Side Story 8. The Play

Johann, who had said he wanted to teach the first lesson himself, had been volunteering as a teacher for several days now. Before we knew it, two chairs were placed side by side at the desk.

Ionia, who had said she would supervise, seemed to think it was fine when Johann and I really just worked, so she left after staying for only a few hours on the first day.

Scratch, scratch. The sound of the quill pen rubbing against the paper pleasantly echoed in my ears.

I stole a glance at Johann, who had a serious, sunken expression.

Can a man concentrating be this handsome?

The slightly trembling silver hair, eyes shining like a deep sea, steady breathing, a calm yet appropriately heavy atmosphere.

Everything was like a picture.

Did he really jump out of a painting? Where did the dynamic man from the bedroom go, existing here like a single work of art?

Thinking thoughts that might make someone cringe to death if they heard them, I found myself openly admiring Johann.

“Like this.”

“……!”

Just then, Johann turned his head, tapping the desk with his finger. I was startled as our eyes met directly.

“You’re not concentrating.”

“No, that’s…”

We’ve been at this for four hours, so it’s natural for concentration to waver, right?

Am I the only one like this?

Is everyone else able to concentrate all day long?

However, unlike the ordinary me, Johann was certain when working. Intuitively realizing this wasn’t something to be glossed over with aegyo, I shut my mouth tight and turned my eyes to the documents instead of making excuses.

“Hmm, so you’re saying to write opinions like this?”

Elegant handwriting.

Even Johann’s writing was imperial in itself.

“Try it here.”

He brought a new file of documents in front of me. I was supposed to read the agenda written here and process it reflecting my thoughts.

The problem was that it was too difficult to properly have ‘my thoughts’.

I had to be fair, equitable, sometimes strict, sometimes lenient in dealing with issues. It was said that acquiring that judgment was wisdom.

“Umm…”

I groaned as I read through the documents.

The black things are letters, and the white thing is paper.

Honestly, for me who originally wasn’t good at studying, this desk struggle was as hard as fighting the undead. No, maybe rolling around physically would be better.

“The quill pen, please.”

I asked without taking my eyes off the document. Johann placed a quill pen with an appropriate amount of ink in my hand.

Let’s try writing first.

Then Johann will probably draw cancellation lines all over it and explain why such judgments would be disastrous.

I was dealing with what you might call complaints coming up from various parts of Elmon.

Normally, reports of this level wouldn’t come up to the Emperor or Empress, he said. But since I lacked the basics of governance so much, I decided to start with these small issues.

Small things come together to form big things.

Johann said that if I build a solid foundation from here, I’ll be able to read the various flows inherent in major agenda items later.

A free soup kitchen, huh.

Isn’t it good because it’s welfare?

At first glance, the purpose seemed good and there didn’t seem to be anything to object to. However, it wasn’t once or twice that I had received a long lecture from Johann after signing “No problem?” right away on such reports.

<You can’t just sign like that.>

<I didn’t just sign. I thought about it before doing it.>

<Didn’t you look at the financial status? Where will the money come from to push this through? The Finance Minister’s forehead will get one more wrinkle. If we pour money here, it means other places will be empty. Unless you want to make the imperial citizens scream while pulling their hair out by increasing taxes, this should be rejected.>

<But I think everyone would like it if we renovate the park…>

<They’ll be covered in dust during the construction period. It’s still a perfectly fine park.>

<There’s no need to be so picky about such a small park.>

<If we do it here, other regions will rise up asking for the same. Are you confident you can do it fairly for all? If you had the budget of the relevant department in your head, you’d know it’s impossible.>

<……>

<…Well, that’s what I’m saying.>

<I understand.>

<…Did I speak too harshly?>

<No. It’s all correct, so. I’ll fix it.>

<Sera.>

<What. I’m fixing it, aren’t I?>

<Look at me for a moment, okay? Stop looking at the documents and look at my face.>

These kinds of things had been repeated several times over the past three days.

Johann promised to explain calmly and gently next time, but it seemed it wasn’t immediately correctable. It was a point where I could see how seriously and earnestly he was dealing with the task of governing the empire.

Personally, I was hurt, but officially, I liked Johann like this. I wanted to be like him.

Anyway, since it’s upsetting to hear harsh words, let’s think carefully so as not to hear such things.

Scratch, scratch.

I wrote down my thoughts in the blank spaces of the document. It was the thoughts of the Empress, not of Seraphina as an individual.

After finishing, I handed the document to Johann for confirmation. Watching his blue eyes move quietly from side to side, I added an explanation.

“I thought there might be leaks here and there if we give money. Since staples like wheat come out of the imperial storehouse anyway, I wondered if we could support a few other basic ingredients along with it.”

My voice got smaller towards the end.

I was worried if I had made another mistake, if there was something I had overlooked.

Johann took his eyes off the paper and looked at me.

“Excellent.”

“……!”

He stroked my head with his large hand. From his touch, from his gaze, it was clearly conveyed that he found me admirable, and I unknowingly blushed.

I felt shy. And proud.

Hehe.

Was I acknowledged?

“As a reward, how about we wrap up here for today?”

“Already?”

I was surprised and looked out the window. It was bright daylight when we should be working hard.

Johann was smiling meaningfully, as if he had prepared something. I blinked with curiosity.

“Here.”

He took out two pieces of paper from his chest.

What are those? At a glance, they looked like some kind of tickets…

“A play? ‘Morning Star’?”

I read the title of the play ‘Morning Star’ written on the ticket and looked at Johann. I had no idea what it was about.

“What is this? Is it famous?”

“It’s a new play that recently came out, and I heard the reviews are good.”

“Oh-ho.”

For reference, I had never seen a play before.

Maybe that’s why.

Somehow, my heart was pounding.

* * *

We came out dressed in commoner’s clothes to avoid drawing attention.

Was it because we were going outside the imperial palace walls after a long time? Joseph and Arnaud, who had been bored with nothing to do usually, followed us, saying they finally had a chance to escort the Empress. Unfortunately, they were stopped by Johann.

<Have you ever seen such tactless guys?>

<But we are Her Majesty the Empress’s escort knights. Please allow us to follow!>

<Marseus is stronger than you. Don’t worry and absolutely do not follow.>

<Your Majesty, please give us some work…!>

<I won’t forgive you if you interfere with our date.>

Johann warned in a very stern voice at the end, and Joseph and Arnaud had no choice but to retreat with a yelp.

I inwardly let out an awkward yet embarrassed laugh.

Seeing the two knights who were desperate to escort made me feel grateful for their loyalty, but also embarrassed and ashamed thinking that I had eliminated someone’s job by being cooped up in the bedroom with Johann for a month.

Joseph and Arnaud headed to the training grounds again today with slumped shoulders.

Anyway, that’s how I ended up walking through the bustling streets alone with Johann.

Dressed in commoner’s clothes and walking around like this, it felt like we had gone back to the old days. Although the presence of the man beside me did bring a sense of novelty.

We were walking hand in hand. It’s just this, but my heart was incredibly ticklish.

No one would know that the Emperor and Empress are here like this, right?

Feeling like we had become just an ordinary couple, I felt my heart filling up with a sense of complete happiness.

Just the fact that we were walking side by side made me so happy that I glanced to the side, and Johann was already looking at me. Our eyes curved at the same time.

“You look quite noble for a commoner.”

“My dignity overflows too much to be hidden by mere clothes.”

Johann puffed up and retorted to my compliment. He seemed to think he was joking, but from the listener’s perspective, it was a statement that made one agree.

By the way, I thought you had to dress properly to go to an opera or play.

What kind of play is it that it’s only performed in theaters frequented by commoners? According to Johann, it’s so entertaining that rumors have spread, and there are even some nobles who disguise themselves as commoners to watch it.

“We’re here.”

Perhaps because it was close to the start time of the play, the front of the theater was crowded with people.

I looked up at the building’s sign. The wooden sign was appropriately shabby yet had the appearance of a popular theater.

“Wow. Are all these people here to see ‘Morning Star’?”

“Probably.”

When I let out an exclamation, Johann nodded with a confident face, as if thinking we had come to the right place.

It seemed the rumors weren’t an exaggeration.

I could feel the excitement from the people pouring into the theater.

I sat down with Johann in the seats written on our tickets.

I hope it starts soon. I found myself tapping my feet without realizing.

“I’m so excited.”

When I said this with a grin, Johann looked at me with loving eyes.

“I’ll bring you again.”

“How annoying.”

“……?!”

Startled by the voice that suddenly interjected, I opened my eyes wide in surprise. It seemed Johann was surprised too. Both our heads turned at the same time.

“Seeing you make such an ill-fitting expression makes me want to pluck out your eyeballs. Well, I can’t say I don’t understand the charm of Purifier Seraphina.”

“There are more splendid theaters in Sahar. Hilton has nothing.”

“What? Say that again.”

“Did I say anything wrong?”

Claude and Mihail were sitting in the seats behind us.