The Northern Mad Dog Is Wagging Its Tail

  Excited, Britia took a deep breath and hurriedly left the reception hall.

 

  She felt both embarrassed that she had completely misunderstood and resentful that Sig had unintentionally led her to such confusion. She was annoyed by the gazes of the people who persistently followed her as she ran away.

 

  What’s so interesting about me? Haven’t they seen a disappointed woman before?

 

  She wanted to shout at them, but she knew they would enjoy it even more. Britia held back her anger. She needed to cool her head somewhere quiet.

 

  “Miss Lockhart.”

 

  But even that wasn’t possible. A servant called her and stood in her way. It was the same servant who used to belittle the Empress and the Crown Prince to please the Emperor in the hunting grounds.

 

  “The Emperor is looking for you. Please follow me.”

 

  What? The Emperor is suddenly looking for me?

 

  If it had been the usual Britia, she would have been taken aback and her eyes would have widened in surprise. But now she was in a twisted state, both physically and mentally.

 

  “If you want me to follow, why are you just standing there?”

 

  She sharply questioned the servant, who was observing her with suspicion.

 

  The servant, who had a vague impression when he saw her in the hunting grounds, was momentarily surprised to see her suddenly acting so differently. Then he deliberately straightened his chest and walked ahead, trying to hide the fact that he felt a moment of fear.

 

  “Finally, you’re here.”

 

  As soon as Britia arrived in the reception room guided by the servant, the Emperor sat on the sofa and clicked his tongue.

 

  “I called you a while ago, and you’re just now coming.”

 

  “You just called me. Even a magician can’t come faster than this.”

 

  The Empress, who was sitting across from the Emperor, blurted out. A tense silence hung between the Emperor and the Empress. The servants in the reception room held their breaths to avoid causing any trouble.

 

  “Why are you picking on me for every little thing today?”

 

  “Is it only today that you’re like this? I am just an ugly woman with a bad personality, as Your Majesty always tells others.”

 

  The Empress bit her lip.

 

  “If you know that fact, you should be a bit more careful with your words instead of constantly making fun of me. You haven’t changed at all.”

 

  “I’m telling you that you don’t have to accompany such a woman like me. You can be with one of your maids instead. It would make you happier to be with a young and lively girl, wouldn’t it?”

 

  Thrown into the sudden icy atmosphere, Britia rolled her eyes around, trying to assess the situation.

 

  It was quite different from the Empress who couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Britia’s cat embroidery. The Empress’s eyes were full of venom.

 

  “Everyone, leave. Except for Britia Lockhart.”

 

  The Emperor, who had turned away from the Empress’s gaze, issued the order.

 

  Britia watched anxiously as the servants left, leaving only her behind. Her head, which had been burning, was forcibly cooled down by the icy atmosphere. This was not how she wanted to cool her head.

 

  “Why didn’t you ask that girl to leave? Ah, you want to be with her. I didn’t realize.”

 

  “You’re going too far with your words. Are you trying to insult me?”

 

  “Me? Isn’t it always Your Majesty who tries to insult me?”

 

  The Empress turned her head and chuckled. Despite the anger in her voice, her tail showed no signs of being hurt.

 

  “I told you this morning as well. If you’ve been tormenting me for thirty years, please stop and kick me out.”

 

  “Hmph. Did you expect there to be something good about being in my presence?”

 

  The Emperor grumbled, and the Empress let out a long sigh.

 

  “I was foolish to expect something after hearing the stories from the hunting grounds. I naively believed a lie just to comfort myself.”

 

  The Empress’s murmuring expression was sad. Britia felt a heavy feeling in her chest as she looked at her face. She had hoped, but now she knew that it wasn’t true at all.

 

  “So, you were just trying to make my stories sound nice in front of you. Thank you for even thinking that way.”

 

  The Empress looked at Britia and spoke with a lonely voice.

 

  “I’ve never heard the words ‘I love you’ in my entire life, but I heard them from your mouth. Even if it’s a lie for my sake.”

 

  Britia felt like tears were about to burst out, as if she and the Empress were overlapping. She tried to hold it back, but her eyes kept getting moist.

 

  “Your Majesty, since you called this child here, let’s enter together. I won’t attend the party today and will stay here.”

 

  “Are you abandoning your duty as Empress?”

 

  “Yes, I am. Then the Imperial Chamberlain, who will be reviewing the divorce papers I applied for tomorrow, can learn about how I neglected my duties as Empress.”

 

  “Are you trying to piece together torn paper skillfully? Even if you do, my signature won’t be there, will it?”

 

  The Emperor looked down at the scraps of paper on the low table and chuckled. In response, the blood vessels in the Empress’s temple suddenly bulged.

 

  “Why on earth won’t you sign? Do you want to keep tormenting me for the rest of your life?”

 

  “Why? It’s inevitable to keep the Empress’s position occupied, isn’t it?”

 

  “Then please seat anyone in my place as Empress. Make any of my beautiful maids your Empress if you like them so much.”

 

  Britia, who was silently wiping her tears while sympathizing with the Empress’s sadness, suddenly felt a sharp energy from somewhere and was startled. The Emperor stared at her without saying a word, wearing a smile as if he had his own thoughts.

 

  “Well, Britia Lockhart. What do you want to say?”

 

  Britia didn’t have anything to say, but when her eyes met the Emperor’s, he smiled as if prompting her to speak.

 

  “Uh, um.”

 

  It seemed like he was asking her to say something, but what could she say in this situation?

 

  In her confusion, Britia suddenly remembered the 50,000 gold she received from the Emperor today. She had taken on the role of a messenger of love and received it for that purpose.

 

  “Your Majesty, it seems that you have no intention of welcoming someone else as your wife. Because…”

 

  Britia trailed off, realizing that she was mistaken again.

 

  She had heard the sincere desire to be a loyal dog, to be love and everything to the man she loved. But at least the Emperor didn’t truly love the Empress.

 

  Who was feeling sympathy and empathy for whom?

 

  Her tears and unnecessary fuss suddenly felt ridiculous to her.

 

  “Because Your Majesty loves the Empress. Really, sincerely, to the point that I envy you…”

 

  Britia had thought earlier that the Emperor was acting strange during the day, and she had considered how difficult it must be for the Empress to receive that man’s love. But now, she just felt envious of the Empress.

 

  “What did you say?”

 

  The Empress stared at Britia when she mentioned love. Britia’s face, which murmured that the Emperor truly loved the Empress, was tearful. It was a mix of being touched and feeling sad. Her expression was confusing.

 

  “You’re saying amusing nonsense.”

 

  The Emperor chuckled sarcastically. Then he immediately seemed to realize something.

 

  It was true that he called Britia to ask her to say those words. He had prepared himself mentally to some extent. But when his secret was exposed in front of the Empress, the Emperor couldn’t bear the embarrassment and ended up showing his usual self.

 

  The Emperor became anxious when he saw the Empress’s surprised face quickly turn into disappointment, as if saying, “Oh, I see.”

 

  There had been numerous crises before. But today was serious.

 

  ‘You Majesty and Sig have been so brave to find their own partners, so I guess it’s time for me to step back.’

 

  Since morning, the Empress had been saying such things with a pale face. He had thought it was something she always said and brushed it off, but he was worried all along. And then, just an hour ago, she had put the divorce papers she had signed right in front of her.

 

  Although he had torn them to shreds, it was just a piece of paper that could be recreated by signing it again.

 

  He spent thirty minutes mumbling to himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to say, “Don’t leave.” So the Emperor called Britia, hoping to change his wife’s mind, but his tongue got in the way again.

 

  The Emperor, inwardly desperate but outwardly angry, sent a furious gaze at Britia, as if asking how he could fix this.

 

  “You say that because you’re embarrassed, but you really do love her.”

 

  Well done, Britia Lockhart!

 

  The Emperor silently cheered for her.

 

  “If that’s true, why do you say it’s tiresome to enter together with me?”

 

  The Empress brought up the spark of a fight. She momentarily held the divorce papers in her arms, the ones she was about to throw at the Emperor after hearing about the hunting story from the Crown Prince. It was just in case, out of a slight hesitation.

 

  But then she got angry when she heard the word “tiresome.” She thought that if she truly loved him even a tiny bit, or if there was any affection between them, he wouldn’t say such hurtful things.

 

  “That…,” Britia looked at the Emperor for a moment. Judging by his drooping tail, it seemed like he was about to say something insincere.

 

  She wondered why he was giving her 50,000 gold coins each time. Maybe he was desperate because of the divorce crisis. If that’s the case, he could just say “I love you,” “Don’t leave,” or “I was wrong” with his own words. Why did he have to spend money like this?

 

  She still didn’t understand. Fundamentally, she was puzzled about why she was playing the role of a messenger. After all, she was someone who couldn’t even properly pursue a romantic relationship.

 

  “His Majesty didn’t like entering together with Her Majesty.”

 

  “…Are you saying that he didn’t like it because he loved me?”

 

  The Empress was disappointed, hoping for a better answer.

 

  “It’s not just entering together, but actually, His Majesty wanted to hold hands.”

 

  Britia racked her brain to come up with an excuse.

 

  “He wanted to hold hands? His Majesty?”

 

  The Empress’s voice grew louder, as if she had heard news of someone’s death.

 

  The Emperor almost shouted at her to stop talking nonsense, but he clenched his teeth and barely restrained himself. It was better to endure than to say it out loud.

 

  His hand, clenched in embarrassment, trembled, but when he looked at his wide-eyed, surprised wife, he managed to bear it.

 

  “If Her Majesty holds hands and enters with His Majesty today, then His Majesty will grant you one wish, anything Her Majesty wants.”

 

  After saying those words, Britia became worried that she might have said something too extreme. She glanced at the Emperor to see his reaction, and he widened his eyes and tilted his head, showing a surprised expression. However, he didn’t say anything to deny it.

 

  “…Well then, I will take a moment to think, so will you wait for 10 minutes?”

 

  The Empress didn’t believe that her husband truly loved her and wanted to hold hands. So, as a way to test him and because she disliked waiting more than anything else, she asked the Emperor if he didn’t want to wait.

 

  “If you don’t want to wait, you don’t have to.”

 

  The Empress chuckled and left the reception room without receiving a response from the Emperor. Once she felt that she was far enough, the Emperor took a long breath, which he had been holding in his mouth.

 

  “Britia Lockhart, you did something I didn’t ask for!”

 

  Britia was taken aback by the Emperor’s sharp voice. It was a stern and angry tone, but the Emperor was smiling.

 

  “What do you want?”

 

  The Emperor’s excited tail and smile matched rarely. Britia thought that if she spoke now, he might grant her any wish. What should she wish for in this perfect opportunity?

 

  ‘Please marry me to Duke Turas.’

 

That wish immediately came to Britia’s mind.