“Episode 21”
“Rinelle suddenly moved to another seat. Behind me… As he shifted position inside the bathtub, I couldn’t do anything. It happened so quickly, but…
“It’s because it’s cold. I’ll stay quiet. I really will…”
I couldn’t move my body at his earnest request.
“Aren’t you uncomfortable?”
“It’s warm. And it’s not boring when you have a human heat conductor.”
Rinelle said, resting his chin on my temple.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“You know why, no need to say.”
He at least wore clothes.
“Oh, right.”
“But why bother asking?”
“I don’t know? Maybe I’m crazy.”
I nodded in agreement with his words, and he laughed as if it were amusing. When his laughter subsided, I quietly asked the question he had mentioned earlier.
“Do you often visit the battlefield?”
“As an emperor known for wielding swords in wars, wouldn’t it be negligent of me not to visit the battlefield?”
“Have you killed many people in wars?”
I couldn’t imagine what he would be like on the battlefield. Right now, he was just an overly handsome husband who had accidentally fallen into the bathtub.
“I fight believing that the fewer enemies I kill in war, the greater the sacrifice of my subjects.”
He answered seriously after a moment of silence.
“I’m not a murderer. Look, didn’t I also marry for the sake of reducing bloodshed during wars between the Northern and Southern Continents? Well, it was also for the purpose of checking the gods.”
I enjoyed listening to Rinelle’s soft voice and gentle laughter behind me.
“Do you regret it?”
“What? Falling into the bathtub? Or the marriage?”
“Of course… falling into the bathtub was intentional, wasn’t it?”
Thinking of the precious soap that had been miserably crushed on the floor, I turned my head slightly to look at him.
“The performance was quite impressive, wasn’t it?”
He admitted with a smirk. I was taken aback by his moist and radiant face and changed the subject.
“My precious soap was sacrificed.”
He took my teasing remark affectionately.
“I’ll buy you the same one.”
“Really?”
“Why are you laughing? Because you’re laughing, it seems like I’m lying.”
“No, please do buy it.”
“Sure. First, regarding falling into the bathtub, I don’t regret it. It feels like all my fatigue is melting away. Look, the water is still warm.”
Rinelle still marveled at the steaming bathtub water, pouring it out with his hand.
“But it’s really strange…”
He returned to the topic he had been mumbling about, full of doubt.
“And the marriage. I’m lucky it’s you as the empress. So I have no regrets. So that you don’t regret it either, I’ll do my best.”
His shy confession-like voice made my heart flutter.
“Don’t you believe me?”
I didn’t say anything, so he tightened his strong arms around my neck.
“Uh, are you going to strangle me right now if I say I don’t believe you?”
I grabbed his sturdy biceps and pretended to be suffocated for no reason. In response, he loosened his arms that were trying to strangle my neck.
“It’s comfortable to have both of us in the bathtub, so we can have a relaxed conversation.”
“I’m not comfortable though.”
“Why?”
“It’s not a fair situation.”
“Oh, I see. I was rude.”
As our fists collided with a thud, he said, “Isn’t this wrong? Hey, weren’t we supposed to play rock-paper-scissors?” I awkwardly held up my fist for a moment and then quietly lowered my hand again.
“I’ll turn my head for a moment, so you go ahead and put on the robe first. It would be troublesome if you caught a cold.”
It didn’t seem appropriate for someone cursed with hypothermia to say, but still, his thoughtfulness touched me.
“Yes, then please turn your head for a moment. Surely… you won’t peek, will you?”
“Stealing someone’s land is one thing, but I’ve never stolen someone’s body. I don’t have a hobby of peeping.”
His firm words inspired trust.
“Alright, then I’ll leave the bathtub first.”
“You haven’t left yet?”
Rinelle turned his head in the opposite direction, playfully teasing. Until the moment I left the bathtub, I kept checking his turned head and walked to where the robe was hanging. After drying my body with a long towel on the shelf, I put on a pink slip and robe hanging on the antler. After tightly tying the robe’s belt, I turned to face him and spoke.
“I’m all dressed. I’ll bring the towel for you to use…”
Rinelle’s head was already turned towards me.
“When did you start looking?”
I was bewildered by his shameless change of direction and carefully checked the robe again.
“Well…”
“Huh? You said you don’t have a hobby of peeping!”
“I said I haven’t had the opportunity to peep until now. So, of course I haven’t had a hobby of peeping. But maybe it’ll become a hobby in the future.”
He stretched his arms above the bathtub, supporting his perfect face with them, and lazily spoke.
“What do you mean?”
“It seems to suit your nature.”
“That’s disappointing.”
I replied bluntly with a puzzled expression.
“But honestly, saying that you’ve peeped isn’t accurate.”
“Are you teasing me now?”
“No, I’m speaking the truth.”
“?”
“I actually didn’t peep. I just looked openly. Is that still considered peeping?”
“Ha…”
“And I’m not as sly as someone else.”
“What do you mean by that?”
A sense of foreboding arose. I felt like I needed to leave the bathroom quickly.
“If you want to see, go ahead. I, for one, don’t use those old-fashioned phrases like ‘turn around.'”
“I, I need to go get the towel…”
“Don’t move. Stay right there.”
The moment I tried to lift my foot, his solemn command stopped me in midair.
Oh, were we supposed to share the same towel? Even if we’re a couple, isn’t he an emperor? I’ve never heard of couples, even among noble families, sharing a towel in the Kingdom of Chartoanil. I didn’t want to engage in a confrontation with him because it seemed like it would only drain my energy, so I followed his lead and picked up the towel I had just used from the shelf. I must not lower my gaze to his lips. With that thought in mind, I walked towards him, making several promises to myself. Besides, I was also curious. I wondered if he could really stand up boldly as he claimed, and if so, I was slightly curious about what he would do next. Well, just a little bit curious. But there was nothing to see.
“Sigh…”
A long sigh escaped my lips. Whether it was a sigh of relief or regret, I couldn’t even tell.
“You seem very disappointed that I’m not taking off my pants.”
He seemed to interpret my sigh that way.
“Not at all.”
“The way you reacted just now was cute, but I really should get undressed now.”
“A-Are you trying to take off your pants now?”
I turned my body defensively.
“Since I’m already wet, I should wipe myself. I can’t lie down on the empress’s bed like this, can I?”
Ah, right. That makes sense.
“The towel.”
“Oh, here you go, wipe yourself.”
I handed him the towel, turning my head slightly to the side.
“Can’t you wipe me instead?”
As Rinelle took the towel, his hand reached for mine. I turned my gaze towards his face. Even though I was looking into his eyes, I could still tell. I didn’t even need to look to know. He had already undressed his pants. So, he really had become the completely naked emperor he claimed to be. Even though I was just looking at his face, my face gradually flushed. Sweat dripped from my forehead due to the combination of the steam in the bathroom and tension. Rinelle’s hand wiped away the sweat from my forehead.
“You seem to have a lot of heat in your body. I feel like I’m freezing as soon as I come out of the bathtub.”
Oh, right. I momentarily forgot about his hypothermia curse. His completely soaked body was rapidly losing heat. Why did I tell him to undress so recklessly? No, why did he even fall into the bathtub in the first place?
“It’s too cold…”
In his pitiful voice, I quickly unfolded the towel, wrapped it around his body, and dried him off. I brushed away his drenched black hair, pressed the moisture from his chiseled face, passed his broad shoulders, his firm chest muscles, and stopped at his waist. With the towel in my hand, I looked into his eyes and said,
“Hold it.”
I handed him the towel and stepped back.
“I understand. There’s too big of an obstacle to just let it pass.”
“!”
“From here, I’ll take care of the wiping. Zelda, why are your shoulders so tensed up?”
Without realizing it, my shoulders were hunched up to my ears.
“The towel seems a bit small to wipe off all the moisture. I’ll get another one.”
I hurriedly escaped into the bathroom and into the bedroom.
*** One hour ago, Duke Martens saw Emperor Linel on his way back to the Star Palace, where the guest room was, after taking a night walk. Even from afar, the Emperor was walking briskly towards somewhere. Where could he be going so late at night? The attendants and knights following behind the Emperor seemed busy trying to keep up with his quick pace. Duke Martens followed at a certain distance behind him.
“Just as I suspected….”
Emperor Linel headed towards the direction of the Empress’s Palace. Duke Martens gazed at the distant Empress’s Palace for a while before turning his steps back to the Star Palace where he was staying. As the Duke returned to the guest room and opened the door, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. With his keen sense of smell, Duke Martens noticed that the air was somewhat different from an hour ago when he left his room. Someone had entered his room.
“You’re earlier than I expected.”
As Duke Martens snapped his fingers, a black shadow appeared near the terrace window. The shadow knight, who had been hiding behind the curtain, kneeled down and greeted him respectfully.
“I greet the Duke!”
“What news do you bring?”
“We still have no sign of the carriage. According to the informant, this week is a critical period.”
“Hmm, it’s surprising enough that he’s still alive after falling off the cliff. Has Prince Tesler not noticed yet?”
“It seems not. The royal knights also believe that the waters below the cliff are swift, so they presume the body would have been swept away as well.”
“That’s likely. Tell the informant to keep watch over him for 24 hours and offer more incentives.”
“Yes, Duke.”
“How is the child?”
