But.

Patricia’s solemn and indifferent gaze made his hands hesitate to move as he wished.

Harchen lowered his hand that was leaning against the wall, looking at the 15th Empress Berk who was glaring at him from behind her.

A royal marriage. …… Well, let’s show some courtesy for now.

He took out his gloves from his uniform pants pocket and put them on, straightening his upper body.

“And Princess, in the Karsik Empire, anyone must come when the Emperor calls.”

“I also have a favor to ask and something I want to discuss. But I’m tired today and want to rest. I will visit you at the audience room tomorrow morning.”

Patricia’s gaze was fixed on the marble floor. She thought he would answer something, but the Emperor remained silent. She lifted her head and was startled.

Through the glossy black hair that shone like raven feathers, cold green eyes were glaring at her.

Startled, Patricia took a step back. The Emperor didn’t move his feet, but he bent his large upper body and lifted her chin with his gloved hand, meeting her gaze.

“Hey, Princess. I have my own schedule tomorrow. Come after dinner tonight.”

Patricia turned her body after watching the Emperor’s straight back as he walked down the corridor with large strides.

Did I do something wrong? He seems to dislike me a bit. He can’t be holding a grudge about me escaping when I was a prisoner.

She shook her head wildly and stopped walking.

Could it be that he has a lover? Then I should have refused the royal marriage. Maybe he couldn’t refuse because it was a negotiation item. Ah, I need to ask them to bring Patrick.

Patricia walked towards the corridor where two court ladies were standing, seriously pondering a solution. The court ladies bowed to greet her and opened the door to the parlor.

Stepping inside absentmindedly, Patricia was startled.

About ten women who were in the parlor stood up in unison and bowed to greet Patricia as she entered.

“I am Anna, the head court lady, here to meet the Princess of Tane.”

“Please take good care of me.”

At the court lady’s guidance, Patricia sat on a single sofa. Eva and Annie were sitting on the left sofa, looking at Patricia with an uneasy expression.

“Princess. There are matters you need to decide before dinner. First, the Emperor’s message through the head eunuch was to send back all of Tane’s escort knights and court ladies.”

“The escort knights will depart for Tane tomorrow. But Eva and Annie will attend to my bedchamber and bath.”

“His Majesty the Emperor…….”

“Anna, was it? I will tell His Majesty myself. Assign quarters for Eva and Annie.”

“Yes, I understand, Princess. Then, please choose two resting room court ladies among these court ladies to be in charge of clothes and hair.”

“Anna.”

After addressing the head court lady in a low voice, Patricia calmly added.

“How do you expect me, who just arrived in Karsik today, to know which court lady has a good sense for clothes, skillful hands for hair, or is good at massage, and choose?”

“I apologize. My thoughts were short-sighted.”

“Since they are people Anna has observed for a long time, I will leave it to Anna. I want to wash up.”

“Yes, Princess. I will take your order. What about dinner? There is a dining room in the White Palace, but if you are tired, shall I bring it to the parlor?”

“Give me two or three types of fruit, a slice of chocolate cake, and a glass of warm milk.”

The head court lady answered with courtesy and left with the other court ladies. As they left, Eva and Annie approached Patricia and held her hands.

“Princess Lisha. I thought the sky was falling when they told us to pack.”

“Don’t worry. I will handle that. Ugh, my body feels stiff from alternating between the train and carriage for a long time. At times like this, I need to sweat it out with swordsmanship. Annie, please draw me a bath.”

“Yes, Princess. The bath here is three times bigger than the one in the West Tower.”

Patricia moved close to Eva.

“Eva, it would be too much for me to visit a place called Oro Alley tonight, right?”

“Oh my, Princess. Do you even know where that is? I will go and check it out tomorrow during the day.”

“Take Annie with you.”

“Yes.”

Patricia yawned and stretched as she went to the bathroom. Before the bath was even half-filled, she got in and started dozing off as Annie washed her hair.

With Eva’s help, she finished bathing and put on her nightgown. She took two sips of the moderately cooled milk.

Without even having a chance to taste the chocolate cake she fell in love with when she first tried it in Pana Castle, she went to bed.

When Eva and Annie finished tidying up the bathroom, bedroom, and parlor, and were sitting side by side on the parlor sofa with their heads together, falling asleep, the head eunuch came to the White Palace.

“His Majesty has ordered to bring the Princess.”

The head court lady Anna knocked on the parlor door, but there was no response, so she went inside. She frowned at the sight of Eva and Annie, tangled together, snoring lightly in their sleep.

The door to the Princess’s bedroom was wide open. The Princess, who was sleeping with her clasped hands under her cheek, was deeply immersed in slumber.

“The Princess is in deep sleep.”

“I was told to bring her as she promised.”

“She must be very tired. She won’t wake up.”

This is unbelievable.

“Say it again.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. It seems that Princess Tane took a bath and fell asleep without even having dinner, as she was tired.”

“Whose opinion is it that she was tired? The Princess herself couldn’t have said it.”

“Tane’s maids also fell asleep in the parlor. Head court lady Anna shook the Princess twice to wake her up, but she couldn’t get up.”

“Didn’t the Tane people return to Tane?”

“She said she would keep a court lady and a maid by her side. The Princess said she would tell Your Majesty herself.”

“But she fell asleep.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Haa……. Didn’t they bring a bed from Tane, where did you put it?”

“I believe it was placed in the Princess’s bedchamber in the White Palace.”

“Then why? Isn’t it the marital bed?”

“I apologize, I’m not sure.”

“Go back and wake her up.”

The head eunuch gave Calip a pleading look.

“Your Majesty, she must be tired from alternating between the train and carriage for several days.”

He clearly told her to come at night because he had a schedule tomorrow.

“The Princess is quite annoying.”

“Your Majesty, you must also depart early tomorrow, so it would be best if you sleep…….”

“Calip. Let’s go to the office.”

“What? Why?”

Harchen got up from the parlor sofa and said to the head eunuch.

“Bring the Panian.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Harchen drank the Panian liquor brought by the head eunuch and examined the documents. Calip stood next to the Emperor’s desk and flipped through the documents to find what he needed.

“This is the proposal from the Mathis Guild that we will be visiting tomorrow. As it’s a mining business, the coal mining methods will be rough…….”

Knowing the Emperor’s unusually sleepless and persistent ways, Calip gave up on lying on his quarters’ bed and leaned against the bookshelf, closing his eyes slightly.

Harchen silently reviewed the documents and downed the remaining Panian in the cup in one gulp. He slammed the pewter cup onto the desk with a loud thud, making a dent in the wood.

Startled awake from his light nap, Calip refilled the pewter cup with Panian.

“Give me the documents from the guild that said they were mining pyrope garnets from Tane.”

“The Lasbur Guild, here it is.”

“Did you investigate this guild family?”

“How could that investigation be possible in half a day? I have instructed the Foreign Minister.”

Harchen frowned, not hiding his angry expression, and compared the two documents side by side.

He silently flipped through the documents while drinking Panian.

“One more glass.”

“Your Majesty, you must be tired. Let’s rest for today, and I will report to you tomorrow on the carriage to the Mathis Guild.”

“I’m not tired at all. Calip, are you tired? There seem to be many tired people?”

At Harchen’s words emphasizing the word ‘tired’, Calip poured the green Panian into the cup. Slowly swallowing a deep sigh inwardly, he vacantly looked out the window. He abruptly moved closer to the window.

Calip turned around with a smirk.

“My lord, come take a look at this.”

“Why?”

Harchen lifted the cup, gulped down the liquor, and went to the window. The strong drink that was going down his throat suddenly got stuck.

“Haa!”

“She looks like a goddess under the moonlight.”

“Calip, avert your eyes. Unless you want to go blind. And bring me a sword.”

“Yes, sir.”

Calip opened the display cabinet in the office, took out a long sword from among the exhibited items, and presented it to the Emperor with both hands.

“You may go now.”

Harchen took the sword and opened the door leading to the terrace.

Patricia woke up feeling stiff in her waist. The palm wood board she brought from Tane was laid on the bed, making the part touching her body feel hard.

She closed her eyes again and looked at the fresco painted on the marble ceiling in a half-open state.

It depicted a scene of three baby angels escorting the goddess of the wind and moving clouds. Sunlight shone through the parted clouds.

Wow. It’s well-painted. It looks like a mural that should be in the central hall, not a bedroom ceiling, wait, bedroom?

Patricia abruptly sat up.

Here!

It was the Karsik Empire.

She remembered Annie attending to her bath. Could she have fallen asleep during the bath?

Patricia was about to pull the bell rope but looked around. The darkness was too thick for dawn. And soon, a rumbling sound came from her stomach.

That’s right. Chocolate cake.

Patricia went to the parlor connected to the bedroom. Food was set on the table by the window.

Sitting on the chair, she lifted the glass cover on the table. Neatly cut fruits and chocolate cake. A mini brazier made of porcelain had a solid fuel burning underneath, and a cup of milk was placed on it.

She picked up the cup and took a sip of the milk. It was at a comfortable warmth.

Patricia ate the cake and fruits while gazing at the garden visible through the window. Perhaps because the garden was not created long ago, there were no large, thick trees, and low flowering trees were the main feature.

The garden of the West Tower in Tane’s detached palace came to mind. The West Tower garden was an aerial garden, so the soil and grass were not deep. As expected, there were more small flowering trees than old trees.

Patricia’s red roses, Patrick’s daffodils.

Patrick, who would be lying under a thick blanket beneath the flowering trees, came to mind.

Falling asleep again is out of the question.

She picked up the crystal glass placed in the ice bucket and took a sip. It was cold lemon ade with a lemon scent that refreshed her mouth.

Patricia went to the bedroom, gathered her hair, and tied it tightly with a long ribbon. She picked up the sword that was lying next to the bed. She went out to the parlor terrace, descended a few steps, and headed to the garden.

She drew the sword from its scabbard and sliced through the air.

Swish swish swish swish.

The lively wind and the refreshing sound of the sword cutting through the air could be heard.

Patricia stretched her left hand to the side to maintain balance, centered on her left foot, lifted the sword, then spun her body and slashed diagonally downward.

“Want to have a match with me?”

Patricia instinctively turned around.

Under the moonlight, the Emperor of Karsik was standing, propping the ground with the sword still in its scabbard, tilting his head slightly.

The Emperor silently stood and looked at Patricia for a few seconds, then approached her step by step.

He was wearing the black uniform pants he wore during the day with a white frilled blouse. He stopped right in front of Patricia, lifted his head up, and exhaled with a ‘hoo’.

The wind blew. Small white petals fell between them.

“And who might this be?”

“The blazing sun of the empire, the Emperor…….”

“Enough with the formalities.”

His voice sounded cold as if angry, but his eyes were dangerous. Patricia gripped the sword and took a step back. The Emperor brought his hand to his neck, loosened his cravat, and took a step forward.