"...Is she out of her mind?"

Raniero uttered exactly what he had in mind. Nevertheless, that did not wake Angelica up.

It was absurd.

Not only was she afraid of him, but she also had the basic courtesy and common sense. That meant she was not an idiot to sleep next to a 'working Emperor.' Should he revise his evaluation of her...?

"Hey, Empress."

Raniero rose from his seat and knelt down in front of Angelica's armchair. He could smell the sun, as strange as it sounded. Her fine hair flew out haphazardly. If she rolled over slightly, her pale shoulders and thin face would be revealed. She had a relaxed face, different from when she was awake.

Angelica has a pretty face, though in his eyes, all the curves that made up her face seemed too gentle...

It was really strange to remember a face like this.

The sound of her calm breathing could also be heard as he leaned in closer. Even though he had just taken his eyes off her, it seemed that she had fallen asleep quite deeply already.

He did not like it.

Thinking that, Raniero lightly clasped Angelica's cheek. She still did not wake up.

"I like your courage."

Raniero casually spat out words that were contrary to the evaluation of her — 'a lot of fear.' However, he soon forgot what he had said.

Lowering his head deeply, his lips intertwined with her warm, plump lips. The lips of a sleeping person opened without any resistance, and Raniero laughed mischievously.

Bite.

"Aack!"

Angelica woke up immediately from a dizzying pain piercing her thin skin. He could have held on, but Raniero decided to stop and move his head away.

As she put her knees up and hugged them, only her head was straight, and she stared this way. She had a funny face. Tears filled her pale green eyes, opening her lips slightly to reveal her front teeth. At the same time, her expression was dumbfounded and embarrassed.

Her lips quivered.

She quickly wiped her lips with the back of her hand. Fortunately or not, there was no scar on her lips. On the other hand, Raniero was feeling pretty good.

"Don't Sleep."

"...Yes."

Saying so, he sat down again. Raniero pretended to focus on his work by re-opening the correspondence which he had already read.

Naturally, his attention was focused on Angelica's seat. A very shallow sigh was heard first. Then, there was the sound of her clothes rubbing as she twisted her hair. As he folded the letter sometime later, he could hear noises from behind while he opened the other one.

How long has it been...?

" I... I beg your pardon, Your Majesty..."

As if she had reached the limit of her drowsiness, Angelica dared to speak to him.

"Tell me."

"Can I have something to do..."

I must have been really bored. Still, Raniero did not respond on purpose.

"...Or can I take a look at the letters you have already read? I'm a person of Actilus now..."

'Oh, those were some pretty cute words.'

The Empress, of course, had the right to know how state affairs were going. She did not have to use a word like 'look.' Nonetheless, Raniero ignored her this time, too.

Angelica started fidgeting behind his back as he ignored her one question after another. She seemed to think he was angry. But, as though she thought it was impossible for her to speak up and confirm, she could not open her mouth. She must have thought that he was upset, she had just interrupted him by talking for nothing.

Raniero let Angelica fret... because it was a little more fun that way.

The only thing she could see was his back, so Angelica did not know that he was smirking.

ﾟ· : * ✧ * :· ﾟ

The Emperor... Because it was in my head, I could call him profane names.

...That damn Emperor has been dragging me all day today. I even had lunch with him while wearing these tasteless clothes. While eating lunch, I secretly asked if I could return to the Empress' Palace now, and he did not even answer.

"Aren't you also a person of Actilus now? Should we have a council meeting together?"

As soon as I heard those words, I dropped the tableware. There was a loud clang as the fork hit against the plate.

"In, in clothes like this...?"

Until now, I was wearing the Emperor's tunic that did not fit me at all. Does he want me to go to a political meeting wearing clothes that keep flowing down and barely expose my upper breasts and reveal my thighs like this...?

...This was not a normal statement, even by the standards of this crazy country.

Raniero, who ate a big meal for breakfast and lunch, laughed with dimples on his cheeks.

"Why? Who would dare point out your garments?"

I was at a loss for words.

Even if no one pointed it out, you have to dress appropriately! Even though I desperately tried to persuade Raniero, he defeated my desperate logic with all sorts of bizarre rebuttals. His words were so absurd that I kept my mouth shut every time.

In the end, I was running out of logic to present to him, and I muttered anything weakly.

"Okay. If I've got to show my things to the ministers..."