Chapter 7
“Your Highness.”
I called out to the Grand Duke, who sat across from me.
He placed a napkin on his lap and looked at me.
“Why do you look like that? Are you uncomfortable somewhere? Are you feeling unwell?”
The Grand Duke, reading my uneasy expression, looked at me with concern.
I quickly shook my head, indicating that it wasn’t that, and then glanced around the place we were sitting.
“This place… isn’t this His Majesty the Emperor’s private garden?”
“Yes.”
Yes. Yes?! Can you just say “yes” with that calm expression right now?!
I cleared my throat, swallowing back the words that had risen to my throat.
I had followed the Grand Duke because he suggested we talk over a meal.
Naturally, I assumed we’d be heading to a restaurant in the square outside the Imperial Palace.
But instead, he calmly entered the main palace where His Majesty resided, completely unaware of how pale I was growing with anxiety, he stepped into the Emperor’s Sun Palace garden.
By the time I thought of running away, it was too late. We were already seated at a table arranged in the center of the garden.
The Sun Palace garden was a place only those invited by the Emperor and direct imperial family members could enter.
I had once heard praises about how beautiful this place was. I think I might have seen a framed painting of the garden when I was young, but now, looking around the garden, I couldn’t bring myself to exclaim, ‘Oh, it’s really beautiful, even better than the painting.’
Am I even allowed to be sitting here? What if the Emperor suddenly passes by? What if he thinks ‘How dare someone like you be here!’ and tries to kill me?
My eyes darted around as frightening scenarios replayed in my mind, and I asked the Grand Duke in a trembling voice.
“Your Highness, am I allowed to be here? This is His Majesty the Emperor’s garden, and I haven’t been invited here… What if His Majesty sees me…?”
As my words continued, the concern in the Grand Duke’s eyes vanished, replaced by a hint of amusement.
“I’ve already informed them, so you don’t need to worry. Do you really think I’d put you in danger?”
His expression softened, and his eyes curved slightly. His gaze towards me was incredibly gentle.
My heart pounded at his perfect appearance.
No, why am I acting like this? I need to keep my wits about me.
I hurriedly gulped down the water in my glass, but perhaps because of his lingering gaze, my fragile heart wouldn’t calm down easily.
Just as my mind was on the verge of breaking due to the Grand Duke constantly showing an uncharacteristic side of himself, but thankfully, the attendants arrived pushing in food trays.
As the appetizers were placed on the table, I took a spoonful of the green soup.
It’s delicious.The bean-based soup had a rich nutty flavor, and it held my sanity from crumbling like a cookie.
I watched him elegantly taste the food, then carefully set down my spoon.
Looking around, I saw that all the attendants had withdrawn, leaving just the two of us in the garden. I cautiously began to speak.
“Ahem, Your Highness. I, uh, looked into detoxifying the potion today… but there’s been a bit of a problem, so it seems it will take more time.”
“Hmm.”
He exhaled briefly, and unlike before, his face showed a hint of displeasure.
What’s the problem? Is he angry because it’s taking more time? No, he should be in love with me because of the potion right now, so how can he be angry? Or is the antidote a separate issue from his feelings for me?
I forced an awkward smile and was about to apologize when he spoke first.
“Havel. When we’re alone, you can call me Havel. I’ll call you Serira.”
For a moment, I was speechless.
“No, how could I dare to address Your Royal Highness by your given name so casually…”
“Are you saying you don’t want to allow me to use your name?”
“No, it’s not that… Yes. I’ll call you that.”
The more I tried to explain, the darker and colder the aura around him became. As his face, fixed on me, grew increasingly stern, I quickly agreed.
Then, seemingly satisfied, the corners of his mouth, which had been rigid, relaxed.
“Here’s the main course, the lamb chop steak.”
At that incredibly awkward moment of exchanging names, the main course arrived.
The succulent, juicy lamb chops looked delicious.
As I picked up my knife, trying to ease the lingering awkwardness, when the Grand Duke—no, Havel—called my name from across the table.
“Serira, stay still for a moment.”
Still? I froze, knife and fork in hand.
I looked at him in confusion, and without glancing back, Havel began swiftly slicing his steak.
He cut the steak into pieces that seemed quite small, then lifted his plate and swapped it with the steak plate in front of me.
“I tried to cut them as small as possible, but I’m not sure if it’ll be alright since your mouth is small.”
He cut it for me?
Havel was looking at me, as if waiting for me to eat.
Under his gaze, I picked up a piece of steak with my fork and put it in my mouth. Then, feeling bewildered, I said to Havel.
“It’s delicious.”
“That’s a relief.”
To be honest, I couldn’t really taste anything because of the way he smiled so happily while watching me eat.
* * *
“Did you commit a crime against his highness the Grand Duke?”
After finishing what could barely be called lunch and returning to the office, Sir Chent looked at me with a worried expression.
“No, I didn’t.”
My voice trembled.
Did I truly do nothing wrong? Can I truly say I’m innocent? I’ve turned a perfectly normal person into that!
He’s the epitome of coldness, a cold-blooded man from whom you wouldn’t get a drop of blood if you stabbed him.
There’s a joke that the Grand Duke doesn’t smile because if he did, the country would fall.
I’ve transformed a man with no expression into someone who smiles like a maiden at the slightest spring breeze.
Am I truly innocent?
The magic potion was so effective that every word I uttered brought a smile to the Grand Duke’s lips. I feel like eventually, he’d smile even if I just said “Ah.”
How could I do that to a dignified man responsible for the Empire’s military power…
When he comes to his senses, he might try to kill me, saying, “How dare you ruin me!”
Yes, that could happen. Ugh, just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes.
As I covered my face, I heard Chent clicking his tongue.
“Tsk, you caused some trouble, didn’t you? That’s why His Royal Highness burst through the doors this morning. Otherwise, there’s no reason for him to be here. What did you do, tell me. Did something happen during the monster subjugation?”
“Captain, that something would require interaction with others. Serira doesn’t really socialize with people to begin with. She doesn’t even eat with us unless it’s a company dinner. Surely, social skills she never had didn’t suddenly manifest with His Royal Highness? Right?”
Is that supposed to be comfort or an insult?
I glared at Sir Tern, who was looking at me with eyes telling me to hurry up and speak, and he subtly averted his gaze.
“There was no problem. It’s nothing, so don’t worry.”
Really? Sir Chent didn’t drop his suspicious gaze but returned his attention to the report. Then, Sir Tern’s voice was heard.
“Yes, Serira is the only high-ranking spirit user in the Precia Empire, which is why she gets better treatment than us, despite her status as a lady. What could possibly go wrong?”
Is this guy twisted or what?
“Sir Tern, if you’re not interested in seeing the skills of the only high-ranking spirit user right now, let’s focus on our own work.”
At my resolute gaze, indicating I wouldn’t tolerate any more provocation, Sir Tern’s eyes also returned to his desk.
I had a lot of work to do. This monster subjugation was quite large in scale, unlike other expeditions I had been on in my lifetime. So many people were mobilized that it could be called a small-scale war, and it lasted for a long time. The First Knight Order, which could be called the core of the imperial military, had been deployed, so that said it all.
Consequently, the amount of reports I had to write and submit was so enormous that it reminded me of the reports I had to write in college.
Ah, I don’t want to do this. Reorganizing and writing down the schedule and content I had recorded daily during the subjugation felt like my soul was leaving my body.
Still, the good news was that as a spirit user, I didn’t have to buy weapons, purchase materials for potions, or anything like that.
If I had to write down national expenditure receipts on top of this, I might have quit this job.
About halfway through writing the report, the magic clock on my desk vibrated.
“It’s already time to leave work.”
I hadn’t noticed the time passing, but the sun was setting outside the window. Sir Chent approached my desk.
“Serira, almost done?”
“Almost.”
“Are you going to stay and finish?”
“The deadline is tomorrow, so I’ll stay and…”
Knock, knock.
At the sound of knocking, Sir Chent’s and my gaze turned to the door.
Click, the door opened, and the man who entered was none other than Havel.
No, why is he here again…! I couldn’t hide my surprise and stood up.
“Your Highness.”
Sir Chent’s face, who hadn’t expected to see Havel twice in one day, contorted strangely. With a face mixed with surprise, confusion, suspicion, and anxiety, he looked back and forth between me and Havel, then stepped back as Havel strode towards my desk.
“It seems you’re not ready to leave work yet.”
He glanced at my desk, scattered with unfinished reports. Displeasure flickered in his eyes.
But he was looking at Sir Chent, not me.
Sir Chent, under his intense gaze, looked at me with an aggrieved expression, shooting me a look that asked me to do something.
“Your Highness, what brings you here?”
At my voice, Havel’s gaze shifted from Sir Chent to me.
Havel seemed to be on his way home from work, as he wore a dark grey coat over his knight’s uniform.
“I came because it’s time to get off work.”
“…”
So, why did you come to me during my off-hours? You should be going home.
Havel stared at me intently. Somehow, I felt like I could read something in his gaze. Like, he wanted to leave work with me. Something absurd, yet also makes sense.
Realizing his intention, I quickly tidied my desk. It wasn’t really tidying, but gathering the scattered papers into a pile and shoved them on one side of the desk.
“Then, I’ll get going first.”
Feeling Havel’s strong gaze as he waited silently, I quickly put on my thick fur coat and bid farewell to Sir Chent and Sir Tern. They saw me off with awkward smiles.
As if they couldn’t wait for me to leave.
As they wished, I hurriedly left the office with Havel.
