Chapter 34
. It Feels Like I Can Breathe More Easily
The banquet continued.
Soon, Eleusis entered the hall with Render. Render hadn’t originally planned to attend tonight’s banquet, but due to a delayed departure, he had arrived last minute. As the king, Eleusis had to formally receive Render, a visiting state guest.
In the meantime, Shanellica had already entered the banquet hall.
There she is.
After greeting the nobles and taking his seat on the throne, Eleusis quickly spotted Shanellica. Even without trying to look for her, she stood out—like the light scattered only around her, dazzling.
Watching her from the throne, Eleusis waited for her to approach. Now that she knew the man she thought was a temple administrator was actually the king, she must have felt betrayed—or at least shocked. He expected her to come ask what had happened.
But even as time passed, Shanellica never came. In fact, it seemed like she had no intention of coming at all.
Is she not curious? Or is she angry because I deceived her?
His anxiety grew. As more time passed, he realized he couldn’t just keep waiting. In the end, Eleusis stood up from the throne and headed toward where Shanellica was.
“Miss Shanel.”
At his call, Shanellica, who had been sipping juice, turned her head. For a moment, Eleusis wondered if something was wrong with his vision. Under the grand chandelier, she looked even more radiant than she had in the dim light outside.
“Oh, Your Majesty.”
Shanellica greeted him with a soft smile and a polite bow. Eleusis felt strangely conflicted. He’d expected her to be angry, but she didn’t seem upset at all.
“I’m sorry. Were you very surprised to learn I was the king?”
Having grown up as a prince and now as king, Eleusis had almost never said the words “I’m sorry,” yet they came naturally this time.
“Oh, not at all.”
It was odd. Shanellica truly didn’t seem fazed. Wondering if she might just be hiding her anger, Eleusis asked again,
“Are you angry with me?”
“Angry? Why would I be?”
“For hiding my identity…”
“Oh, come on. Why would I get mad about that? Besides, you already apologized.”
She smiled brightly again. That only made Eleusis more confused. The woman who’d treated him so casually when she thought he was a mere administrator showed no sign of change now that he was revealed to be king.
“But I do feel a little remorseful.”
“Remorseful?”
“How could I not have noticed? You look exactly like Her Highness the Princess… I’m disappointed in my own lack of perception.”
She wasn’t being serious—it was said with a light laugh, but somehow it felt genuine.
“I understand. We met by chance in a small, obscure temple. You couldn’t exactly declare yourself as the king there. And if you had, I probably would’ve thought you were some weirdo.”
Shanellica truly seemed to have no hard feelings whatsoever.
“And I’m actually relieved to know you’re the king.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
“Your face! I’m just glad that that face belongs to the king. I was shocked that even a temple administrator in this country could be so handsome.”
At yet another compliment about his looks, Eleusis burst into laughter. What an unpredictable and adorable woman.
“You’re laughing a lot today.”
“You’re the one making me laugh, Miss Shanel.”
Meanwhile, Lydia was watching Eleusis and Shanellica closely as they smiled and talked.
So, Shanel’s not interested in Sir Stern after all—maybe it’s my brother?
Lydia imagined her friend becoming queen and standing beside her brother.
That would be wonderful. She’d love to have someone like Shanellica as a sister-in-law. The thought alone was exciting.
Alright, Shanel. I’ll root for you!
Smiling, Lydia glanced beside her—only to find Derwin also watching the pair.
Derwin was on the verge of a headache. First the Dragon Lord, then the Commander of the Kaisel Knights, and now the king himself. There were far too many people he needed to keep an eye on.
After attending the banquet, Shanellica’s routine changed. By royal decree, she was assigned a special translation.
“But I’m not His Majesty’s personal secretary? I’m supposed to be translating diplomatic documents and archive texts.”
Her protests didn’t matter. As a royal palace translator, the king’s orders took absolute priority.
So he’s the kind of boss who gives you tons of extra work…
Though she grumbled at first, Shanellica soon quieted down. The special translation task had drastically reduced her regular translation duties in the archives.
“Once the translation is complete, please present it to His Majesty in person.”
She didn’t understand why she had to deliver it herself, but she agreed.
“All done!”
Today marked the completion of the three-day special translation. Shanellica took the thick stack of papers and headed to the king’s office.
“Your translation is quite precise.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Eleusis was pretending to read the translation, but he was actually watching Shanellica.
It was her first time entering the king’s office—a place so lavishly decorated with jewels that most visitors would be overwhelmed.
Shanellica had gasped in admiration a few times, then lost interest completely. Now, she was staring right at him.
“You’re staring because I’m handsome again, aren’t you?”
“Ah, how’d you know?”
Her playful reply made Eleusis laugh. Even now that she knew he was king, her attitude hadn’t changed at all. Eleusis liked that. It made her feel consistent and genuine.
“But Your Majesty, why did you assign this translation to me? It was… quite odd.”
It was true. The document had been written in Barenese and seemed to be a report on someone’s actions. But even after translating, it felt like there were hidden codes between the lines. Her translation ability only changed the language, not its deeper meaning.
“I was bored.”
“…What?”
What kind of absurd answer was that?
Seeing her dumbfounded expression, Eleusis smiled.
“I wanted to talk to you. I needed a plausible reason to call you here.”
So the translation wasn’t important at all. Shanellica pondered the meaning behind his words and asked,
“Your Majesty… do you not have any friends?”
“Friends?”
“Princess Lydia told me she didn’t have any friends and asked me to be hers. So I did. But I thought you’d have plenty of friends.”
“So you think I called you here because I want to be your friend too?”
“Not necessarily, but… I mean, if your little sister can, why not the big brother too?”
Eleusis gently corrected her.
“Not a friend. A conversation partner, maybe? I feel like I can breathe more easily when I’m with you.”
Yes. Eleusis had no intention of becoming friends with her—nor of trying to turn an engaged woman into a lover.
For now, just a conversation partner. That would be enough.
“A conversation partner?”
“Is that difficult?”
“I come to the palace for work, so I don’t really have time for that…”
“Then what if I occasionally request translations, and you drop by when they’re done?”
Asking her to do pointless translations just to come talk?
Ridiculous.
“Just like that?”
“What do you mean ‘just like that’?”
“You’re the king, sure, but you can’t just change my schedule and take up my time however you want. I’m employed here to do actual work.”
Shanellica was not easily swayed. Understanding her point, Eleusis nodded.
“I’ll pay you extra.”
“How much?”
“How much do you want?”
“Hm. Just pay me what you think my company is worth.”
“Very well.”
But even as he agreed, Eleusis thought: Can her value even be measured in money?
He already knew it would be difficult to decide how much she was worth.
“Shanel, is it true you’ve been seeing my brother every day lately?”
After their usual Garionese language lesson, Lydia cautiously asked the question she’d been dying to ask.
Recently, rumors had spread that Shanellica was visiting the king’s office daily. Along with those rumors came the question: What about Stern? Some assumed there was nothing going on between her and the king.
But too many people had seen them talking and laughing together for the gossip to die down.
“Yeah.”
Shanellica answered casually, but Lydia grabbed her hands in excitement.
“So it’s true! How do you know my brother? Huh?”
“Oh, it’s just… We met before I came to the palace. I lost my money and was about to end up sleeping on the street, and he helped me.”
So that’s when they met.
Even from a distance, Derwin clearly heard her words. Lost her money—that must’ve been when she left the Cartel estate.
I never should’ve let her go.
The meaningless thought spun in his head.
“My brother helped you? Really?”
“Back then, I didn’t know he was the king. I thought he was a temple administrator.”
“Temple?”
“Yeah. There’s this shabby little temple on the outskirts. That’s where I met him.”
The word temple reached Derwin’s ears. His black eyes darkened.
“That’s strange. What would my brother be doing there, disguised as a temple administrator?”
“I never asked him. Anyway, that’s how we met. Then I happened to run into him again inside the palace, but I still didn’t know he was the king. I only found out at the banquet.”
Only then did Lydia nod, everything making sense now. Then she suddenly asked:
“Shanel. Isn’t my brother handsome?”
“Yeah.”
Shanellica answered without hesitation—fast enough to make Derwin, listening from nearby, visibly grimace.
