NOVEL WEB Chapter 163
“Miss Luize also had me assist you in the bedroom. You instructed me to stay by your side until you fell asleep and to keep watch so no one would enter until morning.”
“Why are you shirtless?”
“Miss Luize, in your supreme state, commanded me to remove my shirt so you could admire me until you fell asleep.”
“…Why did I suddenly become supreme?”
“You called yourself that.”
“
Sigh
…” Luize wiped her face with a complicated expression. “Alright. But you didn’t really stay up all night keeping watch, did you?”
“Unintentionally, I stayed up all night.”
“How did that happen?”
Edward smiled as he met her perplexed purple eyes. “Watching you sleep was enjoyable. It is said that men often stay up all night when they are with the woman they love. Especially…” Edward leaned down and kissed Luize’s forehead, whispering softly. “On the day they assisted with her bath.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. We still have some time before breakfast.”
Luize swallowed dryly, staring into his red eyes, filled with lingering desire from the night.
“From the morning… No, our first time was also in the morning. So, is it okay to do this in the mansion?”
“Every room in the mansion is soundproof.”
“Wait a minute. You said this is the marital room of the Lindeman estate? The room I’ll be staying in.”
“Yes.”
“Isn’t there a separate room for the lady of the house?”
“The wall collapsed last night, so it’s under reconstruction.”
“…”
“Additionally, it seems the floor of my room will soon collapse as well. As you know, this is a very old mansion, so such things happen from time to time.”
“I see…”
“Is your curiosity satisfied?”
“…Yes.”
Luize placed her hand on Edward’s back, pulling him closer. As Edward brought his lips to her neck, he said. “Thank you, Supreme Miss Luize.”
“That’s enough of that.”
Their laughter echoed in the room.
* * *
Officially, Luize missed breakfast because she overslept. She only emerged from the bedroom by lunchtime.
“
Ah
, good morning, Maxion. I had a lot of morning sleep today because of a hangover.”
“Yes.”
“
Pipi
!” [Good morning, Luize!] Ren, sitting on a cushion in a special chair for the baby dragon, raised its front paw to greet Luize.
Luize clapped hands with Ren.
“
Ppippi Ppi… Pyuk
.” [The familiar dragon scent from my domain…
Sigh
.]
When Ren sighed, Luize looked at Maxion with a puzzled expression. “What did Ren say?”
“…Ren feels like it’s lost you.”
“That’s not true. Ren, do you want to eat on my lap today?”
Ren nodded eagerly with shining eyes. “
Ppi
!” [Yes!]
As Ren was about to step onto the table and head towards Luize, Maxion intercepted Ren and put it back in its chair. “No. Everyone eats in their own place. Now that Ren eats regular food, it would be uncomfortable to eat together.”
“Come to think of it, you were like that yesterday too. I forgot. Our Ren has grown up a lot.”
“
Ppippi
!” [Of course!] Ren puffed out its chest proudly and patted it with its front paw.
“Maxion, Ren. Good day.”
Everyone’s attention turned to Edward, who entered looking particularly pleased, with a refreshing smile on his face as he headed for the head seat.
“You didn’t come together.”
“I had urgent matters related to the estate to handle, so I stopped by the office.”
In reality, Luize had suggested coming out at different times, and Edward had followed her suggestion.
“…I see.” Maxion, having sensed the situation from Luize’s greeting, nodded vaguely.
“
Ppihem. Ppippi
,
ppippippi
.
Ppippipi
.” [
Ahem
. Then, listen carefully to my story now. Lowly Maxion.]
There was a reason why Maxion attended lunch with Ren. It was because Ren had a lot to say. It proudly recounted to Luize how it first flew, how Maxion gifted it an anklet so he could understand its words and the magic it could currently use. Of course, the translation was Maxion’s task.
“
Wow
, that’s amazing. So now Ren can use invisibility magic and fetch food from the table without touching it?”
“
Ppii
!” [Yes!]
Maxion added. “As long as it’s smaller than a fist, but Ren improved a lot.”
“
Ppi Peppimeppi
.” [At this rate, I think I’ll be able to polymorph soon.] Ren’s eyes sparkled with determination.
At that moment, a servant hurried into the dining room and handed Edward an invitation sealed with the imperial crest. Edward opened it and read the contents.
“What is it?”
“A delegation from Pendel has arrived. They plan to hold a banquet soon.”
“Didn’t the delegation already arrive with Princess Diana?”
“Yes. So this is more of a formality.”
Luize’s expression hardened upon hearing Edward’s explanation. “There’s a rumor that Princess Diana and Reiad are getting engaged. If they proceed with the engagement, they would need to invite close acquaintances from Pendel. So this must be part of the engagement preparations.” Her eyes met Edward’s gaze.
“Yes. They will probably announce the engagement at the welcoming banquet.”
“When is it?”
“On the fourteenth day of spring. About ten days from now. The tight schedule suggests the extra edition was quite effective.”
“…You expected this and merged our rooms, didn’t you?”
“Yes.” Edward continued. “Their engagement will soon be our engagement.”
The previous day, Edward had explained the current situation in the capital and the general framework of their plan to Luize. Their plan was as follows:
Edward currently lacked sufficient support from the nobility of the Empire. Although he had Lindeman in the north, his connections with other northern families had been completely severed since his disposition. Moreover, most of the central and southern nobles who survived the bloody day when the old emperor died had either joined the emperor’s faction or lived quietly to avoid drawing attention. Therefore, after Edward’s reinstatement, he needed to find nobles who would stand by his side.
“Even if the reinstatement documents are presented, they’re practically useless without support. We need people to verify the authenticity of the documents and assist with the official declaration. These people will become key figures in the future state affairs.”
In essence, before ascending peacefully, Edward needed to increase his supporters by widely announcing his presence.
The commoners already felt the emperor’s tyranny, and the nobles living in silence were no different. These were the people they were targeting.
The newspapers and newsletters in the Empire had long become gossip rags. Even reputable journals covered gossip as political issues, such as ‘The Future of Imperial Diplomacy Expected from the Engagement of Count Cloette and Princess Diana rud Seperdel.’
“Originally, the newsletters were gossip-oriented, but I investigated because it was strange that even reputable journals had changed. It turned out that the number of patients in hospitals affiliated with the temple and the imperial family among the families of newspaper staff had increased abnormally recently. Most of the healers in the imperial family hospitals have also been replaced by priests from the temple.”
“Come to think of it, dark magic, the temple, and the imperial family were all connected.”
“Yes. Since their families are under the protection of the imperial family, they would be wary of the emperor. It seems the current imperial family is exploiting that.”
“But why has the number of sick people suddenly increased? It’s also strange that everyone is hospitalized in hospitals affiliated with the imperial family, despite the famous healers of Servenia.”
“There’s a rumor that only imperial family hospitals can cure the disease. Even in Servenia, they couldn’t cure it, so patients were transferred to nearby temples or imperial family hospitals until recently.”
“Was there such a disease?”
“Yes. It’s called ‘sleeping sickness.’”
“…Could it be the same dark magic we thought was a disease in Airen?”
“That’s the assumption.”
“Unbelievable. So, the emperor is deliberately casting dark magic on innocent Empire citizens to threaten their families?”
“Yes. The emperor has been covering up his tyranny in various fields using the same method, not just in newspapers. There was no way to correct his tyranny unless he was overthrown or with rebellion, but thanks to Miss Luize’s documents, we can resolve it with minimal sacrifice.”
“That’s a relief.”
“So our new task ahead is to determine the timing and method of implementing the plan.”
Edward, lying beside Luize, played with her hand as he spoke.
“Since all the newspapers in the Empire have turned into gossip rags, we must also fight in a way that suits that form to reach the public.”
“That means…”
“We have to continue a sensational love affair. We might have to create even more intense situations than before if necessary.”