The next day, Arundel, who woke up from sleep, left her body to the maids to dress up.
‘I feel like they’re dressing me up more these days.’
Today was the same.
The hair decoration feels a bit excessive…
Belle, who didn’t know such feelings, admired as she put a bright flower decoration in Arundel’s hair.
“Wow!! You’re so beautiful today.”
“Belle. Why does the decoration feel so excessive these days?”
“That’s because! After the incident…there are more eyes looking at Her Majesty.”
That was an acknowledged part.
Due to the Empress’s escape, leaflets were scattered all over the empire, and a random execution was held because of her.
Thanks to that, she could feel a gaze that couldn’t be compared to before.
“Besides, the coronation ceremony is coming soon.”
“The coronation ceremony, what?”
“Holding a coronation ceremony means that His Majesty the Emperor loves Her Majesty.”
“…So?”
“So, if you look pretty to the Emperor and hold a big event, wouldn’t he not see the concubines?”
At the word ‘concubines’, Arundel staggered for a moment.
In this gorgeous decoration, such a conspiracy was hidden.
“Who wouldn’t fall for such beauty!”
Belle patted her chest with a proud face. Then she opened her mouth with a little sense.
“Besides, everyone says they’re afraid of His Majesty, that he’s cruel, but in the end, who else but His Majesty would protect the Croyden Empire?”
“…”
“Even when the dragon appeared. If it wasn’t for him, who would have defeated that vicious dragon?”
Belle passionately defended Zion.
“In these chaotic times, we have no choice but to rely on His Majesty, right? Even the captain of the knights, Royden, retired.”
“You knew.”
Arundel’s expression hardened at the mention of Royden from Belle’s mouth.
She knew that Belle particularly liked Royden. So she felt sorry for Belle. In the end, the topic came up.
Belle, who is quick to hear news, would already know how he was injured.
“Don’t make that face. If it’s Captain Royden, he’ll definitely return!”
“…Would he?”
“And I heard that Captain Loyden is recovering at a terrifying speed.”
As if to comfort the gloomy Arundel, Belle clenched her fists and spoke vigorously.
“But it’s worrying that the position of the knight captain is vacant. I wonder who will fill that position.”
Belle muttered, looking out the window. Then, Belle, who came to her senses, dragged Arundel.
“I’ve been talking nonsense. Our Empress must go to the Emperor quickly!”
Arundel got on the carriage prepared by Belle.
Today, Cain had asked her to stop by Zion’s office.
[There’s still time, but I want to let you know the order of the coronation ceremony in advance. And who will attend.]
While she was distracted, she arrived at Zion’s office.
“The Empress has visited.”
At the shout of the guard, the door opened. Cain appeared between the open doors.
“You’re here.”
“Hello, Cain…but are you okay?”
Arundel greeted Cain and paused for a moment.
There were dark circles under his eyes, and just looking at them, she could feel his fatigue.
Arundel, who was looking at Cain with a worried face, turned her head at the sensation of something landing on her shoulder.
“You don’t have to worry about that. It’s all because that guy is incompetent.”
Zion, with his hand on Arundel’s shoulder, smiled bitterly.
“Incompetent!! While the Empress was gone, you couldn’t do anything…!”
Cain, who was arguing with Zion, abruptly stopped talking. He lost his mind for a moment due to fatigue. He momentarily forgot that his opponent was a malicious emperor.
“Hmm…So what I’m saying is, I’m pitiful because I haven’t seen my pretty girlfriend for a few days…something like that.”
“A girlfriend? Cain, you got a girlfriend?”
“Haha, it turned out that way. Even in the midst of chaos, there was a connection.”
Cain’s face, which had been dull, suddenly flushed. It seemed like he was thinking of his girlfriend.
“Ha… I miss her again when I think about it. She has a beautiful soul as much as her face, and her voice is like a cuckoo…”
Cain went on and on about his lover, even though no one asked.
But it was nice to see. Arundel liked the faces of people in love. Just watching from the side made her feel happy.
Arundel smiled faintly at the excited Cain.
“People in love are nice to see, aren’t they?”
Arundel asked Zion, who was wrapping her shoulder. But Zion’s expression…was a bit strange.
His brow was slightly furrowed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
But at Arundel’s question, he smiled as if nothing had happened.
“Then I’ll quickly tell the Empress about the order of the coronation ceremony. There’s still a lot to do, haha.”
Zion quickly enumerated the order of the coronation ceremony to Arundel.
“There will be a party in the evening. You can exchange greetings with the attendees then.”
“Okay.”
“You don’t have to worry about the others, just say hello to the Pope separately. He supported us a lot in the demon extermination case this time.”
The Pope…?!
Arundel couldn’t hide her surprise for a moment. Zion, who noticed Arundel’s stiff expression, stroked Arundel’s hair and said.
“You don’t have to be nervous. No matter how you act, no one can say anything.”
But Arundel wasn’t nervous.
‘If it’s the Pope… In the human world, he was the one with the highest divine power while serving Mannheim.’
The Pope is born with divine power. Like a saint.
And he was the only human who could communicate with Mannheim. He also played a role in conveying Mannheim’s will to people through faith.
‘No way…he won’t recognize me, will he?’
Arundel had never met the Pope. She just knew that such a being existed in the human world.
So she was more anxious. She was worried that the Pope might recognize that she was an angel.
A sense of unease crept up, but she composed herself. She didn’t want to stress over something that hadn’t happened yet.
‘Yes. Nothing will happen.’
Arundel comforted herself like that.
“Your Majesty, there’s nothing to worry about. This place, in a way, is a place where no one can overlook the display of imperial power. All Your Majesty has to do is hold your head high.”
Cain, looking pale, thought Arundel was worried about the coronation ceremony. He added an explanation as if to comfort her.
“Besides, thanks to the dragon that appeared at a good timing, we completely suppressed the opposing nobles.”
“…”
“But it’s strange. It’s said that a dragon, known as a forgotten monster, suddenly appeared. If it weren’t for the lightning that struck then, I wouldn’t have believed it even if I saw it.”
Cain stroked his chin, recalling that time.
Following the Pope, another uncomfortable topic followed.
Arundel, who knew about the existence of the dragon, changed the subject.
“Hahaha, Cain…don’t you have to work quickly?”
“…That’s right.”
Cain, who realized the reality, crossed over to the desk on the other side.
Arundel glanced at Zion, wondering if he had noticed. But he seemed to be thinking about something.
“…Are purple eyes common?”
“Huh?”
“I feel like I’ve seen a lot of people with purple eyes lately.”
Arundel felt a cold sweat trickling down between her hair.
That’s right.
As Zion had said, there was a common feature in the appearance of Hills. It was the radiant purple eyes.
The Crown Prince of the Shalbon Kingdom, the main body of Hills, and the dragon all had purple eyes.
But as much as Zion doubted, purple eyes were a very rare color in humans.
“And then you called me.”
Suddenly, Zion asked Arundel.
“You…?”
“At the moment I was about to strike the final blow to the dragon, you called me, didn’t you?”
Ah…
A forgotten memory came to mind.
[Zion!!]
At that time, the situation was tense and it passed quickly, but by calling Zion at that time, Hills was able to escape.
“…I was worried.”
At Arundel’s vague words, Zion asked back, “Huh?”
“I wanted to tell you to be careful.”
Fortunately, he didn’t seem to think deeply. It was a good idea to get out of this place before more talk came out.
“You seem busy, so I’ll go now…”
“Let’s eat together.”
But Zion caught Arundel’s wrist.
“It’ll be over soon, so just wait a little.”
Arundel couldn’t refuse and sat down again.
Arundel, who was idly waiting alone, looked at Zion and Cain alternately.
Both of them looked very busy.
But, definitely, their appearances were different. If Cain’s appearance looked tired as if he hadn’t slept for a few days, Zion was not.
He was as relaxed, neat, and beautiful as usual.
‘Even the look of concentration…is cool.’
The sight of Zion concentrating with his eyes downcast was like a sculpture made with all the skill of a craftsman.
The shimmering platinum hair flowing down beside his ears, the softly shining honey-colored eyes, and the flawless skin.
If you were to visualize beauty, it would look like that.
For a while, Arundel blankly admired Zion’s appearance.
“You’re going to poke a hole.”
Zion spoke in a low voice. His eyes were still on the paper on the desk, but he seemed to know Arundel’s gaze.
Suddenly, Arundel’s face felt like it was going to explode.
‘…Knowing that, he didn’t show any signs.’
Zion chuckled.
And he slowly got up from his seat.
“Let’s end it here for today.”
“..…”
“I can’t concentrate because of the hot gaze.”
At Zion’s teasing words, the one who actually reacted was Cain.
“So, am I off work now?!”
“Yes.”
“Hooray! I’m finally going home.”
Seeing Cain jumping around happily, Arundel asked him to change the subject.
“Do you like going home that much?”
“Of course. I don’t know how many days I’ve been sleeping in the palace. Because of that, I haven’t seen the face of my beloved fiancée…”
Cain said, sobbing.
“Since both of you are in love with each other, I believe you understand my feelings.”
At Cain’s words, the atmosphere in the office suddenly became tense. But the person who made the atmosphere like this was leaving the place.
“Anyway, Your Majesty, thank you! Thanks to you, I’m finally going home. Both of you have a good time!”
“…”
“…”
As soon as Cain closed the door and left, an unbearable awkwardness lingered.
‘…Love. Zion and I.’
Cain’s bomb-like remark was stuck in her mind and wouldn’t leave.
Zion has been affectionate and aggressive towards her lately…that’s true, but she never thought it was love.
When asked why they kissed, he gave a vague answer. The emotion of love didn’t match with Zion.
She knows that she is a special being to him.
That’s why Zion is obsessed with her and rushes to her.
But…love…
No matter how much she thought about it, it wasn’t that.
Not only did she think so, but Zion also frowned a lot. Rather, he looked upset.
Even,
“Let’s eat next time.”
He said that and left the office.
Arundel, who was left alone, looked desolate at the place where Zion had left.
‘What’s wrong…why do I feel so bad.’
Arundel, who was left alone, felt strange.
