Tasir slowly walked down the path, recalling the sight of Latil sprawled on the couch, her long legs and solid calves, her feet surprisingly tough. The white blouse that covered her thighs.

The crunching sound from between her lips every time she nibbled on a snack, her voice claiming both the leader of Heukrim and harem Tasir as her own, as if it were a given.

The corners of his mouth curled into a smile. He knew well about the capricious princess. About the astute princess as well. At least in terms of objective ‘information’.

Even from afar, Tasir was confident he knew this princess whom he merely glimpsed from a distance.

But now, when the distance has become closer than ever. He wanted to know more about her. Not in terms of statistics and recorded information, but about the real her.

Then, he heard the rustling of leaves from not too far off. Tasir halted his steps and looked in the direction of the sound.

Guesta, the gentle harem member who resembled a Golden Retriever, was staring up at a tree, his face lost in deep thought.

‘What is he looking at?’

His serious expression prompted Tasir to follow his gaze, but there was nothing in the tree.

Tasir lowered his gaze, only to be surprised. Guesta was looking straight at him.

‘What a surprise.’

As their eyes met, Guesta smiled like a gentle breeze. It was a gentle, light, warm springlike smile.

Tasir then belatedly understood why Guesta had been staring at the tree. He was gently holding a small bird in his arms, one that seemed to have a broken wing. It must have fallen from that tree.

‘Did he intend to put the bird back in the tree?’

Before he could even ask if Guesta needed help, Guesta left with the bird in his arms. The sound of rustling leaves as Guesta stepped on them quickly faded away.

Tasir watched this scene and tilted his head.

‘Is he really that kind?’

Truthfully, Tasir had thought that Guesta’s behavior during the water bucket incident had been too contrived. So, he had sometimes doubted him. Wasn’t Guesta just pretending to be kind?

But seeing him take care of a bird with a broken wing alone, he seemed genuinely kindhearted. But the expression he wore while looking up at the tree was…

‘Well, either way, it doesn’t matter to me.’

After a moment’s thought, Tasir decided it didn’t matter whether Guesta was genuinely kind or just pretending to be, and returned to his room.

He had too much work to do to be concerned with a harem member he wasn’t even close to.

Even the nobles of small territories threw a grand party by inviting close or neighboring nobles when they succeeded.

On the surface, it was a celebration, but in essence, it was a party declaring ‘I’m the owner here now, so you better take a good look’.

An emperor or a king couldn’t possibly skip such a congratulatory banquet that even the rulers of small territories threw.

“You should start planning a coronation banquet, Your Majesty. You need to invite foreign dignitaries and show them who you are.”

So, when the palace steward brought up the party, Latil naturally agreed. In fact, compared to other emperors, she was bringing it up late due to the confusion during the enthronement and various other issues.

Latil, who had been reviewing the tax issues, nodded.

“Indeed. It’s about time.”

The palace steward cautiously asked again.

“But, Your Majesty. There’s one problem.”

“A problem? Is it a budget issue?”

“No. It’s just… usually, such a banquet is overseen by the empress.”

“Ah.”

“But the Tarium Empire doesn’t have an Empress yet. Who will you assign this task to?”

“Well…”

I can do it myself, she was about to say, but Latil checked her calendar on the desk. The calendar was filled with small letters, leaving almost no empty space.

‘Will it be too hard for me to handle?’

There was a tremendous amount of work to do because it was the early stage of her reign. She didn’t even have time to properly visit the harem she had created.

In addition, there were the assassination of the viceroy, the foreign powers of Tilla, the missing gift, the desecrated tomb, and many other unresolved issues.

Preparing for a banquet was a meticulous and surprisingly tedious task. On top of that, the result would be evaluated by dozens, if not hundreds, of esteemed guests.

Looking at the calendar, it seemed as if it would be too much for Latil to handle alone.

“Hmm.”

Latil furrowed her brow.

“I agree. Who should we entrust it to?”

Usually, in the absence of an empress, the emperor’s mother or siblings would take up the task. However, Latil’s mother had already left the palace and entered the temple when the previous emperor was alive.

Although she did have several halfbrothers and sisters, their relationship was not close enough to ask such a favor. Besides, they were avoiding her because she had executed Tlala. Wouldn’t they be alarmed if she tried to entrust such a big task to them?