Episode 51

Episode 51: “Are We Just Ordinary Acquaintances?”

After being captured by the knights of the Calus Kingdom, Leonard, Cedric, and I found ourselves locked away.

At least it wasn’t some brutal dungeon meant for hardened criminals.

Probably because they thought maybe I really was an Empress.

Of course, who would believe it?

What kind of Empress sneaks across another country’s border with no escort?

Still, my ridiculous self-assurance must have made them hesitate—so instead of a proper cell, they dumped us in a shabby room under guard.

When the sentries outside finally drifted off, Leonard lowered his voice.

“Your Majesty, negotiations? That wasn’t part of the plan.”

Cedric looked at me with the eyes of a man hoping for some brilliant scheme.

“Did you… actually think of this possibility ahead of time?”

I cleared my throat.

“Of course not… it wasn’t in the plan.”

“I… I knew it…”

“Don’t look so grim. It wasn’t part of the plan, but I’ll figure something out.”

Cedric brightened a little.

“So you do have an idea?”

I sat up straighter, feigning confidence.

“Do you really think they’ll dare harm me once they know I’m the Empire’s Empress?”

Leonard’s voice fell flat.

“They’d need to verify your identity first, Your Majesty.”

Cedric nodded grimly.

“Exactly. What if they decide you’re too suspicious and hand you over for immediate sentencing instead of checking?”

I hesitated.

“Immediate sentencing? What happens if they do that?”

Cedric didn’t answer. He just looked up at the ceiling—slowly, solemnly.

That silence said it all.

Execution.

The gallows.

My stomach twisted.

God, after all the effort I made to avoid the “villainess execution ending,” I’m going to die here? And not even at the hands of some male lead, but random border guards?!

Leonard’s voice was steady but grim.

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty. I’ll get you out of here, no matter what.”

Ordinarily, I’d have found that reassuring, but right now he sounded… almost too determined.

No matter how amazing he was—the Empire’s top knight, the hidden power behind the throne—even he couldn’t single-handedly beat an entire kingdom’s military.

Cedric straightened up beside him.

“I’ll help too.”

Honestly, Cedric, you should probably work on your deathly pale complexion first. You look like you’re about to faint before the fight even starts.

That was when a commotion sounded outside the door.

“Your Highness, stop unlatching it! Secure it properly!”

“It’s annoying, I said.”

What the…?

I strained to listen, but the rest was too garbled to make out.

One word did come through clear as day, though.

‘Your Highness.’

The King?

A tight, prickly tension spread through me.

What kind of man would he be?

My thoughts barely had time to race before the door swung open.

“See? I told you.”

The man who entered first spoke with casual arrogance.

He wore a crisp uniform.

Deep red hair, almost black in places, gleamed under the torchlight.

“Looks like you’re the one who lost your way this time.”

“……!”

My eyes flew wide.

He noticed.

A slow smile curled at the corners of his mouth.

“We meet again, my savior.”

I was moved to a separate room alone with Karssen, the King of Calus.

“You’re seriously telling me you’re the king?”

I rubbed my wrists, still marked from the ropes, and eyed him skeptically.

This weird man was really the king of Calus?

I couldn’t believe it.

“Why? Don’t I look like one?”

He tilted his head at me.

“Of course not…”

Yeah. It was only natural.

My memory of our first meeting was too vivid.

Him barging in at the Imperial Palace, demanding I guide him around like I was some servant.

Easily dispatching the Imperial Guards, then acting more amazed that I could talk than at the fight itself.

Nothing about him screamed “king” back then.

If not for that blood-red hair of his, I’d have been sure it was all some cruel prank.

“Seems you really don’t trust me much. Can’t blame you. Even my secretary Momo says the same thing all the time.”

“…So you really are the king, then.”

“Still not convinced?”

“It’s your behavior and your speech. There’s no trace of dignity at all.”

I was the Empress of an empire.

And here he was, talking to me like we were old drinking buddies.

My jab at his lack of decorum was deliberate.

“Ah. That’s what’s bothering you?”

Karssen let out a short laugh, looking like he’d finally understood.

Then he leaned in slightly.

“Are we really just ordinary acquaintances?”

“And what exactly are we, then?”

“People who guide each other.”

“More like you forced me to guide you.”

“Still, not an everyday sort of connection. So how about dropping the formalities when it’s just us? Oh, don’t worry—I’ll be properly polite in front of others. Your Majesty the Empress.”

“…”

“Well then, enough of the reunion greetings.”

He sat opposite me, rolling up his sleeves, unfastening the top button at his collar like he found all this unbearably stuffy.

“So. Care to explain why Her Imperial Majesty the Empress is all the way out here? Bit too far to claim you just got lost from the palace, isn’t it?”

He seemed exasperated, trying to get comfortable.

“Ah. Maybe I should phrase it differently. Might make this chat easier.”

His steely gray-blue eyes sharpened.

His expression didn’t change much, but the air around us did.

Suddenly, he felt dangerous.

“What exactly is the Empress of the Empire doing hauling explosives this far north? Care to explain?”

He put extra emphasis on “explosives.”

So he’d searched the wagon.

I’d expected that. Honestly, if they hadn’t poked around inside, it would’ve made negotiations much simpler.

“I came to negotiate.”

He chuckled dryly at that.

“With a wagonload of bombs?”

“They’re for the work I planned. I’d appreciate it if you didn’t misunderstand. If it were really for war, do you think I’d have brought such a small escort?”

“If you wanted to blow something up secretly, a small team would be ideal.”

“And you think I, the Empress, would do that myself?”

“…”

He stared at me for a moment.

A spark of curiosity lit in his gaze.

“All right then. Let’s hear it. What sort of ridiculous demand do you have?”

I didn’t flinch.

“The Empire is suffering a terrible drought. Our people are in agony. I’m asking you, please, open the dam you built to block the waterway.”

Karssen’s brow rose.

“Pretty sure that has nothing to do with us. Isn’t the drought because you’ve had no rain?”

“Of course your waterway isn’t the direct cause. But—”

“But?”

I held his gaze evenly.

“But I know Calus has been slowly diverting the flow for over a decade.”

His eyes flickered.

Just for an instant.

Got him.

He tried to school his expression into perfect neutrality, but that tiny crack told me everything.

He hadn’t expected me to know.

It was something the original novel revealed late in the story:

Calus wasn’t just a neighbor—they were an active antagonist, secretly working with hidden forces to squeeze the Empire dry.

Among their plots was this: cutting off the Empire’s lifeblood by controlling the headwaters.

They’d spent years carefully setting it up while the Empire, distracted by internal strife, did little to stop it.

And since the Empire had other sources, no one noticed how important this one was—until every other source dried up.

“Diverted the flow, huh. That’s news to me.”

Karssen spoke with deadpan innocence.

For a man known as the Bloodied Lord, fearsome on any battlefield, he was hilariously bad at lying.

“Why not just tell me what you want in return?”

“What if there’s nothing I need?”

“Salt?”

He didn’t even blink.

“No?”

I smiled slowly.

Time to lay out my best card.

“How about… a warm-water port?”

That got him.

His expression actually changed this time.

I felt a thrill of triumph.

A port that didn’t freeze over in winter.

It was the one thing Calus, for all its power, couldn’t have on its own.

Their mountains and endless steppe made them strong, but winter was cruel here, locking every harbor in ice.

That made the concept of an ice-free port priceless.

He stared at me, genuinely interested.

“You’re offering us a warm-water port?”

“I can’t just hand over Imperial territory. But I can propose giving you free access while you let the river flow. It’s a deal both sides can live with.”

That was my ace in the hole.

If I’d managed to blow the dam in secret, they’d have retaliated, of course.

So I’d prepared this concession in advance, to stave off war when they threatened.

Meeting the King in person just meant I could offer it outright instead of playing games.

I lifted my chin confidently.

“Well? Interested?”

Obviously he’d say yes.

In the book, this was exactly what they’d wanted in exchange for cutting off the water.

So as soon as he heard it, he’d surely—

“No. Not interested.”

“What?”

My eyes went wide in shock.

“War will break out. That’s where this ends if you keep refusing.”

He didn’t even blink.

“Calus isn’t afraid of war.”

“Then what do you want, exactly?”

He tapped his jaw with one finger, pretending to think.

Then his eyes fixed on me with unmistakable amusement.

“You.”

“What?”

He pointed right at me.

“You. I like you.”

My mouth fell open.