âItâs done!â
In the room left alone after Shanett had gone, I lifted up the thick bundle of papers that finally put the finishing touches.
Revelation.
The hard work of the past few weeks has finally come to an end.
Itâs not perfect, to say the least, but it should be enough to get the Emperorâs cooperation.
Tears of emotion flowed.
âGabriel should really thank me.â
With this book, becoming an Emperor is a piece of cake.
It is written about the problem that Gabriel will face in the future, how to solve the problems that may arise, and the direction he should go.
Even without the Book of Revelation, Gabriel would be a wise Emperor anyway, as in the original story, but this book will make it easier for him to move on.
Now I have to meet the Emperor again and secretly talk to him and ask him to help me.
Iâm sure the Emperorâs mouth will be watering when I bring it up, along with Count Peliarâs drug case.
Gabrielâs origin problem will be resolved with the letter left by the former Empress, so there is no problem.
âItâs almost like paving a flower path to become an Emperor.â
I wonder if there are other possessors like me.
I chose this way to get back to Cesare, but Gabriel seems to only do good things.
But Iâm going to give another piece of cake to the person I hateâ¦
I got up and opened the door to the balcony.
A cool breeze blew into the room.
I went out and leaned against the railing and looked down at the garden.
Last time there was Cesare over there.
Looking down on the garden every night was a new habit.
This is to check if Cesare would have come again.
Even though I knew that breaking into the Crown Princeâs residence would put Cesareâs life in danger, I wanted to see Cesare and had foolish hopes.
âGabriel isnât here today.â
Gabriel always came back to this house to spend the night, despite the presence of the Imperial Palace.
Either heâs staying where I am, or heâs watching meâ¦
Maybe both.
But today was different.
It was late in the evening when Lee Jong-woo showed up unexpectedly and dragged Gabriel out, claiming they needed to talk.
âLetâs get drunk all night tonight!â
Wait. I donât think soâ¦.â
âHey. friend. Youâve never had a drink, have you? I told you thereâs a place that has really good lamb, letâs go there. Iâll buy you a drink tonight!â
âIf youâre going to drink, youâd better stay hereâ¦â
âAre you going to drink and flirt in the presence of a lady? And letâs give Miss Daphne a good nightâs rest, itâs only been a short time since she said she was sick. Letâs get the noisy men out of here.â
It was reckless, but in the end, it was Lee Jong-woo who won.
It was funny and refreshing to see Gabriel being dragged away so quickly.
It felt like peace of mind came to me just by disappearing the eyes that always looked at me.
Perhaps, with Godâs help, a little puppy is wandering around the mansionâs garden today.
I looked around with a hawkâs eye with a little hope, but the garden at night was quiet.
Hah, youâre a solitary woman whoâs working without a husband.
I sighed in despair.
âDaphne.â
Maybe it was because I missed him so much that I now have hallucinations.
I shook my head.
âDaphne. You wonât look at my face anymore, will you?â
But Cesareâs voice was heard twice. It is also very vivid.
I turned around in surprise.
Cesare was standing in the center of my room.
He must have fallen from the sky, but I was startled by the sudden appearance of Cesare and ran to him.
If I touch it with my hand.
Isnât this a dream?
âCesare? Are you really Cesare?â
âYes.â
âHow-â
The question of how he got here was swallowed up by Cesareâs lips, which had been attacked without warning.
A breath like a sigh flowed out, and it was swallowed as it is.
The hand holding the cheek was hot, and the body that touched it was warm.
I felt like my body temperature suddenly rose as if he had transferred the heat to me.
There were a lot of things I had to ask, but I didnât want to think about it because of my hazy senses.
This was the second time I had kissed Cesare.
The last time I saw him, I was just so happy to see him and I was busy checking my mind.
This time, though, it was softer, fuller, and more relaxed.
Even though it was clearly not a situation where I could enjoy my time, Cesare tenaciously grabbed me and refused to let me go.
When the squishy hand touched the nape of my neck, I lifted my heel without realizing it.
Cesare felt a slight smile.
After a while he hugged me tightly and said,
âI came over using the balcony of the other room.â
Oh my gosh. I hadnât thought of that way.
âMost of the guards outside are clustered near your room, and thereâs not much on the other side, so itâs easy to get over one balcony.â
âThere are knights in the hallway, too.â
âJust enough to draw attention.â
He gave me a smug look.
What if we get caughtâ¦
It was half surprise, half delight.
I reached out and grabbed Cesareâs hair, and he kissed the back of my hand.
âHow have you been?
âExcept that you missed me.â
âYou must have adapted to life here already.â
âDonât say that as a joke, Cesare.â
I made a horrified face, and Cesare pulled me into a hug and buried my face in his shoulder.
We stood still like that for a while. Just sharing the body temperature gave me a sense of security.
It was quiet inside the house, so it was as if only the two of us were left in this world.
But I canât keep doing this.
âCesare, wait a minute.â
This is Gabrielâs house, not ours.
If you get caught, itâs over.
I led Cesare to bed.
Embarrassed, I laid Cesare on the bed and covered it with a blanket.
Cesare called me.
âDaphne?â
âStay still.â
The movement that had been wriggling under the blanket stopped.
Satisfied, I approached the balcony.
The door was closed and the curtains were doubled to prevent outside guards from discovering Cesare, even in the shadows.
Now there are only outside knightsâ¦
The door leading to the hallway could not be locked from the inside.
It can only be locked from the outside.
It would be a big deal if Cesareâs and meâs voices leaked out by any chance.
I turned off all the lights in the room after making sure that Cesare, who was hiding under the bed, didnât move.
At first glance, it looked like a cushion.
Heâd be okay, right?
I left the darkened room behind and carefully opened the door.
A knight and Shannet were standing outside.
âMadam. is there anything you need?â
Shannet, who found me, asked me at the right time.
I pretended to be as tired as possible and put the back of my hand on my head.
âNo. Iâm a little tired, so Iâm going to bed early. Shannet, you should go back and get some rest too.â
âAre you okay? Should I bring you some hot milk?â
âItâs not like that. I just want to rest quietly.â
I deliberately opened the door a little and showed the darkened room inside.
âItâs been so noisy outside lately, I donât think Iâve been sleeping well. Gabriel said he was going to send me outside today and⦠I donât want to wait, so Iâd like to go to bed early, and I donât want anyone else around.â
âYes, got it.â
âSir knight too, please go in and rest.â
âI canât do that.â
The last time Cesare was found in the garden, security inside the mansion has been strengthened.
It didnât stop me from going out and in the room, but they followed me everywhere.
This is a little difficult.
I put on my best tired face.
âIf itâs because of Gabriel, canât they put up guards somewhere else? I canât sleep when I feel like Iâm being followed around every day.â
âBut Lady.â
âYou can stand guard on the stairs in the center of the hallway over there, because thatâs the only way I can get out to the garden or the kitchen or anywhere else.â
âBut this is what the Crown Prince orderedâ¦.â
âOh my. Sir Knight!â
Shannet stepped forward to the knight.
âMadam wants to rest! Who was the reason my madam fell last time? If madam collapses again, may I say it was your fault for disturbing her sleep?â
âThatâs not what I meant.â
âThen please be a little flexible.â
After a bit of arguing, the knight eventually agreed to stand on the central staircase as I had initially suggested.
After I got everyone out, I closed the door.
Still, I was not relieved, so I blocked the doorknob with a chair.
This should be enough.
â⦠Cesare?â
The room was quiet.
I approached the bed half-heartedly. I quickly rolled up the blanket and met his red eyes, smiling as if it was having fun.
I breathed a sigh of relief.
âI thought youâd gone back.â
âI was good at acting.â
He grabbed my hand and pulled me in.
I accidentally fell over on the bed.
I fell over Cesareâs body.
It was a little embarrassing, but I didnât avoid it.
A large hand gently wrapped around my waist.