“Where does this door lead?”
Roxana asked, glancing down at the stairs Sharon had come up.
“Th-the stairs connected to the laundry room... it is.”
“But how did you manage to come up this passage?”
“I... am currently working in the laundry room.”
‘It looks like Nancy sent her there.’
Roxana guessed that while she was lying in bed with a fever, Nancy had probably rearranged the work stations of the servants who had served the former Empress closely.
Because the work was difficult and hard, the servants working in the laundry room were considered lower in status than the other servants.
This was the case in most noble families, and the palace would be similar.
“You must be the closest confidant of the former Empress, so you have this height, right?”
Roxana snatched the triangular keychain with two keys from Sharon’s hand.
“Why would you, who works in the laundry room, sneak into the Empress’s dressing room at this hour?”
Sharon felt the killing intent in Roxana’s gaze that pierced through her.
What excuses could she make?
Never mention the Incarnation Sword!
Sharon’s heartbeat echoed in her head.
“Oh, I have committed a mortal sin, Your Highness! I urgently needed money, money... So I unknowingly... Sob!”
As the sharp blade of the Incarnation Sword pressed down on Sharon’s neck a little more, blood flowed from her neck.
“You came here looking for something to steal because you needed money urgently?”
“Yes, yes! That’s right.”
“Why would you suddenly need money?”
“T-That’s...”
“Did your master say she ran out of money?”
“No! Absolutely not!”
Sharon’s expression turned pale when Roxana mentioned Zelda.
“Really? Then did you come here after this Incarnation Sword?”
Roxana asked as she pulled the Incarnation Sword away from Sharon’s neck.
Sharon stared intently at the Incarnation Sword, her body trembling violently.
Although she immediately shook her head and denied it, Roxana saw Sharon’s pupils dilate when she mentioned the ‘Sword of Incarnation’.
“You are in contact with your master, aren’t you?”
Roxana’s tone was confident.
“T-That can’t be true! I saw Her Majesty the Empress a month ago on the morning she left the monastery, and I haven’t seen her since!”
Sharon held both of her hands and gave Roxana a look that begged her to believe her.
“Her Majesty the Empress? Who is the Empress? When was it that she was stripped of her position after being revealed as the Acting Empress?”
Roxana, who had been expressionless the whole time, frowned.
However, in fact, Zelda had not yet been formally deposed as Empress.
Among the ministers of the Lapion Empire and the Principality of Aklatto, she was already considered to have been deposed as Empress. Furthermore, the people of the Lapion Empire had also accepted Zelda’s dethronement as the Acting Empress as a fait accompli.
All that was left was the paperwork.
The Emperor had not yet signed the document deposing Empress Zelda.
The Lapion Empire and the Principality of Aclatto had agreed to sign the document deposing the Empress right before the remarriage ceremony and to officially announce the remarriage.
However, when Roxana began to suffer from a fever, the formal dethronement of Empress Zelda was naturally postponed.
Of course, the Emperor could have dethroned Empress Zelda immediately, regardless of the remarriage ceremony, but for some reason, he did not rush to dethrone her.
Roxana asked Sharon again in a hushed voice.
“The former Empress... is back, right?”
“Oh, isn’t she still recovering in the Tebello Empire?”
She couldn’t break down here.
That way, Her Majesty the Empress wouldn’t be harmed.
Sharon steeled herself and put strength into her voice.
“And the current mistress of the Lapion Palace is Princess Roxana, so even if the former Empress returns, it wouldn’t make a difference.”
“Do you really think so?”
Roxana’s gaze softened.
“Of course! Everyone with eyes and ears in the palace thinks so!”
“You served the former Empress, so indeed, you have a talent for bewitching your superiors with your mouth.”
Roxana praised Sharon, stroking her jawline with her hand.
However.
“To the point where I could be fooled for a moment. Huh?”
Roxana’s previously gentle expression changed in an instant, and she grabbed Sharon’s chin fiercely.
“Heh, Your Highness... You misunderstood. I really have no lingering feelings for the former Empress anymore... Heh!”
“That’s for me to decide. Get out of here. Quick!”
Roxana stabbed Sharon’s lower back with the tip of the Incarnation Sword toward the door of the dressing room.
“...”
Sharon had no choice but to walk slowly.
Her back was already soaked with cold sweat.
“Nancy, Nancy!”
Roxana called her servant from the waiting room hallway, leading from the dressing room to the bedroom.
Nancy, who was outside the bedroom waiting room, gasped and kicked open the waiting room door when she heard Roxana’s voice for the first time in two weeks.
“Oh my, my... Miss! You’re awake?!”
Her joy was short-lived; Nancy was shocked when she saw Roxana pointing the Incarnation Sword at someone.
“W-what’s going on?”
Nancy recognized Sharon as Empress Zelda’s servant.
Roxana told her the story of Sharon coming up the stairs connected to the laundry room and sneaking into the dressing room.
“Why would she do something like that...?”
Nancy looked at Sharon with a slightly sympathetic look and trailed off.
Nancy already knew all the evil deeds Roxana had committed, but the fact that she had used Hetor to kill Duke Haymitch a month ago was quite shocking.
So, even if she didn’t know, her master wouldn’t be kind to Sharon, who had served Empress Zelda.
“Nancy, there’s a space in the basement of the Empress’s Palace where the servants stay when they’re on duty?”
“Yes, I heard that when I was shown around the inside of the Empress’s Palace.”
“Take her there.”
Sharon’s face turned pale as she listened to the conversation between the two.
Nancy ordered the guards from the Principality of Aklatto, who were standing guard outside the bedroom, to take Sharon down to the basement.
The basement of the Empress’s Palace had a musty smell because it hadn’t been used for a long time, but the inside was relatively clean.
Sharon was kneeling in the middle of the floor.
After a while, Roxana appeared.
She dismissed all the guards, leaving Nancy alone.
Nancy looked down and was startled when she saw something in Roxana’s hand.
In her hand was the whip of the dead Duke Haymitch.
“Sharon, I’ll give you a chance. Just tell me where your master is right now.”
“I don’t know.”
Roxana slammed the whip on the floor with a “tsk. ”
The already horrible sound of the whip sounded even louder and more horrible underground.
Even Nancy, who was standing far behind Sharon, flinched.
“I’ll ask again. Is the former Empress really in the palace right now?”
“Trust me, my lady! The last time I saw Her Majesty was at the monastery a month ago... ah!”
Sharon clung to Roxana, pleading.
However, the second swipe Roxana took ended up hitting Sharon’s back.
“Ugh!”
Sharon writhed in pain as it pierced through the fabric of her dress and penetrated her bones.
Looking at Sharon like that, Nancy expected that she would soon reveal where Empress Zelda was.
However, Sharon did not open her mouth until the morning sun rose.
“What a vicious woman.”
Roxana gritted her teeth as she looked down at Sharon, who had fainted without opening her mouth.
Unable to stand it any longer, Nancy spoke to Roxana indirectly.
“Miss, I heard from the Empress’s attendants that Sharon is close to the second concubine, Her Highness Rosie. Since they have such contact, if the former Empress really did return, wouldn’t Her Highness Rosie know something?”
“I guess so. She was also close to Empress Zelda, so she would definitely know something.”
Roxana nodded, recalling Rosie, who had come to Bellos’ room with Zelda when she had used teleportation during the Continental Hunting Competition.
“Nancy, I have to go to Concubine Rosie’s quarters right now. Go and tell her about Sharon.”
“In what... way?”
“Pretend to ask Rosie to stop me. And tell her what condition Sharon is in right now.”
“Are you telling me to go and act?”
“Yes. Can I?”
“Of course, I’ll be back soon, Miss!”
Nancy glanced down at Sharon, who had collapsed on the floor, before quickly heading to the West Palace.
“When will Your Highness return to his home country?”
Rosie asked Prince Norton, who had come to visit her, as she poured him some black tea.
“Do you want me to disappear quickly?”
“I didn’t mean that... You don’t have any particular reason to stay here. As Emperor Adrian said, Your Highness isn’t here because you want to attend the rewedding, right?”
“That’s right. However, my home country, the Pasha Empire, has my older brother, so it doesn’t matter if I’m not here.”
Prince Norton smiled and added a word in passing.
“And who is it that keeps you from coming?”
The Prince did not specify who it was because of.
However, Rosie’s cheeks suddenly began to turn red.
“Is it because of our orange hair?”
Moiya, who had slept in Rosie’s quarters the previous night, stretched and came out from under the bed.
“Moiya, it’s rude to ask so openly.”
Rosie spoke to Moiya as if scolding him, but her eyes were quite affectionate.
She had also been curious about Prince Norton’s answer, and Moiya had scratched her itchy spot.
“It’s because of Rams.”
“?”
Prince Norton kindly answered Moiya.
“Rosie, did you hear? It wasn’t because of you. Swear at him!”
Moiya insisted on pointing out Rosie’s mistake and provoked her.
“...What are you saying to someone who doesn’t even know what kind of curses there are in the world?”
Rosie’s cheeks turned redder for a different reason than before.
“Meow? (Rosie is lying without blinking?)”
“That’s right. Puhaha! This is the funniest thing since I hatched, Moiya~.”
Aoshi and Moiya hugged each other tightly and burst into laughter.
Rosie glared at him with eyes full of curses. Moiya and Aoshi, who were shocked by this, hugged each other and crawled back under the bed.
‘Yeah, it must be because of Rams. You’re not staying here because of me? Oh, I'm being shameful.’
Rosie was so embarrassed that she had mistaken Prince Norton’s words. She cooled off as she recited curses one by one in her head.
Prince Norton looked up with a smile. Rosie’s face turned red again, and she quickly changed the subject.
“Rams have grown up a lot, right? I heard Secretary Raphael’s older sister loves him more than her own child?”
“Yes, I really appreciate it.”
“I also want to go see Rams, but the atmosphere in the palace is a mess because of someone...”
Rosie muttered in an annoyed tone, thinking of Roxana, who was occupying the Empress’s palace.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and her servant Misha came in urgently.
“Your Highness! We’re in trouble!”
“What’s going on?”
Rosie and Prince Norton exchanged glances at Misha’s ominous voice and simultaneously got up from their table chairs.
Linel, who had a hard time sleeping, put on casual clothes instead of formal attire.
Then he left the bedroom and headed towards the stairs where the servants usually went up and down.
It was to avoid being noticed by other courtiers as much as possible and to leave through the back door of the main palace.
“Raphael.”
He asked Stiane, who was following him.
“The secretary said he had urgent business and would be leaving the palace in the morning.”
“What business?”
“He didn’t say it, but he said it was important. He’ll be back by noon.”
Stiane said, following him diligently.
“Good.”
It was much easier to move without the nagging Raphael.
His morning was also very important, and he was going to be busy.
He was headed to the castle wall with the hole.
No matter how much he thought about how to get out of the palace without being noticed, the hole was the best.
If he had to meet her by 9 AM, he had no time to delay.
“Your Majesty, what is Your Majesty going out for?”
Stiane arrived at the castle wall near the back gate and looked down at the hole with a complicated feeling, and asked the Emperor.
“I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll be able to attend the morning office today, so please understand.”
He said, pushing aside the tree branches blocking the hole.
“Yes, but please take a few knights with you...”
“No one should know that I’m leaving the palace.”
In case Princess Roxana’s people follow him.
Before he could bend down, he noticed a red carpet rolled up in the grass in front of him.
Dazel’s face came to mind, and his heart raced.
Linel bent down and crawled through the hole.
Stiane followed suit and stuck his face out of the hole, waving to the Emperor, who had already escaped beyond the walls.
“Your Majesty...Anyway, be careful on your way back!”
“Yes, make sure to block the hole so it can’t be seen again.”
He replied to Stiane and started running towards the inn, the meeting place.
“Annex 3rd floor, the room on the far right.”
As soon as Linel, who had his robe hood pulled down, entered the inn, he approached the innkeeper and spoke secretly.
“Sir, that room doesn’t have a window. There’s a room with a bigger view...”
“No problem. Just give me the room I mentioned, and don’t mind the change.”
“Oh, thank you. Then have a good time!”
The innkeeper politely handed him the room key and smiled brightly.
Linel, who was in a hurry, received the key and turned towards the annex stairs, but bumped into someone.
“Huh? Huh?!”
It was Raphael.
The two people who had met in an unexpected place looked at each other strangely.
Raphael rubbed his eyes with both hands, unable to believe that he had met the Emperor at the inn.
And this was where Empress Zelda and her entourage were staying!
“Your Majesty... Oh, no, what are you doing here?”
When Linel nodded to the innkeeper, Raphael finally changed his words and asked.
“You said you had important business this morning, but it was at the inn?”
“...You know my nickname, right? The Open Trousers of the Imperial Palace! Ah, hahaha.”
Raphael laughed heartily, but his complexion was dark for someone who had come to live up to his nickname.
“What kind of room would you like?”
“Oh, I’m already here looking for someone who is staying at the main building, so don’t worry about it.”
Raphael waved at the innkeeper and followed Linel up the stairs to the annex alone.
“Why are you following me? The person you’re going to meet is staying at the main building.”
Already?
How did time pass so quickly?
In the end, I ended up opening the door to go see him.
Let’s go and slap him again.
Yeah, that’s what I’m going to do!
I muttered to myself, and suddenly I felt anxious.
...It’s only been 30 minutes, but he hasn’t already gone back, right?
“He said he’d wait all night, so I guess he will.”
I spoke leisurely, but my steps down the hallway became faster and faster.
Roxana asked, glancing down at the stairs Sharon had come up.
“Th-the stairs connected to the laundry room... it is.”
“But how did you manage to come up this passage?”
“I... am currently working in the laundry room.”
‘It looks like Nancy sent her there.’
Roxana guessed that while she was lying in bed with a fever, Nancy had probably rearranged the work stations of the servants who had served the former Empress closely.
Because the work was difficult and hard, the servants working in the laundry room were considered lower in status than the other servants.
This was the case in most noble families, and the palace would be similar.
“You must be the closest confidant of the former Empress, so you have this height, right?”
Roxana snatched the triangular keychain with two keys from Sharon’s hand.
“Why would you, who works in the laundry room, sneak into the Empress’s dressing room at this hour?”
Sharon felt the killing intent in Roxana’s gaze that pierced through her.
What excuses could she make?
Never mention the Incarnation Sword!
Sharon’s heartbeat echoed in her head.
“Oh, I have committed a mortal sin, Your Highness! I urgently needed money, money... So I unknowingly... Sob!”
As the sharp blade of the Incarnation Sword pressed down on Sharon’s neck a little more, blood flowed from her neck.
“You came here looking for something to steal because you needed money urgently?”
“Yes, yes! That’s right.”
“Why would you suddenly need money?”
“T-That’s...”
“Did your master say she ran out of money?”
“No! Absolutely not!”
Sharon’s expression turned pale when Roxana mentioned Zelda.
“Really? Then did you come here after this Incarnation Sword?”
Roxana asked as she pulled the Incarnation Sword away from Sharon’s neck.
Sharon stared intently at the Incarnation Sword, her body trembling violently.
Although she immediately shook her head and denied it, Roxana saw Sharon’s pupils dilate when she mentioned the ‘Sword of Incarnation’.
“You are in contact with your master, aren’t you?”
Roxana’s tone was confident.
“T-That can’t be true! I saw Her Majesty the Empress a month ago on the morning she left the monastery, and I haven’t seen her since!”
Sharon held both of her hands and gave Roxana a look that begged her to believe her.
“Her Majesty the Empress? Who is the Empress? When was it that she was stripped of her position after being revealed as the Acting Empress?”
Roxana, who had been expressionless the whole time, frowned.
However, in fact, Zelda had not yet been formally deposed as Empress.
Among the ministers of the Lapion Empire and the Principality of Aklatto, she was already considered to have been deposed as Empress. Furthermore, the people of the Lapion Empire had also accepted Zelda’s dethronement as the Acting Empress as a fait accompli.
All that was left was the paperwork.
The Emperor had not yet signed the document deposing Empress Zelda.
The Lapion Empire and the Principality of Aclatto had agreed to sign the document deposing the Empress right before the remarriage ceremony and to officially announce the remarriage.
However, when Roxana began to suffer from a fever, the formal dethronement of Empress Zelda was naturally postponed.
Of course, the Emperor could have dethroned Empress Zelda immediately, regardless of the remarriage ceremony, but for some reason, he did not rush to dethrone her.
Roxana asked Sharon again in a hushed voice.
“The former Empress... is back, right?”
“Oh, isn’t she still recovering in the Tebello Empire?”
She couldn’t break down here.
That way, Her Majesty the Empress wouldn’t be harmed.
Sharon steeled herself and put strength into her voice.
“And the current mistress of the Lapion Palace is Princess Roxana, so even if the former Empress returns, it wouldn’t make a difference.”
“Do you really think so?”
Roxana’s gaze softened.
“Of course! Everyone with eyes and ears in the palace thinks so!”
“You served the former Empress, so indeed, you have a talent for bewitching your superiors with your mouth.”
Roxana praised Sharon, stroking her jawline with her hand.
However.
“To the point where I could be fooled for a moment. Huh?”
Roxana’s previously gentle expression changed in an instant, and she grabbed Sharon’s chin fiercely.
“Heh, Your Highness... You misunderstood. I really have no lingering feelings for the former Empress anymore... Heh!”
“That’s for me to decide. Get out of here. Quick!”
Roxana stabbed Sharon’s lower back with the tip of the Incarnation Sword toward the door of the dressing room.
“...”
Sharon had no choice but to walk slowly.
Her back was already soaked with cold sweat.
“Nancy, Nancy!”
Roxana called her servant from the waiting room hallway, leading from the dressing room to the bedroom.
Nancy, who was outside the bedroom waiting room, gasped and kicked open the waiting room door when she heard Roxana’s voice for the first time in two weeks.
“Oh my, my... Miss! You’re awake?!”
Her joy was short-lived; Nancy was shocked when she saw Roxana pointing the Incarnation Sword at someone.
“W-what’s going on?”
Nancy recognized Sharon as Empress Zelda’s servant.
Roxana told her the story of Sharon coming up the stairs connected to the laundry room and sneaking into the dressing room.
“Why would she do something like that...?”
Nancy looked at Sharon with a slightly sympathetic look and trailed off.
Nancy already knew all the evil deeds Roxana had committed, but the fact that she had used Hetor to kill Duke Haymitch a month ago was quite shocking.
So, even if she didn’t know, her master wouldn’t be kind to Sharon, who had served Empress Zelda.
“Nancy, there’s a space in the basement of the Empress’s Palace where the servants stay when they’re on duty?”
“Yes, I heard that when I was shown around the inside of the Empress’s Palace.”
“Take her there.”
Sharon’s face turned pale as she listened to the conversation between the two.
***
Nancy ordered the guards from the Principality of Aklatto, who were standing guard outside the bedroom, to take Sharon down to the basement.
The basement of the Empress’s Palace had a musty smell because it hadn’t been used for a long time, but the inside was relatively clean.
Sharon was kneeling in the middle of the floor.
After a while, Roxana appeared.
She dismissed all the guards, leaving Nancy alone.
Nancy looked down and was startled when she saw something in Roxana’s hand.
In her hand was the whip of the dead Duke Haymitch.
“Sharon, I’ll give you a chance. Just tell me where your master is right now.”
“I don’t know.”
Roxana slammed the whip on the floor with a “tsk. ”
The already horrible sound of the whip sounded even louder and more horrible underground.
Even Nancy, who was standing far behind Sharon, flinched.
“I’ll ask again. Is the former Empress really in the palace right now?”
“Trust me, my lady! The last time I saw Her Majesty was at the monastery a month ago... ah!”
Sharon clung to Roxana, pleading.
However, the second swipe Roxana took ended up hitting Sharon’s back.
“Ugh!”
Sharon writhed in pain as it pierced through the fabric of her dress and penetrated her bones.
Looking at Sharon like that, Nancy expected that she would soon reveal where Empress Zelda was.
However, Sharon did not open her mouth until the morning sun rose.
“What a vicious woman.”
Roxana gritted her teeth as she looked down at Sharon, who had fainted without opening her mouth.
Unable to stand it any longer, Nancy spoke to Roxana indirectly.
“Miss, I heard from the Empress’s attendants that Sharon is close to the second concubine, Her Highness Rosie. Since they have such contact, if the former Empress really did return, wouldn’t Her Highness Rosie know something?”
“I guess so. She was also close to Empress Zelda, so she would definitely know something.”
Roxana nodded, recalling Rosie, who had come to Bellos’ room with Zelda when she had used teleportation during the Continental Hunting Competition.
“Nancy, I have to go to Concubine Rosie’s quarters right now. Go and tell her about Sharon.”
“In what... way?”
“Pretend to ask Rosie to stop me. And tell her what condition Sharon is in right now.”
“Are you telling me to go and act?”
“Yes. Can I?”
“Of course, I’ll be back soon, Miss!”
Nancy glanced down at Sharon, who had collapsed on the floor, before quickly heading to the West Palace.
***
“When will Your Highness return to his home country?”
Rosie asked Prince Norton, who had come to visit her, as she poured him some black tea.
“Do you want me to disappear quickly?”
“I didn’t mean that... You don’t have any particular reason to stay here. As Emperor Adrian said, Your Highness isn’t here because you want to attend the rewedding, right?”
“That’s right. However, my home country, the Pasha Empire, has my older brother, so it doesn’t matter if I’m not here.”
Prince Norton smiled and added a word in passing.
“And who is it that keeps you from coming?”
The Prince did not specify who it was because of.
However, Rosie’s cheeks suddenly began to turn red.
“Is it because of our orange hair?”
Moiya, who had slept in Rosie’s quarters the previous night, stretched and came out from under the bed.
“Moiya, it’s rude to ask so openly.”
Rosie spoke to Moiya as if scolding him, but her eyes were quite affectionate.
She had also been curious about Prince Norton’s answer, and Moiya had scratched her itchy spot.
“It’s because of Rams.”
“?”
Prince Norton kindly answered Moiya.
“Rosie, did you hear? It wasn’t because of you. Swear at him!”
Moiya insisted on pointing out Rosie’s mistake and provoked her.
“...What are you saying to someone who doesn’t even know what kind of curses there are in the world?”
Rosie’s cheeks turned redder for a different reason than before.
“Meow? (Rosie is lying without blinking?)”
“That’s right. Puhaha! This is the funniest thing since I hatched, Moiya~.”
Aoshi and Moiya hugged each other tightly and burst into laughter.
Rosie glared at him with eyes full of curses. Moiya and Aoshi, who were shocked by this, hugged each other and crawled back under the bed.
‘Yeah, it must be because of Rams. You’re not staying here because of me? Oh, I'm being shameful.’
Rosie was so embarrassed that she had mistaken Prince Norton’s words. She cooled off as she recited curses one by one in her head.
Prince Norton looked up with a smile. Rosie’s face turned red again, and she quickly changed the subject.
“Rams have grown up a lot, right? I heard Secretary Raphael’s older sister loves him more than her own child?”
“Yes, I really appreciate it.”
“I also want to go see Rams, but the atmosphere in the palace is a mess because of someone...”
Rosie muttered in an annoyed tone, thinking of Roxana, who was occupying the Empress’s palace.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door, and her servant Misha came in urgently.
“Your Highness! We’re in trouble!”
“What’s going on?”
Rosie and Prince Norton exchanged glances at Misha’s ominous voice and simultaneously got up from their table chairs.
***
Linel, who had a hard time sleeping, put on casual clothes instead of formal attire.
Then he left the bedroom and headed towards the stairs where the servants usually went up and down.
It was to avoid being noticed by other courtiers as much as possible and to leave through the back door of the main palace.
“Raphael.”
He asked Stiane, who was following him.
“The secretary said he had urgent business and would be leaving the palace in the morning.”
“What business?”
“He didn’t say it, but he said it was important. He’ll be back by noon.”
Stiane said, following him diligently.
“Good.”
It was much easier to move without the nagging Raphael.
His morning was also very important, and he was going to be busy.
He was headed to the castle wall with the hole.
No matter how much he thought about how to get out of the palace without being noticed, the hole was the best.
If he had to meet her by 9 AM, he had no time to delay.
“Your Majesty, what is Your Majesty going out for?”
Stiane arrived at the castle wall near the back gate and looked down at the hole with a complicated feeling, and asked the Emperor.
“I don’t know. I don’t think I’ll be able to attend the morning office today, so please understand.”
He said, pushing aside the tree branches blocking the hole.
“Yes, but please take a few knights with you...”
“No one should know that I’m leaving the palace.”
In case Princess Roxana’s people follow him.
Before he could bend down, he noticed a red carpet rolled up in the grass in front of him.
Dazel’s face came to mind, and his heart raced.
Linel bent down and crawled through the hole.
Stiane followed suit and stuck his face out of the hole, waving to the Emperor, who had already escaped beyond the walls.
“Your Majesty...Anyway, be careful on your way back!”
“Yes, make sure to block the hole so it can’t be seen again.”
He replied to Stiane and started running towards the inn, the meeting place.
***
“Annex 3rd floor, the room on the far right.”
As soon as Linel, who had his robe hood pulled down, entered the inn, he approached the innkeeper and spoke secretly.
“Sir, that room doesn’t have a window. There’s a room with a bigger view...”
“No problem. Just give me the room I mentioned, and don’t mind the change.”
“Oh, thank you. Then have a good time!”
The innkeeper politely handed him the room key and smiled brightly.
Linel, who was in a hurry, received the key and turned towards the annex stairs, but bumped into someone.
“Huh? Huh?!”
It was Raphael.
The two people who had met in an unexpected place looked at each other strangely.
Raphael rubbed his eyes with both hands, unable to believe that he had met the Emperor at the inn.
And this was where Empress Zelda and her entourage were staying!
“Your Majesty... Oh, no, what are you doing here?”
When Linel nodded to the innkeeper, Raphael finally changed his words and asked.
“You said you had important business this morning, but it was at the inn?”
“...You know my nickname, right? The Open Trousers of the Imperial Palace! Ah, hahaha.”
Raphael laughed heartily, but his complexion was dark for someone who had come to live up to his nickname.
“What kind of room would you like?”
“Oh, I’m already here looking for someone who is staying at the main building, so don’t worry about it.”
Raphael waved at the innkeeper and followed Linel up the stairs to the annex alone.
“Why are you following me? The person you’re going to meet is staying at the main building.”
“Still, I should know which room His Majesty is staying in.”
“Fine, just don’t say we’ll return to the palace together later.”
Linel glanced at Raphael, who was following him, and frowned.
“Will it take you long?”
“...Whatever it is, it’s probably better than you?”
“You came to see the woman you met at the tavern, right?”
“...”
“You ordered me to clear out the fourth floor of the palace quarters, and that was all because you wanted to meet that woman!”
“!”
Linel, who arrived in front of the room he had promised her, stared at Raphael, who had a somewhat agitated expression.
“Even if we met at the inn today and made that assumption, how did you know about yesterday?”
Linel also admitted it readily and asked.
“I heard it from the servant who laid out the red carpet in front of the hole.”
“That bastard won’t do, I trusted him because he was Stiane’s direct junior.”
“That’s why he must have told Stiane the truth.”
“Anyway, you go do your own thing. I’ll go do my own thing and go back.”
“Huh...”
Linel tapped Raphael’s lower abdomen with his hand and opened the door with the key he had received from the innkeeper.
“Then I’ll come pick you up later.”
“Just do that. I’ll make you live your whole life in the palace’s closed pants.”
“How could you say such horrible things!”
“So, I’ll tell you to return first. If you want to go in together, wait in front of the dog hole.”
Linel gave a stern warning and closed the door.
Raphael scratched the back of his head, made an awkward expression, and then turned to the main building to meet with Commander Macrom.
I had been lying down since 6 in the morning.
I skipped breakfast because I had no appetite.
“Is he here? Is he here?”
It was already past 8:30.
I had started pacing around the room at some point.
“There might already be someone else in that room. Wait, what happens then? Should I wait in the next room?”
No, no.
Nelly must have a lot of money, so he’ll ask the innkeeper to vacate the room even if it means giving him a little more money.
The innkeeper is also good at math, so if he gives him a few more pennies, he’ll easily change the room.
“...Seriously, I’m not even going to see him, so why am I worrying about that?”
I sat down in front of the dressing table, feeling really bad.
“I cried a little last night, so my face looks terrible.”
I combed my hair and started putting on makeup. It’s definitely not because I have plans to go out today.
Even though I’m currently hiding my identity, I’m still the Empress of this country, so I have to look presentable.
Right?
“Now that I think about it, my clothes seem a little shabby...”
After finishing my makeup, I opened my closet and took out the most gorgeous dress. It was just a simple and ordinary outfit that wouldn’t catch anyone’s eye.
“I feel better now.”
It wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but compared to a little while ago, I looked quite neat and human.
“Ah, why do I suddenly feel so suffocated? I wish I could go outside and walk around...”
I started to wander around the small room again.
Then, the moment my eyes landed on one spot, I stopped in my tracks.
I had been consciously trying not to look at the wall clock for a while.
“...9:30?!”
“Fine, just don’t say we’ll return to the palace together later.”
Linel glanced at Raphael, who was following him, and frowned.
“Will it take you long?”
“...Whatever it is, it’s probably better than you?”
“You came to see the woman you met at the tavern, right?”
“...”
“You ordered me to clear out the fourth floor of the palace quarters, and that was all because you wanted to meet that woman!”
“!”
Linel, who arrived in front of the room he had promised her, stared at Raphael, who had a somewhat agitated expression.
“Even if we met at the inn today and made that assumption, how did you know about yesterday?”
Linel also admitted it readily and asked.
“I heard it from the servant who laid out the red carpet in front of the hole.”
“That bastard won’t do, I trusted him because he was Stiane’s direct junior.”
“That’s why he must have told Stiane the truth.”
“Anyway, you go do your own thing. I’ll go do my own thing and go back.”
“Huh...”
Linel tapped Raphael’s lower abdomen with his hand and opened the door with the key he had received from the innkeeper.
“Then I’ll come pick you up later.”
“Just do that. I’ll make you live your whole life in the palace’s closed pants.”
“How could you say such horrible things!”
“So, I’ll tell you to return first. If you want to go in together, wait in front of the dog hole.”
Linel gave a stern warning and closed the door.
Raphael scratched the back of his head, made an awkward expression, and then turned to the main building to meet with Commander Macrom.
***
I had been lying down since 6 in the morning.
I skipped breakfast because I had no appetite.
“Is he here? Is he here?”
It was already past 8:30.
I had started pacing around the room at some point.
“There might already be someone else in that room. Wait, what happens then? Should I wait in the next room?”
No, no.
Nelly must have a lot of money, so he’ll ask the innkeeper to vacate the room even if it means giving him a little more money.
The innkeeper is also good at math, so if he gives him a few more pennies, he’ll easily change the room.
“...Seriously, I’m not even going to see him, so why am I worrying about that?”
I sat down in front of the dressing table, feeling really bad.
“I cried a little last night, so my face looks terrible.”
I combed my hair and started putting on makeup. It’s definitely not because I have plans to go out today.
Even though I’m currently hiding my identity, I’m still the Empress of this country, so I have to look presentable.
Right?
“Now that I think about it, my clothes seem a little shabby...”
After finishing my makeup, I opened my closet and took out the most gorgeous dress. It was just a simple and ordinary outfit that wouldn’t catch anyone’s eye.
“I feel better now.”
It wasn’t exactly what I wanted, but compared to a little while ago, I looked quite neat and human.
“Ah, why do I suddenly feel so suffocated? I wish I could go outside and walk around...”
I started to wander around the small room again.
Then, the moment my eyes landed on one spot, I stopped in my tracks.
I had been consciously trying not to look at the wall clock for a while.
“...9:30?!”
Already?
How did time pass so quickly?
In the end, I ended up opening the door to go see him.
Let’s go and slap him again.
Yeah, that’s what I’m going to do!
I muttered to myself, and suddenly I felt anxious.
...It’s only been 30 minutes, but he hasn’t already gone back, right?
“He said he’d wait all night, so I guess he will.”
I spoke leisurely, but my steps down the hallway became faster and faster.
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