After parting from Prince Heinley, I stopped by the library and researched all I could on the country of Luipt and the Hwa continent. Although Grand Duke Kaufman had described The Travelogue as a delusional account, it was still the most well-known book on the country.

Despite my knowledge of the story I barely know anything about his country and culture so I wanted to broaden my knowledge on the Luipt culture as much as possible.

But I do wish I had a book with more details...

There was then a tapping noise from the window.

It was Queen. I opened the window and he hopped onto the sill, displaying his wings. I noticed he wore a handkerchief around his neck.

So cute!

"Hello Queen!Are you here to give me my handkerchief back?Did Prince Heinley tie it on you?"

He's so cuteeee!

Queen blinked at me with his gorgeous violet eyes. I couldn't resist them, and I smothered his head with kisses one after another.

"What a pretty bird you are,Queen.You look so dashing with that handkerchief around your neck"

"Coo!"

I hugged Queen and as I petted his back I thought, Queen smells good. What kind of thought was that? I put my nose to his shoulder and inhaled.

I couldn't help saying it even when I knew it would make him flustered...

"Queen,you smell like Prince Heinley..."

Queen unfolded his wings in shock. Then he covered his beak with his wings and opened his eyes wide.

"...Queen?"

I playfully called out to him, but Queen trembled and hopped back towards the window.

"Queen?!"

He flyed away all flustered and red

I shouldn't really be surprised

I did expect this to happen

But he did looked so cute...

*

*

*

"Your majesty, have you heard?Duke Ergi Claude arrived at the palace today-"

"I'm sure her majesty is already aware of this,Laura"

"Does her majesty also know who the duke was with all day?"

Oh...

Duke Ergi...

Well that's a complicated character

He's the one who helped and set up Rashta for failure other than that piece of shit

But even I know why he really did it

That guys a ticking time bomb

It's hard to tell what he'd do or which side he's on cause he's constantly switching

Must be really fun to be him cause he get to see both sides of the fights

Well he does help my Empress to be with Heinley so I won't be hostile with him

Maybe I can even have fun and use him when the time comes

I won't have any problems as long as he stays the same way that he is in the original.

Plus...I love how much he ruined that bastards life and fucked with his brain so much

I might as well make him an ally against that imbecile

Since Duke Ergi is well-known for being close friends with Prince Heinley...

The most logical and obvious answer to Laura is...

"Prince Heinley?"

"No!He was with the slave girl,Rashta"

"Apparently,they spent the whole day together "

"I heard they seemed to get along well.And they both ended up getting involved in an incident that took place earlier today"

"They were taking a walk together when a nobleman humiliated Rashta by asking the Duke if he knew she was a runaway slave.And then...almost before he finished speaking,Duke Ergi punched him"

As long as he stays in his lane, we're good

I'll let him do his thing and I'll enjoy the show

But then again...

"That woman sure is something...From going after an Emperor,to a Prince and now...a Duke.She's quite extraordinary for someone who appears so weakly"I say boredly to not sound so condescending

"Now that you mention it,your majesty,she's such an ambitious tramp"

"She can't even be satisfied with having the Emperor"

"Its like she would go after any man that she sees"

"Yeah.And all she does is cry and everyone practically falls for it"

"But behind her weak facade is just a coveting and greedy wench"

While I eat ,I let the ladies talk terribly about that woman again

Its enough that I initiated the topic.I'll leave it up to them to come up with their own judgements and let them spread their words.

I mainly just pointed out the situation so don't blame me when the words go around too far

*

*

*

The palace was shrouded in morning fog when I awoke. I opened the window and leaned my head out, allowing the cool air to cleanse my body. The meeting about establishing diplomatic relations with Luipt is happening today

I need to do well

I mentally composed myself. When I tied the curtains together, I discovered a letter on a window sill, secured underneath a stone so it wouldn't fly away.

'Prince Heinley?'

I opened the letter and saw Prince Heinley's handwriting.

Trust me.

What did he want me to trust him for? I was surprised, but I felt happy receiving a letter after a long while. Unfortunately, I couldn't send a reply right away since Queen was gone. I tucked the paper in a drawer and went to the bathroom to wash my face in cold water. Afterwards I rang a bell, and the ladies-in-waiting entered to prepare me for the day.

Countess Eliza selected a black dress that fell almost in a straight line, and then arranged my hair.

"If Queen comes when I'm away, please give him some water."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

"And allow him inside if it rains. Sometimes he gets caught in the rain outside the window."

I left Countess Eliza with my requests, then took a deep breath and left the room. I believed I could face this.

I have to do this.

This is complicated as hell but I have to go through and pass this challenge

For my Empress

*

*

*

"This meeting is adjourned "

Finally...its over

That meeting was a huge pain in the head

With the pros and cons in this case,it was so hard to decide.

The only thing that was decided during that meeting was that I've been appointed to resolve this

I know it's my empress's duty but this is way too much for me to handle

Well I am working with Kaufman on this so that's something to look forward to.

I followed Grand Duke Kaufman out into the hallway.

"Grand Duke Kaufman,do you have a minute?There's something I'd like to ask you"

"Go ahead,your majesty"

"Why did you recommend appointing me to oversee this matter?"

I mean seriously, after what happened between us,I'm really surprised he's still willing to work with me

"Is it something you don't want to do?"

"I'm merely asking out of curiosity.A few days ago,i..."

Threatened you then told you a bunch of nonsense.

His lips curved up and he chuckled as if he understood what I meant.

"Im not fazed at all.You're words are empty anyways "

He has some nerve to smile like that after saying something so offensive

He's lucky he's got good looks to cover up that attitude of his

"But there's nobody else in this palace that I think would do a better job than your majesty"

"Why is that?"

I mean if he sees me more dependable and doesn't want to work with that bastard then that's understandable

"Your majesty was the only one who understood me when I talked about the Imona and Imote "

He's actually using that reason?

"I'm sure I told you when we last spoke,but I only know a handful of words of Luiptian.Im not just saying this to be polite "

"Yes,but that's a lot more than what most people know"

What a half ass excuse

Was it really alright to leave me with this serious task based on that alone?

Well if it's because I'm seen to be more competent then so be it

I finally nodded. Now that it had come to this, I had to fill in the gap with effort.

"Now if you'll excuse me,your majesty"

Grand Duke Kapmen gave a slight bow as if he had nothing more to say, then turned and walked down the corridor.

I turned my head and I saw the garbage through the open door of the conference room, leaning against a table.

He had been brooding throughout the meeting, but now his expression looked even darker.

I'm supposed to be approaching and checking up on him but why the fuck would I care about how he feels?

He's probably just feeling insecure again cause my Empress is talking with another man even when it's just about work

And he doesn't have any rights to criticize my Empress when he's the one that brought in a concubine first

If only I could find a lover boy or a boy toy to retaliate with all his bullshit

But that might agitate Heinley though so that's off the table

And plus why would I listen to anything that piece of garbage say's

What he wants or likes doesn't matter and it shouldn't be in the first place

It's all so selfish and stupid

He doesn't even listen to any of my Empress or my words anyways

No matter what I say,he's just gonna be a bitch about it

So annoying

He's such an insecure prick

The possessiveness is so unnecessary when he don't even see my Empress as a person or an equal

He stopped treating her as an equal, probably when he became emperor and drunk on power.

He doesn't even care how my Empress feels!

For him,my Empress's emotional state does not matter, but only that she stays at his side as a prize.

A prize his entitled to have by his side all because of that power that he was just born into

I gritted my teeth and looked away

I'm afraid I might kill this scum infront of me if I don't get out of here

I went my way out of the office to save myself from that petty argument

And plus...

I can't guarantee that I'll be able to lie on that kind of subject

Im probably gonna say I find foreigners more attractive out of impulse

Well can you blame me when I'm stuck with this kind of local?