A Brilliant Excuse
Theodora's crimson eyes locked onto mine. Her cold, icy gaze swept down my body. "You... what on earth are you doing here?"
At the sound of her voice, the doors to the other VIP rooms began to creak open one by one, and people started peeking out.
"Did they say the Empress is here?"
"In a place like this?"
Spotting a few familiar faces among the onlookers, I quickly stepped toward her. "First, get in here."
Grabbing her wrist firmly, I dragged her back into the private dining room where I had been eating.
Slam!
She looked utterly bewildered, clearly not expecting me to drag her away like this. The waiter, who had been dining with me, scrambled to his feet and bowed deeply.
"Y-Your Imperial Majesty, I greet the sun of the Empire."
Theodora scanned the room, her eyes narrowing with suspicion as she looked at the unfamiliar young man. "What is this place?"
"This is... a VIP room, Your Majesty."
The waiter, who had been speaking so casually with me just moments ago, instantly corrected his tone in the presence of the Empress.
"Sigh... How did you even find this place?" I asked.
Theodora ignored my question, her eyes darting around the room. "Where is the woman?"
Woman? What woman? There were only two men in this room. I asked her back, "What woman? What on earth are you talking about?"
Theodora's eyes flared with anger. "Do not lie to me. I know exactly what nobles do with courtesans in these VIP rooms."
"Well..."
I knew from rumors that most nobles did indeed use these rooms for such trysts, so I immediately realized what kind of ridiculous misunderstanding she had fallen into.
"There is no woman here."
Theodora shook her head vigorously. "I told you, do not lie to me! She is in that room, isn't she?"
She marched over to the door in the corner, grabbed the handle, and—
Creak!
—flung it open. It was just an empty bathroom. She even flipped on the light, searching every nook and cranny.
"U-Uh, Your Grace..." the waiter whispered, his voice trembling. "Please... forget everything I said earlier."
I chuckled softly. "Why back out now? Why don't you sit back down and finish your meal?"
Turning my gaze to Theodora, who was still desperately searching the bathroom for any sign of another person, I called out, "Theodora. I don't know what you're looking for, but since you're already here, you might as well join us for dinner."
Lucius, a third-year Academy student, felt so utterly suffocated by the current situation that he wanted to throw up.
The two people sitting across from him were none other than the Empress, the supreme ruler of the Empire, and the Grand Duke, the true power behind the throne.
Lucius felt a powerful urge to travel back in time and beat his past self to a pulp for having the audacity to tell the Grand Duke to his face that he had no real power.
But... this is nothing like the rumors.
Lucius had heard that the Grand Duke had proposed to the Empress out of a deep, unrequited love. Yet, watching the Empress behave like a pathologically suspicious wife, Lucius couldn't help but wonder.
It seems completely opposite to the rumors. It looks exactly like a wife catching her husband red-handed in the middle of an affair.
As a heavy silence settled over the VIP room, the Grand Duke shook his head and broke the ice.
"But really, why did you come all the way here?"
"That is because... you spend the night out... once every two weeks..."
Watching the Empress—a woman so breathtakingly beautiful she could easily be mistaken for a goddess descended from the heavens—blush and lower her head, Lucius's heart hammered against his ribs.
She is... so beautiful.
The Empress was hailed as the greatest beauty in the Empire. When Lucius had first heard that title, he had dismissed it as mere exaggeration. Born of the highest imperial bloodline, he assumed it was just an empty, flattering title created to please the late Emperor. But looking at her now, Lucius realized the rumors hadn't done her justice.
Could even an angel or a goddess from the heavens be this beautiful?
"Ahem..." The Grand Duke cleared his throat at the Empress's words and continued, "That is because I have business to attend to."
The Empress snapped her head up, her gaze sharpening. "What kind of business?"
The Grand Duke's eyes darted around awkwardly, looking thoroughly cornered. "I asked you what kind of business."
Lucius swallowed hard.
Why would someone as powerful as the Grand Duke come to our restaurant in the dead of night?
He was genuinely curious. The Grand Duke had slipped out of the Imperial Palace—a place overflowing with the finest chefs and ingredients in the Empire—just to visit Roman's Night.
From Lucius's perspective, there was absolutely no reason for the Grand Duke to leave the luxurious palace. Of course, if he wanted to indulge in debauchery, leaving the palace made sense, but from their brief conversation, the Grand Duke didn't seem like that kind of man.
He hadn't called any women to this strictly private VIP room, and he had spent his time asking Lucius about the state of the Empire. Lucius couldn't help but wonder about the true motive behind the Grand Duke's visit.
It can't be an undercover inspection. If he were inspecting the city incognito, he would have visited a small diner or a tavern, not rented a VIP room in an incredibly expensive restaurant like this.
An undercover inspection was meant for rulers to secretly observe the lives of ordinary citizens and understand their hardships. Coming to a place completely devoid of commoners made absolutely no sense.
"That is..." Breaking the long silence, the Grand Duke finally spoke. "To recruit a brilliant talent!"
At those words, both Lucius and the Empress shared the exact same thought.
Oh, please. What a plausible lie, Deviang. To find talent? What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?
The Grand Duke is truly shameless.
Both of them found the Grand Duke's excuse utterly absurd. If he wanted to recruit talent, he should have gone to the Academy. Why on earth would he come to a high-end restaurant? And to find talent in a VIP room, of all places?
Their gazes turned ice-cold, looking at him as if they had just heard a lion claim it preferred eating grass. Yet, completely unfazed, the Grand Duke declared, "Theodora. Since you don't seem to believe me, I shall show you the talent I have found."
The Grand Duke smiled triumphantly at the Empress.
"You... found a talent?" The Empress asked, taken aback by his absolute confidence.
Lucius swallowed hard.
What? Did Deviang really leave the palace just to look for talent?
Both the Empress and Lucius found it incredibly hard to believe.
What? A brilliant talent in a restaurant? But the Grand Duke hasn't met anyone else since he got here...
The Grand Duke beamed, looking directly at Lucius. "Yes. Quite an exceptional talent, indeed. He has a precise grasp of the current political climate and possesses vast insight."
Lucius's expression turned deeply puzzled.
A talent so great that even the Grand Duke would praise him like that is here?
He racked his brain.
He said a waiter... Could it be Müller? Or Maximilian?
Lucius knew both of them were brilliant students recognized as geniuses at the Academy.
But when did they meet him? Ah... Wait. I badmouthed the Grand Duke to both of them. What if the Grand Duke heard about it? If so... I'm dead.
Having spent a significant amount of time badmouthing the most powerful man in the Empire, Lucius's face began to turn pale.
"Theodora, let me introduce this talent to you myself." The Grand Duke cleared his throat and continued, "This talent is the waiter of this room, and a third-year student at the Academy. Ahem... By the way, what is your name?"
As the Grand Duke finished with a gentle smile directed at him, the Empress slowly turned her head to scan Lucius from head to toe.
"This person... is the talent?"
"Me...? A talent?"
"But really, why did you come all the way here?"
Theodora's sudden intrusion had put me in a very tight spot. Seriously... why did she have to show up here?
"That is because... you spend the night out... once every two weeks..."
Theodora spoke softly, but her eyes were sharp. Her gaze seemed to accuse me: You dumped all your busy work on me, and you came here to leisurely enjoy a meal?
What should I do? Under her cold, piercing gaze, I desperately tried to think of an excuse.
"Ahem..."
Damn it. If I had been wandering around the streets normally, I could have just claimed I was on an undercover inspection. But renting out a lavish VIP room made that excuse incredibly hard to sell.
"That is because I have business to attend to," I said, trying to buy time to think.
Theodora's eyes flashed sharply as she pressed me. "What kind of business?"
What do I do? I had always preached that nobles existed to serve the citizens of the Empire. If she found out I had spent a fortune renting a VIP room just to relieve some stress, she might refuse to handle my leftover paperwork in the future. Cold sweat broke out on my back.
That could absolutely not happen. If Theodora stopped taking care of my administrative leftovers, I would literally die of overwork.
What do I do? Think, brain, think! How do I get out of this?
As my eyes darted around the room, someone caught my attention.
"I asked you what kind of business."
"That is..."
It was true that the waiter sitting in front of me possessed impressive insight and a solid understanding of the current political climate. Though he was slightly lacking in some areas, he was still remarkably capable.
Besides, he could read and write, right? I didn't know the exact illiteracy rate of this world, but I knew it was quite high. But as an Academy student, he could read, write, and had just demonstrated top-tier analytical skills.
Looking at the waiter, a brilliant idea struck me.
Yes... let's go with this!
Once the plan formed in my head, I spoke. "To recruit a brilliant talent!"
At my words, the atmosphere around Theodora shifted ominously. She tilted her head in confusion for a moment, before a faint, murderous smile spread across her face. Watching her, I maintained a relaxed demeanor.
"Theodora. Since you don't seem to believe me, I shall show you the talent I have found."
In this world, where illiteracy was rampant, simply being able to read and write made someone a qualified talent. In fact, the minimum requirement for the lowest-tier civil service exam was basic literacy and simple arithmetic. But this waiter was a student at the Academy—an institution reserved only for the brightest minds in the Empire—and he possessed exceptional insight. In other words, he was undeniably a talent.
"You... found a talent?" Theodora asked, her face blank with disbelief as she swallowed hard.
Gulp.
What a relief, waiter. Treating you to an expensive meal is paying off in the best way possible.
A smile tugged at my lips as I looked at the waiter, who still looked utterly dazed, unable to comprehend the situation.
"Yes. Quite an exceptional talent, indeed. He has a precise grasp of the current political climate and possesses vast insight."
I felt a pang of confusion as I watched the waiter sink into deep thought. Why is he agonizing over this so much? Does he not want his identity revealed? Surely not.
Just moments ago, he had been lamenting his lack of a noble sponsor. Why would he be unhappy about me offering to back him up? Come to think of it, he did seem to dislike me earlier.
But it didn't matter. The Empire always needed more administrative slaves. Capable slaves were always welcome in my book.
If he didn't want to work under me, I could just throw a mountain of gold at him. Of course, I would make sure to dump so much work on him that he wouldn't even have the time to spend his salary.
As I pictured this bright, glorious future, a radiant smile spread across my face.
"Theodora, let me introduce this talent to you myself." I cleared my throat and continued, "This talent is the waiter of this room, and a third-year student at the Academy. Ahem... By the way, what is your name?"
As I spoke, Theodora and the waiter locked eyes.
"This person... is the talent?"
"Me...? A talent?"