CH 116

Is a housewarming party… like this? (8) – unedited

“Aren’t you coming?”

“What?”

The Emperor stopped. He was smiling when he turned his head and looked at me from afar.

“You said to go where I felt most comfortable.”

“…….”

Really? Really?! My heart started beating faster and faster with anticipation.

“You may get lost. Follow me.”

“Yes!”

A hum came out all the way while following the Emperor. The visit(?) to the imperial palace, which had only made my legs hurt, finally started to lead me to an interesting place.

* * *

I was worried about what to do if he went to a place other than the lakeside, but from the moment I entered the Emperor’s private garden, I was sure that we were really going to that lakeside. It was the only road leading to the lakeside.

“Wow!”

A time of stars arrived, and the surroundings were colored with night. Only the small lake, which stood alone in the dark, was shining as if it contained jewels.

It was just as described in the novel. It wasn’t flashy, but it was dazzling. Moreover, it was cozy as it wasn’t big. Not only that, but it also had a coolness that went well with a summer night like today.

“Is it boring?”

“How can this be boring?!”

There will be no successful fan like me in the world. Seeing and feeling the places in the novels with my own eyes! As I talked with emotion, the Emperor laughed awkwardly.

Compared to the rugged stones, a relatively smooth surface caught my eye. This is it! The place where the Emperor sat on this stone all night and gazed at the surface of the lake!

I quickly sat on the stone like the Emperor did in the novel. The passages in the novel describing the Emperor, who was agonizing over his love for the Saint, linger in my head. Kuuhh– He must have realized my heart while looking at this lake.

“Do you like this place?”

“Perfect! This is the coolest!”

“…….”

I think my voice was a little loud, but why does it matter? I’m excited now!

But perhaps what did the Emperor not like… At one point, he was smiling. Besides, he didn’t take his eyes off my face that it felt burdensome, which made me even more embarrassed.

I pretended not to see the Emperor and stared at the lake instead. While the Emperor just stared at my profile, wondering what he was thinking.

The scenery no longer came into view in the suffocating awkward silence. The Emperor must have sensed it as well, and suddenly cleared his throat.

“Khhm! Hmm! That is my spot.”

Oh, was he telling me to get out of the way? Ah, right. Sorry for taking your spot.

I moved to the stone next to that and sat down. As soon as I move away, the Emperor sits on the spot.

“… Well, I didn’t mean for you to get out of the way.”

“You’re this and that, it’s tricky.”

“That is my charm.”

“Has all the charms died… N, no. It is self-talk.”

Suddenly, the smile came back to the Emperor’s face. Despite me being rude, he doesn’t show any sign of anger. Maybe because of that, rather than an Emperor’s dignity, I feel like he was a senior at school. Of course, among the seniors at the university I attended, there was no such handsome man with such a peerless superior appearance.

“I find it funny when you get flustered.”

What kind of sudden nonsense?

“Puhaha! Yes, that expression right now.”

What is my expression, how is it! I poked my head over the shore, consciously trying not to move my facial muscles. I couldn’t see it clearly, but it was barely recognizable.

My expression reflected on the surface of the water was exactly that. Cursing with my eyes.

“It’s not good to tease people.”

“But why do I want to keep teasing you?”

“It means pervert.”

“That’s not bad.”

… Are you the king of positivity, or what? I lost my words at the absurdity and looked at the Emperor. He laughed loudly again.

“Was the tour to the imperial palace a bit strange today?”

“It’s not just a bit strange. No, well… You told me to have a look, and when I touch my feet, you go to another place, and when I touch my feet again, you go to another place. It wasn’t a tour, it was just a brisk walk.”

“But you have no complaints about the place. Aren’t you curious why I left the good places and guided you to shabby places like the stables and kitchens?”

Ah… To say it out loud is a bit odd. It’s just that the facilities were all jaw-droppingly good, so it didn’t feel shabby at all. Come to think of it, it was clear that this was all just to tease me.

“You did it to make me mad!”

“It was a big failure. Who knew you would like it that much.”

“Wow! You are a complete pervert! Can you do this even though I’m your benefactor?”

The peacefully stagnant water swayed. The small stone left the Emperor’s hand and leaped into the depths of the moon, disturbing the lake much larger than it was.

“Didn’t I show you where you wanted to be for the last one?”

He was even shameless when he was the one who bullied me and brought me to the imperial palace on his own will. A strong snort came out of that absurdity.

“Don’t be like that. Still, you’re the second person that I brought here. Don’t you think that this is enough to treat a benefactor?”

My ears moved like a rabbit hearing the Emperor’s light words. Because of the fact that I am being treated as a benefactor by the Emperor? That’s not it. What intrigued me was the fact that I was the second outsider to come here.

Readers of this book will know, I know. And as we all know, the first must have been the saint. However, the Emperor called me ‘second’, and as a reader who has read this novel with interest, I get the opportunity to hear the inner thoughts directly from the person in question, rather than reading them from a passage!

If that’s the case, it’s normal to ask even though I know about it. Okay, okay.