Translator: Srednazm

Editor: Crystal Crater

I went to the large courtyard inside the palace gate to see off Sovieshu on his two-day trip. Rashta was also present, dressed simply in a white dress. I kept my gaze firmly averted from her as usual, but from the corner of my eye I could tell she was looking at me. I was bothered by it.

Our eyes met unexpectedly, and I saw that she was shooting me a glare. This was rare for Rashta, who usually kept her expressions smoothly serene. When I stared back at her she immediately blushed and lowered her head…

That was certainly surprising.

‘Did something happen?’

I turned my head back to Sovieshu, and saw that he was looking at Rashta with a concerned expression.

‘Is there a problem between them?’

I looked on in curiosity, but then I looked away and kept as straight a face as possible. It wasn’t until Sovieshu stepped into the carriage did I finally understand why Rashta had been glaring at me.

“Rashta is jealous of Her Majesty the Empress.”

Rashta quietly approached me, bowing to me slightly while mumbling in a weak voice.

“Rashta loves the Emperor but must suppress her feelings. Meanwhile, the Empress does not even love His Majesty…”

“Did the Emperor tell you that you couldn’t go with him?”

“?!”

Rashta’s eyes widened in shock. If I had replied, “You have the nerve saying that” instead, it would not be befitting of an empress.

Instead of engaging in conversation, I extended my fingertips and pressed them lightly near Rashta’s eyebrow.

“Your Majesty…?”

She looked up at me with wide eyes. Her soft eyes drooped even more and resembled that of a rabbit’s.

“Take some pressure off your eyes, just like that.”

I pulled away my hand, and she blinked confusedly for a moment. She didn’t comprehend what I was saying at first, but when realization dawned on her, she turned red.

I didn’t want to spend one more second in conversation with her, so I turned around and went back to my room. There was still some time before my audience duties, so I was thinking to take off my shoes and relax a bit. However, when I entered the room and settled against my armchair, Sovieshu’s words came back to me.

‘Stop looking into Rashta.’

He didn’t say it blatantly, but he was talking directly about me. That, or my brother.

“Haaa…”

It had come to this unfortunately, but it couldn’t continue this way anymore. I asked Sir Artina and Countess Eliza not to continue their investigation because Sovieshu had found out.

“But wouldn’t it be better to still investigate them?”

“I’ll be more careful.”

Countess Eliza and Sir Artina wanted to see the job to the end, but I flatly refused. After another moment’s consideration, I called in Marquis Farang under the pretext of asking for advice.

“It’s best you stop looking into Viscount Roteschu for a while.”

“Uh…How did you know?”

“His Majesty told me.”

“How did he find out?”

Marquis Farang rubbed his forehead, completely taken aback. This was a different reaction than when I caught him poisoning Rashta. Maybe he had been confident that this time he wouldn’t get caught.

“I don’t know. But try to keep quiet for a while.”

“Is His Majesty…angry?”

“…Anything about her makes him angry.”

Marquis Farang lifted his eyebrows and then lowered them back with a sigh.

“I see.”

However, he did not give a definite answer.

“Marquis Farang.”

I addressed him in a more authoritative tone, and he let out a sound of hesitation as he covered his mouth with a hand.

“Well…it would be best if we could keep quiet.”

“Is there a reason you can’t?”

“Koshar went out for a drink yesterday. He heard something that wasn’t so good.”

Not good? I was curious to know what that meant, but Marquis Farang wouldn’t give further details.

“It’s about me.”

I could make a guess, and the marquis gave a stiff smile.

“Well…people rush into gossip…”

“I must be the topic of it.”

“…”

Marquis Farang looked ready to cry, and I closed my mouth to encourage him to keep talking.

“As you know, Koshar is a bit…you know. The moment he heard something bad about you, he got a bit angry and…”

“Did he hurt somebody?”

“Luckily I was there to resolve the situation, both during the fight and with the person who was hurt.”

Marquis Farang tried to add more words in my brother’s defense.

“He won’t stop. It’s happened a few times recently. I’ve had it up to here trying to hold back his temper.”

“Then isn’t everything alright?”

“It happened yesterday, it hasn’t even been 24 hours yet.”

Marquis Farang sighed.

“Koshar is still furious.”

“Don’t you think he’ll calm down?”

“Well, at least until before I left.”

“Before you left?”

“I had been trying to mitigate the situation, until you called me here.”

I also felt uneasy after listening to Marquis Farang’s words. Koshar must have been furious if even Marquis Farang had trouble calming him down. Would my elder brother listen to me if I told him to stay put? Or would he be more angry, accusing me of looking out for Sovieshu’s feelings?

“Don’t worry too much, Your Majesty. I’ll handle it.”

“Thank you.”

“Then I’ll take my leave.”

Marquis Farang glanced at his watch, got out of his chair, and quickly picked up his coat.

“I’d love to stay longer, but I’m concerned about leaving Koshar alone. I’ll visit again.”