Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Late-Night Visit to the State Secretary
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Unlike the brilliantly lit lower floors of the Imperial Palace, where the banquet was in full swing, the upper floors were shrouded in darkness, lit only by a scant few magic lamps.
Though it was late and the emptiness was fitting, tonight I couldn't bear the loneliness. I carefully slipped out of bed, taking just one guard knight with me, and wandered the corridors.
With the faint music drifting up from below as my companion, I took slow steps forward. Then, amid the gloom of the palace, one room stood out, brightly lit—the only one.
That had to be the State Secretary's office.
"...!"
I approached the guard knight stationed at the door, his face full of dissatisfaction. He straightened up and gave a silent salute.
"Hm, is the State Secretary still working?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. He asked not to be disturbed until midnight."
"Leaving me alone to work? Such insolence..."
There couldn't possibly be anything that needed pulling an all-nighter for...
Yet he chooses work over the Emperor?
A whirlwind of resentment and betrayal surged within me.
"May I go in?"
"Perfect timing, Your Majesty. It's midnight now. Please, go ahead."
I glared at the door with venomous malice and politely asked the knight. He glanced at his watch, then stepped aside and placed a hand on the doorknob.
His loyal yet flexible demeanor brought a smile to my lips.
I should promote that knight first when a spot opens up.
"Sir, what's your name?"
"Mid-level knight Mason Scarlett, Your Majesty."
"Mason... Mason..."
Mason: brown hair, tall, a scar near his left eye—a knight on the cusp between youth and middle age.
"Good. I shall make sure to remember you."
"An honor, Your Majesty."
I lightly patted Mason's shoulder. He smiled, bowed his head slightly, and opened the firmly shut door.
As the heavy door slowly creaked open, the State Secretary came into view at the center of the brightly lit office, scribbling away at papers with his pen.
"Ha..."
His collar slightly loosened, his expression deeply focused.
Showing such a disheveled, lascivious sight late at night—what insolence, pushing my anger to the brink.
"...Sir Mason."
A moment after the door opened, without lifting his eyes from the paper, the State Secretary furrowed his brow and called the knight's name.
"I clearly said not to let anyone in."
His voice dripped with quiet fury as he muttered, scolding the knight for failing his duty due to unavoidable circumstances.
Normally, it would be the knight's fault, but this time, he had an invincible shield.
"Surely that 'anyone' doesn't include me, does it?"
"...Your Majesty?"
My voice echoed through the office. Only then did the startled State Secretary look up from his paper, shifting his gaze to me standing at the door with a smile.
"You disloyal State Secretary—you finally deign to look my way."
I stared at his dumbfounded expression and stepped inside.
As I fully entered, the quick-witted Mason swiftly closed the door behind me, ensuring our conversation wouldn't leak out.
"So, what is my loyal State Secretary doing so late at night?"
"That's what I want to ask you, Your Majesty. It's late—why aren't you asleep?"
"The nights are getting cold, and my bedside is empty and chilly. How could I sleep? As Emperor, I can't just sit by while my State Secretary neglects his most important duty."
"Your Majesty, are you lonely?"
Irritation boiled up.
He knows full well, yet he asks anyway—this devilish State Secretary...!
"...Yes, Nelson. I'm lonely to death, so hurry up and finish your work. Your beautiful wife is waiting."
But since I was the one in need, I set aside a bit of pride and pleaded with him not as the Emperor, but as 'Frederica'.
"Oh... then sorry, but wait ten more minutes, Fredi."
His response, however, wasn't what I wanted.
"Eek...! How dare you mock me?!"
Humiliated at being toyed with by my State Secretary, I stomped my feet and let out a light shout. He chuckled, eyes back on the paper, scribbling lines.
"Didn't I tell you the world isn't that easy? No one hands you what you want on a platter."
"Ha! So that's how you want to play it?"
Peaceful negotiations had broken down.
This irreverent, wicked State Secretary, who knew no respect for the Emperor, needed severe punishment.
I shot him a sharp glare, stomped over, roughly shoved his arm off the desk, and plopped my rear down, straddling his lap.
"Then, as you taught me, I'll seize it myself."
"...This, I didn't see coming."
The flustered State Secretary stared at me with wide eyes for a moment.
Then he rolled his eyes slyly, nodded to himself in realization, pulled me into his arms, and resumed reading the paper.
"...This, I didn't see coming."
At this point, shouldn't he yield and head back to the bedroom with me?
I glared at him, brimming with frustration, but he just patted my head and said calmly,
"If I can't yield on work or the Emperor, then seizing both is the right move, isn't it?"
"You greedy..."
What could possibly make that scrap of paper equal in value to me...?
Despite my resentment toward him, I couldn't contain my curiosity. I turned to look at the paper.
"...My speech? Isn't this the one for tomorrow's event?"
"Exactly."
"You've already revised it—why tweak it further?"
"It's the day Liese officially becomes princess. I have to be thorough to the end."
"...True."
Elizabeth's name slipping from his lips brought a bitter smile to my face unbidden.
Something I'd tried not to think about resurfaced, souring my mood even more.
"Nelson."
"......"
I leaned the back of my head against Nelson's chest and called his name in a gloomy voice.
At the sound, his hand twitched. He glanced down at me, carefully set the paper aside, and gently wrapped an arm around my waist.
"What's wrong?"
"Just... sorry."
"......"
As Emperor, I didn't regret any choices I'd made so far.
They were necessary for the Empire.
But in moments when I became 'Frederica' again after ascending the throne, guilt welled up inevitably.
Toward Elizabeth, Alexandrine, and Nelson.
Because I'm so lacking, causing trouble for everyone...
"Kyaa!"
As my thoughts began spiraling, a heavy pain bloomed on my forehead, white light flashing before my eyes.
Clutching my forehead with trembling hands, I looked up to see Nelson's hand hovering right in front of me.
"Fredi, if you're going to think useless thoughts, go back and sleep."
"Useless thoughts...?"
After hitting me, his utterly indifferent words made my anger flare.
"Do you even know what I'm—"
"You're Emperor before you're a parent."
Nelson cut me off coldly, his gaze turning stern—perhaps harsh.
Feeling that gaze from 'those days' after so long, my shoulders shrank involuntarily.
"Leave no regrets, lingering doubts, or guilt over actions taken for the Empire. That's what being Emperor means."
"But..."
"But what? Decisions from over a decade ago won't change."
"Ugh..."
His sharp words stabbed at my chest.
"So stay cold to the end. Don't let guilt make you hesitate and botch things halfway."
"Right..."
He was correct.
It was laughable to feel belated guilt after repeatedly making harsh choices for political reasons.
If I truly cared for my children, finishing the job perfectly came first.
"Hoo..."
I closed my eyes gently, exhaled deeply, and sorted my tangled thoughts.
Then, slowly opening them, I turned to the State Secretary with a soft smile.
"I've shown an unsightly side."
"It's fine. Supporting Your Majesty in such times is the State Secretary's role—and that of your consort."
As I shifted from frail 'Frederica' back to Emperor, Nelson returned to State Secretary with a smile.
"I'm truly fortunate to have you. Without you, I'd have crumbled countless times."
"You've shouldered such a heavy burden because of me. It's my duty to see it through."
"That's..."
I started to deny it, but recalling how I'd ascended the throne, I realized every word rang true.
"You're right. I'll spend my life repaying you."
"Yes."
I chuckled lightly and unwrapped his arm from my waist.
"Sorry for interrupting. You're working for my child, and here I am being a nuisance."
"No issue. I was due for a break anyway."
I shot him a glance for the obvious lie.
"Spare me such transparent falsehoods. You didn't take your eyes off that paper even with me on your lap..."
"But I held you warmly, didn't I?"
"What?"
Warmly held?
That brazen...
Daring to twist the fact that I'd glared at him with bulging eyes?
"I don't need such mechanical affection without feeling. All I got in your arms was a scolding."
"But you regained your energy, didn't you?"
"Hmph."
Utterly shameless to the end...
Any more talk would just stoke my ire, so I averted my gaze, walked to the door, and called out,
"I'll remember this. Someday, you'll pay the price—mark my words."
"Oh dear..."
Leaving his troubled sigh behind, I exited the office.
My heart, though only a little, felt lighter than the lonely heaviness before. My steps back to the bedroom were comparatively light.