I was about to rant for a full 1 night and 2 days about the embarrassment, confusion, and humiliation I had suffered, but I gave up.
‘Ugh, my plan to quietly enjoy a cushy life after divorcing him in two years is completely ruined.’
By the time Xian had calmed down and I had fainted, the issue regarding Crown Prince Cedric had already been discreetly resolved.
The mouths of the nobles who had participated in the hunting competition were tightly sealed by entangling the matter with diplomatic concerns.
‘But the problem is that the rumors weren’t sealed off!’
Was it because we were a married couple anyway? Because it didn’t matter if the gossip spread? Or did no one actually care?!
“Oh my, Their Majesties are said to have such a loving relationship!”
“His Majesty is completely bewitched by Her Majesty! He doesn’t care if people are watching… Hohoho!”
“No wonder the pregnancy happened so quickly despite it being a political marriage!”
Somehow, everything had been twisted and neatly pieced together, leading to only the passionate kissing scene between me and Xian spreading far and wide.
In the end, the only thing made public from that top-secret hunting competition was the heated display of affection between Xian and me.
“Now that the rumors have gone public, won’t sticking together just make them worse? We even announced that I wasn’t pregnant, but they still don’t believe it!”
I sniffled and grabbed Lindo by the collar, shaking him back and forth. Lindo just looked at me with a resigned expression and replied,
“So what if there are rumors? You two are married anyway.”
No! That’s not the point!
Xian might not care, but for me, things had become unbearably awkward.
I used to pat him to sleep and feed him without a second thought, but now I was so hyper-aware of everything that I just couldn’t do it anymore!
“From now on, I’ll be strictly professional. I’m the empress, Xian is the emperor, and that’s it!”
If I live like that, things might go back to how they were before. I hate feeling uncomfortable and awkward.
As I steeled my resolve, Lindo shook his head and muttered,
“I really don’t get why you’re making such a big deal out of this… Can’t you just forget about it? Was kissing His Majesty that big of a deal?”
For some reason, those words hit me hard, and with my face burning up, I kicked him.
“I told you not to bring that up!”
“Ack—! But you two have an official event in a few days! How are you going to stand next to him like this—Okay, okay! I won’t say anything anymore!”
****
“Waaaah!”
Today was a public holiday commemorating the enactment of Bermut’s first national law.
I was waiting on the balcony of a building where the public had gathered, preparing to fulfill my duty as empress.
It wasn’t particularly difficult. All I had to do was smile, wave once to the crowd below, and head back inside.
The problem was—
“Relax your face a little.”
“Yes.”
“Why are your replies so short?”
“What did I do?”
It was Xian, who was escorting me and waiting beside me.
‘Ugh, why does he keep talking to me?’
It was already awkward enough!
Ever since I had blatantly started avoiding him, Xian had become noticeably more talkative—specifically, toward me.
“I told you, I was wrong.”
And as a bonus, he kept randomly apologizing. The memory of that public kiss at the hunting grounds flashed through my mind, making my face flush red again.
“W-what exactly did you do wrong?”
“…Not remembering it properly?”
Of course. I pressed my gloved hand against my forehead.
Right, this man barely remembered what had happened that day.
He knew we had kissed, but it seemed his memory of the event had vanished. He acted like it was his first time hearing that he had refused to let go even when I hit him and behaved as if he were about to devour me.
I had cried my eyes out, wailing at him to stay out of my bedroom, and all he said was that he didn’t remember.
But that wasn’t the issue right now.
“If you don’t remember, don’t just apologize. I’ve been treating you very politely, Xian, so why do you keep embarrassing me?”
“How did I embarrass you?”
A vein popped on my forehead. This dense man clearly had no clue.
In the end, before Xian could raise my blood pressure any further, I decided to clarify the situation.
Just before stepping out onto the balcony, I lowered my voice and started explaining one thing at a time.
“You humiliated me in front of everyone with that kind of kiss!”
“If we’re being precise, you did it first.”
“I! Only did it! To snap you out of it! And I never intended for it to be that intense in front of everyone!”
But the ever-so-composed emperor responded lazily.
“Whether it was intense or not, what does it matter? You’re my empress.”
“That’s exactly why! That empress was humiliated in front of everyone! What kind of empress does that… that…!”
Shame rushed over me. I couldn’t even bring myself to describe what his tongue had done, so my voice wavered.
“Was it really that embarrassing?”
“You think it wasn’t?! The one who humiliated me doesn’t even remember it, so I have to bear all the embarrassment alone!”
To make matters worse, Leah—meaning, me!—it was my first kiss.
I must be the only person in history whose first kiss turned into such a mortifying memory. And yet, no one seemed to understand.
I just needed to get through this event as quickly as possible, run to my room, and kick my blankets until they had holes in them. I resolved this in my head a hundred, no, a thousand times over.
Then, the trumpet announcing the emperor and empress’s entrance echoed through the air.
“So, from now on, let’s not cross any lines. Neither of us wants things to get uncomfortable, right?”
I sighed, whispering those words before stepping forward. Or at least, I tried to.
“Then get your revenge.”
Xian stopped walking.
Because of that, just before we stepped fully into view of the crowd, we came to a halt in a spot where we were barely visible.
“W-what are you…”
My mouth went dry as my eyes met his darkly glowing golden ones.
Right below us, the massive crowd, like a swarm of ants, eagerly awaited our appearance. I was suddenly hyperaware of them.
“If you resent me that much…”
I should make it up to you.
Xian’s deep voice murmured as he wrapped an arm around my waist and held my gaze.
Then, deliberately making it look as if he was about to kiss my cheek, he lowered his head in a way that the crowd would misinterpret.
“Waaaah!”
A wave of loud cheers and laughter erupted from the audience at the mere silhouette of what they thought had happened.
“W-wait a second! What are you doing?”
My heart pounded so fast my voice shook.
“If that incident embarrassed you so much…”
Still holding my gaze, Xian gently placed my hand on his own cheek and spoke nonchalantly.
“Then this time, I’ll be the one embarrassed.”
Under my palm, I could feel the slant of his face—solid, smooth, and warm.
The feeling of his skin was so vivid that I instinctively flinched, my eyes widening.
‘Wait… does he want me to hit him?’
He had pretended to kiss me in front of everyone and now wanted me to slap him in public to even the score.
I slightly parted my lips in surprise, and seeing my reaction, Xian lowered his gaze as if confirming that my guess was correct.
He looked like a dignified yet obedient large dog awaiting punishment for mischief.
‘What kind of man even does this…?’
The emperor was willing to take a slap in front of the entire crowd just to make me feel better.
I was dumbfounded and flustered.
But what flustered me even more was that, before I even realized it, my mood had started to lighten.
Murmurs spread through the audience.
The crowd was puzzled as the empress stood there with her hand resting on the emperor’s cheek.
Even the knights standing at a distance stretched their necks to see what was happening.
Then—tap!
“You think that’s enough?”
I slowly ran my fingers down his elegant jawline. Then, I lifted Xian’s chin slightly with my index finger.
“……”
There was quite a height difference between us.
But when Xian obediently tilted his head up in response to my light touch, it must have looked like a small dog training a large one.
“Hahaha!”
It seemed the crowd thought the same, because joyful laughter erupted from all around. They found it amusing that the emperor was utterly helpless before his empress.
Xian’s brow twitched.
He must have finally realized how he appeared and instinctively turned his head to scan the surroundings.
“Oh. Where do you think you’re looking? You should be looking here.”
I quickly turned his slightly averted face back toward me.
His freedom, completely restrained by a single finger, Xian narrowed his eyes at me in silence.
“Hmm. Five minutes should be enough to make this sufficiently embarrassing, right?”
As if petting a puppy, I lightly scratched his chin. At last, his golden eyes scrunched up in disbelief.
“…This isn’t the kind of revenge I meant.”
“As long as it’s embarrassing, does it matter?”
I smiled sweetly, pretending not to hear him.
Xian silently endured everything, letting the scene play out for the public.
Thanks to that, the previously intimidating emperor now looked so harmless that no one in the crowd seemed the least bit afraid of him. The atmosphere grew even more festive.
Only after teasing Xian to my heart’s content did I finally stand beside him and wave to the people.
Xian glanced at me and muttered in a low voice,
“Finally, you’re talking more. Keep it that way from now on.”
“Well, we’ll see how Xian behaves.”
I responded playfully, struggling to hold back a smile. Each time we whispered, my heart pounded pleasantly.
Xian glanced down at me, cleared his throat briefly, then resumed waving with his usual stoic expression.
And so, the most cheerful event in Bermut’s history began.
****
After the public greeting performance was over, I had to attend a tea gathering.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a grand event like a ballroom party—just a simple time to socialize with nobles over tea.
“Your Majesty, the empress, everyone is waiting for you.”
“Alright.”
I made my way to my tea room, which had been prepared in the Empress’s Palace.
Xian, who had absolutely no interest in socializing, had taken all the nobles who weren’t attending the gathering and gone off to work.
‘Working even on a public holiday… how pitiful.’
Feeling a bit of sympathy for those poor souls sacrificed to politics, I arrived at the Empress’s Palace.
“We greet Your Majesty, the Empress.”
“Oh, Eloise.”
On my way to the tea room, I ran into my cousin.
