Chapter 10
“…This is weird, this kind of thing.”
As he got closer, a subtle yet pleasant fragrance emanated from the woman.
Meriem, feeling his heart sink, hurriedly backed away and roughly rubbed his lips.
“Eldaim. Maintain the subspace until that woman wakes up.”
- As you wish. Are you returning immediately?
“I must.”
To a place where no one welcomed him.
Meriem took off the bracelet he was wearing and placed it next to the woman. And that was it.
He took his steps without looking back.
It didn't matter who the woman was.
After all, he was destined to come here again soon.
‘We’ll meet again.’
He should ask her name then.
Just for the reason that there was at least one person in this world who wanted him to live, Meriem was no longer afraid of living for the first time since he was born.
“Huff.”
How many times had she tossed and turned, waking up and falling back asleep?
Unable to overcome the sleep demon that seemed to be grabbing her consciousness and pulling her down, she struggled in her dreams for a long time.
When she finally came to her senses, the boy was already gone.
All that remained was her clean fur coat and a gold bracelet.
“What, looking closely, this is a Magic Tool?”
There was a time when magic was as natural as breathing in the human world. During the era of the Great Magic Empire, when the entire continent was unified into one nation.
At that time, various Magic Tools were developed and distributed, and magic was so common that even the little children on the streets used them.
But not anymore.
‘It’s at least 1000 years old.’
Examining the bracelet, she recited the ancient characters inscribed on the inside. Then, with a hum, the bracelet began to shine, fulfilling its purpose as a Magic Tool.
“Oh. A Divinity barrier.”
Ordinary barriers were used to block physical force, magical attacks, or even spirit attacks. But this one blocked Divinity from reaching her.
Unless it was a Divinity powerful enough to destroy this Magic Tool, most Divinity wouldn't be able to threaten her.
“To give away something so precious. He should be using it himself.”
She clicked her tongue, but she had no intention of refusing. An item that blocked Divinity from reaching her. Coincidentally, it was exactly what she needed?
‘As long as I live as the Empress, I’ll have to go to the damn temple once or twice. To pray for the empire's well-being or something. And I’ll have to meet the priests too.’
The only Divinity that could surpass this item was Enrique's.
But what were the chances that Enrique would notice the bracelet was a Magic Tool and destroy it?
‘Zero. The concept of Magic Tools doesn't even exist in this era.’
Since she received something precious, she should treat him well when they meet again.
She stretched with a hum. As she emerged from the Spirit King's subspace, she stopped dead in her tracks.
‘Wait, why is the sun rising?’
How much time had passed?!
A cold sweat was running down her spine, her senses hadn't failed her.
“Your Imperial Majesty the Empress!!!”
The soldiers of the Ahillo family, guarding the Empress Palace, were frantically searching for her.
Discovered by them, she was treated with the utmost respect and returned to the palace, where Mrs. Bertolt was waiting for her with a sleepless face.
“Your… Majesty.”
Derek had gone out to the forest around the Imperial Palace to look for her and returned late after receiving the news, looking a mess.
“I’m sorry, everyone.”
She had clearly told the spirit to wake her up in an hour? But the damn spirit ignored her. She shouldn't have trusted spirits in the first place.
She should only say these words in her mind. Unless she wanted people to doubt her sanity.
She smiled awkwardly and received a medical examination from the doctor, and then she was surrounded by the people of the Empress Palace, listening to all sorts of worried nagging.
“Where on earth have you been? I was so… so worried…!”
“Well, I fell asleep. I don’t know where, but I was crying in an empty room and then I just fell asleep.”
“You were crying? What, what made you cry! Who made our Empress cry!!!”
Charlotte, the maid, raised her voice in indignation. Only then did she remember how she had met the boy.
‘Oh my god, I completely forgot about Enrique.’
Seeing the bloodline of the Sun God here was so shocking that she had forgotten.
She scratched her cheek, feeling a little embarrassed.
“I saw the Emperor.”
“……!”
“He was with the Saintess.”
“Your Majesty……”
Charlotte's eyes immediately welled up with tears. Mrs. Bertolt also had a dismal expression.
Looking around at them, she remembered that she had something to say.
“Why wasn’t I informed about the summit?”
At her calm question, Mrs. Bertolt knelt down in front of her with a thud. The other maids also lowered their bodies, following the Head Maid.
“I am sorry, Your Majesty. It was one of the reasons for that accident… so I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. After Your Majesty lost your memory, you looked so happy that I kept thinking I should tell you, but then I would think, ‘Just one more day…’ and I kept my mouth shut.”
“Certainly, the Empress Palace is not at all prepared to receive honored guests.”
“……Yes, Your Majesty.”
“The Saintess has been in charge of the palace banquets every time?”
Mrs. Bertolt answered with silence.
She sighed softly and held out her hand.
“Get up, Susan. I understand well enough that you didn’t speak for my sake. But if this happens again in the future, I won’t be able to trust Susan.”
“I am sorry, I am sorry.”
“So, will you tell me? How strong is the Saintess’s influence in the Imperial Palace right now? What is the position of the Empress Palace? What are the Empress’s duties that are scheduled for the future? How much of what I should be doing has the Saintess taken away? Tell me everything.”
Lifespan and energy were the same thing.
There was no way a person with little life left could be energetic.
Until yesterday, she had struggled even to walk, but today she was different.
Thanks to absorbing plenty of the boy's yang energy, her voice had strength and her actions were quick.
‘I need to resolve this now.’
From what she heard, the summit was to be held in about 31 days.
Because the Empress had been suffering from a ‘heat cold’ for a long time, the paperwork hadn't been completed, so it hadn't been decided yet who would be in charge of preparing the banquet.
No matter how much the Saintess had been in charge of all the banquets so far, the proper procedure was to contact the Empress Palace and obtain permission.
“The Saintess’s side contacted us to ask how to proceed with the banquet, but I pretended not to see it.”
“Well done, Susan. Thanks to you, we can host the banquet.”
“Yes, that’s… yes?”
Mrs. Bertolt’s eyes widened. She chuckled and continued kindly.
“Why are you so surprised? It’s the principle that the Empress Palace hosts the banquet, isn’t it?”
“Th, that’s true, but….”
“Of course, we shouldn’t overdo it, Susan. You’ll help me a lot, right?”
“I will help you with all my heart, Your Majesty!”
Mrs. Bertolt cried out, filled with emotion.
Frankly, the Head Maid of the Empress Palace was at the center of tremendous power. And yet, she had lived quietly without ever asserting herself.
But that would be different from now on.
She had always been a generous Monarch to her loyal subjects.
Her loyal subjects deserved to enjoy as much as she did.
“I should go to the royal conference tomorrow. My father will be at the conference too, right?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“It’s certain that the fact that I’ve lost some of my memory hasn’t leaked out to anyone except for trustworthy people, right?”
“That is correct. Even the Duke doesn’t know.”
“Good. Keep it a secret in the future too.”
Mrs. Bertolt looked at her with eyes that held both joy and confusion. It was strange enough that she had disappeared and returned, but now she was saying she would host the banquet.
So that people wouldn't suspect her, thinking that she had suddenly changed too much, she collapsed her ramrod straight posture and buried herself in the sofa. Then, in a much more relaxed tone, she whispered.
“I won’t give up my rights anymore. Let the Saintess have the Emperor’s love. But I can’t lose my authority as Empress. It’s all I have left now……”
As she lowered her voice slightly, a terribly pathetic atmosphere was created. Maids sniffled here and there, and she held Mrs. Bertolt’s hand tightly and patted it.
And the next day.
She went to the royal conference.
She was planning to go about an hour before the meeting to secure a seat and create an atmosphere to gain an advantage.
“Oh, Enri!”
However, she had to stop in front of the conference room door.
The flirtatious voice flowing from the crack in the door had a clear meaning.
The Imperial Knights guarding the Emperor also exchanged glances, looking flustered.
“The Emperor is truly busy with affairs of state.”
As she recited those words with a blank expression, the Imperial Knight avoided her gaze as if he was ashamed.
“How… how could they in the conference room.”
Derek, who was standing behind her, ground his teeth eerily.
She agreed with him.
“Judging by your reactions, this isn’t the first time, is it?”
Should she throw open this door right now and strangle those lovers?
Her grip tightened firmly in her fist. She tried to be sarcastic, but the feeling that the ground was sinking beneath her feet didn't go away easily.
How should she express this complicated feeling?
She was Enrique's wife, whom he had married. She had become human, but she was still his wife.
She felt sorry for Leonarda, who had lived without receiving even the minimum of respect as a wife, and she felt like she was going crazy with resentment at her past self who had loved such a bastard.
Just then.
“What is the Empress doing here?”
The door was flung open, and Enrique appeared, disheveled.
Beyond his shoulder, a woman with pink hair was staring with wide eyes, just like before.
