Chapter 345 (1/2)

“Good morning, Uncle Allen! I think we’re seeing each other for the first time in three days. Didn’t you miss me?”

“… I’m glad to see you. By the way, I’m still working, and I think I saw you two days ago…”

“Can’t you give it a pass? You are so meticulous, Uncle Allen. By the way, where are you going? Can’t you give me tea?”

“I’m going to see the emperor now. Let me serve you tea next time. I’ve got lots of documents he has to sign. I’m too busy today.”

“I see. Got it. I’ll wait for you until then. You should come back to me quickly, okay?”

“Oh, I really can’t…”

“See you a little later, Uncle Allen!”

Then she quickly disappeared.

Allendis once again sighed and rubbed his stinging temple. He didn’t lead a good life all the time, nor did he lead a bad life. He couldn’t figure out why God gave him trial after trial like this.

After arriving at the Central Palace with a heavy heart, he turned to the garden instead of heading to the office because he heard from a royal knight on shift that the emperor was having tea in the garden.

When he entered the emperor’s private garden, escorted by the knight, he noticed the emperor and Tia, the empress, in the verdant place.

They were sitting in front of a snow-white table in an amiable mood. As the table was a small round table, they could sit across it, but they sat side by side, chatting.

The silver-haired woman was telling something to the emperor with a gentle smile, who was listening to her with a gentle nod.

His heart ached all of a sudden, so he clutched his chest with the hand that wasn’t holding the documents. He thought he would be fine by now, but whenever he saw her hitting it off with the emperor, he felt heartbroken like before.

Was he caught clutching his chest? One of the royal guards, who were standing a few steps away from him, approached him and asked with a worried voice, “Duke, what’s the matter with you? Are you sick? ”

“…I’m fine. I did so because I had something to think about for a moment, so don’t worry.”

“Ah yes. Well, are you here to see the emperor? Do you want me to convey your message?”

“No. It looks like he’s taking a break, so I don’t want to invite his hatred by disturbing him. If you don’t mind, can you send me a servant when the emperor is done? I think I had better come back later.”

“Okay, I will.”

“Thank you. Then, see you later.”

After greeting the guard, who slightly bowed to him, Allendis turned, taking pains to turn his eyes away from her.

When he was about to walk away from the garden, trying to erase the images of the emperor’s couple from his mind, somebody charged toward him from behind and wrapped his shoulders suddenly. Frowning at him, Allendis disengaged from his arms around his shoulders. Given the color of his scattered hair, he knew who the man was. Even if he didn’t do this, there was only one man in the world who could do it to him.

“Hey, Allendis, why are you keeping a poke face today?”

As expected, the man didn’t show any displeasure even if Allendis hysterically shook away his arms.

Allendis replied, pressing down on his stinging temple.

“Why are you so childish as to do this, Sir Carsein?”

“Well, why are you using honorific language all of a sudden? What happened to you? Oh, I see you look haggard all the time.”

“…Dang it! That’s enough. What brought you here anyway?”

“Do I need something to want to see you? That sucks, man, given our longtime ties.”