Episode 12
After today’s council meeting and banquet, Kaien felt a very strange mix of emotions.
At today’s luncheon, the nobles who usually looked down on him barely even dared to look at him.
Because of that, he didn’t get irritated or raise his voice, and there were no fights.
“Isn’t it funny? I only changed a few manners.”
Kaien sat on the windowsill with his legs hanging outside, speaking in a complaint.
Any servant walking below would have fainted in shock, but Glen simply looked at him calmly.
“Pathetic people,” Kaien muttered.
He still despised the nobles.
“In Lubeo, people don’t even have enough to eat. And they complain about how I wash my hands?”
He still remembered how shocked everyone had looked a year ago at the wedding banquet.
What’s the problem?
After that meal, when he asked angrily, his chief attendant had carefully explained:
- He dipped both hands deep in the basin meant for washing.
- He used only one utensil for everything.
- He grabbed food before the servants had served it.
Such petty reasons. Kaien had only scoffed.
Your Majesty, the nobles of the capital value proper manners above all. As Emperor, you must guide them.
Duke Nigel had said this carefully after that banquet, but it only made Kaien dislike him more.
A better way would be to stop their luxury and care about the lives of the people.
After that, Duke Nigel never mentioned etiquette again.
“The nobles in the capital will never leave their little world,” Glen said with the same contempt.
He had grown up with Kaien in the harsh lands of Lubeo, not in the safety of the capital, so he thought the same way.
“Even in today’s council, all they did was flatter. Not one of them spoke about the real state of the empire. Useless, every one of them.”
If this had been the war camps of Lubeo, such lazy men would have been hanged upside down as an example.
But in the council, Kaien could not use his sword so freely.
“I wish I could just cut them down and be done with it,” Kaien growled.
“That would be nice,” Glen said, “but killing them would only make more trouble.”
“I know,” Kaien replied, “that’s the only reason their heads are still on their shoulders.”
The former Emperor had abandoned the government after his wife’s death, and for seventeen years the nobles, led by Duke Nigel, had run the empire.
“At least I don’t have to hear Lukan’s nagging this time,” Kaien said.
Glen nodded.
“Since the Empress fell ill, there has been no contact with Lukan. Letters still arrive from there, but…”
“I know,” Kaien cut in.
He had seen the mountain of unopened letters himself. He didn’t know when they started piling up, but the stack was high.
“At first I suspected it was another trick from Lukan, but the Empress spoke no lies.”
Kaien’s black eyes glimmered with certainty.
“She says her illness left her lacking… but I like the Empress better as she is now.”
Since the wedding, Kaien had never really spoken of the Empress, but in the past few days, something had changed.
“There’s a special calm feeling in the Empress’s palace,” Kaien said.
“It can’t be better than a Lubeo war camp,” Glen joked.
“No,” Kaien replied seriously. “The council chamber and my chambers aren’t even as comfortable as a war camp.”
The Emperor’s rooms were too heavy and oppressive, full of power and ceremony, not a place to rest.
“That’s why I decided to have dinner again at the Empress’s palace tonight,” he said.
Glen didn’t understand, but if Kaien felt even a little more at ease in the palace, then it was a good thing.
Still, both Glen and Kaien knew almost nothing about feelings between men and women.
“Your Majesty,” Miller, the chief attendant, approached and bowed.
“I have important news,” he said.
“What is it?”
“A message from the Empress’s palace. Her Majesty has a fever and cannot attend dinner tonight.”
Kaien’s eyebrows furrowed before he even realized it. Miller lowered himself further, nervous.
“If Your Majesty commands, we can bring the prepared dishes here,” Miller suggested carefully.
“The Empress has a fever?” Kaien said. “I saw her myself earlier, and she looked perfectly fine.”
Miller blinked, surprised that Kaien seemed worried about her health rather than the food.
“It must have come on suddenly, Your Majesty. There is a physician with her, so please don’t worry too much.”
Kaien, who had been sitting on the window ledge, suddenly swung himself back inside the room.
“I will go see her.”
Glen and Miller stared in shock. And soon, Alicia herself would be just as shocked when she heard.
Alicia was lying in bed early, enjoying a rare moment of peace. She had eaten some snacks instead of dinner, and sleep was coming easily.
“Your Majesty…”
Anes, who was drawing the curtains, gasped in surprise.
“His… His Majesty is coming here!”
Alicia opened her eyes slowly, still half-asleep.
“Hm? What…?”
“He’s already crossing the courtyard… no! He’s almost at the front door!”
Even calm Anes sounded panicked, and Alicia’s sleep vanished instantly.
“…What do we do? Stop him from coming in!”
“But if His Majesty orders it, we cannot stop him.”
Alicia’s mind raced. She had lived two lives, she thought she could handle Kaien easily—but she had underestimated him.
“Bring me both hot towels and warm towels. Hide them near my bed!”
“Y-yes, right away!”
Anes rushed to do as she was told, but Kaien’s footsteps were far too quick. Soon they heard the announcement:
“His Majesty the Emperor is entering!”
Alicia, lying in bed, quickly pressed the hot towel to her forehead and signaled Anes. Anes bowed deeply at the door to greet the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, forgive us, but Her Majesty has a slight fever and went to bed early.”
Alicia strained her ears, listening to every sound.
“I will see her,” Kaien said.
“Your Majesty, she is already asleep…”
“Move aside.”
The cold command cut through the air, and the door opened.
Alicia quickly hid the hot towel and replaced it with a lukewarm one, then closed her eyes and pretended to wake slowly.
“…Your… Majesty…?”
Her heart pounded wildly as Kaien came to her bedside.
“I am sorry… I am unwell…” Alicia started to sit up, but Kaien’s strong hand stopped her gently at her shoulder.
The unexpected touch left both of them silent for a moment.
“Hmm.”
Kaien cleared his throat to break the awkwardness.
“You had a high fever not long ago. Why are you ill again?”
“It’s nothing serious… just from the autumn wind. Please don’t worry.”
It was hard to lie there with Kaien sitting so close, his eyes studying her face.
Her cheeks burned so hotly it felt like a real fever.
“You looked fine earlier.”
Seeing her pale cheeks now red, Kaien frowned deeply. Alicia braced herself for his cold scolding, but instead, he turned his head away.
“What are the maids in the Empress’s palace doing?!”
Instead of scolding Alicia, his anger was aimed at her servants.
“We apologize, Your Majesty,” Anes and Howard bowed low.
Seeing them blame made Alicia feel worse than if Kaien had scolded her directly.
“It is not their fault, Your Majesty,” she said quickly. “I insisted on keeping the window open.”
Kaien’s tense brow softened just a little.
“How old is the Empress again?”
“Twenty… Your Majesty,” Alicia answered, startled by the sudden question.
The towel on her forehead slipped off as she looked up.
“Ah…”
Kaien calmly reached out his large hand and checked her forehead, then compared it to his own.
He moved so fast she didn’t even have time to react.
“A mild fever,” he said.
Alicia nodded, her face hot.
“You are not a child anymore. Be careful not to catch a cold,” Kaien said, looking straight at her red face.
“Do you understand?”
It was unbelievable, but Kaien was gently advising her about her health.
“…Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Rest well and recover quickly.”
Kaien stood and turned to leave. Could a person change? Or had Alicia only been afraid of him for no reason before?
“And if this happens again,” Kaien added in a cold, deadly voice, “I will have their heads.”
Everyone froze.
His tone wasn’t loud, but calm and certain—as if it was only natural. His dark eyes swept over the bowed servants, then he left with quick steps.
Even experienced Anes and Howard were so shaken by the deadly aura that they forgot to give a farewell bow.
Only after a long moment did they breathe out in relief.
Alicia felt the same.
“I… I’m sorry, everyone…”
But Alicia’s face had grown pale for a different reason.
“…I think I was wrong about him.”
Kaien was still a cruel and dangerous man. In his calm voice, she could almost see him drawing a sword and cutting down Anes without hesitation.
Maybe that was normal for him.
“I forgot… how frightening he is.”
The only thing that had changed was how he treated Alicia.
But how long would that last? The scent of blood was still strong around him. Pretending to be sick had been reckless—too reckless.
“…I must have been crazy for a moment.”
Even if Kaien seemed a little gentler now, if she had asked for a divorce… she didn’t even want to imagine what might have happened.
He was still a beast, and he wasn’t trying to hide it.
In the end, nothing had truly changed from her previous life.
