Chapter 4

"Elise… Chester…!"

"Hmm?"

Elise, who felt someone calling her while she was in a deep sleep, slowly regained consciousness as her shoulder was shaken.

"Hey, Elise Tranchester!"

"…Yes?"

Elise, rubbing her sleepy eyes, responded in the direction of the voice.

"…So, you are indeed Elise, right?"

The person who called her seemed somewhat perplexed.

"Your Majesty? Good morning."

Elise, who had fallen asleep while watching the emperor's face last night, had thrown her pen and glasses aside and slipped into the same bed with him. From the warmth she felt, it seemed their bodies were pressed together.

"Haa… This can't be… It must be a dream…"

The emperor, hiding his face with his arm, muttered something incomprehensible. Elise, not understanding what he was saying, tilted her head.

"Your… true face is the first I've seen. …Ah, those glasses you always wear are quite thick, aren't they?"

Elise, realizing that the world around her was blurry because she had taken off her glasses, turned her face in the direction of the voice.

"Yes, I read and write novels all the time, so my eyesight has gotten bad… I can't see anything without these glasses."

As Elise explained, looking at the emperor's blurry face, the emperor swallowed and spoke in a heavy voice.

"…Elise Tranchester. By the emperor's command, I forbid you from taking off your glasses in front of others."

"Eh?"

"It would be unbearable for just any man to see. If you showed that face, men would go crazy. The shock of waking up to this face…"

"What do you mean? Your Majesty, is my face that ugly?"

"…You don't realize it, do you?"

Elise, sounding discontented at the emperor's exasperated tone, replied.

"If I showed something unpleasant, I apologize. After all, my eyesight is really bad… I've never seen my face without glasses clearly."

"That's… No, never mind. There are things in this world that are better left unknown. In any case, this must be kept secret. You must never show your true face to anyone."

"But… how can I…?"

Hearing this, Elise became curious about how ugly her face must be. She fidgeted, trying to find a mirror, but ended up pressing even closer to the emperor's body.

"Too close! Get up already!"

Following the emperor, who hurriedly got up, Elise also sat up and put on her glasses. As her blurry vision cleared, she noticed the emperor's face, which had turned red even to his ears, desperately turning away.

"?"

Elise, who was already used to the strange emperor, found him particularly odd today. She thought he had become accustomed, but the emperor, known as a tyrant, was indeed not normal.

Elise, who had not realized that she had shared a bed with the emperor, was only puzzled by his embarrassed actions.

Just then, a knock was heard, and the emperor answered in Elise's place.

Jeffrey, who entered, sensed something interesting but, as a secretary, did not show it on his face as he greeted them.

"It seems you both had a good night's rest. Your Majesty, your complexion has returned to normal."

"Yes. I'll start work immediately."

"Already? Isn't it a bit too early…?"

Surprised by the emperor, who started preparing, Elise asked, and the emperor, with his bear-like eyes gone, smiled proudly.

"I need to finish quickly to read your novel."

In front of Elise, who nodded in understanding, was a pile of manuscripts. The emperor, looking satisfied, headed off to work.

"…So, isn't Mr. Jeffrey going?"

Elise, who had seen the emperor off, looked at the secretary with a puzzled expression. Jeffrey, who had been watching the two with a bright smile, replied.

"It's still before work hours. Besides, I must thank Miss Elise again. This is the first time I've seen such an enthusiastic emperor. It's all thanks to Miss Elise."

"Well… I haven't done anything special…"

"That's not true. To begin with, only one in ten can survive more than thirty minutes with the emperor. One in a hundred can survive more than an hour alone. To have spent several nights together and still be alive, Miss Elise is truly a miracle woman."

"…Isn't that an exaggeration?"

Feeling sorry for the emperor, Elise objected, but Jeffrey shook his head confidently.

"No, these are solid numbers based on my long experience and statistics serving the emperor."

"But, the emperor, despite appearances, has his cute moments. He brings tea, massages my shoulders, and sometimes acts like a big puppy, wanting attention when left alone."

Elise's words made Jeffrey stop in his tracks.

"…Excuse me, Miss Elise. Are you talking about the emperor I know?"

"Is there another emperor?"

Elise, tilting her head in confusion, watched as Jeffrey shook his head, looking at her as if she were a strange creature.

"No, but the emperor I know is a tyrant who only thinks about beheading people. That's why I have the fastest escape in the empire."

"…I see, that's interesting."

Elise, realizing that she and Jeffrey were not on the same page, nodded and let it go.

---

The emperor, as he had declared to Elise, completed his work at twice his usual speed. Even Jeffrey had a hard time keeping up.

After finishing the urgent tasks, Jeffrey brought out important documents.

"Your Majesty, the next case. It would be better to respond to this one early. The Duke of Tranchester has sent multiple letters requesting his daughter's return…"

"Ignore it."

The response was immediate.

Jeffrey, though momentarily rebuffed, tried to persist.

"That… is impossible. From the Duke's perspective, his daughter, whom he brought to the ball, suddenly disappeared and has been staying in the palace. If we ignore his requests any longer, he will claim that Your Majesty has kidnapped and imprisoned Miss Elise."

"That's just his accusation."

"No, it's more than half true."

The emperor had indeed forcibly kept Elise, threatened her, and confined her in the Ruby Palace. However, strangely, Elise had never tried to escape. So, it was more than half true, but the emperor was displeased.

"Tch. I have no intention of letting Elise go. Just give a vague response."

"Such tyranny…"

Jeffrey, about to protest, sensed the increasing killing intent from the emperor and quickly changed the subject.

"More importantly, it seems Your Majesty has taken a liking to Miss Elise, which is a good thing."

"…I'm only keeping her alive because she writes novels."

"No, no. It seems the two of you are growing closer every day."

The emperor, not entirely disagreeing, seemed to be in a good mood and started talking.

"No other woman treats me so casually. Do you know? She's very cold to me when she's writing. She barely responds when I talk to her and keeps complaining about being thirsty or having a sore shoulder. Can you believe it?"

"So, Your Majesty brings tea and massages her shoulders?"

The emperor's story connected with what Elise had told him this morning, and Jeffrey, surprised, asked.

"Hmph. …I only do it because I want her novels. I'm just putting up with it."

The emperor, feigning displeasure, couldn't hide the corners of his mouth from curling up.

"Your Majesty… you seem happy."

"Of course not. I just find it a bit fresh, that's all. If I don't like it, I'll have her beheaded."

Jeffrey, listening with a warm heart, wondered if the emperor realized his own expression.

"Indeed. To treat me so coldly… What an impolite woman. Truly, she's the first woman, including her novels, to treat me like this."

The emperor, pretending to grumble, couldn't hide his smiling mouth.

---

"Please, Your Majesty, welcome a queen soon."

The minister from the imperial council, who came for an audience in the afternoon, bowed deeply and pleaded. The emperor, not even looking at him, replied.

"It's troublesome. Women are noisy."

"Please don't say that! Leaving an heir is the duty of the royal family, Your Majesty!"

Flipping through papers, the emperor, finding it too much trouble to behead the minister, waved his hand dismissively.

"Fine, fine. I'll think about it."

Knowing that a single word could cost him his head, the minister, with a red face, backed away.

---

As the day grew late and most of the work was done, the emperor, with the last two cases from Jeffrey—the Duke of Tranchester's letter and the council's request for a queen—placed on his desk, compared them.

"Hmm…"

"Your Majesty, which will you address first?"

After a moment of silence, the emperor, as if struck by an idea, raised his head.

"I have a brilliant plan. A good plan to solve these two troublesome issues at once."

The emperor, Adelbert, with a twisted smile, looked towards the Ruby Palace with a gleam in his eyes.