Chapter 42
The moment I rushed over, His Majesty sheathed his sword.
But the important thing wasn’t the sword—
“Lili?”
Delkan called me from behind in a puzzled voice, but I didn’t have the mental space to worry about Delkan right now.
[Do. Not.]
“……”
[I said don’t.]
“……”
Don’t call me your wife…!
What’s the point of me enduring my racing heartbeat and desperately sending telepathic signals like this?
His Majesty is just staring at me like, What are you doing?
It seemed our all-capable His Majesty hadn’t yet reached the realm of mind-reading.
Ugh. This won’t work.
I covered His Majesty’s mouth with my hand and moved forward.
He followed along without much resistance, so we were able to put some distance between us and Delkan.
“Miss, not playing? Is this knight gentleman going to do it instead?”
“Yes! He’ll do it instead!”
“Uh…”
“Go on then, sir knight!”
Right on cue, the game booth owner helped me out.
Delkan ended up holding a rubber ball, and once we were a bit away from the booth, I whispered to His Majesty.
“That se— I mean… the setting you were using on the boat. Are you going to keep that up here too?”
“……”
“Not with him, please. He’s someone I got close to at the Imperial Palace…!”
What kind of beauty is this?
It’s not like I have some plain, dye-job face people wouldn’t recognize.
Even with only half his brows, eyes, and nose bridge visible right now, it’s still no joke.
In our world, huh? With His Majesty’s face, he could never stroll around the streets this comfortably!
I guarantee you, he could even pull off a low-key guerrilla date like this.
“I let my guard down… I should’ve bundled you up so no one could see you.”
“…?”
It was too late for regrets.
This beauty, this overflowing presence!
What am I supposed to do…
If Delkan runs into blond-haired His Majesty at the palace, he’s obviously going to go, Huh? That guy from before! and recognize him instantly.
So if His Majesty calls me his wife here—
The husband of my friend I met by chance is actually His Majesty the Emperor?
That kind of makjang novel title might just become reality.
And what if some unintended rumor starts spreading?
That His Majesty is secretly a married man. That he keeps a household outside while pretending to be single in the palace.
“…I absolutely won’t let that slide.”
I will never stand by and watch such scandalous rumors spread about His Majesty. I—
“……”
Whether he understood that we absolutely could not keep up the married-couple act in front of Delkan or not,
His Majesty just looked at me silently.
“Anyway. If you want to keep playing that setting later, please hold back here. Otherwise next time I’ll tell the people of Deidern Lake that we’re divorced…”
Even if I tried to threaten him, His Majesty probably wouldn’t bat an eye.
Still, I was racking my brain to come up with a threat that might actually work on him.
Judging by how he’s been teasing me for days, he seems to be enjoying this a lot.
So if he wants to keep using that setting, then he needs to endure it this time. That’s the point.
“……”
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
His Majesty quietly raised his index finger and tapped the back of my hand.
Before I could even process the sudden touch, I noticed my two hands overlapping.
Ah. Come to think of it, I was still covering His Majesty’s mouth. That’s why he was quiet.
But this is something he needs to understand about me…!
With His Majesty’s face right in front of me, how could I possibly notice my hand?
Up close, his eyes were like beautifully frozen ice—calm and mysterious.
…Ugh. Now that I’m aware of it, I’m getting shaky.
I can’t tell if the pounding is in my wrist or my heart.
My palm isn’t beating, right?
Well, worrying about His Majesty hearing my heartbeat is pointless when my face is already red as can be.
I forced myself to act calm and asked,
“So then… you won’t call me your wi— that, in front of Delkan?”
Nod.
Keeping his gaze fixed on me, His Majesty slowly nodded.
Right, those eyes are the kind you can’t help but trust.
Instantly reassured, I let go of him and turned to walk back to Delkan.
In the short time since, Delkan had apparently become a master of rubber-ball shooting, piling his winnings high on the counter.
“Sir knight, if you’re this good, my shop’s going to go under…”
The booth owner, looking like he was about to cry, was picking up rubber balls scattered around the now-empty prize shelves.
It seemed Delkan’s skills were far more impressive than I’d expected.
The moment he spotted me coming back, Delkan left all the prizes behind and hurried over.
“Aren’t you taking your prizes?”
“Mm, I’m fine. Lili, was there something you wanted? I can grab it for you.”
“N–No.”
If he did, the booth owner might actually cry.
I waved my hands.
…Did he win that silver fur pom-pom doll?
“Anyway, Delkan, what brings you here?”
I thought he only stayed in the Imperial Palace, but it seemed he came outside sometimes too.
Delkan glanced at me cautiously and said,
“Actually, I’ve been looking for you.”
“Me?”
That was a reason I hadn’t expected at all.
When I asked in surprise, Delkan hurriedly waved his hands.
“It’s not for anything weird. The last time I saw you, you were worried about the ring. I got concerned that maybe something had happened…”
“Ah, because of the ring…!”
Was that really the last time I saw Delkan?
So many big and small incidents had happened lately that I’d forgotten.
Still, Delkan…
He even went around looking for me out of concern, as a friend…
My heart felt a little tight for a moment.
I’m telling you, Delkan really is a dangerously kind man.
‘Ah. His Majesty.’
Come to think of it, protecting His Majesty from Delkan used to be one of my goals!
I looked back and forth between His Majesty and Delkan.
“……”
“…?”
His Majesty stood there expressionless, as if asking what I was looking at, while Delkan kept watching only me and broke into a bright smile when our eyes met.
Neither of them were saying anything, yet their reactions were complete opposites—it was oddly entertaining.
And Delkan didn’t seem the least bit concerned about His Majesty.
…Why?
How can someone see that face for the first time and stay so calm!
If it were me, I don’t think I’d even be able to stand on my own two feet…!
Is it because Delkan is handsome enough himself that he has nothing to feel lacking?
Like the type to say, Why look at celebrities? If you want to see someone handsome, just look in the mirror.
…Well, if Delkan said that, I’d have to admit it.
With his looks, he’d win against most good-looking men, so I’d probably look in the mirror too.
But His Majesty—! That beauty—!
“Still, I’m glad. That we ran into each other here like this. Lili, where have you been all this time?”
“Umm… I went on a bit of a trip…”
“I see. Was it fun?”
Delkan spoke with a smile so warm, like just talking with me made him happy.
“Are you going back to the Imperial Palace?”
“Yeah. I’m going back.”
“I see. I hope you come back soon.”
Seriously, such a people-loving human puppy.
An invisible tail seemed to be spinning behind Delkan like a propeller.
Honestly, I was happy to see him too.
I would’ve liked to go somewhere and chat properly, but the situation being what it was…
“You two seem close.”
His Majesty, who had been standing behind me, finally joined the conversation.
“Ah, he’s—”
Let’s introduce them quickly and leave.
Since we were hiding identities, there was nothing good about the three of us staying together.
So I was about to briefly tell His Majesty who Delkan was and slip away, but Delkan stepped forward first and introduced himself.
“I’m Delkan Mondria. Lili’s very close friend.”
“Very close?”
“Yes. And what is your relationship with Lili?”
“……”
The corners of His Majesty’s lips twitched as he replied.
“I’m her ex-husband.”
“……”
I was standing pressed against a building wall, watching the backs of my self-proclaimed ex-husband and my best friend.
“She divorced me. Recently.”
Heh heh heh. The way Priest Raul laughed—maybe it was the laughter of someone who had reached enlightenment about the futility of life.
At His Majesty’s bold statement, I gave up trying to think through everything.
‘I don’t even know anymore.’
At this point, Delkan recognizing that the blond His Majesty he met at the palace has the exact same face as my so-called ex-husband impostor is basically a scheduled future event.
“Captain.”
“Yes.”
Keeping my eyes fixed ahead, I spoke to Captain Henkel, who was hiding in the alley.
Except for Chobi, who had gone ahead to the palace, the knights accompanying us were concealed here and there, guarding His Majesty and me.
“Would it be better to say my ex-husband and His Majesty are twins?”
“……”
“Or should I try trusting in friendship?”
Should we maintain the setting to the end, or tell Delkan the truth and ask him to keep the secret?
If it’s the latter, I’d have to reveal that I’m a Saintess too.
But there’s no point in me worrying about this alone.
“In the end, we should act after hearing His Majesty’s opinion, right?”
“That would be best.”
Since His Majesty’s identity was involved, this had escalated beyond me—this was on a national level.
The answer was already decided; I just wanted to pretend I was thinking it over.
I sipped the drink I’d bought from a stall while watching His Majesty and Delkan.
Heh. When in my life will I ever again see two handsome men like this in one frame?
A two-shot is the best. If Captain Henkel were there too, it would be absolute chaos.
Well, it’s already chaos.
Those two were drawing so much attention that this street was more crowded than any bustling district.
And His Majesty and Delkan looked ready to conquer every game on the street in their competitive fervor.
Right now they were standing in front of a ring-toss booth, both gripping the same ring.
There were plenty of ownerless rings scattered around, so I wondered why they were fussing over that one, but—
“Please let go of that.”
“You should be the one to let go.”
“I picked it up first.”
“I was faster.”
It seemed they were having a battle of pride.
The content was ridiculously childish, but the tense atmosphere between them was insane.
I focused on their conversation.
“Do ex-husbands usually follow their ex-wives on trips too?”
“I’m planning a reunion.”
Heh heh heh. He’s even adding a reunion-plot setting.
Maybe because he’s used to acting like a warm, affectionate Emperor, he’s really serious about details like that.
Anyway, while I’d been in a state of Fine, Your Majesty, do whatever you want, I straightened up from the wall at the next exchange.
“That’s not something only you think, is it?”
“You’re awfully interested in someone else’s family affairs.”
“I hear that after divorce, an ex-husband is worse than a stranger.”
His Majesty’s eyebrow visibly twitched.
…Should I stop them?
I need to protect my friend’s life, after al
