Chapter 9

How long has it been since I woke up before the Emperor?

‘Oh, his arm got a little loose.’

After I noticed his arm’s weak hold, I attempted to slip away as time passed.

“Hmmm…”

But the Emperor, who noticed this, immediately pulled me back with strength in his arms, his speed comparable to a ghost.

‘Wow!’

My posture collapsed, causing me to roll over and see the Emperor’s sleeping face near the tip of my nose.

‘Heez!’

The tyrant’s features were literally in the front of my nose. It was just his sleeping face, but my brain refused to think for a while because of his beauty that was more vulnerable than when he was awake. I could almost feel the clouds rising behind my head. (*t/n: she feels like she’s flying high enough to reach the clouds by how good he looks hehe)

‘I can’t sleep like this.’

I tried to loosen his arms with mental tears, but he didn’t budge while sleeping. I should be happy to fall asleep in such a handsome man’s arms, but now was not the time. Of course, there was also another problem; he was too gorgeous. I can’t fall asleep because my heart is about to explode.

But most of all, falling asleep this close with the dangerous tyrant was like falling asleep with my head stuck in the gullet of a beast.

‘T_T. Help me.’ (*t/n: Sob, Sob. Help me.)

I shed tears inside for multiple reasons. But I must have fallen asleep, because the Emperor had already left the bedroom when I woke up the next morning after he covered me with a blanket.

Furthermore, the emperor never mentioned anything about what happened that day.

“Oh, Lily. How are you today? Let’s go to bed early since we are tired today.”

For a while, only question marks floated above my head. It was thanks to the Emperor, who naturally behaved as if nothing had happened.

‘What the hell was that?’

━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━

The light breeze molded the pleasant mood of a Spring day.

It has already been two weeks since I started playing the Emperor’s ‘doll’.

There was never a day of ease while living with the Emperor. Contrary to my expectation that every day would be full of ups and downs, my time without the Emperor was unexpectedly peaceful and monotonous.

Every morning, I learned imperial court etiquette with the new maids, returned to my room, and waited in my room until the Emperor—that was my routine for the day.

Lina walked in and out, brought me my meal, and took care of me, but other than that, I spent most of my time alone in the bedroom quietly.

‘In the past, I would have watched movies or read books.’

When it was frustrating to wait alone, I opened the inside window to watch the outside wind. I couldn’t go outside, so the head-maid allowed me that much. Even now, I sat leaning against the window, feeling the spring breeze at night and dozing off.

‘Peaceful.’

This job, in which I was able to take a nap every once in a while, was more delicious than I thought. It was because of my long life of slavery and my broken body.

In fact, for the first three or four days, I struggled to fall asleep because a stranger (no, honestly, a breathtakingly beautiful man) was sharing my bed.

If the Emperor tosses, flinch!

Even if the Emperor takes a deep breath, flinch!

It tasted like death every time I went to bed for about three days. Of course, once I fell deeply into sleep, I slept so soundly that I wouldn’t even notice a noisy thief.

‘I get tired after a day without sleep, but how did he go night after night without sleep for weeks?’

It was just a marvel to be able to run this vast Empire in that condition.

‘No, whenever he can’t sleep, he becomes a tyrant that does evil, so it’s okay.’ 

No matter how much he received the main character’s buff, the Emperor, who couldn’t get sleep for a week, was tired. As soon as he returned from drinking, he hugged me and fell asleep without saying anything.

When he falls asleep, he falls asleep like a baby. It went to the extent that I didn’t know if he would pay attention if I moved. He slept so well that I wondered if he was really a person who couldn’t sleep without a doll.

I suddenly thought of his texture and rubbed my fingers.

‘I’ve touched his hair as much as I could.’

The Emperor’s hair was so soft that every time she touched it, she wondered what kind of conditioner he was using.

‘His hair was too soft— to the point where addiction is dangerous!’

I knew my life would be in danger if I were caught, but I stroked the head of the slumbering Emperor without him even realizing it.

‘But it’s really soft.’

But he only saw me after three days. After three days, he lay on my lap and continued to talk about his day’s political affairs and complaints. I sighed as I remembered his story that I had to listen to for two hours.

Thanks to his chatty tendencies, I found out his order to dismiss the Marquis Draman, the Governing-General of the Alto Kingdom, or the Colonial Rule of Alto, was a week later. And I even knew who the next nominee was.

‘I hope you don’t do that. What kind of Emperor are you? You’re as stubborn as a donkey. Talking into your ear is like trying to shout into a bamboo grove.’ (*t/n: bamboo hedges can be used as sound barriers, so it’s basically useless trying to change the Emperor’s mind.)

Even bamboo groves can be neatly burned down! (*t/n: bamboo is invasive and seen as very sturdy. even strong things can be burnt.)

Besides, as he was talking, *he sometimes stared at my face, and I sometimes wondered if my neck was still in place because of his meaningless actions. Fortunately, since the day before yesterday, I’ve gotten used to it, so I visited dreamland every night with the Emperor.

(t/n: oOooh—the transformation bracelets only change hair color and eye color~ means he likes the structure of ur face)

‘I just imagined him as a teddy bear; he would be a good plushie. So I slept well. Hahaha.’

There was a problem. He was filled to the brim with exploration, too much for a teddy bear.

I smiled in vain with my open eyes looking at the distant mountain view.

It felt like my unexpected survival tips were gradually increasing.

The Emperor slept less than I thought. He came back around 10 o’clock, talked to me for about an hour, and went to bed around 11 o’clock. And he had already left the room by 5 a.m. I was aware of the time because I was napping.

And I was the opposite.

‘I love it when I sleep for a long time every day. But even then, I keep getting sleepy.’

Whether my body was trying to recover or just being relaxed, I was alone in the Emperor’s bedroom and took frequent naps.

Few people came to visit, only the maid who went in and out for cleaning, and no one came in and touched her during the time she was waiting, alone. The maids were sometimes annoying, but it wasn’t a big problem.

‘I love taking naps here because it’s quiet.’

After all, when you eat a delicious meal properly and sit alone in a quiet room, you might be sleepy!

I was dozing off like that again today. When my consciousness was half gone, I almost dozed off. Suddenly, the door opened, someone came in, and I felt irritated.

“It’s too late. Five months is enough, so try to get more supply.”

“But, Your Majesty, it takes two months to come here from Idman. If you think about stable distribution, it’s too much pressure during autumn. Next spring would be better suited.”

“You want to fight in the spring? Who’s responsible for next year’s food supply?”

The bedroom owner, the Emperor, and his aide, Raven, came in without warning. Perhaps the two were discussing supplies for the Lucretia Conquest War.

Surprised by their sudden visit, I cracked my eyes for a moment and barely managed to open them, not paying attention to them. However, it was the first time that I’ve seen the Emperor dress properly except for his bloody ceremonial attire on the first day, so my gaze continued without my knowledge.

The blue-clothed ceremonial robe he wore seemed simple because there was no decoration, but unexpectedly, his face, by nature, was so full of life that it completed his wear. He   succeeded in wearing it in a way that it brimmed with elegance.

I understood why the young ladies of the Empire flock to see the Emperor, even from a distance.

‘He styled his hair neatly. I thought he was a different person.”

He came into the room and stopped to see me once he had found me.

“Oh, yeah. Lily is over there. Raven, bring me all the payment documents for the day.”

“Are you thinking of working on politics here? They’re all classified documents.”

“Why does it matter? It’s Lily.”

Yes, of course. I’m a disposable doll; you can easily take my life whenever I slip up.

“……I see.”

Raven glanced at me and bowed his head to the Emperor before leaving the bedroom.

I shed beads of sweat as the Emperor put the documents he was holding upon the table. He then sat across from me.

‘I think he’s really going to do his paperwork here. No, I mean, why would you leave all those nice imperial office rooms? Do you hate me resting that much?’

He looked at me and said with a smile.

“Lily, even if I’m bothersome, take a look. It’s because this is the most comfortable place. It’s a nuisance to be an Emperor because eyes follow wherever I tread.”

He had an excuse for this. He wasn’t educated to become an Emperor initially, so he was uncomfortable with many court practices.

His image of being a tyrant was so strong that it was hard to believe that he quietly submitted to the imperial etiquette. Still, he was the only Emperor on the continent and was the only one who had raised the Empire to have tremendous power in nearly five years.

He told me so and soon stuck his nose into the papers he had brought with him, working silently. Surprisingly, I was fascinated by the way he focused on his documents. I lost my focus and watched him because it was fascinating to see him concentrate.

It was the first time I’ve seen him work. I was already deeply involved in the Emperor’s private life that I didn’t even think of the Emperor’s public role.

‘It’s very unexpected.’

The Emperor’s image was depictedfixed as him being a mad tyrant because our first meeting was full of blood and flesh.

“No, I think it’s still the case.”

At least, I didn’t expect to see you working like this.

He read the documents carefully and wrote down everything with a fountain pen in hand. It was when I was looking closely at the Emperor that—.

Knock knock. (*sfx) 

Someone knocked on the door.

“It’s Raven, Your Majesty.”

“Come in.”

Raven, who politely revealed his name, dragged a cart full of documents and office supplies into the bedroom.

‘Oh, my God. You’ll do all that in a day?’