[57]
Today, a childhood friend came to visit.
Upon hearing the news, Sena dashed to the reception room.
“Sena! Your hair is still wet!”
“It’s fine! It’ll dry eventually!”
Sena left Serilda’s plaintive voice behind.
“How did it go?”
Seria was already seated in the reception room.
“Stop wagging your tail and take a seat calmly.”
“Okay.”
Sena, a bit excited, sat down facing Seria.
Despite feeling pressured by Sena’s sparkling eyes, Seria calmly set down her teacup and spoke.
“The epidemic named ‘Black Death’ is rapidly disappearing. It’s only a matter of time before it’s eradicated.”
“Whew.”
Sena sighed in relief.
‘I’m glad it was resolved faster than I thought.’
It was fortunate that it was discovered early.
If it hadn’t been, no matter how much modern knowledge Sena applied, or how actively they used the power of the Church, there would have been no way to deal with it.
“But it’s not something to be happy about.”
“Huh? Why?”
“Within the Church, support for Sena has doubled compared to before.”
“R-Really?”
“They say your appearance during the speech was like the second coming of Justitia. You might have more bothersome matters to handle from now on.”
“Ugh. Being popular is tough.”
Sena smiled, scratching his chin.
Seria admired Sena.
How beautiful must the world seem with a head so full of flowers?
“More importantly.”
Seria opened her eyes.
Her eerie red eyes fixed on Sena.
“Even after taking the Potion of Lazarus, it’s surprising that your lifespan wasn’t affected.”
Sena scratched his head.
“But I’m much healthier now. It’s true. I don’t cough up blood these days, and I don’t stagger when walking. But how did Cruyff get the Potion of Lazarus?”
“He requested it politely from the Pope.”
Sena clapped his hands.
“So Cruyff’s position in the Church has strengthened!”
In reality, it went like this:
-Since I’m likely the next Pope anyway, isn’t this just a formality?
-I’ll take it.
It was almost taken by force.
But Sena wasn’t entirely wrong.
Recently, Cruyff had been using every possible means to strengthen his position within the Church.
For someone who originally had no lust for power, it was a significant change.
‘The reason for that change is obvious.’
Seria elegantly sipped her tea with her eyes closed again.
She felt sorry for Cruyff, but she disagreed with him.
She only thought about Sena’s happiness.
Would Sena really want to live even if it’s by doing ‘that’?
Probably not.
Even if he lived in such a way, Sena would take his own life.
In that case, it would be better to…
“Seria.”
Seria stopped her thoughts at Sena’s words.
Sena fidgeted, looking at the table.
In fact, he was glad Seria came today not just because of the plague but because he had a concern.
Seria had always been good at resolving Sena’s worries since childhood.
“Please tell me, Sister Sena.”
For today, the word ‘sister’ did not make him cringe.
Sena took a deep breath and spoke cautiously.
“I want to go to my hometown.”
“I know.”
“But the situation… has become difficult. Isn’t there any way?”
Seria let out a heavy sigh.
She was one of the few who understood Sena’s circumstances well.
And the only one who wished for him to return home.
‘I knew he was frustratingly clueless, but I didn’t realize it was this bad.’
With a small head, his brain must be small too.
“Sena.”
“Yes.”
“Think about what you’ve done so far.”
“The Empress’s Treatment.”
“Strengthening the imperial faction.”
“Eradicating the epidemic.”
Sena was already breaking out in a cold sweat.
“Wouldn’t it have been better to hide your swordsmanship skills at least?”
“I-I tried to hide it, but when I held a sword after a long time, I just couldn’t help myself… So, um, well.”
Sena timidly spoke, nervously watching Seria’s reaction.
Seria couldn’t hold back.
“You stupid furball.”
“I’m not a furball.”
“Anyway, do you now understand your sin? Be grateful that I’m not an Inquisitor.”
“Haha, what crime would you execute me for?”
“The crime of having a head full of flowers.”
Seria pointed to the top of Sena’s head.
Sena looked up at the sky.
Did he really have flowers growing from his head?
“Sena, Empress Astria values talent above all else.”
Seria offered sincere advice.
From the start, Cruyff’s plan was based on the assumption that Astria would become obsessed with Sena.
Without that, Cruyff’s plan wouldn’t work.
“If you want to escape, you need to show your incompetence.”
Who would have thought such a drastic method existed?
Sena’s expression brightened.
**
“Betty, Betty.”
“Yes, Sena-nim.”
Betty, who was carrying laundry, stopped.
Seeing Sena with his hands behind his back, she thought to herself.
‘How cute.’
“Tell me, what kind of behavior does Her Majesty dislike?”
“Behavior that Her Majesty dislikes?”
“Yes.”
Betty pondered.
It wasn’t that she didn’t know, there were just too many.
‘He wants to avoid actions that Her Majesty dislikes.’
How adorable.
He passes.
Betty decided to set aside her duties as a maid for a moment.
Having served the Empress for ten years, Betty was perhaps the person who knew Astria best within the palace.
“You were right to come to me. I’ll tell you a few things.”
“Okay.”
“She dislikes being disturbed while working.”
Sena began to take diligent notes.
Pleased, Betty continued to explain.
“She dislikes lies.”
“This one you might already know, but she dislikes it when the garden is messy.”
“The most important one is—”
“She despises incompetence.”
“If you avoid these, you should be fine.”
Having noted everything, Sena smiled broadly.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll take my leave now.”
After Betty left, Sena carefully tucked the notebook into his pocket.
What Betty had told him wasn’t difficult.
None of it was too burdensome for Sena.
‘…From now on, I’ll slowly become hated.’
Sena smiled bitterly.
His desire to return home hadn’t changed.
But why did he feel sad at the thought of being hated by Astria?
**
The Empress’s audience chamber.
A long red carpet, red banners hanging along it.
And at the end, Astria sat.
She was sitting cross-legged, as usual.
If Sena were there, he would have scolded her, but he wasn’t, so it was fine.
Astria enjoyed this time with a relaxed expression.
Then she looked up. Half of the red banners bore no emblems.
They symbolized the ‘Central Nobles’ who could make decisions about the Empire’s major affairs.
Many had been purged recently, and most had lost their qualifications.
They would need to be filled again with people Astria liked.
‘Ashmont. He should be appointed as a representative first.’
Astria’s lips curled into a smile. The first person who came to mind was Marquis Ashmont.
The genius mage to succeed Elundir. Not only was the head of the house impressive, but his daughter Chloe Ashmont was also a remarkable talent.
She had achieved great success again recently. It would be good to call her soon.
As Astria was solving problems one by one in her head.
Recently, the biggest problem had surfaced.
‘But when am I going to get pregnant?’
The courtiers were incessantly urging her to establish an heir, and she had been planning to find a suitable partner.
The recent events had made her aware of her mortality. If she died without an heir, it would be quite problematic.
In that sense, meeting Sena was fortunate. At the very least, his face alone made him a worthy candidate.
Sena was even talented. Especially remarkable was the inclusion of ‘swordsmanship’ in his skills.
Everything was great, everything except for one thing.
‘Why haven’t I gotten pregnant?’
It was a serious issue.
She had already gone through the procedures to conceive several times.
Holding hands and sleeping together.
Feeling Sena’s body warmth beside her — it had already been quite some time since then.
In the mornings, she should have heard the sound of a baby crying, but there was none.
“Some people have a constitution that makes it difficult to conceive.”
Astria wore a deeply worried expression. This expression was more severe than when three kingdoms simultaneously declared war seven years ago.
‘I should ask Betty about this.’
-Your Majesty, Sena-nim is here.
“There’s no need to report the cat’s visit.”
It seemed the person in question had arrived. Astria naturally uncrossed her legs and sat up straight.
‘Where does she keep wandering off to?’
Astria’s eyes narrowed. She knew that Sena had gone to meet the priest named Seria. A childhood friend, he said.
Though she pretended not to care, honestly, it bothered her. Astria knew Sena’s worth. He would be welcomed anywhere.
‘I need to make sure he doesn’t take a single step away from my side.’
As Astria’s possessiveness began to rise, the door opened slightly, and Sena peeked his head in.
Why Sena always entered this way was a mystery, but he always surveyed his surroundings before fully entering.
Then he walked in with his hands behind his back, hiding something.
Astria, resting her chin on her hand, spoke to Sena.
“Report. Tell me about the conversation you had and what you thought, in full detail.”
“…Uh, I can’t remember everything that well.”
Haha. Sena smiled awkwardly. Astria narrowed her eyes again and nodded.
“What are you hiding? Hand it over. Everything of value in this world belongs to me.”
“Ta-da.”
Sena produced the item as if he had been waiting for this moment.
It was a flower with bright yellow petals. Small and round, like a little sunflower.
“I’m giving this to you.”
“What is this?”
‘Marigold.’
As expected from someone whose only hobby was gardening, Astria recognized it immediately but pretended not to.
…In her opinion, it didn’t seem fitting for an empress to know so much about flowers.
With a slightly nervous expression, Sena explained.
“It’s a marigold. I picked it from Your Majesty’s garden.”
“From my garden?”
What a useless thing to do.
Astria looked indifferent.
“…You’re not angry?”
“About what?”
“Disturbing Your Majesty’s garden.”
“Picking up a fallen flower is disturbing?”
“Yes yes?”
Sena was a little embarrassed.
“Um… no? I actually picked a perfectly fine one.”
“The cut on the stem doesn’t look like it was torn off forcibly.”
Caught in a lie, Sena scratched his cheek. But he hadn’t come unprepared.
He had something truly impactful.
After taking a deep breath, Sena approached Astria’s throne and offered the flower.
“It’s a marigold. The flower’s meaning is happiness. I brought it because I wish for your happiness.”
“Happiness, you say.”
Astria looked down at the marigold Sena was offering, narrowing her eyes.
She took it gently, turning it in her view.
Although she didn’t need Sena’s stiffly upright hair, Astria, who liked flowers, knew the flower’s meaning.
Grief.
The opposite of happiness.
“…It seems to look that way too.”
But Astria thought that the bright marigold seemed more suited to the meaning of happiness than grief.
‘To turn grief into happiness. Such a trivial person.’
Astria hated lies.
But perhaps this kind of lie wasn’t so bad.
