Side Story 1: Yun-ah’s Story. My Own Drama Begins Again (2)

After hearing my words, Charte’s expression changed in truly diverse ways.

The first emotion he showed was puzzlement, not understanding my words, and the second was bewilderment.

The third was concern, the fourth was frustration, and the final one was regret.

It felt novel to see so many emotions on the face of a man who had shown only expressionlessness when they first met.

Ignoring his emotional changes, she put a piece of steak in her mouth and said casually.

“Why aren’t you eating? It’s really delicious. You should eat quickly too.”

“Huh? Yes.”

But after that, Charte couldn’t eat anymore.

While she ate with relish, his face grew increasingly troubled.

She kept filling her mouth with meat to hold back the laughter that was trying to escape.

* * *

When she came to the room wearing her nightgown, Charte was sitting on the soft sofa, his body buried in it, with a face that had lost touch with the world.

“Charte, what are you doing there? Let’s go to bed quickly.”

Charte, whose soul seemed to have disappeared, walked over like a zombie and lay down beside her.

She burrowed into his arms, rested her head on his arm, and said.

“It feels like the first time I’ve lain down comfortably since coming to the empire.”

She wanted to tease him more, but in his warm embrace, she fell asleep instantly.

When she woke up refreshed in the morning, her eyes met Charte’s, who had been watching her.

Unlike her, who felt fresh after sleeping well for the first time in a long time, Charte had become haggard and hollow-eyed in just one night.

It was surprising to see someone who had always been fine even after staying up all night change like this.

Charte’s stamina was an unfathomable mystery.

“Charte, didn’t you sleep? You look tired. Are you feeling unwell?”

“It’s not that.”

“Still, I think you’re really amazing. Keeping your promises. As expected of an excellent emperor.”

Instead of answering, he gave a bitter smile.

She wanted to tell him that he didn’t need to absolutely stop, but his pitiful appearance had a different kind of charm.

She wanted to play a prank a little longer.

* * *

“Judith, I need to go check personally.”

“Yes, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Today was the day she would have dinner with Ivester and his fiancée, Lady Ariel.

After personally going to the kitchen to check the food, she came to the dining room.

Everything was perfect, the subtle scented candles, hydrangea-filled vases placed here and there, and the tablecloth with elegant embroidery.

“Everyone did their best because Your Majesty the Empress paid special attention.”

“I’m very pleased. Tell everyone they did well. And Judith, you worked hard too.”

“You flatter me. I only did what needed to be done.”

Ivester and Lady Ariel arrived first.

Lady Ariel held the hem of her dress and curtseyed.

“Welcome, Lady Ariel.”

“It’s an honor to be invited, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Shortly after, Charte arrived, and we began our meal.

Gathered like this, it felt like a couples’ meeting.

“What do you like about Ivester?”

“Pardon?”

Ariel opened her eyes wide like a rabbit, apparently not expecting such a question from the empress.

She looked very lovely.

“I liked how he is affectionate and always respects me. He was the first person who always asked for my opinion first and consulted with me about everything.”

Ariel’s warm gaze turned toward Ivester as she answered.

Seeing the two smiling at each other made her happy for no reason.

“Your Majesty, if you would allow it, I would like to host their wedding banquet.”

“If the empress wishes it, then do so. There’s no need to seek separate permission for such things.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you.”

“We are deeply honored, Your Majesty the Emperor, Your Majesty the Empress.”

Ivester was genuinely grateful, and Ariel also seemed remarkably touched.

“When will you hold the ceremony? Minister Pahorder.”

“We plan to hold it as soon as possible. That way, we can go on our honeymoon during the school building expansion period.”

“Minister Pahorder, I will give you ample vacation time, so enjoy your honeymoon comfortably.”

“That’s not necessary. I’ve already discussed it with the lady. She is also interested in and supports the system of schools that commoners can attend, so we’ve decided to take a short honeymoon.”

After finishing the meal, we continued our conversation while drinking wine.

The more they talked, the better she got along with Lady Ariel.

Ariel also liked children and was a talented individual who had graduated from the academy with excellent grades.

“Lady Ariel.”

“Yes? Your Majesty the Empress.”

“If it’s alright with you, could you help with the school?”

“Pardon? Me? I lack ability and, above all, have never worked before.”

Where to find teachers was also a concern.

She had inquired everywhere, from academy professors to nobles’ private tutors, but no one was stepping forward willingly.

No one was willing to teach commoners.

“Who is good at something from the start? You get better as you do it.”

“Could I be of help?”

Ariel asked with shining eyes.

She had a feeling she would make a good friend.

* * *

Lying in bed made her body feel languid.

Unlike usual, Charte came in later than she did and sat on the sofa instead of coming to her side.

“About Lady Ariel. She seems like a good person.”

“They both seem like kind people.”

“I think I might make my first real friend here. That makes me happy.”

“I’m glad that you’re happy. But Yun-ah, I realized there’s something else I haven’t done for you.”

“What? What do you mean? What haven’t you done for me? Everything is more than enough.”

“We never went on our honeymoon.”

“Ah, I’m fine with that.”

“No. I’ll make time, even if it’s short. Though late, let’s go on a honeymoon.”

A warm feeling spread through her heart, making her emotional.

She wanted to hug him right away.

Come to think of it, it was strange.

Since coming to the empire, they had never been this far apart when alone together.

“Charte, why are you sitting so far away?”

“I just think this distance is good for now. By the way, is there somewhere you’d like to go for our honeymoon?”

His words were strange, but the excitement of going on a honeymoon left her no time to think about it further.

“I want to go somewhere with the sea.”

“If we go south, there’s a villa owned by the imperial family near the sea. We can go there.”

She jumped up, went to Charte, and hugged him tightly.

“Thank you, Charte.”

Charte carefully wrapped his hands around her waist.

She heard his soft sigh.

“I’m sleepy.”

“I have some thinking to do, so go to sleep first.”

“Put me to sleep.”

He gave a bitter smile as she pulled him to the bed.

She nestled into his arms, resting her head on his arm.

His embrace was as warm as ever, like her eternal place.

“Yun-ah.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“This makes it hard for me to keep my promise.”

“What promise?”

“The promise to not let you lose weight.”

Ah! She had forgotten about that, and realizing that was why he had kept his distance made her laugh.

To be honest, she had missed it too.

It had been comfortable, but that was a different matter.

“Can you see how much better my face looks after getting a few good nights of sleep?”

“Yes. That makes me feel even more sorry. My heart feels one way, but I don’t know why my body is so selfish and does what it wants.”

She could feel his body hardening.

She loved his passion, how he could always be so ardent with her.

“But not every day. My stamina is different from yours. And when I give the signal, that’s the end for the night. I feel too exhausted when I can’t sleep at all.”

“Signal?”

“Yes. I think it’s what I’ve said to you most often. Maybe.”

“What you’ve said to me most often……”

He fell into deep thought.

After a moment, the corners of his mouth curved up smoothly.

Their eyes met, and they spoke simultaneously.

“That’s all for tonight, Your Majesty.”

“That’s all for tonight, Your Majesty.”

Having finished speaking at the same time, they burst into laughter.

“Well, since you’ve had a few good nights of sleep.”

Charte’s eyes blazed, and he immediately pressed his lips to hers.

After days of solitude, their lips endlessly explored each other.

Only when it became impossible to breathe did they finally part, letting out heated breaths.

His burning eyes moved from her face down to her body.

Just his gaze was enough to make her whole body flush with heat.

As if making up for his pent-up desire, he consumed her.

“Haah!”

The rough breathing echoing in the room, which had grown hot with dense temperature, was strangely stimulating.

Her whole body tightened from the unbearable stimulation, and her entire being heated up with passion.

Even the beads of sweat flowing along the contours of Charte’s muscles felt dizzying.

Her whole body felt like it was burning with excitement.

It was a night of endless passion.

She couldn’t even count how many times she had reached cl*max.

Having embraced each other after so long, they simply couldn’t stop.

She noticed that dawn was already breaking.

Her body felt like a soaked cotton ball, completely limp.

Even to herself, she felt almost embarrassingly like an incarnation of l*st.

At that moment, Charte’s hand touched her body intimately.

Squeezing out her last bit of strength, she grabbed his hand and said,

“Your Majesty the Emperor, tonight ends here.”

He looked at her with an extremely regretful and pitiful face.

“That look won’t work. Why don’t we have a middle ground?”

“How could I stop when you’re right in front of me?”

Seeing Charte speak so seriously made her laugh.

“Charte, for our honeymoon, will we spend time just the two of us? Or will you bring all your work and everyone from Viscount Catano on up?”

“Of course we’ll spend time just the two of us. I’ll be busy until we go. I might not be able to come for a while.”

* * *

News of his trip threw the emperor’s palace and officials into emergency mode.

Charte had declared he would go on a honeymoon for a month.

The officials tried to persuade him that it wasn’t possible, but their words fell on deaf ears.

Eventually, everyone from Viscount Catano to her father came to her, pleading and begging.

As a result, our trip was adjusted to one week.

Only the imperial guards for security and servants from the emperor’s and empress’s palaces would accompany us.

The Grand Chamberlain organized the staff from the emperor’s palace, and the head lady-in-waiting organized from the empress’s palace as they packed.

After spending a passionate night together, we hadn’t seen each other since.

And finally, the day of the trip dawned.

Her eyes opened naturally early in the morning, and the maids took great care in preparing her.

Looking in the mirror for a final check of her appearance.

Her face, flushed like an apple at the thought of seeing Charte after so long, looked pretty even to herself.

Barely suppressing her nervous heart, she walked to where the carriage was waiting.

There, the most handsome man in the world, who loved her more than anyone else, was waiting for her.

He strode over and escorted her to the carriage.

At some point, Charte had always started waiting for her.

He had never once arrived later than she did.

She liked this change in him.

He was already wonderful, but today he seemed even more so.

Through Charte, she had learned that love could grow deeper every day.

After boarding the carriage, Charte gave the order to depart.

Their honeymoon had begun.