47. Soi! Visit!

“You seem to be from another country.”

“Yes. That is correct, Your Majesty.”

 

The Mei Empire has annexed countless countries from ancient times until now.

In the process, nobles of ruined countries often gained new status and positions, and his family seems to be of that kind.

 

“I don’t know if you remember, but-”

 

He was about to continue speaking, but Soi raised her hand to stop him midway.

 

“Before that, tell me why you’re doing this here first.”

 

At Soi’s words, the knights stepped forward.

 

“This one keeps saying he wants to see Your Majesty and is causing a commotion, hasobnida.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“….”

 

Soi sighed softly.

To come to see the Emperor without any prior notice. There’s a limit to how rude you can be.

 

If they were holding an important position in the country and had urgent news to deliver, I could be lenient, but there’s no way a man would be doing that.

 

“If you want to see me, follow the proper procedures and come again. I have no intention of associating with someone who has no manners.”

“Yo, Your Majesty!”

“Did you hear that?”

 

Soi turned her back, and the knights grabbed him.

 

“Wa, wait a minute!”

 

One knight grabbed the back of his neck as he resisted and dragged him away.

Even in the midst of that, Gode called out to Soi.

 

“Your Majesty! It’s really…really important!!”

“Tsk tsk. Still haven’t come to your senses.”

“Should we just throw him in the river?”

“Hey. That’s a bit much. He’s still a noble, though. The young master of a baronetcy, they say.”

“So what? My mom’s a Duchess.”

 

She hit Gode’s thigh with the sheath of her sword for not listening.

 

“Ak!”

 

A scream erupted, drawing everyone’s attention.

Soi also turned around, but soon indifferently turned her head back.

 

He tried to enter the palace without any appointment, so this is rather a cheap price to pay. Just by not sending him to jail, she could be considered a benevolent Emperor.

 

“Don’t resist unnecessarily. Do you think we can’t drag you out because we’re weak?”

 

She struck him several more times.

 

His thigh was bruised on the inside, and his shin was broken.

It was truly excruciating pain.

 

But Gode, who had a strong obsession in useless places, endured the pain and finally uttered words that would catch Soi’s attention.

 

 

“You might regret it if you leave like this!!!”

 

 

Soi stopped in her tracks.

 

Regret.

It might just be words, but that word is the one Soi hates the most.

Because she is filled with regret every day, and even at this moment.

 

So she couldn’t help but stop at those words.

 

 

“Regret?”

“Y, yes, that’s right!”

 

Gode was slightly taken aback as he really didn’t expect her to stop, but soon he banged his head on the ground and made a bold statement.

 

“You will know if you listen to me!”

“Then speak here.”

 

Gode stammered at the cold words that fell upon him.

 

“Th, that is, it’s difficult to speak in a place with so many people….”

“Your Majesty! There’s no need to listen to this guy! He’s an ignorant and ill-mannered fellow who doesn’t even know how to follow formal procedures, so don’t listen and kick him out, hasoseo.”

 

The knights rushed in with fierce eyes, but Soi stopped them.

 

“…Alright. Then I’ll spare you some time.”

“Yo, Your Majesty?!”

 

The maids and knights were greatly surprised, and Gode himself was also surprised.

To think he could face the Emperor on his first try!

 

“Th, thank you!”

“Follow me.”

 

 

 

 

.

.

 

 

 

 

The audience chamber, where nobles or envoys from other countries meet the Emperor.

Soi had Gode wait there and appeared after a brief preparation.

 

If the person she was meeting was a woman, she would secretly hide soldiers in preparation for any possible event, or openly bring knights with her, but the other party is a man.

Unless firearms were used, it was impossible for a man to harm a woman, and even then, Soi had learned basic martial arts under Seorae, so the possibility was even more remote.

 

“I don’t have much time. Get straight to the point.”

 

She spoke as soon as she sat down.

Gode, who was sitting in a relatively lower position, cleared his throat a few times and opened his mouth.

 

“Your Majesty, I don’t know if you remember, but I was one of the candidates for your husband.”

“Is that so? Your face looks slightly familiar.”

“Oh! You remember me!”

“I don’t remember. You just don’t look completely unfamiliar. It was just a passing glance.”

“Still, it’s an honor.”

 

Gode was greatly moved by Soi’s words.

Anyway, doesn’t that mean she has some memory of seeing him?

 

If you go up to the family screening for the Imperial Consort candidates, the number is as high as thousands.

If it is filtered out in the first place, hundreds of people remain,

And if you filter out by applying various criteria, it finally becomes dozens of units.

 

In Soi’s case, she announced that she would marry Aran before various screenings took place, so there were hundreds of Imperial Consort candidates.

If he gave the impression that he had seen her somewhere among them, that alone is a great success.

 

 

‘There’s still a possibility!’

 

Gode is misunderstanding and setting up a household in his imagination.

It was a pathetic thing, but in his mind now, he had already set up a household with Soi.

 

“I know that Your Majesty greatly dislikes a person named Aran.”

“…So? Surely you’re not going to waste my time with such words and just tell me not to marry him, are you?”

 

If that were the case, even the gentle Soi would not be able to hold back her anger.

Does anyone think she wants to do it?

In the current situation, marriage to Aran is the best option for her, so she has no choice but to choose it.

 

“The basic framework is that, but…I’m not a naive fool! I have a reason why Your Majesty doesn’t have to marry that person.”

“….”

 

The excitement faded away.

Is it just that kind of talk after all?

 

“Your Majesty is willing to sacrifice yourself for the sake of the country and its people. As a subject of this country, I am deeply moved, but Your Majesty is missing one thing.”

“I’m missing something?”

“That is correct.”

 

He continued confidently.

 

“What you need to look at first is whether there is any benefit to marrying him to the extent that Your Majesty has to make a sacrifice.”

“Hmph. More interesting than I thought.”

 

It’s only ‘more than I thought’, but with that alone, Gode thought he was being recognized.

 

“And the second thing to look at is, if you have to stop the marriage, what reason should you give for breaking off the engagement.”

“Breaking off the engagement…that’s not a nice word.”

 

There are many talks about the wedding method and schedule, but the marriage itself is confirmed. It’s the same as being engaged without having a ceremony.

If she declares that she will not marry now, it will be a broken engagement.

 

“So, looking at those two things, are you saying that I shouldn’t get married?”

“Yes. First of all, the benefits are unclear.”

“Why?”

“Recently, that man named Aran has officially stepped down from the throne and became an ordinary member of the Imperial Family. Well, he seems to be calling himself a god, but everyone knows that he is human. Even if you marry him without power, you will not be able to gain any political benefits.”

“….”

“Is that all? If you combine his wives and concubines, there are fifteen. This means that his relationship with women is already complicated. This means that attention will not be focused on Your Majesty. Even if he has some power and can provide political help, you cannot make it entirely yours. Therefore, this marriage does not need to be concluded at the cost of Your Majesty sacrificing your body.”

“….”

 

Soi sighed softly.

I was expecting a little bit, but he’s still talking nonsense.

 

Not knowing her reaction, Gode continued to speak.

 

“Then now for the second one. Now that you know that you don’t need to marry Aran, then the way to break off the engagement is actually very simple. Originally, there was an Imperial Consort designated before discussing marriage with that person, and although things have turned out this way and a national marriage is being discussed, after thinking about it carefully, it doesn’t seem right, so I have decided to break off the engagement. If you do that-”

“Haa….”

 

Hearing up to that point, Soi turned her gaze away and sighed once more.

This time, it was so obvious that even Gode could tell.

 

“Your Majesty?”

 

Gode, believing that his logic is perfect, showed a natural face without knowing why she was doing that.

 

“Keuk…”

 

Suddenly, Soi groaned, grabbing her hair.

It was because a headache came from extreme annoyance.