Chapter 367

“N-No way…”

“H-How can she be with that bastard Max…?”

The western lords, who had climbed to the rooftop of a tall building to discreetly observe the empress’s outing, were dumbfounded.

The empress was with Max Celtrine.

It was completely unexpected.

The investigation wasn’t even over yet.

There were many people who were suspicious of Max, and yet she had chosen to bring him along on her outing?

Was she ignoring public opinion?

“Hmm, politics is about following the proper course. How can she make such a reckless move?”

“Common sense and principles go out the window when you favor only one person.”

The western lords shook their heads, their faces creased with disapproval.

“Well, it’s not going to work anyway.”

“That’s right. The people aren’t fools. They’ll see right through this charade.”

But they weren’t completely pessimistic yet.

What mattered was public sentiment.

As long as the public remained suspicious of Max, the pressure wouldn’t go away.

“Hmm… But they seem to be getting along quite well…”

“So you’re saying she should be frowning in front of him?”

“N-No, that’s not what I meant…”

“Don’t misinterpret her forced smile.”

“That’s right.”

Most of the western lords still believed that they had a chance.

They didn’t think that the public would be easily swayed by such a blatant act.

“Oh, it seems like they’re moving.”

“Let’s follow them.”

The western lords started to move again.

* * *

“It feels good to spend time with the people of the Imperial City.”

…She sounded like an emperor who only cared about her people.

Well, she had always been like this on the surface, but this time, it felt different.

If she actually became a wise ruler, I hoped people would call me the hero who saved the empire.

Well, I was already being called a hero.

“It seems like we’re getting along well with the people, right?”

“Well, yeah…”

We were definitely getting along well.

I had witnessed the power of her beauty and her angelic smile once again.

No one could resist her when she looked at them like that.

And when she spoke in her sweet, melodious voice?

It was game over.

I had even overheard someone muttering, “Are you sure that benevolent empress is the same person who brutally killed those assassins?”

Of course she was.

She had stabbed them with a dagger, pierced them with a fork, smashed their skulls with a candlestick…

But at least the people who had met her today would dismiss it as a rumor.

I even suspected that she had deliberately come out here to create this image.

“Hehe, then shall we go?”

“Yes.”

I was about to escort her to the carriage when she shook her head.

“No, let’s walk.”

“Walk?”

“Yes, wouldn’t that be more effective?”

It seemed like she wanted to show as many people as possible that we were on a date.

It wasn’t a bad thing for me.

“Hmm, alright.”

“Hehe, good.”

*Thud*

She took my hand without hesitation.

We had held hands during the coronation ceremony because of etiquette, but now she was clinging to me openly.

We were emperor and subject, so there was no need to be so affectionate…

…But it was probably better this way.

It would be more effective.

“Where to?”

“Let’s walk as far as we can, and then we’ll take the carriage back.”

She smiled.

She wanted to be seen by as many people as possible.

She was full of energy.

It would have been exhausting to keep up with her if she had been an ordinary girl, but she was the empress, with her superhuman stamina.

I was the one who should be worried about getting tired.

“Let’s go.”

I smiled back, steeling myself.

* * *

The sun had set, and the sky was ablaze with color.

We had met countless people.

The response had been even better than I had expected.

The empress was popular wherever she went.

She was truly a master at winning people’s hearts.

Being next to her made it even more apparent.

Even the most contrived acts of kindness seemed genuine when she did them. She was a natural-born ruler.

Who would believe that this kind and compassionate person was the same one who had slaughtered those assassins without hesitation?

Honestly, even I was surprised at times.

I wondered if I was being fooled.

…I felt like I would only be at ease if she betrayed me.

But that was impossible.

She had already had several opportunities to betray me.

The assassination attempt had been completely unexpected, even for me.

So she was being sincere, and it was her sincerity that was making me feel so strange.

It was a ridiculous situation.

“A-Autograph, please!”

A group of children suddenly appeared, holding out pieces of paper.

They were wearing old, tattered clothes, so they must have been from the slums.

I saw the guards frown.

If the empress hadn’t been acting so approachable, they would have shooed the children away.

That was the harsh reality of the world.

It had been the same with the empress in the past.

She didn’t show any mercy to the elderly or children.

She was someone who could kill anyone who displeased her without hesitation.

But today was different.

Or maybe the empress who was involved with me in this strange way was different.

“Hehe, alright.”

“T-Thank you!”

She took a fountain pen out of her pocket.

She signed their papers with her elegant handwriting.

I could never imitate such graceful handwriting.

But…

“P-Please sign ours too, Hero!”

The children asked me for my autograph as well.

…I didn’t want them to compare my messy signature to hers.

But I couldn’t refuse their request.

“Here you go.”

She winked at me and handed me a piece of paper and her fountain pen.

I reluctantly signed my name, trying to make it look as neat as possible.

“Thank you!”

The children bowed politely.

They looked happy.

An autograph from the empress and the war hero was definitely something to brag about to their friends.

“We want to enter the lepheria Academy and become great people like you!”

lepheria Academy.

The moment I heard those words, I was reminded of a feeling I had forgotten for a long time.

The place where it all began.

The place where it would all end.

The place I had to return to.

A feeling of nostalgia, like homesickness, washed over me.

I looked at the empress.

Her eyes seemed distant.

Was it my imagination?

I didn’t know.

“Hehe, yes. You can definitely do it. Just work hard.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

The children bowed and ran off.

I checked the time and said, “It’s time for you to return to the palace.”

“Let’s talk over there for a bit.”

She pointed at a bench under a tree.

What did she want to talk about?

I was curious, but I agreed.

“…Alright.”

* * *

“It was a nostalgic name, wasn’t it?”

She said.

I knew what she was referring to.

lepheria Academy.

“Yes, it was.”

I nodded.

“Hehe, I wanted to graduate.”

It seemed like she had some attachment to lepheria Academy as well.

She sounded wistful.

‘Graduation.’

Now that she was the empress, it was impossible for her to return to the academy and continue her studies.

An emperor couldn’t leave their country.

“You can get an honorary diploma.”

She wasn’t completely unrelated to the academy, and she had been forced to drop out in her third year, so she was eligible.

Especially since she was the empress now.

But she smiled wryly.

“It’s not the same as graduating properly.”

“That’s true, but…”

I had to agree.

I understood why she felt wistful.

She must have been serious about the academy.

She looked at the sunset and said, “You’re going back to the academy, aren’t you, Senior?”

“Yes.”

Of course.

It was the most important place.

I had to graduate, and I had to stop Red Rain from resurrecting the Dark God.

“Hehe, I’m envious.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“Honestly, I wish you would stay by my side and help me rule.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No, no, it’s only natural for you to finish your studies. That’s why you said that, right?”

“Huh?”

“Hehe, you’re pretending not to know. You asked me if I was willing to join forces with you.”

Huh?

What?

That’s not what I meant… Wait!

Could it be?

She had misunderstood…?

My mind went blank.

I finally realized.

She had mistaken my words for a confession.

T-Then…

Had she confessed her feelings for me as a response…?

‘N-No, no, no, this is…’

I broke out in a cold sweat.

It was a huge misunderstanding.

It wasn’t something I could easily clear up now.

If I tried to correct her, she might snap and turn against me again.

I might even be killed.

‘This is driving me crazy…’

I felt guilty.

Normally, I would have just laughed it off and said, “What are you talking about?”

But this wasn’t the time or the place for that.

In the end,

‘…This is for the sake of the world. Let’s just pretend that I confessed my feelings for her.’

I chose reality over my conscience.

…World peace was more important.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing. I just remembered something…”

“Hehe, you’re such a romantic.”

Romantic?

I was sweating bullets!

“Y-Yeah, well…”

I quickly changed the subject.

“I’ll definitely come see you after I graduate.”

“Yes, please do. And there’s another important matter, right?”

“What?”

“The last fragment of the Dark God.”

“Ah.”

She wasn’t taking it lightly.

It could be interpreted as her willingness to cooperate.

“I’ll explain it to you in detail later…”

“Yes, please do. World peace is important.”

“Cough!”

“What’s wrong?”

“N-Nothing. I’m just… impressed by your words.”

…Honestly, I was just flustered because it was such an unexpected statement coming from someone who had bathed the world in blood.

“Hehe, you don’t have to be so impressed.”

She chuckled and stood up.

I stood up as well.

“Then shall we really go back now?”

“Yes.”

We got back into the carriage.

* * *

“So think about it again…”

“Think about what, you bastard?!”

*Wham!*

“Oof!”

The man was shoved to the ground.

“What are you talking about? Didn’t you see it with your own eyes today? The emperor and the hero are closer than ever!”

“B-But, that’s…”

“What? You’re saying the hero is the mastermind behind the assassination attempt? You’re insane! Don’t spout nonsense!”

*Wham!*

“Ugh!”

The man who had been paid to spread rumors about Max was beaten up.

It wasn’t just him.

All over the Imperial City, those who had been paid to spread rumors were being beaten up or ignored.

The empress’s outing with Max had been a complete success.

Although it had also fueled the rumors about their relationship.

“Ugh, damn it!”

“H-How could this happen?!”

“T-This is absurd! Absurd!”

The western lords’ frustration deepened.