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Chapter 19
‘A date?!?!’
It was an oddly embarrassing choice of words, but she couldn’t think of anything else that properly described what they’d been doing since yesterday.
Just then, her eyes met Kaisertene’s as he noticed her. Roabellin, who had been conscious of her outfit, felt inexplicably self-conscious before she could even feel happy to see him.
‘It’s a da…te, but I dressed without thinking—will he be disappointed…?’
But there wasn’t a trace of disappointment on his face. On the contrary, he looked genuinely delighted just to see her.
Roabellin forgot to even walk toward him and simply stared blankly as he strode toward her with a dazzling smile.
‘When a man who already shines just by his looks smiles like that, it feels like everything around him lights up. Wow….’
“You’re out,” he said.
His tone was still short and blunt, but he gracefully extended his hand toward Roabellin—an escort’s gesture, inviting her to place her hand on his palm.
“You came early.”
She placed her hand over his.
“…I wanted to. Let’s go.”
The two naturally walked hand in hand. It was only holding hands, yet her heart wouldn’t stop pounding.
As they walked through the festival-filled streets, they passed a particularly noisy area. A crowd had gathered, as if something entertaining was happening.
“It looks like there’s some kind of event,” Roabellin said.
Kaisertene, far taller than her, looked over the heads of the crowd on her behalf.
“…Hmm. Want to participate?”
“In what? Can you see what it is?”
“…A skinship event for couples.”
“What? Like… what kind?”
“Standing on one foot together on a small platform, seeing how long you can last. Or the man lifting the woman and sitting down and standing back up. Things like that.”
Kaisertene turned to look at her. There was mischief in his eyes.
“Shall we try it too?”
“Are you insane?!”
Flustered, Roabellin slapped his solid arm. But the moment she did, he tensed his muscles, and her hand hurt more than his.
“Ow…! That’s not fair!”
“Hahaha.”
‘You’re probably the first person in imperial history to call the emperor crazy and hit him to his face.’
Even as Roabellin glared at him, Kaisertene was in nothing but a good mood. He felt like he was floating in the sky.
Meanwhile, from a distance, a black shadow watched the two of them. After observing them, the figure returned to report to their master.
“She was with His Majesty the Emperor.”
The master’s eyes widened.
“Hah. Fate really is something else. Incredible. Truly incredible fate. We need to get her out before that bastard realizes who she is. Keep watching.”
The subordinate bowed and accepted the order.
That evening, Roabellin and Kaisertene went to a bar. Thanks to a reservation made in advance through his aide, they were guided to a private terrace seat at the finest bar in Vicentium—though Roabellin had no idea such arrangements had been made.
The building itself sat atop a hill, and the bar occupied the top floor, offering a sweeping view of the festival-lit night streets below. She looked back and forth between the interior and exterior, marveling.
“Wow, the lower floor felt like a noisy tavern, but up here it’s a completely different world. I thought only the inside was impressive, but the view is even better.”
Seeing her pleased reaction, Kaisertene smiled faintly.
“Seems like this is your first time at a place like this.”
“Yeah. I haven’t even been an adult for a full week yet. Haha.”
They talked while sipping cocktails. With the festive atmosphere and the alcohol, Roabellin gradually relaxed. Kaisertene wasn’t drunk at all, but Roabellin, drinking alcohol for the first time, became tipsy quite quickly.
Watching her giggle happily, Kaisertene asked casually,
“A young lady traveling alone—why did you come to Vicentium? The world can be dangerous.”
Because he firmly believed she was a noble lady, he wondered if she might finally be ready to tell him her true status. But the answer he got was entirely unexpected.
“Um… Kai, are you good at keeping secrets?”
“Of course.”
At his immediate response, Roabellin hesitated briefly, then spoke.
“Hehe… actually, I’m planning to enter the Imperial Palace.”
Her words were already slightly slurred.
‘The Imperial Palace?’
The unexpected term made it hard for Kaisertene to hide his confusion.
“Hm? Why the Imperial Palace?”
This time, even in her drunken state, Roabellin paused to choose her words. But since her guard was down around him, she ended up giving an answer dangerously close to the truth.
“Well… it’s really a secret, but… um… I’m planning to seduce His Majesty the Emperor.”
Kaisertene’s head rang.
“Me—no, the Emperor? …What does that mean?”
“Well… I can’t explain everything… hehe. Next week—ah, no, it’s only a few days away now. Anyway, I’ll be entering the Imperial Palace soon.”
She was saying she would enter the palace where he lived.
‘Wasn’t she a noble lady? How does she plan to get into the palace? There aren’t even plans to select concubines right now.’
Panicked, Kaisertene pressed further.
“Wh-why the palace? And how exactly do you plan to seduce the Emperor?”
“Hehe, just… with this beauty…?”
Up until moments ago, her drunkenness had seemed adorable. Now, however, hearing such an important topic brushed off so lightly was unbearably frustrating. Kaisertene let out a sigh without realizing it.
“Hah… And what do you plan to do after seducing the Emperor? Become a concubine?”
“Mm… His Majesty’s favor is nice, isn’t it? Every woman wants that.”
Hearing this, Kaisertene—whose heart was already completely tilted toward her—felt hurt.
‘How can she say that right in front of me? Am I—not the Emperor, just me—not enough for her?’
He frowned deeply and sighed again.
“…Do you even know what kind of man the Emperor is before going after him?”
“No, how would I know…? Oh, Kai, do you know something about His Majesty? You’re from Vicentium, right?”
At her drowsy question, Kaisertene thought for a moment, then answered calmly.
“Well, I know a bit. I go in and out of the palace for work.”
“Really?! What do you do, Kai? No—more importantly, why didn’t you tell me sooner? Tell me! What kind of person is His Majesty?”
Should he speak well of himself, or tell her the Emperor isn’t worth it and she should look at him—‘Kai’—instead?
“Well… they say he governs the country well. And he doesn’t have an Empress or concubines right now…”
“Oh come on, even a foreigner like me knows that! Not that stuff. There’s something I’m curious about. Maybe…”
Roabellin leaned in close to Kaisertene’s ear. Curious himself, he raised his glass and listened.
“Is His Majesty… impotent?”
“Pfft—!”
Kaisertene spat out the drink he was about to sip. Startled by the unexpected reaction, Roabellin jumped as well.
“Whoa! Why?! Is that something you’re not supposed to say about His Majesty?”
Wiping his mouth with a napkin, Kaisertene struggled to regain his composure.
“Why… why would you think that?”
Unable to say that she’d calculated the possibility of bearing the Emperor’s child, Roabellin dodged the question.
“Uh… it’s not my idea. It’s rumors. There are rumors like that.”
Raising one eyebrow, Kaisertene replied,
“Is that what the citizens of Vicentium are saying?”
His suddenly stiff expression was a little frightening, so Roabellin averted her gaze.
Trying to escape the situation, she blamed the poor citizens of Vicentium with an apologetic tone.
“Well… yeah. They say it’s been five years since His Majesty came of age, and there’s still no heir—no woman at all…”
Her voice weakened toward the end, as she wasn’t good at lying. The sudden coldness in Kaisertene’s previously gentle smile felt unfamiliar.
In truth, Kaisertene simply became expressionless when deep in thought. But his sharp, striking features made him look cold to others.
Seeing that face, Roabellin instinctively hunched her shoulders slightly, a question forming in her mind.
‘Why does he look angry? It’s not even about him.’
In fact, Kaisertene had once been asked a similar question by his aide and friend, Count Raymond. At the time, he’d been too dumbfounded to answer properly. It seemed many people had thought the same thing without daring to ask.
‘This is my fault for never properly clarifying.’
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
“The Emperor is a very healthy man. There’s no such problem.”
He emphasized the word “very.”
“Oh… well, that’s good, I guess. But, um, Kai—how can you be so sure?”
‘Damn.’
Caught up in the absurdity of the conversation, he’d momentarily forgotten he was hiding his identity. After a brief panic, he pulled himself together and chose the most reasonable answer he could.
“S-someone once asked the Emperor directly, and I heard he answered himself.”
Roabellin took a sip of her cocktail, unimpressed.
“So it’s all hearsay. No one’s actually experienced it. That means it can’t be proven unless someone’s spent the night with His Majesty, right? So… has no one ever slept with the Emperor?”
“That’s… probably true.”
Kaisertene lifted his glass, pretending to drink to hide his troubled expression.
“Then what should I do… if His Majesty really is impotent?”
Kaisertene felt hurt hearing her worry about another man right in front of him.
Even if she succeeded in entering the palace and meeting the Emperor, that would still be him. Still, he wanted her to come into his arms not because he was the Emperor, but because she loved him as he was.
“I’m not impotent.”
He said quietly, his face darkening slightly as he took another sip. Roabellin looked at him as if he were saying nonsense.
“I don’t mean you, Kai. I mean His Majesty the Emperor.”
“I’m saying I’m not. Forget the Emperor—what about me?”
