Chapter 03
0. Please Shake the Carrot. (3)
Has the Emperor lost his mind?
No. That couldn’t be right. She must have misheard. What kind of lunatic would issue an order like that? Selena circulated mana through her body, steadying herself.
She was probably just hearing things because she was excited about escaping the Empire.
“Count Kim, please withdraw now. Her Majesty the Empress can no longer converse with you.”
She hadn’t misheard.
Hearing that from the guard who had interrupted the Empress, Selena was dumbfounded.
Has the Emperor seriously snapped? He told his own spouse what? That she can’t speak more than three words to others? Is he insane? And those guards and attendants are just accepting it like it’s normal? Have they all gone mad together?
Selena glanced around just in case.
Everyone wore expressions that said this was completely ordinary.
“…What the hell.”
Someone must have cast a massive mental magic over the entire Empire.
Or the Emperor really had gone crazy.
Seeing the Empress crying so hard made it obvious she hadn’t agreed to this, but what could be done? It was an imperial decree, after all.
For a moment, Selena considered escaping together with her via teleportation, but gave up. The woman’s status was simply too high.
The Empress of the Empire.
If it were just a shut-in Archmage deserting, they would barely chase her, maybe make a show of it at best. But an Empress was different.
If the Empress escaped, the Empire would foam at the mouth hunting her down.
Given the Emperor’s deranged behavior, they might even be willing to let the Empire crumble just to retrieve her.
The fact that she wasn’t locked up in the Empress’s palace already felt miraculous.
Clicking her tongue internally, Selena prayed for the Empress’s mental well-being.
Poor thing. Even if she was from another world, this was cruel. Then again, in a world without human rights, this was probably considered acceptable.
Following the guard’s words, Selena bowed to the Empress, who could no longer reply, and turned to leave.
Just as she took a few steps away, thinking she would never see the Empress again—
The Empress ground out a voice filled with resentment and fury.
“This is fucking unbearable, seriously…!”
In Korean.
“…!”
Selena’s eyes flew open as she whipped around.
The Empress, her delicate aura completely gone, wore a deeply twisted expression as she sensed Selena’s gaze and looked back at her. There was a flicker of confusion.
Did I hear that wrong? Korean, a language I hadn’t heard clearly even in dreams anymore? Selena swallowed dryly as her fingertips tingled.
“Count Kim?”
Ignoring the attendant calling her, Selena stared at the Empress.
Her heart pounded violently.
No. Calm down. Get a grip, Selena Kim. It could still be an auditory hallucination. It’s not confirmed yet. You’ve been disappointed enough times back when you were young.
She remembered all too well how painful it was when hope and despair alternated like that, so she desperately tried to hold onto her reason.
But whether hallucination or daydream, hearing Korean from another person after years was enough to shatter her restraint.
In the end, Selena asked the question she used to throw around meaninglessly in her hormone-ridden teenage years, unable to endure loneliness.
“D-do you know kimchi?”
“?!”
The Empress’s blue eyes widened to the size of saucers.
“K-kimchi? You just said kimchi…?”
Korean came back to her in a trembling voice.
Like waves crashing in, those bright blue eyes shook violently.
Shock, joy, longing, relief, happiness, hope. After the storm of emotions, the Empress’s face lit up brightly, and Selena beamed back.
Yes! A Korean!
She didn’t know why she had pink hair and blue eyes, but maybe she was possessed. Or reincarnated like her. Personally, possession would be ideal, but either way was fine.
What mattered was that inside, she was from Earth. And Korean!
Overcome with joy, Selena forgot the situation and rushed toward the Empress.
But before she could take even two steps, a cold voice cut in.
“Silence.”
The Empress, who had been about to speak with a bright smile, was forcibly muted. Her lips moved helplessly, but no sound came out.
The Empress’s guard, face hardened, lowered the bracelet-type magic tool that had activated the Silence spell and issued a warning.
“Your Majesty, please forgive the discourtesy. Everything is by His Majesty’s will. And Count Kim, this will be my final warning. Withdraw now. Do you intend to defy His Majesty the Emperor’s command?”
These bastards are blocking a reunion between Koreans who haven’t met another in 33 years?!
Selena saw red.
Emperor or not, who cares?
I’m a citizen of a democracy, you assholes! I didn’t have the guts to take responsibility and start a revolution, but do you know how many times I almost picked up a spear?!
Selena was about to unleash magic—then stopped.
It wasn’t fear of consequences. She was going to become a runaway Archmage anyway.
But that was only because she’d been alone. There was no one who would be hurt by her actions.
But now, there was the Empress.
…If she crushed the imperial knights here, what would happen to her?
Selena bit her lip.
Already constrained by the Emperor’s madness, the Empress would suffer a massive political blow.
She might even be branded a criminal, stripped of authority while retaining only her title. It was obvious the Emperor wanted her as nothing more than a pretty doll.
Should she retreat for now?
Part ways, wait for another chance, and approach her secretly later…
The one who ended Selena’s hesitation was the Empress herself.
The Empress, glaring fiercely at the knight who had cast Silence on her, reached into the basket she was holding—completely mismatched with her elegant dress.
She pulled something out.
A carrot.
The Empress shook the carrot vigorously at Selena.
That decided it.
In the brief instant when the guards were distracted by the Empress’s sudden action—
“Shut up! To hell with the Emperor! I’m the Archmage of this territory!”
Selena’s mana surged like a tidal wave toward everyone except the Empress.
