“He seems to know only one thing about me.”

Lacelia sighed inwardly.

“If that’s the case… What should I do?”

Rescal remained frozen, murmuring to himself.

“It’s not like that.”

It was like this until Lacelia said so.

“Really?”

Rescal grabbed Lacelia’s face with both hands and asked repeatedly.

“Is it true? The Grand Duke has nothing to do with you. The one who made the Grand Duke her lover was Cartahena. Isn’t that right?”

“Yes… And please let go of my face. It’s uncomfortable.”

It was not discomfort but rather nerves.

Holding the face with both hands somehow resembled the gesture before a kiss.

“Do I really have to let go?”

Why couldn’t he say those words?

Lacelia stared at Rescal expressionlessly. Soon, Rescal, feeling sullen, released his hands. Although Lacelia still didn’t know, the stern face that meant rejection was quite a blow to Rescal.

“You are my mate…”

Rescal mumbled, shaking his head.

In the past, it would have been useless, but now Lacelia was in a much softer state of mind.

“Your Majesty.”

Rescal raised his head abruptly. His eyes seemed to urge her to say something, which was a bit uncomfortable.

“I also don’t know how I became the Empress. I thought I was dead, but when I opened my eyes, I was here.”

“So… I see.”

Rescal forgot the advice not to touch her face and gripped Lacelia’s cheek again.

Rather than discomfort, it was more like he forgot the gesture resembled something before a kiss.

“So, I don’t really know. Why I should be Your Majesty’s mate. How it can happen. I still don’t have the conviction that Your Majesty feels that way about me.”

“Ah…”

“I really don’t know if being your mate is right. Something seems off from the beginning, as you said, Your Majesty.”

Rescal tilted his head while maintaining eye contact.

“Does it matter if it’s off? We just need to adjust it properly.”

“Yes. So, I need time to adjust properly.”

“Same old words.”

Rescal sighed softly. His expression looked too sulky, so without realizing it, Lacelia gently placed her hand on his cheek.

“Even if it’s the same words, it’s different.”

Rescal’s eyes widened.

“How?”

Even as he spoke, he anxiously gripped Lacelia’s wrist, fearing she might remove her hand.

“If before, I needed time to distance myself from Your Majesty, now it’s the opposite.”

“If it’s the opposite…”

“If I find out how I became your mate, the reasons behind it, I believe I can accept Your Majesty as my destiny without any effort.”

“…”

Before speaking, a small sigh escaped her.

“You keep making me wait.”

“Yes. But… If something has gone awry once, it won’t be properly aligned without any effort.”

Rescal’s mouth twitched.
“It’s a valid point, and I can’t argue with that. However, it means understanding that I don’t like the word ‘wait,’ but still, there is no way to ignore Lacelia’s words.”

“I’ll wait, so do something for me.”

It had become so familiar that it seemed like the natural course of action now.

“I’ll listen.”

It was a signal to speak, for now.

Lacelia knew that Rescal was looking at her lips.

‘He might ask for a kiss again. He always does. …I have to refuse.’

Rescal’s way of kissing was quite awkward. He was already aware that she liked putting lips here and there, even on the forehead, but kissing on the lips was different.

At such times, he acted like someone who didn’t know when to finish. It was a bit scary because if she just received it quietly, she didn’t know how far it would go.

“May I ask for your name?”

But it wasn’t a kiss.

“No… Huh?”

Lacelia, who was about to say it’s not allowed, widened her eyes in surprise.

“Your name. If it’s okay with you, tell me.”

“Ah…”

Even though she was speaking perfectly, Rescal’s gaze was still fixed on her lips. Feeling a strong thirst in her eyes, her throat felt dry, but Rescal said something else.

“Well… Lacelia.”

“Lacelia.”

Rescal slowly repeated her name. Then, the name Lacelia sounded completely different.

“Should I call you by this name? Would that be good?”

“Well… Won’t it cause confusion?”

It might be more comfortable to return to being herself than pretending to be an inappropriate Empress.

But now she was the Empress. It seemed impossible to become a different person with the same face.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters most is what you want. If you don’t want to use the Empress’s name, you don’t have to. We can formalize the Empress’s absence, and there’s a way for you to become the new Empress.”

“For others, we would be the same person. Exactly the same.”

Wouldn’t people find it strange?

“It doesn’t matter. I won’t ask you to play a different role for the rest of your life because of that reason.”

Lacelia moved her finger slightly on Rescal’s cheek, who spoke this way. Following the movement of her finger, Rescal shook his shoulder slightly.

“Then I’ll think about it. After I am sure that I am your mate.”

“Anytime.”

The sensation of the skin touched by the fingertips was warm and soft. The warmth of a person’s body played a role in keeping her heart relaxed.