anwhile, Latera was running down the hallway of the mansion.
“Hah! Hah!”
It seed like there was sothing urgent, as she was panting heavily. It was clear from her sweat-drenched face and body that she had run a long distance.
The reason for her frantic running was clear: She needed to create an alibi before the hero returned.
Ding-
[Current scene achievent 51/107]
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[The Emperor's Man]
[Gigolo]
[Achievent Rate 90%]
The alibi was that while Shiron was rolling around with the Imperial Family last night, Latera was quietly guarding the mansion!
Latera, running through the hallway, suddenly caught the scent of sothing delicious.
‘They must be baking so cookies.’
She abruptly pushed open the door to the kitchen.
“Hugo! Hugo!”
“Hmm?”
Hugo turned his head toward the unexpected guest. He was wearing an apron and a headscarf, baking cookies with Glen.
“You’re out of breath early in the morning, are you in a hurry?”
“Hugo, I was here at the mansion all night, right?”
“Didn’t you go to the annex saying you were sleepy? Unless soone carried you out, you must have stayed at the mansion.”
“Right? I stayed here like a good girl, right?”
“…Yes, I understand exactly what you’re trying to say.”
Hugo smiled, lifting the anxious Latera into the air. He then pushed a freshly baked, still-soft chocolate stick into her mouth.
“Our little angel ate my cookies all night long and fell asleep without brushing her teeth. That should work, right?”
“I brush my teeth every day.”
“It’s better to show a bit of humanity when making excuses.”
While feeding her a few more cookies, Hugo sensed a presence approaching. Though he didn’t know where his nephew had been all night, he could tell from the weak steps that he was exhausted.
“There you are.”
Just a few seconds later, Shiron opened the door without knocking and stared at Latera, who was munching on cookies.
“Latera.”
“…Yes?”
“You closed the door, didn’t you?”
“What are you talking about? What door?”
Feigning innocence, Latera stuffed a handful of cookies into her mouth. It wasn’t because she wanted to eat, but to hide her trembling facial muscles caused by lying.
“Really?”
“Co on. As you ordered, I was quietly eating cookies all night long. Seriously.”
“…Is that true?”
“It is, Shiron. Latera was with all night. Now, why don’t you co and eat so cookies too? Glen made them, and they’re quite well-baked if I say so myself.”
“Brother, didn’t you just call them substandard rocks? You said selling these would make you lose all your goodwill and go out of business in a month…”
“Now, Shiron, open your mouth.”
Ignoring Glen, Hugo shoved a stick of cookies into Shiron’s mouth. Shiron chewed a few tis, then turned to Glen.
“Wouldn’t it be better if you opened a swordsmanship dojo?”
“…Thanks for the support.”
Glen tried his best to dismiss his son’s sincere words. It was a mont when his resolve to never wield a sword again grew stronger. He swore that everyone would say his cookies were delicious one day.
And so, for the entire winter, the fire in the oven never went out.
As expected, neither Victor nor Louise visited the mansion.
It seed that the dignity of the imperial family was so heavy that they couldn’t easily move their “weighty” selves. Perhaps being a ruler ant even having two bodies wouldn’t be enough.
“Today as well?”
“Yeah, His Majesty is just constantly pushing around.”
Siriel was just as busy. It was the end of the year, which ant there were many docunts to handle, and she had to prepare for the upcoming subjugation festival.
“The subjugation festival, they say we don’t need to participate since we don’t have any new knights, but sothing about the na of the Empire’s First Sword being tarnished. We must set an example for the Empire’s knights, blah blah.”
“Is there any other news?”
“…What kind of news?”
Siriel, who was getting ready to leave, quietly looked at Shiron. After staring for a mont, she approached him closely.
“Brother.”
“Hmm?”
“These days, you seem quite interested in Victor. You never used to ask after him before, calling him a ‘gay’ and all.”
“When did I ever ntion Victor’s na?”
Shiron ignored Siriel’s suspicious gaze and lightly rubbed her face. He smoothed out the wrinkles between her furrowed brows and softened her raised, sharp eyes.
“Stop with the strange suspicions and just go. You’ll be late.”
“…Prepare yourself for tonight.”
“Sure, I’ll be ready. Oh, and.”
Shiron pulled out a letter from his pocket.
“Can you give this to Victor?”
“…”
“It’s about work, so feel free to open it if you’re curious.”
“My brother’s fiancée is not such an uncouth woman.”
Staring at the letter, Siriel coughed unnecessarily. Her fiancé could see right through her thoughts as if reading the back of his hand, leading to monts like these, which could be quite embarrassing.
“Anyway, be prepared!”
After tucking away the letter, Siriel grabbed Shiron’s head, marking his neck and earlobes before she finally left for the annex.
“…And what about ?”
Lucia, who had been quietly watching, tugged at Shiron’s collar. It was obvious what she wanted, even without her saying it.
“We’re going to the graduation ceremony together anyway. Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“Kissing in front of others is way more embarrassing. And it bothers when you do it for Siriel and not . It makes feel uneasy.”
“Alright, alright.”
‘It seems the ‘public good’ doesn’t just apply to only below the waist.’
Shiron bent down, making it easier for Lucia to reach him. Such was the hero’s duty—to bring happiness to everyone.
“You look tired. Are you feeling the effects of winter?”
In the palace office, Siriel faced Victor, who looked worn out. Could this still be the aftereffects of the empress’s disappearance? Victor often showed signs of unusual conditions like this.
“You seem a bit thinner too. No matter how busy you are, you should eat properly.”
“…Don’t worry about it. It’s not that.”
“Or is it that ti of the month? I have a good painkiller I can lend you if you want.”
“I said, don’t worry about it.”
Victor pushed away the dicine bottle that was suddenly extended toward her.
Since that day, Victor had developed a fear of accepting dicine from others. The fact that it was Siriel, who had a special affection for Shiron, offering the dicine made Victor feel a shiver run down her spine and goosebumps rise on her arms.
“Hey! I’m just trying to help, you don’t have to be so cold!”
“You know it’s a secret that I’m a woman. What would happen if word spread that I take painkillers once a month?”
“What does it matter? Whether people find out you’re a woman or not, you have —the best knight in the empire—by your side.”
“…”
“Besides, you like my brother too. If the truth gets out, wouldn’t that actually be for the best? You could openly dote on him, and he’d accept it all.”
“…”
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Siriel tilted her head, looking at Victor. Unable to face Siriel’s knowing gaze, Victor lowered her eyes out of guilt.
Facing Siriel wasn’t the only thing Victor found herself unable to do.
‘Was she always this nice?’
She couldn’t bring herself to say that her gender had long been exposed, that she’d already rolled around with Shiron, and even dragged Louise into it.
‘Before, she looked ready to kill any woman who flirted with Shiron.’
Nor could Victor admit that Siriel’s current health was poor due to a disrupted cycle from using weak dicine.
Thud—
Victor finally buried her head into the desk. As soone accustod to wearing a mask of shalessness while standing above others, Victor now found herself tornted by guilt, particularly toward Siriel.
“What’s wrong? Does your stomach hurt? This dicine really works, trust .”
“It’s not that.”
Victor said, her head still buried.
“More importantly, tell what you ca here for. You didn’t follow all the way here from the Alhyeon Room just to chat, did you?”
“…Brother asked to deliver a letter.”
“Shiron?”
When Victor looked up, there was a letter right in front of her, bearing the familiar na of Shiron Prient. The sight of his flowing script filled Victor’s heart with joy.
Victor giggled while opening the letter, her sudden mood swing prompting Siriel to click her tongue in disbelief.
‘She really is pitiful. She likes him so much but is misunderstood as a man because of her disguise… Louise is pitiful too.’
As she pondered various thoughts, Siriel watched Victor closely.
However, as Victor read the letter, her face gradually hardened.
Was sothing serious written in it? Judging by her expression, it didn’t seem like the kind of letter exchanged between friends.
Siriel assud it was sothing work-related and turned her back.
“Anyway, I delivered what I needed to, so I’ll be going.”
“Wait.”
Victor stopped Siriel, who had her hand on the door handle. Siriel looked back at her, tilting her head in curiosity.
“Siriel, are you feeling alright? No discomfort in your body?”
“Huh? What do you an all of a sudden?”
“Well, you know, like… irregular cycles, or changes in your appetite, stuff like that.”
“Are you asking if I’m pregnant?”
“…Yes.”
“Why? Are you going to give maternity leave?”
Even though the question was intrusive, Siriel looked at Victor with genuine interest. As a knight engaged in physically demanding tasks, she sotis worried about her ability to conceive, so the ntion of leave was tempting.
Victor awkwardly nodded.
“Shiron asked if I could give you so ti off. He wants you taken off the subjugation festival list.”
“Brother did?”
Siriel quickly strode toward Victor, extending her hand.
It was clear she wanted to see the letter herself. However, Victor did not respond to Siriel’s gesture. Instead, she gently folded the letter and tucked it inside her robe.
Victor then relayed the contents of the letter to Siriel verbally.
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