What’s this? He had been speaking from his own mouth and suddenly asks what he was talking about.

“I was earnestly speaking my true feelings, wasn’t I?”

“Why… did I do that?”

What is he talking about?

“Why are you saying that…”

“As if bewitched, as if drunk, I spoke without knowing. I must really be losing my mind.”

He shook his head vigorously, displaying a serious expression.

‘Is he saying that he didn’t intend to speak?’

I looked at him with suspicion. His expression was one of irritation, as if he hadn’t intended to speak.

Sehelrus, who had been speaking about magic and wanting me to be pleased, came to mind.

‘Could a mage have done something…?’

“Ah… I must really be crazy. Or maybe I ate something bad. To go to such an extent…”

“Your Majesty.”

“Why?”

“The words you spoke just now, did they…”

I trailed off, not being able to say that they came without your own will. I had heard some strange words from the new tavern keeper, Sehelrus.

“Forget it. I must have eaten something wrong. I blabbered nonsense.”

“Ah. I will forget it.”

“…You don’t have to forget, just don’t mention it again in front of me.”

“Are you embarrassed?”

“Emb, embarrassed!”

Leandro suddenly flared up, looking as if his fault had been discovered.

“Anyway… it’s a strange day. I’ve never talked about these things to anyone.”

He seemed to be trying to make excuses. He looked like a sharp cat, cornered and meowing out of embarrassment.

It seemed rather cute.

“So, I was a little surprised.”

“It must have been bad.”

“No, it was good. Your Majesty… no, Leandro…”

“Lean.”

Is it okay to casually call the absolute ruler by his nickname like that?
The deep-rooted insignificance as a subject repeatedly stopped him from instinctively calling him Rian.

“Yes… Rian.”

“Right.”

“Thank you for talking, anyhow. I always feel reassured when I talk to Rian.”

“Talking to me?”

When I called him Rian, he finally became Rian, not the Emperor, but someone who felt like a comfortable friend. The power of names, titles, and words was greater than I thought.

Usually, the person who would say “we” and “us” to me started saying “I.”

He seemed unaware.

“Yes.”

“Is that so.”

“From my perspective.”

“So it is.”

Today, he was as well-behaved as a quiet cat. It was both surprising and a bit odd.

As I stared at him, Rian quickly sat down in the seat where Sehelus had been sitting, looking very displeased at Melodia.

“Bring the tea again.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Melodia, who had been keeping her distance, quickly went inside and came back out as soon as the Emperor’s command fell. We did not say a single word while she poured the tea again.

Only Rian’s gaze was still fixed on the sleeping children. I also looked at the children, following him.

How can they sleep so well? I felt like I could sleep for a long time if I lay down there too.

“Should I wake them up… They might not get sleepy in the evening.”

“Just let them be. Ruedello seems to only sleep well here.”

I was talking to myself, but Rian surprisingly responded to my words.

“Ah… Can’t he sleep well in other places?”

“He says he has nightmares. Wakes up several times a night, always screaming. I can’t make out what he’s saying.”

“Ah.”

“I felt like I should mention it since there’s a distance between us.”

It seemed my words about ‘distance’ bothered him; he spilled out even the words he wasn’t asked.

“Yes.”

“It would be good to know in advance when you become Empress, since you’ll be Ruedello’s mother.”

“It’s a relief he can sleep well here, at least.”

Melodia quietly set down new teacups and a teapot in front of us. She poured the tea into the snow-white porcelain cups without a sound.

Only then did she step back, and the Emperor, who had been sitting askew, turned his body to look at me.

“So how is it? Is it bearable?”

“It’s bearable without the Count and Countess.”

“You talk about your family as if you’re talking about someone else’s.”

“That’s because they’re not a family I’m particularly fond of.”

Sharp as always at times like this.