Queen’s Sun
“Your Majesty.”
The last night before the grand banquet.
Herhan, who had volunteered for late-night work, sat with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. At the sound of his aide’s voice, he lifted his tired eyelids.
“Is it finished?”
“Yes.”
“Let’s go.”
Inside the secret room that Herhan headed to without hesitation, a white-haired craftsman was making a final check of the items.
The craftsman stood up with a face as tired as the emperor, but filled with pride and satisfaction at having finally accomplished something.
“Here it is, Your Majesty.”
The craftsman who came before the emperor bowed and handed him the finished product.
It was perfect, exactly as Herhan had requested.
“You must have had a hard time. I know time was tight with all the additional work I suddenly asked of you.”
“It was an honorable task to be able to carry out the orders of His Majesty the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire.”
“Jest, how’s the work in the northern forest?”
“All that’s left is to set the mechanisms.”
“Good.”
Now, preparations to mislead the enemy were complete.
Herhan finally allowed himself to relax, rubbing his face with both hands, but Jess didn’t miss the moment and started nagging him earnestly.
“You promised earlier, right? Now that you’ve personally checked the finished product, it’s time to go and rest.”
“I’ll check the banquet hall one last time.”
“I’ll handle the finishing touches. Your Majesty, please save your energy for the main event.”
“Then I’ll go and close my eyes for a bit.”
Though, was he really going to sleep? Or was he going to see Riella?
It was just as Jess had expected.
Herhan returned to the bedroom, lay down on the bed, and instead of closing his eyelids, he watched Riella sleeping soundly.
To him, observing this lovely goddess felt like a greater rest than snatching a few hours of sleep.
And he was right.
Exhausted from running tirelessly toward that moment, Herhan felt all his tension and fatigue melt away the moment he lay beside her.
‘I’ve rushed too much to get here, Riella. But you’ll understand, right? Even if I’m an impatient and greedy man?’
Herhan confessed while stroking the sleeping Riella’s hair.
‘Even if I was the fool who momentarily lost the engagement ring.’’
Herhan chuckled to himself.
‘But you will still accept me as I am, right?’
When the day was completely bright.
Herhan was the first to get up after gently kissing Riella’s forehead, who was lying down with the warm sunlight covering her like a blanket.
‘See you later, my goddess.’
Outside, Lou opened her eyes from a deep sleep and followed the Emperor out.
Stretching his stiff neck, Herhan instructed Lou to help Riella prepare.
“Yes, but, Your Majesty…”
Lou hesitated as if she had something to say, but in the end, she couldn’t open her mouth.
Herhan, tense with the matters at hand, was too focused on ensuring everything was perfect to notice Lou’s hesitation.
That’s why Herhan didn’t think to read Lou’s mind.
If only he had been calmer, perhaps things would have been different.
Eventually, something unfortunate happened.
* * *
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”
Lou ran across the banquet hall, clutching the hem of her skirt.
It was when the banquet hall had finished setting up and Herhan and his aide were making the final check.
They had even called for El to discuss when the so-called ‘Duke’ would arrive and how to deal with him, so it was not a situation where a mere maid could jump in.
However—
“Your Majesty! Miss Riella…”
Everyone who was discussing suddenly stopped talking at the sound of Lou sobbing.
Naturally, the one who reacted the most was Herhan.
“What about Riella?”
“She… She’s gone, Your Majesty. I can’t find her anywhere.”
Asion rushed to Lou, who was covered in tears and snot.
“What are you talking about? You were with her in the inner room this whole time, weren’t you?”
“I was… I was, but… hic!”
Lou was so distraught she even began to hiccup.
“She got dressed, her makeup was done, and she was all ready… hic! She was sitting on the sofa, looking a little nervous…so I went out for a moment to bring her tea, but when I came back,…”
Herhan was stunned.
It was exactly the same situation as a few days ago.
Same place. Same moment. Just like that time, the carriages of the guests are arriving, and just like that time, Riella is not there.
“Asion. Release all the soldiers immediately and search the surrounding area. Close the gate. And El!”
As soon as Herhan, who had barely come to his senses, finished giving the order, the first person he grabbed by the collar was El.
But El was just as shaken as Herhan.
There was no need to read his mind.
Just by looking at his black eyes that were shaking, it was clear that El had absolutely nothing to do with Riella’s disappearance.
Herhan gritted his teeth and threw El away.
Perhaps the one whose thoughts he should be reading was not El but—
“Lou.”
Herhan grabbed Lou’s wrist, which was trembling like a fawn. Soon, memories of Lou came flooding back into Herhan’s mind.
It was just as Lou said. Just an hour ago, Riella was sitting on the sofa, ready to attend the banquet, looking as beautiful as usual.
But Riella’s expression was a little strange.
Even just sitting still and breathing deeply looked quite burdensome and uncomfortable.
‘What happened? Are you sick?’
Driven by worry, Herhan dug deeper into Lou’s memories, even searching for clues from the previous night.
Herhan finally realized what had driven Riella into such a corner and let go of Lou.
“Your Majesty, I have ordered the gates to be closed. Shall we also search the visitors’ carriages?”
Asion asked in an urgent voice.
“Your Majesty, we will definitely find her. I guess she hasn’t gone far yet due to time constraints.”
Jess also spoke seriously.
It was then that Herhan opened his mouth.
“There’s no need to search the carriage. Jess is right. She couldn’t have gone far. Riella wasn’t kidnapped; she hid herself.”
“What? Hiding…? Why would Miss Riela hide?”
“I know.”
Herhan bit his lip hard. His heart, which had sunk earlier, was still in turmoil.
‘It’s all over now, I was rejected before I could even propose…’
* * *
Herhan personally searched for places where Riella might be.
As he passed in front of the garden, those who had just arrived at the palace recognized him and bowed their heads, but he ignored them and passed between them.
The courtyard of the West Palace. The central garden. The Lake Palace. And just in case, back to the inner room.
The last place Herhan, who had gone through all the steps in vain, headed to was the imperial library. It was an old document room.
‘Riella has been coming here often lately.’
Perhaps it was because of the information about descendants.
After learning that the Emperor was a descendant of Enril, and even more so after learning that she was a descendant of Ann.
Riella has looked through almost every book that mentions ‘Descendants’.
Despite the records being disorganized, old, and hard to read, she had immersed herself in them.
‘I guess it was because of a sense of responsibility to protect me.’
The thought that he had driven Riella to overwork weighed heavily on Herhan.
It made the emptiness of the old document room today feel all the more crushing.
‘Riella… Where are you…?’
“Your Majesty, are you looking for Miss Riella again today?”
It was then that the librarian, unaware of the outside situation, approached him politely and bowed his head.
Herhan had no intention of speaking and was about to leave when–
“Miss Riella is in the general library today.”
“What…? What did you just say?”
“Ah, Miss Riella isn’t in the old document room today; she’s in the general library room.”
Herhan dashed to the second-floor general library room at full speed.
His heart pounded violently. Whether it was from racing up dozens of stairs in a single bound or from the thought of finding Riella again, he couldn’t tell.
“Riel—!”
There she was.
In front of a bookshelf, surrounded by scattered books, sitting on the floor with her knees tucked in.
The sight of her left Herhan weak-kneed.
He barely managed to run to where Riella was, then collapsed and hugged her.
“Your Majesty.”
In Herhan’s arms, Riella’s voice was somehow weak.
Even so, Herhan was so relieved and grateful that he hugged her tighter.
“Your Majesty. Has the banquet already begun?”
Herhan shook his head.
He swallowed the questions and worries that threatened to spill out—why did she disappear, what was she doing here.
“It doesn’t matter. You’re safe, Riella. That’s all that matters. Now, let’s go.”
After calming his pounding heart for a while, Herhan stood up and reached out his hand to Riella.
But Riela didn’t budge. She shook her head.
Only then did Herhan remember what he had briefly forgotten in the joy of holding Riella in his arms again.
Riella knew that he was going to propose to her.
And knowing that, she had run away here on her own.
“Riella…”
“I don’t know, Your Majesty.”
Herhan’s heart sank at her faint response.
‘Is it a rejection?’
It was painful like his insides were being torn apart, but he decided he could accept it. If Riella really didn’t like it, he wouldn’t have forced her.
Just having her nearby, safe, was enough to make him grateful.
“I…I don’t know if I can be a great empress.”
So, that was it.
Herhan closed his eyes tightly.
But before he could respond, Riella’s trembling voice spilled out like a broken dam.
“There’s a banquet coming up soon. People will be flocking in. I need to look like a suitable match for Your Majesty. But I don’t know how to do it. I’ve learned etiquette, but the royal family’s etiquette is different. So I’m looking at it in a hurry, but it’s too complicated, and I can’t figure out what’s—”
“What…?”
Herhan opened his tightly shut eyes. Only then did I notice the books strewn all around Riella.
Imperial etiquette. Social etiquette. Banquet order. Genealogy of the nobles of the Elshweig Empire and the list of attendees at today’s banquet.
Herhan’s breath caught in his throat.
“No one should bring disgrace to this royal family. I don’t know if I can do it well. I can learn politics little by little, but if I don’t get recognized at the banquet today,….”
“Riella.”
“Then it would certainly be a burden to Your Majesty. I really don’t want to do that.”
“Riella!”
Herhan bent down and made Riella raise her head.
“Is that why you ran away?”
“Ran away? What am I running away from?
Riella’s eyes widened at the word ‘ran away’.
Now, as she looked at Herhan properly, tears of disappointment began to slowly well up in her pretty eyes.
“No way….Did the banquet start already? Did I even get late? Wasn’t there still about an hour left? I was just trying to quickly review the proper etiquette before going….”
Eventually, Riella burst into tears.
She sobbed, thinking everything was ruined before it even began, and the sound of her crying was somehow so endearing.
It felt like it was almost overwhelming with love.
“Hah….Riella.”
Herhan completely lost his strength and kneeled in front of Riella.
Riella continued to cry, punching Herhan in the chest.
“What should I do? You should have given me time to prepare. Because of Your Majesty, I will become the most foolish empress in history.”
Herhan gently grabbed Riella’s hand, which was hitting him helplessly.
Then, Riella carefully opened her clenched white fist.
Slender and pretty fingers.
Herhan, who had been catching his breath while touching each of them, took out a small box that he had kept in his pocket. Inside, he took out a ring that filled the space with red light.
And then, with Herhan’s hand, he put a ring on Riella’s fourth finger.
It was the queen’s sun, which returned to its owner after going through many twists and turns.
* * *
