As I bowed my head as if I were a sinner, Rinel put his hand on my knee and smiled.

“You have a talent for making people dizzy in various ways.”

After sincerely apologizing to him, I cautiously changed the subject.

“But how did you see me throwing the knife? It was so fast, like the speed of light…”

“You spilled wine on my hand, and on top of that, the chandelier went out suddenly, so I couldn’t see clearly. That’s why I was unsure.”

“Really? Did you not hear it from Commander Macron?”

“…Macron knows too? But he didn’t report it to me? This guy, this won’t do!”

He exclaimed, eyebrows twitching in excitement.

“Please don’t misunderstand! Commander Macron knew that I practiced swordsmanship, but there’s nothing wrong.”

“What?”

“In fact… I had been to the training ground a few times, and that’s where we first met.”

“It wasn’t the first time we went together?”

“No.”

“The bow? Were you intentionally shooting arrows so poorly?”

I nodded with a sly expression.

“Absurd. But didn’t Macron know when we met at the storage room? Why did he act like he didn’t know you in the lounge today? Even though Macron has lost his sight, he doesn’t forget the aura of someone he met once.”

“When we first met at the training ground, Commander Macron already thought of me as a newly appointed Imperial Guard of the Empress. So, in the storage room…”

“Huh, did he misunderstand that I was having a secret meeting with you? That’s why… he grumbled more than usual that day.”

Rinel felt unfairly reminded of the curse that Commander Macron had cast on him.

“I found out today in the lounge that I am the Empress. And about the chandelier going out when I threw the knife at the banquet, that…”

“Was that Macron’s doing?”

I nodded, and he burst into a bitter laugh.

“He’s quite good at fooling me, huh? How long did you both plan to deceive me?”

“I was going to tell you soon.”

“When? After I destroyed my important part?”

He asked with an annoyed voice.

“Don’t say such horrible things!”

Unconsciously, I raised both hands to protect his lower body and then snapped back to my senses.

“I planned to tell you before the hunting competition. And I thought Her Majesty likes the image of being fragile and protected, so I didn’t want to shatter that illusion.”

It was a somewhat trivial reason, but somehow it seemed like the most convincing excuse.

However, his expression did not seem to ease.

“I wanted to protect you, whether you were strong or weak.”

He said seriously, placing both hands on my shoulders.

“Really?”

“Yeah. The only thing I care about is that you don’t get hurt.”

Rinel gently brushed my hair with a tender gaze.

“It’s touching…”

I secretly laughed without a sound as I held the mask that he had worn upside down, covering half of my face.
“Yeah, I hope you won’t recklessly put yourself in dangerous situations like at the banquet just because you’re skilled in swordsmanship. If you’re going to do that, it’s better to appear fragile.”

Rinel sighed with a worried expression and advised me.

“I’ll be careful from now on.”

“Yeah. By the way… why did you apply so much perfume on your already soft body?”

He asked, pulling me a bit closer by holding my waist.

“I practically poured the perfume into my palm in the bathroom. I didn’t want to waste it, so I applied it all over my body… Oh right, Your Majesty, how did you come in? I’m sure I didn’t hear the sound of the bedroom door.”

“Where did a crazy assassin boldly enter the bedroom?”

“Then how did you come in?”

“He came in through the bathroom door and crossed over to the bedroom.”

I turned my head to look at the bathroom in response to Rinel’s words. The bathroom door was half-open.

“What if I had been bathing?”

“We would have fought fiercely there and you would have ended up completely wet.”

“…I guess so.”

“Haah, that’s a relief.”

He whispered, pressing his cool forehead against my warm one.

“What is it?”

“I thought I might lose sleep, but you even know how to throw a punch.”

“Really…?”

“Yeah. Well, it hasn’t been peaceful since I kicked the Emperor in the face.”

He chuckled, tapping my nose with his index finger.

“Um, there’s something else I’m good at besides throwing punches.”

“What is it?”

He asked with a curious look in his eyes.

“This.”

Instead of explaining in words, I conveyed it by repeatedly giving him kisses on his lips.

As his lips curled upwards, he whispered something meaningful.

“I’m good at it too…”

“What is it?”

I asked, and as if waiting for it, he lifted me up and flew me onto the bed.

“Oops, oof!”

Then, he flew onto the bed himself.

“How can you look good even in this outfit?”

I looked up at Rinel and felt the assassin’s outfit he was wearing.

“Is that so? I was also surprised when I saw myself in the mirror.”

I momentarily lost my words at his confident tone, unashamed by the compliments.

“Pfft.”

In the end, I laughed and hugged his face with both hands, even with a rag on it.

“Why, what.”

“It’s nothing. I just forgot that you lead a life so accustomed to compliments.”