“Is there only one exit here?”

The Emperor asked, shifting his gaze from the thick curtains covering each window to the stairs leading downstairs.

“No, Your Majesty. There’s an emergency exit in my office on the second floor for me and my clerks.”

The jeweler’s owner, who had met the Emperor at the palace several times, hurriedly guided the Emperor and Arabel to his office.

“Could we not say goodbye to Timothy?”

“I’m afraid we must leave now, lest we waste time and our identities be discovered.”

The Emperor spoke softly to Arabel, who was still trapped in his arms, looking up at him with round eyes.

“And Lord Timothy has likely already left.”

Arabel nodded in understanding at the Emperor’s words and followed him towards the emergency exit in the office.

The Emperor glanced down at Arabel, almost enveloped within his cloak and nestled in his arms, and thought. Honestly, he suspected Timothy was still waiting downstairs, but he had no intention of letting them meet again.

Timothy’s father, Count Korad, was one of the few loyal imperial subjects the Emperor thought ‘might leave a slightly bitter taste if betrayed,’ and his only son Timothy was an honest and pure young man befitting his father’s character.

The Emperor didn’t want to show Timothy the expression he reserved for dealing with scheming hyenas, and especially had no desire to reveal his blood-red eyes to the woman blushing to her neckline in embarrassment within his arms.

“Deliver the purchased items to the address written on the paper.”

After ordering this, the Emperor was able to use the secret passage to exit onto the street with Arabel.

“Y-Your Majesty…”

“Yes?”

“I think you can let go of me now.”

As her face kept bumping against the Emperor’s firm abs below his chest inside the cloak, Arabel spoke timidly, not knowing what to do.

Her body, practically glued to his by the strength of the Emperor’s arms, was stiff, her hands lost and wandering. She was desperate to avoid the mishap of touching any part below the Emperor’s waist due to their significant height difference.

The Emperor looked down at Arabel trapped in his embrace. He had pressed her so close that her small body seemed to be clinging to his side. He slowly relaxed the arm around her slender shoulders.

The moment Arabel separated from the Emperor’s embrace, both of them paused their steps, feeling the suddenly cold air around them.

The Emperor slightly furrowed his brow, feeling a chill he hadn’t experienced even in the extreme cold of the northern conquest, where sweat drops froze instantly.

Trying not to acknowledge the empty space at his side, the Emperor cleared his throat and said,

“Well then, shall we move on to our next destination?”

He extended his arm, politely bent, towards Arabel and smiled softly.

“Where was it again…?”

The Emperor, escorting Arabel through the dimming square, muttered to himself, uncharacteristically looking around. After passing two large jewelry stores, Arabel looked up at the Emperor curiously.

Before leaving the palace, as the Emperor mounted his horse after finishing the undercover investigation meeting, Deputy Commander Peter began explaining something to his subordinates. In a rather loud voice, as if intending for the Emperor to hear from a short distance away.

‘That cafe is like a dating holy ground that young couples must visit. It has all the elements that especially captivate women, so satisfaction is top-notch. Cute, pretty interior, sweet desserts, and even a flower shop next door. Perfect, isn’t it? I must go there this weekend.’

‘As for where it is…’

The Emperor’s upper body leaned slightly to the side in the saddle, committing the location of the cafe Lord Peter was describing to memory.

However, finding it proved unexpectedly difficult. This was understandable, as the Emperor’s main purpose for coming to the capital was to ambush and eliminate groups of traitors or major criminal organizations.

Although he claimed to go incognito to read public sentiment, he had never done anything as frivolous as seeking out cafes frequented by couples.

According to his urban planning initiative, the buildings in the square’s commercial district were grouped by color for each block, but the boundaries became less distinct further out.

“Are we not stopping at this jewelry store?”

The Emperor deliberately pretended not to hear Arabel’s soft whisper beside him, his mouth parched as they walked.

It seemed the stores would soon close as curfew approached. As they entered an alley slightly off the main street, the Emperor’s expression finally brightened.

It was an even happier moment than when he discovered an oasis after being lost in the desert for three days during the war with the Western Allied Nations. A charming cafe decorated with small glass flower-shaped lamps and a flower shop came into view side by side.

Due to the capital being operated according to the central administration’s plans, flower shops selling live plants were rare in the imperial capital.

Thinking he should look into how this flower shop obtained its permit, the Emperor’s eyes caught Arabel’s face, unable to hide her curiosity. Her round eyes sparkled with excitement upon discovering various types of live flowers.

“C-Can we take a look for a moment…?”

Arabel looked up at the Emperor and asked in a timid voice. She seemed to have no idea that the Emperor had intentionally brought her here.

One of the Emperor’s eyebrows rose playfully, and he nodded willingly.

“We’ve bought enough jewels to investigate, so it wouldn’t be bad to have a late-night snack before heading back.”

Arabel’s clear face flushed pink with joy at the Emperor’s answer.

As expected, contrary to expectations, Arabel seemed more interested in the flower shop full of live plants and flowers than the pretty cafe that women were said to like.

They entered the cafe and ordered the most popular dessert – a sweet bread baked over a brazier with condensed milk drizzled like thread on top – and while waiting, Arabel’s gaze remained focused on the flower shop connected to the cafe.

The Emperor smiled slightly and said,

“Let’s take the dessert and visit the flower shop. It looks like they’ll close soon.”

Arabel nodded, unable to contain her excitement, even clenching her small fists.

The Emperor handed Arabel the dessert bread as big as her face and entered the flower shop with her. Her small feet instantly approached the potted flowering shrubs.

“It would be so pretty to plant flowering trees in the Detached Palace.”

“I believe fresh flowers are delivered daily to the young ladies’ residences.”

“Cut flowers wither and die in just a few days. If we plant flowering trees in the ground and take good care of them, they’ll stay in place for a long time.”

Arabel had thought about this while receiving the beautiful flowers delivered daily for decoration to the eleven residences. How nice it would be to plant flowers and flowering trees in the Detached Palace garden.

Then countless flowers wouldn’t have to be cut and die within three days, and the flowers and trees rooted in the ground would bring greater joy to many people for a long time. Butterflies and dragonflies would visit…

The Detached Palace garden was truly strange. The same went for the palace garden she had seen through the carriage window. Surprisingly, in the garden with three connected ponds, there were no lotus flowers, let alone any living creatures, despite its name as a lotus garden.

Except for the cherry tree forest at the back of the Detached Palace where people didn’t go, everywhere was covered with smoothly manicured grass and marble, with no flowers or trees to be found.

Everything, including lotus flowers, decorated the Detached Palace garden as magnificent and splendid sculptures made by master craftsmen.

The positive changes in the ecosystem that could be achieved with just a few flowering trees are enormous, but sadly, people don’t know this well.

“If you wish…”

The Emperor opened his mouth towards Arabel, who was looking at a purple-flowered shrub called an autumn flower.

“I’ll have trees planted for you.”

Arabel turned her head in surprise, and the Emperor’s face was close enough to touch, matching her eye level.

As his handsome face smiled among the branches blooming with purple and white flowers, hundreds of butterflies fluttered and took flight within Arabel’s chest.

Was she intoxicated by the flower fragrance? Arabel’s round eyes remained captivated by the Emperor’s red eyes, unable to move.

“In return.”

The Emperor tilted his head to the side and slowly brought his red lips to her pink ones. Swish, he took Arabel’s hand holding the condensed milk bread and raised it between their facing lips.

“Would you allow me… to take a bite of yours?”

The Emperor’s red gaze lingered intently on Arabel’s lips, not the bread.

The polite question about eating the bread sounded so suggestive that the flower shop owner and customers unconsciously swallowed. It seemed as if he was asking permission to taste something else, making the women’s faces flush.

Arabel’s long eyelashes fluttered as she nodded slightly. Not letting go of her round eyes, the Emperor brought Arabel’s hand to his mouth.

“W-Wait, Your Majesty. This is where I’ve bitten.”

As Arabel urgently tried to turn the bitten side away, the Emperor’s hand overlapping hers applied gentle pressure.

As Arabel stepped back in surprise, he caught her waist with his other hand, pressing their bodies together. A low sound of breath catching could be heard from around them.

Seemingly unconcerned with the prying gazes, the Emperor looked at the soft lips that had parted slightly in surprise and moistened his lower lip with his tongue.

“I think we’re already past that stage.”

The Emperor opened his lips and took a large bite of the bread from the side where Arabel’s lips had left a trace. All the while, his red gaze never left her still adorable lips.

In that moment, an overwhelming decadent charm emanated from the handsome man whose refined appearance had captured everyone’s attention since entering the flower shop.

The perfect subject, like a cool sculpture, created a barrier with top male pheromones around the woman in his arms, giving the illusion of separating them from their surroundings.

It sent a warning that while he could look his fill, one would have to give up their life to look at the woman in his arms. The people in the store didn’t dare to set their eyes on the small young lady, dominated by the man’s aura that instantly controlled the surrounding air.

The man’s focus on the woman was so attractive yet intense that goosebumps rose on the arms of those stealing glances.

The Emperor savored the sweet bread slowly, as if tasting something other than bread. After swallowing the bread, he pulled up one corner of his mouth and whispered so that only she could hear.

“Haven’t we already shared more than this? Ah, we’ve shared yours, but I haven’t shared mine yet.”

Arabel looked up at him blankly, not understanding the Emperor’s words. But soon, Arabel’s face turned bright red.

She realized he was talking about the moment in the cave when he had chewed and fed her berries on behalf of the dying leopard that couldn’t chew. Her eyes trembled uncontrollably as she avoided his gaze.

As the Emperor took another bite of the bread, his lips captured the slender fingers holding the bread and swallowed them along with it. The hot flesh curled around the fingers along with the bread, teasing and licking, then lightly bit with sharp teeth.

Every time the moist flesh slowly traced over, a tingling sensation spread up and down from the spine.

The heat that bloomed from the bitten fingers uncontrollably transferred to the deepest part of the heart, warming up to the throat. Faced with this unfamiliar sensation, Arabel looked up at the Emperor, not knowing what to do.

The clear eyes shaking as if pleading for help were pitiful beyond measure, but they further stimulated his sense of possession that had begun to raise its head.

The desire to taste more of her, stimulating his salivary glands, began to dominate his reason, and he felt Arabel’s body becoming rigid with confusion.

I will never frighten you again. The Emperor’s lips slowly released her fingers as he straightened his bent waist and shoulders.

“Oh dear. It seems I’ve eaten all the bread, so I’ll buy you more. So you can eat when we return to your quarters.”

Moving slowly to avoid showing his suddenly uncomfortable lower body, the Emperor entered the cafe.

Stealing glances at the man who had just created a scene more suggestive and dreamlike than the intense private encounters happening in back alleys, the cafe clerk put twelve condensed milk breads into a box.

As the Emperor reached out to receive the box from the clerk…

“Catch them!”

“It’s the jewel smuggling ring!”

Shouts from soldiers were heard at the entrance of the alley, followed by the sound of multiple footsteps rapidly approaching.

And then,

“Don’t come any closer!”

“If you don’t let us go, we won’t leave anyone alive!”

Voices filled with malice screamed from within the flower shop.