I stared at him for a moment and then blinked slowly a few times.
I hadn’t slept well since I’d met Daphne yesterday because I hadn’t stopped thinking about her.
Fatigue and drowsiness washed over me, and I pressed my eyelids shut.
“If you’re sleepy, let’s go in. It’s dangerous.”
“Alright.”
“You should ride with me, you look like you could pass out at any moment.”
Lacius, who was observing my condition, urged his horse closer. Then he swiftly wrapped his arm around my waist and lifted me up. I could feel the warmth of his embrace as I shifted from Siwoo to his horse.
‘Lacius’ body temperature is high again today.’
While I always felt like my body temperature was lower than others, his was always high.
It was a good reason to stay in Lacius’ warm embrace.
* * *
After Shay went to take a nap, despite saying he had nothing else to do, Lacius changed his clothes.
Wearing formal attire befitting the position of Archduke of Schweiden, he climbed into the carriage and headed straight to the emperor’s palace.
“Welcome.”
The Emperor greeted him in the drawing room.
The problem was that the Emperor wasn’t alone; there were other deputies with him. They’re playing Hwatu.
“There are three birds, so Godori!”
“Uh-huh, Chancellor. How can you be so merciless?”
“Haha, Your Excellency. Perhaps you don’t remember when the Minister of National Defense defeated me in the previous round?”
People over fifty years old gathered around, holding red cards and playing the game.
They looked like a bunch of gamblers, hiding their hands so carefully lest their opponents see them.
“… Your Majesty, how much have you lost?”
Of course, it is not his place to question how the Emperor spent his leisure time.
However, what Lacius pointed out was the gold coins piled up next to the chancellor.
As if only the chancellor was winning every match, the Minister of National Defense also grunted.
“I’ll win soon. Once I win this round, I’ll make a big score and—!”
“… It looks like you’ve lost more than 500 gautes so far.”
“Well, don’t you think the time has finally come for me to win?”
Slam.
From the Emperor’s hand flew a card with a black castle on it.
The card has a pitch-black castle topped with a red ribbon.
“This is it! With this, I finally collected three red ribbon cards!”
The emperor, not even a child, jumped to his feet with joy.
Lacius shook his head in disbelief as he watched the emperor throw away his composure.
The chamberlain quietly approached and stood beside him.
“Grand Chamberlain, how long has His Majesty been like that?”
“Hmmm. It’s been four hours now.”
“That long, huh?”
“Yes, but the jurisdiction department contacted me, asking me to stop the emperor now.”
The aged chamberlain was a close friend of the emperor and had been with him for a long time.
Usually, when the emperor becomes obsessed with a game, the role of stopping him has always been the grand chamberlain’s.
In other words, In other words, the fact that he has not stopped the Emperor yet from playing Hwatu was evidence of his deep immersion or obsession with it
“Your majesty.”
“Yes.”
“You should stop now.”
In the end, Lacius, who couldn’t stand it anymore, spoke up.
He wasn’t particularly worried about official matters.
Not only the emperor but also the chancellor and minister of national defense are all exceptionally talented individuals.
They were capable of processing documents at an astonishing speed, even if it meant working overnight.
The problem was that he didn’t have much time.
Today, he was thinking of asking Shay out on a date.
He had to resolve this matter and return before she woke up.
However, the emperor couldn’t have been more disappointed.
“Just one game, just one more game!”
“That’s not possible. You should stop gambling games.”
“Eh, isn’t this what Lady Oberon gave me? Your fiance!”
“As the presiding judge, I advise you to stop. You have been overly immersed in playing it for four hours. You should set an example for your people.”
“Says the guy who owns a maritime gambling house in Makarten…”
“It has been passed on from the previous generation, I have never touched it.”
“Fine, I admire your integrity!”
As Lacius showed no sign of stopping from ‘advising’ him, the emperor eventually gave up.
Taking advantage of that moment, the grand chamberlain quickly approached and cleared the military blanket laid under him.
Since his enthusiasm was shattered, the emperor no longer had the desire to continue, so he tugged his mustache as he they cleaned up,
Lacius patiently waited without showing any signs of wavering.
Until everyone else had left and only the emperor and he were left.
“Keuheum, I made you wait for nothing.”
“No, Your Majesty. You should also enjoy your leisure time.”
“Uh hmm. Well, thank you for your understanding. Please call them in.”
After recovering from his addiction to Hwatu, the emperor felt embarrassed and cleared his throat.
Lacius simply sat with a calm expression, sipping his tea.
He had an important reason for coming here today.
It was to meet another ‘painting wizard’, aside from Shay.
When he put in the request, the painting wizards were still on their “work,” so he couldn’t meet them.
One, however, was now finished.
“Kiran and Rawiya have arrived, Your Majesty. Shall I let them in?”
“Yes.”
Kiran and Rawiya.
Both had names that were different from the Terran nomenclature. They gave a very exotic impression from their names alone.
“Rawiya has been summoned.”
“Sit down.”
“Rawiya says thank you, Your Majesty.”
The door opened, and two people in silver robes appeared.
“Archduke Schweiden has some questions about the Painting Wizards. Give him some explanation.”
“Rawiya understands.”
The one called Rawiya was a woman.
Bandages covered her fingers, wrists, and forearms as she slowly removed her hood.
Was it from drawing so much?
Or was she injured?
“Nice to meet you.”
“It is also a pleasure for Rawiya to meet the Archduke.”
Her olive-colored hair was curly, and her short hairstyle was uncommon in Terran, where people usually grow their hair long unless they are knights
Her wide-open eyes were anything but normal at first glance.
Her neck was also wrapped with bandages.
As Lacius continued to observe Rawiya, he was slightly surprised to notice that she was missing an ear.
“Does Rawiya look strange?”
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