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— Chapter 16………………………………………………… —
The imperial estate’s servants lined up in formation in front of the entrance.
Melina stood beside Cheroian, ready to greet the returning imperial party.
With the sound of hooves, a gust of wind rose, and several horses gradually came to a stop.
Mesed was riding the lead horse, accompanied by a knight.
He had left in a lavish carriage so ornate that anyone could recognize it as the Emperor’s vehicle, yet he returned on horseback, leaving everyone confused.
They were even more shocked to see him dismount with the knight’s help.
The confusion was soon resolved.
It was because he couldn’t properly put weight on his left leg after getting off the horse. It seemed he had been injured.
Now that they looked closely, his condition was even worse than expected. His hair was a tangled mess, his clothes were torn and filthy, and a foul odor clung to him.
Melina, seeing him for the first time like this, struggled to suppress her laughter and quickly bit the inside of her cheek. Otherwise, she felt she might slip.
“Your Imperial Majesty.”
Melina and Cheroian greeted Mesed together.
“Rise,” Mesed snapped irritably, waving a hand.
“Your Majesty, are you all right? I heard there was an incident on your return,” Cheroian asked politely with concern.
“I was attacked by monsters while passing through the forest. As you can see, the damage was greater than expected, so I couldn’t make it back to the imperial palace and had to return here instead.”
Looking behind him, not only the knights but also the attendants riding with them were in terrible shape.
“How exactly have you been managing this territory? Isn’t this the reason I sent you here—to deal with monsters? At this rate, how can the people travel safely?”
Mesed immediately glared at Cheroian and snapped in annoyance.
He had never once raised his voice or shown anger toward Cheroian in public before, so even the knights held their breath and watched nervously.
“I apologize. We conduct extermination operations at fixed times every year, but it seems that was not enough,” Cheroian said, bowing deeply.
Mesed glared at the bowed Cheroian for a moment, then turned his head sharply.
“Enough. I will stay here for a few days. Prepare accordingly.”
Without even waiting for a response, he turned away. But as he took a step, he let out a groan, then irritably accepted support from a knight.
“Noel, ensure His Majesty has everything he needs without discomfort. Also, prepare everything necessary for the journey back to the imperial palace as quickly as possible,” Cheroian instructed.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Those who had come to greet the Emperor stood watching until he entered the annex, then returned to their duties.
“Hahahaha!”
As soon as she returned to her room, Melina burst into laughter she had been holding back.
Seeing her bent over laughing, Cheroian shook his head as if he couldn’t deal with her.
“Come here and explain first.”
“Haha, did you see him? That condition? When else would he ever look like that? Ah… it feels like ten years of blocked frustration has finally cleared.”
“Stop laughing and explain. Monsters? What exactly did you do?”
“I placed an item engraved with a magic that attracts monsters into the Emperor’s carriage. And into his clothes as well.”
“You… can use magic?”
Cheroian widened his eyes in surprise.
“No. There’s nothing Temno can’t get.”
Attracting monsters is a type of dark magic. Since she wasn’t sure the Emperor would attend the wedding, she had asked El a month in advance to prepare it.
El was someone who originally worked under Temno’s protection while helping Bertha.
That was why she had asked her both when Ran entered as a maid and for this incident.
“Well, I suppose that makes sense.”
He leaned back on the sofa, slightly awkward.
“His vision must have gone completely dark. It’s probably the first time he’s ever felt real fear of death.”
As Melina spoke, her green eyes turned momentarily cold and eerie.
This was only a preview. She intended to slowly tighten the noose around his neck from now on.
“He probably never felt anything like it before.”
Cheroian’s lips twisted slightly, a mix of emotions passing through his eyes.
“Still, this time was excessive. The attendants and knights were in danger too.”
At his reproach, Melina let out a small laugh. She had expected him to say that.
He was that kind of person—someone who lived with his own life constantly at risk, yet never treated others’ lives carelessly.
“I knew you would say that, so I took precautions in advance. They got a bit roughed up, but no one was injured or killed.”
Only then did Cheroian’s eyes widen slightly, as if realizing the fact.
“…unexpected.”
“The monsters were set to target only the Emperor. I also placed protections so they wouldn’t attack anyone else. Of course, I had no intention of killing him yet either—it was only meant to scare him.”
That required several additional layers of preparation, making the magic quite complex.
El had complained about the workload, but accepted immediately upon hearing the compensation.
Perhaps sensing frustration or disappointment in Melina’s tone, Cheroian glanced at her cautiously.
“You put a lot of thought into this. Well done.”
He spoke awkwardly, then looked away. The gesture softened Melina’s heart immediately.
“Since this must have put the Emperor in a foul mood, stay out of his sight for a while.”
It was a warning in case he tried to sneak into the Emperor’s bedroom again like before.
“Understood. I’ll stay quiet this time.”
He nodded obediently, as he had already intended to do so.
The Emperor was extremely sensitive right now, making direct surveillance dangerous. So for the time being, she planned to leave it to Shan.
She had already instructed Shan to keep watch from a distance.
By the time the sky began to dim, Melina and Ran were sitting together on the sofa, leaning in close.
“Did you investigate the messenger pigeon Shan mentioned?”
The mention of it during Shan’s morning report had stuck in her mind.
She had never seen a messenger pigeon during her time as Empress.
“There was no mention of it in the reports from the palace.”
“And Shan didn’t see the contents of the letter either. It won’t be easy to find the recipient.”
Maybe I should have gone to spy on it myself.
But infiltrating under yesterday’s conditions would have been far too dangerous.
“If we catch the pigeon, we could read the letter and attach a tracking device. Then we could find the recipient. The problem is…”
“The problem is we have to wait for the Emperor to send another pigeon. And we don’t know when that will be.”
Ran nodded as Melina finished the thought.
Melina tapped her knee with her fingers and let out a short sigh.
“Have El make a tracking device for now.”
“Understood.”
Ran left the room, and Melina lay down on the bed.
“Who on earth is he contacting? And why isn’t it mentioned in the imperial reports?”
Her thoughts tangled endlessly until, before she realized it, she drifted off to sleep.
Then suddenly, she jolted awake—sharply sensing a killing intent.
