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Chapter 45
Inside the carriage heading toward Shamal.
Flour, having been denied the company of Dylan as well, couldn’t hide her sulky expression.
Her lips pouted out, and she fixed her gaze stubbornly out the window as she finally spoke.
“Do we really have to travel like this?”
“What do you mean?”
Her tone implied she knew exactly what he meant, yet was pretending not to. She sharply turned her head to look at Leonardo.
“We’re not even facing each other—we’re sitting side by side. And right now, you’re clinging to me so much that I can’t even straighten my shoulders properly.”
She twisted her body, pressed halfway against the wall, in a small act of rebellion.
“Ah, I just wanted a little attention since you were pretending not to notice me.”
“Excuse me?”
“See? Now you’re looking at me.”
He answered casually, then moved just far enough so she could finally straighten her shoulders.
“It’ll probably take another eight hours to reach Shamal.”
“Does it really take that long?”
“Well, it’s the northernmost part of the empire.”
That meant she would have to spend eight hours alone in the carriage with Leonardo.
Not just anyone, but the emperor—and a perverted one at that, whose whims were unpredictable.
Even with more space, Flour shrank back instinctively.
“So, have you looked into Shamal at all?”
“I asked a friend from Shamal who lives at the mansion.”
“And what did they say?”
“They said it’s a cold region where it snows every day, so the crops are sweeter and chewier than elsewhere. They also mentioned that they usually boil them for a long time before eating.”
“I see.”
“But at night, the temperature drops drastically, so you have to keep heating water to prevent it from freezing, which can be troublesome.”
He nodded as if he already knew.
“Shamal is the city in the empire where the most fire is used.”
“Really?”
“Exactly as you said—if they didn’t use fire every night, everything would freeze. Every house has a fireplace. But fire spreads quickly if you’re careless, so accidents happen often.”
Leonardo didn’t recite what he’d memorized for show. He spoke naturally, demonstrating a complete understanding of Shamal.
“So you want to develop a new recipe to reduce accidents?”
“Exactly.”
“But no dish is completely fire-free.”
“I know. I just want to minimize the use of fire as much as possible.”
Flour nodded, understanding his intent.
“This is some reference material I prepared just in case.”
Leonardo handed her a thick stack of papers he had taken from a suitcase under the carriage.
“Ugh.”
It was heavy enough that her eyes went wide even as she took it with both hands.
“Can’t you even lift this?”
“It must be over 300 pages.”
“I’ve condensed it as much as I could.”
“Th-this is what you call condensed?”
“In the palace, this much takes about an hour to read. You haven’t finalized the recipes yet?”
“Yes….”
“Think it over while reading. That way you can report to the advisor you’ve been consulting sooner.”
With that, he pulled out another stack of papers, more than double the first.
“Are you going to read all of that on the way?”
“No.”
“Then how…?”
“I’ll go through it in two hours.”
“…Excuse me?”
“There’s a lot we need to review on the way.”
He gestured with his purple eyes toward the suitcase at their feet.
Seeing three more stacks of similar size, Flour was silently horrified.
“You… you really plan to read all of this?”
“You need to review a lot while you have time. Once we reach Shamal, you’ll be too busy moving around.”
Leonardo flipped through the papers swiftly, as if this was routine.
The man who usually joked around and teased others became a completely different person when it came to work—more serious than ever.
“…I didn’t realize you worked so hard.”
Leonardo met her yellow eyes with a look that seemed to ask what she meant.
“Oh, I thought you were always wandering outside the palace in disguise…”
“Regardless of gender, if there’s something beautiful in a debauched life, I take it.”
“……”
“And did you think I’d silently kill anyone who opposed me?”
Those were the rumors swirling around Leonardo.
Flour hadn’t expected him to respond so directly, and she felt a small sting. Embarrassed, she shook her head.
“…I never actually said that.”
“Seems similar enough to me.”
“Th-that’s not it… You always showed me a relaxed, free side of yourself. So seeing you so serious is new to me.”
As she spoke sincerely, his previously stern face relaxed, and he smiled, showing his dimple.
“So, you’ve fallen for me?”
“Eh? No, how did it turn into that?”
“That’s what it sounded like to me.”
“Absolutely not. I won’t bother you—I’ll focus on the work, and check the reference materials myself.”
Flour turned her attention to the Shamal documents, expecting more strange flirting.
Leonardo glanced at her briefly before returning to his own focus.
The carriage quickly fell silent except for the sound of pages turning, like a study hall.
Hmm, the crops are sparse, but the cooking methods are all similar.
Most dishes were boiled in water.
Simple enough to cook, but likely simplified for the older population.
Which dishes could minimize the use of fire?
Her mind raced, but no brilliant ideas came. She stole a glance at him, curious if his concentration had waned.
“……”
Leonardo was completely absorbed, seemingly oblivious to everything around him.
He even folded the top corners of the papers to mark important parts.
Flour found herself sneaking glances at his intensely focused profile.
“You’re fast.”
Startled, she looked up when Leonardo spoke suddenly, still reviewing the documents.
“Eh? What do you mean?”
“You’ve already gone through all the Shamal materials, so it looks like you’re just staring at my face.”
“No, not at all. There’s still more.”
“So my face is really to your taste? You’ve liked me since the first meeting, haven’t you?”
“I’ve never seen that! I mean… I haven’t!”
Flustered, she turned her back to him and focused on the papers.
A voice from behind said, “That’s even more suspicious,” but she stubbornly ignored it.
After reviewing Shamal’s geography, local customs, and dietary habits, she moved on to the characteristics of its residents.
Her eyes moved across the pages, but her stomach began to churn.
The rough terrain jostled the carriage, and the pages became denser.
It seemed she was starting to get motion sickness.
She tried to hold her breath or sip water to calm herself, but the carriage’s movement overwhelmed her.
“Ugh….”
Seeing her discomfort, Leonardo finally noticed and put the papers down.
“Feeling sick?”
“Ugh… yes, I think so.”
“I’ll stop the carriage for a moment.”
As he reached for the bell on the wall, Flour hurriedly stopped him.
“No, it’s fine. We can keep going.”
“Your face is pale as a sheet.”
“I just need a brief break from reading. I don’t want to waste your time, Your Majesty.”
She remembered what Leonardo had said to Dylan—time could not be wasted.
Understanding, his eyes narrowed slightly, then he released the bell rope.
“Then we’ll continue as you wish.”
“…Yes.”
The carriage resumed its journey as if nothing had happened.
“Your Majesty, if it’s not rude, may I close my eyes for a moment?”
She hesitated to sleep while the emperor was working hard.
Leonardo nodded casually.
“Do as you like.”
With that, Flour closed her eyes tightly, exhausted from even holding them open.
She rested her eyes, waiting for the nausea to pass.
“Mm….”
Huh? When did I fall asleep? Has the carriage stopped? My body feels so relaxed…
As she stirred and opened her eyes, a surprise quest popped up:
You are very close to the target character. Kiss them at the first visible opportunity.
Huh? What kind of abstract message is this?
Half-asleep, she blinked rapidly, thinking her eyes were playing tricks, but the message stayed the same.
Confused, she glanced around.
Right in front of her, Leonardo’s deep blue shirt strained across his chest, leaving Flour with a question mark above her head.
Then, sensing her gaze, Leonardo raised the papers above his head, caught her eyes, and smiled.
“Did you sleep well, darling?”
