The Emperor's Outburst
The most emotionally charged answer yet to a question I had heard many times before.
For a moment, Edwin flashed a smile so captivating that it made me forget the very question I had asked.
The violet eyes that met his trembled lightly before turning away from him.
As those shyly fleeing purple eyes avoided him, Edwin mulled over the words he had just spoken.
I like you.
Edwin’s own eyes shook far more violently than Lina’s had.
Up until about thirty seconds ago, I had remembered exactly what I’d asked Everett.
I was also used to the way it always took him a while to answer whenever I asked about his preferences.
But the instant his eyes met mine and he said, “I like you,” every single thought in my head vanished without a trace.
Only those three words kept spinning around inside my skull.
What the—how can someone make “I like flowers” sound that heart-fluttering?
Before I knew it, I had looked away from Everett’s eyes.
Don’t interpret this however you want, Carolina Diaz.
He was clearly talking about roses.
But the misunderstanding was so sweet that my rational mind refused to return.
I prayed desperately that the sound of my wildly pounding heart wouldn’t reach Everett’s ears.
Hoo-ha. Hoo-ha.
I turned my body away and secretly took a deep breath. Everett, who had noticed the strange shift in the atmosphere, hurriedly added,
“So… roses.”
“Right. Roses.”
We awkwardly echoed each other and began competitively listing the virtues of roses.
“They’re beautiful.”
“And they smell wonderful too.”
What is this nonsense?
I sneaked a sideways glance at Everett.
We’re doomed.
He looked equally awkward and sheepish. His gaze kept darting around, and his cheeks were flushed red.
Ah.
An awkward, ticklish silence wrapped around us.
I racked my brain for any topic that might break the silence, but nothing useful came to mind.
Everett, who wasn’t exactly known for his conversational skills, seemed to be struggling just as much.
For a long while, we could barely look at each other and only moved our lips in vain.
“Um…”
Then Everett called my name, as if he had finally gathered his courage.
Looks like he forgot what he was going to say the moment he tried to speak it.
A shy man had struggled to muster the courage to break the awkwardness, only to fail.
If things stayed this quiet, the atmosphere would become so stifling I might actually suffocate.
It was my turn to step up.
I decided to act like nothing had happened and wrap up today’s meeting.
For Everett’s sake—so he wouldn’t feel burdened.
And for the sake of my blanket’s survival.
“I should head back before it gets any later.”
When I threw out the random excuse that “This is an area without any administrative buildings, so running into patrolling soldiers might be troublesome,” Everett let out a short, somehow deflated sigh.
For a moment he stared emptily into the air, then held out his hand.
“Let’s go back.”
Well done, Carolina.
At least if we walked briskly, the silence wouldn’t feel quite so unbearable.
Feeling a little proud of myself, I placed my hand over his.
Knights must have excellent night vision, because Everett navigated the darkened garden with ease.
He brushed past the rose vines that stretched across the viewing path without hesitation.
Yet his mouth remained firmly shut, as though he were lost in deep thought.
He even looked a bit gloomy.
The walk home was quiet.
“Good morning.”
I had barely slept, tossing and turning until just before dawn.
So of the seven syllables in that greeting, only the last five were actually true.
I entered the office after delivering a greeting that was about seventy-one percent sincere, only to find the atmosphere inside unusually heavy.
What’s going on? Why are they all huddled together whispering again?
Scaring people first thing in the morning. Honestly.
As I scanned the room to figure out what was happening, Connie—who had arrived earlier—quietly sidled up to me.
Connie, who always caught wind of news faster than anyone, seemed to have already grasped the situation that had swept through the office.
What happened?
I mouthed the words silently at her.
After reading my lips, Connie quietly linked arms with me and jerked her chin toward the door, signaling we should step outside.
I followed her in silence. Only after we had walked quite far from the office did she finally speak.
“Just a second.”
She had never been the type to care much about other people’s opinions.
But ever since the Donovan incident, she had become even less concerned with appearances—yet here she was, constantly checking if anyone was around. That alone made me nervous.
“What is it?”
I poked her in the side repeatedly as I asked.
After confirming that no one was passing by, Connie lowered her voice to a whisper and began.
“So, you know how everyone thought the national marriage was between the Emperor and the Bellot Crown Princess? Apparently that’s not it.”
I had suspected as much.
If it really had been a marriage between the Crown Princess and the Emperor, there’s no way Everett would have shown me that he disliked her.
Regardless of his personal feelings, she would have been his lord’s prospective bride, so he would have shown at least some respect.
The rumors had also been dying down lately.
If it were true, things would have been far more chaotic by now.
“Oh, really?”
My reaction was milder than Connie had expected, so she scratched her cheek, looking disappointed.
“You didn’t believe that rumor either, huh? Well, the Crown Princess and His Majesty did seem like a weird match.”
To be precise, I had been in the “maybe…?” camp before eventually dismissing it.
But right now, explaining my entire train of thought felt like a waste of time.
Since neither of us had ever seen them, we couldn’t really judge whether they suited each other or not.
“But isn’t this something we could have talked about inside the office? Is there more?”
When the rumor about the Crown Princess and the Emperor’s national marriage first spread, the office had been buzzing nonstop.
During lunch and tea breaks, you could hear people talking about them everywhere.
Since gossip of this nature was generally accepted as harmless, it wasn’t exactly a topic that required extreme caution.
“Of course not. You think I dragged you out here just for that?”
Having successfully piqued my curiosity, Connie began explaining in the dramatic tone of a storyteller reaching the climax of a novel.
“The national marriage itself is apparently between the Bellot Crown Princess and one of the Empire’s nobles. I did hear who the candidates are, but that part isn’t very important, so I’ll skip it.”
Connie paused for a moment, as if to build tension.
“This is where it gets important…”
Even in a situation like this, she couldn’t completely drop her playful nature, so the pause dragged on a bit.
Is this the part where it says “To be continued in the next volume”?
“So what’s the important part?”
“Well…”
Just before my patience ran out, Connie finally continued.
“During the grand council a few days ago, the topic of the national marriage with Bellot came up again. The nobles must have seen it as an opportunity, because they apparently hounded His Majesty, insisting that he should get married too.”
As she reached the main point, the playful glint in Connie’s eyes gradually faded.
That alone told me how serious the matter was.
I waited quietly for her to go on.
“In the end, His Majesty got so angry that…”
Connie’s voice dropped to its lowest.
The tension made me hold my breath without realizing it as I urged her to continue.
She glanced around once more, then leaned in close and whispered,
“He drew his sword and told them if they didn’t want to die, they should shut their mouths. Someone saw a whole group of palace attendants rushing over. The atmosphere was apparently incredibly tense.”
She whispered rapidly and then quickly stepped back. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was really something that required us to leave the office and find an empty spot to discuss.
“He drew his sword?”
I unconsciously repeated her words and flinched.
In the Empire, instead of the saying “you can curse the king when he’s not around,” there was a strict law against insulting the imperial family.
“For real?”
When I asked in an equally hushed voice, Connie simply nodded, confirming I had heard correctly.
“From what I heard, several nobles were carried out in the end.”
The Emperor’s marriage discussed in the council chamber? This… could it be…
A scene suddenly flashed through my mind.