Herhan’s greatest desire
Even though he saw it with his own eyes, Jess’s bewilderment did not subside.
‘Why is the Queen’s sun in Miss Riella’s hand? Has his Majesty already proposed?’
This morning, Herhan was racking his brain, thinking that he might need to get a new ring.
Jess could still vividly recall the troubled look on his master’s face. And beside him, how grim had Asion looked?
‘Ha! Asion. That idiot. He grimaced like that without even knowing that the ring was with Miss Riella.’
Jess let out a dry laugh when he learned the ridiculous details of the lost ring incident.
‘What should I do? Should I tell Riella the truth, or should I call my lord here immediately?’
At the moment when he thought that it would be better to tease Asion a little more, that time, his eyes caught sight of Riella’s face.
A stunning ring that catches the eye with its dazzling brilliance.
But what caught his eye more than that ‘great ring’ was Riella’s expression.
‘Does she even know what ring it is, staring at it so seriously like that…’
Jess watched Riella for a while with his mouth shut.
Even after quite some time had passed, Riella did not take her eyes off the ring in her hand.
Deep eyes, filled with many thoughts and worries, stared blankly at the ring.
And in those eyes, Jess felt an eerie sense of familiarity.
The way she looked at the ring was exactly the same as how Herhan had once looked at it.
“I will make Riella happy.”
“Yes.”
“I will protect Riella even if it means giving everything.”
“Yes. Yes, of course, Your Majesty.”
Jess had never understood his master. Why did Herhan feel the need to spout such obvious, nauseatingly sweet sentiments?
And now, Riella stood before him, saying the same things Herhan had once said—exactly the same.
‘Unbelievable. Even if you don’t say anything, your hearts eventually connect. Is that what it is?’
Jess thought about it and shuddered alone.
The idea of himself succumbing to their romantic nonsense was absurd. The sun would rise in the west before that happened.
But the Emperor had chosen the straightforward approach yet again.
This banquet wasn’t just a trap to attract the Federation forces, but it was also a place for the Emperor to present Riella to the world as a potential empress.
Jess was skeptical of the plan. It would take a lot of time and effort for Riella to be recognized as empress.
That’s why he tried to get Riella to sign the contract without the Emperor knowing.
“Get your dress tailored first.”
“Yes?”
Jess abandoned the contract, leaving it on the floor, and returned to Riella.
“Here. I’ll give you a list. Call a few clothes shops right away—”
“Wait a moment. You said you were giving me a task to help His Majesty.”
“Yes, that’s it.”
Jess answered firmly to Riella, who was tilting her head.
“At the banquet, you must be the most dazzling person in the room. Someone everyone will look up to.”
‘How does that help His Majesty?’
Instead of asking aloud, Riella mulled over Jess’s words in silence.
“Do you know what that ring is?”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Riella flinched and straightened up.
She thought she’d hidden it well, but he’d already noticed.
Riella looked at him and answered cautiously.
“I’m still not sure. I’m just guessing that it’s a magic stone with some kind of mystical power, like Sir El’s necklace.”
‘The clever girl got it all wrong this time.’
Jess just chuckled and didn’t say whether that was right or wrong.
Riella asked in a slightly timid voice.
“Are you going to tell His Majesty that I have this?”
“Well, let me think about it.”
Before she could protest, Jess continued,
“Let’s do this. I will pretend not to know about the ring for the remaining three days until the banquet. So, during that time, you can think about the ring’s meaning. If you still can’t figure it out by the banquet, then you can report it to His Majesty yourself.”
“Is that okay?”
“If you return it before the banquet, His Majesty will have no major problems.”
‘Of course, Asion will die.’
Jess smiled mischievously, as if he found it amusing.
* * *
Riela felt as if she’d tried to solve one problem only to gain two more.
Riella, who was trying to find something to do for Herhan, was not only given the mysterious order to ‘become the most dazzling person’, but also ended up taking on the homework of finding out the meaning of the ring.
‘What exactly is this ring? Why won’t they tell me outright? Should I ask Lou instead…?’
Riella hesitated and then shook her head.
Something about Jess giving her that homework sparked her competitive spirit.
Now she was certain the ring was no ordinary piece of jewelry.
Thus, at the crack of dawn, Riela found herself in the imperial library.
She scoured the archives, combing through every ancient text on the myths of Ann and Enril and even consulting gemstone catalogs. Yet, she found no clues about the ring’s identity.
‘hah….I really don’t know. Should I go to a specialist?’
At that moment, loud footsteps were heard from outside, and the door to the library opened wide.
“Riella!”
“Your Majesty?”
It was Herhan who rushed inside, with dozens of soldiers following behind.
Riella, who had been buried under a pile of books, suddenly sat up.
What is the pale expression on Herhan’s face, and what are the soldiers following him doing?
“Your Majesty? What’s going on? Weren’t you in a meeting? What’s going on here?…”
‘Is there a war? Or is there a thief somewhere?’
Before she could finish her thoughts, Herhan rushed forward and pulled her into his arms.
“I was worried because you disappeared.”
Herhan’s gasping breathing. A hot sigh of relief bursts out through the gap.
Riella felt touched for a moment.
Herhan’s body, which was embracing Riella, was still stiff with tension that he could not shake off.
“How could you leave without a word?”
“I told the maid that I would be in the library—”
“To me. You didn’t tell me.”
‘How can I talk to you during a meeting?’
Riela laughed at his absurd complaint. Yet, she didn’t mind his childish stubbornness.
“I was scared.”
Herhan said, burying his face in Riella’s shoulder.
He rubbed his heated cheek against Riella’s white skin as if trying to cool it down.
“Did you think I was kidnapped again?”
“Yeah. You don’t know how heart-pounding and terrifying it was. Hah.…I can finally live.”
Riella lowered the corners of her lips, which had been smiling, at the worry that was filled with sincerity.
Herhan had been tense and restless lately, especially after he began investigating the Federation with El leading the charge.
His nerves had worsened to the point where he relied on sleeping pills prescribed by Jess, and even then, he would bolt upright at the slightest movement from Riella.
That was something that even the power of purification could not do anything about.
‘I guess I made you worry again.’
Feeling sorry and grateful, Riella cupped Herhan’s cheeks and asked.
“Your Majesty, is there anything you want from me?”
“What?”
“Your Majesty, I was wondering if there was anything I could do to cheer you up.”
Herhan was deep in thought, his cheeks held by Riella.
Herhan pondered for a moment before closing his eyes and slightly tilting his head forward.
Compared to his closed eyes, his lips were slightly turned forward and his cheeks were still hot.
Riella opened her eyes wide, then quickly realized the meaning and burst into laughter.
Whether Riella smiled or not, Herhan continued to maintain that awkward posture, as if he would never open his eyes until he got what he wanted.
“Hmm.”
Riella pretended to be troubled and glanced over Herhan’s shoulder.
The soldiers who had been following the emperor had already noticed and retreated outside.
Finally giving in, Riella leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his lips.
Like a baby bird pecking at its food, soft lips touched and then separated quickly.
“Happy now?”
Herhan slightly raised one eyelid. He looked unsatisfied, as if something was lacking.
“What else?”
“Nope. That’s all.”
“Think about it carefully.”
“Really. This is enough. Just stay safe by my side like this.”
Gazing at him affectionately, Riella said,
“Your Majesty, please be greedy. I will do my best to grant your wish.”
‘I could do anything for you.’
“You’ll find out soon, Riella.”
Then Herhan wrapped his arms around Riella’s waist and answered with a serious face.
“I’m already being as greedy as I can be.”
With those words, his lips captured hers again—this time with a deeper, lingering passion.
* * *
As if to prove his words, Herhan never left Riella’s side.
And as the banquet drew nearer and preparations grew more hectic, Riella had little time to dwell on Jess’s challenge.
In the afternoon, the maids of the lake palace flocked into the inner room.
“Miss Riella, I heard from Lou that you had a hard time choosing what to wear to the banquet!”
Herhan was relieved and left the room only after a bunch of maids barged in.
The maids came in, pushing endless racks of hangers and shelves of accessories, as if they had raided several dressing rooms.
“I can wear anything…”
“Anything? Oh no, Miss Riella, that won’t do at all!.”
“Oh, that’s not what I meant.…I have a lot of new dresses that I haven’t worn yet.”
“That won’t be enough! You must be the most refined and elegant, from head to toe.”
“That’s right. People from all over the empire will be flocking here, so Miss Riella, you must be the most dazzling person there!”
‘Most dazzling person? Where have I heard that before?’
The maids are so aggressive and determined that it makes Riella wonder if it’s really necessary. As if acting on orders from someone higher than Lou.
‘Well, I suppose they’re right. It’s my first official event, and I caused such a mess at the last banquet.’
After suffering like that all day, Riella finished preparing everything: dress, shoes, bracelets, necklace, hair ornament, gloves, fan, and shawl.
She was prepared from head to toe.
However.
“There’s no ring?”
It was pure curiosity.
After all, the maids insisted on matching every accessory to her coral dress, yet not a single ring had been brought out.
‘Come to think of it, there was no ring in any of the jewelry boxes the maids had brought.’
“Oh. You should keep your hands empty! His Majesty will soon put a great covenant ring on you—!”
At that moment, one of the maids, who was busy applying perfume to Riella’s hair, opened her mouth absentmindedly and then suddenly stopped talking.
All the bustling maids froze as if time had stopped. Only the sound of someone swallowing nervously broke the stillness.
Riella also froze over.
“….Hahah. Miss Riella. What should I do with your hair tomorrow? A bun would be nice, but a braid would be pretty too…”
The maid tried to speak to her again, but Riella quickly got up from her seat.
“Lou. Come here.”
Lou slowly backed away, but eventually missed the chance to run away and jumped up.
Riella took Lou into the bedroom.
“Lou. Be honest with me.”
Even before she asked, Lou was already trembling. That alone was enough to give her the answer.
“Perhaps His Majesty…”
‘Why didn’t I know? Why didn’t I think of that?’
“Is he going to propose to me tomorrow?”
* * *
