It was something I never expected. I opened my eyes wide and stared at Eloise.
At my reaction, Eloise fidgeted and whispered.
“Oh no. You’re shocked, right? I was so surprised too…”
A woman he has feelings for? A girl he likes? Romantically?
I was stunned.
I scratched my cheek, not knowing what to say. Maybe because it was such unexpected news, I felt strange.
‘What is this feeling?’
A bit lonely, like something suddenly felt far away.
Kind of empty. Is this what betrayal feels like? I raised him so carefully, fed him well and tucked him in—and now he’s off chasing his own path behind my back?
Then I felt Eloise’s teary purple eyes watching me.
‘More importantly… how on earth did she find out?’
I pushed away the emotional part and asked casually, pretending I was fine.
“Really? How did you know?”
Maybe she thought I was about to cry, because Eloise flinched when she looked at my face.
But she seemed to think I didn’t believe her and was staying calm because of that. She stepped closer and began to explain in detail.
“I’ve seen His Majesty quite often outside the palace lately. He’s been walking around places that noblewomen usually go alone, so I thought I was mistaken at first.”
Eloise drooped her eyes and whispered.
“It seems like he’s been meeting with that woman in secret. Every time he left, I would find a discarded women’s scarf or mask nearby. At first, I thought it was just coincidence, but maybe she was hiding her face.”
Eloise went on, now sharing her story with surprising detail.
“Even about thirty minutes ago, I saw His Majesty around here.”
Thirty minutes ago? That would’ve been when I was still asleep.
As I narrowed my eyes slightly, Eloise shook her head.
“So I tried to stop him by bringing up the Empress. I just thought… it wasn’t right for him to be sneaking around like that under Her Majesty’s nose…”
Then she added that Xion yelled at her to go away. That she got so scared and ran off.
She looked so heartbroken, her eyes brimming with tears.
“His Majesty is just too much. How could he cheat on the Empress like that?”
Wait a second. It’s not even confirmed yet—why are you insulting my kid?
She kept acting like she was worried about me, but it felt more like she was trying to drill in the idea of an affair. It didn’t sit well with me.
But if I got mad now, I’d be giving her exactly the reaction she wanted.
‘Just hold it in. Breathe.’
As I took a breath, feeling all mixed up, something hit me.
‘Wait a minute—why does it feel like she’s trying to stir things up between me and Xion?’
Usually, the happier the couple, the more sensitive they are to stuff like this.
If we were still a mess like before, it wouldn’t be weird for her to say all this to me, but now, people think our relationship is great.
‘If you’re going to bring up something like this, you need solid proof. All she’s got is what she saw.’
The closer a couple is, the easier it is for even a small doubt to shake everything. Even if this time it’s not true, it plants a seed of suspicion.
It’s a clever tactic. “I’m your cousin, so I’m telling you this because I care”—and then stab.
‘Good thing I realized she’s shady early on.’
If I hadn’t known about the laxative incident, I might have marched over and accused Xion already.
Eloise frowned in frustration when I only furrowed my brow and didn’t react much. Then she lowered her voice like she had something serious to say.
“Your Majesty, you need to get rid of that woman. So she can’t get close to the Emperor again.”
That would be the fastest way to ruin a marriage. Whether Xion is really cheating or not.
If she truly cared about me, she wouldn’t try to provoke me like this. She’d calm me down instead.
‘The fact that she’s going all in like this… she’s definitely up to something.’
So I decided to play along. I asked in a very serious tone.
“Really?”
With the kind of innocent expression that would make Lindo tell me to become an actress.
“How could His Majesty do such a thing… Do you know who that woman is?”
“Yes. I heard His Majesty call her.”
She sounded pretty confident. What, does she actually have proof? I asked, unsure.
“What did he call her?”
Eloise motioned for me to come closer. Her face was full of drama.
Her expression made me a little tense without realizing it, and I leaned in.
“Well, the Emperor called her by a sweet nickname…”
Gulp.
As I nervously swallowed, Eloise whispered.
“Snuggy. I heard it clearly.”
With a voice full of confidence.
“Your Majesty. The Emperor is having an affair with Snuggy.”
…That’s me.
****
I knew it! I knew something like this would happen!
‘I should’ve sealed up those handsome lips.’
The problem was I didn’t manage it in time—his flirty little comments, which he wasn’t even aware of, were giving me goosebumps all over. In the end, what leaked inside ended up leaking outside too.
I looked around like a hyena that had just lost its prey.
And then I spotted Xion, walking in a disheveled state like he’d just gotten out of bed.
There you are, you troublemaker!
I ran over and grabbed Xion’s arm. Still mentally rebooting, Xion looked down at me with sleepy eyes and gave a faint, barely-there smile.
“Found you, my Snuggy.”
Snuggy, my foot! How can you look so calm when you don’t even know what’s going on? Huh?
“I’m the one who found you, okay? Just come with me!”
I dragged Xion, who was much taller than me, without giving him a choice. Thankfully, he let himself be pulled along without complaint.
We cut through a shortcut lined with blooming milk flowers and arrived at the empress’s palace. The ladies-in-waiting quickly stepped aside with flushed cheeks.
“Enjoy your time together.”
“There’s nothing to enjoy!”
I slammed the door shut and messed up my hair in frustration. My face was still burning from the embarrassing nickname Eloise had whispered to me.
Seriously, what is Eloise, a parrot? She doesn’t even live in the imperial capital—how does she hear gossip this fast?
“Should I muzzle her or something?”
I muttered seriously, and then a large, firm hand reached out from behind. Fingers slid into my shiny silver hair and began gently brushing through it, almost like combing.
“Muzzle her?”
“Not a muzzle—a gag.”
“Sounds fun. I’ll come watch.”
“You! You’re the one!”
I want to gag you so you can’t say any more of your cheesy lines!
I was pushing away the hand that was playing with my hair like a skein of yarn when I suddenly froze.
“Huh?”
“Feisty, aren’t you. Threatening to gag your master.”
Xion looked down at me with those murky golden eyes.
The way he looked—it had the same heavy pressure as a crocodile lazily watching a little bird flutter near its teeth in a swamp.
“If I’d known all your chirping meant that, I would’ve kept you in a cage until you learned your lesson.”
“Wait, wait! Are you actually understanding what I’m saying now?!”
It kind of sounded like he was talking about locking me up, but I decided to let it slide.
I stared up at him, wide-eyed.
“Yeah.”
“How? Since when?!”
“Dunno. Since I woke up earlier, I’ve been able to understand you.”
For the first time, Xion was responding properly instead of mumbling nonsense. Though he still seemed to think of me as some kind of silver-feathered pet bird.
‘Is the reboot finally complete?!’
Thank goodness. Like Lindo said, maybe by tomorrow the hallucinations would fully disappear and his mind would come back.
I let out a sigh of relief from the shock.
“Your voice is nice. Keep chattering.”
…Never mind, take that back.
Still, at least now we could talk properly, so I could finally confront him. I leaned my chin on the back of the chair with a grumble.
The troublesome Xion gently brushed my cheek.
“Snuggy.”
I glared at him flatly.
“Where exactly did you go around saying that?”
“Saying what?”
“That. The name Snuggy!”
It’s only been two days since this started, and yet somehow that name made its way to Eloise?
I gave him a scolding glare, and Xion shamelessly and smugly replied:
“Well, who told you to fly around on your own? You should’ve sat quietly next to your master until I woke up.”
“That’s because I didn’t know you’d wake up suddenly! And why are you my master?”
That mouth of his! Always saying weird stuff!
Xion raised an eyebrow slowly and slid his thumb along his jawline, gently rubbing my chin.
“I feed you, give you a place to sleep. I pet you, I dote on you. Isn’t that usually what a master does?”
“……”
Ugh. It hurts my pride, but he’s… annoyingly logical.
I shut my lips tightly and stayed silent, sulking. Xion contentedly patted my head.
“Anyway, this has turned into a real problem. Someone heard you say that, and now there’s a rumor going around that you’re having an affair with a woman named Snuggy.”
“An affair? I’m single—why would that be a problem?”
“Yeah, sure you are.”
I gave my troublesome husband—who had clearly forgotten he was an emperor and married—a withering look.
“Well. I guess it is a problem if a human is making out with a bird.”
It’s not just a problem, it’s a huge one. And for the record, we did not make out.
I let out a dry laugh and gently tried to correct Xion, who was now speaking a bit too bluntly.
“Anyway. Before the weird rumors spread even more, it’s better if you avoid interacting with other people.”
“No need. Once I’m back on the battlefield, everyone will forget.”
Xion leaned casually against my vanity, arms crossed.
“The crown prince returns, and not even the emperor is happy about it. Of course, people are going to grab onto something and gossip.”
Xion’s voice was indifferent.
But to me, who knew his past, it felt incredibly sad.
I suddenly thought of the difficult, prickly black panther version of Xion I used to feed and care for, and found myself softening up.
‘Yeah, it’s not his fault. He ended up like this trying to help me with my medicine.’
