No matter what, Terion is still a noble.

Of course, in my eyes, there isn’t much difference between commoners and him, but he might take pride in being a noble.

“This is a book published in Quon.”

At that moment, Merem, who had gone deep into the library, came out holding a thin book in his hand.

The book, bound in red leather, was no larger than the palm of his hand, probably a collection of poems.

“Ah, yes. Since you said I can bring in any book freely… I heard that the commander of the Astaroth, who came from Quon, ordered it on purpose.”

“Considerate.”

“Thank you.”

Terion’s movements were not clumsy, and he spoke only minimal words and made minimal gestures.

Even when he is excited about taking charge of the library, how much more quietly will he be on ordinary days?

Perhaps I won’t even notice if Terion is present or not.

Even if he’s right in front of me.

“Can you recite poetry?”

“Yes, I can recite. It’s embarrassing, but… my brother said I only have that talent, so he told me to do it well.”

“I see. Why don’t you let me hear it?”

It wasn’t because Terion was in the government, but I was just curious about him as a person named Terion.

Since he didn’t tell me much about himself, eventually, I had to take a step closer.

At least, living together in this Hwangho Palace, I need to know what kind of person he is.

So, that day, the break time passed quite pleasantly with Terion’s poetry recitation.

In the evening, I called Squirrel, who seemed restless and wanted to be picked up, to join us for dinner, and then I went back to the study to look at the documents.

Then, in a moment of distraction, with my head buried in the paperwork, I found myself leaning on the desk and groaning. Looking at the clock, it was already 4 in the morning.

“I should go to bed, Leo. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“I can… work a little more.”

“No.”

I tried to endure with stiff eyes, but Merem was firm.

Lifting me up with his arm around my waist, he stood me up and sent a nod of acknowledgment to Fabel, who was eagerly flipping through the documents, with a crazed look.

“Don’t overwork yourself. Even if you say you’ve recovered, it’s based on your standards, not the standards of ordinary people. How long has it been since you returned, keeping yourself awake all night?”

“It’s been a while. I missed your nagging. How I’ve missed it.”

Trying to stifle a yawn, tears welled up.

Wiping my eyes and sighing, Merem, who had been staring at me, twisted his lips.

“!”

Then, he put his hand under my thigh and suddenly embraced me.

It was so sudden that I was taken aback, but now there was no avoiding it.

In fact, I was grateful that he embraced me like this.

“Don’t strain yourself. It’s too much to go through the documents yourself. You can reduce it a bit.”

“But… it’s important now, um… It’s a crucial step.”

“Your body is tired. I’m not saying don’t work, I’m saying let me handle what I tell you to. Just get the final report from me.”

The work I took on at the Hwangho Palace was, of course, important in terms of security.
Except for Fabel, the chief secretary, and the secretaries under him, no one should know about the documents circulating.

There was only one exception: Merem.

‘I wonder if I rely on and trust Merem more than I thought.’

At first, I just wanted to teach Merem how to handle paperwork for when he eventually pushes my brother aside and becomes the emperor. When did he become so trustworthy?

Merem, who had laid me down on the bed, continued to gaze at me without leaving.

“Leo.”

“Yeah.”

“Even if I slap you tomorrow, it’s okay.”

Huh?

As I tried to forcibly lift my heavy eyelids, I felt something soft and warm touch my neck.

It was an extremely gentle and affectionate kiss.

Feeling my chest flutter, I stopped breathing.

“If you’re defenseless like this, I might go crazy.”

The low tone of Merem’s voice mixed with a metallic sound.

But he didn’t go any further.

“Sleep.”

Even though he had stared at me as if he would devour me, he eventually covered me with a blanket.

Though a bit mischievous, he covered my face as well.

Wiping my eyes and sighing, I finally managed to reach out and lightly touch Merem’s palm.

“At night… it’s not allowed to stay up.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Still.”

Ah, I can’t stand it anymore.

In the end, I gave up on everything and fell asleep.

It was a good night without dreams.

It was undoubtedly a boiling hot summer, but I couldn’t tell when the cold wind started blowing, and it became autumn.

Charlotte, who was organizing my jewelry, finished polishing the last gem and put it in its proper place. Then, with a proud look, she approached me.

“Um, Your Majesty. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

Actually, my mother will soon come up to the capital. My younger sister is getting married.”

Ah, it hasn’t been long since I read the file containing information about the employees.

I nodded and kindly replied.

“Her name must be Yulia. One year younger, right?”