I tried to raise the corners of my mouth following Rinel’s smile, but it didn’t work as intended.

It felt like metal pieces were hanging on both sides of my mouth.

Just as I was about to take a step with him, Raphael appeared in front of the open audience room door and gave a light bow.

“Your Majesty, before you go down to the lobby, there is an urgent matter requiring your signature on documents submitted by the Prime Minister.”

“Is that so? Since I’m on my way out anyway, let’s take a look at your desk for a moment.”

“Yes, I’ve already laid them out on the desk.”

Raphael opened the door on the left center of the audience room’s waiting area.

That was the door connecting directly to the Emperor’s office.

In the middle of the passage to the office, there was a desk where the secretary could occasionally work.

Raphael seemed to have placed the documents on that desk.

“Empress, wait here for a moment. It’s just a matter of signing, so it won’t take long.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Even at my brief answer, he gave a long smile.

He withdrew his smile and shifted his gaze to stare at Prince Norton standing blankly.

“Come to think of it, the Prince doesn’t really need to meet the Shatonil guests today. There will be a formal opportunity to meet when the hunting competition is held anyway.”

“If Your Majesty allows, I would like to greet them together.”

At Prince Norton’s reply, Rinel shrugged one shoulder.

“Well, there’s no reason not to. It’s not bad to build relationships in advance.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

‘Is he perhaps wanting to see Princess Resilia?’

I thought while glancing at Prince Norton.

When Prince Norton stayed at the Shatonil royal palace, he was just a mercenary, so he wouldn’t have had a chance to talk directly with the two siblings.

I wanted to tip off the Prince about their true nature, but I held back.

“Then I’ll go sign the documents, you two come out slowly.”

Rinel left through the audience room door, leaving me and Prince Norton behind.

“Ah, it seems poorly ventilated today, so just leave the door open.”

He loudly ordered the servant who was about to close the door.

Poorly ventilated? I didn’t feel that at all.

I tilted my head, pondering his words.

“It seems His Majesty is concerned about leaving me and the Empress alone.”

Prince Norton came closer to me and spoke secretly.

“So he ordered to leave the door open?”

The Prince nodded and smiled lightly at my question.

I laughed with a ‘no way’ but then my mood sank again at the thought of facing Prince Tessler.

Though I’m trying to deal with it calmly, my anger was as precarious as a pot about to boil over.

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Ah. I’m sorry.”

We bumped shoulders with Prince Norton as I was heading out of the audience room with my eyes on the floor.

We apologized simultaneously.

I may be half out of my mind due to unwelcome guests, but why does Prince Norton look dazed?

“I was excited at the thought of meeting the Shatonil guests and failed to watch my surroundings. I apologize, Your Majesty the Empress.”

He apologized again.

I looked at Prince Norton’s face.

Why is he lying?

Contrary to the Prince’s words about being excited, he clearly looked uncomfortable.

“No. I was too happy… about the guests from my home country coming that I didn’t see you, Prince. But you seem to look unwell compared to earlier?”

“Your Majesty the Empress has suddenly turned pale as well.”

At Prince Norton’s counter-question, I replied in the lowest voice possible.

“Is it that obvious? Honestly, I’m not that thrilled.”

I ended up honestly expressing my feelings without realizing it.

It was up to Prince Norton how to interpret it.

“Actually, I feel the same way, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Prince Norton’s answer was unexpected.

This time, his words and expression seemed to match.

Of course, I might have misinterpreted the Prince’s words.

However, I felt a strange sense of kinship with Prince Norton that I couldn’t quite pinpoint.

The suppressed anger inside me was also visible in the Prince’s eyes.

It was clearly present in his clenched fist and in his tightened jaw gritting his teeth.

What could it be? The cause of Prince Norton’s anger.

“Empress, let’s go now.”

Meanwhile, Rinel had finished signing the documents and returned.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

I tried to maintain my composure once again as I took his hand.

[This is the timeline separator]

We walked down the central staircase and along the long lobby towards the main palace entrance.

The sound of our shoes – mine, Rinel’s, and Prince Norton’s – echoed grandly in rhythm on the marble floor.

“Your hand is sweating?”

He said, looking down intently at my hand he was holding.

“The weather seems a bit hot today.”

“Hot, you say?”

Whoosh-.

“……”

As if on cue with Rinel’s words, a strong wind blew into the lobby from the main entrance, fluttering my hair like a flag.

“Ah, maybe I’m nervous since it’s been a while since I’ve seen Prince Tessler. Haha.”

“Well, that could be the case.”

When I changed my words and laughed awkwardly, Rinel responded with a slightly disgruntled expression.

Prince Norton also glanced at me briefly before continuing to match our pace.

[This is the timeline separator]

It was a day of dazzling sunshine despite the wind blowing.

As we came out of the main palace, the Shatonil royal carriage could be seen in the distance.

“There it comes.”

Rinel jerked his chin towards the carriage.

The Shatonil royal carriage was just rounding the lake at the center of the main palace.

The sound of hooves and carriage wheels was getting closer and closer.

A moment later, the carriage stopped in front of the main palace steps.

‘What’s that?’

Suddenly the carriage window opened and a small hand popped out.

The hand that came out of the carriage waved innocently towards us.

Then another hand appeared from inside the carriage, slapped the small hand, and closed the window again.

The first hand that appeared must have been Princess Resilia, and the one who struck her hand seemed to be Prince Tessler.

Haah, who was she waving at so enthusiastically?

Me? Or Rinel?

Snorting silently, I inadvertently turned my gaze to Prince Norton standing beside me.

The Prince was staring at the Shatonil royal carriage with squinted eyes.

It was an expression that made it hard to tell if he was squinting because of the sunlight or frowning at the carriage.

“What do you think that was that just popped out of the carriage window?”

Rinel asked me, pointing his finger at the Shatonil carriage.

“It looked like a tree branch.”

I replied, staring intently at the carriage window.

He laughed briefly and then asked Prince Norton.

“What do you think?”

“It looked like a commoner’s hook, Your Majesty.”

……Is he serious?

I may have said what I did to mock Princess Resilia, but Prince Norton’s answer was also quite twisted.

“You have a point.”

Amid all this, Rinel seriously accepted our ridiculous answers.

A few seconds later, the door of the Shatonil royal carriage opened.

Prince Tessler and Princess Resilia stepped out of the carriage one after another.

Our eyes met as the siblings climbed the main palace steps side by side.

It felt like an exchange of glances between accomplices, which made me feel quite dirty.

“As long as the radiant sun rises, the glory of the Rapion Empire shall be infinite. Tessler Heil of the Shatonil Kingdom greets His Majesty the Emperor and Her Majesty the Empress of Rapion!”

The siblings paid their respects to Rinel and me.

Strangely, the sun that had been shining brightly until just now hid behind clouds as soon as Prince Tessler finished speaking.

“Welcome.”

“It’s been a while.”

Rinel and I also greeted them.

It was really unfamiliar to see these two people, whom I had bowed my head to all my life, lowering their heads before me.

“Prince Tessler. The sky has darkened now, so according to your greeting, does that mean the glory of myself and the Empress has ended today?”

He meant it as a joke, but Prince Tessler, unfamiliar with his humor, seemed to take it seriously.

“……Pardon?”

Prince Tessler’s confused expression was worth seeing.

Princess Resilia was the same.

When his joke didn’t land, Rinel soon lost interest and waved his hand, changing the subject.

“Never mind. It looks like it might rain.”

Rinel said, looking up at the sky.

Lightning flashed here and there in the sky accompanied by thunder.

‘Please strike down on the crowns of these two people in front of me for a moment!’

I looked up at the lightning flash and pleaded earnestly in my heart.

“Ah, right. The 3rd Prince of the Partsha Empire, who arrived from the South Continent last night, has also come out to greet you, so exchange greetings with each other.”

At Rinel’s introduction, I looked at Prince Norton, whom I had momentarily forgotten about.

Why is he like that?

The Prince was half-turned away for some reason.

“Prince Norton Asalman of the Partsha Empire.”

He slowly raised his head while extending his hand to Prince Tessler with a princely gesture.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Prince Tessler Heil of the Shatonil Kingdom.”

The Prince, who had been standing in front of Rinel, moved towards Prince Norton and approached, saying.

“Thank you for coming out to welcome us…!”

Just as Prince Tessler was about to shake hands with Prince Norton, he stopped mid-sentence, inhaling sharply.

At this, Princess Resilia, who had been keeping her gaze modestly on the floor, also raised her head.

“Kyaaak!”

Oh, that startled me.

This time she let out an incomprehensible short scream.

As if she had seen a ghost, she looked aghast and leaned back.

Princess Resilia seemed to have forgotten there were stairs behind her and staggered as she stepped back onto the landing.

I instinctively reached out to her.

However, Prince Norton’s hand was much faster than mine.

“Be careful, Princess Resilia!”

Although Prince Norton’s expressionless face and voice conveyed no kindness, his action was quite mannerly.

“You almost fell down the stairs.”

“Th-thank you for… he-helping me……”

Princess Resilia said to Prince Norton in a trembling voice.

To which the Prince calmly replied.

“Yes, perhaps because I have experience of falling down somewhere, I couldn’t just stand by and watch.”

“……What?”

“It’s nothing.”

Prince Norton shrugged.

The Princess looked at the Prince with wide eyes.

That expression looked quite complex, and the gaze that seemed to contain various emotions was suspicious.

What’s with that reaction?

“You two, why are you so surprised?”

Rinel asked.

“That is… I mistook the Prince for another prince of the Partsha Empire… I apologize, Your Highness.”

“M-me too……”

The Princess quickly added, following Prince Tessler’s words.

“It’s nothing. I do have many brothers.”

Prince Norton brushed it off nonchalantly.

“Instead of standing here, shall we move to the reception room?”

He suggested tea time, looking at the three of them in turn.

“Your Majesty, as it happens, my sister has brought coffee that she wanted to serve to both of you herself.”

Prince Tessler, who had been standing with a sour expression, brightened at his words.

“Is that so? I’m curious. Let’s all go in then. Will the Prince join us?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Prince Norton replied to Rinel while unable to take his eyes off Princess Resilia’s face.

Even to me, her face was so pretty and lovely that it was hard to look away.

As a woman myself, I had often stared blankly at the Princess’s face since I was young, so Prince Norton’s dazed expression was understandable.

However, I was concerned if Rinel was also having his attention stolen by her.

I carefully looked up at him.

‘Huh?’

I expected him to be looking at Princess Resilia, but that didn’t seem to be the case.

He was already looking down at me.

“Shall we go?”

He turned back towards the main palace, escorting me.

[This is the timeline separator]

Everyone sat around the round table in the reception room.

While waiting for the coffee that Princess Resilia had supposedly brought herself, everyone had smiles on their faces, but an uncomfortable silence flowed.

I was in the middle of killing Prince Tessler with my eyes.

My gaze had already slit the Prince’s throat and was now intensely focused on his little finger.

There should be an opportunity to speak with Prince Tessler alone.

If not, I must create an opportunity by any means necessary to ask about Bonnis.

When my eyes met with Prince Tessler, he smiled, showing his teeth.

You bastard, you’re smiling?

If I just stretch out one arm now, I’m confident I could send a few of the Prince’s teeth down his throat…

Having stared at the Prince so much, my eyeballs felt dry, and as I blinked, I accidentally witnessed the glances being exchanged between Princess Resilia and Prince Norton.

The two of them somehow didn’t seem like strangers.

Had they talked at the Shatonil royal palace?

But they didn’t exchange any words separately.

“Zelda, no… Your Majesty the Empress is really… unrecognizable now.”

Feeling that I was staring at her intently, the Princess spoke to me first.

I didn’t have much to say in response, so I answered with a faint smile.

At that, an unpleasant expression flashed across her face.

Princess Resilia turned her gaze to Rinel beside me and opened her mouth with her characteristic fairy-like eye smile.

“Your Majesty? Isn’t my hair color similar to the Empress’s eye color?”

The Princess stroked her glossy pink hair with her hand, making an out-of-place remark.

“It is a similar color.”

He nodded, looking with eyes comparing my eyes and Princess Resilia’s hair.

“Mmm, but my hair can be touched like this… but Zelda, no, the Empress’s eyes can’t be touched, can they? Hohoho.”

What, what are you trying to say?

I looked at her with a dumbfounded expression as she fanned her hair.

As the Princess’s laughter subsided, his low voice was heard.

“Instead, the Empress’s eyes touch me every day, so it’s fine.”

“……Pardon? What do you mean by that……”

Princess Resilia asked back with a puzzled face.

Then Rinel looked into my eyes for a moment before slowly opening his mouth towards her again.

“Princess……”