The Empress Is Not Beautiful

Yuris headed to the Imperial Palace with Reina.

Beneath the shining sun, the radiant Sun Palace glittered with golden brilliance.

Reina wore a vacant expression the entire way, as if a screw was loose somewhere.

‘What’s wrong with her?’

The eagerness with which she had intentionally clung to Yuris had vanished, and now she followed Yuris, keeping a slight distance.

“Lady Reina, is something the matter?”

“What do you mean?”

“Your tone is different from usual today.”

“Huh? What do you mean…?”

“You’re speaking informally.”

At Yuris’s words, Reina looked flustered and tapped her own mouth.

“D-Did I do that?”

“Yes. You’ve been doing it the whole time.”

“S-Sorry. I didn’t get much sleep last night, so I was a little confused. You looked so familiar, Yuris, that I thought you were an old friend.”

Something’s up.

Yuris watched Reina, who was stepping back in embarrassment.

“Let’s go inside for now. You need to be careful about your behavior inside. Please try to conform to human customs, even if it’s a little uncomfortable.”

“I understand. I have that much patience.”

Yuris repeated the courtesies that must not be broken.

That one must kneel when first meeting His Imperial Majesty.

That one must bow one’s head and not raise it until the Emperor calls upon them.

That one may only speak to convey words to the Emperor after His Majesty has finished speaking.

That one must not approach His Imperial Majesty unless he permits it.

She explained several other etiquette rules as well.

“Okay. Frankly, it’s full of things I don’t want to do as an elf, but I’m a guest of this country, after all. I’ll do that much. However, I cannot kneel.”

“What’s the reason?”

“Elves do not kneel to anyone except the World Tree.”

“…I understand. His Majesty will forgive that part.”

She seems normal again when I look at it like this.

A strange sense of unease surrounded Yuris regarding Reina.

“Let’s go in.”

Yuris brushed past the guards and knights who greeted her and walked toward the Empress.

She was a little heavy-hearted because she was late for the task she should have come for yesterday.

‘I need to finish this as quickly as possible and rest a little tomorrow.’

If she took a vacation, maybe she could visit Max.

Yuris’s heart swelled with the expectation of being able to rest.

“Inform Her Majesty that I have brought Reina, the High Elf who protects the Elven Forest, as an envoy from the Elven delegation.”

“Understood.”

The door opened not long after the message was delivered inside.

A sign to enter.

Yuris entered with Reina.

The Empress, sitting in the middle of the wide audience hall and working, turned her gaze to Yuris and Reina.

Yuris knelt on one knee, and Reina bowed her head.

Hair of flowing, shining red.

The Empress’s hair, the symbol of the Empire, shone brilliantly red.

The Empress, looking down at Yuris and Reina with light pink eyes, slowly opened her mouth.

“Welcome, envoy of the elves. I have been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”

“I, too, wanted to see you at least once. The ruler of the inferior race, that is.”

Reina, raising her head, met the Empress’s eyes without a word.

“Inferior race, you say. How elven of you.”

“Did I say something wrong? Humans are merely an inferior race compared to elves.”

The shyness she had shown Yuris just moments ago had disappeared, and she looked up at the Empress with sparkling eyes.

“I don’t want to waste time with pointless arguments. What is the intention behind suddenly sending an envoy after keeping the doors closed all this time? I naturally expected the Council of Elders to come. But a High Elf… Is the forest in danger, perhaps? Do we need to send reinforcements like last time?”

Even to the Empress’s jab at the elves, who still acted proud and pretended to be a great race despite the Empire’s help in the past, Reina spoke calmly.

“There is no need for that. Thanks to you, the Elven Forest has entered its golden age.”

“The post-war recovery seems to have gone well.”

“Thanks to Yuris and the Hero here.”

Reina did not mention the Empress by name until the end.

Yuris saw it.

The Empress swallowing her anger at the High Elf who dared to not acknowledge the Emperor of the Empire, even though she had received help from humans.

Her expression did not change, but the aura emanating from her was completely different.

“If the purpose of your delegation is to boast, I think you can leave now. You must have suffered from traveling such a long distance.”

“Surely not. Would I have come all the way here for such a reason?”

“Wasn’t that it?”

Reina took out a small box and a scroll from her bosom.

“…What is that?”

“It is a treaty and a gift proposed by our Elven Forest. The Elven Forest will now open the walls that have been closed to rebuild the forest and engage in some exchange.”

When the Empress gestured, Yuris took the scroll from Reina and brought it to the Empress.

The Empress’s eyes sparkled as she opened the box first.

“Isn’t this a Tear of the World Tree?”

“That’s right. This is our gift to the Emperor, the ruler of humans.”

“You’re just going to give away a Tear of the World Tree?”

“We elves do not forget the grace we have received. Unlike humans.”

“…Interesting.”

Tear of the World Tree.

It was a beautiful jewel of the elves, shining with blue light.

Not only was it so beautiful that one’s mind would be captivated just by looking at it, but the jewel itself contained a dense and gentle mana, making it a priceless treasure.

To create a Tear of the World Tree, the dew of the World Tree, which the elves considered sacred, was needed.

It was a treasure created by the sediment of dew that had collected for decades on the bottom of the reservoir, where the dew that formed on the leaves of the World Tree every morning was collected, absorbing the fresh power of the World Tree for decades.

It was a precious treasure that even the elves cherished and could not be worn unless they were elders of the Council or High Elves.

Was her heart relieved by the precious gift?

The Empress’s expression was somewhat relaxed, unlike at first.

Others would think it was the same expression, but Yuris could tell.

The different face seen in that indifferent expression.

The Empress calmly unfolded the treaty.

The corners of the Empress’s lips lifted slightly as she read the treaty for a moment.

“It’s surprising that the elves would trade with humans, an inferior race, under such drastic conditions.”

“That’s right.”

“What’s the reason?”

“…Originally, I was going to request that Yuris, who escorted me here, be assigned as the escort for the delegation and be allowed to travel the Empire.”

“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible. Yuris has such important duties that I can’t let her go for personal reasons.”

At the Empress’s firm answer, Reina nodded as if she expected it.

“I expected as much. So, I will now make a different request.”

“A different request?”

“I would like to stay in the Empire for a while. While I am in the Empire, I would like you to support me with the best guards and the best facilities the Empire has to offer.”

“You’re making such a request for personal reasons?”

“Is that not allowed?”

“It’s not that it’s not allowed, but it’s a very personal request for someone who claims to be so noble.”

Reina shrugged as if it were natural.

“I’ve been working for years without rest to rebuild the forest. A few days of deviation won’t matter.”

“Is that so? I understand. I will provide you with the best guards and facilities the Empire can offer.”

Yuris was somewhat taken aback by Reina’s words.

‘Reina gave up her stubbornness?’

In just one day?

Yuris had felt how stubborn Reina was as an elf while traveling with her.

She was the kind of person who needed everything to revolve around her.

In addition, she had felt Reina’s strange interest in Yuris all along.

There was no way she couldn’t have known.

She had intentionally delayed the time of entering the Imperial Palace and clung to her, saying that she wanted to be with her a little longer.

That Reina had given up her conditions?

Something had been strange since this morning.

‘She really heard it.’

She must have heard properly what Yuris had done at Max’s shop.

But surely Max…

‘He said it would never be heard.’

If not, could it be that…

‘Max didn’t say anything, did he…?’

That couldn’t be.

Skill aside, Max was a man who kept his word once he had spoken it.

‘Could it be.’

No way.

After the short meeting, Reina rose from her seat.

“Yuris, hand the High Elf over to the Imperial Guards who will be escorting her.”

“Understood.”

Yuris took Reina out of the audience hall.

As soon as they came outside, Reina clicked her tongue.

“She’s not as beautiful as I thought.”

“Yes? What do you mean.”

“The Emperor, I mean. She’s not beautiful.”

“I cannot simply overlook you insulting Her Majesty.”

“That’s not what I mean. That woman doesn’t have the same sublimity and nobility as you.”

“…Yes?”

Reina, who had been staring at the door leading into the audience hall for a moment, opened her mouth again.

“How should I put it? She’s like a human full of desire? Unlike you, who have a noble power, she was a woman full of some kind of unknown desire.”

“……”

“Just like that illusionist back then.”

“If you mean the illusionist…”

“The man named Max.”

That couldn’t be.

Her Imperial Majesty was more noble than anyone else and worked for the Empire.

Desire?

‘I may think highly of Max’s abilities, but…’

He was honestly a difficult person to call a good person.

He was a capable and attractive person, though.

How should I put it?

A capable bad boy?

He was a type of man she had never experienced before.

‘He’s amazing in many ways…’

When she thought of Max, she couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter.

No matter how much she thought well of Max, she couldn’t admit that the Empress and Max were the same.

“Her Majesty is a great person who only thinks of the people of the Empire.”

She was a person who had given up all of her own happiness.

-I am married to the nation. Therefore, I will not keep anyone by my side until the Empire is stable.

-If you want to become my consort, you must be strong enough to defeat me.

She was a person who had confined her own desires.

Reina did not insist on her opinion any further in response to Yuris’s rebuttal.

“Of course, that’s how it looks in my eyes. Humans may feel differently.”

This was also unlike Reina.

Reina had shown a consistent stance that could be read even in a short meeting.

“Reina.”

Yuris asked, placing her hand on Reina’s shoulder.

“H-Heup!”

Then, Reina, startled, flinched and looked up at her.

“What happened yesterday?”

“W-What do you mean, what happened? Nothing happened.”

Having finished speaking, Reina hurriedly took a step back.

“I’ll be going now. Th, thank you.”

Yuris watched Reina’s retreating figure as she fled in haste.

‘Something’s strange.’

It was clear that something had happened last night.

What could it be?

The most likely thing is that she went to Max’s Phantasm Shop.

‘It can’t be.’

It mustn’t be.

“Ughhh.”

Having finished my work, I stretched and loosened my stiff body.

“It’s unusually quiet today. Maybe I can finally get some rest.”

I was about to finish up, breathing a sigh of relief, when…

Knock, knock, knock.

A customer?

Ah, I said the one thing you should never say when you want to rest.