That night, an unexpected visitor knocked on the gate of the Gennant mansion.
“My lord, you’re already here…”
The butler, who opened the gate, looked surprised. He naturally thought that the person who knocked on the door was Duke Gennant, who had gone to attend a birthday party at the imperial palace a few hours earlier. However, it was not.
“…Lady.”
“Butler.”
It was Tanya Gennant. She was alone, without even a maid by her side.
The butler looked at the lady in front of him with a puzzled expression.
“What about your father?”
“My father? Hasn’t he returned yet from the palace…?”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen him.”
She was so embarrassed that she hid and came out.
Tanya gnawed her teeth and swallowed the answer inwardly.
The butler looked at her with concern.
“Is it all right for you to come to the mansion so recklessly?”
“What does it matter? Who cares about me.”
Tanya, who responded cynically, strode into the mansion. She was dressed very lavishly for the party, but she didn’t look very happy.
The butler must have noticed that she had been through something at the party and said nothing. The quiet atmosphere in the mansion quickly turned cold when Tanya immediately went up to her room. And after a while.
“Oh.”
Once again, the bell on the gate rang with a clear sound. As the butler walked quickly and opened the door, Duke Gennant stood looking very tired. The butler bowed his head.
“Is Master here?”
“Yeah. Is everything all right?”
“Um, that’s…”
“Did something happen?”
“Nothing happened, but someone has come.”
“Someone came? Who?”
Duke Gennant narrowed his brow.
“No way…”
“Father.”
Then came Tanya’s voice from the back. Duke Gennant’s gaze shifted.
He roughly guessed the situation when he saw his daughter’s hardened, perhaps even grim, appearance. A faint smile appeared on his lips.
“Did you just arrive?”
“Yeah. I didn’t expect you to be here.”
“There’s something I want to tell you right now.”
“All right. Let’s go to the study.”
The two immediately headed to the study. In the study, they sat facing each other over a desk, and Duke Gennant casually spoke to his daughter first.
“To come here at this hour, something must be up. What if someone else notices you?”
“His Majesty is not even in the banquet hall right now.”
Tanya said, narrowing her eyes.
“Who would care if I disappear?”
“…”
“Father, you know what humiliation I suffered today, don’t you? You saw it, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve made up my mind, Father. I’m going to be the empress.”
Tanya spoke in a grim voice.
“I don’t care who the other person is now. His Majesty won’t choose me, so I must abandon him too.”
“You made a wise choice, my daughter.”
Duke Gennant said with a smile.
“This father is so happy that you have changed your mind.”
“What should I do?”
“There is a very important task that you must do.”
“What is it?”
“You have the freedom to move around inside and outside the palace, right?”
Tanya nodded.
“But there’s someone in the palace who is on our side. Bring a letter from that person and deliver it to me. It seems that recent issues have blocked the usual method of correspondence.”
“Our side? Who is it?”
“There is a spy in the imperial palace.”
At the words of Duke Gennant, Tanya asked with a bewildered look. Such a person was in the palace.
“Who is it?”
Duke Gennant beckoned Tanya as if to come closer, and Tanya brought her ears closer with a nervous face.
A moment later, when she heard the answer that Duke Gennant whispered in her ear, Tanya startled.
“What? She’s really…”
“Shh, dear, this is a secret.”
Duke Gennant whispered to his daughter, with a merciful smile on his lips.
“If you act well, you won’t be doubted. You can do it well, right?”
Tanya seemed briefly stunned by the shocking fact that she had unexpectedly learned, but she soon returned with a serious look and nodded.
“Don’t worry, Father.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
“Well…”
Under the sunlight streaming into her eyes, Pristin unknowingly furrowed her brow. After blinking for a while, she found herself in a brighter room.
Pristin blinked slowly, feeling dazed.
‘…Is it morning already?’
Pristin slowly turned her head and looked at the clock.
…God, how many hours did she sleep?
Pristin woke Jerald, lying next to her, looking perplexed.
“Your Majesty.”
“…”
“Your Majesty. Please wake up, Your Majesty.”
“Um…”
After shaking him for a while, Jerald finally opened his eyes. He looked at Pristin with half-opened eyes and then smiled faintly.
“Good morning, Pristin.”
“…”
Pristin paused for a moment because he was so handsome. But that aside, the current situation wasn’t so relaxed. Pristin spoke with a troubled voice.
“It’s late, Your Majesty.”
“Late?”
“It’s already nine o’clock. Don’t you have any meetings today?”
“No, I don’t.”
Jerald replied in a nonchalant voice in contrast.
“Yesterday was my birthday. So there was a banquet. Originally, the next day only has an afternoon meeting.”
“Oh, I’m glad then.”
“Why? Were you worried?”
Jerald asked, laughing silently.
“If you were so worried about waking up in the morning, you shouldn’t have looked so pretty yesterday.”
“…”
“You’ve made me lose my mind.”
“Your Majesty.”
Pristin suddenly turned her head away with a flushed face. Bringing up last night’s events in the morning was foul.
“Are you going to keep doing this?”
“Is there anything wrong with what I said?”
“Even if there isn’t, it’s daytime now.”
“Then, what about repeating last night’s situation right now?”
“…Absolutely not. Never.”
Talking about last night’s events during the day was something that couldn’t be done sober.
Pristin got up from the bed, trembling, and Jerald, with a mischievous smile, grabbed her wrist.
“I’ll be going anyway.”
“Where are you going?”
Jerald smiled low and grabbed Pristin’s wrist.
“Did you forget? This is your room, not mine.”
“…”
Oh, that’s right. That’s right.
Pristin only remembered the most important fact now and unknowingly narrowed her eyebrows. No wonder. When she opened her eyes, she thought she was familiar with the structure of the room.
“If you’re going to my room, that’s not bad either. The bed is clean.”
“Your Majesty!”
Pristin screamed in astonishment.
“Your Majesty, really…”
“Am I being too mean?”
“Yes.”
“So you don’t like it?”
“…Are you going to keep doing this?”
Pristin sighed and shook her head.
“It feels like you’ve turned into a child again since last night.”
“Is it because I’m in a good mood?”
Jerald smiled and pulled Pristin toward him. Pristin had no choice but to sit back on the bed, and Jerald pulled Pristin back and laid her on the bed. Then he hugged her from behind and whispered in a low voice,
“How about making me feel like an adult again?”
“…That’s enough, Your Majesty. Please get up now.”
Pristin complained with her face still flushed.
“What will the maids think if they see us like this?”
“Well, they’ll probably think it’s a good thing, right?”
“I’m still unmarried. And so are you, Your Majesty.”
“Speaking of which, when will we announce our marriage?”
“Will you announce it already?”
“Do we need to delay it any longer? We’ve confirmed our feelings for each other, and we’re older.”
“…”
“So we should get married. Is there a problem?”
“It’s just… a bit sudden, you know.”
“How can I make it feel less sudden?”
Jerald pondered seriously with a thoughtful ‘hmm’.
“Maybe we should practice being a couple before announcing the marriage.”
“Couple practice… what do you mean?”
“What do you think? It’s practicing like we’re already a couple.”
“So, what…”
Finally realizing what Jerald meant, Pristin’s expression turned bewildered.
“Your Majesty, what a pervert.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“…”
“You’re jumping to conclusions on your own.”
“So, are you saying it wasn’t my idea?”
“No, it’s probably right.”
“…Are you having fun teasing me?”
“It’s very fun.”
Jerald didn’t bother to deny it and nodded.
“I should’ve done this earlier. I was so upset not being able to tease you for so long.”
“Seriously.”
Pristin shook her head as if she couldn’t stop him, and raised herself again.
“Anyway, please get up, Your Majesty. If you delay returning to the palace, everyone might start worrying.”
“I don’t think anyone will be worried.”
Jerald chuckled meaningfully.
“It seems like you want to be alone because you’re embarrassed, so I’ll leave now.”
“…”
“Can I come back tonight?”
“Please don’t.”
“You asked me to come yesterday.”
“But that was yesterday.”
“I see.”
“Take the fatigue relief potion with you.”
“I’ll take it next time.”
“Why? It might go bad if you take it late.”
“That way, I can use that as an excuse to come again.”
“…”
While Pristin was rendered speechless by the excuse that left her with nothing to say, Jerald chuckled softly and approached her. Then, lightly kissing her lips, he whispered,
“I’m lying. Even without an excuse, I plan to come again.”
“…”
“Have a good day today. Take a rest if you’re tired.”
After finishing with a meaningful last remark, Jerald left without any further ado. Pristin sat on the bed, covering her face with her hands, letting out an indescribable laugh. Aruvina entered soon after and asked upon seeing Pristin like that,
“Are you okay, Your Excellency?”
Upon hearing Aruvina’s voice, Pristin immediately closed her mouth. Then, she removed her hand covering her face and asked with a shy smile.
“…Madame Korsol.”
“Yes, lady.”
“Do the palace maids… do they know what happened last night?”
Aruvina answered Pristin’s question with a smile without shame.
“Absolutely, Countess. At least all the Camer Palace maids will know.”
“…”
“Well, it’s probably best for you to take a bath.”
When Pristin heard that, she became even more embarrassed, and she really wanted to hide in a mouse hole.
