Chohee rejoiced at the letter from Claes and read through it in one go. The report was extremely detailed. Her heart especially fluttered at the words “I love you” written at the very end of the letter.

But after finishing the letter, she bit her lips tightly, feeling miserable about her situation.

The fact that she wasn’t waking up from this dream weighed heavily on her mind.

‘Why won’t I wake up?’

She had already been staying in this dream world for over a month. The fact that her phone alarm hadn’t gone off for this long suggested two possibilities.

First, she was sleeping too deeply to hear her phone alarm.

Second, her body had died while dreaming, or she had an accident and couldn’t wake up from unconsciousness.

Either situation was equally alarming.

‘I hope it’s just that I can’t hear my phone alarm properly… Then I’d sleep enough and wake up. But if it’s the other case…’

Her heart clenched tightly.

When the thought struck her that she might have died in her sleep or fallen into unconsciousness, she felt tormented by the idea that she had no choice but to live in this dream world.

Without realizing it, she clutched the letter like a lifeline.

“Lady Elysia. Is there anywhere you feel uncomfortable?”

At the maid’s question in front of her, Chohee shook her head.

But no matter how comfortably they treated her here, the place where she should properly work and live was reality. Not this dream world…

‘Besides, I didn’t want to do anything other than play the role of a breeding vessel here… What if all the consequences come crashing down at once…?’

Her body began to tremble slightly with anxiety. With High Priest Altair dead, revealing that the subsequent oracle was false had hit a dead end. In this situation, spending time living here absolutely required Lars’s protection.

‘But if even Lars ends up believing the oracle…’

Chohee gripped the hem of her dress tightly. She couldn’t bear to sit still and stood up from her seat. The maid watched her with a puzzled expression, but Chohee tried to communicate somehow through gestures.

However, the maid couldn’t catch what Chohee intended to say at all. Even when she tried to express the name “Lars,” communication completely failed.

‘This is frustrating…’

“I’m sorry, Lady Elysia. If you can write, could you please write it down? Then I think I could understand.”

Chohee hesitated for a moment.

But soon she shook her head. In the current situation, she couldn’t tell whether it would be good or bad if it was revealed that she could write.

“…I’m sorry. If I could understand your gestures, I would have done something somehow…”

The maid looked very apologetic. Chohee sighed but waved her hands dismissively. Then she went back to her chair, sat down, leaned back against the backrest, and sipped her tea.

‘This is inconvenient…’

She had planned to reveal that she could speak when Claes came, but she didn’t know what words she should use to express her feelings to him then.

And until now, there had been no problem at all following Claes and Lars’s lead, but now it was different. Lars was too busy and barely had enough time even with two bodies due to the murder case investigation.

Claes was affectionate but far away now, so she was afraid of encountering nobles who would treat Elysia as a breeding vessel because of the newly issued oracle.

‘Even though Lars would say he’d lock up all such people… If they don’t express it in front of him and only express it in front of me, there would be limits to me reporting it to him since I can’t memorize all the nobles’ faces.’

It was time to break away from the breeding vessel role. Chohee bit her lips and picked up a macaron in front of her to eat. She ate sweet snacks all day long but fortunately didn’t gain weight.

* * *

Several more days passed like that.

Chohee heard from Lars that Claes was returning. Seeing her brightened expression, Lars smiled affectionately.

“When Brother Claes comes, he’ll immediately reveal that the oracle is false. Of course, I’ve been investigating and even secured witnesses… But Brother will do it more thoroughly, even exposing the nobles’ weaknesses to make it certain.”

Chohee nodded her head repeatedly.

And she made a decision.

‘When Claes returns this time, I’ll reveal that I can speak. Then I’ll say that instead of the breeding vessel role, I want to work as the next generation’s empress.’

If she also revealed her feelings for him, Claes would really be happy, right?

Chohee’s chest swelled with anticipation. Seeing her grinning happily, Lars was also pleased. He gently held one cheek and kissed her softly, making Chohee close her eyes.

Ah, he wanted to kiss his lovely her more. Lars had a state council meeting soon but wanted to spend more time with Chohee. However, if things heated up here, he wouldn’t be able to attend the government meeting. As Claes’s representative, he had to avoid such situations.

He licked her upper lip playfully with his tongue, then deeply sucked on her upper lip. Chohee let out a sweet m*an and slightly opened her eyes to look up at him.

“Sweet. Your lips are sweet, Elysia.”

Lars whispered gently while pressing his lips to Chohee’s forehead. It was a kiss of oath that he would protect her. Chohee closed her eyes to fully feel Lars’s touch, her heart pounding.

After a few minutes, Lars’s lips parted. He cupped both of Chohee’s cheeks while their foreheads touched. Then he lightly pressed his lips to hers several times.

“It’s about time I should go. I’ll be back, Elysia.”

Lars smiled gently at her behavior of looking at him with longing eyes.

“After the state council meeting and before handling government affairs, I’ll stop by once more. Let’s have lunch together. Savoring your lips is incredibly sweet, but spending time together is truly enjoyable too.”

“……”

Chohee wrapped her arms around his neck and slowly released him. It was only after that when Lars, who had been sitting on the bed, raised his body. Leisurely, he kissed the top of Chohee’s head and then turned around.

Chohee blinked as she watched him leave the bedroom. Then she took out a book from the bookshelf and began reading.

Quiet time passed.

Before long, the sun was high in the sky, and it was time for their promised lunch. Chohee left her room and headed to the dining room. Maids and knights followed behind her.

Ever since Karad came last time and caused a disturbance in front of the guards, Lars made sure Chohee was always accompanied by escort forces wherever she went.

‘Huh? Is that perhaps… a library?’

But on the way, she could see a man who appeared to be a noble coming out with a book. Since Chohee read the same books every day, she got excited when she peered through the door crack at the library with new books on the shelves.

‘Reading would be good for proving that I’m not just a simple breeding vessel too.’

When Chohee began smiling brightly, one quick-witted maid opened the library door for her. Chohee felt sorry for making Lars wait a little, but she entered the library planning to quickly pick out a book and leave.

“Ah. It’s Lady Elysia. Please come in.”

Since the library of the Third Prince’s palace served like a library for those working there, the librarian greeted Chohee with a smiling face. Chohee walked lightly and pulled out a book titled “History of the Empire.”

‘For reference books to do proper work as an empress, political and historical books would be the best, right? If Lars sees me reading this, he’ll teach me government affairs I can handle too.’

“You want to borrow this book. Yes. I’ve recorded it. You may go now.”

Chohee bowed slightly. Seeing this, the librarian also smiled and bowed in greeting.

“Hehe.”

Chohee walked forward with the thick book in her arms. Upon entering the dining room, she could see Lars sitting at the front of the long dining table.

“Elysia.”

He looked at her with an affectionate smile. And immediately his gaze turned to the book she was holding. Chohee proudly showed the cover with the book’s title written on it.

“Hehe. Now you’re really preparing to become Crown Princess Consort. Elysia.”

Chohee nodded repeatedly. When she hurried over to sit across from Lars, a servant pulled out her chair. After placing the book beside her, Chohee kept grinning.

“I’m really glad you chose a book you like. Preparation to become Crown Princess Consort doesn’t matter if it’s slow, so don’t overdo it by reading books or harm your health. In any situation, you are the highest priority.”

At Lars’s gentle words, Chohee curved her dark eyes. At her sweet eye-smile, Lars’s heart melted helplessly. Lars gazed at her with eyes that seemed to melt honey while putting a warm smile on his lips.

Various dishes soon appeared on the dining table.