“Shouldn’t we hurry back to the imperial palace? We need to find out what rascals have snuck in and train them so they can throw themselves in harm’s way for Her Majesty the Empress if needed!”

Lord Chedef deliberately exaggerated his words.

He was afraid of how coldly subdued the vice-captain seemed.

But Derek gave no response.

Feeling awkward, Chedef soon closed his mouth.

‘What do I do now.’

In fact, he had been thinking something was off today as well.

Normally, they would have returned immediately after completing the mission, saying they needed to hurry back to Her Majesty the Empress.

But today, Derek didn’t do that.

Instead, he gave the knights half a day off as a reward for their hard work.

‘And then he brought me along to find some alcohol…’

Derek was never an easy person to approach.

The members found the vice-captain very difficult, and Chedef acted as a mediator between them.

So when Derek suggested going to a tavern today, Chedef thought to himself, ‘This is good.’

Getting drunk and opening up would increase camaraderie and help them understand their colleagues better – what could be better?

He also wanted to see the always-proper vice-captain let loose for once.

‘Should I take him to a different tavern?’

Something had seemed off ever since he sent away the attendant sent by Her Majesty the Empress, saying there was no need.

He looked dazed, but I thought it was fine since he wrapped up the work well.

‘Ah… so, is he upset with Her Majesty the Empress? Is that why he’s like this? Does he feel abandoned? They say the vice-captain used to stay by Her Majesty’s side almost like a consort.’

Chedef scratched his head.

That was all he could come up with for now.

But no matter how upset he was about a consort being brought in, he couldn’t dare show it in front of Her Majesty the Empress.

What right did the vice-captain of the knights have?

Even showing dislike would be an act of disloyalty.

In the end, he could only stew in it alone.

But… Chedef didn’t quite understand.

Wasn’t this much better than her staying cooped up in the bedroom?

“Her Majesty the Empress seems to have become much healthier, don’t you think?”

“…Yes.”

When he casually tossed out the comment, this time he got a response.

It was said in a tone tinged with subtle displeasure that only those close to Derek could pick up on.

“I remember when Her Majesty first appeared holding a wooden sword. After that, she really did strength training every day. That’s when I first realized Her Majesty was someone who followed through when she said she’d do something.”

“Follow through, huh…”

Oh, did I say the wrong thing?

I thought he’d be pleased with praise for Her Majesty, but Derek just trailed off and fell silent again.

‘Please save me. Let me go home. I hate overtime like this!’

In the end, Chedef gave up, unable to find anything more to say.

He just wanted to hurry back to the imperial palace.

The next morning, I had breakfast with Mereum.

We focused silently on our food – shepherd’s pie made with minced lamb, sautéed walnuts, and fish topped with butter cream.

“You’ve got something there.”

“Huh?”

Mereum was the first to speak.

Wondering what I had gotten on myself, I widened my eyes, then chuckled at his next words.

“Here. There’s something pretty stuck on you.”

“What?”

“Haven’t you heard that line before? Didn’t your consorts use it?”

Mereum asked somewhat triumphantly as he wiped the corner of my mouth with his thumb.

I wonder where on earth he learned such a line.

I giggled and poked Mereum’s cheek.

“Well, there’s handsomeness stuck here too.”

“Thanks for the compliment. I know.”

Mereum shrugged. Then he took a big bite of shepherd’s pie. He seemed to be enjoying the taste.

“Paivel is thoroughly investigating their backgrounds. If anything even slightly suspicious comes up, they’ll be imprisoned immediately.”

“You think one of the three is an assassin?”

“Probably not Terion. That is, if the one now given a bedroom in my palace is really Terion Auclair.”

They all seemed suspicious to me.

Especially Gabriel, who does surgeries despite being timid, and Sucrel, who’s ambitious and has many calluses on his hands – the fact that they had “nowhere to return to” was particularly suspicious.

“I hope they are assassins.”

“Why?”

“So I can kill them with my own hands.”

Mereum said casually as he brushed back his hair.

His tone was so nonchalant that I thought he was going to say he wanted another piece of shepherd’s pie.

“My, are you jealous?”

“Of course. It would be strange not to be.”

“You seemed so relaxed about Shailo though?”

“I still can’t help feeling anxious.”

Blood vessels stood out on Mereum’s radiant skin.

It was enough of a physical reaction to realize he was suppressing quite a bit of anger.

“Then… shall I teach you to dance? How about it? Dancing with me.”

“That sounds nice, but am I not just wasting your time?”

“I was planning to rest until today anyway. A light dance might energize me too.”

The appearance of demons in the capital is only a calamity for Enrique, not for me. Enrique should be the one worrying about damage control.

Right now, they say he’s bustling about in the temple, so strategically it would be better to leave him be and only step in if he makes some mistake.

“Then… alright.”

“Shall we go if you’re done eating?”

“Sure.”

Teaching Mereum anything is really enjoyable.

He follows along well with everything and excels at whatever he does.

As we were leaving the dining room like that, I spotted Sucrel approaching from the far end of the corridor.

“Your Majesty!”

Sucrel smiled brightly and hurried over to me, bowing deeply at the waist.

“Rise, Sucrel.”

“Your Majesty, I couldn’t sleep all night so I came to find you. Have I been much of a bother?”

Despite the early hour, Sucrel seemed to have dressed up. It looked like he’d even put on makeup.

The part about not being able to sleep was probably untrue, but he must have woken up early to primp to that degree.

“Offer your greetings, Sucrel. This is Quan royalty.”

“Ah! I am honored to meet one who dwells in such lofty heights. I am Sucrel from the Seven Kingdoms.”

It was admirable that he was dolling himself up like a flower, as is a consort’s duty, but rather than praise him, I introduced Mereum.

If they were going to live together in the Empress’s Palace, they needed to clearly know Mereum’s status and position.

Even if Mereum was an outcast prince in his own country, he was still clearly a member of the royal family.

“You must offer proper greetings even when I’m not present.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I, Sucrel, will keep that in mind, over and over again.”

“Good. You may raise your head.”

Sucrel’s manner was overflowing with aegyo and quite respectful.

The fact that he wasn’t acting arrogant yet made me think his social skills might be better than expected.

As I passed by Sucrel, I calculated where else he might be useful.

Gabriel could take care of animals and Terion could be a librarian, but Sucrel didn’t seem capable of much.

Other than warming my bed.

But I prefer to sleep alone.

“Is that one of the consorts?”

“Yes.”

“Not bad.”

I wondered how Mereum would react, but it was unexpected.

He left that brief comment and opened the hall door for me without saying anything else.

“Please.”

“It really doesn’t suit you when you use formal speech.”

Does this mean someone like Sucrel isn’t even worth being wary of?

Well, it would be funny if he paid too much attention to a commoner like Sucrel.

“Now, place your hand on my waist. Yes, like that.”

“The dances in Nix were difficult. They had set forms.”

“Are there no set forms for Quan dances?”

“Everyone just dances however they feel when the mood strikes.”

Mereum’s hand touched my waist.

I placed my hand on his firm, muscular shoulder and adjusted our posture more precisely to find a comfortable angle.

“We don’t have music, but let’s try to keep time.”

Dancing means getting physically closer to your partner.

You spin around several times pressed so close together that your lips could touch if you’re not careful, then separate and come together again. All while whispering sweet nothings.

It was only natural for feelings to blossom as skin brushed against skin and gazes were exchanged.

Especially if that partner was none other than Mereum.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have offered to teach him to dance.’

Come to think of it, whenever there were banquets in the past, Mereum always stood against the wall.

Before he came of age, it was because he was still young, but now?

As I imagined him politely dancing with young ladies his age, I felt somehow displeased.

If Derek were to take a noblewoman’s hand and step onto the dance floor, I think I’d sincerely cheer him on, but with Mereum…

‘Ugh. What kind of mindset is this?’

As I was scolding myself, I suddenly tilted my head.

Wait, I’m a demon, aren’t I?

Being selfish is a demon’s duty, so why shouldn’t I act this way?

“Hey, there’s Paivel over there. And I think that’s Charlotte next to him.”

In that moment, Mereum pointed out the window, cutting off my thoughts at just the right time.

Looking in the direction he was pointing, it really was Paivel and Charlotte.

“Charlotte looks shy.”

Indeed, Charlotte truly looked overjoyed.

When did those two get so close?

It’s very interesting, as I had no idea about this at all.

The two were chatting and laughing, unaware that we were watching them.

And right at that moment…

“!”

Oh my goodness!

Charlotte grabbed Paivel by the collar and pulled him sharply towards her!