“Empress, what on earth are you saying right now…?”

Rinel couldn’t continue speaking properly and stared at me intently.

The concubines likewise all had expressions of surprise at my words.

“Your Majesty the Empress… you must be skilled at horseback riding?”

Only Raphael asked me with sparkling eyes.

“Well, I can ride well enough not to fall off.”

When I shrugged and replied nonchalantly, this time Rosie showed curiosity.

“Ah, I’ve heard that the kingdom of Chatonil, Your Majesty’s homeland, has mostly flat terrain, making it an excellent place for horseback riding!”

Yes, perfect for horseback riding and sword duels.

“I can ride horses too, though probably not as well as Your Majesty the Empress.”

Rosie said with a bright face as she timidly raised her hand.

Melanie, sitting next to her, glared at Rosie once before pouting and grumbling.

“Even if Your Majesty the Empress is skilled at horseback riding, it’s different for us, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. And we could become a laughingstock in front of the women from the Southern Continent who are also skilled in martial arts!”

Catherine, who had been looking displeased the whole time, chimed in as well.

Meanwhile, Pecilini, sitting like an invisible person, was quietly observing this whole situation like she did at the previous banquet.

“Empress, there’s no need to push yourself.”

He spoke as if admonishing me.

“No, Your Majesty. I’ve learned horseback riding since childhood, so I’m probably better at handling horses than most knights.”

I suppressed the urge to smooth out Rinel’s deeply furrowed brow with my hand as I reassured him, but he still continued speaking as if unconvinced.

“Riding a horse well and hunting while on horseback are different matters.”

I responded to his disapproving gaze with a relaxed smile.

“Of course, I’m well aware of that.”

It’s a very thrilling and competitive activity!

Just imagining riding a horse at full speed while shooting arrows at targets already made me feel exhilarated.

“You know that well, and still want to participate in the competition? You must know this isn’t the kind of hunting competition where you chase cute rabbits, right?”

“Cute rabbits should be left to frolic.”

“…Empress, do you think I’m joking right now?”

Rinel was excessively serious.

He also seemed a bit angry for some reason.

“If no one from the Empress and concubines of the Northern Continent participates in the hunting competition, that could be even more of a laughingstock.”

I tried to persuade him by appealing to the honor of the Raphion Empire.

“That’s better. Better than you getting hurt.”

“Your Majesty, why are you so certain that I’ll get hurt?”

I asked, openly showing a hurt expression.

“I’m not sure if you can even grip the reins tightly with those small hands of yours.”

Rinel placed my hand on his palm as if picking up a pudding, then let out a deep sigh.

At that moment, my eyes met Catherine’s, who was sitting diagonally across from me.

Catherine’s expression suggested she had a lot to say about Rinel’s assessment of me.

She kept moving her lips as if wanting to reveal something.

‘Go ahead and try to spill it.’

I stared at Catherine while fiddling with the back of my head, then tapped my nose with my finger and smirked.

Catherine flinched in surprise, closed her lips tightly again, and covered her high nose bridge with her hand.

“Even if I can’t catch beasts with these… weak hands of mine, I can at least converse with the women from the Southern Continent and gauge their movements.”

Rinel chuckled at my words.

“You don’t need to gauge their movements, Empress.”

“I disagree. Surely there must be a difference between conversations had in evening gowns at a banquet and those shared while exerting ourselves together in the forest?”

“I don’t want to use your body just to gain information about the Southern Continent nations.”

He dismissed my words once again.

But I didn’t give up either.

“No, I must mingle with the women from the Southern Continent as well. Even if there are no other intentions, since the Raphion Empire is the starting point for this continental hunting competition, we should have at least one person on our side who can engage with the women from the Southern Continent.”

“Why does that have to be you?”

He asked sulkily.

“Because I’m… the Empress of the Raphion Empire and Your Majesty’s wife.”

I retorted, raising my voice.

This time he just stared at me without saying anything.

Rinel’s time seemed to have stopped in my pupils, and he looked conflicted.

Sensing this was my chance, I continued to push my opinion.

“And among us, only Rosie and I know how to handle horses, so there’s no choice. Don’t worry, Your Majesty. Instead, at the banquet party, the concubines will be more adept at entertaining the guests than I am. Isn’t that right?”

I asked, turning my gaze from Rinel’s intense stare to the concubines.

“We are honored, Your Majesty the Empress!”

The four concubines bowed their heads and spoke in unison.

Their voices were mixed with relief that they didn’t have to participate in the hunting competition.

“I cannot allow it.”

Rinel said firmly and turned his gaze to his secretary.

“Raphael, what do you think?”

“I was actually about to applaud Her Majesty the Empress’s words earlier?”

“Oh, for goodness sake…”

He glared sharply at Raphael.

Raphael quickly lowered his head to avoid his eyes, but like a loyal subject, he steadfastly expressed his thoughts.

“It’s not like you have to catch beasts just because it’s a hunting competition, right? As Her Majesty the Empress said, if she’s participating to socialize with the empresses from the Southern Continent, I don’t think there will be much danger.”

“That’s right, you can simply teach me how to shoot a bow before the hunting competition starts, can’t you? I probably won’t actually shoot, or even if I do, I won’t hit anything… Oh, hoho.”

I changed tactics and spoke in a coquettish voice to melt his heart.

Suddenly, the concubines’ expressions turned very sour.

Their eyes seemed to say, ‘Your flirting is really terrible.’

I glanced at Rinel’s face with a sense of despair.

But contrary to expectations, unlike the frowning concubines, the expression of the recipient of my aegyo wasn’t that bad.

“This is truly reckless beyond compare.”

Rinel’s expression just moments ago was clearly one of permission, but suddenly he stood up abruptly from the sofa and raised his voice.

Strange? Why is he acting like this?

“Your Majesty…?”

“Empress, come with me for a moment. It would be unpleasant for both of us to raise our voices in front of the concubines.”

Rinel gestured with his chin towards another door inside the office.

It was the lounge where he would take short breaks while working.

I stood up from the sofa, following him in a daze.

Rinel went ahead, striding into the lounge and opening the door.

Judging by how he closed the door so forcefully that it made a loud bang, he seemed to be quite angry.

Raphael and the four concubines all looked at me at once.

Some had worried looks in their eyes, while others seemed to find the situation amusing.

I followed him into the room he had entered, feeling tense at his sudden outburst.

[This is the timeline separator]

As I entered the lounge, the first thing I saw was his broad back turned towards me.

“Your Majesty, why are you so upset… mmph?!”

Rinel kissed me roughly.

“Haa… you drive me crazy in so many ways.”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“First, the kiss. Hmm? Otherwise, it feels like my mouth won’t move properly and I won’t be able to speak properly…”

He pushed me against the wall.

His large hand was already cradling the back of my head, so there was no risk of my head hitting the wall.

“Th-there are people outside, we agreed not to do this when there are people around!”

“That’s why I did as you wished.”

“Pardon?”

“You said not to show it in front of others. So I’m doing this in private, why?”

Rinel kissed my shoulder and gradually pressed his tense body against mine.

“Don’t tell me… you pretended to be angry earlier just to call me into the lounge?”

“That’s right. I’ve felt this for a while, but I’m really smart. Don’t you think?”

He chuckled and tickled my collarbone area.

I burst into laughter, feeling incredulous.

“Then, does this mean you’ll allow me to attend the hunting competition?”

“If you’ll allow me too.”

“Allow what?”

“Shh, just a moment.”

“?”

He pressed his index finger against my lips, then turned and walked towards the door.

Then suddenly,

“Empress, are you out of your mind? What kind of embarrassment would it be if you fell off the horse!”

He shouted loudly towards the door.

“…Why are you doing this?”

I asked in a lowered voice.

He walked back to me and whispered.

“I’ve shouted like this, so they won’t be suspicious.”

“Suspicious of what?”

“That we’re doing this here.”

Rinel replied as he quickly took off his uniform jacket and threw it aside.

“Y-Your Majesty! What are you doing?”

“Negotiating.”

“!”

“In exchange for allowing you to participate in the hunting competition, I’m getting what I want too.”

Good heavens.

I quickly ran towards the lounge door, attempting to escape.

“Where do you think you’re going? This won’t take long.”

“Ah!”

Just as I reached out for the doorknob, Rinel lifted me up in his arms.

My feet kicked uselessly in the air.

“Put me down, do you really have to do this now? Can’t we… negotiate at night!”

“No.”

Before I knew it, I was sitting on top of a mahogany table.

Rinel looked down at me and spoke in a cool, deliberate tone.

“Negotiations are all about timing, you know.”

I couldn’t push his body away.

There was no particular reason to do so either.

It was a very good… negotiation where we could both get what we wanted.

In many ways, I was getting the better deal.

[This is the timeline separator]

After the meeting concluded, the concubines returned to their respective palaces.

However, Rosie lingered until the end, hovering around me until our eyes met.

She cautiously conveyed her desire to invite me to her quarters.

I gladly accepted.

Excited, Rosie chattered non-stop about her favorite books throughout our journey to her quarters.

I too found her stories interesting and enjoyable.

“Um… Your Majesty the Empress, you look very tired. I hope I’m not bothering you unnecessarily…”

Rosie asked carefully as we approached her quarters.

“I’m not tired though? Do I look it?”

“Yes, when you came out of the lounge earlier, you looked a bit exhausted. And your face was flushed too.”

“…Hahaha. Was it?”

I awkwardly laughed while touching my cheeks.

The vivid memory of the negotiation with Rinel in the lounge came flooding back.

“You had… an argument with His Majesty, didn’t you? In the lounge?”

“Ah, no. We had some differences of opinion with His Majesty, but we negotiated well, so it’s fine.”

I said with a smile, but she didn’t believe me.

Not knowing what had happened inside the lounge, Rosie looked at me with pity.

“Was His Majesty very angry?”

“Angry?”

“Yes, when he called Your Majesty the Empress into the lounge, he seemed extremely angry, and we could occasionally hear His Majesty’s raised voice from outside the lounge.”

“That’s right. He was in a very… angry state.”

I replied while fanning my face with both hands.

“Right? It seemed to me too that His Majesty was very agitated!”

“Rosie, you’re… quite perceptive, aren’t you?”

I bit my lower lip hard to suppress a laugh.

“Yes! I tend to be!”

Rosie replied with a broad smile.

As we laughed and chatted, we soon arrived at the door of her bedroom.

“It’s an honor to have you visit my humble abode, Your Majesty the Empress.”

“I’m grateful that you invited me.”

She gestured to her lady-in-waiting, and the bedroom door opened.

As I entered the bedroom, I turned to her with surprised eyes.

“Hehe, no matter how much I try to tidy up, it always ends up in the same state, so I just started leaving it like this.”

Rosie grinned as if she had expected me to look at her with such an expression.

“No, but still…”

Hundreds of books were scattered all over the bedroom floor.

“Well, I’m a guest so it’s one thing, but isn’t it inconvenient for you to live like this?”

I asked, looking around at the numerous books strewn across the floor.

“This is comfortable for me, you know? It might look disorderly to you, but I’ve organized it in my own way.”

Rosie answered proudly.

“To this extent? I mean, in this state?”

“Of course, Your Majesty the Empress!”

I was at a loss for words at her composed attitude.

Just then, something rolled out from under the bed and stopped at my feet.

“Rosie, what is… this?”

At first, I thought it might be a ball, but upon closer inspection, it was an egg.

I narrowed my eyes and slowly lowered my body to the marble floor, looking up at her.

Rosie was staring at the egg with round eyes.

It looked as if she was glaring at it with her eyes.

“Is it an ostrich egg?”

When I picked up the egg and asked,

“Ah, th-that is…”

She stammered and looked embarrassed.

Why is she acting like this?

“Rosie, is this perhaps our snack?”

I smiled while turning the large egg in both hands.

Her pupils shook violently in response.