Chapter 425. Has He Gone Crazy? (2)
Translator: Aura / Editor: HB168
Sovieshu deliberately asked for time to speak privately with the ‘Empress of the Western Empire’.
It was a clever move. It would be difficult to refuse such a public request in front of so many people present. If I refuse him now, it will be rumored that I put my personal affairs ahead of the country. It won’t be long before malicious rumors begin to spread about my relations.h.i.+p with Sovieshu.
I frowned and Sovieshu raised his hand and pressed a finger between his brow.
What does he mean by it? When I frowned again, he pressed his brow again. He seemed to be holding back laughter.
I was about to raise my hand and touch my own brow when I understood.
In his days as Crown Prince, Sovieshu used to raise his hand and press it to my brow whenever I frowned.
Back then, it would sometimes make me even angrier, but sometimes it tickled and my anger would pa.s.s.
It can’t be…
Why does Sovieshu behave as he did in those days? What does he intend to achieve?
While I stood there, speechless, Heinley firmly intervened.
“Speak here.”
Sovieshu laughed with insolence.
“Pardon, but it’s not a matter appropriate to be discussed with the Emperor of the Western Empire.”
Heinley shuddered.
“What could you possibly have to say to my wife in private?”
The atmosphere between them had turned cold in an instant. I squeezed Heinley’s hand so that he would back off without causing trouble. However, the moment Sovieshu repeated the word ‘wife’ with a smirk, Heinley was unable to remain impa.s.sive and fell for the provocation.
I felt him flex the muscles in his arm.
Sovieshu continued,
“What I want to talk about is a matter between Empresses.”
“… What did you say?”
“If I had a wife, I would have entrusted this task to her, but as you know, I’m unmarried now.”
“!”
“Since I currently play the role of both Emperor and Empress, I am requesting a meeting between Empresses, so I ask that the Emperor of the Western Empire retires.”
Sovieshu once more resorted to that irritating logic he had used earlier in the meeting.
Heinley was so furious that he rubbed his neck with his free hand. Sovieshu looked at me calmly, and spoke brazenly.
“For that reason, Your Majesty Navier, could you give me a few minutes to talk to you?”
He wants to talk to me alone because he currently plays the role of Empress? How funny.
“Of course, Your Majesty Sovieshu…”
At my polite answer, Heinley turned to me and looked at me with puppy eyes. He seemed to think that I would talk in private with Sovieshu.
Well, he needs to speak to the Empress alone. How could a request by the Emperor of the Eastern Empire be ignored?
“…However, I don’t feel well, so I will delegate the role of Empress to my husband for a little while.”
It didn’t need to be me. I spoke with my hand placed gently on Heinley’s shoulder, and in an instant, Sovieshu’s and Heinley’s reactions were exchanged.
“Heinley. For three hours, you will be the Empress.”
“I will be an excellent Empress, My Queen!”
That would be enough. I squeezed Heinley’s shoulder, turned around, and walked up the stairs.
I could hear Heinley speaking triumphantly.
“So, Empress Sovieshu. What do you need to talk about between Empresses?”
***
“Was it a fruitful conversation between Empresses?”
After Navier retired, Sovieshu and Heinley spent about fifteen minutes alone. On the way back to his temporary residence, Marquis Karl asked about it sullenly.
Sovieshu gave Marquis Karl an exasperated look, as if asking, ‘What kind of question is that?’
Marquis Karl smiled patiently. He knew that Sovieshu’s scheme had not turned out as planned.
“It seems the temporary Empress of the Western Empire does not have a good demeanor.”
“He has grown up as one would expect given the rumors that he used to run away from his parents. The way he talks bothers me.”
At Sovieshu’s mutter, Marquis Karl smiled again.
‘Those are two different views.’
Emperor Sovieshu, who was older and more mature than Heinley, considered him to be a mere playboy prince with a bad reputation.
Crown Prince Sovieshu, whose maturity level was more similar to Heinley’s, considered him a troublemaker.
Marquis Karl was curious to observe the differing perspectives of the Western Emperor.
“Come to think of it, Your Majesty’s current mental age and Emperor Heinley’s age are almost the same.”
“…”
“It seems you two have things in common because you are about the same age, Your Majesty.”
“The same mental age?”
“I mean maturity…”
“Marquis Karl, it sounds like you’re praising him.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Then why did you come to that conclusion?”
“Because you used to take no notice of Emperor Heinley.”
The real Sovieshu looked down on Emperor Heinley, as if Heinley was nothing more than an insect not worth noticing.
When he reverted to his days as Crown Prince, Sovieshu viewed the Western Empire as an upstart country and Emperor Heinley as a nuisance. But he considered it a fight between equals.
Marquis Karl noticed the differences between Sovieshu’s two personalities…
Once Marquis Karl left, Sovieshu exclaimed, incredulous,
“My age! We’re around the same age!”
Angrily, he pulled out a diary he had hidden between his clothes in the dresser.
It was the diary in which he recorded the events of the last year. He had brought it with him to read in his spare time.
Sovieshu lay on the bed and opened the diary. He reviewed what had happened after the arrival of the woman named Rashta.
Sovieshu believed that the beautiful moments he spent with Navier were also remembered fondly by her. He intended to ask for her forgiveness and believed that these memories would convince Navier.
But first, he needed to understand the past in order to heal her wounds one by one. Only then would she come to forgive him.
At least that’s what Sovieshu thought. He focused on the words written in black ink on the white paper.
— I was rather cold to Navier and punished one of her ladies-in-waiting harshly for her offense to Rashta… We argued over that matter and I asked why she couldn’t be obedient to me for once…
***
“I’m sorry to say this, Countess Jubel, but do all the servants of the Eastern Empire behave this way?”
It was a bright day and the sunlight poured into my room and the wind caressed my cheeks. The weather was perfect, so I sat down to read a book near the wide-open windows.
Laura dozed off on a nearby couch.
In the midst of the relaxing atmosphere, Rose’s sharp voice immediately caught my attention. When I looked at her, I saw that Countess Jubel was also puzzled.
“What do you mean?”
Rose huffed with annoyance and crossed her arms.
“The servants brought by Emperor Sovieshu are arrogant and don’t do their job well. It’s only been a day and they’ve already caused a lot of trouble.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“How strange. Why would that be?”
Countess Jubel said no more, probably because she preferred not to speak ill of the Eastern Empire, and turned back to what she had been doing.
Rose voiced her displeasure a few more times, but since Countess Jubel didn’t pay much attention to her, she eventually shut her mouth and left.
However, after a while she came back, astonished.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty. Emperor Sovieshu is coming to see you.”
“Sovieshu…”
“Yes, I saw him coming in this direction just now—”
She was interrupted by the bell ringing and the voice of my attendant from the other side of the door.
“Your Majesty the Empress. Emperor Sovieshu of the Eastern Empire wants to meet with you.”
Laura, who had woken up with a jolt, stood up. Mastas also stood holding her sharpened spear.
Countess Jubel looked at me anxiously.
I was taken aback. I didn’t expect him to come all this way. But I couldn’t avoid him, so I let him in.
Moments later, the door opened and in walked Sovieshu.
Unlike his formal appearance the prior day, he was dressed casually in a light s.h.i.+rt and black pants.
As soon as he entered, he smiled gently at me while I maintained a cold expression. Once my ladies-in-waiting left the room, I spoke sharply.
“What are your true intentions? If you are here only to recover, how do you explain your actions yesterday and today?”
“I feel better when I see you.”
“I don’t. I don’t feel comfortable in your presence. And I have told you on other occasions not to speak to me informally, Your Majesty Sovieshu.”
“I prefer it when you talk to me informally.”
Huh?
“What are you saying? Have you gone crazy?”
“Yes, I have gone crazy.”
“…”
Is he making an inappropriate joke? He came to find me in my room for such an unimportant matter?
As I looked at him in confusion, Sovieshu smiled awkwardly.
“I really have gone crazy, Navier.”