The Northern Mad Dog Is Wagging Its Tail

  “Most beautiful, you say? Did you receive anything from the empress?”

  “Please stop, Your Majesty,” the Crown Prince intervened, calming the sulking emperor.

  “I also agree with her. Her Majesty the Empress is indeed a beautiful person. Don’t you think so too, Sig?” asked the Crown Prince.

  Sig quickly nodded his head in agreement. “My aunt is a beauty.”

  Britia, the Crown Prince, and Sig, all three of them denied my words and asserted that the empress was beautiful. Yet, the emperor’s tail wagged happily.

  “Hmph.”

  But looking at his smirk, it seemed like he genuinely found it unpleasant.

  “You’re siding with her because you look as ugly as the empress.”

  The emperor sneered, his words sharp.

  “Neither my aunt nor my brother are unattractive.”

  Instead of the Crown Prince, who only gave an awkward smile, Sig spoke seriously.

  “Brother is very handsome. Aunt too… Why would you say such things?”

  Sig looked genuinely upset and put on a serious expression. If someone else had said such things, they wouldn’t have let it slide. But because it was his father who spoke, he couldn’t do anything to intervene.

  “Thank you, Sig.”

  The Crown Prince looked at Sig, briefly closing and opening his eyes. He found Sig’s timid rebellion on his behalf admirable and gratifying.

  “I am content and proud of my appearance, which resembles that of the empress.”

  “Hmph, if you resembled me, it would be even more something to be proud of.”

  The emperor remained displeased with the appearance of the two individuals until the end. At least, that was how it appeared on the surface.

  However, to Britia’s eyes, a different scene unfolded. When the Crown Prince mentioned feeling proud, the emperor’s tail wagged so joyfully that it seemed uncontrollable.

  The emperor’s reaction and the movement of his tail—one of them must be a lie. But could the tail really tell a lie?

  In the first place, people were unaware that they even had tails. How could they engage in deceptive behavior with something they weren’t even aware of? Even those who could see their own tails didn’t know how to control them at will.

  Well, there were indeed people who could freely move their tails.

  Britia suddenly smiled, recalling the mischievous Harty who secretly hit people he didn’t like. He was a man who expressed his true feelings through his tail more than anyone else.

  In the end, there was no one who could lie with their tail. At least, as far as she knew.

  On the other hand, anyone could easily lie with their mouth.

  Britia reached a conclusion about the contradictory situation before her.

  The emperor loved his wife and was proud of their son, who resembled her. That was his true intention.

  “Don’t you think so? If my son resembled me, he would be much more handsome than he is now,” he said.

  But why did he keep uttering hateful words about those who loved him so much?

  Britia found it truly puzzling.

  “My brother is handsome enough,” Sig spoke, sounding saddened by the words his father kept saying today.

  “It seems you’re too busy taking your brother’s side when it comes to matters concerning him,” the emperor retorted, as if displeased with his response.

  “If you resembled His Highness the Emperor, perhaps there wouldn’t be anyone opposing Your Majesty [Crown Prince] right now,” seizing the opportunity, Grand0 Duke Camelon, the emperor’s half-brother who supported the opposition, made an abject gesture with a disgusting smile.

  “Yes, you’re right. It would have been exactly like that.”

  The emperor finally nodded with a satisfied expression. Sig had believed that it was only a matter of time before the emperor, who always seemed displeased with his son, would change his successor.

  Unfortunately, he was completely deceived by the emperor’s act.

  Britia observed the emperor’s tail, which had been wagging with excitement, suddenly stiffen as Sig spoke.

  “Britia Lockhart, don’t you think the same?”

  While pondering why he was displaying contradictory behavior, the emperor called out to her.

  “If the Crown Prince resembled me instead of the Empress, he would have become a proud son. Don’t you think so?”

  The emperor exerted pressure on Britia to respond, leaving her in a difficult position. If she agreed, she would resent it inwardly, and if she disagreed, it was obvious she would sulk and get angry.

  In the end, what did the emperor want to hear?

  Britia had no way of knowing how twisted and tangled the emperor’s affections were.

  If there was no right answer either way, should she just negate the question? Should she suggest that maybe he didn’t think that way?

  But would it be okay to respond like that to the emperor’s words?

  Britia’s dilemma deepened.

  “There’s no need to be cautious in front of the Crown Prince.”

  The emperor urged her to answer quickly.

  “As for Your Majesty…”

  As Britia hesitated, the emperor’s eyes narrowed.

 “Oh well, I don’t know.”

  Britia took a deep breath and spoke.

  “Although Your Majesty may say so, aren’t you already proud of His Highness?”

  There was a moment of silence.

  “…Have you not been listening to my words all this time?”

  The emperor turned the conversation around and looked at Britia.

  “I have been listening.”

  “Then why are you talking such nonsense? I’m curious.”

  In the sharpened atmosphere, Sig interjected between Britia and the emperor.

  “Father.”

  The emperor firmly raised his index finger to Sig, who was trying to provoke him. Then he flicked his finger to the side in the air, signaling for Sig to come forward immediately.

  Sig clenched his lips, exerted strength, and lowered his head. He thought his father’s eyes were shaking with anger.

  If he were to step back, he would unleash his wrath on Britia. With a desperate determination, Sig resisted and did not comply with the emperor’s intentions.

  Thanks to that, Britia couldn’t see the terrifying expression the emperor had on his face at the moment, as Sig was blocking her view.

  “If you ask why, it’s because Your Majesty’s pride in His Highness is evident to see. That’s the only answer I can give.”

  Britia answered, hiding the fact that she had spoken while observing his happily wagging tail. She believed she had responded well enough to prevent the emperor from suspecting her.

  However, it only led to the emperor’s misunderstanding.

  Evident to see? Does that mean he realized that my words and actions were all pretense?

  Everyone seemed to be deceived, and unknowingly, the emperor was feeling proud of his performance. But was I so transparent that he could see through it at a glance?

  The emperor was shocked and couldn’t utter a word. Though hidden behind Sig, it felt as if Britia was mocking him right now.

  Who would be fooled by such a clumsy act?

  Although Britia didn’t actually say those words, they seemed to echo in the wavering emperor’s ears.

  “Your Majesty, aren’t you satisfied with the fact that His Highness resembles Empress Your Majesty?”

  Britia, who couldn’t be seen, spoke again.

  “Because you love Empress Your Highness so much.”

  Was my voice too soft to be heard?

  As the emperor, who should be standing beyond Sig, showed no reaction, Britia shouted loudly.

  Everyone held their breath and watched the trembling hands gripping the reins of power.

  It had been over thirty years since they became a couple, and the marriage was driven by the emperor’s infatuation at first sight. However, he had never once shown that fact.

  Even when the empress was putting on her wedding dress, she didn’t know why he wanted to marry her. She could only speculate that he chose her because she was from a decent family, not too powerful or too insignificant.

  “Don’t expect to hear words of love from me.”

  She heard those words directly from the emperor on their wedding day. Speculation turned into certainty.

  He had truly never uttered words of love in ten years. Though she was told not to expect them, the empress, being human herself, couldn’t help but wonder if he might have developed some feelings for her as well.

  So, on their tenth anniversary, she had asked the emperor if there was even a small amount of affection or love between them. The emperor had a gut feeling that he couldn’t afford to avoid answering this question. However, attempting something he had never done before was excruciatingly difficult for him.

  Nevertheless, he managed to squeeze out the words “I love you” with a forced expression. The problem was that he did it with an extremely repulsive face.

  “I understand Your Majesty’s feelings. If you dislike it so much, you don’t have to force yourself.”

  After that day, the empress completely gave up on being loved as a wife.

  The emperor became anxious when the attention she used to show him gradually disappeared. With his twisted personality, he resorted to harsh words to regain her interest. As the empress began to fight back against his constant provocation, they lived for twenty years in a state of constant tension.

  There were even several serious crises that nearly led to divorce. They managed to avoid them only through force, but it was always precarious.

  Unable to even say words of love, let alone demonstrate it through actions!

  The emperor didn’t think his acting skills were that poor. If that were the case, the empress should have noticed earlier.

  But how on earth does this woman, Britia Lockhart, know!

  The emperor gritted his teeth as he stared at the innocent face of the woman who had subtly glanced at him by moving to the side, behind Sig.

  To calm his wavering emotions, the emperor took a deep breath and exhaled. Focusing on his breath, his chest gradually calmed down.

  “Did the Empress receive any instructions to speak to me?”

  If she truly was the Empress’s person and the Empress had finally noticed his feelings and sent her to test him? That’s what he thought, and his chest started pounding again.

  “She’s an interesting woman. I wonder if she’s skilled in hunting as well as in her sharp tongue.”

  In his mind, there were only thoughts of bears and hunting. He had no other way to confirm whether Britia was truly the Empress’s person.

  Meanwhile, Britia chuckled and wagged her tail, feeling relieved as she watched the Emperor’s perplexed expression. She believed she had given him the answer he desired.

  Afterward, Britia completely let her guard down and enjoyed herself as a spectator, completely unaware of the Emperor’s inner turmoil.

  Sig skillfully led the bear towards the Emperor, demonstrating his technique to weaken the bear’s strength. Finally, when the Emperor’s arrow cut off the bear’s breath, everyone around clapped their hands and celebrated.

  The hunting competition seemed to conclude smoothly with the Emperor capturing one bear and the remaining bear being taken down by a viscount.

  “I still have some matters to attend to.”

  When Britia mentioned that she would briefly return home before the banquet, Sig exhaled and spoke.

  “I will come to pick you up as soon as it’s over.”

  “You don’t have to go to such lengths. But thank you anyway.”

  Britia accepted his kindness with a bright smile. Even as she left his side, she couldn’t help but feel a bit regretful, finding his lingering gaze endearing.

  “Well then, let me return the words to someone… Who should I give them to?”

  As the Emperor stroked the borrowed words, trying to find a suitable person to return them to, one of the knights approached her.

  “Your Majesty is looking for you.”

  Curious about what was happening, Britia entered the mansion where he was waiting, feeling tense. With everyone else gone, there was no one inside except the Emperor.

  “I promise you twice the Empress’s value.”

  When Britia looked at him in confusion, the Emperor grinned.

  “You can refuse if you want. After all, you can’t leave this place alive.”

  The Emperor’s threatening gaze was chilling. Britia involuntarily swallowed her breath, unaware of her own reaction.