TBTL 10

Chapter 10

“I was only going to say that I couldn’t show you my notebook. It’s still too embarrassing to let anyone read what I’ve written…”

“You overestimate my curiosity.”

Had she overreacted by blurting out that she wouldn’t show him her notebook?

Harriet tightened her grip on the lamp.

The Emperor had promised he wouldn’t get angry, but that promise would mean nothing if he suddenly changed his mind.

Kallis replied indifferently.

“But you’re right. If you hadn’t said anything, I would have asked to see it. And you wouldn’t have been able to refuse.”

The Emperor’s words were requests in name only.

His requests were commands.

Even his most casual remark became an unbearable burden to Harriet.

Rather than saying you were right, Kallis had expressed it in a more elegant way. Then he changed the subject to another question.

“Why are you wandering outside your room at this hour just to write a novel?”

“My roommate is very sensitive to light, so I had no choice but to leave. I was looking for somewhere with enough light to write.”

“A writer chasing after light.”

The corner of Kallis’s lips lifted ever so slightly.

Only for an instant.

Had anyone seen it, they would have doubted their own eyes.

“It sounds like fate,” he murmured. “I’ve read something like that before.”

“You mean Astria Gillette? Her circumstances are certainly similar to mine.”

“Cruel Moon. Elliot Dark’s novel. So you’ve read it.”

The air froze.

Harriet wanted to slap herself.

The image of wandering after light like a falling star was, just as Kallis had said, a line from Cruel Moon.

Since she’d created that character by reflecting her own circumstances, she had instinctively blurted out the heroine’s name the moment it was mentioned.

…Wait.

Then why did the Emperor bring up one of my lines in the first place? Didn’t he supposedly fly into a rage after reading it? Weren’t the reports saying it was so boring it cured his insomnia? If he hated the author so much, why remember it at all?

“You dare mention Elliot Dark in front of me. You have quite the nerve for a maid.”

Remembering the articles that had spread throughout the Kingdom of Chelling, Kallis muttered with amusement.

The playful spark in his eyes returned.

“He’s my favorite author.”

Harriet answered, half out of defiance.

The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted them.

At this rate, why don’t I just announce that I’m Elliot Dark? Better yet, I might as well offer him my neck and ask him to cut it off.

Surely she knew about the reports claiming the Emperor had been furious after reading Elliot Dark’s novels.

Yet she boldly declared the author was her favorite.

Kallis silently watched her back for a long while.

As the silence stretched on, Harriet’s regret grew bigger and bigger.

Nothing was more nerve-racking than a superior saying nothing at all.

Only the footsteps of the three of them echoed through the corridor.

Eventually, Kallis spoke.

“I like honest people.”

“We’ve arrived at Cynia Palace, Your Majesty.”

“I’m sorry to ask after already having you guide me this far, but I’d like you to help me for a while.”

Help him?

Forgetting herself, Harriet actually turned around and stared directly at the Emperor in confusion.

What kind of task required him to use the word help?

Kallis stopped behind her, gazing thoughtfully at Cynia Palace.

The gentle blue eyes reflected the light pouring from the palace windows, glowing softly.

For a moment, they almost seemed to sparkle.

“Are you good at keeping things tidy?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked you a question.”

“Yes. I’d say I am.”

“I make a mess of my surroundings rather quickly, so Elvin ends up suffering for it. I’d like you to organize my bedroom for a while.”

Harriet’s eyes widened.

His bedroom?

In other words…

He was granting her permission to enter the Emperor’s private chambers.

The Emperor’s chambers.

If another maid overheard this—or anyone else, for that matter—they would surely misunderstand and assume she had been assigned to attend him at night.

For a brief moment, even Harriet suspected as much.

But considering the Emperor’s complete lack of romantic scandals with women—and the fact that he barely looked at her at all—she immediately discarded that theory.

Has he completely lost his mind?

Instead, she questioned his sanity.

Being allowed into the Emperor’s bedroom was undoubtedly an extraordinary honor.

But as always, every attractive opportunity came with a hidden trap.

Unbothered by her suspicious stare, Kallis slipped a hand into his pocket and said,

“So whenever you need light, you’re free to come to Cynia Palace. Even at night.”

Anyone listening would have misunderstood his words.

Harriet, however, understood exactly what he meant.

If she needed a place to write after dark, she could use the excuse of tidying his bedroom and come whenever she wished.

It was a kindness she had never imagined receiving from the Emperor.

More than gratitude, she simply felt stunned.

She stared blankly up at him.

Only then did Kallis shift his gaze from the palace and finally look at her.

Seeing Harriet’s expression, he suddenly understood why people said they sometimes felt laughter bubbling up.

Still, he didn’t actually laugh.

“You’ve done well.”

With those brief words, Kallis turned away.

Cynia Palace, brightly illuminated as it awaited its master, needed no guide now.

The lights alone were enough to show him the way.

Every servant who had stayed awake waiting for the Emperor welcomed his return in silence, as motionless as owls.

Kallis disliked unnecessary commotion.

Only after entering his bedroom did Elvin quietly speak.

“That was overly generous of you, Your Majesty.”

“She happened to guide a lost man back despite having her own business to attend to. Shouldn’t kindness be repaid?”

Was that really all?

Elvin looked at the Emperor with undisguised suspicion.

If His Majesty were truly so generous that merely giving directions earned such lavish rewards, every maid in the Imperial Palace would already be wealthy—or at least enjoying comparable honors.

“It was simply her duty.”

“Can someone not even wearing a maid’s uniform truly be called a maid?”

Avoiding Elvin’s suspicious gaze, Kallis added, almost as if making an excuse,

“Besides… she likes Elliot Dark.”

“…Surely not, Your Majesty.”

After all, a person’s true feelings usually came at the end.

To Elvin, it sounded as though the Emperor had showered Harriet with favors simply because she happened to like the same author he did.

“Of course, I wasn’t kind to her merely because we like the same author. Stop looking at me like that.”

His tired fingers began undoing the buttons of his shirt one by one.

Firm muscles were soon revealed beneath the fabric.

More than anything, Kallis was simply exhausted by his attendant’s constant nagging.

As he had already said more than five times today, he was tired.

The fatigue from the journey to the kingdom still lingered.

Before I sleep… I’ll finish reading Cruel Moon.

He was just approaching the climax.

“Forgive my boldness, Your Majesty, but—”

“I already know what you’re going to say. So be quiet.”

“Your Majesty…”

At the pleading voice calling after him, a faint sigh escaped Kallis’s lips.

He made no effort to hold it back.

“You’re becoming excessive.”

His voice was edged with both fatigue and irritation.

Recognizing the warning to say no more, Elvin reluctantly fell silent.

If Harriet had been openly trying to seduce the Emperor, Elvin would actually have been less concerned.

But she showed no such intentions whatsoever.

Instead, it was Kallis who had begun taking an interest in Harriet precisely because she paid him no more attention than necessary.

…It was the first time the Emperor had ever shown this much interest in a woman.