“Episode 26”
With a face that looked neat, such words didn’t suit him at all. But to Yuliana, he looked adorable. Pushing aside Evan’s lips, who was pouting, she said, “Get up. My crazy brother is about to do something, and I need to know what plan you’ve come up with.”
Appearing hesitant to Yuliana’s question, Evan finally let go of her lips.
“Lucian Bue Ariacne has been monitoring me as if I were challenging his throne, but he hasn’t attacked abruptly like this. Although he’s clumsily leaked my weaknesses to you… Yuliana, just tell me one thing. What’s the identity of the woman manipulating your brother and Lucian?”
Yuliana coldly refused Evan’s question.
“No. Did you forget what I said? You have only one thing to do. Share everything with me.”
Finishing her words, Yuliana got up from her seat icily.
Watching her get dressed after the heated night, Evan dropped his head on the pillow as she left.
With a furrowed brow, he muttered in a suppressed voice, “This is unfair.”
“Did you think I’d make a fair deal with you?”
Yuliana replied with her expression, ‘How dare you?’ and pinched her complaining husband’s cheek sharply.
“Speak quickly. I need to hear what’s on your dark mind.”
“…There’s only one way to make that woman go berserk.”
“What?”
Yuliana asked, wondering about the ‘one thing’ he mentioned, thinking about that remarkable interdimensional traveler he referred to as ‘the saint.’
But no matter how much she thought, she couldn’t figure it out. Eventually, she turned to him for help.
“Tell me. Maybe I lack imagination.”
“Where did that woman come from?”
Feeling triumphant this time, Evan smiled with satisfaction and asked.
Seeing her husband bite into the apple she handed him, Yuliana shrugged her shoulders.
“We don’t know where that woman came from. Someone even put up defensive magic to prevent her from coming out of our lake.”
“Yeah. She came from our lake.”
“…So?”
“I believe that lake is a gateway to the demon realm.”
Crunch—
Evan bit into the apple he received.
“……?”
Yuliana chuckled at his words without hiding her surprise.
‘Is Evan too shocked?’
She wondered if she should retract her threats of unforgiveness and calling him a villain.
But, the demon realm.
The empire’s biggest headache was the barbarians, followed by the demons and monsters seeping through the cracks in the demon realm.
In ancient times, before the empire claimed the land, when the ancestors roamed as ‘barbarians,’ the gateway to the demon realm they discovered in the Mana Storm was a very interesting world.
The gateway to the demon realm was always shrouded in unstable mana storms, the abyss of the Nojegae. Humans couldn’t cross over to the demon realm with their bodies.
However, the ancestors who opened their eyes to the use of mana and magic at the time were obsessed with entering that gateway to create new magic.
Some magicians went through the gateway to the demon realm, and a few returned to their homeland. They had clearly changed. But by becoming like that, they ceased to be human.
Yuliana spoke, recalling her memories.
“…Are you talking about the beginning of when the demons started appearing? Even though I didn’t attend the academy, I know why the demons and monsters appeared. It was because of the ancient wizards, right? The few magicians who crossed over to the demon realm and came back became demons, and they bred and created monsters and new demons. They’re swarming in our northern border.”
Yuliana frowned, thinking about Ariacne’s capital, Arriacna, and the ridiculous claim that there was a ‘gateway to the demon realm’ in the Emerald Lake, a cherished legacy of the aristocrats.
Yuliana grumbled.
“Husband, if I appear in a divine trial and my wife appears in a noble stripping trial, it would be ridiculous.”
“Don’t you remember that I combed through the north for a year? I told you to go there and eliminate the barbarians and never come back. Is this, by any chance, trying to touch my guilt?”
Yuliana grumbled. She was beginning to regain her senses and started chewing the apple diligently.
“Ahaha, no need to worry,” Duke Martens raised both hands in surrender, trying to calm the atmosphere.
“But, is it a problem that I know how to wield a sword?” he asked.
“No, it’s not. A woman skilled in swordsmanship is nothing to hide, especially on a continent where wars are frequent. In fact, there are quite a few female knight commanders even on the southern continent,” I replied.
“I’ve heard that story too. Although not as much as on the southern continent, the young heirs of the Kingdom of Sha’atonil also receive mandatory swordsmanship lessons from a young age,” Duke Martens added.
“However, there are no young heirs like Empress Fenghua who consistently practice swordsmanship, probably. And those who are exceptionally skilled are even rarer,” I remarked.
“That’s… true,” I admitted, feeling slightly tense. Learning swordsmanship wasn’t wrong per se, but if it was done secretly without royal permission and through unofficial channels, that fact could be problematic. Duke Martens seemed to understand what I was worried about and chuckled knowingly before speaking again.
“Empress Fenghua, that’s not something to hide,” he said.
But his question implied why it had been kept hidden.
“I’ve never hidden it,” I said.
I had nothing else to say.
“Then, Empress Fenghua, were you not trying to hide the fact that you know swordsmanship, but rather that you’re exceptionally skilled in it?” he asked.
“I didn’t say that,” I replied.
When I looked serious, Duke Martens nodded casually.
“I merely mentioned it because I happened to recall a story I heard from one of my knights. I had no other intention,” he said.
Duke Martens seemed willing to let it go. Sometimes, he looked at me as if he knew me very well. Whenever that happened, I couldn’t help but think how well a bruise would suit his gray eyes. Without realizing, I found myself raising my left fist, barely managing to grasp my left wrist with my right hand.
“So, Empress Fenghua, please don’t be nervous,” he said.
Was I showing a tense expression now? In fact, I was unsure how to react to Duke Martens’ words. Laughing might seem tense, and showing anger might appear as if I were overreacting.
“It seems like the Duke doesn’t get much sleep,” I diverted the topic slightly.
“No, but since coming to the Raphion Empire, the nights have been somewhat uncomfortable,” he replied.
“Why is that?” I asked, surprised. If anything, I found myself waking up fewer times in the predawn hours since coming to the Raphion Empire, where the temperature was lower than in the Kingdom of Sha’atonil.
“It’s natural for someone from the warmer Kingdom of Sha’atonil to feel that way, isn’t it?” Duke Martens asked me curiously.
“Well, it depends on the person,” I replied.
“The nights in Raphion feel quite chilly even in early summer. I’ve only heard rumors, but experiencing it firsthand, there’s occasionally a chill in the air at night,” Duke Martens said, brushing his arms with both hands.
“I’ll instruct the servants to bring thicker blankets and larger heat-insulating stones to the Duke’s quarters,” I said.
Duke Martens looked at me with a slightly surprised expression.
“Why is that?” he asked.
As I grinned slightly, he showed an interested expression.
“You really seem like the Empress of the Raphion Empire now. It wasn’t long ago that you were just a bath attendant of the kingdom,” he remarked.
“Now, I am indeed the Empress of the Raphion Empire. For now,” I added, feeling a strange sense of self-derision. And I felt bothered by Duke Martens’ seemingly condescending tone. Wouldn’t it be better to refrain from speaking like that to fulfill my role properly? But then, arguing with Duke Martens and nitpicking at his words would also be difficult. I’m just a proxy empress. Therefore, if I antagonize Duke Martens now, there will be nothing good for me in the future. Even if I become close to him, there won’t be much benefit.
“Oh dear, it seems I’ve committed another breach of etiquette. One should always be careful with words in front of someone skilled in swordsmanship,” he apologized, reading my displeased expression.
“Perhaps one day I’d like to spar with the Duke, of course, there won’t be an opportunity while I’m on the throne, will there?” I replied, absentmindedly tapping my fingers.
Duke Martens grimaced at the sound, clearly finding it unpleasant. Well, I didn’t mean to threaten him, my fingers were just itchy.
“I actually think it wouldn’t be a bad thing for Empress Fenghua to stay in that position for a long time. Haha,” Duke Martens awkwardly chuckled. I couldn’t help but laugh at his tense demeanor, then I straightened up again and turned my neck from side to side. My bones made a cheerful cracking sound in the quiet chamber.
“I’d prefer it if you left now,” I suggested.
“I heard that tonight, Empress is going to spend the night in one of the chambers of the harem,” he replied, ignoring my warning and starting to cough awkwardly a few times before glancing at me.
“…Yes, it’s the usual procedure,” I replied.
It was a routine procedure, but my mood wasn’t so routine, which was the problem.
“Your expression looks rather unpleasant,” he remarked.
Annoying man. I shot him a sharp glance, and even though he avoided my eyes, he continued to tease me.
“By now, it’s probably time for Empress to share a glass of wine and conversation with one of the concubines, don’t you think?” he said.
“….”
“Oh, has the time for conversation passed already?”
“What do you want to say, Duke?”
I deliberately draped my silk shawl further forward and asked with a tired expression.
“I’m just as I said before. Although you are only a proxy empress, I still feel that tonight you might be feeling a bit unwell, so I just wanted to offer some company,” he replied.
“You seem more like a curious onlooker than a companion,” I retorted.
“Haha, why would I be like that?”
“If you’ve seen all my reactions, then it’s time for you to go back and sleep,” I said as I got up from the sofa.
Duke Martens couldn’t help but follow me with an expression of resignation. Knock-knock-knock! Just then, Sharon hurriedly knocked on the door of the chamber and rushed in.
“Empress! T-the Emperor is coming to your chambers right now!”
“My chambers…?!”
“Yes!”
Why on earth was he coming to the empress’s chambers on the day he held a feast with the concubines? There was only one thought that came to mind at that moment.
“Could it be that he knows my identity…? Have I been exposed this time for real?”
It seemed like I wasn’t the only one having that thought. When I turned my gaze to Duke Martens, he too was looking at me with a rather startled expression.
“Duke, could it be that His Majesty knows about our affairs…?”
“Our affairs?”
My thoughts were interrupted by Rinel’s cold voice piercing my mind.
“Oh my goodness! Your Majesty, wh-when did you come to the chamber…!”
Sharon’s startled voice overlapped with Rinel’s voice. It seemed like my voice had leaked out through the open chamber door. Confused, Duke Martens and I continued to stare at each other. Rinel, on the other hand, alternated between looking at me and the Duke, with a suspicious furrow in his perfectly sculpted eyebrows.
