Eden was kneeling in front of Patricia, kissing the back of her hand. Then the two walked side by side beneath the castle walls.

The pale platinum hair fluttered lightly in the breeze. A bright smile spread across Eden’s handsome, well-proportioned face.

Patricia laughed brightly without even covering her mouth, as if he had said some silly joke.

Such a radiant smile under the glaring sunlight.

Laughing?

Harchen gritted his teeth.

Just earlier in bed, she had complained of dizziness with a disheveled expression, and he had barely managed to suppress his desires and let her go. Patricia said she would go out for some fresh air while brushing her hair.

Harchen held her hand, putting on her lace gloves, and asked:

“Shall we take a walk together?”

“No, I’ll go alone.”

“Alright then. Don’t walk for too long.”

“Okay.”

After answering coldly and leaving, this was what she was doing.

When escorted by the emperor, the height difference made it seem like she was forcibly being dragged while clinging to his arm. With Eden, the height difference was just right, making them look like they were walking side by side. Even such trivial comparisons were irritating.

“Calip! Go and bring back the empress. We depart for Lisuwan in one hour.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Harchen sat at his desk and flipped through documents. Calip bowed his head and hurried out of the office.

*

When Harchen came down to the first floor with Claudine, Eden, Patrick, and Patricia were standing in front of the carriage, talking. The white eagle perched on Patricia’s shoulder quickly flew into the sky.

Patricia had changed into a comfortable dress for the long carriage ride and tied her hair up in a single ponytail for coolness. Harchen was captivated even by this appearance, staring at her in a daze as he approached with large strides.

Harchen opened the carriage door and told the maid inside to go to the carriage with the lady-in-waiting and Claudine. Confused, Annie went to the rear carriage where the luggage was being loaded.

“Get in, Empress.”

Patricia held Patrick’s hand, shook it, and let go. She made eye contact with Eden and curtsied slightly.

Harchen, who had been watching her actions with a cold gaze, took Patricia’s hand as she boarded the carriage. He turned to Patrick, leaving the carriage door open.

“You have lunch at the castle before leaving.”

“No, we must head to Luken right away.”

Patrick firmly grasped Harchen’s hands with both of his.

“Harchen. Please… take good care of Risha.”

“Of course. Take care and return safely to Notos Palace.”

Harchen briefly held Patrick’s thin hands before letting go. Calip approached, holding Khan’s reins.

“Let Khan run alone. I’ll ride in the carriage.”

“Pardon?”

The emperor had rarely ridden in carriages before. He had briefly ridden in the royal open carriage during events. Especially for long distances, he had never ridden in a carriage instead of Khan.

Harchen boarded the carriage Patricia was in.

“Your Majesty, will you be alright?”

Calip held the carriage door and asked again for confirmation.

“Let’s depart.”

As Harchen pulled the carriage door shut, Patricia raised her large eyes.

“Your Majesty, why are you here?”

“Is it uncomfortable?”

Patricia visibly frowned her white forehead. Clasping her hands on her lap, she answered in a firm voice.

“Yes, it’s a bit uncomfortable.”

“My empress is quite honest.”

Harchen chuckled and opened the carriage window. He too felt stuffy as soon as he got in the carriage.

The carriage crossed the drawbridge and passed through the castle gates. The soldiers guarding the gates were surprised to see the warhorse Khan running alone. They spotted Harchen through the window and shouted acclamations while striking the ground with their scabbards.

“Harchen, Harchen, Harchen!”

After passing the outer walls of Pana Castle and entering a quiet forest path, silence fell inside the carriage.

The sound of carriage wheels on gravel, the rattling of carriage joints, and occasional bird calls mixed together.

Harchen took off his jacket and vest, then removed his gloves and loosened his cravat. Patricia turned her head so much it hurt her neck, fixing her gaze on the dense greenery visible outside the window.

He leaned forward, stretching out his arm to grab her cheek and turn it towards him.

“The forest path will be quite rough. Are you alright?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

The emperor uncrossed his long legs and smoothed the seat beside him with his hand. It was an impeccably neat gesture. However, she had experienced this morning how quickly that neatness could change.

“Come here, to my side.”

It looked natural for him to command with intense eyes on his smooth face. His expression was arrogant, but his low voice was seductive.

Did I like someone who spoke so rudely and arrogantly? Annie, the maid who had followed from Tane, asserted that Patricia was moved by the emperor’s love and ended up liking him.

Patricia couldn’t understand it at all. She frowned and turned her head away sharply.

“I’m fine.”

“How cute.”

The emperor chuckled and unbuttoned his shirt. Loosening the collar, he leaned forward and took both her hands.

He removed the lace gloves from her hands. He pressed his ring against the wedding ring on her left ring finger, as if kissing it.

“How romantic.”

His large hand pressed on her finger bones, then caressed them with his fingertips. Patricia was perplexed by the strange feeling, unsure if it was pain or ticklishness.

Though they were said to have consummated their marriage, it felt awkward and embarrassing at the moment. She tried to pull her hand out of his, but he pulled it even closer to himself.

“Don’t you like it?”

“I don’t have any memories of Your Majesty, so this is disconcerting.”

The emperor suddenly hardened his expression. She felt his fingertips tightening on her hand. He narrowed his eyes as he looked at her, then brought her hand to his face.

“Remember. Or you’ll have to get used to it.”

Hot lips touched the back of her hand where the bones protruded. For a moment, a strange sensation shot through the middle of her body like an electric current. Her arms broke out in goosebumps.

“Please don’t.”

“But I will.”

So… surely not here? Patricia couldn’t travel like this, alone with the emperor in a carriage. All her nerves were on edge. It was uncomfortable.

“Shall we continue what we were doing earlier?”

The emperor’s face, like a celestial statue, came right in front of her. Their noses almost touched. His deep green eyes flickered as if on fire.

Patricia’s face reddened as she recalled what happened in the bedroom this morning.

Everywhere his hands touched and caressed felt like it was on fire. She almost lost her mind to the dizzying and sensual sensations.

Without realizing it, she had put her hand in his hair and clung to his shoulders. Though she had barely managed to push him away, she wasn’t sure if she could control herself if put in that situation again.

“Ah, no. Your Majesty, I don’t want to here.”

“Haa. Those words.”

The emperor lightly brushed her nose tip with his lips. As he tilted his head and looked into her eyes, she couldn’t breathe from the tension.

Before being entranced by his surreal appearance, she closed her eyes. The sound of her rapidly beating pulse heated her ears.

“Then, I’ll look forward to it at Veil Manor.”

“……”

Patricia had expected his lips to invade between hers, but when he only touched the corner of her mouth, she slightly opened one eye. Seeing the blazing green eyes in front of her, she closed her eyes again in surprise.

“Answer me!”

“Huh? About what?”

“I said let’s do it at Veil Manor, the naughty stuff.”

Her face, red as a tomato, unnecessarily strained her eyes and sharply turned towards the window. With both fists clenched.

Harchen leaned back. He covered his mouth with one hand, arms crossed, to hide his laughter.

She looks like she wants to punch me. How cute.

“This is killing me.”

Harchen raised his upper body and banged hard on the carriage wall.

The coachman stopped the carriage. He immediately opened the door and went outside.

He couldn’t possibly sit alone with her in such a narrow space. Even staying still, her breath filled the carriage, heightening his excitement.

His blood vessels expanded and blood rushed to one place, about to burst anywhere.

As the carriage stopped, the maid named Annie quickly ran over. As Harchen mounted his horse, the maid promptly boarded Patricia’s carriage.

“Princess… I mean, Your Majesty. Are you alright?”

Patricia was embarrassed to raise her head, still feeling hot even after wiping her cheeks and nape with the handkerchief Annie had dampened for her.

“Uh, why?”

“His Majesty the Emperor seemed angry. Did you two perhaps argue?”

“Umm, no.”

Patricia turned her head towards the window, then swallowed the breath she was about to exhale.

The emperor on his black horse was right in front of her, and her gaze happened to fall on his thigh area.

She knew she should look away, but found herself unconsciously staring at his taut thigh muscles, swallowing hard.

I must be crazy. Was I always this lecherous?

The wedding ring on the emperor’s left ring finger, holding the reins loosely with his ungloved hand, caught the light and flashed in her eyes.

No matter how carefully she considered it, she couldn’t believe that an emperor with a perfect physique and surreal appearance had married her.

Combining what Lord Eden and Annie had said, the emperor had willingly accepted the political marriage with Patricia, who had been the leader and prisoner of an enemy country that had started a war.

Why?

The emperor’s expressions and actions this morning and in the carriage seemed to look at her lovingly and desire her.

Is that possible in a political marriage? Love in a political marriage?

Even though she had forgotten all her memories like a blank slate, she still had aesthetic standards. Objectively and coolly judging, Patricia herself wasn’t particularly attractive or beautiful.

Patricia imagined that the emperor might have fallen for some secret charm she didn’t know about, then recalled this morning’s events again, blushing and shaking her head repeatedly.

After half a day of travel, the carriage stopped at a flat pasture by a modest lakeside. The emperor and Calip rode their horses around the lake once.

The knights and attendants moved in perfect unison. They set up wooden poles under a deep-rooted ash tree and draped a cotton canopy.

The maids and Annie laid out woven rattan mats. An attendant unfolded collapsible wooden boards to make a table. They spread a linen tablecloth on the wooden table and set out food, fruits, and desserts.

The emperor sat across from Patricia. He raised one knee and stretched out his long leg to touch the hem of her dress. If he had sat beside her, she could have avoided his gaze, but sitting across made their eyes meet frequently.

Patricia awkwardly hunched her shoulders and lowered her head.

She fixed her gaze on his forearms, where his shirt was rolled up to reveal bulging veins, and on his long ring finger wearing the blue-green diamond couple ring said to have been mined from an ice wall.

“Touch it.”