“What?!”

I was so surprised that my body on the bed floated up into the air and came back down.

Because of that, the bed shook violently, shaking Emperor Rinel’s body as well.

He raised one eyebrow and said teasingly.

“Yes. Just like how my body is shaking now, it felt like that then too.”

“……”

“It felt like some heat-enveloped wave was transmitted deep into my body. I felt that warmth intensely… Was that really an illusion?”

Was I too aggressive on our wedding night?

But no? I just lay still like a corpse.

Ah, come to think of it, the moment his body touched mine, my burning insides cooled down. So I guess I was a bit aggressive then.

Emperor Rinel’s gaze, seeming to crave something, lingered on my face.

What should I do now?

Should I naturally take off my slip while saying let’s find out again if that was really an illusion or not?

Should I turn off the lamp first?

“But, I won’t force myself on you.”

Emperor Rinel’s solemn voice made my two hands, which were about to reach for the slip strap and the lamp respectively, stop simultaneously.

Wow, I almost got carried away!

“……Your Majesty.”

“I mean it. That’s how I feel. I’m not sure about my body though.”

His gaze, which had been filled with desire until just now, became much gentler.

“Although I’m a person who can do almost anything as I please in the Raphion Empire, no, in the Northern Continent, with my wife…… I don’t want to do that.”

Surprisingly, there was sincerity felt in his voice.

It was surprising that an emperor with all the power had such thoughts.

Whether he could keep that thought was another matter though.

“I want to have at least one person by my side whom I have to be mindful of and can’t treat carelessly while living.”

Emperor Rinel suddenly started to look lovable.

His sincere words made me want to immediately throw off the thin slip I was wearing.

I wasn’t really going to do such an action, but I was truly moved by the emperor’s words.

The fact that he was a good man…… made the fact that I was a substitute empress even sadder.

I unconsciously lowered my head.

A few seconds later, his large hand was placed on the back of my head.

“I won’t treat you carelessly, but honestly, I don’t intend to be very patient.”

I raised my head again at his voice, which sounded like a confession.

He was smiling with his hand still on my head, like priests giving blessings.

“Of course, I’ll need your permission. That’s how it should be, but…… hmm, let me tell you in advance……”

He whispered in my ear like it was a top secret.

“I’m a person with terribly little patience. I hope you keep that in mind.”

“Thank you…… for the information.”

I replied while biting my lower lip firmly.

“I’ll settle for that today.”

He gestured towards my hand with his eyes.

“……Pardon?”

What does he mean by settling for my hand?

My eyes wandered here and there.

Emperor Rinel withdrew the hand he had extended to me and rolled his eyes.

“What, is that not okay either?”

“No, I don’t know what you mean…… but it’s okay.”

“Really? But Empress, why do you keep lowering your gaze?”

So, why are my eyes doing this?

“And why are your eyes so wide open? Is there something you want to check in here?”

Emperor Rinel asked while poking the blanket covering us with his finger.

“No, that’s not it……”

My already lost words were completely shut off by his joke that didn’t suit his deep voice at all.

As he pointed out, I don’t know why my eyes keep wandering to strange places.

As a sign of repentance, I squeezed my eyes shut and pretended to poke them with two fingers.

Then Emperor Rinel’s snorting laughter was heard repeatedly.

“Empress, we almost had a big problem just now.”

“……Why?”

“While you had your eyes closed, my resolve was about to change.”

He grumbled while messing up his hair at the back of his head.

“So stop doing things like that.”

Things like that? What things?

What did I do to make the emperor make such a pained expression?

It wasn’t an expression of displeasure, but it wasn’t a good expression either.

“I hope you’ll let me keep the resolve I made, at least for today.”

His resolve? Ah, perhaps……”

‘I have no intention of forcing myself on you.’

Is that what he means?

“Don’t try to know the details.”

Emperor Rinel warned.

“Don’t be curious either. And especially don’t try to confirm it.”

He moved his hips to put some distance between us.

“……Pardon?”

“Let’s just sleep quietly tonight.”

He muttered softly.

It sounded like he was saying those words to himself.

“Here.”

Emperor Rinel suddenly held out his hand like before.

“As I said earlier, I’ll be satisfied with this today.”

His tone was as solemn as if he was reciting a declaration.

I placed my hand on his palm as he wanted.

“Your Majesty, are we just going to sleep holding hands?”

He responded immediately to my words.

Nod nod.

……It seems to be true.

“You look disappointed? Seeing this, it seems the Empress isn’t so innocent either.”

He laughed teasingly.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but?”

I naturally played dumb.

It’s not that I expected anything, but I didn’t know we would really just sleep holding hands.

“You’re not good at lying either.”

“……”

He chuckled while lightly touching my cheek.

“Let’s lie down now.”

We slid down and lay side by side.

He put our clasped hands under the blanket and repeatedly tightened and loosened his grip.

It felt like I was getting a hand massage from him.

After a few minutes passed like that, he called me.

“Empress, no, Zelda……”

My name.

In a sweet voice.

It felt strange to hear my name from Emperor Rinel’s mouth.

When I didn’t answer right away, he turned his body towards me.

“This is much better. I should call you by name when we’re alone from now on.”

His smiling face was too close.

“Let’s call each other by name when it’s just the two of us. What do you think?”

“Do you mean…… I should call Your Majesty by name too?”

“Yes. In this world, Zelda, you are now the only one who can call me by my name.”

Well, since both the previous emperor and the empress dowager had passed away before Emperor Rinel turned 20, there was no one who could call him by name.

“I don’t even remember when I last heard someone call my name.”

“Rinel……”

I don’t know where the courage came from, but I called him without any hesitation.

I said the emperor’s name very naturally, as if I had always called him by name.

“What?”

“Rinel.”

“What did you say?”

It doesn’t seem like he’s asking because he didn’t hear, but he kept asking again.

“Why do you keep pretending you didn’t hear, Rinel?”

“Ha, hahaha!”

This time he burst into laughter.

I couldn’t understand where the funny point was in what I said that made him laugh.

Anyway, he seemed to be in a good mood, so I was happy too.

Although he was embarrassed to hear his name like a teenage boy receiving a confession, he kept urging me to call his name.

“Go on.”

“Rinel, aren’t you tired?”

“That means you’re tired and want me to stop now, right?”

He’s indeed a man with quite sharp intuition.

“You are a wise ruler.”

I replied, pretending to be impressed.

“Zelda.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

When I called him Your Majesty again, he glared at me slightly.

“Ah, Rinel.”

When I quickly called him by name again, he twitched his mouth and looked up at the ceiling.

After pausing for a moment, he spoke to me in a serious voice.

“I like your name. I’m starting to like it.”

“My name? You’re starting to like my name?”

Not me, just the name?

Since the nuance felt a bit strange, I asked him again.

Rinel just let out an indecipherable laugh and emphasized again that it was starting to grow on him.

Is he perhaps talking about me, not my name?

For a very brief moment, a vain hope fluttered through my mind like a spring breeze.

But how could that be? He’s probably just saying it.

I quietly nodded to myself, organizing my thoughts.

The night was deepening, but our useless conversation showed no signs of tiring.

As our words to each other decreased, he muttered as if sleep-talking.

“Zelda, I’m not cold when I sleep with you. It’s really strange……”

Rinel’s sleepy voice swirled in my heart.

Soon after, his comfortable breathing tickled my ear.

When I carefully turned my head to the side, he was sleeping with a smile.

“When I’m with you too, my body that felt like it was thrown into fire cools down. I want to keep falling asleep comfortably like this……”

I also whispered secretly while looking at him, then fell asleep.

I felt our clasped hands being led by him out of the blanket.

Is it in my sleep?

The feeling of Rinel’s heartbeat in my hand……

It’s probably just my imagination?

[This is the timeline separator]

When I opened my eyes in the morning, Rinel had already woken up and left the bedroom before me again today.

“Did you sleep well, Your Majesty the Empress?”

Sharon, with a much brighter expression than yesterday, greeted me while checking my complexion.

She clearly knew the fact that Rinel had spent the night together in my bedroom last night.

Sharon glanced at the space beside where he had lain and carefully opened her mouth.

“His Majesty said that Your Majesty the Empress was in deep sleep and told us not to wake you.”

“I see. But next time, just wake me up. It was the same on the first day, and this time too I couldn’t see His Majesty off because I overslept.”

Imagining Rinel waking up first and looking down at me sleeping soundly, my face felt hot for some reason.

“Yes, I will do so. Your Majesty the Empress.”

Sharon answered with a bright smile.

“Oh right, Sharon. Do you like your new quarters?”

“Yes, but it’s too much for me!”

I had Sharon move her lodgings from where the attendants stay to the closest place to my bedroom, that is, one of the rooms used by ladies-in-waiting when they stay in the palace, starting from last night.

“I don’t know how to express my gratitude for Your Majesty the Empress’s grace.”

“You’re more than qualified. If you need anything in the future, just tell me. I’ll resolve it within what I can do.”

“I’m already too satisfied now! Thank you so much.”

Sharon’s face, which had been smiling brightly as she spoke, became solemn again.

“Um, Your Majesty the Empress……”

“Yes?”

“Grand Duke Martins has requested an audience.”

“The Grand Duke again?”

What business does that man have today?

At my question, Sharon made an “uh” sound, then reopened the notebook she was holding, saying she had missed something in her report, and corrected her words.

“It says he requested to see you together with His Majesty the Emperor.”

“What? See Grand Duke Martins together with His Majesty?”

“Yes, that’s exactly how it was conveyed. Should I go to Secretary Raphael and confirm again?”

“Ah, no. If that’s how the report came, it must be correct.”

Haah, just thinking about meeting the three of us in one place made me feel uneasy already.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to meet together……”

I got up from the bed, steeling my resolve.

Grumble−.

Along with my hungry stomach.

“Your Majesty the Empress, I’ll have breakfast brought first before you shower.”

I nodded, feeling once again that Sharon was truly an excellent attendant.

“Yes, that would be good.”

I smiled awkwardly while rubbing my stomach.

An hour later.

I had cleanly finished the hearty breakfast Sharon had prepared and even finished showering.

“The meeting with His Majesty and the Grand Duke is in the afternoon, what’s the morning schedule like?”

I asked Sharon as I sat down in front of the dressing table.

“Oh my, my mind. I momentarily forgot to report the morning schedule while telling you about today’s most important appointment first.”

Sharon quickly pulled out her notebook from her dress pocket while hitting her head with her fist.

I smiled at Sharon’s behavior and turned my body sitting in the dressing table chair towards her.

“There’s a tea time with noble young ladies in the reception room this morning. It might be good to look for any young ladies Your Majesty the Empress would like to bring in as new ladies-in-waiting among those you meet today.”

“Hmm, tea time with young ladies… How many will be attending?”

“A total of fifteen young ladies have been invited to the Empress’s Palace today.”

“Are those young ladies I saw in the bedroom yesterday attending too?”

“Yes, they were on the list.”

“I see.”

I nodded and sat back down, looking into the mirror.

“Now I’ll have the attendants who will do Your Majesty the Empress’s hair and makeup come in.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

Sharon quickly opened the bedroom door and brought in two attendants who were waiting.

She introduced the attendant who would do my hair first in a proud voice.

“Your Majesty the Empress, this is Solie, who comes from a family of royal gardeners. Her great-grandfather’s generation has been tending and trimming the flower gardens for generations. Solie has more talent for hairstyling than landscaping.”

I extended my hand to Solie while listening to Sharon’s praise.

“Nice to meet you, Solie. What a precious talent.”

“You flatter me, Your Majesty the Empress! I will serve you with all my heart!”

Solie kissed the back of my hand with an innocent smile.

“I look forward to working with you. Feel free to style my hair as if it were a tree.”

Solie’s face brightened even more at my words.

“And this is Teresa, who will be in charge of your makeup. She has a background as a painter, and her makeup is like art. She’s especially talented at mixing various colors to create unique lipsticks that don’t exist anywhere else in the world.”

“Ah, Teresa is truly excellent too. Please paint my inadequate face well, as if drawing a picture.”

“I-I will do my best to make you the most beautiful and sophisticated in the Raphion Empire, Your Majesty the Empress!”

“I look forward to it.”

I nodded with a small laugh at Teresa’s eyes full of enthusiasm.

I wore the dress that Sharon had personally selected, just like yesterday. I was impressed once again today by Sharon’s eye for choosing dresses.

The three attendants seriously discussed how to style my hair and do my makeup to match the dress I was wearing, occasionally asking for my opinion.

Is there really a need to recruit ladies-in-waiting?

When there are already such experts on clothing, hair, and makeup?

I pondered seriously while entrusting myself to their hands.

“It’s all done, Your Majesty the Empress.”

At Sharon’s words, I stood up from the dressing table chair and stood in front of the full-length mirror.

“Wow, I knew you would be this beautiful!”

“You’re so lovely!”

“It may be impertinent to say this, but you look much, much more splendid than at the wedding!”

They surrounded me and kept exclaiming in admiration.

I couldn’t help but agree with their words, as there was indeed a distinctly different atmosphere.

The mirror no longer reflected Zelda von Trova, the young lady of the count who worked as a bath maid in the Kingdom of Chatonil.

It was the appearance befitting Zelda Gardion Edfa, Empress of the Raphion Empire.

Suddenly, I thought of someone I wanted to show this more sophisticated appearance to compared to yesterday.

Rinel, what could he be doing now?

But before meeting him, I had to have tea time with the noble young ladies first.

Knock knock knock−.

With the sound of knocking, an attendant outside the bedroom relayed a message that someone was looking for Sharon.

Sharon asked for my understanding and left the bedroom.

A few minutes later, she returned with a pale face, having left with a smiling face.

“Sharon, what’s the matter?”

“Yo-Your Majesty the Empress…… I think you should quickly go to the reception room where the tea time is to be held.”

“Why? Are the gathered young ladies urging us?”

I approached the restless Sharon and asked.

“N-No, that’s not it……”

Sharon hesitated to continue speaking with a troubled look.

“What’s going on?”

I had a bad feeling suddenly.

When I slightly furrowed my brow, Sharon spoke in a subdued voice.

“At the tea time gathering…… there’s news that…… candidates to become His Majesty’s concubines are present……”

What?