episode_0053

That night…

“You… said it was none of my business to interfere? If you lose, this empire might fall to the insidious Ioannes. How dare you say that to me?”

I always say in a tired voice that when I come home from work early in the morning, Theodora, who is sleeping soundly, gets angry because she doesn’t sleep because of the wind.

“Ugh… I’m tired today…”

-dump.

I lie down on the sofa where I always sleep.

“Tired means tired. Are you the only one who is tired?”

At those words, I straighten my posture, make eye contact with Theodora, and speak.

“What time did you get off work today?”

“Ugh…”

“If I remember correctly… it was 4 o’clock, right?”

Theodora blushes in embarrassment.

“Well… what’s wrong with that?”

“Do you know what time Lucius got off work today? He left work with me now. You are the emperor, right? You have to work with a sense of ownership.”

In other words, he worked until 3 a.m. like me and then came home from work.

Actually, I didn’t do anything big, but I finished work late while organizing necessary materials.

I’m organizing materials to submit at tomorrow’s cabinet meeting.

Since there are no computers here, people have to do everything manually.

Haha… I got really cursed today.

Lucius was unable to get off work because there were some strange numbers in the data, so I never thought I would get off work so late after helping him.

“Wait a minute. That’s not what I’m saying right now, is it? I am the emperor and the grand duchess at the same time…”

I say this to Theodora, who is trying to nag me.

“That’s right. A grand duchess and an emperor. But why does the emperor, the owner of the empire, leave work before the archduke and his aides? Isn’t that too much of a lack of ownership? But how can you trust and discuss with someone who has no sense of ownership?”

I’m absolutely not saying this because I envy Theodora for leaving work alone when I have a lot of work to do today, or because I’m nagging her when she’s tired after work.

Probably… not.

“Ugh…”

I nag Theodora, who rolls her red eyes at my words.

“No matter how much he is paid, Lucius, a citizen of the empire, works so hard. Are you not aware of yourself as an emperor?”

Lucius works with me under a slave contract, but at this moment, he presents himself as a loyal servant of the empire.

“Looking at loyal subjects working so hard, we should think about ways to make the people of the empire better off.”

“Ha… But you take care of Lucius every day…”

I glare at Theodora, who is trying to refute something.

“Uh-huh! Are you pampering me? Isn’t it too much to say that to a noble loyalist who works for the empire as a civil servant of the empire? Lucius serves the empire with loyalty!”

If Lucius heard this, he would probably vomit blood, but what can you do?

There is no longer any way to return to the academy.

ah? Should I tell him to take it easy?

Perhaps because Lucius came in, things got a little easier.

If the efficiency was around 100% before, should we say that thanks to Lucius, the work efficiency has increased to 150%?

We’ll have to capture…or hire, a few more slaves.

“Ugh! I… I’ll be working overtime too… so please respect me more from now on.”

I smile to myself as I see Theodora’s spirit breaking down, perhaps due to my momentum.

“Okay, okay, okay! I will discuss it with you further in the future.”

I lie down on the sofa and fall asleep, saying things I will never keep.

And early the next morning.

The sun has not yet risen, so magic creates a small spark in the dark room.

Light a candle and illuminate the surroundings.

“Umm… Are you awake already?”

I hear a sleepy voice.

“Yes. If you’re sleepy, sleep more.”

Saying that, I took a change of clothes, washed up in the bathroom, and came out.

“Haaam… Do you go to work at this time every day?”

I say this as I look at Theodora, who is lying on the bed and making eye contact with me.

“Not every day, because I think I’ll be a little busy in the future.”

Recently, I have been looking not only at the work of the Grand Duchy, but also at the work of the Grand Duchy, so even two bodies are not enough.

When the war is over, there will be a little bit more free time.

With that in mind, I was about to leave the room…

“Let’s go together…”

She got up from the bed and rubbed her eyes.

“Are you not sleepy? Even if you whine that you’re tired, I don’t know?”

Theodora yawned, covering her mouth with her palm at my words.

“Huam… I’m tired… but I can bear it because you and Lucius will be more tired.”

I smile softly as I look into the red eyes that look full of sleep.

“Then I will wash up and come out and wait for you.”

I sit on the sofa and wait for Theodora, who gently nods her head at my words, gathers a change of clothes and heads to the bathroom.

After washing up and arriving at the duchy, Lucius, who looks tired, looks at me and Theodora and says.

“Uh…? Your Majesty came out early today too?”

Theodora responded coldly, looking at Lucius with a surprised expression as if wondering what was happening.

“Jim is the master of the empire. How can I rest when my subjects come out so early to work?”

I think to myself as I watch Theodora say what I said yesterday.

Theodora. Your face is thicker than you thought?

With that in mind, I head to the office.

***

The war between the Grand Duchy and the anti-Devian faction began yesterday.

Is that why?

My son-in-law, who I had breakfast with every day, didn’t come, perhaps because he was busy.

“Sister?, Is your brother-in-law okay?”

Terra, who looks tired, answers Joy’s words indifferently.

“It’ll be okay. This is someone I stayed up all night with every day.”

A meal with my daughters after a long time.

When there is no son-in-law. I have to give it to Terra.

My daughter’s tastes I recently discovered.

There is an item that I asked my servant to get for me because I thought that I would never have grandchildren unless I suppressed my taste somehow.

Sigh… I can’t believe I have to worry about my daughter’s marital relationship at this age.

Thinking like that, I glance at Terra.

It certainly looks neat and beautiful. How come he has such bizarre tastes?

Terra speaks with a grim face.

-If you catch them on the spot… they’ll tie your limbs so you can never leave the palace again…

Even though she is my daughter, I don’t think I would have believed it if I hadn’t heard what she said at the time.

“Kuhm… Tera. After breakfast today, let’s have some tea alone.”

Joey says with a sad expression on my face.

“Mom… it’s too much… I like tea time too…”

“Hehe. You have tea time every day, right? Terra doesn’t have much time because of work, right?”

Joey says, pretending to be offended by my words.

“I think my mom always takes care of my sister.”

Terra smiles and says those words.

“Ugh… Is our Joey upset? Then, let’s have tea time with my sister for lunch.”

Joy smiles brightly at those words.

“Really? Then, can I just go to the study room during lunch?”

At those words, Terra nods with a gentle smile.

They are my daughters, but they are so lovely.

Terra shines brightly and is beautiful, as if looking at herself in the past, and I see Joy, who is cuter and more adorable than anyone else, and I think that she is really lovely, even though she is my daughter.

With that thought in mind, Joey finishes his meal and leaves without notice.

Since there are no customers visiting me recently, I sometimes take out the black tea I’ve been brewing and put it in a teapot.

Soon, he pours the brewed black tea into Terra’s teacup and hands it to her.

-widely.

And when I poured black tea into my teacup, Terra gently lifted the teacup and enjoyed the scent.

Terra is so elegant and beautiful that it makes me think that an angel came down to the world through my body from somewhere.

I open my mouth to that child.

“Okay… How is your relationship with Debian these days?”

Let’s ask Terra, who came in with Devian who left the imperial palace the other day. Terra says with an embarrassed expression.

“That… I think it was my misunderstanding. He went out to secretly commit suicide.”

This is at least a relief.

However, when I hear that story, I feel very guilty and sorry that I raised my daughter incorrectly with my son-in-law.

Son-in-law… I’m sorry… I raised my daughter wrong.

How could we know that such a beautiful face would have such perverted tastes?

As a parent, this is such a huge shock… but from the perspective of my son-in-law, Devian, the shock is probably even greater.

The unrequited love I loved.

I ended up marrying her, but it turned out that she was a pervert who liked hitting people.

What kind of twist of fate is this?

But I don’t want to show this in front of Terra.

Because he is a good and pure child. If you explain it well, they will understand.

With that in mind, I slowly open my mouth.

“Tera, I prepared a gift for you.”

Saying that, he heads towards the bookshelf.

The reddish leather cover is impressive, but the title of the book is too provocative, so I purchased the leather cover separately.

A book called [Hot Sex Art] that I recently bought through a maid.

This is a book that can be said to be a must-read for married nobles and citizens of the empire.

I heard that it was a book about how to have sexual intercourse and how to be considerate of the other person.

I didn’t know that I would buy books that I hadn’t read even when my husband was alive, but that I would buy them for my daughter after my husband died.

But, just quietly like this…

I bought it with courage, thinking that I might not be able to see my lovely grandchildren.

“Mother…? What is this?”

I say hurriedly, handing over the book.

“Terra… You know that no matter how much you like something, you shouldn’t do it if the other person doesn’t like it, right?”

As I see Terra nodding her head with a puzzled look on my face, I feel a deep sense of relief knowing that I have not yet crossed a river from which I cannot return.

“So this book will smoothen the relationship between you and Debian. So, read it when you’re alone.”

When I said that I was afraid that someone might read this embarrassing book here, Theodora nodded slightly.

“But. What book is this?”

“That… That… Read it later when you’re alone.”

I answered in a panic, wondering if I would open the book right away after receiving this, and I felt relieved when I saw him tilt his head and then nod slightly.

I’m glad…you didn’t read the book in front of me.

I was wondering if it was right to buy my married daughter something like this just because she has unusual tastes…

Terra changed her mind slightly when Devian forced her into tastes that were difficult to accept, and she prepared with courage in the hope that she would have a healthy sex life.

With this… I hope Terra’s deviant tastes become normal.

As I was thinking about that, Terra touches the cover of the book and asks.

“But I can’t see the name of the book. What book is it?”

“Uh… that… that…”

I’m embarrassed to talk about the title of the book, so I’m just covering it up.

“You’ll find out later when you’re alone.”

Theodora nods at my words and begins to drink tea.