HSDOE 11

11. Scandal

It didn’t look like the emperor was holding a bouquet—more like he was standing in the middle of a flower field.

The combination of gold and crimson was so dazzling it almost hurt to look at.

Normally, if the emperor visited, his attendants would come ahead to announce his arrival. But this time, there was none of that.

Naturally, it was shocking. Yet the emperor didn’t look composed either as he entered the room.

He stopped abruptly just after stepping through the door, then strode toward them with long strides.

“Oh, Your Majesty the Emper—”

Ternaiden belatedly stood and bowed.

“That’s enough.”

Thud!

Rescal shoved the heavy bouquet into Ternaiden’s arms.

“Ugh, it’s hea—”

Thump!

Caught off guard, Ternaiden stumbled backward and fell on his behind. Rescal gave him a kick while he was down.

“Ugh!”

To the groaning Ternaiden, Rescal said,

“Take care of that. Put it in a vase.”

“…Excuse me? What did you just—”

Ternaiden didn’t fully comprehend what had just happened.

The emperor had tossed him aside like luggage. Him, the young marquis of Pielion, right in front of the empress who was from the same family.

And the shadow knights weren’t much different.

“Did you see that? Just now, His Majesty—”

Serben tried to whisper to Lian, nudging him with an elbow, but Lian cut him off quickly.

“Yeah. I can’t believe it either, but we should probably get the young marquis out of here first, right?”

“Ah, you’re right.”

The knights moved swiftly, bringing a quick end to the chaos.

“What brings you here, Your Majesty?”

As far as Raselia knew, the emperor was the most unreasonable man alive.

With a completely blank expression, he could give off an immensely threatening air. She didn’t know why, but she felt he looked especially dangerous right now.

“Am I interrupting something?”

The words came after a few breaths.

He was interrupting.

“We were in the middle of a conversation. It’s unfortunate, but I suppose there will be other opportunities.”

It had been a chance to learn more about the empress. The conversation ending halfway was disappointing, but at least she’d learned about the young marquis of Pielion. Most importantly, he seemed close to the empress and believed in her memory loss.

“Another time…”

The emperor murmured and plopped down in the seat Ternaiden had just vacated.

Ternaiden had sat close enough to whisper to Raselia. Which meant the emperor was now just as close.

“You’re too close, Your Majesty. And, what brings you—”

The emperor cut her off.

“You were even closer with the young marquis.”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“You were.”

The emperor suddenly leaned in, his face so near their lips could touch.

“This close.”

Not at all. And why does distance matter anyway?

Raselia leaned back to put space between them.

“If it pleases you to think so, go ahead.”

“And you held hands, too.”

As he said it, the emperor grabbed Raselia’s hand. She looked at him with a confused expression.

“…It wasn’t of my own will, but it did happen. Now could you please let go of my hand and back away? You’re too close.”

The emperor made no move to do so.

“Did you say that to him too?”

“Pardon?”

“That you lost your memory, that he’s a stranger, that he makes you uncomfortable—so he should keep his distance. Did you say that to him?”

She searched her memory, but no, she hadn’t. She’d just pulled her hand away.

“No.”

“Why not?”

The already small distance grew smaller.

His golden eyes, glaring right in front of her, blurred her vision.

“Why tell me to stay away but not him?”

“I didn’t get the chance.”

“Is that true?”

“Pardon?”

“If you had the chance, would you have refused him too?”

Her eyes blinked involuntarily.

What’s with him? Does he have a problem with the young marquis? …No, he’s probably testing whether I really lost my memory. Since the empress and the young marquis seemed close…

Still, the fact that he’d said he’d seen her crest multiple times really bothered her.

Could that really be brushed off as sibling-like affection?

“Yes, that’s my answer.”

“If the young marquis takes your hand again, will you tell him to let go?”

“Of course. He feels just as unfamiliar to me.”

“…Then…”

Only then did the emperor slowly release her hand.

The distance that had been like a single sheet of paper widened to about the width of a book.

When she looked at him as if to say, Is that all?, he met her eyes and said,

“Next time, say it outright. If there’s no opportunity, make one.”

“I will.”

That turned one book’s distance into two.

Still too close, but at least she could breathe now.

“What was the young marquis here for?”

The emperor asked, still holding her gaze. Strangely, maintaining eye contact like this while only two books apart felt very awkward.

“He came to check on me. Seems he just heard the news.”

As she replied, Raselia stood up.

“If you prefer that seat, I’ll move elsewhere.”

“No need. Just stay where you are.”

“I’d like to move.”

The emperor frowned slightly but didn’t stop her.

“…If you want to.”

“Yes.”

Once she changed seats, she felt noticeably more comfortable.

Rescal twitched the corners of his lips as he watched Raselia exhale without realizing it.

“Odd. He never visited when you were sick before.”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a visit to check on her health—he came to ask about the crest. Raselia deflected the topic.

“Your Majesty never visited me either.”

The emperor’s golden eyes flashed.

“And how would you know that? Has your memory returned?”

…No way.

“I heard from the young marquis.”

“You talked about me with him? What did he say?”

“He said Your Majesty and I weren’t close enough for frequent visits.”

To be precise, their relationship had been worse than that. The empress had loved the emperor, and the emperor had been indifferent. But the emperor needed the empress, and she couldn’t fulfill that need, so she hid her true self with lies.

Unless the crest was fully formed, there was no way to fix that relationship.

But the emperor, silent and staring straight into her eyes, said this:

“That was a lie.”

A lie?

“The young marquis lied. We weren’t distant. We were very close.”

“…That’s hard to believe. You say we were close, yet we’ve never consummated our marriage.”

“That proves how close we were.”

The emperor could lie while looking someone dead in the eye.

“I don’t quite follow that logic.”

“We didn’t consummate because you didn’t want to. I never understood why, but I’ve respected it all this time. Doesn’t that prove our strong bond?”

It made no sense. But he said it so confidently, it almost felt like it did.

“…That’s different from what the young marquis and the maids said.”

“You’re not suggesting they know our relationship better than I do, are you?”

Not just them—there was also Lian.

“Even if it’s Your Majesty’s own shadow knights?”

“Even them.”

“….”

There had to be a reason. A reason for lying so obviously.

Why…? Ah. The Blue Moon.

To the emperor, her memory loss might be a chance.

Now that he could no longer delay physical contact, he had to pressure the empress into it. But she’d conveniently lost her memory.

If he claimed they used to be close, she’d have no reason to refuse his advances moving forward.

Haa… He’s clever. He knew I wouldn’t deny it outright. He calculated that he could trap me like this.

He was right.

“So, I’d appreciate it if you stopped saying I’m too close. We always sat together on one chair. This close.”

Sitting tightly side-by-side on one chair was just the beginning.

“…In that case, Your Majesty.”

Fortunately, Raselia had a move prepared.

“I’d like to receive a prayer of healing. To regain my memory.”

“A prayer of healing?”

“Yes. The young marquis told me. That there are priests with healing powers in the Kingdom of Delarta.”

There might be no worse pairing than a prophet and a liar, but right now, she had to lie.

The young marquis seemed to be on her side, so he would likely back her up later if needed.

“I want to go to Delarta.”

“Here. Take this.”

“…?”

Serben handed over a large vase, and Lian spoke up.

Ternaiden looked between the two of them in disbelief.

“And what exactly… do you expect me to do with this?”

“His Majesty gave a direct order. Put the flowers in the vase. So do it.”

“You mean you actually expect me to… seriously do this?”

“It’s an imperial command. Surely you’re not thinking of refusing? Wow, bold of you. Right, Serben?”

“Exactly.”

Ternaiden bristled with anger.

He’d never dealt with the shadow knights before, but he’d heard stories. Backed by the emperor, they behaved like royalty themselves—arrogant and overbearing.

No wonder Cartagena had always gritted her teeth about them.

“…I’ll remember your names. Let’s see how long you get away with this.”

“Suit yourself.”

Lian blew air out his nose dismissively.

“Just focus on that order. And remember, we’re not going to help you. We only follow His Majesty’s will.”

With that, the shadow knights plopped down on nearby chairs, legs crossed.

In other words, while the young marquis of Pielion fumbled with flower arranging—something he’d never done in his life—they’d just watch.

“…Damn it.”

Ternaiden cursed under his breath.

His face turned red and twisted with frustration, but the knights didn’t blink.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

He couldn’t hold back any longer—after pricking his fingers three times on rose thorns, he turned and glared at the knights.

“Ah, no real reason.”

Lian leaned back, fingers interlaced behind his head.

“Just that Her Majesty caused… a bit of a scandal recently. That’s all.”

“W-What?! How can you say that about Her Majesty?!”

“Well, naturally, rumors fly. Especially if the supposed partner was someone like you. Even if you’re a distant relative and adopted, you’re not entirely off-limits romantically, are you? You just have to take the fall.”

Ternaiden’s face turned pale.

“Wh-what do you mean… scandal…”

“And it’s not like His Majesty doesn’t know. Right, Serben?”

Serben nodded.

“Of course he knows. Probably investigated everything before the marriage.”

“So, maybe just think a bit about what kind of position you’re in—especially with the Blue Moon approaching. Before you go sitting on a couch holding the empress’s hand.”

“….”

Ternaiden bit down on his lip.

“Well then, get on with the flower arranging. You seem to have a knack for it.”

Lian thought he’d said it politely enough—it was just a roundabout way of saying: Don’t piss off His Majesty while I’m watching.

But just then, a voice came from the next room—where the emperor was alone with the empress.

“Lian.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The two knights bolted into the room with impossible speed.

Before the door shut, Ternaiden heard one last thing:

“How long does it take to get to Delarta from here?”