Serid said this while picking up a chicken leg from the table and immediately tearing into it. Ir did the same. After sparring all day, their hunger had reached its peak. She grabbed a large mug and downed the cold beer inside in one gulp, then picked up meat like Serid and attacked it with fierce determination.

People who didn’t know the situation gossiped that Ir and Serid must be spending passionate nights together atop the tower. Their words weren’t entirely wrong. Every night, they frantically satisfied their hunger like this.

Ir picked up another mug, caught her breath, and chuckled.

“You noticed?”

“Wouldn’t it be strange if I didn’t? Even today when I happened to see Prime Minister Nergal from a distance, he was glaring at me so terrifyingly.”

Serid shuddered at the memory.

Until now, Serid had never really feared anything. Born a prince, he had shown talent in swordsmanship from childhood that made people wonder if he was even human. His family loved him and his people took pride in him. Of course, he wasn’t completely free from envious glances. But honestly, even that wasn’t much of a problem for him. He always won anyway.

But this afternoon, the moment his eyes met Nergal’s, Serid felt his spine chill. He could tell instinctively that Nergal harbored murderous intent toward him.

Boiling murderous intent isn’t scary. People with uncontrolled emotions are easy to break down. But the murderous intent Nergal harbored was different. He could eliminate Serid anytime he wanted, but was choosing to spare him—there was an overwhelming sense of superiority in that feeling.

Serid was flustered by this unfamiliar sensation. He picked up a well-baked piece of bread and said:

“I don’t want to be murdered by the emperor’s lover. Honestly, I quite like Prime Minister Nergal.”

“Your taste is… that way?”

“No! What did you think when I told you about my lover?”

“What lover? You’re the one clinging to her one-sidedly.”

Serid deflated at Ir’s response.

Just like Ir said, Serid had someone he loved back home. The problem was that it seemed to be unrequited love. That’s how he ended up consulting Ir about it without realizing.

“Honestly, I was dumbfounded when I first heard it. To think there’d be someone asking me for romantic advice.”

When Serid first approached her with a serious face asking if she could give him some advice, Ir unconsciously looked at the Holy Sword in her hand. Strange. She didn’t remember hitting her head.

But after hearing Serid’s story, she understood why he had sought her counsel. The person Serid loved had severe scars from burns, just like her past self. Moreover, she had been injured while saving Serid’s younger sibling when they went to play at a villa.

Because of this, she was recognized for her merit and became Serid’s personal guard knight. In the process, she received envy and jealousy from others, and even greater pity.

When he explained the situation, Ir spoke like she could guess:

“Her personality probably became incredibly blunt, right? She carries out her duties precisely but has almost no personal interaction. She only responds to your words with ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ never sharing anything personal.”

“Exactly!”

Serid asked Ir more and more questions after she immediately guessed what kind of person she was upon hearing his story. What words would hurt her, would this kind of approach be okay, and so on.

Perhaps because there were many similarities to her past self, Ir responded earnestly to his consultation requests. The conversations grew longer, and before they knew it, she had brought him to her watchtower to share meals together.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason she let Serid in. He was truly a delightful sparring partner, and she genuinely wanted to give him advice, but she wasn’t stupid enough to bring a foreigner into the highest security area for those reasons alone.

‘Honestly, Nergal’s reaction is quite amusing.’

Until now, Nergal had never shown any particular reaction no matter who stayed by her side. But his response to Serid was different. From the beginning, he didn’t hide his wariness and glared from afar in a way that was clearly visible even to Ir.

‘He knows exactly what my type is.’

Nergal must have known immediately. That she and Serid would quickly become close, and that they would become people who deeply empathized with each other.

Perhaps because of this, Nergal would openly glare whenever she was with Serid. Every time she saw this, Ir felt…

‘It’s amusing.’

Nergal was someone who didn’t reveal his emotions much unless he was in front of her. Even Ishin, who had been with Nergal for a long time, had been surprised like someone seeing something they shouldn’t when he saw Nergal smile in front of Ir. Honestly speaking, even Ir couldn’t see all of Nergal’s sides. Since being with Ir, Nergal had tried to show only his best side in front of her.

‘It’s not that I dislike him only smiling in front of me, but… I wish he’d be more comfortable.’

How could life only have good things? Especially for someone in Nergal’s position, it was natural to have more things to be angry about than good things. But Nergal never showed it in front of her.

At first, she felt sorry for him, but lately she was becoming dissatisfied with this behavior.

‘Why does he hide things from me?’

Just like how much Nergal thought of Ir, Ir thought of him too. That’s why she wanted him to be more comfortable in front of her. She wanted him to not only talk about good things, but also share the difficult things that happened that day and seek comfort or empathy from her.

‘But I didn’t know he’d pretend to be calm for three whole years. Stubborn, so stubborn.’

Really, even though he was her lover, Ir was amazed by Nergal’s thoroughness.

Then Serid arrived. Thanks to him, Ir clearly saw that excellent Nergal’s face crumple miserably. At that moment, she felt strangely delighted and satisfied. Why was she enjoying herself when Nergal was feeling bad? Ir, who had been pondering this, found her own answer before long.

‘So this is… getting satisfaction from seeing someone jealous?’

To think she’d end up doing such childish things that she’d only seen in novels. But knowing this didn’t make her want to stop hanging around with Serid.

Sparring aside, and Serid’s concerns aside, Ir wanted Nergal to be more shaken.

‘He’s acting like nothing’s wrong whenever the topic of an heir comes up, and it’s quite irritating.’

It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about an heir. At first, she considered adoption, but concluded that giving birth would be better since it could cause greater confusion. The child’s father?

‘Obviously it would be Nergal, right?’

Who else could there possibly be? When considering all conditions, there was no one more suitable than Nergal. First of all, he was tall, had a good body, and was handsome. On top of that, he was smart. That alone made him perfect, but he was even a prince of the old empire. 

Thanks to this, even the nobles who had opposed Ir for appearances’ sake bowed their heads to her, making excuses that they had no choice since a prince had decided to follow her.

Thanks to this, she was able to subjugate even the provincial nobles to the new empire without bloodshed.

And most importantly, Ir had never thought of any other man besides Nergal. Not even once!

‘So if Nergal seriously suggested having an heir, I was planning to consider it soon.’

But for three years, Nergal never once mentioned an heir to Ir. He even handled things on his end to silence ministers when he thought they were making excessive demands of her.

She knew this was Nergal’s consideration. He was surely helping her avoid being pressured into having a child. Even knowing this, Ir felt frustrated.

‘Why doesn’t he say anything? Why? Does he have no desire?’

Ir was grateful that he thought of her.

‘But if you’re lovers! You can be a bit more greedy than others, right? Why won’t he say anything!’

So she used Serid. Won’t you be jealous even with this? Even with this? Even when I go this far?

‘It should be about time for him to explode.’

Ir knew Nergal’s temperament well. The reason he had been able to maintain his composure for the past three years was because there had been no one who could rival him. But with Ir keeping Serid by her side like this, how long could Nergal really continue acting calm?

‘He’ll get angry eventually.’

The moment Nergal’s emotions, which must already be boiling, would explode.

Thinking up to that point, Ir’s lips curved up in a grin. Seeing this, Serid trembled like he’d seen something terrifying.

“What are you thinking about to smile like that?”

“What do you think? I’m thinking about bringing Nergal down.”

At Ir’s answer, Serid pretended to cover his ears like he’d heard something he shouldn’t have. Then he said to Ir:

“Still, I think it would be better to talk with Prime Minister Nergal soon. How about having dinner with him tomorrow?”

“Should I?”

Honestly, Ir had been missing Nergal too. While sparring with Serid was exciting, the person she wanted to see at night was still Nergal. Though she wanted to see him during the day too.

“Then tomorrow I’ll play with Nergal, so you can rest comfortably, Prince.”

“Should I be grateful for Her Majesty the Emperor’s consideration, vast like the ocean?”

The two giggled as they finished their meal. While eating, Ir thought she should spend the whole day with Nergal tomorrow for the first time in a while, but…

“What? Nergal was seriously injured?”

The next day, unexpected news arrived.