The imperial palace’s maids, instead of working, were gathered together in the middle of the hallway, whispering something to each other.
"I feel like the saint has changed a little bit. She suddenly gets angry..."
"Not long ago, I was cleaning and, well... There were marks where the blanket had been torn with her teeth."
"Her personality has changed."
A few days ago, embers began to spark among the maids.
Even if it was a small spark, it could not be ignored.
When embers build and gather, they cause a big fire.
Just like now.
"Maybe we were wrong about her?"
"What do you mean?"
"Honestly, we may have assumed that a saint would be kind. However, a saint is also a person with many emotions."
Even after that day, the maids often witnessed strange scenes.
Whenever that happened, Yura handed out her cosmetics and clothes as gifts to the maids.
As though she was trying to silence them.
Contrary to Yura's intentions, the maids started talking about everything.
"Isn’t it strange how she always knows where His Majesty is going, and that she shows up every time?"
"Oh my! That's true, too!"
"Plus, how she suddenly joined the dinner party, even though we explained that it wasn't possible..."
But the chatter didn't last long.
This was because the head maid, who discovered the scene, came running after them.
"There! Who told you to chat!"
"Sorry, sorry!"
"I'll get back to work quickly!"
The head maid didn't leave immediately. She stayed there for a long time with her eyes wide open.
When no one could be seen anymore, the head maid also moved.
***
This combination was very unfamiliar.
It would make more sense if it were only Theodore and Vivian there. But even Lysander and Enoch were present.
At first, there was an uncomfortable silence.
In the meantime, there were two stubborn people who didn't seem to feel any discomfort at all.
Lysander and Enoch.
Enoch was brazen; he must have felt Theodore's hostility towards him.
Nevertheless, he just poured the tea in his usual, neat manner.
Rosenta drank some tea and moistened his mouth.
He then turned to face Theodore who had been staring at him since earlier. He offered belated excuses.
"In Enoch's unique way of speaking, a leash is a way of describing top-down relationships."
"……… I've felt this for a long time, but what an unusual butler, to the point where I’m curious about where he worked before this."
Theodore spoke calmly, but his gaze at Enoch was full of doubt.
‘Sigh.’
If Yura cast a curse of fascination, do these two bear the curse of fighting?
He shook his head.
Then, thinking that he wanted to distract them, he turned his attention to something else altogether.
Vivian was whispering to her brother, Lysander.
"I've seen it before, but it's very unique. How would you describe the relationship between superior and subordinate using the word ‘leash’?"
"Hmm. Or maybe he’s really a dog. The cloth you're wearing around your neck right now does look exactly like a leash."
"Oppa! It told you to speak nicely if you want to follow me around, right?"
Lysander pantomimed sewing his mouth shut to show that he would be careful with his words.
When Vivian saw that, she sighed and touched her forehead. She looked at Rosenta apologetically.
"I told him I was going with His Majesty to meet Rosen today, so he followed me like a leech..."
"It's all right, Vivian."
"I'll be sending him back to the Magic Tower soon, so the three of us will be able to meet one another quietly."
"That's good."
Rosenta smiled.
Then, deep dimples began to slowly appear on Vivian's cheeks.
Although the dimples disappeared quickly because of Lysander.
"Hmm. So, that's how you enticed my sister, who was infatuated with His Majesty."
Lysander spoke with his legs crossed, and his chin resting on his hand.
Because of his arrogant manner, Vivian made the scariest face Rosenta had ever seen.
She then hit her brother, Lysander, in the solar plexus with her elbow.
"UGH!"
Lysander clasped his stomach and fell forward on the table.
His body shivered intermittently, perhaps in pain.
Everyone looked at Lysander anxiously, but Vivian was calm.
"Never mind him. Leave him be."
She even moved her body and turned sharply toward Theodore.
with Lysander's back to his back.
"That person deserves to be beaten. Before I came here, I went to the Imperial Palace to meet His Majesty…Even there, you have no idea how much I endured…. Phew.”
Vivian's small fist trembled on the table.
Just by looking at it, Rosenta could feel how hard Vivian’s day had been.
He pushed the plate of desserts on the table toward Vivian to express his gratitude for her hard work.
"You'll feel better if you eat sweets."
"Yes, thank you."
Vivian picked up a cookie on the plate and nibbled.
Gradually, her anger seemed to subside.
The sight made Rosenta smile quietly and then slowly turned his head to the side.
"Your Majesty."
Theodore, who was not looking at him, remained vigilant, wary of his surroundings, and gave him a slow answer.
"...you called me?"
Theodore looked away as slowly as his response.
For some reason, it reminded him of a lion crouching in the tall grass, targeting another beast's neck.
But he wasn't scary.
Rosenta casually looked into his burning golden eyes and asked a question as usual.
"What brings you here?"
It wasn’t a question with much meaning.
He only asked because it wasn’t common for Theodore to travel there after becoming emperor.
Theodore's mouth began to open thoughtfully at his question.
But before he could fully open his mouth, Vivian coughed.
"Cough, cough!"
Rather than an ordinary cough, it felt more like a cough that, embarrassingly, couldn’t be concealed.
But everyone was taken aback.
Without hesitation, Theodore patted Vivian on the back, and Enoch poured tea into her teacup.
Then, Lysander magically cooled the hot tea.
After going through this process, Rosenta could see Vivian's complexion returning to its original state.
"Ehm, I'm sorry. I was surprised for a moment."
Rosenta didn’t gloss over Vivian's words.
His hunch told him that she was planning something.
He followed Vivian's lead.
"Vivian, why were you surprised?"
"Huh? Well, it's...."
Suddenly Vivian lowered her head.
She couldn't keep her hands still. She kept fidgeting as though she was nervous.
Theodore shook his head at the sight.
Then, as if trying to push Vivian, whose courage was faltering, from behind, he offered a few words of support.
"Vivian, what you’ve prepared as an apology gift are clothes specially made by the emperor's personal designer. I'm sure Rosenta would be happy to accept it."
***
Vivian led him down to the first-floor hall, saying that it would be better to see it with his own eyes rather than hearing about it with words.
Even as he followed Vivian, he was worried about those they’d left behind.
"Rosen?"
But he couldn't shake off Vivian, who was looking at him with sparkling eyes.
‘I guess we can just go back as soon as possible.’
He made that promise to himself and then smiled as if it was nothing.
"Be careful going down the stairs."
"Yes!"
As they went down the stairs, the first-floor hall began to gradually come into view.
He couldn't hide his embarrassment as the nature of the 'apology gift' became more apparent.
"Vivian, that's…"
He’d been hesitant ever since hearing that it was an apology gift, but he never imagined that it would be this kind of gift.
‘How many pieces are there in total?’
He went down to the hall and looked at the clothes on the mobile clothing rack.
It seemed that dozens of sets were made, including formal wear and everyday suits.
"Vivian, what is this?"
Vivian clapped her hands together at his question; she closed her eyes tightly and began apologizing to him.
"Sorry! I can't return the coat you lent me before... because I lost it! I'm so sorry!"
"Ah……"
Rosenta was at a loss.
Actually, he had been relieved because he thought that Vivian had forgotten, but that wasn’t the case.
But he couldn't tell Vivian the truth of the matter.
‘You didn't lose it; my butler Enoch stole it using magic.’
In the end, what he could say was limited.
"It's all right. You can borrow as many coats as you want. Thank you for the present."
**
TLN: There are multiple new members this week! I'll be releasing extra chapters this week to celebrate!