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Chapter 46
Before closing her eyes, she had been sitting back against the carriage sofa. So why was she lying on Leonardo’s body like it was a bed when she opened them?
On top of that, the status window was glowing softly in pink, clearly showing where she needed to kiss.
It was right below his left collarbone, near his heart, which was incredibly awkward.
Anyone watching might think she had just gawked at someone else’s chest the moment she woke up.
Fleur, still half-asleep and staring blankly at the status window, made a small sound of realization.
“Ah… this is a dream, isn’t it?”
How nervous and tense could she have been with the Emperor for her to dream such nonsense?
Muttering to herself, she closed her eyelids again, pretending she hadn’t seen anything, trying to wake from the lucid dream.
It was in that half-asleep state that she felt a sudden soft, warm touch on her forehead, and she shot her eyes wide open, lifting her head sharply as if struck by lightning.
Leonardo, with his violet eyes meeting hers, gave her a gentle smile.
“This isn’t a dream.”
“……”
“If you still don’t get it, should I do it again?”
He put down the documents and, noticing Fleur still looked dazed, grabbed her chin. Tilting his head slightly, he leaned in as if to kiss her right away.
“Ahh!”
Snapping back to her senses, she startled and pressed herself against the carriage wall, trying to escape his touch.
But in the confined space, she only managed to put about an arm’s length between them.
Not expecting such a strong reaction, he blinked his violet eyes.
“Are you this thrilled at the thought of a kiss?”
“Of course not!”
To show her denial, Fleur rubbed her forehead where his lips had just been.
“How did I end up leaning on Your Majesty?”
“You kept nodding forward while half-asleep. So I offered my body for you to rest comfortably.”
“You could have just woken me…”
“If the lady might get hurt, a gentleman wouldn’t just stand by and watch.”
Fleur had never thought of him as a gentleman, so she stared at him with full suspicion.
“You hugged me on purpose while I was asleep, didn’t you?”
Leonardo let out a slightly exasperated, almost deflating laugh.
“I showed you consideration, and you call me a pervert?”
“You’ve said so many strange things to me already.”
“Others would practically beg to have even a kiss on my hand.”
“I’m fine never receiving one in my life.”
Her blunt refusal raised one of his eyebrows.
“So you’re bold with me but worry about your fiancé’s opinion more than I expected?”
“Huh?”
“Since it’s just the two of us now, a little kiss can be kept a secret.”
Fleur was dumbfounded by his tone, as if he was granting her a favor.
“I’m not worried about my fiancé’s feelings. I simply dislike unwanted physical contact.”
Acknowledging this clearly, he raised both hands in surrender.
“Alright. I won’t touch you without your permission from now on.”
“Please make sure you do.”
“But once we reach Shamal, you’ll need to stay close to me. I’m disguised so the locals don’t know I’m the Emperor.”
“Then who do they think you are?”
“They think I’m a knight delivering supplies to the palace.”
Even visiting personally, he kept his identity hidden.
“If they knew you were the Emperor, they’d be even more grateful. Why hide it?”
“In other cities, there could be backlash.”
Even a brief glance from the Emperor turned young ladies into celebrities, and wherever he went on leave became a top tourist spot.
Leonardo was clearly aware of his influence and careful in all his actions.
Fleur, having seen unexpected sides of him today, couldn’t take her eyes off him as he picked up the documents again.
“I didn’t know Your Majesty thought about things so thoroughly.”
“Did you think I was just disguising for fun?”
She nodded slightly, unable to deny it.
“Well, it’s not without fun. When I hide my identity, I get opportunities to grab someone by the collar.”
He was obviously referring to Fleur but tried hard to pretend otherwise.
“But the main reason is to lessen the responsibilities of being Emperor.”
His voice became serious, void of any playfulness.
“When disguised, I don’t have to think about the entire empire hanging on every word I say… it’s a bit of relief.”
For someone whose behavior often seemed too casual and full of jokes, it was sad to realize it was all to escape the pressures of being Emperor.
He had to erase himself to truly be himself.
“…So should I just say I’m part of the palace support office with Your Majesty?”
Fleur asked, agreeing to play along with the ruse, and his dimples deepened.
“No, say you’re my wife.”
All her previous worries disappeared in an instant.
“No. I’ll also say I’m part of the palace support office.”
When she firmly refused, he crossed his arms and tilted his head, examining her outfit.
“You’re only wearing that thin short-sleeved dress, right?”
“Of course. You didn’t even give me time to prepare properly before bringing me here.”
“So I prepared everything for you.”
Fleur’s eyes widened.
“All your winter coats, dresses, boots, gloves are on the carriage following us.”
“…Really?”
“If you don’t believe me, I can stop the carriage right now and show you.”
She had been full of worry.
They were heading to a city where it snowed daily and froze over, and she didn’t even have a winter coat or money.
How would she survive the cold in that thin short-sleeved dress? And he had packed her things for her!
Relieved, her eyes sparkled.
“How many days’ worth?”
“Enough for a month.”
“Thank you. I was already worrying about how to live in Shamal.”
Leonardo only smiled, replying:
“I haven’t said I’ll lend them to you yet.”
“…What?”
“If you play the role of my wife, not just a palace support staff member, I’ll lend them. I’ll even assign attendants to look after you in Shamal.”
Of course, he wouldn’t help willingly without conditions.
Even wanting to refuse, she had no other options.
Fleur let out a deep sigh, tightening her eyes with resolve.
“Alright. I’ll pretend to be your wife while in Shamal.”
“Good choice.”
“But no physical contact.”
“That’s fine with me, but when you meet the locals, they’ll beg to hold my hand.”
“Excuse me? What do you mean?”
“You’ll see when it happens.”
He was already smiling as if it were fun, making her nervous.
“How far until Shamal? The carriage is getting cold.”
As she shivered and asked, Leonardo immediately removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders.
“We’re about halfway there.”
That meant roughly three hours remained. And within that time, she had one more task besides thinking up recipes.
The surprise quest.
Surprise Quest
You are very close to the target character.
Kiss the indicated spot first.
Even during their conversation, the pink glow at the spot she was supposed to kiss continued to distract her.
‘How am I supposed to press my lips there?!’
It was too early to give up and use reset.
Because she hadn’t properly focused on Shamal yet, the reset target was still likely the second business venture.
So she planned to spend at least a week on the recipe and intentionally fail the quest.
And yet, the quest appeared in the carriage.
The system always seemed to ruin Fleur’s plans.
“What are you staring at? Did I get something on my clothes?”
Feeling his intense gaze, she looked down, embarrassed as if she were a pervert peeking at someone else’s body.
“N-no… it’s nothing… ahh!”
At that moment.
Rattle!
“Ahhh!”
The carriage jolted violently, sending both of them slightly into the air.
Leonardo immediately reached for Fleur, gently holding her shoulders so she wouldn’t fall.
“You alright?”
“Y-yes. Just a bit startled.”
“The road to Shamal is rough. It’ll likely stay this way, so keep your balance.”
“Understood.”
Once Fleur sat properly and gripped the handle by the door, he let go.
Then a clever idea struck her.
If she pretended to stumble into him while the carriage shook, and just brushed her lips against the pink spot, the quest would be half-complete!
It felt perverted, but this was the only way to succeed without affection.
She waited for the carriage to shake, eyes darting only at the target spot on his chest.
