episode_0116

“Please speak kindly to Father for me, Mother. I think Father misunderstood something…”

“Hoho, yes, I’ll tell him to come right away. But when do you plan on coming back?”

“……I don’t know yet.”

Originally, she had only intended to meet Clown-nim for a brief conversation. But as they talked…

“You didn’t realize how time was flying, did you?”

Yerika, whose thoughts were read, looked at the communication orb in surprise. She saw her mother smiling as if amused. Did she accidentally blurt it out? No, she didn’t… Then how on earth did she know?

“Hehe, you’re wondering how I knew, aren’t you? Well, I think the same way when I talk to His Majesty. I can easily guess that much.”

“I, Clown-nim and I aren’t a couple like Father and Mother, though?”

“Oh? If my cute daughter says so, then it must be so.”

For the first time, Yerika resented her mother for speaking as if she knew everything. Her heart was already in a flutter, and now her mother was adding to it…

“Ah! Are you perhaps going to spend the night there today?”

“….What?”

“If you’re really going to spend the night, please tell me beforehand. I’ll make excuses to His Majesty for you, so you don’t have to worry.”

“Mother!”

What on earth was her mother saying right now?

—Snap.

Her mother covered her mouth with a fan, but from the faint, small laughter, Yerika could tell her mother’s lips were curled upwards.

“Why are you getting so embarrassed over something like this? You’re making me embarrassed too. When I was your age, at the academy, whenever I made eye contact with His Majesty, we’d go into an empty classroom and…”

“Mother, please!”

“If you’re going to do such things today, make sure you’re properly dating, okay? And most importantly, use contraception. I’m not ready for grandchildren yet, hoho.”

“Mother! I’m really going to get angry!”

“Hoho, I’m sorry. My daughter is just too cute. Ah! Before you leave, check yourself in the mirror. And because I’m worried, if you spend the night, contact me one more time…”

“I’ll leave in a little while!”

Just as she was about to hang up the call, her mother called out urgently.

“Yerika, just a moment!”

—Rustle.

Her mother folded the fan she had opened, revealing her entire expression that had been hidden. Her mother’s lips were clearly turned up.

“Although I said I wasn’t ready for grandchildren earlier, if it were to happen, a grandson would be nice…”

“I’m hanging up!”

After hanging up on her mother and about to leave the bathroom to go to Clown-nim, her mother’s words from earlier came back to her.

‘Ah! Before you leave, check yourself in the mirror.’

She thought her mother was just joking, but when she checked the mirror, she was startled. Perhaps because she had cried earlier, her eyes were red-rimmed, and her face was flushed crimson.

“Surely I wasn’t looking like this when I was with Clown-nim earlier?”

—Splash!

“Ughhh.”

To forget her flushed face and the embarrassing situation earlier, she began to wash her face with cold water. The water was chillingly cold against her face, but her face still burned. Thinking that she had been in front of Clown-nim looking like that earlier made her want to crawl into a mouse hole. She always wanted to show Clown-nim only her prettiest self.

“This is all Mother’s fault.”

She was already embarrassed for having let out such shameful moans twice in front of Clown-nim. Her mother kept bringing up such topics through the communication orb, making the earlier situation replay in her mind.

‘Act natural. Act natural.’

After finishing washing her face with cold water and steeling her resolve, she finally opened the bathroom door and stepped out.

“Was the call… well…”

“Is there something on my face?”

Seeing Clown-nim stop mid-sentence, Yerika paused for a moment. Was there really something on her face? No, there shouldn’t be. She just washed her face.

“Ah, did I make you speechless because I’m too pretty?”

She spoke as naturally as possible. Otherwise, the earlier situation would not leave her mind.

“Yes, you really are very pretty.”

Compared to the flowery praise he had given earlier in the classroom, mentioning a goddess, this was a short compliment without embellishments. Yet, her heart fluttered all the same. Pretty, beautiful, cute. She had heard such compliments from others countless times. When she heard them from others, she felt no particular emotion. But when she heard them from Clown-nim, her heart strangely trembled.

“…………”

“……………”

After a very brief exchange, silence settled. She disliked awkward atmospheres, but this fluttering feeling in her heart wasn’t bad. However, the awkward silence didn’t last long. As more short conversations accumulated, laughter never ceased within the dormitory. And above all, Clown-nim’s dormitory had many unique items she had never seen before. Clown-nim knew several games she had never even heard of in her life.

There was a game where you stuck a sword into a wooden barrel with many holes, and if a blindfolded man popped out of the barrel, you were eliminated.

‘I won again this time.’ ‘Ugh. Clown-nim, you don’t secretly know which spot makes him pop out, do you?’ ‘What? No way. There’s no way I’d play unfairly like that. Hurry and offer your forehead.’ ‘Gently… Ow! Do you have to hit that hard? Let’s play one more round!’ ‘If Yerika asks that much, I can’t refuse.’

Clown-nim called this the ‘Barrel-Man Game.’

Besides Barrel-Man, there were many other fun games. The game where you rolled dice, moved, bought land, and paid money if your opponent landed on your land was also fun.

‘Ugh, I’m on a deserted island. Does that mean I have to stay still for 3 turns?’ ‘Hehe, I’m sorry, Yerika, but I’m going to win this game. Hmph! Let’s see, I rolled a 7. A 7 means…’ ‘Huh? Doesn’t that make you a deserted island too, Clown-nim?’ ‘…………………………………’ ‘Clown-nim. You landed on my property, right? Let’s see, since this is the Imperial Capital, that’s 10 million gold!’ ‘Ugh! Yerika, considering our old friendship, how about you cut me 2 million gold?’ ‘No way! Clown-nim, you ignored me when I asked for a discount earlier. Hmph! I won’t cut you a single bit!’ ‘Then I’ll take an interest-free loan from the bank.’ ‘What? An interest-free loan from the bank? You never said anything about that until now.’ ‘It’s the administrator’s authority.’ ‘Where is such a thing possible?!’

Clown-nim called this game ‘Blue Marble,’ and said it would be more fun with four people instead of two. But no matter how she thought about it, playing it alone with Clown-nim right now felt the most fun.

While playing games like this, Clown-nim asked if she was hungry, and when she said yes, Clown-nim walked into the kitchen.

‘Please wait a moment. I’ll make you something delicious.’ ‘Clown-nim can cook too?’ ‘Hmph. It would be harder to find something I can’t do.’ ‘Can I look forward to it?’ ‘Of course. It’s probably a dish Yerika has never tasted before.’

The completed dish was indeed something she had never seen. A vibrant red dish. Its stimulating aroma and scent tempted her nose. Just looking at it made her mouth water.

‘How is it? Is it delicious? Of course it’s delicious. Who made it, after all?’ ‘…………………………’ ‘Yerika…..?’ ‘Clown-nim, would you like to be my escort knight and my personal chef? Both?’ ‘Won’t that double my work?’ ‘Then we can double your salary.’ ‘That’s a bit tempting, actually?’

Clown-nim called this food Tteokbokki. She would have to ask him to make it again later.

.

As they had fun, time soon approached night. It had been a long time since she had played like this. No, in some ways, it was the first time. Her father and mother weren’t particularly strict. But there was no one to play with in the Imperial Palace.

‘It’s so good.’

But this place was so much fun. New games, new food. And Clown-nim by her side. It was so comfortable and enjoyable that she didn’t want to go back to the Imperial Palace.

“Yerika, when are you planning to leave?”

“Why? Do you want me to leave?”

A grumbling sound unconsciously escaped her lips. Surely Clown-nim wasn’t finding it boring to be with her, was he?

“Of course, I want to play more with Yerika. But it’s almost time for an appointment.”

“What appointment? Is it an important one?”

She wanted to say, *Is it more important than me?* but she didn’t.

“Yes, it’s an incredibly important appointment. It’s almost time to call a certain woman I talk to every day.”

Yerika couldn’t help but burst into laughter when she checked the clock. After all, she knew who Loki talked to at this hour.

“Hmm. Is that so? May I ask who this woman is?”

“Of course. She’s a very pretty and very cute person.”

“………………………”

“And her most adorable trait is that she can’t hide her expression, even now, to the point of her face turning red.”

Yerika was startled by Loki’s words and looked into the mirror beside her, but her face remained unchanged, not flushed.

“Clown-nim, are you teasing me right now?”

“Well, I never said that woman was Yerika, did I?”

“Hmph! I also have an appointment to call a handsome man, so I’ll be getting up now.”

“May I ask who on earth this person is?”

“He exists. Everything else about him is good, but he’s incredibly oblivious.”

.

After returning to the Imperial Palace, Yerika immediately called Loki and chatted until just before she fell asleep.