Chapter 11

Hainsin checked the letter several times over. However, no matter how many times he read it, the content of the letter did not change.

"Huh."

Hainsin pressed his forehead in disbelief. Heat rose to his temples, and his head felt as if it had been struck. Latil sent such a letter? Latil? Hainsin crumpled the letter and glared at the envoy who had brought it, as if he were the root of all this trouble. The envoy, initially bewildered, shrank back in fear, sensing the bad atmosphere.

‘Latil, Latil, Latil…!’

Hainsin meticulously crumpled the letter, squeezing it into a ball in one hand, and took a deep breath. The urge to drag the sender and kill him rose to his throat. Behind the cowering envoy, Latil's twisted smile and the raising of his middle finger flashed before his eyes. Hainsin slowly gripped the handle of his throne and tapped his fingertips on it. He had to say something, anything. But nothing came to mind. His head was still a blank slate. After staring silently at the envoy for a long time, Hainsin finally managed to speak.

"No."

The envoy's eyes widened.

"Y-Your Majesty…"

Viscount Bretagne had never imagined that Hainsin would reject the proposal.

"Tell the Emperor of Tarium that I will never send a concubine."

"But…"

What kind of unreasonable attitude is this? The envoy swallowed the words that had risen to his throat. If he said this, the Emperor of Carisen might really draw his sword. His life was too precious to risk on just these words. Even if the Emperor of Latrasil later scolded him, "You can't even do a simple task!" he had no choice but to remain silent. * * *

Three years after the Latrasil princess confessed and fled without a word, the wounded pride of Prince Klein led him to decide to forget about her. He believed it was the only way to protect his injured pride. However, the Tarium Empire was too powerful. No matter how much he tried to ignore news from that accursed country, it kept popping up, provoking him. Recently, especially, there was a surprising piece of news. The Latrasil princess, who had once cried drunk, had ascended to the throne as the Emperor of Tarium.

'Tarium is in big trouble.'

An emperor who gets drunk to such an extent… Klein felt annoyed and grumbled to himself. But the surprising news didn't end there. The newly crowned emperor immediately sent an envoy to Carisen. The envoy requested a Carisen-born concubine for diplomatic relations. Klein felt his pride wounded the moment he heard this.

'She must be sending for me.'

She had run away in shame before, but now that she had absolute power, she must want to bring him back. It was an obvious story.

"Huh. I can't believe this."

Klein exhaled in disbelief and brushed his silver hair from his face.

"Really, I can't believe this."

The attendant who delivered the news to Klein asked, "Pardon?"

"Did I say something strange?"

"Not you. I'm talking about the Emperor of Tarium, Latrasil."

The attendant looked at Klein in confusion. What was he suddenly talking about? For the past three years, Prince Klein had always received reports about the Latrasil princess. He hadn't requested these reports himself, but he would always start with, "I heard that…" and guide the attendant to give detailed reports. Eventually, the attendant would come to Klein with any news about the Latrasil princess. Klein's reactions to these reports were mostly the same: a sullen face and anxiousness. Occasionally, he would mutter incomprehensible things.

"Does she have a lot of patience?"

"Maybe he's been busy and forgot."

Such were his usual responses. But today, instead of being anxious, he was just making sounds like "Huh! Really! Huh!" The attendant was puzzled.

"Your Majesty? Why are you like this?"

"It's not a formal letter, but a request for a concubine. How annoying."

"Huh?"

The attendant blinked in confusion. He still couldn't understand what Prince Klein was saying. But Klein was not the type to explain things well. Today was no different. Klein grumbled and waved the attendant away without any explanation. Even after the attendant left, Klein couldn't shake off his unpleasant mood. Carisen was not a small country; it was a powerful nation on par with Tarium. How could they think of sending a concubine to a prince of such a great country? The more he thought about it, the more annoying it became. He firmly decided not to agree. Since she had run away twice, it was only fair that she pay the price. But Klein's ambitious plan was overturned before it even began. An hour later, the attendant rushed back with a message.

"Your Majesty, the Emperor has sent the Tarium envoys back! He said there is no suitable person in Carisen to send as a concubine."

Klein stopped looking in the mirror and glared at the attendant.

"What? Who did he send back?"

Intimidated by his terrifying presence, the attendant took a step back.

"Not me, but the Emperor…"

* * *

"Brother!"

Klein burst into the office, and Hainsin, who was sitting in a large office chair with a cigarette in his mouth, frowned.

"What is it, Klein? Do you not have hands to knock?"

"I do. To push away the guards."

Hainsin's mouth opened, and smoke slowly billowed out, revealing his true feelings.

"Your language has really improved, little brother."

"Really?"

"I'm being sarcastic."

"Stop it!"

Klein leaped up the low steps in one bound, approached Hainsin's nose, and sat down on a small chair he dragged over. Is he crazy…? Hainsin took the cigarette from his mouth and narrowed his eyes.

"Ask your question properly."

"Brother, did you send the Tarium envoys back?"

"Ah."

"You did?"

"Who else would do it?"

Hainsin laughed lightly, as if daring Klein to bring someone else, and Klein protested in disbelief.

"Are you crazy? Why did you send them back?"

"You're the one who's crazy. I'm the Emperor now, Klein."

Klein huffed but couldn't argue with that point. Despite their constant bickering since childhood, he acknowledged that Hainsin was lenient with him. Klein finally lowered his voice.

"Are you trying to start a war with Tarium? Two or three years ago, didn't you receive a concubine from Tarium? What was her name… Anyway, someone came, right? Who was it?"

Hainsin silently stubbed out his cigarette on the desk. Klein was bewildered.

"What, you don't remember her name? She's your concubine."

"Get to the point."

"Brother, how can you accept a concubine and then refuse to give one? Do you think Tarium will just accept it? They might feel insulted. Or, if it's not an actual insult, you shouldn't have refused. It's such a despicable thing to do, only taking and not giving."

"There's no one to send. The Chancellor's son is married, and the Duke's son is an only child and can't be sent abroad. Among the royal family, the unmarried ones are all women."

Klein silently tapped Hainsin's desk with his hands and pointed at himself. Hainsin raised an eyebrow.

"You? You want to go?"

"Brother, you said there's no one to send. Exactly, there's no one except me, right?"

But Hainsin firmly refused, as if it required no thought.

"No."

Klein, frustrated by the cold voice, pounded his chest. How dense can you be!

"Brother, don't you get it?"

After all this?

"?"

"The Emperor of Latrasil sent the envoys with me in mind."

Hainsin's expression changed ambiguously.

"Why? Why do you think she sent the envoys for a concubine with you in mind, Klein?"

"Brother, you said there's no one to send."

"…"

"Think about it. If she sent the envoys, it must mean she wants me, right?"

"…"

"I don't mind going, Brother. Anyway, she likes… Hmm. Carisen has a good reputation, so I'll wait for the right time and submit a formal letter."

Hainsin looked at Klein for a moment, then waved his hand.

"Get out. I'm busy."

After Klein left, Hainsin kicked the desk. He pressed a hand to his head and looked up at the ceiling. The grand and ornate ceiling seemed to mock him.

"Latil, really? You're not really trying to get revenge on me this way, are you?"

* * *

"Wow… Sir Seun. Look at this."

At Latil's mutter, the chief steward glared at Sir Seun, the captain of the knights. After leading the royal guards in the battle against Tlawa and helping Latil, Sir Seun naturally became one of Latil's closest confidants and remained the captain of the knights. Despite his young age, he had been a captain for two generations of emperors and was still younger than most other captains. However, the chief steward's dissatisfaction with Sir Seun was not due to his youth. Even though they were friends from childhood and neighbors, they were now in a master-subordinate relationship. Latil still treated Sir Seun as she did when she was a princess, and Sir Seun accepted this naturally, which annoyed the chief steward. While Latil could be excused, shouldn't Sir Seun maintain proper decorum? Ignoring the sharp gaze, Sir Seun looked at the document Latil pointed to.

"What is this?"

But Sir Seun's smooth expression twisted as soon as he saw the document. Latil, unable to see Sir Seun's expression over her shoulder, clicked her tongue.

"Can't you tell? These are the people who sent applications to become my concubine."

Sir Seun's eyes quickly scanned the document. The stack of thin paper was about 15 centimeters high, suggesting at least a few hundred applicants. The chief steward, who had been looking at Sir Seun, also stuck out his tongue.

"I thought there would be many applicants, but this is more than I expected. We need to screen them, Your Majesty."

"Indeed. I only plan to take five, but more people applied than I thought."

The chief steward, who had been nodding, opened his eyes wide.

"You said 'for now'?"

"One never knows how people's hearts will change. I'm currently the 'pure love' emperor, but that might change."

Pure love… and a concept… While the chief steward muttered in confusion, Latil flicked through the papers with her thumb, shook her head, and picked up the top document, clicking her tongue.

"By the way, I didn't expect Artraxi Lanavon to apply."

The document Latil held was from the Artraxi family, and the name on it was Lanavon Brotscha d'Artraxi, the eldest son of the Duke of Artraxi.

"He wouldn't have applied on his own. His father must have pushed him."

Latil clicked her tongue and put the document down.

"Poor guy."

They weren't particularly close, and he didn't leave a good impression, but thinking about Lanavon being pushed into this by his father made her feel a bit sympathetic.

"The Duke of Artraxi seems more ambitious than I thought. To push such a proud child into becoming a concubine."

Clicking her tongue again, Latil separated Lanavon's document and handed the rest to the chief steward.

"Still, we should give the Duke of Artraxi some face. He's a loyal subject. Lanavon is a must, and one will come from Carisen, so please select three more who can be helpful, as reported by Duke Sablé."

"Should I only select those who can be helpful? Do you have any other criteria?"

Latil mouthed, "If they're similar, choose the handsome ones," and smiled.

"I have a good eye, don't I?"

The chief steward winked in acknowledgment and took the documents to his nearby desk. Watching the chief steward start to review the documents seriously, Latil yawned and stretched. It had been over two weeks since her ascension. The first week was so busy that her whole body ached, but people adapt. She had become much more accustomed to the busy schedule. She had to quickly complete the successor training beyond the usual schedule when she suddenly became the crown princess, and the hard work then had paid off.

'Soon, the envoy to Carisen should arrive.'

What kind of response will Hainsin give? Latil's lips curled up mischievously. Of course, Hainsin won't be able to refuse.