Carson had a harder time enduring the moment of his own helplessness than anyone else. But even so, he couldn’t give up on Ines.
“If I were angry because I was so pathetic that I couldn’t prevent this situation in advance, would you forgive me a little?”
“...”
“I really wish I were your God earlier.”
Ines squeezed her arms between his back and the sofa and hugged him tightly. Carson’s heartbeat pounded in her ears like a confession.
“So, every time something like this happens, you’re going to get angry and apologize?”
Ines slowly got up from him. Then she looked at his face.
“Your Majesty is not a God.”
At those words, Carson squinted one eye and tilted his head. But his mouth was still smiling.
“It’s no use making such a trapped face.”
In the end, he couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
“So now accept it. Your Majesty is not perfect.”
“More and more.”
Carson reached out and hugged her again, loving the woman who returned his words exactly as he said them.
“Yes, I’m not perfect. I’m close to perfect.”
Ines laughed in relief at his usual joke.
“I’m not weak.”
“...I know.”
He knew. He knew better than anyone else in the world how strong and beautiful the woman in his arms, shaking her delicate shoulders and laughing, was.
“I told you that I would go to Your Majesty myself. So please let me handle this.”
Carson held the woman who was breathing evenly closer to him, stretching her body and mind leisurely like a full black panther.
Rumors were already circulating in the palace. That the young Emperor would be wrapped in the skirts of his maid and give her whatever she wanted.
Carson snickered at the rumor.
Suddenly, it occurred to him that such rumors were nothing more than a very refined one.
In his current state, he wanted to put everything in this world that this woman did not want at her feet.
Perhaps the person he was worshipping like a God was not Ines, but himself.
The only difference was that he felt an uncontrollable desire for the object of his awe.
“I won’t be your concubine.”
The goddess of her own spoke sternly as if she had sensed the heart of an impudent believer. Carson’s brow furrowed sharply at this.
“...Yes.”
If she was going to say something like that, it would have been so pretty. However, Carson’s thoughts were no different from hers. From the beginning, the one place that had been set for him was only this woman’s. Since the first time he had met her.
“I never intended to have you with that name either.”
At those words, Ines pulled away from him and narrowed her eyes slightly. Thinking that what he had said in the bedroom last night seemed too sincere for that.
As if she knew everything about Carson’s feelings, Ines’ eyes lit up, and Carson raised his voice a little.
“What on earth did you talk about with Angelina? What did you talk about that made her raise her hand?”
It was a coaxing word as if she would not leave the Princess alone. However, Ines could only clearly hear the friendly name Angelina coming out of his mouth.
Ines bit her lower lip. Now, no matter what she said, it seemed like only words like a witch who always tries to sow discord would come out. However, she eventually overcame her thoughts mixed with complaints.
“You were close...? I see?”
“Huh?”
“Princess Manisuit and His Majesty. You call each other by their first names...”
“Tch, we are close.”
Carson stuttered, unlike him. It was a strange feeling he had never felt before. This feeling made his heart flutter and was quite embarrassing.
“I haven’t seen her since I left the palace.”
As expected of a smart man, Carson thought he had given the most appropriate answer. However, Ines, who was nodding, suddenly looked straight into his eyes.
“Wasn’t that when you were 21?”
“Of course, but I only saw her face a few times when I was in the palace.”
Ines suddenly remembered that Carson had been in the palace when Angelina was fourteen.
“Did you go to Princess Manisut’s debutante?”
Most nobles had their debutante at sixteen, but the Duke was the only one who debuted in society at fourteen.
Carson hesitated for a moment. He instinctively realized that it would be dangerous to stutter or evade his words here.
“All the Princes attended, I wasn’t the only one.”
“Yes...”
Carson was relieved to see Ines answering obediently.
“But... Did you have your first dance with her?”
“What?”
“The first dance at the debutante is very meaningful, right?”
“Why are you asking that...?”
“I liked it... I did.”
“Who?”
“Princess Manisuit.”
“I must have heard wrong...”
“So, did you dance?”
He did. However, it did not have the same kind of affectionate meaning as other debutantes’ first dances.
Furthermore, she was the only daughter of the Duke, who was at the top of the empire.
He simply responded to her provocatively approaching him, leaving behind all the royal family members. It was a very simple reason why he took her hand, considering the gains and losses. He had been her trophy and received a great deal in return.
But why did the events of that day feel so unfair at this moment?
Unable to tell the truth or lie, the Emperor changed the subject.
“So what conversation did you have to come up with that result?”
Ines smiled faintly, seeing the wrinkles of agony forming between his brows.
As if she knew why he was talking nonsense like that.
Ines straightened up, breaking the small commotion that had come between the two of them. Then she looked at him with serious eyes.
“Your Majesty, I have to go now.”
“What?”
Even the moment when the Emperor’s golden eyes filled with doubt was heart-poundingly beautiful. She just wanted to burrow into his arms, but she couldn’t put off what she had to do.
“As you know, I’m very busy from now on.”
Ines reached out with both hands and grabbed his cheeks. His cheeks, which he had always wanted to hold, were much softer than she remembered. Carson’s eyes sparkled with interest as she caught his face unexpectedly. When Ines kissed him with a soft kiss, his lips also drew a perfect curve.
“So now, I’ll stop questioning who the first dance partner of Princess Manisut Debutante will be and go.”
“Yes, for now.”
“Are you going to do laundry again?”
“No.”
Ines smiled brightly, turning her back to the sunlight that was still at its peak. Her brilliant blond hair as if soaking up all the sunlight, filled the space between them with light.
“I have to become an Empress.”
Carson extended his arm as if guiding her to the door, just like in the past at Monstera’s office. Ines lifted her skirt slightly and showed the courtesy a maid would give to an Emperor. Ines approached the door and grabbed the doorknob.
Carson laughed abruptly at that sight. The woman who pretended to leave would pause for a moment and look back at him. After a moment, she looked back at Carson exactly and smiled just like that time.
“I’ll be there soon. Wherever Your Majesty is.”
Carson smiled at Ines as if responding. It was exactly the same as that day, but completely different. Now, Carson just had to wait for her to come to him as he wanted.
“Yes, I’ll wait quietly. Without causing trouble.”
This time, Carson couldn’t take his eyes off Ines until the door she had left closed and her figure disappeared. He didn’t know what awaited the two people who had left that door. However, he was certain that this would be the last time Carson would wait for her, no matter the outcome.
Carson stood up and shook off his clothes.
It was time to prepare for another war, if only for the woman who was eagerly waiting for him.
***
Carson couldn’t concentrate during the meeting.
The image of the minister with a flushed face and talking about something appeared and disappeared faintly. He couldn’t hear the agitated voices of the ministers coming from somewhere.
Only the image of Ines clutching his collar and turning pale lingered in his mind.
“Damn it.”
For a moment, silence filled the meeting room.
“Oh, no. Go on. I don’t intend to listen to you anyway.”
Just now, the royal council had agreed to appoint Swenden as the Lord of Landhill. The Emperor's will, supported by the people of the Empire who had carried the temple on their backs, could not be resisted.
Carson, of course, knew well. He could not continue to ignore them forever. Of course, he had no intention of tolerating the rich estates' tantrums.
The problem was the support base.
Keynes was currently facing a huge crisis.
It was an unprecedented economic panic. The immediate relief measures were to keep the people from starving, but the number of people who could not find work increased every day. The imperial treasury was filled with what they earned from Monstera and Landhill, but that was also limited.
The Empress was the one who started the affair, but she was receiving help from someone, so it was impossible to catch her tail.
Catching her wouldn’t improve the economic situation either. The railroad was still not functioning properly. It would take years to mine and utilize the many resources in Monstera.
Carson concentrated and carefully examined each of the ministers.
Some of them avoided eye contact as if they knew that he was internally judging who would be on his side, and some made incomprehensible expressions.
However, no matter how much he looked, no one would support him. The high-ranking nobles were all busy protecting their own rice bowls, and no one would dare go against Manisut’s words.
At that moment, the Duke of Manisut, who had been silent throughout the meeting, spoke.
“We must carry out a currency reform.”
“Currency reform?”
When Carson showed interest for the first time, the finance minister stood up.
“Sanbate has lost its function not only in the current system but also in the entire Keynes Empire.”
“So?”
“We need to lower the currency unit by changing the unit of Sanbate from 100 to 1.”
“Is that the solution?”
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