“...I really don’t want to answer.”
Jasper, exhausted from dealing with his younger brother, muttered as he looked up into the air.
He had to go apologize for the unpleasant incident at the victory ceremony anyway.
The eldest son of the Louvre family was imprisoned in the dungeon and then released after paying a huge bail.
‘Well, that must have been paid by the government, I guess.’
Thanks to his late-adopted daughter, the Count’s family seemed to be living quite comfortably.
If he had touched a maid, it would have been fine, but if he had directly injured the Empress, he would have been unable to get parole even if he had brought thousands of gold.
“Then take me with you when you enter the palace. Yes?”
“...Yes. Yes.”
In the end, Jasper declared surrender with both hands and feet.
‘He’ll fall off on his own after experiencing it firsthand.’
No matter how much advice he gave, actual combat was the answer for the beast that didn’t understand.
The winter palace was quite quiet.
Because the banquets were reduced, Sepia was able to reduce her duties as Empress.
A quiet reception room.
Roxanne, sitting across from Sepia, looked quite serious.
A chessboard was placed on the table between them.
The black pieces were his, and the white pieces were Sepia’s.
The checkered board was already full of pieces.
Roxanne carefully chose her pieces.
Sepia secretly suppressed a laugh as she watched him rub his lower jaw as if he was thinking hard.
It had already been three weeks since Roxanne borrowed the imperial map.
As promised, he visited Sepia once a week to check if he had lost the map.
‘....But isn’t it a bit much to ask him to show me the map once a week? I should have made it once a month.’
Roxanne had suggested it first, but now that she looked back, she thought it was excessive.
“How about checking the map once a month?”
“Do you not like me visiting?”
Roxanne, who had been concentrating on the chessboard, looked at her with a surprised expression.
It was a suggestion that was passed over in case he was in trouble, but she didn’t expect him to react like that.
Sepia shook her head.
“That’s not it.”
On the contrary, he was a welcome guest.
Winter was the imperial palace’s rest period, and it was very rare for anyone to visit the Empress’s Palace during the period of heavy snowfall.
Sepia also didn’t deal with guests and just went back and forth between the Empress’s Palace and her office.
‘Now that Demios isn’t coming, either.’
A meal together.
The Emperor had sent a servant a week ago to express his intention not to attend the meal.
He had been visiting the Empress’s Palace since the victory ceremony.
Rumor had it that the government had caught a cold and the Emperor had been staying by her side.
Now, it seemed that her heart ached less when she thought of the two of them together.
It was just a little lonely.
In fact, she thought that Demios’s absence was a blessing in disguise.
‘He must have thought of the nobles’ attention and attended the meal.’
The relationship between the Emperor and the Empress was always under the spotlight.
Even though Titier had a name, the Emperor knew that bringing in a government as a new member of the clan would inevitably be met with disapproval.
Therefore, he probably didn’t want to show that he would completely exclude the Empress, his official companion, by bringing in a government.
However, it was winter.
It was the time when the world’s attention was the lowest.
‘I expected that he would gradually stop coming.’
So she didn’t panic too much.
When the weather cleared up, the palace would be crowded with people again, so until then, they could each spend their time apart and relax.
However, there was one thing left to do.
‘Purification ceremony.’
To welcome the new year, the Emperor and Empress spent a day together in a simple temple located underground in the Imperial Palace.
Strangely enough, the simple temple was filled with seawater instead of groundwater.
The custom of purification was for the Emperor and Empress to soak together there and wash away the bad luck from the previous year.
‘Will it be okay?’
She was already worried, but it wasn’t something she could refuse to do just because she didn’t want to.
It was more like a task that had to be resolved between the Emperor and Empress, not between a married couple.
In any case, not right now.
Sepia decided to forget about the purification ceremony for a moment.
Roxanne, relieved by her answer, moved her black pawn and said,
“Then it’s okay. I feel reassured when you check it often.”
“Then do whatever you want.”
It was fortunate that Roxanne was by her side.
Otherwise, she would have been lost in her own thoughts.
“Then let’s meet every week.”
“Good.”
After a while, Sepia, who had read the board, also moved the white bishop. Then, his knight pushed Sepia’s bishop off the board.
“...This.”
When Sepia complained, he laughed softly.
Chess was a subject for the nobles.
Sepia had also learned chess from a professional teacher.
At that time, she thought that this kind of game was an extension of class, so she didn’t feel it was fun.
However, when she actually experienced it, it was quite exciting.
“At first, I was a little surprised when you said let’s play chess.”
When Roxanne brought the chessboard himself, she was quite taken aback, but once the game started, she was absorbed in it.
This kind of game was usually enjoyed by people her age.
Maybe that’s why Demios from her childhood suddenly came to mind.
“I wish I could have enjoyed this kind of game with him too.”
Demios had spent five years in the Huron Empire.
Although it was a long period, Sepia could only see him once during the winter.
This was because he rarely came out of the palace where he lived for three seasons, saying he was receiving secret lessons.
In fact, she could not meet Demios every day even during the winter.
Above all, they met while avoiding the eyes of the Empress and those around them.
So she had no time to leisurely play chess.
'What on earth was that lesson?'
She could meet him very rarely during seasons other than winter.
Demios would appear next to Sepia, looking very tired.
When she asked him exactly what he had learned and where he had been, he always smiled.
She could only guess that the lesson was very difficult.
She had been curious about this until now, but neither he then nor he now told her what the secret lesson was. She tried to find out separately, but that was impossible.
Even when she was young, she had been shackled by the name of the Empress's lessons.
The three seasons other than winter were a time of waiting for Sepia.
So she had thought that she would be able to wait without much difficulty even after Demios returned to his home country.
'It was all a mistake.'
It was just a matter of how much more desperate they were, waiting was neither easy nor difficult.
Sepia smiled bitterly and chose her words. A gap was starting to appear in his camp.
Her queen had captured Roxanne's king.
"Checkmate."
"...Oh, I lost."
He looked at the king that Sepia had caught with a regretful smile.
It was a game with nothing at stake, but she should have been happy to have won.
Sepia read the chess board backward, suddenly feeling a sense of incongruity.
'One move, two moves...'
Jasper, exhausted from dealing with his younger brother, muttered as he looked up into the air.
He had to go apologize for the unpleasant incident at the victory ceremony anyway.
The eldest son of the Louvre family was imprisoned in the dungeon and then released after paying a huge bail.
‘Well, that must have been paid by the government, I guess.’
Thanks to his late-adopted daughter, the Count’s family seemed to be living quite comfortably.
If he had touched a maid, it would have been fine, but if he had directly injured the Empress, he would have been unable to get parole even if he had brought thousands of gold.
“Then take me with you when you enter the palace. Yes?”
“...Yes. Yes.”
In the end, Jasper declared surrender with both hands and feet.
‘He’ll fall off on his own after experiencing it firsthand.’
No matter how much advice he gave, actual combat was the answer for the beast that didn’t understand.
***
The winter palace was quite quiet.
Because the banquets were reduced, Sepia was able to reduce her duties as Empress.
A quiet reception room.
Roxanne, sitting across from Sepia, looked quite serious.
A chessboard was placed on the table between them.
The black pieces were his, and the white pieces were Sepia’s.
The checkered board was already full of pieces.
Roxanne carefully chose her pieces.
Sepia secretly suppressed a laugh as she watched him rub his lower jaw as if he was thinking hard.
It had already been three weeks since Roxanne borrowed the imperial map.
As promised, he visited Sepia once a week to check if he had lost the map.
‘....But isn’t it a bit much to ask him to show me the map once a week? I should have made it once a month.’
Roxanne had suggested it first, but now that she looked back, she thought it was excessive.
“How about checking the map once a month?”
“Do you not like me visiting?”
Roxanne, who had been concentrating on the chessboard, looked at her with a surprised expression.
It was a suggestion that was passed over in case he was in trouble, but she didn’t expect him to react like that.
Sepia shook her head.
“That’s not it.”
On the contrary, he was a welcome guest.
Winter was the imperial palace’s rest period, and it was very rare for anyone to visit the Empress’s Palace during the period of heavy snowfall.
Sepia also didn’t deal with guests and just went back and forth between the Empress’s Palace and her office.
‘Now that Demios isn’t coming, either.’
A meal together.
The Emperor had sent a servant a week ago to express his intention not to attend the meal.
He had been visiting the Empress’s Palace since the victory ceremony.
Rumor had it that the government had caught a cold and the Emperor had been staying by her side.
Now, it seemed that her heart ached less when she thought of the two of them together.
It was just a little lonely.
In fact, she thought that Demios’s absence was a blessing in disguise.
‘He must have thought of the nobles’ attention and attended the meal.’
The relationship between the Emperor and the Empress was always under the spotlight.
Even though Titier had a name, the Emperor knew that bringing in a government as a new member of the clan would inevitably be met with disapproval.
Therefore, he probably didn’t want to show that he would completely exclude the Empress, his official companion, by bringing in a government.
However, it was winter.
It was the time when the world’s attention was the lowest.
‘I expected that he would gradually stop coming.’
So she didn’t panic too much.
When the weather cleared up, the palace would be crowded with people again, so until then, they could each spend their time apart and relax.
However, there was one thing left to do.
‘Purification ceremony.’
To welcome the new year, the Emperor and Empress spent a day together in a simple temple located underground in the Imperial Palace.
Strangely enough, the simple temple was filled with seawater instead of groundwater.
The custom of purification was for the Emperor and Empress to soak together there and wash away the bad luck from the previous year.
‘Will it be okay?’
She was already worried, but it wasn’t something she could refuse to do just because she didn’t want to.
It was more like a task that had to be resolved between the Emperor and Empress, not between a married couple.
In any case, not right now.
Sepia decided to forget about the purification ceremony for a moment.
Roxanne, relieved by her answer, moved her black pawn and said,
“Then it’s okay. I feel reassured when you check it often.”
“Then do whatever you want.”
It was fortunate that Roxanne was by her side.
Otherwise, she would have been lost in her own thoughts.
“Then let’s meet every week.”
“Good.”
After a while, Sepia, who had read the board, also moved the white bishop. Then, his knight pushed Sepia’s bishop off the board.
“...This.”
When Sepia complained, he laughed softly.
Chess was a subject for the nobles.
Sepia had also learned chess from a professional teacher.
At that time, she thought that this kind of game was an extension of class, so she didn’t feel it was fun.
However, when she actually experienced it, it was quite exciting.
“At first, I was a little surprised when you said let’s play chess.”
When Roxanne brought the chessboard himself, she was quite taken aback, but once the game started, she was absorbed in it.
This kind of game was usually enjoyed by people her age.
Maybe that’s why Demios from her childhood suddenly came to mind.
“I wish I could have enjoyed this kind of game with him too.”
Demios had spent five years in the Huron Empire.
Although it was a long period, Sepia could only see him once during the winter.
This was because he rarely came out of the palace where he lived for three seasons, saying he was receiving secret lessons.
In fact, she could not meet Demios every day even during the winter.
Above all, they met while avoiding the eyes of the Empress and those around them.
So she had no time to leisurely play chess.
'What on earth was that lesson?'
She could meet him very rarely during seasons other than winter.
Demios would appear next to Sepia, looking very tired.
When she asked him exactly what he had learned and where he had been, he always smiled.
She could only guess that the lesson was very difficult.
She had been curious about this until now, but neither he then nor he now told her what the secret lesson was. She tried to find out separately, but that was impossible.
Even when she was young, she had been shackled by the name of the Empress's lessons.
The three seasons other than winter were a time of waiting for Sepia.
So she had thought that she would be able to wait without much difficulty even after Demios returned to his home country.
'It was all a mistake.'
It was just a matter of how much more desperate they were, waiting was neither easy nor difficult.
Sepia smiled bitterly and chose her words. A gap was starting to appear in his camp.
Her queen had captured Roxanne's king.
"Checkmate."
"...Oh, I lost."
He looked at the king that Sepia had caught with a regretful smile.
It was a game with nothing at stake, but she should have been happy to have won.
Sepia read the chess board backward, suddenly feeling a sense of incongruity.
'One move, two moves...'
She realized only after winning.
The fact that he had been looking after Sepia for at least five moves.
'Somehow.'
The fact that he had been looking after Sepia for at least five moves.
'Somehow.'
He had said that it was going smoothly compared to the beginning.
And now that she had even realized that he was looking after her. Sepia clicked her tongue.
'Well, he had been on the front lines for several years, so there was no way he would lose to me.'
While acknowledging that fact, he felt like she had looked down on her for no reason.
"Did you look after me on purpose because you thought I was weak?"
“No. I also had a hard time with the first part. You seem to be talented in tactics.”
Sepia, who was about to ask him half-jokingly and half-seriously, looked surprised.
She didn’t expect to hear that the hero of the empire was talented in tactics.
“Then why...”
“I found it cute how you were thinking seriously, so I didn’t realize it. If you were offended, I apologize.”
Sepia was speechless at that clean and simple apology.
And even the word cute.
She realized, even belatedly.
That Roxanne was observing her, just as Sepia had been.
Somehow, the tips of her ears felt hot, so Sepia pretended to brush her hair back and touched her ears.
“Don’t let it go next time.”
“Understood. I’ll do my best.”
She felt anew the fact that she had naturally promised to play with him again.
Sepia asked as she watched him skillfully organize the pins.
And now that she had even realized that he was looking after her. Sepia clicked her tongue.
'Well, he had been on the front lines for several years, so there was no way he would lose to me.'
While acknowledging that fact, he felt like she had looked down on her for no reason.
"Did you look after me on purpose because you thought I was weak?"
“No. I also had a hard time with the first part. You seem to be talented in tactics.”
Sepia, who was about to ask him half-jokingly and half-seriously, looked surprised.
She didn’t expect to hear that the hero of the empire was talented in tactics.
“Then why...”
“I found it cute how you were thinking seriously, so I didn’t realize it. If you were offended, I apologize.”
Sepia was speechless at that clean and simple apology.
And even the word cute.
She realized, even belatedly.
That Roxanne was observing her, just as Sepia had been.
Somehow, the tips of her ears felt hot, so Sepia pretended to brush her hair back and touched her ears.
“Don’t let it go next time.”
“Understood. I’ll do my best.”
She felt anew the fact that she had naturally promised to play with him again.
Sepia asked as she watched him skillfully organize the pins.
“You must have been playing chess for quite some time.”
“No. It’s my first time. I learned it, but I don’t have time to play. I had a lot of fun thanks to Sepia for taking care of me.”
This was also unexpected.
Because he seemed to enjoy playing games with the spirits.
However, she soon found out why.
Through the past that Sepia’s maid had told her.
It was a topic that she had hesitated to bring up several times when meeting Roxanne.
Above all, it was a past that the person in question would not want to remember.
“...Will you return to the territory once you find what you are looking for?”
“I guess so. It will be difficult to stay in the castle any longer.”
The difficult thing here was probably not Roxanne’s, but the Emperor’s.
As seen from the standby order, he would not be happy about Roxanne staying in the castle for too long time.
“No. It’s my first time. I learned it, but I don’t have time to play. I had a lot of fun thanks to Sepia for taking care of me.”
This was also unexpected.
Because he seemed to enjoy playing games with the spirits.
However, she soon found out why.
Through the past that Sepia’s maid had told her.
It was a topic that she had hesitated to bring up several times when meeting Roxanne.
Above all, it was a past that the person in question would not want to remember.
“...Will you return to the territory once you find what you are looking for?”
“I guess so. It will be difficult to stay in the castle any longer.”
The difficult thing here was probably not Roxanne’s, but the Emperor’s.
As seen from the standby order, he would not be happy about Roxanne staying in the castle for too long time.
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