Upon arriving at the empress’s palace and entering the bedroom, fatigue washed over me.

Emotional exhaustion seemed more draining than physical exhaustion. I found the saying to be entirely accurate.

In fact, training in swordsmanship all day at the training ground seemed less tiring.

“Your Highness, this is Asaka tea, good for calming the mind and relieving fatigue.”

The day started with Sharon offering me tea, followed by Sollye applying pressure to her fingertips to give me a head massage. Theresa started gently massaging my hands, saying that my noble hands must have been strained from working too hard in the greenhouse.

Eventually, the three maids brought up Rinel subtly while chattering with me.

“You didn’t really go to Madame Catherine’s palace last night, did you?”

“I knew you wouldn’t go!”

“No wonder Madame Catherine was so frustrated and took it out on Madame Rosie!”

They poured out all the things they had been saying from the greenhouse to the Empress’s Palace.

I just shrugged my shoulders at their excited chatter.

Seeing my lukewarm reaction, they changed the topic to the discipline I showed to Catherine.

“I felt so refreshed!”

“I don’t think I will have indigestion for the next ten years.”

“There were so many moments I wanted to capture in a drawing… Heehee.”

The three maids took turns praising me as if I was a war hero.

Good grief, they all swore to serve me like a goddess when they saw me wielding a sword.

They even raised their voices, swearing lifelong loyalty to me as they left the greenhouse.

For the last thirty minutes.

“But…”

“Anyway…”

“No matter…”

Sharon, Sollye, and Theresa’s conversation returned to last night’s whereabouts of the emperor.

“Where did His Majesty go last night?”

Sharon asked, as if pondering.

“That’s a good question.”

Compared to their long curiosity, my answer was very short.

I stared at the bed, which looked wider today, lost in thought, then gestured to Sharon.

“Sharon, I think I need to go to the main palace.”

“The main palace? Do you have errands to run? Or do you need something from the main palace…?”

“Yeah.”

“Just say the word, I’ll go get it right now!”

“I need him.”

“Yes, I’ll bring His Majesty right away… What?!”

Sharon was surprised and opened her mouth wide.

“Leave him alone, just go meet the Secretary, Raphael.”

“The Secretary?”

“Yeah, I’m going to the main palace later.”

“Does that mean!”

“Yeah, tell him I’ll go to His Majesty’s bedroom tonight.”

“Kyaak!”

At my words, the three maids hit each other, danced a silent dance, and even jumped up and down, creating a huge fuss.

“Yes! I will go to the main palace right now to meet Raphael.”

“Ah, Sharon. Come to think of it, I could have sent another maid.”

I smiled at Sharon, who was very excited, and then suddenly realized that she didn’t have to go to the main palace herself.

But Sharon was already several steps away from me, ready to rush to the main palace.

“No! I should personally deliver such an important message. I will tell Raphael in detail and come back!”

“There’s no need to rush…”

Before I could finish my sentence, Sharon lifted her dress and ran out of the bedroom at full speed.

I watched Sharon’s retreating figure, and then I laughed with Sollye and Theresa, who were left by my side.

“Why would Zelda… do that?”

Rinel began to experience emotional instability after the visit of Sharon, the Empress’s maid.

He walked around aimlessly near the window of his office.

He had been pacing for tens of minutes already.

Standing with his back to the sunset shining into the window, he stopped abruptly facing Raphael, who was standing in front of the desk with a bored expression.

“Raphael.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Raphael had been rolling his eyeballs following the Emperor’s path for ten minutes, just about to turn his gaze to the documents on the desk.

“No, nothing.”

Rinel, who was about to say something, started pacing again.

Raphael’s eyeballs followed Rinel again, and this time he initiated the conversation.

“Your Majesty? I’m sorry to say this, but you seem more anxious than when the war broke out in the Death Valley.”

“That is indeed the case.”

“Are you serious?”

“I wish it were a lie.”

Rinel paused his steps again and raised his right hand to his left chest.

“Why does my heart beat so much, even when the other party is not there? Why do you think that is?”

“Perhaps, it’s because of the anticipation of meeting later.”

“Oh, as expected, you’re competent.”

With a look of admiration, Rinel pointed at Raphael with his finger.

“Your Majesty, there’s something I don’t understand. Why are you nervous?”

“What?”

“Isn’t it strange? It’s not your first night with the Empress tonight, so why are you more nervous than before the first night?”

Raphael remembered clearly.

How indifferent Emperor Rinel was until the moment of the royal wedding.

And he was becoming stranger as time passed after the first night.

He often laughed quietly while working on government affairs.