It felt like his warmth still lingered on the uniform.

“So, how do I look now?”

“My judgment is like this…”

He held my hand and placed it over his heart.

Thump, thump, thump, the rapid beating of his heart permeated through my palm, coursing through my entire body.

I gave up on shaping my thoughts into words and just went along with him, falling backward onto the straw with him.

Repeatedly, I closed and opened my eyes while gazing at his face illuminated by moonlight.

The emotions we couldn’t convey in words were exchanged thoroughly through our glances and gestures.
Lionel’s blue eyes observed my reaction.

I relished every gaze of his that seemed to scrutinize me.

When I flashed a slight smile, he responded with a smile of his own.

A radiant light emanated from his shy face. Even the humble warehouse felt exquisite under that unchanging glow.

“Sorry I couldn’t wait until the Imperial Palace.”

His apologetic expression was unbelievably endearing.

“It’s okay.”

“But I might not be able to wait even at the Imperial Palace.”

“What?”

“So, I should apologize in advance for that too. Sorry.”

“…”

“Is that not okay with you?”

When I remained silent, he pressed my right cheek with his index finger and asked.

I burst into a dry laugh.

After giving me a stern look as if saying, ‘Don’t laugh, it’s an order,’ he swallowed my laughter with his own lips.

My unstoppable laughter seemed to be absorbed into his body.

In that deepening moment,

“Beyond the corpse of Wyvern, onward, onward…!”
With a humming melody from outside, the warehouse door swung open.

Lionel and I, still lying on the straw pile with no chance to get up, lifted our heads to look at the warehouse door.

“Farewell, Valley of Death! We march forward… Ah! Surprise!”

A man singing and stepping into the warehouse stumbled upon us in the darkness.

“Wh-who’s there?”

“Who is it!”

Lionel and the man shouted simultaneously.

“Your, Your Highness?”

“M-Macrom?”

Once again, the voices of the two overlapped.

Oh, my goodness.

The person who entered the warehouse was Commander Macrom.

I closed my eyes tightly with a sense of despair.

If you look closely, there might be a mouse hole somewhere around here…

Am I going to be exposed to Commander Macrom like this?

In this situation and place!

“Why did you come in here?”

Lionel asked him irritably.
“What brings Your Highness here all of a sudden?”

“I came to touch the bow after a while. Haven’t you seen the guards at the entrance?”

“I entered through the back door.”

Commander Macrom replied gruffly.

“Besides, I naturally can’t see anything. I was cursed with blindness trying to save someone in the Valley of Death.”

“Why is that story suddenly coming up? And let’s get straight to the point. If it weren’t for me, you would’ve lost an arm like that magician.”

“Well, it might have been better that way. But Your Highness, seems like you’re not alone?”

Commander Macrom looked at me, narrowing his eyes.

He probably sensed my presence…

I just wanted to get out of this space for now.

I gave Lionel a look of embarrassment, signaling that I would wait outside, pointing my finger towards the warehouse door.

Fortunately, Lionel nodded without saying anything.

I quickly got up from the straw pile.
Commander Macrom squinted with a displeased expression, following my movement as I passed by him like a cat. I intentionally left the warehouse without closing the door, standing in front of the visible wall to openly eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Your Highness, I’m disappointed,” Commander Macrom opened his mouth first.

“Who’s disappointed because of you? What kind of nonsense is that?”

“No matter how high Your Highness is, this seems a bit too much.”

“What’s too much?”

“It’s about Empress Your Highness.”

Caught.

As Commander Macrom mentioned me, I bit my lower lip.

Will he tell everything to Lionel now?

What I’ve been secretly doing in the training ground.

Why did this have to happen today?

Just a while ago, I was making a big fuss about being terrified of shooting arrows.

The situation became ridiculously absurd.

“Why did the Empress…”

“I’m ashamed to see Empress Your Highness.”

“So, Empress just now…”

“No matter how high Your Highness is!”
Commander Macrom interrupted Lionel and protested, saying, “How can you behave like this in a place with Empress Your Highness!”

The disappointed voice of Commander Macrom echoed throughout the warehouse.

Huh, does Lionel think I’m having an affair with the Empress’s bodyguard?

Commander Macrom still seemed to consider me as Guard Bonis, not Empress, based on his expressions.

Becoming the husband’s cheating partner of all things.

The situation took a strange turn.

“Macrom, what nonsense are you talking about?”

He continued with a bewildered expression, “Are you going to do this with the Empress instead of the Palace, here with the concubine?”

Lionel laughed, patting the hay I had lain on with his palm.

“Oh dear, what should we do with this situation!”

Commander Macrom sighed, repeatedly patting his thigh with one hand.

“Did you drink, by any chance?”

He looked at Commander Macrom with a strange expression.
“Your Highness, did you drink heavily today? So, in a place like this… Ah, Empress Your Highness is pitiable!”

“Well, I feel sorry for the Empress too. But what can I do when I can’t endure it.”

Although the two were having completely different conversations, amusingly, the dialogue that began with a misunderstanding flowed very naturally like water.

“Your Highness! Is this really you? Are you someone lacking self-control to sneak into such a place?”

“I didn’t know either, but after getting married, I’ve come to realize it for sure. I’m a completely crazy guy.”

Lionel responded with a chuckle.

“Ah, how surprised Empress Your Highness would be if she knew this fact.”

“The Empress probably already knows, doesn’t she?”

Lionel shook hands with me, directly facing the entrance of the warehouse.

“Oh, my gods, I didn’t hear anything!”

Commander Macrom, frantically tapping his ears with both hands, sought divine intervention.
The contrasting conversation between the two was amusing, but the commander’s gesture of considering me was quite touching.

However, he was, after all, Lionel’s loyal subject.

“Your Highness, I truly didn’t see anything today.”

“Have you really regained your eyesight? I’ve been saying something’s off since the last time. What did you start seeing that made you say such things?”

“…Please return to Empress Your Highness now.”

As if he didn’t want to continue the conversation with him any longer, Commander Macrom shifted his body aside.

“It’s not like that.”

Lionel, putting on the uniform top left on the straw pile, spoke.

“Huh? Were you even undressed, leaving only the upper garment?!”

Commander Macrom flared up again at the sound of him putting on the uniform.

“I have manners. How can I just let my woman sit on a straw pile like that?”

Locking the buttons of his uniform, he proudly said.
“Oh, Lord, have you heard! Please bestow blessings upon Empress Your Highness, and for our highness…”

The commander, who had been earnestly praying with his hands together, suddenly stopped talking.

“Well, why would I stop praying?”

Lionel asked, tapping the commander’s shoulder.

Then Commander Macrom clasped his hands again and shouted passionately.

“Oh, Lord, for our highness…!”

I listened attentively to Commander Macrom’s fervent prayer.