"What?"

Celestina spoke firmly.

"I, too, have no intention of having anything to do with Prince Antonio!"

"Raphine...? Does that mean that Raphine gave Antonio the drug?"

"I think it was my mistake. It was a deliberate approach, so there was no way to stop it!"

"...."

Rebecca bit her lip hard to draw blood.

The saint glanced at Rebecca, fearing that she would run into her again.

"I will stay in my room for the time being until the antidote arrives. So please escort Prince Antonio too."

Rebecca stared at the saint for a long time with her terrifying eyes, then thumped out of the room.

"Raphine, I will kill you!"

Empress Rebecca returned to her bedroom and overturned the pitiful table.

'It's not enough to ignore me in every case. ...!'

Lately, there hasn't been one or two things that bothered me.

Antonio continues not to listen to him, and the Viscount tries to dig into Antonio's cracks whenever he has a chance and intercept them.

Besides, Raphine Eston, who is now Crown Prince, has been ignoring her the whole time.

Invite only the nobles close to him to the tea party, and give preference to other nobles only.

He ostracized himself in a very childish and frivolous way.

Even at the reception, he didn't come to greet me first, and even though they made eye contact, he looked like an invisible person.

When Rafine came out like that, it seemed that the maids and close nobles also looked down on them.

It wasn't just that.

The aristocrats who sided with Viscount Tedler also pinched it and began to treat her as obsolete.

"Isn't it ambiguous to call them the royal family now?"

"Prince Antonio is your majesty's bloodline, so even so, Empress Rebecca is no longer visited by your majesty, right? It's like no one else.>

"Besides, Prince Antonio... I heard that you are addicted to alcohol recently.>

"That.... If Empress Rebecca becomes strange as soon as she returns from the monastery, shouldn't she be expelled from the capital again?

At today's banquet, Viscount Tedler's staff were talking about it.

As the memory came to mind, Rebecca moved nervously.

Wow!

Then he swept away the things on the desk as well.

'Damn it, damn it!'

Rebecca, who haphazardly made a mess around her, stared into the air with a vigor.

'First of all, Raphine, I have to scold that cheeky girl once.'

It was time to set an example as an imperial adult.

* * *

After all the banquets were over, Raphine went out by soaking herself in a bathtub of warm water.

The maids carefully massaged Raffine's arm with water floating on roses.

All the fatigue seemed to have gone away.

Raphine, who had changed into a sleeping chemise dress, paused.

"Have a good night, My Majesty the Crown Prince."

"I wish you a wonderful dream."

The maids laughed and pushed Raffine's back away.

Raphine entered the bedroom and went upstairs to the mirror next to the bedroom.

When I took off the gown over the chemise dress, my eyes were dizzy.

I thought something was strange today.... The pajamas the maids wore today were particularly light.

'How much fabric did you save?'

The intention was obvious. We've been together every night since we got engaged, but it's the first night after the wedding, so it's probably meant to be a little special.

'It's a fake marriage anyway.'

Raphine opened her clothes, vowing never to take off her gown. And he tied the string attached to the gown.

Then the bedroom door opened and footsteps were heard.

Raphine gulped in tension.

I saw Zerkan through the mirror.

Zerkan also wore a robe of the same color as Raphine... He was wearing a tunic shirt that revealed his chest underneath.

'driving me crazy.'

Raphine closed her eyes tightly, pretending not to see her, and went up to the bed.

"Ugh.... Oh, I'm so tired today. I will sleep first."

"...."

Raphine, lying on the edge of the bed, turned her back and pulled the blanket up to her neck.

After closing my eyes for a moment, I heard a rustling sound behind my back.

Zerkan also seemed to have climbed onto the bed.

'Miss, I need to sleep soon.'

My body was exhausted, but my mind was strangely clear.

Closing my eyes, I drew the kiss I had at the wedding today. The touch, the scent, the ecstatic feeling that the body floats....

"Raphine."

A low voice was heard behind his back.

Raphine felt like her heart was dropping under her feet, as if she had been sentenced to death.

So I pretended to be asleep without realizing it, and made a squeaky noise.

"Are you sleeping?"

Zerkan asked softly. Once I started, I couldn't stop pretending to sleep.

Raphine deliberately turned her body to face the ceiling and lay down. To appear as if asleep.

Then Zerkan also became quiet. It seemed unheard of.

So much time passed.

Raphine, who had been pretending to sleep, was also slowly getting tired, and it was time to lose consciousness.

'...!'

Suddenly, a warm touch touched his lips and fell.

It felt like Zerkan's finger. But my heart was pounding as if my lips were touching.

He almost opened his eyes and looked at Zerkan.

Raphine showed her quickness and lay back with her back to Zerkan as if tossing and turning in her sleep.

My heart was pounding like crazy.

'What the hell did you do? Why are you touching my lips?'

In the end, Raphine stayed up all night with open eyes.

* * *

When Raphine woke up at dawn, the bed was empty.

As usual, Zerkan seemed to leave early in the morning.

Raphine yawned and stretched, then washed and changed clothes.

"Did you have a good dream yesterday?"

"Did you have a comfortable bed?"

Olivia and Christine asked in voices of subdued anticipation.

"Yeah, what...."

Raphine nodded roughly and started eating the meal brought by her attendants.

Olivia, who was waiting for the meal, whispered something to Christine. Christine shrugged her shoulders with an odd expression.

"You two, what are you doing?"

When Raphine asked, the two showed a friendly smile as if they had ever done that.

Raphine let out a small laugh.

The intentions of the two were clearly visible.

As if nothing had happened last night, he seemed worried about Raphine.

'Actually, nothing happened.'

Question marks were floating around in my mind.

'Why the hell did Zerkan touch my lips?'

Did you touch it with your finger? Could it be that his lips were rubbed?

But he couldn't feel his breath, so his hand was clear. Then why did you touch your lips with your hands?

Raphine stared blankly into the air and chewed the salad. There was no taste.

Olivia and Christine looked at Raffine with pitying eyes.

When you drink tea after a meal.

Olivia thought about how to divert Raphine's nerves, thought of something and clapped her hands.

"Oh! A servant came and gave this to me earlier."

"yes?"

What Olivia brought was a stiff paper bag. Just like an invitation.

Turning to the back page, the name of the person who sent the letter was written on it.

'What is it, Empress Rebecca?'

Is this a tea party invitation?

Empress Rebecca had invited Raphine once again. I didn't go on the excuse that I was busy.

Raphine took out the letter from the envelope and read it.

As expected, it was an invitation. However, the content was that he wanted to invite Raffine to a meal, not a tea party.

'It seems that he thought it would be difficult to refuse if he invited me.'

If you look at the fact that you were invited like this without having to hold a party.

Well, actually... Empress Rebecca's prediction was correct.

'If you dare invite me.'

If you refuse to invite Raffine outright like this, it will not be good for Raphine's reputation.

It was clear that the nobility on the side of the empress would spread a lot of bad rumors about Rafine.

Raphine wrote a reply with curiosity.

I'll see you right away tonight.

* * *

Rafine entered the Sepia Palace under the guidance of the courtiers.

It was my first time coming here.

It was definitely a grandiose building because it was a newly renovated building when the emperor's favor was supreme.

I've been wanting some light now.

Raphine looked around with curious eyes. The courtier glanced at Raphine as if anxious.

The courtiers and maids they encountered while walking looked very frightened. I could see how demanding and vicious the people they served were.

Rafine entered the luxuriously decorated dining room under the guidance of the courtiers.

Tableware and drinks were neatly laid out on a large table.

"Sit this way."

Just as they were about to sit down, the door opened and Empress Rebecca entered.

"Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for inviting me."

Raphine smiled inwardly as she looked at the empress who treated her naturally.

According to the Imperial Court's decree, Raphine and Rebecca were in a position to use each other's titles.

However, the Empress was very natural and treated Raphine as if she were a subordinate.

'Isn't this because no one sees it anyway.'