I am afraid that Your Majesty will disappear
“Hoamm.”
Jess, who had spent the night in the lab like any other day and fell asleep, yawned.
He forced himself not to sleep by rubbing his sleepy eyes, and where he unconsciously reached out, there were dozens of flasks lying there.
“Ah….The reagent reaction…”
Jess’s eyes immediately widened as he compared several flasks that showed changes overnight to the journal next to them.
The sleepiness that had been weighing down his eyelids disappeared at once.
Jess, who had already turned pale, looked at the journal again and again.
He finally solidified his suspicions about the identity of the ‘fake medicine’ after comparing Carnell’s investigation journal with all the journals from when the ‘fake medicine’ was first discovered.
‘This doesn’t make sense.…’
Jess, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling for a while and sighing, eventually stood up with clenched fists and headed towards Herhan.
Whether it made sense or not, he was going to tell his lord first.
“Where are you going…?”
“Ah. Jess.”
It was Asion who answered on behalf of Herhan, who only spoke up and did not continue.
“He is going out to inspect the imperial city. ah…Isn’t that a date?”
“A date…?”
“Yes With Miss Riella.”
Jess fell silent, suddenly realizing that her lord was uncharacteristically cheerful.
If he thinks about it, His lord has always been like that recently.
Despite the fact that state affairs are still troublesome as before, he always seemed to be in a good and light mood recently. It was all thanks to Riella.
‘She said she would be his Majesty’s peace….’
Even Jess, who was skeptical about whether that woman’s moves would work, had no choice but to admit it.
Still, Jess glanced at Herhan with worried eyes.
“your majesty. How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.”
“Does anything bother you?”
“Nothing.”
“Did you take your medicine this morning? You have recent headaches or hallucinations…?”
It was only then that Herhan realized something was wrong with Jess.
Seeing His lord’s silent glare like asking, “What are you doing now?”
Jess responded with a cheeky smile.
“Haha, it’s just my usual question, what’s wrong with that? I’m glad to see you’re okay, anyway. You can enjoy our Majesty’s outing at the Imperial City with peace of mind.
Have a nice trip. Even if a cooler guy than me offers you candy, you shouldn’t follow him. Understand?”
“Shut up. Jess.”
In the end, Herhan ended up glaring at Jess a little.
Today, Herhan was too excited to notice the subtle anxiety hidden in Jess’ joke. In fact, he had been tying and untying his cravat dozens of times.
“Be careful. Especially keep an eye on His Majesty.”
“I can do my job without you nagging me.”
“I finally discovered the identity of the fake medicine.”
“what? What is it? Is it very dangerous?”
“That is… A little yes. It’s a bit hard to talk about it in this atmosphere. I’ll report it when you return in the evening. So please take care of His Majesty.”
“Okay. Don’t worry. See you then.”
No matter how many times he adjusted his clothes, he still wasn’t satisfied, so he called for his servant.
Meanwhile, Jess and Asion stood there, their faces serious and determined.
Compared to His lord preparing for an outing, they looked as if they were about to go to battle.
* * *
“Miss Riella! You look so beautiful today!”
As Lou, holding a parasol, jumped up and down and spoke, Riella’s vision kept getting obscured.
“Lou. Calm down.”
“uhh. sorry. I’m so excited to think that today is your first date!”
Lou was right.
The justification was to go out to check on public affairs and city affairs, but Riella clearly knew that what the emperor was actually proposing was a ‘date’.
‘’A date with His Majesty.’ Although it was unfamiliar, it was also true that I was excited.’
“Lou, that makes me even more nervous. What do you think, am I okay? don’t I look awkward?”
“Oh, no, it’s not awkward, you’re the prettiest woman in the world! You can just walk out there like this and everyone will stare. Ahh…. What should I do?”
“What?”
“His Majesty already thinks you’re beautiful, but what if he falls in love with you even more here?”
Just as Riella was blushing shyly, unable to respond to Lou’s words, the emperor approached from across the room.
Herhan was always gorgeous, but today was extra special.
He wasn’t in his usual uniform.
Dressed in a light coat, an amber brooch, and black leather gloves, he approached with the sound of his shoes clicking, he looked like an arrogant nobleman Riella might have encountered somewhere in her mercenary days.
‘Ah. Should I leave out the fact that he is arrogant?’
To relieve the tension, Riella deliberately thought of it as a joke and took a step forward.
Herhan approached at a faster pace than Riella.
“Riella.”
“yes. your majesty.”
“You look beautiful.”
“Suddenly?”
“He’s been nagging me so much that I have to say that when I start dating.”
Asion, who was following Herhan a few steps behind, shrugged his shoulders.
While Riella was exchanging pleasant glances with Asion, Herhan came up to her and kissed the back of Riella’s hand and added.
“Of course, I didn’t mean it half-heartedly. I mean, you are really beautiful…”
Riella smiled shyly.
‘The word ‘beautiful’ Even though I had heard it dozens of times from the maids who helped me prepare and from Lou, why was it so different to hear it in His Majesty’s voice?’
The coolness against the back of her hand. The soft smile. And the summer sunlight dazzling all those tickling sensations.
Everything was perfect.
“So At this point, shouldn’t you just say that I’m cool too?”
“Your Majesty…hmm. You look the same as usual.”
“what?”
Herhan’s eyes flicked to Riella, who had been listening too well lately.
Riella thought with a lovely smile in front of him.
‘May it be as usual. May your today and tomorrow be the same as yesterday. May you be with me today, just as you were with me yesterday. As usual.’
“Come on. Let’s go, Your Majesty.”
The two held hands.
Instead of Herhan, who always reached out first, it was Riella who held his hand first today.
* * *
It wasn’t a stealth mission.
The emperor did not inform the Imperial city in advance that he was going to be out in the streets, and he didn’t have a procession of secretaries following in his wake, or guards. Moreover, he was dressed like any other nobleman.
Thanks to this, Herhan and Riella were able to roam the streets of the imperial city quite freely.
“I didn’t know Bachvorden was such a lively place.”
“Yeah.”
Riella realized after hearing Herhan’s answer. Walking such a busy and prosperous street was an unfamiliar and exciting experience for Herhan.
“Shall we go over there? They sell fun-looking toys.”
“You want me to buy it?”
“No, I’m not asking you to buy it, I’m just asking you to look at it!”
Walking around the bustling crowd of people and looking around the shopping district was something Riella was more familiar with than the Emperor.
‘I finally have something to teach his Majesty.’
With such a happy heart, Riella eagerly held Herhan’s hand and took the lead.
Herhan, who had been wary of his surroundings in case Riella might get hurt, was also laughing along with Riella and enjoying the leisure time.
When they found a furniture store, Herhan even suggested that they take a look inside first.
“Do you want to buy that? Three identical beds?”
“Don’t you think you might need it?”
“yes? There’s already a bed in my bedroom.”
In front of Liella, who tilted her head, Herhan answered very seriously.
“It would be nice to sleep here and there. I’ll put one bed in each room. We never know where you might suddenly faint, so we should always be fully prepared.”
“Oh, no, that’s…!”
As Riella blushed profusely, Herhan’s serious eyes change into a mischievous smile.
‘You’re teasing me again!’
In anger, Riella clenched her fists and turned around, but Herhan
immediately hugged her from behind.
“Where are you going? You have to stay with me when you faint again.”
“That….”
“That’s why I deliberately moved your residence to the lake palace, which is closer to my bedroom.”
“S-Stop! your majesty!”
Riella squirmed in Herhan’s arms.
Only then did Herhan let go of Riella, letting out a bright smile.
Fortunately, he accepted Riella’s resistance and did not really take the bed.
However, in exchange for giving up the bed, she thought for a moment and proposed a negotiation plan.
“It’s okay if it’s something you can hold with one hand.”
“Good. I’ll do that.”
It was Riella’s mistake. The intention was that it would be a light gift, but it ended up giving Herhan a legitimate excuse.
Riella barely managed to calm Herhan, who was storming the jewelry store with the intention of emptying all the shelves.
“Not this much! Just one. That way I can cherish it more.”
“…..”
As if those words had an effect, Herhan, who was running wild, flinched and stopped moving.
“Just one. Instead, Your Majesty, please personally choose the one that suits me best.”
“You are asking quite a difficult request. They all look good on you.”
As Herhan said that, he began to select the items with the most careful look on his face that Riella had ever seen.
Riella thought it was cute to see him touching the tip of his chin and furrowing his eyebrows while seriously contemplating it.
Herhan’s hand gently smoothed Riela’s hair on one side of her hair, as she slightly lowered her head and chuckled inward.
In the place where Herhan’s hand passed, there was a hairpin that he had chosen after much thought. It was a hairpin with delicately sparkling jewels carved in the shape of flower petals.
“Woah…”
“As expected, pretty.”
Herhan nodded with satisfaction, as if he had expected that to happen.
“Yes. Really. It’s such a pretty hairpin.”
“I wasn’t talking about hairpins.”
Herhan’s low chuckle flew into Riella’s ears.
“Anyway, keep your promise. You will cherish it very dearly for the rest of your life.”
‘For the rest of your life.’
Riella, who had been smiling the whole time, paused slightly at those words.
In the midst of his happiness, he suddenly remembered Jess’s words.
‘You must never break down in front of His Majesty. ‘Never.’
Riella composed herself again and smiled brightly.
‘Yes, I am so happy, and moreover, His Majesty is so strong, so there is no need to intentionally think negatively.’
But the crisis struck at an unexpected moment.
“Are you sure you can’t?”
“You already bought me a hairpin.”
“Yes. That’s because it’s a dress that matches perfectly with that hairpin. You would look really pretty in it.”
Riella had no choice but to go into the dressing room at Herhan’s request, which was like begging her to try on those dresses just once.
However, the problem was that she rejected all the employees in order to be comfortable with the emperor.
While changing dress in the room, no matter how hard she tried to reach, she couldn’t reach the button on the back.
‘Ah. I can’t ask His Majesty to do this for me.’
Riella thought about calling an employee again, so she slightly opened the room curtain and poked her head outside.
Just then. Her eyes caught sight of Herhan sitting on the couch in the waiting room, gasping for breath and in pain.
“Your Majesty, what happened? Are you okay?”
Riella’s voice trembled.
Herhan must not have heard Riella’s call properly, so he continued to hold his neck and breathe heavily. His face, which had been peaceful with a smile all day, was now frowning.
Riella’s heart sank at that sight.
“Your majesty!”
Riella ran towards Herhan, completely forgetting that she had not even finished adjusting her dress.
“Ri, Riella?”
Herhan called out, startled by her sudden appearance, but Riella could not hear him.
Riella just desperately hugged Herhan tightly and trembled.
‘It’s okay, everything will be okay.’
It was a moment when all she had worked hard to hold on until now came crashing down.
“Riella. What’s wrong…?”
“I don’t want your Majesty to die. I am afraid that Your Majesty will suddenly disappear.”
* * *
