I Should Have Chosen a Crowded Place
I should have gone somewhere crowded instead.
My judgment had been wrong.
Just as Lucy had wandered in search of a deserted area to avoid Edwin, it seemed Edwin and Lina were also steering clear of prying eyes by frequenting secluded spots.
Why did they have to come all the way here to look for a hidden place? There are plenty of secluded spots inside the imperial palace!
Whether Lucy was screaming inside her head or not, Edwin and Lina were steadily drawing closer.
Ugh, damn it.
Lucy tensed as though preparing for battle.
She carefully rolled her eyes to scout for an escape route, but unless she planned on phasing through the trees, there was no viable path.
To get out of here, I’d have to walk right past His Majesty.
Could she make it through safely?
Probably not.
After a quick glance at the hem of her chiffon dress, Lucy reached a decision.
In Edwin’s memory, Lucy would appear not with elegant makeup but with a greasy, unwashed face and clad in armor.
His Majesty isn’t the most observant person.
Still, this wasn’t a situation with any distance like before. If she brushed right past him, he might recognize her.
Six years was not a short time.
Edwin was getting closer.
Edwin, absorbed in conversation with Lina, noticed Lucy and her companion a moment too late.
Lucy swiftly turned her back.
Edwin smiled and replied to Lina’s cheerful babbling while only glancing their way with his eyes.
It didn’t seem like he had recognized her.
He appeared to have merely noticed that uninvited guests had occupied the secluded area he had chosen for some private time alone with Lina.
Since he needed to find a natural way to turn back before Lina spotted them, Edwin didn’t seem pleased by the presence of these visitors.
The back of her head prickled.
Apparently the lace hat could block sunlight but not Edwin’s gaze.
Edwin edged a little closer, seemingly searching for the right moment to interrupt Lina, who was chattering away.
He probably thought that with Lina’s ordinary eyesight, they were still too far away to be seen.
Please don’t come any closer.
But if they approached any more, the chance of Edwin recognizing Lucy would rise sharply.
For Lucy, who wanted to erase the fact that the Emperor and Lina were dating from her memory, this would be the worst possible outcome.
Is that my only remaining option?
Well, it was about time anyway.
The lakeside date today had been meant to set the mood, after all.
Though not like this.
“Honey!”
Lucy called her lover in a deliberately high-pitched voice.
“What is it, Lulu?”
Her lover tilted his head with an innocent smile.
“I love you.”
That part is completely sincere. My little kitten.
Apologizing inwardly, Lucy grabbed her lover’s shoulders and pushed him toward the large tree.
Before she knew it, she had both hands planted firmly on the tree on either side of him as he leaned against the trunk.
It was an excellent wall slam—or rather, tree slam.
Though sudden, her little kitten only blushed shyly and didn’t seem to mind.
“I love you too, Lulu.”
He simply gazed at her with eyes full of anticipation.
The sound of Edwin and Lina’s approaching footsteps stopped.
Realizing this was not a situation they should intrude upon, Edwin seemed to be trying to turn back even if it required forcing the issue.
Edwin spoke to Lina in a low voice.
Even with Lucy’s well-trained hearing, she couldn’t catch the exact words, but it was probably something close to what she hoped for.
Yes, yes, just say you suddenly want to see the lake or whatever—just turn around and leave.
“Lulu.”
While her attention had been diverted toward Edwin, her neglected kitten closed his eyes pleadingly and puckered his lips.
“Mm.”
As if the entire reason she had brought her lover to this shaded corner was for this very moment, Lucy gave him their first kiss.
The sound of footsteps receded as Lina and Edwin turned to leave.
Their pace was much quicker than the leisurely stroll they had taken on arrival.
Even though her little kitten was facing their direction, he kept his eyes tightly shut and seemed unaware of their presence.
They finally left.
From now on, she would only go to crowded places.
Lucy mentally filed away this newly learned tip and focused on the kiss.
Let’s finish what we started.
Although she had achieved her intended goal from the anticipated lakeside date, Lucy had not fully recovered from the mental shock. She arrived at work with hollow eyes.
“Are you feeling sick?”
Nadan turned at the sound and spoke with concern.
“No, I’m not sick. I’m perfectly fine.”
True to her position as a member of the secret intelligence unit, Lucy instantly brightened her expression and pretended nothing was wrong.
Her survival instincts, sharpened by multiple close calls, were speaking for her.
I saw something I should never have seen.
In the imperial palace, where one walked on thin ice, keeping one’s mouth shut was rule number one and two.
Lucy tried her hardest to forget what she had witnessed.
However, the sight of a shy Edwin, a brightly smiling Edwin, and an Edwin so smitten with Lina that honey seemed to drip from his eyes was too powerful to erase from memory.
Whenever the lakeside memory resurfaced, Lucy’s body would tremble like a coward recalling a scene from a horror story.
Isn’t this an occupational hazard?
Devoid of her usual energy, Lucy looked at her colleagues with envious eyes.
Must be nice. Not knowing that Lina is dating His Majesty.
But whether by good fortune or bad, Lucy soon gained a comrade in her suffering.
Right after her came Derek.
The capital of the Regencia Empire had been in the same location since its days as a kingdom.
As a result, the capital was rather small compared to the empire’s scale, which naturally drove land prices to astronomical heights.
Indar Street had Grizel Park, a public cemetery, at its center. Despite its proximity to the imperial palace, rent there was quite affordable.
That was why many low-ranking officials who commuted daily to the palace but could not afford the expensive rents nearby lived in the area.
One of them was Derek.
Having left work a little earlier than usual, Derek opened the windows wide to ventilate the hot indoor air—and that was when he saw them.
In the narrow space between the wall of his row house and the neighboring building.
Even though it was summer and the days were long, Lina and Edwin stood in that shaded spot.
Derek already knew Lina lived nearby.
They had run into each other several times.
But why is His Majesty here?
And they were even holding hands!
Derek froze in the middle of opening the window.
Perhaps sensing the gaze on them, Edwin scanned the surroundings.
His senses were almost animalistic.
Following his instincts, Derek crouched and hid beneath the windowsill.
Fortunately the distance was considerable, and it seemed Edwin had not thought to look that high.
Peeking out with just his eyes from that position, Derek watched Edwin’s gaze return to Lina and let out a sigh of relief.
His legs gave out.
Derek collapsed onto the floor.
But it was still too early to feel relieved.
The window was open, and with no strength left in his legs, he remained seated exactly where he was.
In other words, he continued watching Edwin and Lina the entire time.
Not that he had any intention of doing so.
He saw Edwin bend down and whisper something near Lina’s ear.
Lina laughed, as if the breath tickled her.
The back-and-forth whispering must have been their farewell.
Edwin carefully lifted the hand he had been holding all along—without a trace of summer sweat—and kissed it.
For several seconds.
It was a long time for a kiss on the back of the hand.
As the goodbye stretched longer than usual, the moment Lina tried to pull her hand away, Edwin released his lips and wrapped his other arm around her waist, gently drawing her close.
He hesitated briefly, as if gauging her reaction.
Then.
Their lips met.
It was only for the briefest moment.
Lina, who had kept her voice low the entire time—probably because of the nearby neighbors—said something before running into her house as if fleeing.
From Derek’s somewhat distant position, it only registered as “someone’s talking over there,” but it must have been loud enough to be heard from up close.
Edwin, who had stood resolutely until Lina disappeared, lost his composure the moment she was gone.
He leaned back against the wall.
His face was flushed red, visible even to Derek.
What on earth did she say?
He was curious, but he didn’t actually want to know.