“Is she a new servant?”

Nikolai grabbed Shichimi.

He quickly caught onto my identity before anyone else!

“Looks very strong.”

Haven’t you ever held anything heavier than a teacup?

“I was thinking of doing some cleaning. Convenient that you’re here. Follow me.”

Does the emperor personally clean?

I wanted to ask that, but I bit my tongue.

There were too many eyes watching me today.

“Your Majesty, I will thoroughly organize your conscience. Where should I clean?”

The chief court maid, serving the emperor, asked cautiously.

Nikolai, who had decided to tease me today, turned his head sideways.

“I quite like this maid. I want to take her with me.”

“What? Y-yes…”

The chief court maid, who answered with a trembling face, glared at me with eyes full of contempt.

Did she think a lowly maid was trying to outshine the emperor?

‘Don’t say things like that; people might misunderstand! Calling a mere maid a flirt!’

Nikolai seemed indifferent to how others perceived him.

Judging by the way he grabbed my wrist and turned down a narrow path, I could tell.

The place Nikolai took me to was a glass greenhouse next to the main palace.

The greenhouse, illuminated by the late afternoon sun, was filled with the refreshing scent of grass.

The temperature and humidity were high, creating an illusion of entering a tropical forest.

“I didn’t know there was a greenhouse in the imperial palace.”

I exclaimed while looking around at the unnamed flowers and trees.

“I had forgotten about it.”

“Why didn’t you visit it often?”

“It feels like the stench is vibrating.”

Nikolai replied casually.

He had mentioned that due to the Death Flower, all smells seemed foul to him.

No wonder he disliked the greenhouse.

When my expression darkened, he spoke as if telling me not to worry.

“I will clean up your Majesty’s conscience. Where should I start cleaning?”

The chief court maid, who had served the emperor, asked cautiously.

I was curious to ask about the emperor cleaning. Still, I bit my tongue.

However, Nikolai, who had resolved to tease me, turned his head slightly.

“I like this maid a bit. I want to take her with me.”

“What? Y-yes…”

The chief court maid, who answered with a trembling face, glared at me with contemptuous eyes.

Did she think a lowly maid was trying to outshine the emperor?
“Teasing me again.”

“I’m sincere at every moment. It’s even more true when I’m with you.”

As if confirming my words, Nikolai lifted me up in a flash.

“Eek!”

I couldn’t hold back a small scream.

Nikolai, holding me, walked confidently into the greenhouse, and even when he found a bed inside the greenhouse!

With a careful gesture, like placing a baby in a crib, Nikolai gently laid me down on the bed.

“Why is there a bed in the greenhouse?”

He spread a spotless white bedsheet and fluffed a soft goose feather pillow.

“I told you, didn’t I? I had forgotten too.”

Nikolai’s mouth curled up mischievously.

It was the expression he showed when he was in a particularly good mood or playful.

“Before ascending the throne, I used to take naps here often. The chief court maid seems to remember that habit.”

Nikolai, with a strangely reminiscent face, approached a step.

Since he unbuttoned the buttons on his neck, I stepped back, wiggling my hips.

It seemed like my shyness and caution stimulated Nikolai.

“W-why are you unbuttoning like that?”

For some reason, tension gripped my heart.

Was it because of the scent emitted by the plants and the high temperature?

Or was it because Nikolai’s eyes, gazing at me, were too sensuous?

It was difficult to endure the heat surging within my body.

“It doesn’t mean anything. What are you suspicious of?”

Nikolai made a slightly unjust expression.

But his gestures harbored a much more dangerous desire.

The masculine scent emanating from his entire body.

He fanned his face with his hand, passing through his dry lips.

“It’s useless to tempt me.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“The first night will happen after the coronation ceremony, not in the garden or greenhouse, but in the bridal chamber…”

He murmured with a half-crawling voice.

His cheeks, as well as his earlobes, would surely turn as red as well-cooked sweet potatoes.

“I provided a resting space for a tired maid. It can be seen as the consideration of a kind master.”

With a sorrowful tone, Nikolai murmured with a sniffle.

Even such a pitiful appearance was not disgusting but rather crazy.

The distance between Nikolai and me was getting closer.

His sensual lips slightly parted, and a fully heated breath flowed out.

In the plush bed and the dense atmosphere created by the greenhouse, my heart was pounding far away.

If this continued, I would lose control, first night or not!

“Do you know why I disguised myself as a maid?”

I hurriedly changed the subject.

Nikolai, touching my nose as a reminder not to forget, said.

“I know you went to the harem.”

“A real pug nose. No, a wolf’s nose.”

“What did you do in the harem, Elizabeth?”