“Welcome, Fresa. Ah, may I call you that? I’ve heard a lot from Grand Duke Granadine.”
In the spacious emperor’s office filled with books, Kanzher’s Emperor Lauren kindly greeted Fresa.
The warm, luxurious aroma of tea, the bright sunlight streaming into the office, and Lauren’s unexpectedly gentle demeanor made Fresa’s tension gradually ease.
Fresa nodded while making eye contact with Lauren across from her.
“Thank you for the warm welcome, Your Majesty.”
“I just hope the imperial palace isn’t uncomfortable for you. And—”
Lauren looked at her with a strange smile, staring intently.
“I also hope my treatment will be successful.”
Certainly, an emperor of a powerful nation was indeed an emperor.
In an instant, the previously gentle appearance vanished, and the cold gaze of an emperor ruling a nation seemed to pierce through Fresa.
Of course, Fresa was neither particularly surprised nor flustered.
She simply shifted her focus to something else.
‘He knew about his own illness.’
I had heard that people suffering from magical addiction often do not remember it.
Before coming to the empire, I looked into magical addiction, and most of the symptoms matched.
They act wildly like madmen, cannot recognize people around them, and attack, but once they regain their senses and return to normal, they forget everything they did during that time.
“Did Lycaon explain it to you?”
Or does he remember what he did when the symptoms manifest?
If it’s the latter, it must be a terribly distressing and horrifying experience for Lauren himself.
“The magic is fluctuating. It’s at a level where it could burst at any moment.”
Reese, who was slowly circling around Lauren, observed and clicked his tongue.
“But it’s not yet serious enough to prevent us from making a cure.”
Fresa exhaled a sigh of relief inwardly.
Certainly, Lauren appeared perfectly normal, not at all showing signs of magical addiction.
At that moment, Lycaon, who had been silently listening to Fresa and Lauren’s conversation, suddenly broke the silence.
“I will return now to rest and recover from the fatigue, Your Majesty. If needed, I will come right back.”
“Oh dear, I was too thoughtless holding you both up.”
Lauren winked and immediately greeted Fresa.
“See you again soon, Fresa.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
It was probably inevitable that they would meet again soon.
According to Lycaon, Lauren’s symptoms manifest every three days at dawn.
Originally, it was about once a week, but recently, the frequency had increased significantly.
‘At this rate, the symptoms might appear at any time. I have to find a way to make the treatment before that.’
As Fresa calmly organized her thoughts and was about to stand up, Lauren called her back.
“Ah, Fresa.”
“Yes?”
“It’s better for now to stay engaged to Lycaon. Even temporarily. I know it’s not a real engagement between you two, but your position at the imperial palace is quite important.”
Lauren said this in a playful yet sincere tone, which made Fresa momentarily flustered as she looked at Lycaon.
“…That’s a bit too much of a joke, Your Majesty.”
Lycaon’s expression flickered for a moment, but Lauren did not back down.
“This is no joke, Countess. The nobility of the empire are quite skilled at scrutinizing others based on their background. Anyway, everyone already believes you two are engaged, so it’s not a big deal.”
Presumably, the rumor of a fake engagement had already spread to the empire.
‘He’s bold enough to do something like that.’
A slight blush touched Fresa’s face.
Lauren, who had been observing the stiff expressions of Lycaon and Fresa alternately, subtly added:
“I hope you both discuss and decide on this properly. Of course, it’s not an order.”
~·~·*· . ·*· . ·*· . ·*·~·~
“Was it uncomfortable?”
On the way out of the office and heading to her quarters, Lycaon cast a quick glance at Fresa and asked.
Fresa looked up at him briefly and shook her head.
“Not at all. But… I just feel sorry that Lycaon-san got involved in trouble unnecessarily.”
“I don’t find it troublesome either. And the emperor’s advice isn’t entirely wrong.”
“Anyway, it means I’ll be a fiancé again in front of others.”
“…”
“Sir Lycaon?”
Fresa said playfully, but Lycaon showed no reaction.
At her repeated call, Lycaon finally softly spoke.
“Ah, it’s sudden…”
A slight redness appeared on the back of Lycaon’s neck.
Fresa looked at him with worried eyes and asked.
“Lycaon-san, are you hot? The empire is a bit warmer than Faro Village. Are you feeling dizzy or anything?”
Lycaon exhaled a very small sigh.
“Isn’t it quite common to hear that you’re inattentive in life?”
“Pardon?”
Startled by Lycaon’s sudden question, Fresa asked back confusedly, when someone from across the corridor approached and blocked her view.
Fresa and Lycaon naturally stopped walking and looked at the person.
“Countess, I’ve heard you’ve returned.”
It was the woman from the dessert cafe who had recognized Lycaon immediately when they last visited the empire.
“Welcome back, Lady of Marquis Orange.”
“I’m truly glad you’ve returned, Your Grace. Now, the emperor will probably feel more at ease.”
She, Lauren’s fiancée, smiled kindly and looked at Lycaon.
Fresa silently watched them, opting not to interfere or greet them.
Lycaon stared at the woman expressionlessly, and her gaze soon shifted to Fresa.
“Oh, you… You’re the person who treated Lycaon, right?”
“Please call me Fresa.”
“Sorry. I should have introduced myself sooner. I’m Iris of the Marquis Orange family, Fresa.”
Iris.
Her name seemed to suit her so perfectly that it almost felt as if it existed solely for her.
Despite Fresa not revealing her family name, Iris showed no particular reaction.
She simply smiled kindly and reached out her hand to Fresa.
Fresa looked at her hand for a moment, then gently clasped it.
The warm touch immediately made her tense heart feel a bit calmer.
Iris, with curious eyes, gently asked,
“Lycaon… no, Your Grace the Grand Duke, I’ve heard you’re close with Fresa. Is that true?”
“Ah, yes. That’s how it happened, somehow.”
Fresa responded briefly, skipping detailed explanations.
It seemed the people of the empire believed she was Lycaon’s fiancée, so she couldn’t really deny it.
‘I wonder if this will somehow block Lycaon’s marriage prospects.’
Feeling a bit anxious, she kept glancing at Lycaon, but he was staring down the hallway, lost in thought.
Iris suddenly looked at Fresa with rather sad eyes.
“Fresa, please take good care of His Majesty the Emperor…”
“Ah, I’ll do my best.”
“Let’s meet often and talk. Since it’s your first time living in the imperial palace, there’s probably a lot you don’t know.”
With a gentle tone, Iris bowed her knees slightly toward Lycaon, then hurriedly headed toward the emperor’s office.
Fresa instinctively turned her body slightly to follow her, her steps slightly swaying.
The sunlight coming through the large corridor window illuminated her hair brightly.
Lycaon lightly tapped the back of her hand to catch her attention.
“Lady of Marquis Orange has been a close friend of His Majesty the Emperor since she was young. She was also the first to notice any changes in His Majesty.”
“Oh, so… is that why you talked about it at the cafe that day?”
Fresa finally looked at Lycaon.
He slowly stepped forward, nodded, and didn’t add more explanation, but she could guess the atmosphere of that day.
If she was the emperor’s fiancée, especially someone who had known him since childhood, she couldn’t even imagine how Iris felt.
Fresa remembered her smiling face from that day and steeled herself once again.
“By the way, Resa. Now I need to decide where to stay. You can stay at the Magic Tower, or in the imperial palace. It’s probably best to choose what you prefer.”
As they passed through the corridor where guards went back and forth, Lycaon suddenly stopped and looked down at Fresa.
Come to think of it, she had only thought about meeting Lauren after arriving at the imperial palace, and hadn’t decided what to do afterward.
Thinking she might be better off staying alone in the unfamiliar imperial palace, she wondered if the Magic Tower might be a better choice.
But since she was already pretending to be Lycaon’s fiancée and relying on him quite a bit, staying at the Tower might cause complications later if they cancel the engagement…
“If His Majesty the Emperor’s symptoms appear, I can simply teleport with magic, so the Tower is also fine.”
While Fresa was contemplating, Lycaon subtly added,
“I’ve already told Jedd to prepare a room in advance.”
Fresa blinked in surprise and looked at him cautiously.
“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”
“Yes, very much so.”
Lycaon’s reply was concise and firm.
“Actually, if the ‘fiancé’ stays somewhere else, everyone will find it odd.”
Fresa thought Lycaon was emphasizing a particular word more than usual, but soon dismissed it as a misunderstanding.
She narrowed her eyes, stared intently at him, and made her decision.
“I’ll go to the Tower. I’m curious about where Lycaon will be staying, after all.”
~·~·*· . ·**##^^##**· . ·*·~·~
Hey there, It’s Green Rose 😉
Since I human I might have make some mistakes while translating so please if you find them let me know here in the comments or in the Discord group so I can correct them and be careful in the future so they do not repeat.
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
~~~Next Chapter~~~
Next chapter will be released Tomorrow.
See you then!!
Unlock soon…~
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