Episode 22

Episode 22. Until I Win the Empress’s Heart

[To Her Majesty the Empress, whom I hold dear—
Lately, I find it impossible to concentrate during training.
When I can’t see Your Majesty, each day feels as long as a year.
Your Majesty…
I miss you, deeply and constantly.
Won’t you grant me just a single day? Please?]

It was a love letter. Good grief. A letter this saccharine? I nearly screamed from embarrassment when I absentmindedly read what the maid had handed me. I startled and immediately looked for the sender…

“…!”

It was Leonard. The shadowy figure of this story, the dangerously unpredictable man who had once proposed to be my lover. The letter, boiled down, was a date request.

‘Oh, absolutely not.’

I fully intended to reject him without a second thought. A date with the very man who would drive the empire to ruin? No matter how attractive he might be, this was something I had to refuse. At least, that was the plan—until I read the final sentence written at the bottom.

[P.S. You haven’t forgotten that you owe me a favor, have you?]

…Of course. That favor referred to the incident with the imperial concubine’s ring. That day, I’d had no choice but to accept Leonard’s help in order to clear my name. In exchange for securing the nearly impossible-to-find ring, I had promised to grant him a small favor. And this overly romantic letter—it wasn’t even an unreasonable demand.

After some deliberation, I reluctantly accepted.

“Fine. It’s just one day.”

It wasn’t as if he was asking to spend the night. This should be fine.

Two days later, a carriage arrived in front of the Empress’s residence. It was a luxurious black carriage drawn by four flawless jet-black horses. Even the coachman wore black from hat to coat. Clearly, someone had a strong preference for the color. Yet rather than evoking the grim air of a hearse, the entire setup—like starlight embroidered on black velvet—was mysterious and refined.

“An honor to meet you, Your Majesty. I am Alfred.”

“Nice to meet you, Alfred. Where is Sir Leonard?”

“Regrettably, the young master had an urgent matter to attend to and could not come himself. I believe he is now eagerly awaiting Your Majesty at the destination.”

There was a slight twinge of disappointment when I heard Leonard wouldn’t be picking me up personally. Wait—get it together. Disappointed? I can’t afford to be soft when it comes to him.

“If he’s busy, there’s no helping it.” I nodded and stepped into the carriage.

Countess Chloe and Mary tried to board with me, but Alfred stopped them.

“I apologize, but today’s invitation was extended to Her Majesty alone. I’d be grateful if you both waited here.”

“We are Her Majesty’s personal attendants. If she goes, we go with her.”

“I’m sorry. It was a specific request from the young master himself.”

“Even if your master ordered it, you can’t stop us.” Chloe and Mary stood firm.

Alfred looked troubled. I, watching their exchange quietly, finally spoke up.

“It’s fine. I made a personal promise to him. Wait here, the both of you. Everything will be fine.”

“But, Your Majesty…”

“I’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.”

I managed to reassure the two uneasy women. As Alfred climbed aboard in a rush, he urged, “Let’s get moving.” And just like that, the black carriage carrying me left the palace.

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

Outside the capital’s walls, the carriage rolled peacefully through the streets. I watched the scenery pass by with fascination; it was the first time I’d ever left the palace.

Antique buildings, far more grand and colorful than expected, captured my attention. The bustling downtown especially astonished me.

“You seem intrigued, Your Majesty.”

“Yes. It’s far livelier than I thought.”

“This is the heart of the Empire—the busiest, most prosperous place on the continent.”

“I had no idea it was on this scale.”

Alfred smiled with pride.

“Roughly half the stores here belong to House Hilbert.”

“Excuse me?”

House Hilbert—that was Leonard’s family. Half of this bustling district belonged to them? I’d heard they were known for wealth through trade and gemstones, but not to this extent.

“It’s understandable for you to be surprised. Only a few years ago, the family owned just five buildings.”

Alfred smiled warmly as he added, “The person who built all this wealth was none other than the young master himself.”

“You mean Sir Leonard?”

“Yes. He currently serves as the head of the imperial knights due to certain unavoidable reasons, but his talent for business is also extraordinary. It took him just five years to elevate the family’s fortune to the top ranks of the Empire.”

Alfred went on: Leonard had memorized complex books in a day, solved advanced mathematical puzzles given by scholars to trip him up, and started in street markets only to end up owning three buildings within a year.

“So how did such a capable man end up leading the knights?”

“That’s… a long story I cannot tell.”

Alfred sighed heavily, as if the reason were complicated. I was curious, but before I could press further, the carriage stopped.

“My role ends here, Your Majesty. It was an honor to serve you.”

“Likewise. I hope we meet again.”

Alfred opened the door and stepped out. Moments later, a tall figure entered the carriage.

Leonard.

Normally clad in rigid armor or formal uniforms, today he wore a stylish tailcoat. That simple change of clothes completely transformed his presence.

“Forgive me for not greeting you personally, Your Majesty.”

“It’s fine. I had an entertaining conversation with Alfred.”

“Entertaining?”

“He spoke quite fondly of you. You’ve clearly surrounded yourself with very competent people.”

“He praised me?”

Leonard tilted his head.

“In great detail, actually.”

“Strange… he’s usually rather reserved. I suppose he enjoyed Your Majesty’s company very much.”

“You really know how to flatter people, don’t you?”

“Believe it or not, I’m usually told I’m bad at giving compliments.”

The carriage began moving again.

“This carriage is quite comfortable. The seats are soft and there’s almost no jostling. It’s better than the imperial ones.”

“You have a good eye. It has a special mechanism between the wheels and the carriage body.”

“Impressive. I should have something like this installed on mine.”

“If Your Majesty wishes, I’ll lend you this one. Though…”

Suddenly, Leonard leaned in and whispered near my ear.

“Don’t tell His Majesty.”

“…Why not?”

“Because I have exclusive rights to the design. I don’t want it public yet.”

“Then why share it with me?”

He smiled, eyes narrowing.

“Because Your Majesty is special.”

Oh no. I burst out laughing.

“You really are incorrigible.”

He chuckled with me, then spoke gently.

“To be honest, I didn’t think you’d actually accept my invitation.”

“Of course I did. I had a promise to keep.”

“Did I really help you that much?”

“Absolutely. Without you, the ring incident would’ve been much harder to resolve. Thank you.”

“I’m glad I was of help.” A soft smile curved his lips.

“By the way, did you tell His Majesty you’d be going out today?”

“No?”

Why would I? I tilted my head.

“There’s no reason to report everything to him.”

He wasn’t interested in me anyway. He wouldn’t care where I went. Leonard, however, smirked meaningfully.

“By now, His Majesty must be quite alarmed.”

“His Majesty came looking for the Empress?”

Countess Chloe asked.

“Yes. He’s searching for her right now.” Mary clenched her fists. “It seems Her Majesty’s plan worked!”

“Plan?”

“The one to provoke His Majesty’s jealousy!”

“Ah!”

The maids all gasped. As soon as the Empress stepped out, the Emperor had come by.

“There’s no time to waste.”

“What should we do?”

“We must fan the flames of His Majesty’s jealousy even more.”

“How?”

“Lend me your ear for a moment…”

Mary whispered something into Chloe’s ear.

“What do you think?”

“I love it. Very exciting.”

“Will you help?”

“Of course. Let’s do this.” Chloe rolled up her sleeves with determination. Behind her, the maids looked on with admiration.

“The Empress is not here?”

Jerome furrowed his brow.

“Apologies, Your Majesty. She stepped out for personal matters.”

“Personal matters?”

“She requested secrecy, so I can’t say more…” Chloe gave an exaggeratedly troubled expression.

Just then, the voices of Mary and the other maids—very loudly—carried through the corridor.

“Really? Sir Leonard invited Her Majesty?”

“Yes! He wrote a heartfelt love letter begging for a single day with her.”

“A love letter? What did it say?”

“I happened to see a bit of it… oh, the lines were dripping with emotion. Oh dear…”

“What did it say that you keep saying ‘oh dear’?”

“I’ll tell you over there—too many ears here.”

The group disappeared from sight. Jerome, having coincidentally overheard everything, turned to Chloe with a stone-cold expression.

“Where exactly did the Empress go?”

The scenery outside the window had changed several times. From a bustling city to quiet outskirts. From neatly paved roads to rugged ones.

How far are we going?

“Are you bored?” Leonard asked.

“I just realized I never asked where we were headed.”

“Until I win Your Majesty’s heart, I plan to keep going.”

“I suddenly feel like jumping from this carriage.”

“Ah, but we’re almost there. Please bear with me.”

As the carriage followed the river slowly, a lake eventually came into view.

“Ah…”

I let out a soft gasp without meaning to. The landscape merging with the lake was stunning. Rugged mountains, a stream flowing down one side, a waterfall feeding into a lake that lay so still it looked like glass.

“What’s this place called?”

“The locals call it the Garden of Clouds.”

Garden of Clouds. “What a perfect name.”

The lake reflected the sky and clouds like a mirror. It was breathtaking.

“Do you like it?” Leonard asked.

I nodded. “This is what you wanted to show me?”

If so, I could understand why he’d taken me so far.

“Unfortunately, no.”

What? This wasn’t it?

I turned toward him. In the carriage’s shadow, his blue eyes glowed mysteriously.

“Just a bit further.”

He offered a suggestion.

“Would you like to close your eyes and rest?”

Truth be told, I was already feeling drowsy. Maybe it was the warm sunlight.

“That sounds nice.”

Could I really fall asleep in this situation?

Turns out, yes. I drifted off quickly.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d slept, but when I woke, I sensed something was… off.

What am I leaning against?

The surface had a slope—it wasn’t the wall of the carriage. Where else could I have leaned inside a carriage?

Only one possibility came to mind.

No way…

I prayed I was wrong.

Then, right above me, a voice shattered that hope.

“Your Majesty. We’ve arrived.”

“…!”

I was leaning on Leonard’s shoulder.

He had clearly been sitting across from me, so when had he moved beside me?

That didn’t matter now. What did matter was—what should I do? Should I open my eyes? And what on earth was I supposed to say?

Before I could decide, his shoulder moved slightly. Was he… laughing?

Just as I wondered why he might be laughing, his languid voice rang out beside my ear—

“Your Majesty, I know you’re awake.”