Side Story Chapter 1
<Sweet Time with My Favorite>
The feeling of dating my favorite was basically fangirling in everyday life itself.
Seeing my favorite’s face stamped into my eyes every time I opened and closed them was the same as before—but of course, nothing beats the real thing!
However, after I transmigrated here, there was one thing that disappointed me greatly: I couldn’t keep photos or videos of my favorite. But who am I? I’m Eileen Cowett, the one who now has Niyan, who became the Tower Master, as my unofficial subordinate, aren’t I?
One day, while looking at Niyan’s orb, I suddenly realized that its principle was similar to that of a video. So I immediately pressured Niyan until he coughed up a filming device. As expected, the wizards of the Magic Tower were competent—exactly ten days after I made the request, they created a magical artifact capable of taking both photos and videos.
“Your Majesty. Here it is.”
“Wow, this is…!”
Niyan’s face seemed a bit gaunt as he held out the artifact, but it must be my imagination. I accepted the camera artifact with a bright smile. Just as I had requested, it looked exactly like a camera.
Handling it as if it were something precious, I held it to my chest.
“It’s my ambitious masterpiece—Nina.”
“Nina? You even gave it a name?”
“Of course. I poured my soul into it.”
His naming sense seemed somewhat inferior to mine, but what did it matter?
As long as I could take photos of my love, that was enough.
“Thank you, Niyan!”
“Don’t forget the promise you made to grant me a wish.”
“Of course not.”
Clenching my fist, I nodded vigorously.
Clutching Nina tightly in both hands, I ran straight to the training grounds where Raymond was. Now that he had become Emperor, the only times he was in an open space like that were when moving between locations or during training.
Originally, an Emperor would receive personal training, but perhaps out of habit, he trained together with his subordinates. That became the perfect opportunity for me. Silently approaching Raymond, I began taking pictures. I even recorded videos to test the various functions. At the clicking sound, Raymond—who had been overseeing his subordinate’s training—turned his body to look at me.
“Empress? What is that?”
“I want to keep Your Majesty’s 모습 inside this Nina forever.”
Like a professional photographer, I pressed the shutter repeatedly. He seemed slightly flustered by the strange object and my peculiar behavior, but at my request, he reluctantly continued training.
“No, no. That makes it awkward. Act as naturally as possible.”
“R-right.”
“Good, good. That’s it. You look so cool, Your Majesty!”
The subordinates were also flustered and stiff, but since my over-the-top doting was already well known, they tried to act natural.
“Phew. Good.”
Only after securing plenty of photos did I wipe the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. Creating works of art always requires special effort. When my shutter-clicking hand finally stopped, Raymond approached me.
“Are you done now?”
“Yes. For now.”
“What exactly did you do?”
“I asked Niyan to make a magical artifact. It can preserve moments or movements just as they are.”
“Oh? How fascinating.”
As I flipped through the photos to show him, I suddenly shrieked.
“Oh my! This one came out so well. As expected of our Emperor.”
“Ahem. Is that so? I want this Nina. Can it take photos of the Empress as well?”
“No. This is a Nina exclusively for Your Majesty. I’m going to fill it completely with only Your Majesty’s 모습!”
“I want one too. I should ask for one to be made.”
At my firm refusal, Raymond muttered to himself. As he looked at Nina’s screen, I felt him lightly tug my shoulder and raised my head.
“Empress. I’m right here beside you. Instead of looking at the me inside that, why not look at the real me?”
“Oh, Your Majesty.”
Raymond grabbed my arm, buried his face in my hair, and began peppering me with kisses. The ticklish sensation made me laugh, but I could feel the gazes watching us from the side.
The meaning of those stares was obvious.
“You all, focus on your training.”
“Yes!”
Perhaps conscious of them as well, Raymond issued the order in a cold voice.
It might be a bit much to disrupt concentration in the training grounds with public displays of affection. But still, the two of us couldn’t stop our lovey-dovey behavior.
The subordinates watching the imperial couple—
My excessive aegyo, Raymond’s shy gaze, and the subordinates witnessing it—
It was probably a cringeworthy daily scene!
As expected, their expressions clearly said they wanted to go home. They were people who absolutely couldn’t hide their inner thoughts.
“Your Majesty. His Majesty the Emperor is calling for you.”
“Hm? The Emperor?”
It was during tea time with noble ladies, chatting idly. Chief attendant Melas knocked and entered, delivering this message.
“Yes. He was injured during a sparring session. He is urgently seeking you.”
“Again….”
“Oh my, what shall we do? His Majesty the Emperor must be gravely hurt.”
“You must hurry and go, Your Majesty.”
Contrary to my tired reaction, the noble ladies seated with me were in an uproar. A disrespectful remark almost slipped out of my mouth, but I barely managed to hold it back.
“My, I’m sorry to leave first.”
“What are you saying?”
“We are quite fine, Your Majesty.”
“Then I shall excuse myself.”
I lifted my heavy hips and followed the chief attendant.
“Where is His Majesty?”
“He is waiting in his room. Please follow me.”
Soon, we left the room and walked down the corridor alone. I casually asked him.
“Chief attendant.”
“Yes.”
“His Majesty isn’t badly hurt, is he?”
“…No. Of course not.”
Judging by Melas’s sigh-laced response, my suspicion was correct. After every training session, it had become routine for him to find every tiny scratch on his body and summon me. If he didn’t have any injuries, I even had the reasonable suspicion that he might create one on purpose.
The dignified Melas simply did as the Emperor ordered, and I merely went when called—
No, but this is too much, isn’t it?
“Chief attendant. This cannot continue.”
I stopped walking.
“Showing affection when we’re already together can’t be helped.”
“It can’t be helped….”
“But I can’t be summoned every single time while I’m working, can I?”
Melas replied as cautiously as possible.
“That would indeed be difficult. Her Majesty the Empress is also busy with affairs of state.”
“Exactly.”
“If you must engage in affection, it would be better at night. You could even produce an heir—”
“Which is why.”
I quickly cut him off and added,
“Today, I’m definitely going to say something!”
“That is a good idea, Your Majesty the Empress. I hope you succeed today.”
Clenching my fist, I rallied myself amid the chief attendant’s enthusiastic support.
“Her Majesty the Empress has arrived.”
“Let her in.”
Click.
The chief attendant knocked and announced my arrival. At the voice granting permission, I opened the door and saw Raymond’s back, dressed in a robe. As always, he had finished training, bathed, and was waiting for me.
“Your Majesty. I heard you were injured.”
As I approached, he turned toward me. His deep, ocean-blue eyes met mine. That piercingly blue color carried such fervent heat that I could transparently read what he was thinking.
Every time he called me for nothing, I resolved to scold him sharply—but each time I saw his face, my determination crumbled. Especially when I saw droplets clinging to the ends of his pitch-black hair, it felt like droplets were forming in my own heart as well.
“Eileen.”
Once the chief attendant left and we were alone, he revealed his true colors. Raymond pulled my arm and enveloped me fully in his broad chest. The scent of freshly washed skin mixed with fragrant oil stimulated my nose. Not missing the opportunity, I breathed in his scent to my heart’s content—of course, secretly, so he wouldn’t notice.
“You like my body scent that much? Every time you hug me, you sniff rather intensely.”
“Gasp.”
I thought I was sneaking it, but apparently not. He had known all along and merely pretended not to. My face heated up, but I had no intention of stopping. Since I was caught, I might as well do it more enthusiastically.
Still, with his firm yet soft chest pressed directly against my face, my heart pounded wildly. For a moment, I wished we would never separate like this… then suddenly regained my senses.
No, this isn’t it.
I gently pushed against his chest and lifted my head.
Today, I needed to carry out my resolve and say something.
“Your Majesty. You must not summon me at all hours.”
“What were you doing?”
“I was discussing state affairs with noble ladies. It is quite troublesome to suddenly leave my seat.”
“Between me and the noble ladies, which is more important?”
“….”
Is he really bringing out such simplistic, binary thinking?
When I stared at him in disbelief, Raymond grinned. He knew perfectly well and was just throwing a tantrum on purpose.
“You are my exclusive healing remedy. I wish to always be number one.”
He buried his face in my hair and nuzzled me. In front of others, he could maintain an icy aura and an expression that looked like not a single drop of blood would flow—but when we were alone, he became unbearably affectionate. I had no way to resist.
“F-fine. You said you were injured during sparring. Where is it?”
“The inside of my mouth is torn.”
“If it was a sword spar, how did the inside tear?”
“We fought with fists.”
“What?”
No matter how much it’s training, who would dare punch the Emperor?
“With whom?”
“The Archmage.”
“Oh. Niyan came to the imperial palace?”
If it’s Niyan, that makes sense.
He belongs to the Magic Tower, not the Empire. And now he’s the Tower Master.
Wait. What is this nonsense?
So you’re saying the Emperor and the Tower Master got into a fistfight?
