~CHAPTER 48~
“His Majesty is really… how can someone be like that…”
Luisilla let out a dreamy sigh.
Her fellow maid standing next to her, Gisella, agreed right away.
“A face like something carved from the age of myths, such a dignified build, honestly he’s perfect from head to toe…”
“How can there be only one man like that in the entire Catalos Empire? We can’t even dare look at him.”
“Exactly. Whoever catches His Majesty’s eye… I’m so jealous of her…”
And the fortunate woman who had caught His Majesty’s eye was desperately pretending to look calm.
Luisilla leaned close to Dianu, who was quietly flipping pages, and asked in a subtle tone.
“Miss Ortensa, don’t you think His Majesty is the ideal man?”
“Ah… haha…”
“It would be nice if he had a lover, but he doesn’t seem interested in such things.”
Dianu’s hand stopped mid-page at Luisilla’s muttering.
Gisella looked around nervously and warned her.
“You shouldn’t say things like that, Luisilla.”
“Oh come on, it’s just us. Honestly, being the emperor’s lover might be better than marrying some useless husband. It happens.”
“That… is true, but…”
Gisella reluctantly agreed with an awkward face.
If the emperor were an old man with a belly, such a conversation would never exist.
Many nobles had offered up daughters and wives to gain power, but noble ladies themselves speaking like this was unusual.
Impressive. Our emperor.
For noblewomen who lived and died by honor to throw it away just to become the emperor’s lover… it was practically an achievement.
Resting her chin on her hand, Dianu looked at Lysion, who was sitting a little distance away.
After a brief boat ride, Lysion and Elpenlira were now seated at a tea table by the lakeside, locked in serious conversation.
The maids who weren’t invited to the table had scattered.
Luisilla was the first to approach Dianu, who had settled on a mat with a book, and Gisella soon joined her.
Bertona, who had grown distant after Luisilla began siding with Dianu, linked arms with another maid and disappeared somewhere.
At least Dianu didn’t have to see her face.
Now then, what should I do about that girl?
Just one look at how Bertona openly scrutinized Dianu’s dress at the picnic was enough to know she was the culprit.
She must have expected Dianu to show up with a torn gown and be humiliated in front of everyone.
Dianu was offended, but strangely, the feeling didn’t last long.
She thought she would slap Bertona the moment they met, but the instant she saw Lysion appear at Oak Palace, the anger vanished.
I want to be alone with him.
Even while speaking with Elpenlira, Lysion occasionally looked toward Dianu.
Whenever their eyes met, he showed the faintest smile — one only Dianu could notice.
To keep herself from grinning like an idiot, she had no choice but to hide behind her book.
It’s fine. Who cares.
She didn’t have to be separated from Lysion.
She didn’t know what would happen later, but for now, that was enough.
“When will His Majesty get married, I wonder?”
The one to spoil her good mood was Gisella.
“The partner is basically decided, so it’s a matter of time, right?”
“Lady Belua is frail, so it will be after she recovers. His Majesty is waiting for her, I assume.”
The casual exchange stabbed Dianu like thorns.
She bit her lip and lowered her head into her book.
It’s fine. I already knew this would happen.
One could not love the emperor and expect to keep everything.
She had won Lysion’s heart, so she had to give something up in return.
If that something was her reputation as a lady… then so be it.
I wasn’t planning to marry anyway.
She no longer misunderstood Lysion’s relationship with Adelaissa, but marriage was separate.
Seeing him marry someone else would hurt deeply, but it was the logic of the world.
When Lysion eventually decided to take an empress, she would love him until then, then disappear quietly.
A secluded convent to spend her life copying manuscripts didn’t sound bad.
Lysion would be her first and last.
And she was fine with that.
Yes. This is enough.
It wasn’t a perfect happy ending, but she could endure it.
***
Lysion and Elpenlira’s conversation dragged on.
Dianu left Luisilla and Gisella’s chatter and went for a walk.
Following a small path away from the group, her tangled feelings slowly cleared.
Sweeping back her hair blown by the autumn wind, she murmured to herself.
“Maybe I should cut it…”
“That would be a shame.”
Dianu practically jumped, letting out a very unladylike yelp.
Lysion had approached without a sound, staring at her with surprised eyes.
“Your Majesty! Please make some noise when you walk!”
“My apologies.”
He didn’t look apologetic at all.
He clearly enjoyed sneaking up on her, just like when they first met in the library at Oak Palace.
His elegant fingers gently curled a strand of her hair.
“You wore the ribbon I gave you today.”
“Yesterday was an exception.”
He looked delighted.
His radiant smile nearly melted her heart.
“Your hair is beautiful.”
“…That’s not something you should say.”
Even in the North and East, where blondes were common, honey-gold hair without any tint like his or Elpenlira’s was admired.
“My hair is just hair. But yours… it’s like a tree. One that’s put down roots for a very long time.”
He lowered his head and kissed her hair softly.
“If you cut it, I would like a piece.”
Her face burned hot.
Sharing hair was something only lovers deeply connected would do.
Lysion looked at her as though asking permission.
Avoiding his gaze, she whispered:
“…I’ll give you some.”
“Since I’m receiving a gift from a lady, I should give one in return.”
Dianu narrowed her eyes.
“Are you trying to burden me with something?”
He only smiled.
She sighed heavily.
“Your Majesty, you already gave me a huge cheque. With that alone I can get anything I want.”
“Cheque? Ah.”
“You gave it to me as severance pay because you thought I’d leave the palace.”
“Severance pay.”
Better than mental damages, she supposed.
“But now you’re not leaving the palace. And the gift I want to give isn’t from an emperor to a tutor. It’s from a man to someone he’s courting. So isn’t that separate?”
His words were strangely reasonable, and she almost let herself be convinced.
She folded her arms and braced her feet firmly.
“Why do you keep wanting to give me things?”
“Because I have them, and I want to give them to you.”
“…”
“I hope I’m someone who’s allowed to do that.”
“…Ah…”
“So please accept them. I like giving gifts to the people I love.”
At the word *love*, she surrendered completely.
She closed her eyes tight.
“…Just don’t build anything.”
“I’ll ask permission first.”
Lysion pressed his lips against hers before she could protest again.
She rose slightly on her toes with a soft breath.
His hand in her hair was so gentle that she wished time would stop like this forever.
***
“Congratulations, Teacher.”
The next day, during class, Elpenlira suddenly spoke, catching Dianu mid-sentence.
The following words nearly made her scream.
“You’re finally having a sweet romance with my brother.”
It was fortunate that Sir Loisen had been summoned by Lysion to the Imperial Palace.
Dianu turned as red as a beet and covered her face with both hands.
“…His Majesty told you, didn’t he?”
“He did, but even if he hadn’t, you two were so obvious anyone could tell.”
With her quill spinning in her fingers like a mischievous fairy, Elpenlira grinned.
Dianu sighed deeply.
“Even if we wanted to hide it, it wouldn’t work. Just being seen together often would start rumors.”
And just as Lysion had warned, those rumors would harm only Dianu.
But she had already accepted it.
She would bear the title of the emperor’s unmarried lover if she had to.
She would at least stay quiet so Lord Beric’s future marriage wouldn’t be ruined.
Elpenlira suddenly frowned.
“Teacher. Just to be sure… what do you think your relationship with my brother is?”
“What… do you mean?”
“I mean, what do you think the two of you will be like in a few years?”
Dianu blinked slowly.
In a few years, Lysion would almost certainly be married.
An emperor needed a legitimate heir.
She would have to disappear quietly, as though she had never existed.
He was not the kind of man to keep a mistress after marriage, and she was not the kind of woman who could be one.
It was a terrible thought, but eventually reality.
She forced a smile.
“We’ll be where we’re supposed to be.”
Elpenlira opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment, someone knocked on the library door.
It was Viscountess Ornin.
Her slightly furrowed brow made Dianu forget the conversation as she stood quickly.
“Miss Ortensa. Did you have an appointment with the master of the Seland Merchant Guild?”
“…What? No?”
The Seland Guild supplied jewels and luxury goods to Oak Palace.
There was no reason for Dianu to meet their master.
Viscountess Ornin stepped aside, confused, and a smiling middle-aged man entered, carrying an unusually large bag in one hand.
He tipped his hat—
