Was it the effect of the curse wave that was placed on the ice?
The pain felt in my palm lasted longer than I thought.
However, it wasn’t unbearable, so I kept my hand on the cursed ice and talked with Joseph for a few more minutes.
“I’ll go now. Jis Majesty’s three close associates outside the secret room must be worried. To ease their worries, I should put this back on and go out.”
I put the fur coat that I had put on the floor back on my shoulder and waved at Joseph.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Joseph until I was about to leave the secret room. As soon as I left the secret room, questions poured in.
“Are you okay, Your Majesty?”
“Are you feeling chills or anything?”
“You’ve been here longer than I thought, so I was going to go in.”
The eyes of the worried trio busily checked my condition.
“I should come once a day after the hunting competition. More often in the summer.”
"Yes? Aren’t you really cold?”
Stiane asked in surprise.
“It’s really cool and nice.”
“Are you serious?”
Raphael said, shivering from the cold coming from the secret room.
I handed the fur coat I was wearing to Raphael and replied,
“I’m serious, so I stayed for a long time.”
My body was really fine, but my palms that had been on the cursed ice still felt tingly.
When I went up the stairs, Linel was waiting for me there.
“Are you okay?”
He asked, getting up from the stairs.
“Your Majesty, should I prepare some warm tea?”
Sharon asked worriedly.
“No, as you can see, I’m fine. Your Majesty, if I don’t show up at the palace from now on, come find me in the secret room.”
I smiled and tried to reassure them both.
“Everyone, go out first. I’ll talk to the Empress here.”
At Linel’s order, everyone went out of the library bookshelf.
“How is he doing now? He doesn’t look much like me, do you?”
He leaned back against the wall and asked, extending a hand to me.
“Yes, I think he’ll be much more handsome than Linel later on.”
I held his hand and put it on my waist, and said.
He laughed softly.
“Oh, he asked me to tell you that he loves you.”
“What?”
“I heard that Grand Duke Joseph loves you very much. But I think he’ll love me more than you from now on.”
“Ha, tell him that I’m really jealous.”
Linel snorted but agreed with me.
“Yes. I’ll tell him that, and I’ll tell him that the person you love most in this world is no longer the Grand Duke, but me. Is that okay?”
“Zelda...”
“Will he be hurt? But since it’s true, he’ll accept it, right?”
I made a smug expression while deliberately joking, and he hugged me tightly.
“Thank you...”
“I think Grand Duke Joseph really likes me.”
I patted him on the back and said proudly.
“Joseph probably just blinked, so how did you know that he likes you?”
He asked with a laugh as he patted the back of my head.
His hands seemed to be saying, 'Stop talking nonsense.'
"Do I really have to say it? There's a feeling. There's also the look in his eyes."
"Really? Then guess what I'm saying with my eyes right now."
He pointed to his eyes with his fingers and asked.
"Um... 'You look more lovely tonight? You're leaving for the hunting competition tomorrow, should I just let you sleep? Or not?' That's what you're saying."
The more he listened to me, the more his lips parted.
Judging from his embarrassment, I guess he hadn't thought about that.
He smiled silently and hugged me back,
"You were right in the beginning, but you were wrong in the end. I have no worries about that."
For some reason, it seemed like he changed what he was going to say.
"Oh, then today too..."
Sleeping soundly was wrong.
...Heh, thank goodness.
A few minutes after Zelda left the secret room, the solid cursed ice began to crack.
The cursed ice began to crack from the part closest to Joseph's body.
Joseph witnessed the cursed ice cracking right before his eyes.
The ice that had been cracking like a crack in the ground was now cracking like the ground was cracking after an hour.
The cursed ice began to crack from the part where Zelda had placed her hands.
Joseph, who was so surprised, opened his mouth wide.
'Huh? My mouth is open?!'
After the mouth, the fingers twitched, the toes twitched.
All of this happened after the Empress, whom Moiya called Master, visited.
After two hours, Joseph was able to move his limbs little by little in the ice.
'Maybe I'll get out of here!'
It felt like tomorrow, he would be able to move his body freely.
I returned to the bedroom and soaked in the bathtub with Linel.
I wanted to wash comfortably separately, but he insisted and got into the bathtub. He said that we might not be able to take a bath together during the hunting competition, so we should take our last bath together in the palace.
Then, when I asked him if we could come back to the empire and take a bath together, he said, 'You never know what happens to people,' and sat down in the bathtub.
As Linel entered the bathtub, the water, which had been lukewarm and gradually increasing in temperature, suddenly became cold.
I started to turn up the temperature for him.
Then, his gentle laughter reached the back of my neck.
"I lower the temperature, and you raise it again. How fun."
He muttered as he scooped up the bathtub water with his hand.
“Didn’t you... Think it was strange? The bathtub water was always warm.”
“I thought it was strange, but I never imagined that it was because you had the power of fire.”
I nodded and laughed quietly.
“When hot and cold mix, it becomes lukewarm, but for us... let’s not do that.”
He added, as if confessing, that he wanted it to be hot between us all the time.
When I heard that, my body immediately became hot, and the temperature of the water that had been slowly rising suddenly increased.
“We both have such extreme body temperatures that we have to stay together like this to maintain normal body temperatures, right?”
“Did you do this so that we wouldn’t be apart? Well, God must have planned it all out.”
“I thought you said you don’t believe in God? I remember what you said on our first night.”
“I’ll try to believe from now on.”
His voice sounded heavy, unlike before.
“Why all of a sudden?”
“Because God creates miracles.”
“Is there something that requires a miracle?”
There was no answer.
“Is it a secret?”
When I asked back,
“I’ll tell you when the miracle happens.”
Linel’s two arms and legs tied me up from behind as if they were tying me up.
“Is this all we have between us? L-L, let’s make a secret.”
I deliberately stuck out my tongue and looked back at him.
“Zelda, the acting Empress, isn’t that something you should be saying?”
“...”
That’s right, it’s not something I should be saying since I kept many secrets from him. I had forgotten for a moment.
I politely and quietly changed my words.
“I’ll pray for a miracle to happen. Since I believe in God, I’m sure Linel will receive the miracle he wants for me.”
“I really hope so...”
The pain felt in my palm lasted longer than I thought.
However, it wasn’t unbearable, so I kept my hand on the cursed ice and talked with Joseph for a few more minutes.
“I’ll go now. Jis Majesty’s three close associates outside the secret room must be worried. To ease their worries, I should put this back on and go out.”
I put the fur coat that I had put on the floor back on my shoulder and waved at Joseph.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Joseph until I was about to leave the secret room. As soon as I left the secret room, questions poured in.
“Are you okay, Your Majesty?”
“Are you feeling chills or anything?”
“You’ve been here longer than I thought, so I was going to go in.”
The eyes of the worried trio busily checked my condition.
“I should come once a day after the hunting competition. More often in the summer.”
"Yes? Aren’t you really cold?”
Stiane asked in surprise.
“It’s really cool and nice.”
“Are you serious?”
Raphael said, shivering from the cold coming from the secret room.
I handed the fur coat I was wearing to Raphael and replied,
“I’m serious, so I stayed for a long time.”
My body was really fine, but my palms that had been on the cursed ice still felt tingly.
When I went up the stairs, Linel was waiting for me there.
“Are you okay?”
He asked, getting up from the stairs.
“Your Majesty, should I prepare some warm tea?”
Sharon asked worriedly.
“No, as you can see, I’m fine. Your Majesty, if I don’t show up at the palace from now on, come find me in the secret room.”
I smiled and tried to reassure them both.
“Everyone, go out first. I’ll talk to the Empress here.”
At Linel’s order, everyone went out of the library bookshelf.
“How is he doing now? He doesn’t look much like me, do you?”
He leaned back against the wall and asked, extending a hand to me.
“Yes, I think he’ll be much more handsome than Linel later on.”
I held his hand and put it on my waist, and said.
He laughed softly.
“Oh, he asked me to tell you that he loves you.”
“What?”
“I heard that Grand Duke Joseph loves you very much. But I think he’ll love me more than you from now on.”
“Ha, tell him that I’m really jealous.”
Linel snorted but agreed with me.
“Yes. I’ll tell him that, and I’ll tell him that the person you love most in this world is no longer the Grand Duke, but me. Is that okay?”
“Zelda...”
“Will he be hurt? But since it’s true, he’ll accept it, right?”
I made a smug expression while deliberately joking, and he hugged me tightly.
“Thank you...”
“I think Grand Duke Joseph really likes me.”
I patted him on the back and said proudly.
“Joseph probably just blinked, so how did you know that he likes you?”
He asked with a laugh as he patted the back of my head.
His hands seemed to be saying, 'Stop talking nonsense.'
"Do I really have to say it? There's a feeling. There's also the look in his eyes."
"Really? Then guess what I'm saying with my eyes right now."
He pointed to his eyes with his fingers and asked.
"Um... 'You look more lovely tonight? You're leaving for the hunting competition tomorrow, should I just let you sleep? Or not?' That's what you're saying."
The more he listened to me, the more his lips parted.
Judging from his embarrassment, I guess he hadn't thought about that.
He smiled silently and hugged me back,
"You were right in the beginning, but you were wrong in the end. I have no worries about that."
For some reason, it seemed like he changed what he was going to say.
"Oh, then today too..."
Sleeping soundly was wrong.
...Heh, thank goodness.
***
A few minutes after Zelda left the secret room, the solid cursed ice began to crack.
The cursed ice began to crack from the part closest to Joseph's body.
Joseph witnessed the cursed ice cracking right before his eyes.
The ice that had been cracking like a crack in the ground was now cracking like the ground was cracking after an hour.
The cursed ice began to crack from the part where Zelda had placed her hands.
Joseph, who was so surprised, opened his mouth wide.
'Huh? My mouth is open?!'
After the mouth, the fingers twitched, the toes twitched.
All of this happened after the Empress, whom Moiya called Master, visited.
After two hours, Joseph was able to move his limbs little by little in the ice.
'Maybe I'll get out of here!'
It felt like tomorrow, he would be able to move his body freely.
***
I returned to the bedroom and soaked in the bathtub with Linel.
I wanted to wash comfortably separately, but he insisted and got into the bathtub. He said that we might not be able to take a bath together during the hunting competition, so we should take our last bath together in the palace.
Then, when I asked him if we could come back to the empire and take a bath together, he said, 'You never know what happens to people,' and sat down in the bathtub.
As Linel entered the bathtub, the water, which had been lukewarm and gradually increasing in temperature, suddenly became cold.
I started to turn up the temperature for him.
Then, his gentle laughter reached the back of my neck.
"I lower the temperature, and you raise it again. How fun."
He muttered as he scooped up the bathtub water with his hand.
“Didn’t you... Think it was strange? The bathtub water was always warm.”
“I thought it was strange, but I never imagined that it was because you had the power of fire.”
I nodded and laughed quietly.
“When hot and cold mix, it becomes lukewarm, but for us... let’s not do that.”
He added, as if confessing, that he wanted it to be hot between us all the time.
When I heard that, my body immediately became hot, and the temperature of the water that had been slowly rising suddenly increased.
“We both have such extreme body temperatures that we have to stay together like this to maintain normal body temperatures, right?”
“Did you do this so that we wouldn’t be apart? Well, God must have planned it all out.”
“I thought you said you don’t believe in God? I remember what you said on our first night.”
“I’ll try to believe from now on.”
His voice sounded heavy, unlike before.
“Why all of a sudden?”
“Because God creates miracles.”
“Is there something that requires a miracle?”
There was no answer.
“Is it a secret?”
When I asked back,
“I’ll tell you when the miracle happens.”
Linel’s two arms and legs tied me up from behind as if they were tying me up.
“Is this all we have between us? L-L, let’s make a secret.”
I deliberately stuck out my tongue and looked back at him.
“Zelda, the acting Empress, isn’t that something you should be saying?”
“...”
That’s right, it’s not something I should be saying since I kept many secrets from him. I had forgotten for a moment.
I politely and quietly changed my words.
“I’ll pray for a miracle to happen. Since I believe in God, I’m sure Linel will receive the miracle he wants for me.”
“I really hope so...”
I could sense his earnestness.
I didn’t ask because I thought I knew what Linel’s wish was. He probably wanted the curse of Grand Duke Joseph, who was trapped in the ice, to disappear quickly.
“Ah, actually, it doesn’t matter if the miracle doesn’t happen.”
After a moment of silence, he wrapped his arms around my stomach and said.
“Why?”
“Because I’m fine with it the way it is.”
Huh? Wasn’t that a wish about Grand Duke Joseph?
“You’re really not going to tell me what your wish is?”
“You don’t have to know. Actually... It’s not that important.”
You want a miracle when it’s not an important wish?
It was a bit contradictory, but since he said it, it must be so.
He seemed to want me to just let it go.
I nodded and turned my head to face him.
“Why, what do you want me to do?”
“I’m pretty?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
Linel raised one eyebrow and asked.
Why?
I’m asking because the way you look at me says, ‘My wife is pretty’?
Actually, I wanted to ask you this for a long time, but I’m asking it now.
Besides, the question came out of nowhere when I was trying to change the mood.
“Women are like that. They want to be confirmed that they love you.”
“If I don’t even love you, so why do I come running to you every night like a starving man? Do I have to listen to you?”
I didn’t ask because I thought I knew what Linel’s wish was. He probably wanted the curse of Grand Duke Joseph, who was trapped in the ice, to disappear quickly.
“Ah, actually, it doesn’t matter if the miracle doesn’t happen.”
After a moment of silence, he wrapped his arms around my stomach and said.
“Why?”
“Because I’m fine with it the way it is.”
Huh? Wasn’t that a wish about Grand Duke Joseph?
“You’re really not going to tell me what your wish is?”
“You don’t have to know. Actually... It’s not that important.”
You want a miracle when it’s not an important wish?
It was a bit contradictory, but since he said it, it must be so.
He seemed to want me to just let it go.
I nodded and turned my head to face him.
“Why, what do you want me to do?”
“I’m pretty?”
“Why are you asking me that?”
Linel raised one eyebrow and asked.
Why?
I’m asking because the way you look at me says, ‘My wife is pretty’?
Actually, I wanted to ask you this for a long time, but I’m asking it now.
Besides, the question came out of nowhere when I was trying to change the mood.
“Women are like that. They want to be confirmed that they love you.”
“If I don’t even love you, so why do I come running to you every night like a starving man? Do I have to listen to you?”
“Well, maybe you only love my body?”
“...What?”
Linel pulled at his ear, not believing what he had just heard.
I held back my laughter because it was funny, and asked again.
“Am I pretty?”
“I don’t know.”
“...What?”
I asked back, pulling on my ear like Linel.
His laughter echoing in the bathroom was quite annoying.
I forcefully released his arm holding me and pushed him away, glaring at him.
Even though I kept glaring at him, his smiling mouth wouldn’t let out a single word, “I’m joking.”
Does he really think my face is that bad?
Well, loving me and thinking I’m pretty could be different issues.
“Empress, I don’t have time for strange questions. Today, let’s wash up quickly, go out, make love quickly, and sleep well. Do you understand?”
He picked up the soap next to the bathtub and started rubbing it on my back.
“Raise your arm, and the other side too.”
I made a blank expression, but then burst into laughter at the feeling of his soaping on my back and arms.
“Now, turn around and put your legs out, Empress.”
After taking a bath, I sat down next to him on the headboard.
Linel said that he had something to tell me before spending my last night in the palace.
He told me about how the hunting competition routine generally goes and what to watch out for in the forest.
However, my mind had been filled with other thoughts for a while.
You sing about loving me so much, but you don’t actually think I’m pretty?
“Aren’t you concentrating?”
Linel saw my serious expression and lightly pinched my cheek.
Don’t you look at my face properly either?
I stared at him and questioned him with my eyes.
“Why again?”
He asked me with a deflating sound.
When I saw that, the words I had been thinking inside suddenly came out of my mouth.
“Including me, who do you think is the prettiest among the concubines?”
“...”
Linel suddenly became silent.
No? Because I’m too unique among them?
“Oh, I’ll give you a wider range of choices. Among the people participating in this hunting competition. Objectively.”
In order not to seem petty, I even brought up objectivity and broadened the range of choices.
“Objectively?”
“Yes, without any selfish intentions. Objectively, judging only by appearance.”
“Hmm...”
His expression became even more serious than before.
Why, why?
Was he struggling to make an objective judgment right now, or was he conflicted about whether to just say, “You’re the prettiest,” with white lies?
I added the request for an objective judgment because I wanted him to evaluate me fairly, but his cold gaze, trying to apply an objective standard, made me feel uneasy for no reason.
“No. I don’t want to listen.”
I waved my hand at his growing concern.
Well, it’s better to not listen at all than to get hurt.
“Why, I was just about to say this. The person I think is the prettiest is...”
Catherine? Melanie? Surprisingly, Rosie?
Why does the atmosphere make me feel like I’m not him? Could it be Princess Resilia?
Oh, that could be true.
Didn’t I clearly state that the premise was ‘face only’?
“Ah, that’s enough. Don’t say anything.”
I didn’t want to hear Linel say, “No matter what, if you look at the face alone, Princess Resilia is the best.”
And after hearing that, I would definitely continue asking questions.
“And the second one?”
It was a question that I couldn’t help but ask, even though I knew it would be a soggy, hurtful question. But I couldn’t help but ask it again.
So let’s just not listen at all.
But he already had a list of faces he thought were pretty in his head and had ranked them.
“What’s the case when you ask a question and then don’t listen?”
“I suddenly became curious.”
“...What?”
Linel pulled at his ear, not believing what he had just heard.
I held back my laughter because it was funny, and asked again.
“Am I pretty?”
“I don’t know.”
“...What?”
I asked back, pulling on my ear like Linel.
His laughter echoing in the bathroom was quite annoying.
I forcefully released his arm holding me and pushed him away, glaring at him.
Even though I kept glaring at him, his smiling mouth wouldn’t let out a single word, “I’m joking.”
Does he really think my face is that bad?
Well, loving me and thinking I’m pretty could be different issues.
“Empress, I don’t have time for strange questions. Today, let’s wash up quickly, go out, make love quickly, and sleep well. Do you understand?”
He picked up the soap next to the bathtub and started rubbing it on my back.
“Raise your arm, and the other side too.”
I made a blank expression, but then burst into laughter at the feeling of his soaping on my back and arms.
“Now, turn around and put your legs out, Empress.”
***
After taking a bath, I sat down next to him on the headboard.
Linel said that he had something to tell me before spending my last night in the palace.
He told me about how the hunting competition routine generally goes and what to watch out for in the forest.
However, my mind had been filled with other thoughts for a while.
You sing about loving me so much, but you don’t actually think I’m pretty?
“Aren’t you concentrating?”
Linel saw my serious expression and lightly pinched my cheek.
Don’t you look at my face properly either?
I stared at him and questioned him with my eyes.
“Why again?”
He asked me with a deflating sound.
When I saw that, the words I had been thinking inside suddenly came out of my mouth.
“Including me, who do you think is the prettiest among the concubines?”
“...”
Linel suddenly became silent.
No? Because I’m too unique among them?
“Oh, I’ll give you a wider range of choices. Among the people participating in this hunting competition. Objectively.”
In order not to seem petty, I even brought up objectivity and broadened the range of choices.
“Objectively?”
“Yes, without any selfish intentions. Objectively, judging only by appearance.”
“Hmm...”
His expression became even more serious than before.
Why, why?
Was he struggling to make an objective judgment right now, or was he conflicted about whether to just say, “You’re the prettiest,” with white lies?
I added the request for an objective judgment because I wanted him to evaluate me fairly, but his cold gaze, trying to apply an objective standard, made me feel uneasy for no reason.
“No. I don’t want to listen.”
I waved my hand at his growing concern.
Well, it’s better to not listen at all than to get hurt.
“Why, I was just about to say this. The person I think is the prettiest is...”
Catherine? Melanie? Surprisingly, Rosie?
Why does the atmosphere make me feel like I’m not him? Could it be Princess Resilia?
Oh, that could be true.
Didn’t I clearly state that the premise was ‘face only’?
“Ah, that’s enough. Don’t say anything.”
I didn’t want to hear Linel say, “No matter what, if you look at the face alone, Princess Resilia is the best.”
And after hearing that, I would definitely continue asking questions.
“And the second one?”
It was a question that I couldn’t help but ask, even though I knew it would be a soggy, hurtful question. But I couldn’t help but ask it again.
So let’s just not listen at all.
But he already had a list of faces he thought were pretty in his head and had ranked them.
“What’s the case when you ask a question and then don’t listen?”
“I suddenly became curious.”
“No? You’re really curious about that face?”
“Not at all? Haaam.”
I forced myself to yawn and lie down.
“Did you objectively know that you weren’t number one?”
Linel muttered to himself as he followed me and lay down.
My body automatically bounced up at those words.
“What?”
“Surprise. Did you really think you were number one?”
“Yes!”
Wow, it’s my voice, but it’s so confident.
I was surprised by the firm shout, and he was surprised too.
The embarrassment is mine, and the surprise is his.
Since I can’t take back what I said, I can only ask outright.
“Who do you think is the prettiest?”
Who on earth?
I tried not to strain my eyes, but judging by the way my eyes were stinging, I thought I had already failed.
“Sorry. The gap between first and second place was too big to change the rankings based on my feelings.”
Huh, why are you apologizing when your pride is hurt?
How great is the beauty of first place? Why can’t you change it based on your feelings?
Oh my, look at this recklessness. I emphasized ‘objectivity’.
Well, that’s good.
I’ll keep this feeling of being caught and release it at the hunting competition.
I smiled as if nothing had happened.
But my eyes kept getting tense.
I thought the aegyo-sal under my eyes might look like a vicious fat, so I closed my eyes completely.
“So, who’s first place?”
Since my feelings were already caught, let’s go.
Linel said with a very confident expression, as if he had been waiting for it.
“First place is...”
“Not at all? Haaam.”
I forced myself to yawn and lie down.
“Did you objectively know that you weren’t number one?”
Linel muttered to himself as he followed me and lay down.
My body automatically bounced up at those words.
“What?”
“Surprise. Did you really think you were number one?”
“Yes!”
Wow, it’s my voice, but it’s so confident.
I was surprised by the firm shout, and he was surprised too.
The embarrassment is mine, and the surprise is his.
Since I can’t take back what I said, I can only ask outright.
“Who do you think is the prettiest?”
Who on earth?
I tried not to strain my eyes, but judging by the way my eyes were stinging, I thought I had already failed.
“Sorry. The gap between first and second place was too big to change the rankings based on my feelings.”
Huh, why are you apologizing when your pride is hurt?
How great is the beauty of first place? Why can’t you change it based on your feelings?
Oh my, look at this recklessness. I emphasized ‘objectivity’.
Well, that’s good.
I’ll keep this feeling of being caught and release it at the hunting competition.
I smiled as if nothing had happened.
But my eyes kept getting tense.
I thought the aegyo-sal under my eyes might look like a vicious fat, so I closed my eyes completely.
“So, who’s first place?”
Since my feelings were already caught, let’s go.
Linel said with a very confident expression, as if he had been waiting for it.
“First place is...”
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