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Chapter 22
“Oh dear, Red. I don’t really like it when you apologize on behalf of other people.”
“Really? Okay.”
When I answered with a perfectly calm expression, as if I’d never done such a thing, Killian smiled softly.
“In any case, what matters right now is that you’re by my side. Robin and Bill are currently carrying out an important mission I entrusted to them.”
At his words, I let out a sigh of relief.
So I’ll get to see Robin and Uncle Bill soon! I can’t wait.
But what kind of mission are they on?
I should ask when they come back.
After returning to the imperial palace, I immediately resumed my afternoon duties.
While I was thoroughly cleaning the corridor, the chief aide came trudging toward me from the opposite direction, his shoulders slumped.
The moment Nathan, the chief aide, made eye contact with me, he rushed over as if he’d found his last shred of hope and began pouring out his complaints.
“Y-Your Maj— no, um, Sanitation Officer. Please save me. A few days ago, His Majesty spilled ink all over every document I prepared all night, and now he’s spilling tea everywhere. I need to get approvals immediately! Sanitation Officer! Please do something about His Majesty! Please! The only person who can save me is you!”
“You’ve really been working hard.”
Dark circles hung beneath Nathan’s eyes, and he was clearly exhausted to the bone.
“I need those approvals right now to proceed… Please persuade His Majesty. Please! No matter how I think about it, you’re the only one who can save me!”
I felt sorry for him—he always looked so overworked—but I was still puzzled as to why the chief aide was asking me for something like this.
“Chief Aide, I’m not in a position like that.”
“No. Other than you, there is no one who can persuade His Majesty.”
His tired blue eyes stared at me desperately.
Still, if the chief aide is suffering this much, maybe I could at least try…
Unable to ignore the earnest gaze that looked at me as if I were his last lifeline, I hesitated before answering.
“I don’t know if it’ll work, but I’ll try talking to him.”
“As expected, the only one we can trust is Y-Your Maj— no, Sanitation Officer! Sob…”
The chief aide left, declaring that he was counting on me alone.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“The Sanitation Officer has arrived.”
As the attendant knocked and announced me, a loud bang! sounded from inside, and the door flew open.
“Red, why are you so late? Hurry up and come in.”
Killian grabbed my hand and pulled me inside.
Every afternoon, he always called me over, saying it was hard for him to drink tea alone.
On the table were delicious-looking desserts and tea, and beside them, documents already soaked in spilled tea. The papers were completely ruined.
“Your Majesty, you’ve already spilled this much tea?”
“If you’d come earlier, I wouldn’t have spilled it. The teacup was a bit hot, so I dropped it.”
As I wiped up the spilled tea, I spoke.
“It seems like the chief aide is having a really hard time.”
The warmth in Killian’s eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a cold, metallic chill.
“Nathan?”
“Aren’t these documents the ones he prepared? He looked pale as a ghost and came to complain to me—must’ve been desperate. It seems like they need approval quickly.”
“So Nathan went as far as telling you such trivial, pointless things?”
A cold edge crept into Killian’s gaze. Worried that the chief aide might end up suffering even more because of me, I set the cloth down and grabbed both of Killian’s hands.
“You shouldn’t treat people who work hard like that. Your Majesty, you should know how precious people are. It makes it seem like I’m the only one getting special treatment. I wish you’d treat the people who support you just as well as you treat me. Otherwise… it makes me uncomfortable.”
Killian stared at me for a long moment with a shocked expression, then asked quietly,
“Special treatment… makes you uncomfortable?”
He’s going to pout again at this rate. Sometimes he’s just like a kid.
“I’m saying I’d feel better if you treated your subordinates well too.”
When I smiled reassuringly, his tense expression slowly relaxed.
“Alright, Red.”
“He’s not a child, yet people wouldn’t believe that the great emperor of the empire actually needs this much looking after.”
Killian chuckled lightly at my words.
“I think everyone already knows.”
“I suppose so. You cause accidents every day and summon me at all hours. Everyone looks like they’re about to die whenever they see my face, just so they can complain! Killian, since we’re on the topic, please think about the people under you a bit more. They’re all working so hard. Knowing the value of people is a basic virtue the emperor who rules an empire should have.”
Whenever I saw how harshly Killian treated those who assisted him, I couldn’t help but sigh.
Even to my eyes, they were all loyal to him, yet Killian worked them relentlessly all day long.
What if they all quit from exhaustion?
Just watching made me worried. Since everyone kept insisting that I was the only one who could say these things to the emperor, I found myself nagging Killian like this whenever I got the chance.
“The only one who thinks about me like this really is you, Red.”
“Huh?”
I didn’t quite understand what he meant, but Killian just kept smiling at me.
The emperor’s office.
Hearing that he’d been summoned, Nathan hurried over and stood before the emperor.
“Nathan, you’ve worked hard supporting me all this time. Bring all the documents that need approval today at once. I’ll approve everything now.”
Nathan tilted his head in confusion.
The emperor from the morning and the emperor from the afternoon felt like two completely different people—so much so that he wondered if he was dreaming.
Nathan stood there with his mouth slightly open, unaware that his pupils were practically shaking.
What is this? Is His Majesty mocking me?
Nathan rubbed his eyes. Unaccustomed to the sight before him, he even shook his head.
But the beaming smile on the emperor’s face was so alien that Nathan couldn’t tell whether this situation was real or a dream.
Is he going to ambush me like last time? Or… is this some kind of test?
Normally, every time he presented documents, the emperor would shower him with sharp sarcasm and ridicule—but there was no sign of that at all.
“Nathan! I am fully aware of how hard my chief aide has worked. Once the approvals are done, you may apply for a few days of leave. You deserve it.”
What?! He said that?
The emperor? That hopeless emperor?
Did His Majesty take the wrong medicine?
He didn’t even take medicine, yet Nathan was so bewildered it felt as though the emperor must have swallowed something strange.
“L-Leave? Your Majesty, are you sure you said you’d approve the documents—and even grant leave? Did you eat something wrong?”
Killian’s gaze sharpened for a brief moment, but it quickly softened. Nodding, he said,
“Yes. My personal sanitation officer told me that I should understand how precious those who assist me are. So from now on, I intend to cherish everyone who serves me.”
Like lightning, realization struck Nathan.
Lady Red succeeded!
His chest swelled with emotion. Hope bubbled up inside him. The emperor who looked like he’d never shed a drop of blood or tears even if the world ended had softened like this—thanks to the divine Lady Red!
The true power behind the throne is Lady Red!
In his heart, Nathan swore absolute loyalty to the future empress.
He couldn’t afford to waste the opportunity she’d given him.
“Your Majesty! Please wait just a moment—I’ll bring everything right away!”
Nathan dashed out of the emperor’s office.
The emperor who used to sneer at every document and hurl biting remarks had changed. He smiled throughout, raised no objections, and even praised him for his hard work.
An unbelievable transformation.
This is the chance Lady Red created. I must get everything approved—no matter what! Who knows when His Majesty might change his mind again.
Nathan practically flew to the aides’ office, gathered the documents, and presented them to the emperor.
“Mm, well done. Good work. Nathan, when was the last time you took leave?”
“Leave? Five years ago was my last one. Since Your Majesty returned, I haven’t had a single day off. It’s been extremely exhausting and difficult—”
Killian cut him off.
“Very well, Nathan. Apply for leave. Since you’ve worked so hard, I’ll grant you a special two-week vacation. I’ll also issue a bonus to all aides for their efforts—tell them to go out and enjoy a proper meal together. And there’s something you’ll need to buy when you’re on leave.”
As Nathan watched Killian finish the approvals and leave the office, tears of gratitude welled up in his eyes.
Lady Red is pure light.
That day, the aides’ work ended early, and a grand banquet went on all night in the Kingston district, the largest central area of the imperial capital.
As I cleaned every corner of the palace, something had felt strange for the past few days.
Whether I was cleaning, heading to eat, or being summoned by Killian, the gazes of the palace’s attendants and maids felt… closer, somehow. Like they really wanted to get closer to me.
What is going on with everyone?
“Sanitation Officer! Thanks to you, the imperial palace is full of smiles again today.”
“Sanitation Officer, please try this. I bought it especially for you from a famous dessert shop in the capital.”
One maid shyly offered me a dessert.
Everyone I met greeted me with bright smiles, leaving me feeling a bit bewildered.
Is there some good thing happening in the palace that I don’t know about?
