All the stories quickly came to an end. In fact, there wasn’t much to discuss.

Raven had already made up his mind, and we decided not to inquire into each other’s deep secrets.

“It would be better to discuss the details with His Majesty.”

“Raven.”

At my call, Raven lifted his head.

“You understand what it means to be on my side, right? You might have to confront your father.”

“I expected as much. So, please have a conversation with His Majesty, Empress.”

A chilly north wind blew over Raven’s face.

“I will tell you what my father is up to.”

“Alright. I haven’t mentioned yesterday’s events to Revampel yet, so he might not know that you’ve come to the palace. Let’s go together.”

I forgot about the promise to tell him yesterday because of another matter.

Brushing off the natural continuation of thoughts connecting to last night, I rose from my seat. Upon doing so, Raven, with a bewildered expression, raised me up.

“Re… What?”

“Yeah?”

“Who were you just talking about?”

“Revampel?”

Raven blinked in confusion as he looked at me.

“Why? What’s wrong… Sorry. I meant His Majesty.”

While casually swaying my head, I read the confusion in Raven’s eyes.

I called out Revampel’s name too naturally.

It’s a name familiar to me, but not necessarily to others.

“It seems that you two have become even closer than when you met last time.”

“Well, I called him Revampel even back then!”

“But it didn’t feel as affectionate and natural as it does now.”

Hehe. I cleared my throat, tried to soothe my throat, and turned my head.

“The affection between His Majesty and the Empress is a good thing for my citizens.”

Raven stood up, laughing happily along with me. I tried to cool my reddened face and headed towards the door of the reception room.

Upon opening the door, I saw maids cleaning nearby.

“It looks like all the dust from the palace has gathered in front of the reception room because you’re cleaning only here.”

“Hehehe… Empress.”

Looking at the sparkling sculptures that were far from clean, I clicked my tongue.

“I didn’t know you all loved cleaning so much.”

“Hehe… Hehe. We, we’re cleaning here because it’s where Empress is.”

“You should respect preferences. Clean the Damask Palace among yourselves for a while. Since that place is a gift from His Majesty to me, I trust you’ll keep it clean.”

“Yes, yes?”

“I’ll personally inform the steward. I’ll bring the ones cleaning Damask Palace here. You guys go there now.”

“Empress.”

The maids chuckled, but I sent them a meaningful look. Recognizing my gaze, they lowered their heads.

“Raven. Revampel might still not know about yesterday’s events because I forgot to inform him. Come with me to the office and wait…”

“No need for that.”
It was a moment when I was about to suggest going to the office to wait. A deep voice interrupted and squeezed into my words.

“Terry.”

The touch that I had missed for a few hours reached around my waist, gently wrapping me up.

“Greetings to Her Majesty, the Empress.”

At the sudden appearance of Revampel, everyone politely bowed their waists. Whether they spoke or not, I pushed away Revampel’s hand from my cheek and asked.

“Why are you here instead of at the meeting, Revampel?”

“Anyway, we were just arguing back and forth about who’s right. It’s okay since we have to double-check the finalized meeting minutes when they come up. …But more importantly.”

Revampel hugged me tightly, then growled at Raven in front of him.

“Why is Youngsik, who said he wouldn’t come to the palace, here?”

Raven shrugged, smiling as if it couldn’t be helped.

“If I hadn’t come, it seemed like Her Majesty the Empress was going to kill me.”

Since I said I wouldn’t come, it means I wouldn’t be spared if I didn’t. It’s not a wrong statement. But when Revampel heard that, his face began to burn like a fire god.

“You came after hearing the Empress’s words and came to the palace?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

While Revampel was burning like a fire, Raven laughed and refreshed himself like a clear lake, looking at him.

“So… are you worried about the Empress’s health and curious about her?”

Revampel ground his teeth. Raven subtly glanced at me.

It seemed like he was asking if Revampel knew that I was a saint. When I nodded briefly to indicate it was okay, Raven smiled and answered Revampel.

“Yes. Because I couldn’t help but be curious.”

“Loota engee-urgu……. (Loose mouth…….)”

Revampel gritted his teeth, and red veins popped out forcefully on his face as he forced a smile.

“Wait!”

I intervened between Raven and Revampel, halting their conversation. Raven seemed clueless as to why Revampel was so angry, and Revampel…

“Sufficientl……. (Should I kill…….)”

Revampel was mumbling something incomprehensible. It seemed better not to hear it for his mental stability.

“Let’s move to another place and continue the conversation. Here is…”

I looked around. The maids who hadn’t left yet were watching us like it was a play, sparkling with excitement.

It seemed like the two men were about to fight over me.

“There are too many people watching here.”