Chapter 16
Wavering Heart
Thus, I brought the servant Aisha, who worked in the furnace room, to the Empress’s palace.
Her clothes, covered in ash, were changed into new ones, and her sweat-drenched body was washed clean.
Once she was all cleaned up, Aisha shrank slightly, as if startled by the sudden situation.
“I-Is it really okay for someone like me to receive this kind of treatment…?”
“Of course. From now on, you are ‘Denebra.’”
The moment I declared Aisha as Denebra, the head maid and Nar’s steward tried to intervene.
Though polite in words, they seemed ready to scold me while carrying lunch boxes.
But in this empire, status ruled everything.
If I, the Empress, decided who would be my close aides, who could oppose it?
…This really makes me feel like I’m becoming a corrupt noble of the class system.
Memories of my previous life in a democratic country flashed in my mind, when Aisha cautiously spoke.
“But, I haven’t learned manners, I have no parents… The only thing I can do is make objects…”
“I need your skill in making things. There will be plenty I want you to make for me. Of course, not for free. You’ll be properly paid for everything you make.”
“P-Paid? Uh, how much…?”
“To start, enough to fill your arms with gold coins?”
Soon, a ‘special event’ would bring many valuable items.
By selling those items, I could easily provide Aisha with a satisfactory wage without using the palace funds.
Then, Aisha immediately prostrated herself.
Drool almost fell near her lips, but she hurriedly wiped it with the back of her hand.
No, save your hands.
I ignored her slightly extreme way of thinking.
Coming back to herself, Aisha cautiously asked.
“May I ask what you plan to make? It would be easier to prepare the materials if I knew in advance…”
“No, I’ll get all the materials. You just have to make it.”
“…Yes?”
“I thought about what to make first.”
I gently stroked the small stick I was holding.
“Thanks to you, I got a good idea.”
It doesn’t have to be small—it could be big enough for someone to lie down on.
* * *
After Empress Rivie brought Aisha as Denebra, one man heard the news and burst out laughing.
“Puhat! Has the Empress really made that decision?”
Emperor Kallio, who was handling state affairs in the outer palace, laughed until he fell onto his desk, clutching his stomach.
The chief secretary, watching, blinked repeatedly as if witnessing a strange scene.
It was unusual. The Emperor always had the same expression, whether working or meeting people—either a formal smile or a blank face.
Seeing this new side of the Emperor, the chief secretary became curious about the Empress.
After all, the Emperor had usually despised women.
He wondered how skilled the new Empress must be for the Emperor to react like that.
Hmm… I once offered counsel to the Emperor using her middle name, and I even owed my life to her at the tomb of the previous Empress. She is truly remarkable. How would such a person manage the palace affairs?
But now, there was someone to introduce to the Emperor, so Empress matters had to wait.
The chief secretary shook his head and prepared to introduce the person behind him.
At that moment, Kallio leaned slightly forward.
“By the way, secretary, you’re married, right? Any children?”
“…No children. May I ask why?”
The question caught the chief secretary off guard.
He had no children, but he did have disciples like children.
Kallio, unpredictable as always, asked while leaning his chin on his hand.
“What if your wife dislikes you?”
“Pardon?”
“I feel like I am disliked.”
“Excuse me?”
The secretary was momentarily flustered by a question he never expected from the Emperor.
He quickly composed himself. Could the Empress dislike the Emperor?
No matter the circumstances, the Emperor was at fault. The chief secretary had long since lost faith in the Emperor’s temperament.
“As someone experienced, isn’t there a way to solve this?”
Hiding his disgust, the secretary bowed his head.
“If a mistake was made, it’s best to apologize first.”
“So you suggest that I am at fault?”
Of course. What big mistake could a newly arrived Empress make?
Yet the Emperor implied the Empress also had fault. The secretary decided to first appease him.
“Her Majesty is new to the Empire, so she may not yet know our culture. Any mistakes would likely be unintentional.”
“Even if she was intimate with another man?”
The secretary’s shoulders twitched. The Emperor mentioned something beyond a simple mistake.
Could it mean the new Empress already committed infidelity? If so, would the position be vacant again?
“Just kidding.”
Kallio’s eyes narrowed slightly as he smiled.
Fortunately, he spared the secretary from overwork. The secretary sincerely hoped this Empress would become Kallio’s final wife.
Having heirs from the Empress would be ideal. Both the Emperor and the secretary wished for the Empire’s stability.
Meanwhile, the person behind the secretary seemed uneasy.
Clatter!
Thud!
The person behind the secretary dropped the documents he was holding.
He hurriedly picked them up, but both the secretary and the Emperor had to notice.
“Who is this?”
“Ah, this is my disciple. A secretary named Kyrus…”
“I want to hear his voice.”
His voice? The Emperor, usually indifferent, now wanted to hear a secretary speak. Even the secretary who served him for years tilted his head in confusion.
But Kyrus was considered a candidate for future prime minister.
It won’t hurt to have His Majesty see Kyrus’s face.
The secretary subtly stepped back and signaled Kyrus.
“May glory be upon the Sun of the Amir Empire. I am Secretary Kyrus…”
“I feel like I’ve heard this voice before.”
The Emperor’s face bore a faint smile, but his voice carried a chilling air.
“Where did we meet?”
Filled with a sense of foreboding, Kyrus froze for a moment.
Where did we meet? He remembered vividly being in the tomb.
He had hidden among objects, and the Emperor had extended his sword to find him.
Although Kyrus had seen the Emperor clearly, the Emperor had not seen him yet.
Kyrus had no choice but to remain calm and act cautiously.
“It is my first time meeting Your Majesty so closely.”
“I have always been by my master’s side, so perhaps you have seen me from afar.”
“……”
“Please forgive the earlier commotion. I was nervous in front of the Sun of the Empire.”
Nervous, Kallio muttered.
Did the lie work?
Just as Kyrus was about to relax, Kallio looked him square in the eyes, with a faintly eerie gaze.
“You weren’t unsettled by Rivie’s name just now, were you?”
Hearing the Empress’s name nearly made him raise his head suddenly, but Kyrus bowed just in time to hide his reaction.
“If you already knew Rivie, I would have paired you to keep her company.”
“……The Empress does not yet know me. Furthermore, I lack the skill to accompany Her Majesty.”
“Good.”
Kallio clasped his hands and rested his chin on them, his eyebrows casting a shadow over his eyes.
Kyrus clenched his hand inside his sleeve until his veins stood out.
He did not know whether the Emperor was aware of the events in the tomb, but it was clear he was suspicious of him.
If Kyrus and the Empress had been at the tomb together, both would be tainted with a false reputation.
I must really settle my mind. I must…
“Honestly, I don’t want to attach a dog to the Empress. She gets too attached to unnecessary things.”
…Is that even necessary?
