Chapter 147

I swallowed. "Please, I-let this go."

If my face got any hotter, it might start to steam. The words I have to go hovered on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't bring myself to say them. For some reason, it felt like if I did, I would be swallowed whole.

Maybe if he let me go, he wouldn't seem like such a tyrant.

A nervous chuckle escaped my lips. "Your Majesty, I-"

"I figure I'll be up all night," he said. "You should be with me, Aide Lesprev. Keep me company."

A flurry of emotions bubbled up in my chest all of a sudden. "S-say that to your lover!"

His eyes widened in surprise. "What...what's that supposed to mean?"

A loud thump filled the room, startling us both. Someone was at the door. A frown appeared on Ridrian's face.

"Viscount Lesprey," said a voice from outside, "are you alright?"

It was Dylan. The sound of his voice was enough to shake me out of my confusion. I gave the emperor another gentle shove and reached for the door handle again, fearing that Dylan might smash the door if I hesitated any longer. He and Ridrian didn't get along very well-he'd broken down a few doors in the past.

"I'm okay, Dylan," I said.

The door swung open, revealing a multitude of faces, eyes trained in my direction. Several people sat camped just outside the room. The other aides, Dylan, Eris and Raven, were gazing at me with faint smiles on their faces.

My face still burning with embarrassment, I ducked my head low to hide my face and headed down the hallway.

"Miss?" Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dylan hurrying after me. Eris shot Ridrian a glare and began heading my way. Behind them, people were murmuring among themselves and calling out to me and Ridrian, their voices laced with confusion.

"Your Majesty? Aide Lesprey?"

"Just what's going on?"

"You don't think His Majesty and the aide...?"

I tuned their voices out and continued walking, grinding to a halt only when a memory flickered in the back of my mind. Reluctantly, I turned my stiff neck.

"I, Iona Lesprey, will be leaving for today!" I announced.

I still needed to say goodbye to my superior! An employee to the bone. My jaw clenched. I could've sworn I heard Ridrian laugh.

"Iona-wait" Eris called. "Iona!"

I'd been feeling as though I might run all the way to the edge of the continent, but for some reason I stopped at the sound of her voice. She hurried to meet me, an odd expression on her face.

"Iona, can I ask you one thing?" she wanted to know.

"Huh?" I frowned. She looked rather serious, yet hesitant to speak for someone who'd just stopped me. What did she have in mind? "Sure, go ahead."

"The carriage is coming."

I turned at the sound of Dylan's voice. The carriage was coming towards us, Eris's opening and closing as it moved. It wasn't until the carriage had almost reached us that Eris spoke again.

"Iona," she began, "do you perhaps like His Majesty?"

I flinched at her question, cold sweat trickling down my back. Being asked whether I liked the main male character by the main female character was a little unnerving, I had to admit. It made me feel somewhat restless, like I'd been caught doing something wrong. Thinking quickly, I flashed her a smile and gesticulated vaguely.

"You're joking, right?" I replied with a forced laugh. "He's the Emperor of the Ivant. He's not a person someone with my title can like."

Eris's eyes narrowed slightly. "Iona."

"The carriage has arrived," a servant announced.

"Let's go," I said quickly.

I heard Eris call my name again, like she was determinedly denying my answer, but I turned my head as the servant spoke. I was hell-bent on not responding to her question anymore.

But for some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling that she still had her eye on me.

***

Some time passed, and soon it was my day off. For the first time, the same Emperor who'd kissed my neck slept soundly into the next day. Perhaps it was because I'd acted like a displeased cat? It was hard to tell whether that was a good thing or not, but it was fascinating to see how this same man who could only fall asleep hugging me tight now slept peacefully when I simply sat next to him. He did, of course, check from time to time to see if I was still there.

At any rate, it was relaxing to know I didn't have to see the emperor, since it was my day off. For the first time in a while, I slept.

So peaceful.

Butler Robin and Jihanna, the head of maids, were all experienced and skilled, so there wasn't much to do regarding housework. All I needed to do was direct them and evaluate their efforts. I was starting to see why the emperor had chosen them.

All his aides were skilled, too.

Between their immense skill and the fact that they could survive under a tyrant, it was hard not to think of them as talented.

The aide job was a lot busier than I thought. It was basically pretending to work, but since there were people paying attention, I put Ridrian to sleep and began reading and organizing documents. That was busy enough.

Normally, there was much to do daily, but I had to go to work at 8am and leave at 8pm every day. Compared to that, the current society's five-day, eight-hour-daily working week looked almost appealing.

Of course, not many companies followed it.

If they did, maybe I wouldn't have died, I thought, scoffing at the memory.

The emperor sounded like a black corporation's president at this rate.

My thoughts drifted to Ridrian, who was currently tapping his palm with a Lotuburu blade, grinning sinisterly at the working nobles. It fit so well, I couldn't suppress a giggle.

Ridrian's head whipped about in my direction. "What is it?"

"I'm just glad it's a holiday," I replied.

That reminded me-there was somewhere I needed to be.

.