“His Grace Duke Martins has requested an audience with Her Majesty the Empress.”

It wasn’t Rinel.

Fool, you shouldn’t expect what you shouldn’t expect.

“The Duke? Now?”

“Yes, he is waiting in the audience chamber now.”

“What could it be……”

I frowned at the unwelcome guest.

“I inquired about his business, but he said he would speak to Her Majesty directly……”

Sharon spoke carefully, gauging my mood.

“Is that all he said?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I pondered for a moment.

Did the Duke hear new news about Princess Resilia from the Chateau-nil royal family?

No matter how I thought about it, there was no other reason for him to visit the Empress’s palace at this late hour.

“If you’re not inclined, shall I tell him to come back tomorrow?”

“No. He’s waiting in the audience chamber now, you said?”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“It’s not bedtime yet, so it should be fine. Sharon, could you bring me a shawl to drape over my shoulders before that?”

The cool night made my bare shoulders feel quite exposed.

But it would be awkward to change into a different dress now, so I asked Sharon to bring something light to drape over.

“I’ll bring it right away!”

Sharon immediately went to my private dressing room connected to the bedroom.

Shortly after, Sharon returned with a silk shawl and draped it over my shoulders.

“How is it?”

“I like it. Let’s go.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Feeling the soft silk against my bare shoulders, I headed to the audience chamber to meet Duke Martins.

Duke Martins stood with his back to the darkly shadowed windows.

As I entered, he greeted me with his characteristically leisurely smile and gesture.

“You’ve come, Your Majesty. I hope I’m not disturbing your rest.”

“Why wouldn’t you be?”

Duke Martins flinched at my benevolently sarcastic tone.

“I came out curious as to why you visited the Empress’s palace so late, knowing you’d be a disturbance.”

I forced a smile, trying not to reveal my complex feelings.

But even to my own ears, my voice sounded rather sharp.

Duke Martins shrugged and opened his mouth.

“I thought Your Majesty’s heart might feel quite empty tonight, so I came to offer some companionship.”

He came at this hour for such a trivial reason?

If he really wanted to cheer me up, I wanted to tell him to go to the training grounds right now and be my sparring partner.

Though having failed the knights’ exam every time, he’d probably collapse helplessly after just a few swings of my sword.

“You keep clenching your fist, Your Majesty?”

Duke Martins asked, staring at my hand.

“Ah, it’s a habit. Don’t mind it.”

I said, slightly extending my clenched fist forward.

At that, Duke Martins flinched back, leaning his upper body away despite not being close to me.

Why is he acting like that?

He adjusted his posture and spoke in a low voice.

“I saw you a few years ago, at the royal training grounds.”

“……Me?”

I suddenly felt my hands sweat.

“Yes, I happened to see Your Majesty absorbed in sword training alone.”

“What… did you see?”

I was so startled by the Duke’s words that I asked back.

There was no time to make excuses that it wasn’t me, that the Duke had mistaken me for someone else.

“Yes, I saw. I also saw you receiving instruction from Captain Kanal.”

“……Ah. You saw quite a precious scene, Duke.”

Seeing that he even mentioned Master Kanal, I just frankly admitted it, figuring there was no use in denying.

“Haha, actually, I didn’t see it directly myself.”

Is this swordsmanship fool playing with me now?

I glared at Duke Martins, who immediately changed his words as soon as I admitted it.

“Then who saw me at the training grounds?”

“My guard knight saw it. What was it he said…? That your swordsmanship under the moonlight was breathtakingly beautiful.”

I was momentarily flustered, but soon pretended to accept it.

“Duke… you certainly have a very honest subordinate by your side.”

At my words, Duke Martins suddenly began slapping his knee and laughing uproariously.

His excessive laughter was starting to irritate me.

It would be so nice to punch the Duke in the solar plexus just once and stop his breath for exactly 5 seconds.

My fist, which had been increasingly repressed lately, was tensing up.

“I heard from my knight that Your Majesty’s skills are quite impressive. I’m curious.”

“If you’re curious, I’ll give you a chance to experience it.”

I bashfully rotated my left wrist.

Since he’s probably a weakling who’s only wielded a pen his whole life, I’ll go easy on him with my less powerful left hand out of conscience.

“Ahaha, I’ll decline.”

Duke Martins raised both hands in surrender and spoke seriously.

“But is it a problem that I know you can do swordsmanship?”

“No. A woman wielding a sword isn’t something to hide. Especially on a continent with frequent wars. I hear there are quite a few female knight captains in the Southern Continent.”

“I’ve heard that too. Though not as much as the Southern Continent, the princesses of the Chateau-nil Kingdom also take mandatory sword lessons in childhood.”

“But there probably aren’t any princesses who consistently learn swordsmanship like Your Majesty. Much less princesses who are also highly skilled.”

“That’s… true.”

I was slightly tense.

While learning swordsmanship wasn’t wrong, if I had learned it secretly without royal permission and proper procedures, that fact could be problematic.

Duke Martins smiled slightly as if he knew exactly what I was worried about and spoke again.

“Your Majesty, that wasn’t something you needed to hide.”

The implication was, why did you hide it then?

“I never hid it.”

I had no particular retort.

“Then Your Majesty, is it perhaps that you wanted to hide the fact that you’re an exceptionally skilled swordsperson, rather than hiding that you know swordsmanship?”

“I told you it’s not like that.”

When I spoke seriously, Duke Martins nodded perfunctorily.

“I merely mentioned it because you were clenching your fist and I suddenly recalled what my knight told me. I had no other intentions.”

Duke Martins’ eyes said he would just let it go.

The Duke often gave me that look, as if he was being very understanding.

Whenever he did, I thought a bruise circling around his gray eyes would suit him quite well.

Before I knew it, my left fist was rising, and I barely managed to grab my left wrist with my right hand.

“So Your Majesty, please don’t be tense.”

Was I making a tense expression right now?

In truth, I was at a loss for how to react to Duke Martins’ words.

Smiling might look tense, but getting angry would seem like I was getting worked up over nothing.

“Duke, you don’t seem to need much sleep?”

I subtly changed the subject.

“No, but the nights have been rather tormenting since coming here to the Rapion Empire.”

“Why is that?”

It was the opposite for me.

Since coming to the Rapion Empire, which has lower temperatures than the Chateau-nil Kingdom, I’ve had fewer instances of waking up several times before dawn.

“Isn’t it natural for someone from the warmer Chateau-nil Kingdom?”

Duke Martins asked me as if perplexed.

“Well, it’s different for everyone.”

“Rapion’s nights seem quite chilly even in early summer. I’d only heard rumors, but experiencing it directly, I sometimes feel a chill in my body at night.”

Duke Martins said, rubbing his arms with both hands.

“I’ll order the servants to bring thicker blankets and larger heat magic stones to the room where you’re staying.”

Duke Martins looked at me with slightly surprised eyes.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

When I tilted my head quizzically, he made an intrigued expression.

“Now you really seem like the Empress of the Rapion Empire. It wasn’t long ago that you were a bathing maid of the kingdom.”

“Now I really am the Empress of the Rapion Empire. For now, at least.”

I felt a strange sense of self-loathing as I added the last words.

And Duke Martins’ manner of speaking, as if looking down on me, bothered me.

Shouldn’t he refrain from such a tone if he’s trying to faithfully play his role?

But it was also awkward for me to talk back and argue with Duke Martins over every little thing.

I’m just a proxy Empress.

So being hostile towards Duke Martins would do me no good in the future.

Though being friendly with him probably wouldn’t be very beneficial either.

“Oh my, it seems I’ve committed another faux pas. One should always be careful with words in front of someone who wields a sword.”

Seeming to have read my displeased expression, he apologized awkwardly.

“I’d like to have a sword match with you someday, Duke. Though I suppose there won’t be an opportunity while I’m in the position of Empress?”

Without realizing it, I cracked my finger joints one by one out of habit.

Duke Martins frowned deeply, as if that sound was quite unpleasant to hear.

Well, I hadn’t intended to threaten him.

My knuckles were just itchy, that’s all.

“Actually, I don’t think it would be bad for Your Majesty to remain in that position for a long time. Ha, ha, ha.”

Duke Martins laughed awkwardly.

I burst out laughing at the Duke’s tense appearance, but then put on a serious face again and cracked my neck left and right.

The sound of my neck bones cracking echoed pleasantly in the quiet audience chamber.

“I’d appreciate if you’d leave now, companion.”

“I heard His Majesty the Emperor is spending the night in the bedchamber of one of the royal concubines tonight.”

Despite my warning, Duke Martins cleared his throat a few times and began to test me.

“……Yes, it’s a natural procedure.”

It was a natural procedure, but the problem was that my feelings about it were not so natural.

“But your expression looks quite displeased?”

Annoying human.

I glared at the sharp Duke Martins.

While he kept avoiding my eyes, his mouth continued to move.

“By now, he’s probably having a glass of wine and conversation with the royal concubine in the bedchamber?”

“……”

“Ah, perhaps the time for conversation has already passed?”

“What are you trying to say, Duke?”

I deliberately put on a sleepy expression while pulling the silk shawl I was wearing further forward.

“Just as I said at first. Even if you’re a proxy Empress, I thought you might be feeling a bit down tonight, so I merely wanted to be a companion.”

“You seem more like a spectator disguised as a companion.”

“Haha, how could that be?”

“If you’ve finished observing all my reactions, please go back and get some sleep now.”

As I rose from the sofa, Duke Martins also stood up with a resigned expression.

Knock knock knock−!

Just then, Sharon burst into the audience chamber with an urgent knock.

“Your Majesty! H-His Majesty the Emperor is in the bedchamber right now!”

“Bedchamber… my bedchamber?!”

“Yes!”

What on earth could have brought him to the Empress’s palace on the night he was to perform the ritual with the royal concubines?

In that moment, only one thought crossed my mind.

‘Could it be… has he found out my true identity? Have I really been discovered this time?’

It seemed I wasn’t the only one having that thought.

When I turned my gaze to Duke Martins, he was also looking at me with quite a surprised face.

“Duke, could it be that His Majesty has found out about our……”

“Our what?”

“!”

Rinel’s cold voice struck the back of my head.

“Oh goodness! Your Majesty, w-when did you come to the audience chamber…!”

Sharon’s startled voice overlapped with Rinel’s.

It seemed my voice had leaked out through the open audience chamber door.

In our shock, Duke Martins and I continued staring at each other.

Rinel seemed to find that sight even more suspicious, frowning as he looked back and forth between me and the Duke.

His handsome, refined features were crumpling into a mess.