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nKaizen stopped by the empress’ palace, met Astelle, and returned to his own palace.

nShortly before he returned, he came to see Theor too, play with him and have dinner.

nHis mood was a little nuanced when Theor proudly wrote a few sentences that he had just learned today.

nKaizen hid his sad feelings and praised Theor to the fullest.

nIt felt good to see young Theor gradually adjusting to life here.

nOn the other hand, his relationship with Astelle remained unchanged.

nAll they did was do their own thing every day, chat for a bit in the evening, and then go to bed.

nThe topic of the conversation ended with a brief description of what happened that day.

nThese days, he seemed to talk more with Vellian and other ministers than Astelle.

nThis is what contract marriage is supposed to look like.

nI had a hard time figuring out how long I had to live like this.

n“Your Majesty, I brought you a tea.”

nHe turned his eyes to an unfamiliar voice and saw a maid standing there.

nShe was a young maid with red hair.

n‘Did she say she was a new maid?’

nI don’t know if it’s just my feeling but I saw this maid very often recently.

nThe red-haired maid looked at Kaizen with sparkling blue eyes.

nShe has a pretty face.

n‘I don’t think she’s a cautious person.’

nDid the butler say he brought the maid himself?

nHe brought a new maid all of a sudden.

nA young maid who looks so young and inexperienced.

nKaizen would be an idiot if he didn’t notice what this meant.

n‘I didn’t know my servants were this sincere.’

nEveryone seems to be short of work. He kicked the maid out while thinking of increasing the workload from tomorrow.

n“Yeah, leave it there.”

n“Yes……?”

nThe maid looked up in surprise.

n“I told you to leave it there.”

nAt his annoyed tone, the maid bowed her back with a sullen face and walked out slowly.

nAfter a while, a servant approached him and bowed his head.

n“Your Majesty, the Prince has sent you a present.”

n“Present?”

nThe servant handed him a small box.

n“It was brought by the servant of the Marquis of Carlenberg. It seems that the Crown Prince has asked to give it to Your Majesty.”

nWhat the servant brought was a wooden box the size of a palm.

nIt must have been the toy box in Theor’s playroom.

nKaizen opened it and found a picture folded in half.

n“The picture was drawn by the prince himself. He wanted to give it to Your Majesty.”

nThe servant explained with a smile.

nAs he said, a lot of things were drawn on a small piece of paper.

nThe first ones he saw were Theor and Astelle.

nAnd a dog, a doll, and a man who looks like the marquis.

nIn one corner is a young man who looks like Kaizen.

nIt was a clumsy drawing drawn by a child, but it was cute.

nKaizen smiled and gave an order to the servant, “Bring me a frame.”

nThe servant was a little surprised when he asked to bring a picture frame, but he obediently agreed and left.

nKaizen put the picture on the desk and tried to put the box aside, but he saw something inside the box.

nWhen he looked closely, there was a bunch of finger-sized grass stuck in the corner.

n‘What is this?’

nKaizen took it out.

nThe dried grass was cut into small pieces and tied together.

n‘Why is this in here?’

nDid Theor leave it behind while playing with it in the garden?

nSince it’s a toy box, it looks like he just left it here while playing.

nHe thought so and picked it up to throw it away, but for a moment an unfamiliar scent struck his nose.

n‘Well?’

nHe put a bunch of grass to his nose and smelled its scent.

nA unique scent was faintly smelled in the bitter smell of grass.

nKaizen instantly realized the identity of the grass.

nIt was an herb.

nAn herb commonly used by young ladies.

n“Your Majesty? What’s going on?”

nThe servant, who returned with a small picture frame, asked with a puzzled face.

nKaizen stood up without answering.

n“I will go to the empress’ palace right now.”

nKaizen headed back to the empress’ palace to meet Astelle.

n***

n“Your Majesty, are you going to sleep here tonight?”

nTheor asked, clinging to Kaizen’s arm. Kaizen turned to Astelle and replied, “……yes.”

n“That’s great,” Theor rejoiced.

nThe quick-witted Astelle said quickly, “Theor, go to your room first. I’ll follow you in a little while.”

n“Yes……”

nTheor frowned and grabbed Kaizen’s hand.

n“Your Majesty has to come, too.”

n“Yes, of course.”

nThe maid, who received Astelle’s gaze, approached Kaizen and took Theor from his arms.

nAfter the maid left with Theor, the servant who came with Kaizen also left.

nIn the garden pavilion, Astelle and Kaizen were the only two left.

n“Your Majesty, what happened?”

nKaizen was momentarily speechless. He was surprised to find a medicinal herb in the toy box, and he ran to this place.

nBut when he finally faced Astelle, he didn’t understand why he had rushed to see her so urgently for this kind of thing.

n“It’s not a big deal,” Kaizen answered awkwardly, hiding the dry grass in his fist.

nAstelle became even more curious.

nIt’s not a big deal, but why did you come all the way here in the middle of the night?

nKaizen sighed and showed her what was in his hand.

n“There was something like this in the box that Theor sent me.”

nAstelle took the herb.

nAstelle, accustomed to herbal medicine, noticed what it was as soon as she saw it.

n“Angelica?”

nAngelica is a medicinal herb that stimulates fertility.

nMarried women who want to get pregnant keep this herb and make a daily decoction.

nNow, Astelle also looked puzzled.

n“There must have been some mistake. There is no such herb in the empress’ palace.”

nI guess so. Because there’s no way you can have something like this.

nHe almost immediately said that.

n“I apologize, Your Majesty. I think my grandfather sent it without checking it. It was a mistake.”

n“Well, I don’t know if it was a simple mistake.”

n“I beg your pardon?”

n“Did your father visit you today?”

n“……”

nAstelle didn’t answer.

nKaizen let out a sigh and smirked.

n“That’s exactly what your father would do.”

nHe must have been trying to make him think that Astelle desperately wanted a baby.

nHe seemed to guess that if he instilled such thoughts in him, the relationship between the two would improve again.

n‘An ordinary aristocrat might find this interesting.’

nMost nobles want to have many children even if they do not have a good relationship with their wives.

nThe family can prosper only if they have many children.

nBut he was no ordinary aristocrat, and this marriage was no ordinary marriage either.

nThere was no possibility that Astelle would want a child again now.

n‘It will never happen.’

nUntil not long ago, there might have been a possibility. There was a ray of hope that their relationship would change in the future.

nBut now I know.

nI don’t deserve that hope.

n“My father did a useless thing and troubled Your Majesty. I apologize on his behalf.”

nAstelle, who understood the situation, apologized with an embarrassed face.

n“No worries. It’s not a day or two that your father does useless things.”

nThe garden was wet from the raindrops.

nKaizen sighed as he looked at the damp flower bed.

n“People seem to misunderstand our relationship.”

n“……I think so.”

nHe just avoided Astelle for a while so as not to bother her.

nWithin a few days, everyone misunderstands and makes up strange things.

nLiving as a married couple in the imperial palace was difficult.

n“I will stay here tonight. I’ve come all the way here, but if I went back now, it would look even weirder.”

n“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

nAstelle was dressed in a thin shawl over her pajamas.

nIn a damp garden.

nAstelle, standing in a pavilion lit by a soft light, wearing white muslin pajamas, looked elegant and delicate.

nKaizen quickly turned his gaze away to hide the burning sensation in his ears.

n“If you don’t mind, can I stay here from time to time?”

nAstelle looked up at him, a little surprised.

nKaizen quickly added, “Don’t worry. I’ll sleep outside like before.”

nHe turned away from Astelle and muttered bitterly.

n“I know I don’t deserve anything from you.”

n“……”

nAstelle stared at Kaizen without saying a word. There was a shadow on his face that looked lonely.

nIs it because we’re alone on a night like this?

nToday, Kaizen looks a little pathetic.

nShe sighed and then said, “I do not mind. Do as Your Majesty pleases.”

n***

n“What did the empress say?”

nFlorin, who had been quiet in the mansion, was furious when she heard the maid’s words.

nThis morning Naeun delivered the news from the empress.

nThe empress invited her to the imperial banquet and offered to find her a prospective groom, in place of her mother, the marchioness.

n“A prospective groom?”

nHer anger soared.

n‘So you want to take revenge on me like this?’

nFlorin noticed what Astelle was thinking.

nShe intended to force her into marriage as revenge for the past.

nAlthough her father, the Marquis, was there, there was nothing he could do if his daughter was forced into marriage by the emperor.

nOriginally, marriages of nobles had to be officially approved by the emperor.

nAstelle, who wanted to take revenge on her, was unlikely to find a suitable groom for her.

nShe will definitely force her to marry a terrible person.

n‘I can’t be defeated like this.’

nAs soon as the marriage was mentioned, Florin lost her mind in anger.

nShe ordered the maid who broke the news without telling her nanny.

n“Send a note to Naen again.”

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