“It was Valery who asked Juri to help me, right?”
“Well, that was then. It wasn’t meant to interrupt our honeymoon.”
“It’s been a while since it could be called a honeymoon…”
Valery suddenly opened his eyes wide and raised his head.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well… it’s been over a year.”
It has been three years since we reunited. So, it can’t be a honeymoon forever. Yet, Valery’s expression seemed oddly skewed, as if he was both shocked and pouting.
“Are you upset?”
“It seems I’m the only one who doesn’t want to be apart even for a second.”
Every day, every hour, every minute, every second is precious. Even his grumbling voice sounded irritable.
I swallowed a laugh and shook my head. “I feel the same.”
“You promised to spend time with me on the weekends, Wife.”
Valery’s use of ‘wife’ came out. Because of my request, we use formal titles and avoid using names in official settings. So, when we’re alone, we always use names. This meant he was quite upset.
In fact, seeing Valery openly show an emotion other than love was a sign he had let his guard down, which I found rather cute.
When I initially refused to marry right away, Valery couldn’t show all his emotions for over a year, fearing Bella might run away.
“I wanted to as well, but it was a request I received weeks ago. I couldn’t help it. It won’t take long, okay?”
After soothing Valery by gently stroking his ears and cheeks, he finally seemed to soften.
“Then stay with me until the appointment.”
However, his eyes still held a touch of resentment.
Is he my husband or my child? I thought today, in particular, the distinction seems blurred, while nodding to Valery, whose eyes softened further.
Eventually, I decided to spend as much time as possible glued to Valery before getting ready, as per his request.
It’s not just one or two days like this.
Valery, who seemed like he wouldn’t let go of me, finally loosened his embrace and got up. As he kissed my forehead and moved away, I watched him go as if enchanted.
Noticing my gaze, Valery paused while putting on his robe, his lips curving slightly. “If you keep looking at me like that, it might be dangerous.”
I then swiftly turned my head away, and Valery laughed heartily in the daylight.
* * *
“Greetings to Your Majesty the Empress.”
As I entered the parlor, Juri del Chartero stood up from her seat. With precise movements, she elegantly held her dress and bowed gracefully.
Juri’s hair was much shorter than before. At some point, she had been tying it up neatly every day, but now it had become a bob cut that barely reached her ears. This look, combined with her elegant movements, suited her extremely well.
I gestured for the servants to leave, except for the one serving tea, and they quickly exited after bowing. Usually, I wouldn’t assign them unless absolutely necessary, so this action was quite natural.
“There are only two of us, so you can take it easy.”
“Your Majesty should be getting used to it by now.” Juri brightly smiled in response to my words.
I chuckled wryly. “Indeed. But I don’t know why it’s not getting any easier.”
Acting was so easy when I was wearing a mask.
Juri seemed to prefer that I treat her formally, even when we were alone, unless we were sharing intimate details.
“Your Majesty gets more accustomed to it over time.”
“I hope so. Anyway, sorry to keep you waiting.”
“It’s alright. I suppose His Majesty might have complained about me a little.”
I laughed awkwardly, feeling a pang of conscience. Despite having made a promise with Valery, dressing up took longer than expected because he kept hovering, making the servants anxious and delaying our appointment time.
Even though Valery always wanted to be with me, he was keen on keeping appointments, and he had never backed down from a request from me. But today, he was unusually persistent, almost as if he wanted to prevent me from meeting Marchioness Chartero. I wondered if he had discovered the reason for our meeting. But it was impossible to question when he smiled like that.
Although I was only about 5 minutes late, I still sighed softly, thinking about the earlier events. I wanted to spend weekends with Valery as much as possible, but today, I had a compelling reason to meet Juri del Chartero. That thought alone made my body involuntarily tense up.
Trying to relax, I felt like I might let out a deep sigh without realizing it.
Noticing my condition, Juri took a sip of her tea and placed the cup down, smiling faintly. “Your Majesty.”
“Go ahead.”
“Before I speak, there’s something I want to say as a friend.”
I hesitated at her words. It seems my concern was apparent. Soon, I smiled broadly and said, “If you’re worried about me, it’s okay.”
“Yes, I am worried.”
Juri’s hesitation likely stemmed from the issue being related to my past. Specifically, it involved Shubart Rivaho. Even more precisely, the remnants he left behind.
I had believed that everything was settled when Shubart and my mother passed away. However, I recently learned that wasn’t the case. Although Shubart Rivaho was dead and his influence had significantly waned, making his remaining forces not a threat, I wanted to cleanly resolve everything upon discovering this, which is why I asked Juri for help.
At first, I thought it was just a coincidence, but then I remembered that when we cleared out Bei, Shubart’s stronghold, some of his closest allies, his true forces, were never found. Even if his power had waned, there wouldn’t be any threat to my position as empress or personal danger, but the thought of Shubart Rivaho’s vengeance lingered. It was a remnant of rebellion and responsibility for the crimes I had committed in the past, so I wanted to clear it away.
Above all, I was worried about my loved ones getting hurt. And I was concerned about Ian, who had gone to the North alone. But it seemed Juri was more worried about my worries than anything else.
It was the day I first asked for her help. She openly expressed her concern as a friend, fearing that delving back into my past might inflict new wounds now that I had almost forgotten it. The past was already being buried and fading away. She questioned whether there was a need to dredge it up again.
Indeed, as Juri said, since Shubart Rivaho and Lucellai Rudbihi had passed away years ago, no one would remember unless it was brought up. Her words made sense, and I considered letting it go, but a recent nightmare had been bothering me. A dream where everyone dear to me died before my eyes.
Recalling that dream, I briefly clenched my hands under the table. “I just… want to be sure. If there’s no big problem, I plan to close the case right away, so you don’t need to worry about me.”
After all, it started with my mother, so I felt it needed to be cleaned up completely. Then, perhaps, I wouldn’t have these nightmares again. I kept the rest of my thoughts to myself, showing a reassuring smile.
“There’s nothing I can do, then.”
Juri, who seemed to wish I would drop the subject like before, spoke with a slightly grim expression.
“It’s true that remnants of his power remain, just like Your Majesty said. However…”
