Chapter 42

"Where have you been, Your Majesty?"

As Latil returned to the banquet hall, a few people approached him quickly.

"I was worried."

It seemed they were quite surprised when Latil disappeared after eating fruit alone in a corner and didn't reappear for a while.

"I just took a short walk."

Latil smiled and tried to explain, but the few people still didn't relax their expressions.

"Is something the matter..."

"No, it's not. The weather was nice."

Latil patted Seun's shoulder a few times and then went to sit in his own chair. Next to Latil's seat were the seats for the concubines, and at that moment, only Gestha was there.

"Your Majesty, you look thirsty... Would you like to have this?"

As Latil and Gestha were left alone, Gestha took a beautiful emerald-colored champagne from a servant and offered it to him.

"Thank you, Gestha."

As Latil took it with a nod, Gestha's face turned red, and he bowed his head, looking embarrassed. It seemed he was so shy that he could die of embarrassment. Gestha looked incredibly cute, but Latil, lost in thought about the conversation with the high priest in the garden before returning, didn't notice.

* * * About an hour earlier.

"Alright, I'll let you into the harem. But how do you plan to get in?"

"I have left the secular world. I don't know much about such matters."

"Is that so? I heard you don't stay at the temple. Where are you now?"

"I work as a casino dealer."

'You haven't left the secular world at all, have you? You seem more immersed in it than anyone else.'

Though there was a need to hide his identity, why a casino of all places? Latil looked at him in disbelief, and the high priest, looking a bit embarrassed, explained.

"I know, it's strange. But that's why. I can meet all kinds of people without arousing suspicion."

'But the gods will doubt your judgment.'

Latil didn't fully understand the high priest's explanation, but he realized how the high priest had made the bold decision to hide in the harem. That's just how he is.

"But how did you get into the banquet as a casino dealer?"

"One of the VVIP customers was boasting about being invited to the banquet, so I asked to be brought along. We bet on the invitation."

"So, did you win?"

"Of course."

Looking at the high priest's smug smile, Latil was unsure whether to praise or criticize him. In any case, it was clear that if he brought the casino dealer into the harem as a concubine, almost no one would suspect he was the high priest.

"Here's what we'll do. If you stand out at the banquet, I'll pretend to be smitten with you."

"Your Majesty, with me?"

"Yeah. I'll make a public proposal to bring you into the harem, and you just need to accept it. But there's a catch."

"What is it?"

"I have to be so smitten with you that anyone would believe it. It has to look natural, even to our enemies. Can you do that?"

After thinking for a moment, the high priest nodded calmly.

"Yes. I've always lived in hiding, so I'm not confident, but... I will do my best."

* * * A casino dealer who deals with VVIPs and lives in hiding? With that face and body? Well...

"Your Majesty?"

Latil, lost in thought, turned to Gestha, who called out to him.

"Yes? What is it?"

Their eyes met, and Gestha, looking embarrassed, shifted his gaze and asked.

"Um... If it's alright, Your Majesty, would you like to dance with me..."

It seemed he was about to ask if it was okay. But before Gestha could finish, a commotion from the dance floor caught their attention. The noise was so loud that both Gestha and Latil turned to look.

'Huh?'

Latil, curious, looked over and was shocked to the point of almost jumping up.

'What is that?'

There was the high priest, dancing enthusiastically alone. He had discarded his partner and was dancing passionately to the gentle harp melody, drawing attention. He was standing out exactly as Latil had asked, but more than that, he had captured the attention of everyone in the hall. The murmur of the crowd reached Latil's ears.

"Amazing. He's ignoring the beat completely!"

"He's completely out of sync with the music. It's so off that it's almost fascinating. Is he deliberately dancing out of balance? What would you call that?"

"What would you call it? He's just dancing wildly."

As he moved, his large, well-defined muscles rippled, causing some of the nobles to blush. Latil, stunned, covered his face with both hands. The bold dance was shocking, but the idea of pretending to be smitten with it was even more bewildering. Why should he feel embarrassed when the one dancing was the other person? Latil, his face red, signaled to the high priest with his hand. Is there nothing else? Try a different dance. Even just moving to the harp's rhythm would draw attention. If he said he was smitten with this, Latil's judgment would be as shattered as the rhythm. The high priest, interpreting Latil's signal positively, made a heart shape with his hand while dancing, sending it to Latil. As the muscular arm formed the cute heart, the crowd murmured again.

"Goodness. That man is publicly courting Your Majesty."

"Sending love with his hand. How could he do that?"

"He's bold. What a strong heart."

'Ah, don't do that.'

Seeing this, Latil, embarrassed, turned red, and the crowd was even more surprised and murmured.

"Your Majesty must like him. His face is red."

"Does he like that kind of thing?"

"I suppose. It takes a lot of courage to dance like that..."

Hearing this, Gestha looked at Latil in shock. 'Does he really like that?' was written all over his face. But Latil, too embarrassed to notice, was already overwhelmed by the thought of pretending to be smitten with the high priest's dance. However, he couldn't let this go on forever. Knowing the high priest, who had become a casino dealer to leave the secular world, might do something else, Latil decided to end it and bring him in.

'Hmm...'

Determined, Latil took a deep breath and stood up, pretending to be impressed.

"Goodness. How could this be!"

Everyone who had been watching the high priest fell silent and turned to the emperor. Latil, feeling heat rise to his ears, tried to act calm, spreading his arms and approaching the high priest while praising him.

"Unnamed muscle! Your dance is more powerful than any I have ever seen!"

The high priest, stopping his dance, knelt down, looking embarrassed.

"My poor dancing has disturbed Your Majesty's eyes."

"Not poor at all! You have broken the lock on my heart and entered it."

As Latil helped the high priest to his feet, the crowd was stunned and murmured.

"Your Majesty really likes him."

"But who is that man? I've never seen him before."

"Whoever he is, he's very handsome. Indeed. The men in Your Majesty's harem are all great beauties."

"Your Majesty seems to judge by looks alone."

The nobles tried to recall if they knew any man as handsome as him. Seeing the emperor's judgment, it seemed that as long as a man was handsome, he would fall in love quickly. However, some people couldn't just watch this amusingly.

'How can he be so carefree!'

The Duke of Artax, who had been excited to see the emperor's daughter-in-law.

'Your Majesty is just pretending because I can't dance.'

Ranamun, who had been openly criticized by Latil for not being able to dance.

"..."

Gestha, who had just tried to ask Latil to dance, and others found it difficult to manage their expressions, knowing people were looking at them. Gestha, looking at the high priest with a dark expression, was taunted by Tashir, who had just returned to his seat after escaping from Kalain.

"Will you plot against him once he's in the harem? It's best to give up, young master. Look at his fists. You might be knocked out with one punch."

Seizing the opportunity, Tashir continued to tease Gestha, whose eyes grew colder, but Tashir, knowing Gestha wouldn't show his true colors in public, kept taunting him.

"Stop it, Tashir."

"What? I can't hear you, young master. It's too noisy."

"Stop it..."

"Huh? I can't hear you."

Seeing Tashir's smug smile, Gestha clenched his fists. Tashir, trying to provoke Ranamun as well, but Ranamun, receiving a cold glare, quickly turned to Kalain. However, Kalain was also doing something similar to Gestha, if not more overtly, staring at the man dancing alone.

"Goodness. Is the King of Mercenaries jealous too?"

Seeing this, Tashir, seizing the opportunity, taunted Kalain, but unlike Gestha, Kalain didn't react to Tashir's teasing. Tashir, noticing Kalain's expression, stopped.

"Hey, King of Mercenaries? Are you okay?"

Gestha, unlike Kalain, didn't look angry but rather pained. His already pale face made Tashir a bit worried.

"Are you sick?"

"I'm not feeling well."

"Really sick?"

Kalain didn't specify what was wrong but told Latil's attendant he wasn't feeling well and left the banquet hall. * * * In the early morning after the banquet, Latil, intending to interrogate those who had tried to attack the high priest, changed direction upon hearing that Kalain had returned to his quarters early due to illness and went to the harem first. Though they hadn't known each other for long, Latil knew Kalain wasn't the type to pretend to be sick. In fact, he was more like a proud wolf who would hide his pain and endure it.

'If he says he's not feeling well in front of people, he must be really sick.'

At Kalain's door, Latil saw the mercenary Kalain had brought from the Black Death Corps standing guard.

"You have come, Your Majesty."

Though they had only met a few times, the mercenary's striking appearance made Latil recognize him immediately. He was as pale as Kalain and always looked unhappy, making him stand out in a crowd.

"Where is Kalain?"

"He is inside."

The mercenary opened the door, and Latil entered, giving a small cough to signal his arrival to Kalain.

"Kalain?"

Expecting him to be in bed, Latil found Kalain sitting by the window, leaning his head against the frame. His hair was damp from a bath, and his half-unbuttoned bathrobe revealed his still damp body.

"Kalain. You said you were sick. Is it okay to be sitting like that?"

As Latil asked, Kalain lowered his legs from the window frame and approached. Latil examined his expression, but it was hard to tell if he was feeling better or worse, given his always pale complexion.

"Let me see. Are you feeling better?"

Holding Kalain's face with both hands, Latil examined his lips and eyes closely. Kalain stood still, letting Latil examine him.

"Hmm. You look better."

After thoroughly checking Kalain's face, Latil muttered and let go. Apart from his naturally pale skin, he didn't seem to have any obvious signs of illness.

"Did you come because you were worried about me?"

"You suddenly said you were sick and left."

Kalain's lips moved slightly, as if he had something to say, but he closed his mouth without speaking. Latil, recalling the brief moment at the banquet when he could read people's thoughts, felt a pang of regret. It would have been convenient, especially with someone as quiet as Kalain. However, the ability seemed to have disappeared, or it was a temporary phenomenon. No matter how much Latil looked, he couldn't read Kalain's thoughts.

"Are you feeling better now?"

Finally, Latil asked directly, and Kalain, burying his nose in Latil's neck, answered.

"I'm not sick. I'm just acting out of jealousy. I'm fine, Master."