~Chapter 13~
**Kiiieeeeeeek!**
It felt as if the terrifying shriek of a mutant giant rabbit was echoing in her ears.
“Now, quickly, quickly.”
Unable to resist Jenny’s urgent pleas, Ivyn, now changed into the rabbit pajamas, was promptly dragged in front of the full-length mirror.
“Young lady…… you’re so cute, really…….”
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, the maid cupped her cheeks in her hands and let out a low-pitched scream. Heart signals seemed to float up in her pupils.
‘Hmm, while the leather’s origin is horrific, the texture is incredibly soft…?’
Ivyn ran her hand over the pajamas. They were fluffy and comfortable, the kind that makes you feel like you’ll sleep well. She also liked the large rabbit ears attached to the hood. They made her look like some kind of small, dejected mammal.
‘Even so… I was twenty-six years old before the dump truck hit me… Rabbit pajamas….’
“You must show it to Young Master Ron when he returns, okay?”
*Thud.*
After finally managing to shoo the chattering, excited Jenny out of the room, Ivyn trudged over to her desk and pulled out the leather notebook she had secretly hidden. Dipping her quill in ink, she decisively drew a line through the first item on the first page.
—
**(1) Secure a direct audience with Rociniel at the Imperial Palace.**
“Failed.”
Sighing, Ivyn naturally moved her gaze to the next item.
**(2) Engineer a seemingly chance meeting —〉 Public Arboretum Zone 3, Tropical Rainforest Pavilion.**
‘Actually… I already know… that on the third day of the first week of every month, you visit the ‘Tropical Rainforest Pavilion’ located in Public Arboretum Zone 3!’
*Slight grin.*
Dimples formed slightly at the corners of Ivyn’s mouth.
Rociniel, what are you going to do if you won’t meet me? I’ll just go directly to where you are. I’m delivering the service of a connecting bridge straight to you!
* * *
The arboretum ‘Dominias Greenhouse’, located in the capital of the Whig Empire. Named after the imperial family’s middle name, this greenhouse was famous for its beauty, considered a must-visit at least once in a lifetime even among high-ranking nobles of other nations. Of course, despite its name as a ‘public’ arboretum, within the Whig Empire, access was prohibited to commoners outside the great nobility.
“Vinnie, Vinnie.”
Walking in a neat line through the lush greenery glowing in full color under natural light, the procession came to a sudden halt.
“Um… Actually, we have an advanced necromancy exam this afternoon… We probably can’t stay here for that long…”
Danny, who was following behind Ivyn holding the arboretum guidebook, grumbled softly.
“Oh, really? Sorry, brothers. I figured Father would never allow me to come to the arboretum alone to play.”
As Ivyn’s expression rapidly soured, the gloomy expressions of the triplets instantly changed.
“W-Well, of course! We can’t let our Vinnie get scolded!”
A change in attitude faster than lightning. It seemed they were more concerned about their youngest sister getting a scolding from Dylan than they were about being unprepared for the exam.
“Hey, but aren’t those imperial soldiers over there?”
“Looking at their uniforms, they seem like Royal Guards…”
What the Kinzello siblings encountered near the central giant aviary was a group of imperial palace soldiers.
“Brothers, can you wait here for me?”
Ivyn handed the bird feed she was holding to the triplets.
“Huh? Here? What about you, Vinnie?”
“I have some business to attend to over there for a moment. Play with the birds while you wait.”
“Vi-Vinnie! We’re scared of birds…! T-Take the feed with you!”
“All three of us have ornithophobia…!”
*Riiip.*
Ignoring their cries, a sound of something being neatly torn open followed.
“Here, I opened the feed bag for you! Well then, see you in a bit, brothers!”
“W-Wait…!”
**Kiiieeeeeeeeeek!**
*Flutter flutter flutter.*
A few parrots resting in the nearby trees seemed to catch the scent of the feed spreading through the air. Their eyes gleaming, they began flapping their wings.
“G-Go away! Ugh, aaaaah!”
“Save me, save me!”
“We were wrong, oh great avian teachers! We will never set foot here again! So please, calm your wrath!”
Unfortunately, the birds possessed no mercy towards humans. Despite their desperate pleas, the birds swarming around the triplets plundered the feed bag with their sharp beaks, perched on their heads and shoulders to cruelly (?) peck at them, and brazenly defecated all over their doublets and shirts tailored at high-end boutiques.
“Hng… Sob… Please… Please stop…! You crazy things…!”
The deeper the triplets’ sobs became, the more scathing the birds’ cackles grew.
**Kikik…! Kikikikikikik! Kekekeke!**
Die, humans! Your death is what’s truly eco-friendly!
**Kiiieeeeeeeek!**
* * *
Meanwhile, while the triplets were being judged on behalf of humanity, Ivyn spotted the Emperor near the aviary. He was feeding a parrot with cobalt-blue feathers.
*Ahem. Ahem.*
Having pre-cleared her throat, Ivyn deliberately raised her voice a pitch to get his attention.
“Oh my, what a coincidence…! Ivyn of the Kinzello family pays her respects to His Imperial Majesty, the Sun of the Empire.”
Ivyn offered a polite bow, but the Emperor didn’t even glance her way. His reaction was as if some random merchant was chattering next to him.
‘Wow, this is incredibly awkward….’
Yet, Ivyn mustered her courage and addressed the Emperor again.
“Actually, I’ve sent several requests for an audience hoping to see Your Majesty…”
“Do you think the Emperor is some shopkeeper in an alley? How could I possibly have the time to split my schedule for a mere countess amidst busy state affairs? Do you have any sense at all?”
Sense? That’s rich coming from someone loitering in an arboretum in the middle of the day!
Harsh words rose to her throat, but she swallowed them back down, finding significance in the fact that she’d gotten a reaction from the Emperor. She swallowed them back down.
“My apologies. I seem to have been short-sighted and failed to consider that.”
As Ivyn humbly apologized, the Emperor, who had been watching the flapping bird all along, finally turned his head to look at her. His crimson eyes, symbolizing the imperial pure bloodline, reflected in the greenhouse glass and seemed to shimmer like bloody lining in the sunlight.
“If it’s urgent, you could have relayed the matter to the Chamberlain.”
The Emperor sent the parrot flying to a branch and slowly rose from his seat.
“So, what in the world was the reason you were so desperate to see me?”
“I wished to gift Your Majesty, who is approaching an imperial marriage, a hardcover book I authored.”
Rociniel accepted the bound volume Ivyn proffered with a suspicious look. He slowly read the letters written on the cover.
**—How to Be a Man Loved by Your Fiancée (‘When Your Fiancée is the Saintess’ Edition)**
**—Authored by Ivyn Kinzello**
After reading the title, Rociniel lifted his head to look at Ivyn again. Under that gaze, Ivyn flinched guiltily, though she hadn’t done anything wrong.
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence flowed between them for a while.
“What is this, young lady?” the Emperor finally asked.
“As I mentioned earlier, for Your Majesty, who is approaching an imperial marriage…”
“Are you trying to teach me, ‘How to be a man loved’ right now? Am I lacking?”
“Huh? No, it’s not like that… Well, yes, but… Ah, no! It’s not that Your Imperial Majesty is somehow deficient or lacking, but rather…”
Ivyn rambled incoherently for a moment. Unfortunately, the longer she spoke, the more Rociniel’s expression soured.
“Guards!”
“Here, Your Majesty.”
“Immediately remove Lady Kinzello from this place.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“W-Wait a minute! I haven’t finished what I need to say to Your Majesty…! If you discard that book like that…! Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”
However, Ivyn’s cries, as she was dragged away by the soldiers, merely scattered meaninglessly into the air. Unjustly (?) dragged away, she had no choice but to plan for another day.
‘Rociniel… Don’t think this is over!’
* * *
From that day on, as if possessed by a god, Ivyn repeatedly appeared along the Emperor’s travel routes, accurately pinpointing them every time.
Arboretum.
Ecological Aquarium.
Reptile House.
Koi Pond.
Hatching Room.
……
True to the saying “here, there, and everywhere,” upon finally seeing her, the Emperor had had enough.
“To be honest, I’ll spare your life. You planted a spy around me, didn’t you?”
Although the pronoun referring to her had downgraded from ‘Lady Kinzello’ to ‘you’, Ivyn voiced no complaint. She was just grateful he was even engaging with her!
“How could that be, Your Majesty?”
Upon hearing his words, Ivyn silently shook her head. With her own nose only three feet long, where would she have the resources to plant a spy near the Emperor? She had just read the original work several times. A secret she couldn’t tell, of course.
“Sigh… Young lady, you should know well that if you weren’t born into the Kinzello family, you would have already been hanged a hundred times over.”
“I beg only one thing of Your Majesty. Please, just read the book I made once…”
Rociniel looked at Ivyn with a truly fed-up expression, then *swish*—snatched the book she was holding out.
**—How to Be a Man Loved by Your Fiancée (‘When Your Fiancée is the Saintess’ Edition)**
**—Authored by Ivyn Kinzello**
The same title phrase was engraved on the first page of the book.
“……Really, driving me crazy.”
A human printing press, or what.
Rociniel swept his irritated gaze over Ivyn.
