up her hair laughed.
“Are you happy to have breakfast with His Majesty? You’re pretending not to be. I think you might even get a name...”
“Betty.”
“Ugh. I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”
The young lady closed her mouth at the warning of the Nightingale lady.
The youngest maid was cheerful and bright, but sometimes she crossed the line like this.
However, Sepia didn’t really care.
“It’s okay. They say it’s increasing these days, but... Even so, names are still rare among beastkin people.”
However, she felt a slight distance between them, as they were beastkin people, and she was human.
In the spring of her twenties, Sepia received a marriage proposal from Demios, who had become the Emperor.
It was salvation.
She had no idea that the letter she had sent with her last hope would reach him.
As Sepia grew, the Empress’s hatred grew.
After Demios left, Sepia’s childhood was a painful one, and the Empress declared that she would send her to be the 18th wife of a distant desert King. Not only was she banished a thousand miles away, but she had to marry a man who had a history of murdering his wife.
She had to live.
She had to run away, no matter where.
At that moment, the person who came to mind was Demios.
“Wait until I contact you first.”
It was a promise she had made to him.
However, the wait was too long, and Sepia had already reached her limit.
She sent a letter to Demios for the first time.
Not long after, a marriage proposal arrived in the empire.
In the spring of her twenty-first year.
When she met him again, he had become a man taller than Sepia’s head.
“Just like everyone else.”
Demios was a blunt and cold man.
He was different from when he was young, and it was strange, but Demios was definitely her savior.
The wedding was held quickly.
People talked about the two as special lovers, along with Demios’s time studying abroad.
However, the couple’s relationship was not as affectionate as it was known.
He had become a person who rarely smiled, and Sepia could not overcome the temporal distance.
‘It’s okay, though.’
Demios treated Sepia as an Empress and always kept the minimum line.
That was enough. So...
‘What’s the big deal about imprints?’
Romantic dreams could only be had when you were a girl.
That was when she was finishing up her preparations.
“His Majesty has told me to tell you that breakfast today will be difficult.”
He was the Emperor’s attendant.
The maids blinked in surprise for the first time.
“Oh my, someone who never missed a meal.”
“Is there something big going on?”
The maids whispered. Sepia calmed them down and said.
“It’s okay. I guess there must be a reason. Please tell him that I understand."
“I will tell him so.”
The servant cautiously left.
The mornings were suddenly free because there was no breakfast with the Emperor.
“I will have to eat at the Empress’s palace today.”
“I will tell them to get ready right away.”
The maid hurried out of the bedroom.
Sepia drank the tea Madame Nightingale gave her and thought about it.
“What is it?”
She pretended that nothing happened, but she was nervous.
Their meal was one of the few times they had together as a couple.
He knew that and thought that he had kept that time.
“There was no urgent news. Is there something wrong?”
If it was a national issue, the news would have reached her as the Empress.
The servant also kept quiet about the situation, so it was right to wait a little.
Sepia finished breakfast with the maids.
After that, she prepared for the party that would be held two weeks later.
It was a victory party for the Duke who had swept away the barbarians who had been a long-standing problem for the empire.
“I have never met the Duke before.”
As she prepared to welcome the Duke, shr quickly forgot what had happened in the morning. It was afternoon. While Sepia was taking a breath, the maid whispered.
“You will have tea time with the chinchilla ladies in an hour.”
“You will have tea time with the chinchilla ladies in an hour.”
Wild beasts or herbivores. Or mammals or birds, and even more detailed classifications.
The beastkin were divided into factions by family or species, and Sepia, as Empress, regularly met with them.
‘Is this the difference between humans and beastkin?’
If they were human nobles, they would have gathered based on their own ideologies and interests, but beastkin were different.
beastkin had a strong tendency to obsess over the basic distinction of blood and species, beyond the power structure.
They had distinct personalities and characteristics depending on their species, and occasionally, when their emotions became intense, they would become beastkin.
They all had human forms, but their nature was that of beasts themselves.
That’s why it was particularly unusual for a human, Sepia, to become the Empress of the beastkin.
“Let’s go attend.”
“Yes. I will take care of you.”
The tea party took place in the outer palace near the central garden of the imperial castle.
The noble ladies of the capital would rent out the space within the palace to hold parties or gatherings.
A murmur could be heard through the crack in the door. The whispering stopped abruptly as the door opened.
All the noble ladies were already gathered in the room.
“Hello, Your Majesty.”
Rodent noble ladies, led by Chinchillas, hamsters, and field mice, stood up and greeted.
Like small animals, they all had small bodies and round appearances that stood out.
When Sepia sat down at the head of the table, they also sat down.
“The atmosphere is strange.”
Those who had been chattering a moment ago were keeping their mouths shut, looking at each other’s faces.
Most rodents were quick-witted and quicker at picking up on rumors than anyone else.
Was there a rumor spreading in the palace that she didn’t know about?
Sepia asked, raising her glass.
“I heard you talking. What were you talking about?”
“Um, that is.”
Countess Chinchilla hesitated to answer.
Although she was originally a talkative person, she was timid and wary of dangerous rumors.
Madam Chinchilla, who had been hesitating under Sepia’s gaze, finally opened her mouth cautiously.
“Actually, I heard it from my cousin. A woman with His Majesty’s name has appeared. His Majesty has gone to meet her now...”
Name.
Sepia’s heart thumped and fell to the floor at the word she had treated as nothing.
The beastkin were divided into factions by family or species, and Sepia, as Empress, regularly met with them.
‘Is this the difference between humans and beastkin?’
If they were human nobles, they would have gathered based on their own ideologies and interests, but beastkin were different.
beastkin had a strong tendency to obsess over the basic distinction of blood and species, beyond the power structure.
They had distinct personalities and characteristics depending on their species, and occasionally, when their emotions became intense, they would become beastkin.
They all had human forms, but their nature was that of beasts themselves.
That’s why it was particularly unusual for a human, Sepia, to become the Empress of the beastkin.
“Let’s go attend.”
“Yes. I will take care of you.”
The tea party took place in the outer palace near the central garden of the imperial castle.
The noble ladies of the capital would rent out the space within the palace to hold parties or gatherings.
A murmur could be heard through the crack in the door. The whispering stopped abruptly as the door opened.
All the noble ladies were already gathered in the room.
“Hello, Your Majesty.”
Rodent noble ladies, led by Chinchillas, hamsters, and field mice, stood up and greeted.
Like small animals, they all had small bodies and round appearances that stood out.
When Sepia sat down at the head of the table, they also sat down.
“The atmosphere is strange.”
Those who had been chattering a moment ago were keeping their mouths shut, looking at each other’s faces.
Most rodents were quick-witted and quicker at picking up on rumors than anyone else.
Was there a rumor spreading in the palace that she didn’t know about?
Sepia asked, raising her glass.
“I heard you talking. What were you talking about?”
“Um, that is.”
Countess Chinchilla hesitated to answer.
Although she was originally a talkative person, she was timid and wary of dangerous rumors.
Madam Chinchilla, who had been hesitating under Sepia’s gaze, finally opened her mouth cautiously.
“Actually, I heard it from my cousin. A woman with His Majesty’s name has appeared. His Majesty has gone to meet her now...”
Name.
Sepia’s heart thumped and fell to the floor at the word she had treated as nothing.
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