Chapter 26 (2/2)

Even before the Emperor’s appearance, what the Empress asked her was weird. It was as if she had come here to examine the condition of the Emperor.

Was Celestia thinking too much?

She was lost in thought. When she suddenly looked up, she met the displeasing look of the Emperor beside her. He also seemed to be lost in thought for some reason. He, who was silent, looked like he wanted to kill someone.

Unable to stand with the heavy atmosphere, her hand absent-mindedly reached out to pick up a cookie, but she dropped it in surprise.

“What are you doing?”

“Pardon?”

“You can have it.”

“…….Thank you.”

Was she crazy? What on earth was she doing?

But the cookie was really delicious. Thrilled by the sweetness of the cookie, her eyes widened.

“This is really good…… Can I take two of them?”

He stared at her with a rather puzzled look.

“I expected you to ask for something else. Besides, it’s time for the position of secretary to be confirmed.”

“What does that mean?”

“But all you want is a piece of sesame.”

She got embarrassed. She shouldn’t have asked for it.

However, not only was the cookie sweet, but it also smelled like vanilla bean, and a deep buttery flavor broke into her mouth when she crushed it with her teeth. She didn’t know about aristocrats, but she and her brother would leave anything to taste something so delicious. Samidion had the same taste as hers. If he’d smelled this fragrant smell, he definitely would have fainted right at the moment.

‘You could’ve said no if you didn’t want me to have it. Do you always have to stare at people like that? It’s so ridiculous. Why are you embarrassing me?’

While she was just staring down at her hand, the Emperor spoke slowly.

“Honestly, at this point, it feels even more strange.”

“What do you mean?”

His eyes examined her face.

“I don’t know when and how it turned out, but now that I thought about it, you’re very strangely cooperative.”

“Do you like uncooperative subordinates instead?”

“No, of course not. But you’ve never asked for anything other than taking care of your brother.”

He seemed dissatisfied even if she was doing well.

She couldn’t believe he could be this upset just upon a simple cookie.

The Emperor had been uncomfortable around her since he returned from the hunt of the undead. She used to treat him in silence all the time in accordance with his attitude, but he seemed to be holding a lot of thoughts lately.

“Everyone below me seems to just follow my orders and bow to me, but they do so according to their own interests. After my father, who loved his concubine…… the current Empress, died, so it became too suspicious to lead the subjects who mostly belonged to my maternal relatives.”

“Were you concerned about that? I already had something else to ask for.”

“Yes, say what you have been wanting to say.”

She quietly laughed at his grumbling, which reassured his mood.

It was true that she had compassion for him, and that she was glad he needed her. But it was wrong to say that she was being nice to him without receiving anything in return.

“His Highness, The Emperor allowed me to fulfill the biggest dream I could ever have. He took care of my brother……. who was all alone and sick due to lack of money. He even gave me a chance, who had never dreamed of learning as much as she wanted.”

The Emperor squinted his eyes at her. It seemed he wanted to know her true intentions.

“What more could I ask for? All I want is to learn and be more sincere in order to help His Highness.”

“……I see.”

‘Did you like my answer or not?’

He sighed uncharacteristically before calling for a servant.

“Bring some more cookies. As much as you can prepare, right now.”

The servant hesitated and bowed his head to hide his embarrassment.

The Emperor ordered for more cookies than he had to. Looking at those cookies prepared in different shapes, it was noticeable how much the servants must have suffered from their Emperor’s sudden order.

Celestia really didn’t need them so much.

She came back to her room with a bunch of hard-to-refuse cookies. They looked so delicious that she wanted to keep eating it, but she wouldn’t be able to store all of them for long…..

So she decided to take some of it and wrap it a box and then go see Luana, her most recent friend.

Leaving the room at sunset at the end of the day, she climbed two more floors and crossed a hallway before the eastern annex where Luana’s room was located.

Suddenly, a voice came from one of the rooms in the hallway she was walking.

“Didn’t you ask to only save your sick child’s life three days ago? You said you could gather some really important information!”

The Empress?

She looked around. Even though the woman’s voice was faint, strangely enough, she could find no escort present in the hallway.

Somehow the content sounded significant, so she stopped walking. As she fiddled with the tray of cookies in her hands, another word followed.