I took my eyes off of him and looked around the conference hall casually.

“… In that case, I think we’ll be done overhauling it by this fall.”

“Good. Please go ahead as planned.”

“But I think the duke’s too optimistic, Your Majesty. If ….” argued a member of the noble faction.

While I was listening to their argument, I noticed the emperor picking up a piece of paper on one corner of the table and writing something down quickly. The participants engaged in the argument stopped for a moment, but he waved at them to continue, then kept writing a memo.

Quickly looking around at them, I turned my head to the emperor next to me. I was curious what he was writing down because I had never seen him do it until now.

Did he already notice what I was thinking? A little later he put down the quill pen and showed me the note, which was as follows.

By the way, why have you been looking at Marquis Mirwa for some time? I’m really offended. I don’t doubt you, but when you look at him intensely like that, how can I not be distracted? I’m so hurt as I have a rare opportunity to attend this meeting with you. Can you stop looking at him and focus on me, Tia?>

“Oh my God…” I moaned a bit in spite of myself.

What the heck is he doing now? Was he writing down this kind of memo when everybody in the meeting was focusing on him?

When I was dumbfounded at his ridiculous behavior, Duke Verita raised his hand to stop the meeting.

“What’s the matter, Your Highness? Did the emperor say anything to you?”

“Ah, well…” I stuttered.

“Well, I asked for her opinion about my idea. We seem to have a different opinion on the matter you just mentioned, I think I have to come up with a compromise.”

“Oh, really? If so, what is the conclusion that both of you have come to?”

I made a hollow smile at the duke who was duped by the emperor so readily. The participants seemed to think we were talking about today’s agenda, but what the emperor said had nothing to do with that. In fact, he was subtly demanding for me to reply to his note.

“I think I should know the empress’s opinion first. Please answer me. What do you think about my idea?”

“…You’re absolutely right, Your Majesty.”

“Are you serious? It seemed like you didn’t agree until a minute ago. ”

“No, I think I was narrow-minded. You’re right, Your Majesty.”

Though I was a bit upset about him who had created this kind of situation, I had only one answer to his question because that’s what happened. I couldn’t show them that he and I were in confrontation. Besides, I could not disclose his note.

“I see. Well, I think the empress agrees with me. Duke Verita, can you continue the meeting? I’m sorry to interrupt the meeting.”

“Thanks, Your Majesty. Earl Wrestling, please go ahead.”

“Okay. What I just said …”

With my eyes fixed on the participants, as if nothing happened, I pouted at him.

‘You’re being so cheap! You’ll have to pay for this. I’ll give it a pass for now because they are watching us. But I won’t overlook it when the meeting is over.’

I slapped his hand when he was trying to put it again on my hand, and squinted at him. He watched me quietly with a smile, which made me a bit upset. Murmuring to myself that I would make him pay for this, I folded his note roughly. Even though I usually overlooked his embarrassing approach like this, I could not tolerate it today.

How much time passed? When Duke Verita, looking happy, announced the end of the meeting, the emperor immediately got up and reached out to me. I thought about just going back to my palace for a moment, but I silently followed him out of the hall.

The royal knights on standby greeted us when we were coming out side by side. While I walked through the noisy hallway with the participants coming out of the meeting, I squinted at him slightly. I heard the rustling of the folded note I clasped in my left hand.

“You went too far a little while ago, Your Majesty.”

“Um? What do you mean? ”

“Are you pretending you don’t know? I’m talking about your note. Once you’ve attended the meeting, you have to focus on the agenda. How can you tell me to focus on you?”

When I spoke in a sullen voice, he replied with a shrug, which was really annoying, “Well, I think we were past this. You said you agreed with my opinion, right?”

“That’s because you created a situation that made me answer like that. Do you know how nervous I was for fear somebody noticed our strange interaction?”

“Well, I don’t care even if we’re caught. We’re a couple, aren’t we?”

“Oh my goodness! Please stop it.”

When I stared at him coldly, he smiled at me, then opened the door of his office. When I inadvertently stepped in, he said, hugging me, “Okay. You want me to focus on the agenda at the meeting in the future, right?”

“Oh, yes, yes…that’s what I want.”

Is it because I got close to him now? When he looked down at me, with one hand on the wall, I stuttered and nodded in spite of myself, overwhelmed by his imposing attitude. My heart began to beat fast as I felt electrified at the moment.

“Right. Then, Tia. ”

“Pardon…Your Majesty.”

“As the meeting is over, can I continue what I stopped doing?” He whispered, putting his lips close to my ears.

His warm breathing made the short hair near my ears stand. Feeling a thrill, I stuck out my dry tongue and moistened my lips in spite of myself as he kept whispering right into my ears. I was getting short of breath because of the tingling that I felt in my legs.

“Um? Why are you not answering me?”

“Because…”

“What’s the matter? Even the meeting you like so much is over now.”

My whole body trembled at his voice that reminded me of that erotic night and his hand caressing my face. As I couldn’t stand it anymore, I said in a small voice with my face down, “Oh, then please make love in bed, not here…”

“Good. You clearly said yes.”

“Yes…Your Majesty.”

The moment I replied, blushing, I suddenly felt like I floated in the air, and my vision was upside down quickly.

Startled, I held his neck. I now clearly knew what he wanted from me.

“Please let me down, Your Majesty.”

“No.”

“But…”

“Well, I’m holding back the urge to do it right now. If you ask me to get you down once more, I’m going to have you here. What would you do? Do you still want me to let you down?”

When I noticed his sizzling sexual desire in his deep blue eyes, I suddenly became speechless, so I shook my head, closing my mouth. Only then did he smile with satisfaction and open the door to the hallway.

People in the hallway looked at him in awe and surprise when he walked away briskly, holding me in his arms. He didn’t care about their gaze at all, but I buried my face into his arms as I couldn’t dare look at them.

Was it because I was out of their view? I could still hear them urgently breathing in and sighing in awe here and there in the hallway. But I was now a bit less shy than before perhaps because I felt cozy and warm at the familiar scent of his body and regular shaking when he was walking, with me in his arms.

‘Yes, what’s the big deal? It doesn’t matter as long as he embraces me warmly like this and wants me so much.’

Suddenly, I felt my heart was full, so I smiled at him, tightening my grip on his arms.

It was a happy day.