However, Guesta had left his place, so Latil next went to find Ranamun. Fortunately, Ranamun was dutifully remaining in his room.

“What brings Your Majesty at this hour?”

Ranamun was an ideal person to try and read emotions from. His icelike, unchanging face, cold voice, and quiet demeanor he was the perfect candidate.

“Do we always have to meet at night?”

“!”

With a sly smile, Latil walked to the window where Ranamun was sitting and took a seat beside him.

Ranamun didn’t push Latil away. But he also didn’t say anything, resulting in an awkward silence between the two.

However, Latil, who usually would have started a conversation, was now keeping quiet to hear Ranamun’s inner thoughts, no matter how awkward it was.

How long did they sit there, knees touching and zoned out?

‘Is he not thinking anything, or is he thinking and I just can’t hear it?’

After about 30 minutes, Latil admitted that she wouldn’t be able to hear Ranamun’s inner thoughts no matter how much longer she stayed. She decided to go and see the other consorts and stood up from the window sill.

“Are you leaving already?”

Ranamun, who had been like an ice statue all this while, stood up with a slightly disappointed look on his face as Latil prepared to leave.

“You were getting annoyed and telling me to go, right? …Inside.”

“When did I?”

“Hmm, guess you didn’t. You’ve been pretty quiet.”

“?”

“Nevermind, just a thought. Anyway, I’m leaving.”

As Latil patted his shoulder, Ranamun’s hand raised a little. Just as she was about to leave, his hand rose further in the air.

His hand brushed aimlessly through the air as if trying to hold on to something. Once the door closed, Ranamun reluctantly lowered his hand after a moment’s hesitation.

“……”

The closed door reminded him of Latil’s heart, and Ranamun clenched his fist and stood there for a while. But unlike the silent door of her heart, this door would open if he turned the knob.

While Ranamun and Latil had their conversation, Carudoon, who had stepped aside for a while, watched Ranamun with a chokedup feeling, his eyes welling up.

“My lord…… It’s really pitiful to see you standing like this. Is it because of that casino dealer?”

“No.”

Ranamun responded coldly and went back to the window, but Carudoon was convinced that Ranamun was upset because the Emperor had spent the night with the casino dealer, and he sobbed.

“Don’t be too disappointed. How could you have known that Her Majesty’s taste is a face like an angel with a body like a beast?”

“An angelic face? Are you saying he’s better looking than me?”

When Ranamun, who was immensely proud of his beauty, spoke coldly, Carudoon quickly raised his hands.

“No way. Your face is incomparable in this world! Your face was created by God himself with care!”

That’s right. His beauty was such that it didn’t feel odd to receive such praise. But why? Why wasn’t Emperor Latil captivated by him?

Seeing that Ranamun’s expression didn’t soften, Carudoon hesitated before cautiously making a suggestion.

“Um… My Lord. It seems that Her Majesty prefers muscular men. How about you try bulking up?”

“!”

The next person Latil went to find was Tasir. Although Tasir wasn’t in his room, fortunately, he was nearby, and he quickly approached upon spotting Latil first.

“Who is this? Isn’t this our majesty?”

Tasir, who approached with familiarity as if he and Latil had been close friends for 20 years, muttered, “I’ll do something pretty,” and, pulling Latil into his arms, smiled proudly.

Seeing this, Tasir’s subordinate, Hielran, inwardly shed tears of admiration, thinking, ‘Indeed, our team leader is strategic and foxlike!’

Latil blinked her eyes against Tasir’s chest, giggled, and then slipped out of his grasp.

“You’re quick to act here.”

“I’m hungry for love.”

At that moment, as Latil was about to add something, laughing, Tasir’s shirt suddenly ripped, revealing one side of his chest.

Surprised, Latil widened her eyes, and Tasir sighed, “Oh dear,” but instead of covering his chest, he propped his forehead with his hand.

“My clothes are so old, they tore. It’s embarrassing to show such a sight in front of Her Majesty.”

If it’s embarrassing, why not cover it? Latil sighed as Tasir’s clothes slipped further down when he lifted his hand.

“I can see everything, everything.”

“Seeing and even commenting on it makes my face hot. So, how is it?”

“Not that!”

And his face was hardly flushed! Seeing that Tasir had no intention of pulling up his clothes, Latil eventually pulled the hem of his clothes tied around his waist herself.

When her fingers barely brushed against his skin, her shoulders involuntarily twitched, but Latil, pretending not to notice, warned him seriously.

“Stop doing absurd things.”

“It’s because the clothes are old.”

“Which old clothes are half torn, only the seams?”

“Your detailed observation of me makes my heart race, Your Majesty.”

As Latil stared at him with wide eyes, Tasir, with a smile in his eyes, finally secured the hem of his clothes with his arm.

Latil sighed and shook her head. What a strange man.

But, separately, she could not discern Tasir’s inner thoughts.

‘He just says whatever comes to mind.’

“Your Majesty? But why did you really come? Do you have a particular order for me?”

In response to Tasir’s belated serious question, Latil waved her hand and moved on to the next consort.

But the next one she visited, Carlein, was also not there.

“Where did he go?”

When Latil asked, a servant from Carlein’s Black Reaper Mercenary Company answered with a pale face that mirrored his master’s.

“He said he wanted to loosen up for a bit and went to the training ground.”

“I see.”

“Shall I tell him you came?”

“No, it’s okay. It’s not urgent.”

She had met Carlein just yesterday anyway. At that time, she distinctly remembered not hearing any inner thoughts from Carlein. She wanted to hear at least a little.

In the end, Latil decided to visit Klein last.

“Your Majesty!”

Klein was in the room alone, doing something that made his neck and forehead sweat, while his servant from his home country played the violin, and Aksian held a drum.

“What were you doing?”

Were the three of them having a party? When Latil asked in surprise, Klein rambled on with a blushing face that he was teaching his subordinates about musical instruments.

How passionately did you teach to be so sweaty by yourself? Latil was genuinely curious, but the moment she said it, Klein’s face looked like it would burst, so she swallowed her words.

“I see. Keep… teaching the music.”

Since she couldn’t hear Klein’s inner thoughts either, Latil patted his shoulder and quickly gave him some space.

‘I achieved nothing in the end.’

But it was when she was trudging towards the harem’s exit.

“Your Majesty!”

Klein’s voice came from behind. Suddenly, why? As Latil stopped and turned around, Klein, with a towel around his neck, rushed forward.

“Why are you like this?”

Approaching hurriedly, Klein fell silent once he was there. His lips sealed tight, he merely stared at Latil with large eyes.

Then.

‘Please, ask me to go with you. Ask me to take a walk together. Tell me it pleases you to see me. Say you wanted to dance with me at the ball. Just don’t go. You came to see me, didn’t you? Say it’s true.’

The inner thoughts of Klein resonated clearly.