The position of desperately courting
As soon as she came out of the inner room of the main palace and turned into the hallway, Riella took a deep breath and looked around.
After making sure there was no one around, she took out the necklace she had hidden in her arms.
‘The color has changed again. It’s blue.’
Elle’s necklace, with an oval-shaped gem at the end. Some of the red gems that Riella thought were rubies were also dyed blue.
‘I’m sure. It only turns this color when I’m near His Majesty.’
The reason Riella was hanging around Herhan all day was to confirm that.
She walked back and forth near the Emperor several times at intervals, and just in case, she deliberately walked around the entire palace to meet other people.
The results of the experiment were clear: the gem only reacted to Herhan.
‘How does it work?’
Riella stared at the mysterious red and blue gemstone, then suddenly realized something.
It’s not how the gem changes color that matters. The more essential question was. ‘why did El have this item?’
As her thoughts reached that point, many scenes flashed through Riella’s head.
The appearance of El, who stood in opposition to the emperor countless times.
When they went to catch the Shadow Merchant, he followed them, and just a few days ago, he showed up covered in wounds and pain for no apparent reason.
‘El…What on earth are you planning to do?’
Riella clutched the necklace, which had now turned purple.
Somehow, she had a bad feeling.
* * *
“No way…I don’t think that’s true.…”
‘Did Riella really know that I was preparing to marry her?’
Looking at the dazed Herhan, Jess was rather nonchalant.
“I don’t think you need to worry that much. After all, marriage isn’t something you can do alone. Speaking of which, let’s have a go at it today.”
“What do you mean…?”
Jess got up from his seat and approached Herhan with a meaningful expression.
He stretched out his hand and held out the contract he had drafted to Herhan.
“If you can make Miss Riella to sign this—”
Before Jess could even finish speaking, Herhan crumpled up the contract with one hand and threw it behind him.
As if he had expected such a reaction, Jess immediately pulled out another copy of the contract from his folder.
“Contracts aside, I think you should speak up, Your Majesty. Shouldn’t this be discussed with the person involved first?”
As Herhan crumpled up the third copy and threw it away, Asion said.
He was right. Before thinking about how to make Riella the empress, it was necessary to first ask Riella what she thought.
‘That’s nice, but if I’m asking for her opinion, that means I proposed to her.’
Herhan’s back began to ache.
Jess quickly noticed her master’s intentions and opened her eyes wide.
“Are you scared?”
“Scared of what?”
“You’re afraid that you might be rejected by Miss Riella.”
“What? Rejection? By Riella? Me?”
At those words, Herhan opened his eyes wide and then burst into laughter.
Ever since Asion walked into the office today. No, in all the time he’d spent with Jess, it was the loudest, most raucous laugh Herhan ever had.
“I was rejected by Riella? You don’t know how deep and strong our relationship is.”
“Yes. I don’t know. I don’t care. All I know is that no matter how deep the love is, marriage is a different matter.”
Herhan’s laughter suddenly stopped at Jess’s words that he had accepted without giving up. His once triumphant face turned ashen again.
“Well, we are fortunate that Your Majesty is confident. However, if there is anything you would like to prepare, please tell us. A title, a money. Or even a castle.”
‘Titles, money, and castle.’
Jess tilted her head at her master’s somewhat blank expression despite the concrete suggestion.
“You weren’t planning on leaving empty-handed, were you? Your Majesty. Even beasts use special bait to seduce females.”
“Are you asking me to seduce Riella with a gift right now?”
“There’s no harm in being prepared. Since you’re in the position of desperately courting her.”
At that point, Herhan suddenly got up with a face full of anger.
“I’m not in a position to court her desperately. We love each other equally. I don’t need bait to lure Riella.”
“Oh. Is that so?”
“Yeah. That’s what I’m saying.”
Herhan snorted, completely taken in by Jess’s provocation.
“I’ll show you. I’ll go and get Riella’s consent to the marriage right now. Without any tricks, very straightforward.”
* * *
‘Huh…I think it’s ruined.’
In front of the dining room table, which was more lavishly laid out than ever before, Herhan thought so.
“Your Majesty, have you no appetite?”
“Oh, no.”
Riella smiled along with Herhan, who was trying hard to make a kind expression.
Since it was her first formal dinner, Riella was more careful about her appearance than usual.
Still, as usual, it was just the two of them sitting across from each other at the lavish dinner table.
Although there was no particular reason to be nervous, Herhan looked visibly uncomfortable tonight.
Riella flicked the tines of her fork against the crispy crust of her bread and asked quietly.
“Is it because of me?”
“What?”
Seeing the emperor jump in surprise even with a small question, Riella wondered if her guess was right.
“I was too annoying to Your Majesty during the meeting today and I asked you to take the time out of your busy schedule—”
“That’s absolutely not true, Riella.”
“Then why…? Did you have a problem that you couldn’t solve during the meeting?”
Riella put down her fork and placed her hand on the back of Herhan’s instead.
It was a small hand, only half the size of Herhan’s large one, but it was warm enough to warm Herhan’s heart.
“If you have any difficulties, please let me know. There may be something I can do to help. That’s why I study hard.”
“……”
Herhan’s head was already spinning, but he was even more mesmerized by Riella’s sparkling eyes.
At that moment, in Herhan’s eyes, Riella already appeared as an empress wearing a sparkling crown.
‘If Riella becomes the empress, will every day be like this? Trusting and relying on each other, running the country together. Doing all our daily routines together.’
When he thinks about it, this is really a big deal.
‘This is not something I’m just going to flirt with.’
It was a request to Riella to become completely his own person, and further, to become the mother of all the people of the empire.
How could he think to come to her, empty-handed, with such important words, to a woman so big, so great, so worthy of his love?
“Your Majesty? Where are you going all of a sudden?”
“Oh…I just remembered something really important that I missed. Riella. Please, just wait a minute. Can you wait here?”
“Oh, yes. That’s not difficult.”
“Just wait a moment. Don’t eat anything and just wait. I’ll be right back.”
Herhan, who ran out of the dining room like that, immediately called the head butler of the main palace.
“Can you get me a bouquet of flowers right now?”
“A bouquet of flowers…?”
“Yes. Go pick some flowers from the garden right now.”
“Yes, I will call the gardener. But it will still take an hour.”
Herhan sighed, pressing his temples.
‘It was impossible.’
He ran out in a hurry, but it was not feasible to give Riella all the flowers he picked from the garden.
Even if he gave her the treasures he dug up through the snow and the snowfield, it was not enough.
‘Then what should I prepare? Should I go back and get Jess’ help?’
At that moment, Herhan, who was peeking into the dining room with a troubled mind, caught a glimpse of a certain scene.
It was a scene where Riella, who seemed to be waiting for him calmly as he had requested, was staring intently at a necklace that she took out from her arms.
‘That necklace I saw this morning? She must treasure it very much.’
It was only then that Herhan realized that he had never given Riella a single proper piece of jewelry.
Aside from the one he had sent to the Lake Palace as part of the royal protocol, the only gift he had personally given her was a hairpin he had picked out at the Imperial Palace’s shopping district.
At the end of the hallway, he saw the maids of the West Palace chatting among themselves.
Herhan approached them and pointed to one of them, pretending to know her.
“Lady igdnis. Are you waiting for Riella?”
“Yes, yes! I see your Majesty.”
All the maids, including Loriell, bowed.
“If you don’t mind, I have something to ask you. It’s a personal question.”
Again, the words were directed at Loriell.
The other maids had retreated and left the hallway, leaving only the two of them there.
Loriell was unable to raise her head. It was because she was trying to hide her face which was so red it felt like it was going to burst, but Herhan had no idea about that.
“Do you like jewels?”
“Yes?”
“You seem to know. Didn’t the business of Count Igdnis’s family specialize in jewels?”
“Yes…That’s true,…what can I do for you?”
Loriell, who had been shyly raising her head with a face full of anticipation, almost collapsed in her position as she lost strength at the Emperor’s subsequent words.
“I’ll tell you the details tonight. I’ll send someone later, so come inside. Oh, by the way. I’d like you to keep this a secret from Riella.”
* * *
That night, Riella was alone in her lake palace bedroom.
The emperor said he had important work to do and would stay up all night at the main palace.
‘For an important meeting, for important overtime work. And he suddenly ran out while we were having dinner earlier….’
‘What’s going on? Has the Emperor noticed something about Sir El?’
Riella kicked off the covers and sat up, looking at El’s jewel again.
In her palm, the gem glowed red again.
She looked at it over and over again, pondering the possibilities, but somehow, the conclusion only seemed to flow in one direction.
‘I have a feeling that El’s target is His Majesty.’
Riella didn’t know much about politics, but she knew that someone in a position as important as the emperor was always under threat.
Even Herhan is a special person. Because he is a descendant of Enril.
‘Even Fabian was taken to a detention center because he was a descendant of Enril. What if they found out that his majesty was a descendant of Enril…?’
‘I’m worried about His Majesty.’
It was really funny. The Emperor has adjutants by his side who are incomparably stronger and more capable than she is. But somehow, Riella felt that she had to protect Herhan.
Rather than simply a desire to be by Herhan’s side, a feeling boiled deep within her heart.
‘I should go. If you’re busy, I can help you. Or I can stay up all night with you.’
Riella opened the closet.
It was late at night, and she didn’t want to wake the maids, especially Lou, who had been sleeping so much lately that it was hard to tell if she was tired or not.
‘Just put on a simple coat…’
As she was hastily grabbing her clothes, she reached inside the closet, and just like that, Riella’s hand went in and the inside wall of the closet was pushed away.
“Uh…?”
* * *
