Britia returned to the emperor’s office very carefully. The emperor, whom she thought would be writing a letter, was not at the desk.
Has he gone somewhere in the meantime? What should I do then? Can I go back?
Britia, who was wandering around for a while and heading towards the sofa, was startled. The emperor was lying down with cucumber slices on his eyes.
“What did the empress say?”
The emperor, who noticed Britia’s presence, asked in a tired voice.
“It’s a cliché story, but I asked for nothing. The empress is always busy talking bad about me.”
The emperor snorted and folded his arms before Britia could answer. At first glance, it seemed like a leisurely action, but his neck was stiff.
“I was wondering how Your Majesty is doing.”
“…So what did you say?”
“I said that you are not feeling well because you are worried about the argument you had with the Empress…”
“I’m not feeling well? Me?”
The emperor interrupted Britia’s words and clicked his tongue, saying that she had just been talking nonsense. Then he closed his mouth tightly for a while and finally spoke again with difficulty.
“How was the empress?”
“She seemed very heartbroken.”
Britia answered cautiously. At least before she saw the letter, the empress looked very sad, so it wasn’t a wrong thing to say.
“Heartbroken…….”
The emperor repeated the words and took the cucumber off his eyes and put it in his mouth. He got up from the couch and sat down at the desk, exhaling deeply.
“Heartbroken…….”
He muttered, as if the story still bothered him.
“Did you see any tears?”
The emperor’s face, which was asking the question in a strange, possessed voice, showed a sign of impatience.
“There were tear marks, so I guess….”
Britia trailed off with a troubled expression. The emperor turned his eyes to the letter with a hardened face.
** * * * ** * ** * * ** *
At the same time, Sig, looking gloomy and with a shrinked back, went to see the crown prince. He had just gone to the emperor and asked to see Britia.
“But His Majesty said no?”
Sig slowly nodded, pursing his lower lip in response to the crown prince’s question. The crown prince felt sorry for Sig, but on the other hand, he found him cute.
Can the sadness of not being able to see the woman you love be so great?
“But I’m curious. What on earth is His Majesty doing with Britia?”
The crown prince asked slyly, thinking that Sig might know something.
“Britia told me a while ago that she has some kind of mysterious power. Maybe she’s using that power.”
Sig’s slumped shoulders twitched. The crown prince, who didn’t miss that, looked at Sig.
“Do you know what her power is?”
“I’m sorry, brother. I can’t tell you about something Britia is keeping a secret. Please forgive me.”
The crown prince became even more curious about her power when Sig, who never kept secrets from him, refused so flatly.
“If you can’t tell me, I won’t press you any further. But you can still go and comfort the empress, right?”
Sig nodded at the words that his comfort would not work at all, but that he would be grateful if he could do it.
Sig’s face was still gloomy as he left the room and headed for the empress.
“I thought it was strange that things were going according to plan. Usually, Lord Duke would have caused some trouble by now.”
The vice-commander, who had been following quietly behind, blurted out. Sig glared at him as if he was going to kill him, and the vice-commander shrugged.
“Oh, of course, I know it’s not lord Duke this time.”
The problem was the emperor, a bad-tempered man who was using Britia as a hostage to vent his anger on others after fighting with his wife.
The vice-commander was convinced that Sig’s annoying side, which often ruined his plans and made things difficult for him, must have been inherited from the emperor.
“No matter who’s causing the trouble, it looks like we’re not going to get permission to marry, and we’re going to be separated from the young lady for life.”
The vice-commander said, following him quietly.
“Is my uncle going to keep me from seeing Britia?”
The vice-commander shrugged at Sig’s sad voice.
“I wish I could say no, but that’s His Majesty the Emperor….”
At least until he reconciles with the empress, you may not even be able to see a single strand of the young lady’s hair. The vice-commander muttered.
Sig’s heart ached at the thought of not being able to see Britia.
“For now, it’s important to appease the Empress’s mood,” the vice-commander said, but he was skeptical about Sig’s ability to do that. He didn’t think it would be easy to comfort an angry woman, even the Crown Prince had failed at it. It seemed difficult to uplift the Empress with just a few words.
Can Sig Thrace pull it off? Probably not. But what choice did he have? He couldn’t just stand by and do nothing.
“Under no circumstances should you say anything that may affirm the Emperor’s actions, even accidentally,” the vice-commander cautioned.
“Focus on empathizing with the Empress’s words. Show your attention and respond accordingly,” he added.
Sig nodded, keeping the vice-commander’s words in mind. Though he felt inadequate, he headed towards the Empress with a determined face.
“Why do you come in with such a scary expression?”
Contrary to his expectations, the Empress looked unusually content. It was a stark contrast to the Crown Prince’s warning about her sensitive state.
“It’s a letter exchanged between Britia and me. Seems like he has been writing me letters non-stop,” the Empress said, her face still filled with laughter.
Sig’s heart grew complicated.
“I’m glad that you seem to be enjoying it, Your Majesty. And it seems like you’ve also met Britia.”
“I haven’t even seen a single strand of her hair because my uncle said it wasn’t allowed.”
As Sig muttered with a sad face, the Empress coughed in embarrassment. She realized that she had been oblivious to his feelings, lost in her own happiness.
“So, you want to see Britia that much?”
“Yes.”
In response, the Empress stifled her laughter.
“Then will you continue to wait with me? I don’t know when, but she’ll come to see me. Bring the letter with you.”
Sig’s face brightened slightly at the Empress’s suggestion.
Britia left the Emperor’s office with a box full of letters discarded by the Emperor. She hurried towards the incinerator, pretending to dispose of them, but instead ran to her bedroom where the Empress was waiting.
Once, the idea of being suspected as the Empress’s spy was absurd, but now she was actually acting like one. Britia’s heart pounded.
What would happen if she got caught by the Emperor? He wouldn’t just let it go.
Fearful thoughts raced through her mind, but on the other hand, the excitement of the adventure kept her moving forward.
“Your Majesty, Lady Lockhart has arrived.”
The maid announced, and the Empress’s voice called out from inside the bedroom, urging her to enter. As the door opened, a large shadow loomed over Britia as she was about to step inside.
Britia gasped in surprise and held her breath for a moment. The owner of the shadow embraced her before she could even recognize who it was.
“Ugh!”
Britia groaned momentarily at the sudden force of the hug. But she didn’t tense up any further. It was a familiar feeling.
“I apologize. I was too impatient and failed to control my strength.”
Sig apologized and loosened his grip slightly.
“Sig.”
Britia called out his name, and Sig silently looked into her eyes.
“I missed you.”
Britia smiled softly at Sig’s low, whispering voice. Her heart fluttered with happiness, unlike the thrill she felt before.
“More than me?”
“Yes.”
“I fall asleep every night thinking of you, and yet…”
“Sometimes I have trouble sleeping because I’m thinking about you.”
Britia felt herself getting tipsy with happiness even though she thought it was childish to compete over who loved each other more.
The tension she felt while dealing with the sensitive Emperor melted away.
“It’s fine if you keep doing that, but could you please give me the letters first?”
The Empress said, looking at the two of them with fondness.
Only then did Britia remember where she was and why she came, and she jumped away from Sieg in surprise.
Britia dumped the letters discarded by the Emperor on the table. The Empress, surprised by the amount, opened one carefully, her mouth agape.
“[…Just looking at Britia Lockhart face annoys the hell out of me. I miss you. If only I could say these words to you in person, but what’s the problem with me…]”
“I see that you understand there’s a problem,” the Empress chuckled, her eyes flicking to the next letter.
“[…How fortunate that our son takes after you. Even at his age, I want to tousle his hair. But that brat has never called me ‘father’ even once, only ‘mother,’ and sometimes he really gets on my nerves. Just a few days ago…]”
“[…Actually, I can give you sweaters as many times as you want. If you promise not to divorce me, if you promise not to utter those words again, I’ll give you everything you desire…]”
Seeing the corners of the Empress’s mouth lift as she read the letters, Britia felt relieved. But there was no time to waste.
“Sig, I have to go.”
“Do we have to part ways already?”
She had waited for so long. Her heart wavered at his plea to stay just a little longer. But no matter how much she didn’t want to send Sig away, no matter how much she wanted to be with him, she had no choice.
She had to remain in the incinerator, pretending to burn the letters. If she lingered here any longer, the Emperor would surely grow suspicious.
If she were caught stealing the letters, there would be no escape.
Britia sighed, feeling a pang of regret as she gently stroked Sig’s face. And with tears in her eyes, she reluctantly said her goodbye.
She hurried back to the Emperor’s office with an empty basket in her hand.
“You’re late.”
She had returned as quickly as she could, yet the Emperor glanced at his watch and spoke.
“Did you take a detour or something?”
It was probably just a casual remark, but it pricked Britia, making her flinch involuntarily. And in response, the Emperor’s gaze sharpened.
“You seem uneasy.”
She wanted to deny it, to snap back that it wasn’t true. But the sight of her swallowing nervously felt suspiciously conspicuous.
“Did you come back after doing something else?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
“It’s infuriating to be lied to.”
Britia’s mouth went dry with tension. If only she could have hidden her lies a little better. The more she tried to avoid being caught, the more obvious it became, frustrating her to no end.
“Britia Lockhard, did you… with the letters…”
The Emperor narrowed his eyes and glared at Britia.
