The documents on the desk were piled up like a mountain, if one were to exaggerate.
The emperor frowned as he watched Nathan silently handle his work.
“This is partly your fault, too, Duke. Didn’t you declare yesterday that you were her prospective fiancé? Isn’t that why the young lady is acting this way?”
“That can’t be it. The young lady knows I’ll soon withdraw the marriage proposal. She also understands perfectly well that I stepped in to protect her.”
“Really?”
“You’ve heard the rumors circulating behind the scenes, haven’t you?”
The duke had mentioned the marriage proposal to protect her from the marquis and marchioness. But there were also reports that he had indirectly made it clear after the incident that he had no intention of continuing with the arrangement.
When Marquis and Marchioness Ingrave heard this, they were even more furious. At the same time, however, Duke Valencia had gone so far out of his way for his benefactor.
As a result, the Ingrave couple became even more reluctant to visit the Imperial Palace. In the end, the brief period of peace was entirely the result of Nathan Valencia’s intentions.
“……”
The emperor looked at Nathan suspiciously before sinking into the sofa.
“Anyway, I never thought Marquis Ingrave would go that far. How dare he try to hit the young lady?”
“……”
Nathan’s quill paused for an instant before moving again. As he quickly reviewed the documents, he spoke casually.
“Keep a close eye on him. Things might not end there.”
“What? Have you heard something, Duke?”
“Nothing is certain yet. But the Ingrave family’s movements have been suspicious.”
The previous night, Nathan had assigned a shadow to Marquis Ingrave. Almost immediately, they discovered that the marquis was looking for an organization he could hire to carry out an assassination.
Rachel did not seem to have any attachment to her parents either. Nathan had been thinking that perhaps this was a good opportunity to bring down Marquis and Marchioness Ingrave.
That way, Rachel would be safe, and he would no longer have to worry about her.
The emperor’s expression hardened.
“I was completely wrong about that man. If the marquis tries anything foolish, report it to me at once. I won’t let it slide this time.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
However, the emperor would not learn the truth until after the incident took place. That way, the Ingrave couple would be brought down without leaving themselves any way to escape.
Seeing the emperor rise from his seat, Nathan raised an eyebrow.
“Are you leaving already?”
“Yeah. What is it? You seemed to dislike having me here, but now you want me to stay longer?”
“……”
The emperor usually stayed until mealtime whenever he visited. The emperor smiled as he looked at Nathan’s deeply furrowed expression, then turned around.
“I’m busy today. I’m planning to make a bold move.”
“……”
Nathan instinctively realized that the emperor was talking about Rachel Ingrave. Holding the doorknob, the emperor smiled.
“To put it directly, once I do that, won’t the young lady have no choice but to start thinking about me?”
Was he planning to confess his feelings?
Nathan stared at the emperor for a moment before lowering his gaze to the documents.
“I wish you luck.”
“I’ll see you later.”
Click. The door closed.
Vale, his adjutant, who had been standing off to one side like a decoration, approached and offered him a handkerchief.
“Duke, are you all right?”
“……”
Nathan silently opened his hand. The quill he had crushed in his grip had broken, and a small piece had pressed into his palm. He shook his hand to get rid of the fragments and turned his gaze toward the window.
“……Any news from the Ingrave family?”
“They’ve made a move. But it seems the marquis’s son has also taken action.”
Nathan’s eyes sharpened.
“Has the young master joined them?”
“No. He seems to be trying to stop the marquis. He went to Jack and asked him to recommend a skilled mercenary group, one that specializes in stopping assassins.”
Jack was the name of the head of the Olsher Capital branch of the Mercenary Guild. Nathan had now become Duke Valencia, but that did not mean his past as the Mercenary King had disappeared.
He was still the leader of the mercenaries and the secret owner of the Mercenary Guild.
“Tell Jack to send them to me. I’ll look into this myself.”
“Understood.”
Nathan immediately picked up his coat. For now, this was the priority. Probably.
Rachel returned to the palace earlier than she had the day before. It was because of her dinner invitation with the emperor.
She would have liked to stay longer and watch the renovation of her residence, but she could not ignore the emperor’s invitation.
Clip-clop, clip-clop—
As she slowly blinked, the carriage had nearly reached the Sun Palace. At the entrance, the emperor’s chief attendant, Pablek, was waiting to greet her.
“Welcome, Lady.”
“Hello.”
It was just as she was being escorted into the Central Palace, where the emperor was waiting, that she spotted a familiar man up ahead.
Jet-black hair.
Blood-red eyes.
Their gazes met for an instant.
“……”
“……”
The man briefly looked away, as if he intended to take another path.
But then he turned around and began walking toward her instead. The chief attendant greeted him respectfully.
“Duke Valencia.”
“……”
He seemed troubled by something. But before long, he passed right by her.
It was an unexpected sight. Usually, she was the one who avoided him.
Nathan Valencia had always been the one to approach her.
—I thought of someone when I saw you, Duke.
—It’s someone I dislike.
“……”
The events of that night suddenly came back to Rachel, holding her thoughts captive. Just then, the emperor’s chief attendant, who was walking ahead of her, turned around.
“Lady?”
“Ah, yes.”
As she started walking again, Rachel tried to keep the complicated look on her face from showing.
It had only just occurred to her.
But she had said those words right to his face, so she had certainly been rude.
Besides, according to him, she had sometimes looked at him strangely even before that.
Now that her suspicions had been cleared up, she had the feeling that Nathan Valencia was avoiding her out of kindness.
‘He doesn’t have to do that.’
She no longer felt such a strong aversion to him that she needed to avoid him openly. She had grown used to him, too, after all.
Was it because she had made a mistake?
Even though things had turned out the way she wanted, a part of Rachel still felt deeply uneasy.
The chief attendant led her to the palace gardens. The place the emperor had prepared for their dinner was a pavilion in the gardens.
The sunset spread across the small lake beneath the pavilion, reflecting the changing colors of the sky.
As the sun went down, lanterns lit up and seemed to float through a dream. Flowers blooming throughout the gardens swayed in the breeze, sending their sweet fragrance through the air. Putting her thoughts about Nathan Valencia aside for the moment, Rachel sat down in the pavilion. Soon, the emperor appeared.
“I greet the Sun of the Empire.”
“Sit.”
The emperor looked especially radiant today. He had carefully styled his golden hair, which he usually left casually loose.
His clothes were also lighter in color than the heavy garments he often wore, making him look, at a glance, like an ordinary young nobleman his age.
As he sat across from her, he spoke.
“How do you like my gardens, Lady?”
“They’re beautiful. As expected of Your Majesty’s gardens.”
“They’re even more beautiful at night. After dinner, let’s take a walk through the gardens together. I think you’ll like them.”
At the emperor’s gesture, the food began arriving. Delicious aromas drifted from the dishes that soon filled the table. What would the cooking of the Sun Palace’s head chef, said to be one of the best in the empire, be like?
With a slightly excited expression, Rachel obediently waited for the emperor to pick up his utensils.
“Please, help yourself.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
As soon as he took his first bite, Rachel quietly began eating with enthusiasm.
“……!”
Rachel’s eyes widened as she tasted the warm stew first. The meatballs inside were delicious, and the seasoning was perfect. Her fork moved busily between the various stir-fried dishes, meat dishes, vegetable dishes, and seafood.
“Are you enjoying the meal?”
“……Yes, Your Majesty.”
Rachel paused and lowered her gaze. At first, he seemed to be eating, too.
But before she knew it, the emperor was looking only at her with a slight smile. He personally poured her some water and handed it to her as he spoke.
“I thought so this morning, too, but you seem to enjoy eating. Do you like the food here at the Imperial Palace?”
Comments (0)