Angelica was in the library.

There was so much she wanted to read that she seemed to spend most of her free time with books. She seemed to have an interest in ancient witchcraft after she had acquired documents about the Temple of Tunia and studied with a formidable momentum until a few days ago.

Sitting at an angle next to Angelica, who was reading her books, Raniero stared at the side of her face. Of course, Angelica could not have resisted that stinging gaze, so she peered at him.

Raniero was calmly glad that his wife's attention returned this way.

As he leaned towards her, she reflexively moved her body slightly backwards. It was cute that she was fidgeting, though now that he was here to see her smile, Raniero decided not to bother her more. So, he sat at an appropriate distance from her before opening his mouth as he skimmed through the books Angelica was reading.

"It seems your interests have changed."

Angelica replied timidly.

"It's just one thing and another... I tend to read a lot. I'm not trying to find anything in particular, I just read anything."

Had Raniero's senses been sharpened, he might have caught her unnecessary excuses. However, compared to usual, he was ridiculously soft. Besides, he was concentrating on the topic to bring up in front of Angelica, so he just let it go.

He suddenly asked.

"Is there anything you would like to see at the subjugation expedition?"

Light green eyes, as always when contemplating an answer, rolled and flickered. Was it such a difficult question to answer?

That could not be true.

He wanted to hear her say with her own mouth that she was interested in the Saint of Tunia. Raniero, a little frustrated, threw his words out.

"For example, the Saint who doesn't come out from the Temple of Tunia."

The answer was already set.

Raniero thought that Angelica would be delighted if she told the story of the Saint. Timid people like Angelica were bound to chatter with delight when someone cared about their interests. However, her reaction was different from what he had expected.

She had an astonished face.

"Th-the, the Saint of the Tunia temple? Why is Your Majesty bringing her up all of a sudden? Do you want to see her?"

"Yes."

It was a simple answer without the phrase, 'I want to see her because I want to see her.'

Angelica's face turned white.

"Why... why is Your Majesty so interested in that all of a sudden, yes? Oh, no. You can't!"

It was a fierce reaction.

As words poured out reflexively with no time to reconsider, Angelica waved her hand with a pale face. At the same time, a fundamental question arose in Raniero's mind.

"Even if I'm interested in the Saint of Tunia, why would you dissuade me?"

He was a little offended because his wife was not willing to share her interests with her husband.

Angelica's spine was chilled.

Since she could not tell the real reason straight away, she had to come up with something plausible that would convince Raniero. It was an arduous task. In the end, she decided to take the key reason as it was, though she chose to distort the case by removing all the details.

"That Saint... they said she's very pretty enough to raise sighs."

"...So what?"

"So, so... if Your Majesty looks at her by any chance, I will be in a lot of trouble... That's why that shouldn't happen."

Restless, Angelica then bowed her head.

"So... you can't..."

"So, you..."

Raniero tapped her desk with his finger.

Thud.

The next moment, the corners of his lips rose slightly as he finished his words.

"You dare to restrain me?"

"I wouldn't dare!"

Angelica sprang up in a hurry. Her voice echoed in the quiet library. At the same time, the chair, which had fallen over from her hastily standing up, also made a loud noise.

She waved her hand with a flushed face.

"Th-that's not what I meant. Of course, Your Majesty could see her if you wanted to... Yes, but—"

Angelica wanted to stop speaking.

Even though she did not want the two ever to meet, it was because she was the person who had just said, 'It's okay to meet' with her own mouth. As she could not speak a word, she involuntarily pursed her lips as she tried to keep her tears from falling on their own.

His words surprised her so much that she had forgotten that she was looking down on the Emperor.

Raniero chuckled softly.

"I never told you not to restrain me."

"How dare I... But, still..."

"Try it more."

"...."

"Huh? Try to restrain me more."

Raniero's dimples deepened little by little.

It was a pretty bloody sign for Angelica, but what Raniero is feeling now is pure pleasure.

'Restrain him? How dare I...?'

"...At least until the subjugation, can we not pay attention to the Saint?"

Putting her hands together, she gazed at him eagerly. It was a request that only he could grant.

Raniero laughed merrily.

"Yes."

He was happy to be able to answer like this.