Icar’s eyebrows narrowed slightly.
A feeling of tension loomed, but Reneb calmly took one step after another, speaking as ever.
“I heard rumors that Emperor Bashuker has black hair like obsidian, and red eyes.”
“…….”
“And I heard that Duke Dehan has blond hair with green eyes.”
Matching Reneb’s stride, Icar asked,
“Is that all the evidence you have to recognize that I am the Emperor?”
“There’s more.”
Icar gestured for her to continue speaking.
“According to the rumors, Duke Dehan is slender, almost like a pretty boy. But you, Your Majesty, are…….”
“Your Majesty is?”
Reneb looked at Icar’s sturdy arm and spoke,
“Your Majesty is very robust. Even most knights wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“I didn’t know such rumors reached Paradium.”
Icar murmured with a slightly serious expression.
Of course, in Paradium, such detailed rumors would not circulate. Reneb simply knew because she had seen both of them in person before her return.
She had decided that this was the best answer since telling people she had returned would only get her treated like a madwoman.
“And although you might not know, both of you are rumored to be incredibly handsome.”
That was true.
After his surprise appearance at the founding ceremony, the Paradium social scene buzzed about Icar for a while.
“Both of us?”
But Icar seemed fixated on something unexpected. Reneb quickly shifted gears.
“Of course. Especially! His Majesty the Emperor is said to be overwhelmingly beautiful.”
“In that case, which side is your preference?”
“My preference?”
“Yes. The pretty boy side, or the one more robust than a knight?”
Reneb was quite perplexed.
Despite spending a few days trying to figure Icar out, he seemed an elusive type.
He was consistent in his actions and words, but occasionally showed unexpected traits.
So now Reneb was pondering what to say to navigate this situation well.
“Since you can’t answer right away, it seems your preference leans toward the pretty side.”
Reneb, who had been biting her lower lip, was suddenly surprised when her eyes met Icar’s.
His eyes were slightly narrowed, and the corners of his mouth were also slightly upturned.
But he was emitting a rather unpleasant aura, looking as though he might draw his sword at any moment. It was an ominous atmosphere.
Reneb quickly spoke,
“My preference isn’t that important, but I suppose I lean toward the robust side.”
That was true.
Though Lucius had learned swordsmanship, since he often dealt with paperwork in his office, he couldn’t be considered muscular.
Compared to Icar, he was closer to the pretty side.
And that had led Reneb to realize her preference wasn’t for smooth and slender beauties.
“Huh, like me then?”
Icar asked with interest.
“You’re suntanned, with healthy, vibrant skin. It’s quite attractive.”
Icar seemed even more interested.
“Ho, like me?”
“Of course, like you, Your Majesty.”
Reneb uttered the words with difficulty.
Finally, a smile spread across Icar’s face. It was the moment when the saying that praise makes even a dragon dance seemed to fit perfectly.
(This is a time separator.)
Unaware that Reneb had broken a sweat placating his suddenly disturbed mood, Icar was in a much better state.
“Your Majesty, shall we go to your office?”
Dehan, who had been walking from the opposite side of the corridor, asked.
“Yes.”
“I had something to report, so this is good timing. Last time you mentioned…….”
Dehan, who had been looking at the documents, suddenly raised his head.
Because Icar was humming a tune.
Even Dehan, who had served his lord for over ten years, had never seen Icar hum like this.
“….Your Majesty?”
“What is it?”
“Is something pleasing you?”
“Something pleasing?”
Calmly moving to his office, Icar’s lips slightly curled up at the edges.
Druhan was very tense. After seeing that expression, there had always been trouble.
“It occurred to me that there was something.”
“What is it? Something that makes you happy.”
“I didn’t intend to say it, but since it seems you, Druhan, are curious, it would be proper for me to tell you.”
Druhan wondered what was taking so long to speak, but he quietly waited for the reply.
“I happened to meet Lady Siren at the imperial garden while taking a walk earlier.”
“Is that so.”
“She informed me of her taste in the opposite sex.”
Druhan nodded appropriately.
“Lady Siren’s preference in the opposite sex?”
Icar nodded.
“Druhan, are you curious?”
“Huh? Well, yes. Please tell me.”
For a moment, the smile that lingered at the corner of Icar’s mouth vanished.
Initially, he had thought of telling Druhan clearly about Reneb’s taste in men.
Between Druhan and her, there was a preference barrier that could never be crossed.
But Icar soon changed his mind.
‘There’s no need to tell him specifically.’
He remembered Reneb’s gaze at him in the castle of Duke Julevern.
“Bein, you must be tired working late.”
Bein, who was looking through documents in the office, raised his head.
“It’s the usual, really. Rather, it felt empty since you didn’t come to the office after dinner.”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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