Sig swallowed hard and carefully turned to face Britia. As expected, she looked extremely angry.
“I heard everything.”
Sig found it difficult to meet her gaze.
“What do you mean?”
“I heard from the high priest. Please return the eye patch I made for you—the one you’re wearing now.”
Britia reached out her hand toward Sig. When he tried to grab her hand, she slapped it away. Sig’s eyes widened in shock. It didn’t hurt, but his heart felt heavy with sadness.
“Sig.”
“No.”
Britia sighed deeply.
“You can’t just refuse like that. What will you do if something happens?”
“It’s been a long time since I stopped wearing the one from the temple. But nothing has happened so far, so it’s fine.”
“So you’ve been in a dangerous state for a long time…!”
Britia shouted in disbelief, her face growing increasingly frightening.
“The high priest gave me a brooch instead,” Sig said urgently, pointing to the brooch pinned to his chest.
“Look, I’m wearing it. I’m actually safer than before.”
Sig tried to convince Britia, but his words fell flat.
“That brooch is just a temporary solution. The high priest himself said so.”
“Seems like the high priest is saying too muchm”
He shot a glare at the high priest, who was chatting with others not far away.
“Please give it back. Use the proper eye patch from the temple.”
“This is a proper eye patch!”
“Sig, why are you being so stubborn about this?”
Britia was exasperated at Sig’s refusal to budge.
She wasn’t trying to torment him; she was genuinely worried about him. But his innocent expression made her feel guilty, as if she were the one in the wrong.
“I love you, and this is something my beloved made for me.”
…Does he think I’ll cave in if he acts cute? Get a grip.
Britia shook her head vigorously, momentarily at a loss for words. No matter how adorable he was, she couldn’t let this slide.
“There’s no such thing as a dark spirit. So, you’ll be fine.”
“Of course there is! I saw one not long ago!”
They both witnessed it, but wait—oh no!
Recalling that day sent chills down Britia’s spine.
How dangerous had Sig been that day?
He could have been used by the dark spirit. Of course, she could have too, but the fact that the high priest warned him meant he was in a serious situation.
This can’t go on. She had to make him listen right away. This was about Sig’s safety—his life depended on it!
She had to take it from him, even if it meant forcing him. But the problem was that if she approached carelessly, Sig would instinctively evade her reach.
“Alright, Sig.”
Britia raised her hands in surrender.
“If that’s how you feel, I won’t say anything more. I’m sorry for shouting earlier.”
Britia opened her arms to reconcile. Sig hesitated for a moment but eventually stepped closer. She watched him draw near and then quickly reached for the eye patch.
“Britia!”
As expected, Sig was the strongest man in the empire. In an instant, he widened the distance between them, glaring at Britia with betrayal in his eyes.
“Just give it to me quickly!”
When Britia lunged forward, Sig took off running.
“Sig, you can’t just stand there!”
“No way!”
“Sig!”
Suddenly, a game of tag began between the two of them.
**********
Though the sun was still high in the sky, the empress was tipsy, her face flushed bright red.
It seemed like a lie that she was feeling down about her son’s upcoming marriage. The empress felt neither sadness nor tears.
If someone else were crying, she might have shed some tears too, but next to her was the emperor, who wouldn’t shed a single tear even if poked.
“I can’t understand why anyone would choose to get married on a hot day like this.”
His complaints nearly brought her to tears, but she quickly pushed those thoughts aside.
Instead, she took another sip of her drink. Sitting in the spacious garden beside the emperor brought back memories of the past.
“It reminds me of our wedding. It wasn’t even summer, but it felt especially hot that day.”
The emperor spat out his annoyance. The empress frowned; it was surprising to find they were thinking the same thing.
“I had no idea back then that you would turn out to be such a terrible person, Your Majesty.”
Her words slurred slightly as she spoke, the alcohol evident in her speech.
“You didn’t grant my request for a divorce, and you wouldn’t let me visit my hometown either.”
“This time, I said I would let you go back properly.”
“Right, you did. But about that…”
The empress tilted her head, feeling a little heavy-headed from the alcohol, which made her movements a bit exaggerated, almost like she was nodding off.
“I’m not dozing off.”
“I’m not even drunk!”
“……”
“What I mean to say is this: I thought I was just going on a short trip. But Your Majesty, are you planning to stay in the north with me for the rest of our lives?”
She had only just heard that he intended to pass the throne to their son and move to the north.
Though he had appointed their son as the crown prince, he had rarely acknowledged him directly.
Now, he had finally made up his mind!
While that thought filled her with joy, it was quickly followed by worry.
So that means I’ll have to face that horrible man all by myself!
With Britia and Sig, without the crown prince.
“If it’s just a short trip, I could handle that. But to be together all the time? I’m not sure I can do that.”
The emperor’s eyes widened in surprise as he focused intently on her.
Compared to her past reluctance to travel with him, this was a huge development.
But why did she feel unsure? What was making her doubt herself?
As the emperor stared at her intensely, the empress burst into laughter.
“Look at you. You’re making that face again.”
“What face?”
“The face that looks like you’re dying to eat me up!”
Leaning back in her chair, the empress let out a long sigh, feeling the effects of the alcohol.
“It’s been a while, so I have to ask: Your Majesty, what’s your ulterior motive for suddenly proposing to this innocent woman?”
She asked with a sly smile, as if she already knew the answer. All the reasons were laid out in the letters she had written, not expecting her to read them.
“Right, you said you loved me. You fell for me at first sight, didn’t you?”
The emperor mumbled something under his breath as he glanced at the empress. When she leaned closer, pretending she hadn’t heard, he responded.
“What did you say?”
“I said nothing at all.”
He feigned innocence, but the redness of his face gave away his lie.
“Are you saying you still love me even now?”
“When did I ever say that!”
His strong denial raised her suspicions. The empress propped her chin on her hands and gazed at him.
“Then you don’t love me?”
“Why are you so drunk?”
“I’m not drunk. Just tell me again.”
The empress urged, shaking his arm playfully. The emperor let out a groan of frustration.
What was she trying to do? It was already hot enough without her adding to it. Did she want him to melt from the heat? Why was she acting so mischievously?
“Drink some water and get a grip.”
But there was no water in the cup. The emperor commanded the head maid to fetch some.
“Your Majesty, please just say it. Are you embarrassed?”
The empress clung to him stubbornly, refusing to let go.
“Why are those kids running around kicking up dust? They’re old enough to know better!”
The emperor turned his gaze away from the tipsy empress, who was acting childishly, his head spinning from how overly affectionate she was being.
“Sig! Britia!”
He snapped at the two, venting his frustration as he couldn’t bring himself to push away the empress leaning against him. The two of them shuffled closer under his stern gaze.
“Listen up, you two,” the empress said with a silly grin.
“The emperor keeps saying he loves me but denies it! I’m just asking him to say it one more time; is that so wrong?”
At that moment, both Sig and Britia turned to look at the emperor in unison. The emperor scowled, as if to ask what they were staring at.
“Your Majesty,” the head maid entered with a cup of water.
“Enough nonsense. You just drink this.”
“I’ll drink it if you tell me you love me. If not, I won’t drink,” the empress pouted playfully.
The emperor chuckled in disbelief.
“Do you think I should beg you to drink water?”
“You’re not begging; you just need to be honest!”
“Why don’t you give it a try?”
The empress blinked and then burst out laughing.
“You think I wouldn’t dare?”
She looked to Britia and Sig, as if to seek their agreement, finding the whole situation amusing.
“Oh, why did I ever fall in love with someone like you?”
Her lament brought a frown to the emperor’s face, who had been secretly hoping for some sweet words.
“You know, I complain every day. Inside, I’m dying to tell you how much I adore you, but there’s this certain someone who just won’t say it, no matter what.”
She leaned against his arm with a sigh, her playful demeanor still intact.
“You don’t just say you love me; you only speak hurtful words. There have been countless times I thought about just running away.”
Britia had heard her say it before, right?
The empress laughed lightly, and the emperor shot a fiery glare at Britia.
You heard her say that and didn’t report it to me?
“It was a long time ago! The empress isn’t thinking that way anymore.”
“True, not anymore. But back then, it was real. Do you know why I couldn’t go?”
“How could you possibly do that? I was so…”
“You’re wrong. The reason I couldn’t run away without looking back was that I couldn’t forget that wicked face of yours.”
“Even thinking of you as wicked is a sign of my hopelessness. When did I become this way?”
It had been far too long since she pondered such things, and the empress murmured to herself. The emperor hesitated, his lips moving as if he were about to speak, then finally lowered his head. He whispered just loud enough for her to hear, but not for the audacious Britia.
The empress let out a quiet chuckle.
“Alright, I’ll keep my promise and drink some water.”
She gently brushed her lips against the emperor’s flushed cheek, barely touching, then took the cup from his hand.
Britia watched them with a satisfied smile, relieved to see their playful banter rather than an argument.
When the emperor called out angrily, she had worried something was wrong, but it seemed fine. Thank goodness!
As she relaxed, Britia felt a gaze on her and turned to find the head maid standing nearby, watching her.
Why is she looking at me like that? Her tail seems stiffer than usual, almost like she’s nervous…
As Britia tilted her head in confusion, a shiver ran down her spine. The last time she remembered, the head maid had a sleek, black tail.
So why does her tail look red now?
A person’s tail didn’t change color. Then what about the person?
Her gaze slowly drifted toward the cup of water the empress was holding. As she recalled who brought it, her mouth began to drop open in shock.
“Your Majesty!”
A chilling sense of dread filled Britia’s voice as she cried out, the warning sounding nearly desperate.
