* * *
Thud.
The quill slipped from Edwin’s hand, falling to the ground as his grip weakened. But Edwin was so lost in thought that he didn’t even notice.
His mind was deeply engrossed elsewhere.
Covering his flushed face with his hand, Edwin mumbled, “It touched…”
His words barely escaped through his clenched teeth, and as they echoed in his ears, the sensation he had tried so hard to forget came rushing back.
When Miss Diaz had linked arms with him, the feeling of her touch on his arm…
As his thoughts reached this point, Edwin’s face turned a fiery red. He forcibly stopped himself from recalling any further, in an attempt to maintain his chivalry.
Clearing his throat several times, Edwin glanced around the empty office, pretending to speak to no one in particular.
“Summer is really here… It’s hot.”
Edwin tried to blame the warmth he felt on the weather, even though he knew full well that the eastern battlefield he had been stationed at was much hotter than the capital. Even though the Emperor’s office was equipped with the latest magical devices to maintain a comfortable temperature all year round!
He continued to fan himself with the stack of documents in his hand, paying no attention to the fact that they were crucial papers regarding the re-negotiation of reparations with Bellot. Cooling himself down was far more urgent.
For a while, the only sound in the office was the fluttering of paper.
*Knock, knock.*
As the papers grew increasingly crumpled, a knock at the door interrupted Edwin’s thoughts.
“…Come in,” Edwin finally registered the knock and allowed the person to enter, still fanning himself with the documents.
“Your Majesty.”
As expected, the person who entered was Kyle.
Seeing Edwin’s still-flushed face, Kyle hesitated, a fleeting expression of regret crossing his face as he realized he had walked into something he hadn’t anticipated. Kyle, who had instinctively taken a step back, steeled himself, standing firm.
The sharp mind of the Emperor’s advisor quickly went to work.
Kyle began seriously, “It’s about the Crown Princess.”
The mention of work slowly hardened Edwin’s previously softened expression.
“What about the Crown Princess?”
Edwin threw the documents down onto the desk and leaned back in his chair, his tone gruff.
His once-relaxed eyes had now turned cold, a gaze so icy that most people would shudder just from making eye contact. But Kyle welcomed this icy demeanor; it meant he wouldn’t have to listen to an eight-hour recount of his four-hour meeting with Miss Diaz.
Kyle discreetly sighed in relief. But while he had dodged a major crisis, a minor one still loomed.
“So, about the Crown Princess…” Kyle pondered how to best frame the situation, considering whether it was a trivial or serious matter.
Finally, he decided to present the facts as they were, without any embellishment.
“She’s once again expressed interest in pursuing the marriage alliance we discussed earlier.”
A royal marriage was one of the most symbolic ways to demonstrate a friendly relationship between nations. However, with the Emperor being the only remaining member of the Imperial family and the Crown Princess of Bellot being her kingdom’s sole heir, the idea had been shelved due to a lack of suitable candidates on either side.
Reviving the talk of marriage suggested that the Crown Princess was fully aligning herself with the Empire—a positive signal, though not an essential one.
As Kyle finished speaking, he glanced at Edwin for his reaction. Normally, he would have been met with sharp criticism at this point, but the still-distracted Edwin offered no such response.
“A marriage alliance, huh…” Edwin, now fully in work mode, tapped his finger lightly on the desk.
“Who is the Kingdom considering?”
His tone was detached, probing to understand the Crown Princess’s intentions.
“It seems they are considering either her younger brother, the third prince, or herself,” Kyle answered, straightening his posture.
“The Crown Princess would be the better choice from our side.”
“Indeed. The third prince is only holding onto his position because she’s protecting him.”
“We’ve decided not to annex Bellot, but having Imperial blood in their royal line wouldn’t be a bad move.”
Edwin nodded in agreement, even as his expression remained somewhat disgruntled.
“We should look for a suitable noble from our side—someone sharp and skilled in diplomacy.”
Having made up his mind, Edwin ordered Kyle, “Draw up a list and report back to me soon.”
Kyle bowed his head in acknowledgment.
With the work discussion concluded, Edwin’s expression began to thaw again, like snow melting under the warm spring sun—a clear sign that he was about to bring up Miss Diaz.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave now.”
Kyle was relieved to have a reason to exit the Emperor’s office swiftly.
* * *
The day after visiting the third exhibition with Everett.
‘I’m exhausted.’
I let out a small yawn as I stepped off the shared carriage on my way to work.
Working at such a demanding place, I barely had a single day off each week, and using that day to go out had left me feeling completely drained.
‘But when I’m with him, I don’t feel tired at all.’
I couldn’t help but smile secretly, looking forward to our fourth exhibition together.
‘I have to ask Everett what he wants to do next time.’
I clenched my fists lightly, making a small resolve. As I mulled over what to do if Everett didn’t have any plans, I found myself already at the office door.
“Good morning.”
I forced out a cheerful greeting, but strangely, no one responded.
‘What’s going on?’
The staff were huddled together, deep in conversation, seemingly unaware of my arrival.
‘Something feels off.’
A sense of unease crept over me as I quietly approached to listen in.
“No, no. A wyvern’s head is better than a dragon’s tail. Why would the Crown Princess leave her guaranteed throne to come to the Empire?”
“You never know. But I heard the same thing. That the Emperor and the Crown Princess of Bellot are going to be married soon.”
“They say the Emperor’s aides are already preparing for the royal marriage. Could it be true?”
From what I gathered, they were talking about the Emperor’s potential marriage.
‘I thought it was something serious.’
I sighed in relief, having braced myself for some major issue on this Monday morning.
‘They shouldn’t have such serious faces for something like this.’
Especially when discussing trivial matters like gossip.
In such a bleak place, it was rare for society gossip to reach us, but a royal marriage was significant enough to draw attention.
I slowly backed away and sat at my desk, thinking.
‘Well, it’s about time, isn’t it?’
I quietly calculated the Emperor’s age.
‘Isn’t he twenty-three?’
While the average marriage age for commoners had risen to around twenty-two or twenty-three for both men and women, royalty typically married much earlier.
‘Usually, they don’t wait past twenty.’
At twenty-three, the Emperor had long since missed the prime marriage age by royal standards, thanks to the prolonged war.
‘But he’s supposed to meet the female lead soon.’
They were destined to meet at the New Year’s ball in less than six months.
The two protagonists, who were drawn to each other as if by fate from the very beginning, would be married within a year of their first meeting.
‘So, regardless of who the match is, the royal marriage is likely to happen soon.’
But it seemed there had originally been talks of marriage with the Crown Princess.
Was this a hidden subplot of the original story?
‘Wait a minute.’
I was letting my thoughts flow naturally when a sudden piece of doubt startled me.
‘Is this how it originally went?’
The story was told from the first-person perspective of the female lead, so not much was revealed about the male lead’s past.
‘I don’t remember this at all.’
I bit my lip anxiously.
Supporting female characters who were involved in marriage talks usually got at least a mention.
‘I would bet my experience as a romance fantasy reader that it would come up, even if just as a side note.’
But the fact that I had no memory of this?
‘Could fate have changed?’
A chill ran down my spine.
If the saintly female lead didn’t appear, that meant the Emperor’s character development wouldn’t happen either.
‘If he marries the Crown Princess of Bellot, it will be a purely political marriage, and the Emperor’s redemption arc will never happen.’
Doom.
Suddenly, the future of life in the Imperial Palace felt overshadowed by dark clouds.
‘If the saintly heroine doesn’t show up, I’m resigning immediately.’
Taming the tyrant Emperor was only enjoyable from a distance.
