“There was a chamberlain brought by Guesta Rhodes. But he also served as a guard, so he couldn’t track the culprit in case an accomplice attacked Guesta while he was trying to find the culprit.”

“Eh?”

Latil, who didn’t fully understand the chamberlain’s explanation, asked again.

“Why? Couldn’t Guesta just run with him?”

The chamberlain, sucking in his cheeks and floundering like a goldfish, finally responded.

“… Guesta Rhodes, he…he can’t run.”

“Oh….”

That’s right. Guesta spent all his time reading books in the library. He had been like that since childhood, so it’s no surprise that his physical strength is not good.

Latil nodded in agreement. But he looked quite healthy on the outside.

No, it wasn’t just healthy. Guesta might be shy, but he was tall and broadshouldered, and his bone structure was sturdy.

So, she thought he would be able to use his body properly. It seems that wasn’t the case. Maybe those broad shoulders are just his natural physique.

The chamberlain asked again.

“What will you do, Your Majesty?”

“Well, based on Count Sable’s view, who seems to be behind this?”

“I suspect Prince Klein.”

“Put aside your personal feelings.”

When Latil said, narrowing her eyes, the chamberlain changed his words with a cough.

“If I were to speak without personal feelings, I have no guess. Although Guesta Rhodes has a gentle nature, he hasn’t shown any notable assertiveness yet. There’s no need to restrain him.”

“Is that so?”

“In the same context, it’s also vague to view it as a grudge issue. Guesta Rhodes has a gentle nature, so he doesn’t make enemies.”

“I see….”

With a knuckle in her hand, Latil pondered for a while and then stood up.

“Whoever did it, someone did. For now, I need to give everyone a scolding.”

Latil immediately went to the harem and called all the court ladies, consorts, and their servants who worked there.

The people were frightened and gathered when the emperor suddenly appeared and summoned everyone. Looking around at the numerous court ladies, Latil purposely used a colder voice than usual.

“Guesta was hit by a stone thrown by someone else in the harem.”

“….”

“Of course, this is a story you already know. It happened here.”

Laying the groundwork while looking at the court ladies, Latil then turned her gaze to the consorts, meeting each of their eyes with a warning.

“I don’t say you all have to get along well. It’s not going to happen anyway. But I would prefer if there weren’t any bloody incidents, alright?”

And then it was the turn of Prince Klein, whom the chamberlain suspected with personal feelings.

Latil had told the chamberlain not to include personal feelings, but because he was originally crazy, she looked more closely at Klein with a ‘what if?’ mentality.

However, Prince Klein, far from being afraid, just chuckled and, as if helpless, took out his hand from his clothes and made a heart shape. He didn’t seem to think at all that he was being targeted.

‘Ah…. He’s truly crazy.’

Latil, for a moment, blankly stared at that heart shape and finally burst into a faint smile.

“Anyway, the conclusion is, if something like this happens again and it’s impossible to identify the culprit in such a case, everyone may have to run laps together. Understand? Don’t underestimate the running. The harem is doughnutshaped, isn’t it? Don’t think it’s cute because of its shape. After running a hundred laps around that doughnut, your soul will escape from your mouth.”

After the Emperor’s stern warning speech ended, Tasir let out a sigh as soon as it was over.

“I can’t tell whether this is a mercenary group or a knight’s group. An unexpected group cheer.”

To the nobles, being a knight was both a duty and an honor. Even if they lacked talent in swordsmanship, they at least received basic swordsmanship training, as duels for honor often occurred.

But Tasir had been a merchant from the beginning, remained a merchant as he grew, and was still a merchant now, so he never had such training.

That’s not to say he was weak like the aristocrats. It was just that he had never received something like a group cheer.

“You have been following the knights since childhood, Your Majesty. The rumors must have been true, Lord Tasir.”

“Seems so.”

Tasir grumbled as he unnecessarily looked back.

“I wonder if they draw their swords when they argue, given their nature.”

“Oh, Lord Tasir. How could you argue with the Emperor?”

“Why not? They do quarrel quietly. History is full of stories about the Emperor and his spouse arguing.”

“That’s true. But to have an argument, they must first be married.”

And Lord Tasir is not yet a fullfledged spouse. At the stern advice of his attendant, Tasir smiled and walked away without a word.

“Have you checked? His Majesty’s first love.”

“I was about to tell you that……”

“Why didn’t you tell me before I asked, even though you were going to?”

“That is, I had to confirm some things. It’s not confirmed information, and considering the other party, it’s a little bit…”

Tasir, walking slowly, leaning back, turned around at the odd nuance of the servant.

“What is it? Was the first love what, a king from another country?”

“Yes. It seems so.”

At the serious response to his jest, Tasir stopped and opened his mouth.

“Really?”

“Yes. A king.”

“A king, then……”

Tasir paused, racking his brains, and after a 5second calculation, he sighed softly.

“It must be the Emperor of Karisen. Emperor Hyacinthus. Right?”

“How did you know, Lord Tasir?”

The attendant, who had deliberately said ‘king’ rather than ’emperor’ for a more dramatic effect, widened his eyes. Tasir explained as if it was no big deal.

“Looking at the ages of the consorts, His Majesty doesn’t seem to prefer men with a big age difference, either up or down. Looking at the faces of the consorts, they all seem quite handsome. If he was a single king, he would push for a royal marriage, but since he didn’t and created a harem, it means he’s now married. Hyacinthus Emperor happened to study in our country for a few years. Who else could it be?”

Stunned by the rapid response, the servant was at a loss for words.

“I feel like I’ve become a fool after investigating for several days.”

“You did become a fool. I just inferred from the fact that you knew he was a king.”

“Still.”

“What else is there?”

“Excuse me?”

“If Emperor Hyacinthus was his first love, there should be some story about how they dated. That’s what I want to know.”

“That’s why I couldn’t tell you because there’s no certainty about that part.”

“What was Emperor Hyacinthus like?”

Tasir recalled when he had gone to Karisen on business a long time ago. First of all, he was handsome. He had a nice voice. But there was nothing else memorable.

Well, it made sense, because he had only exchanged a few words with the Emperor of Karisen. Since the conversation wasn’t such that the other party’s personality would be revealed, there was naturally nothing memorable.

“He didn’t seem to have a harsh personality.”

“Are you going to imitate him?”

“Maybe. If his first love is now a married man, it means the end of the love wasn’t good. If I imitate him wrongly, it could backfire……”

Tasir frowned and pricked his black hair with his fingertip.

“Besides, it’s hard to figure out the Emperor’s personality. It’s hard to approach him personally.”

“Yes. Still, I tried to investigate as much as I could. The Head of Commerce told me to help you as much as possible if you needed anything.”

“I see.”

Casually praising, “You’re doing well,” Tasir sensed a presence and turned his head to look somewhere. His usually stoic lips soon twitched upwards.

“Or I can check myself.”

Sijong turned his head to the direction Tasir was looking at and was taken aback. Across the promenade, Prince Klein was walking. The brother of Emperor Karisen.

“Aare you going to ask directly?”

Surely not? Sijong asked in surprise, but in that brief moment, Tasir had already reached near Prince Klein.