CESP 20

Chapter – 20

Seilia woke up later than usual, her head pounding from a hangover.

As she lifted her heavy body—feeling as though two bottles of wine had been poured into it—she squinted and began to survey her surroundings.

The spot where she placed her hand to get up shifted slightly.

What she had assumed was the bed turned out to be Leo’s body.

She almost screamed in shock but managed to hold it in, clutching her hazy and dizzy mind.

Her face turning pale, Seilia quickly got off Leo, carefully and slowly moving to the side.

What on earth had I done to end up sleeping on top of him? 

Whether it was because of her jumbled thoughts or the excessive alcohol she had consumed the night before, she couldn’t remember anything clearly.

She couldn’t recall a single thing, as though her memory had been cleanly sliced away.

She vaguely remembered entering the room and drinking wine, but everything after that was a blank.

Grabbing her hair in frustration, she tried to recall what had happened, but her mind, now seemingly empty, refused to cooperate.

Looking back at Leo, Seilia studied his sleeping face.

He remained deeply asleep, his eyes closed, seemingly unaware that she had woken up.

He hadn’t woken up yet. This was her one and only chance to escape.

Still unsteady from the remnants of alcohol, Seilia quickly slipped out of the bed and crossed into the adjacent room. She called for her maids and rushed into the bathroom to wash herself.

Sitting in the bathtub, dressed in a bathrobe, Seilia suddenly had a thought and began examining her body.

There didn’t seem to be any unusual marks visible through the robe.

Sinking into the tub, she began considering all the possibilities of what might have happened the previous night.

‘Did I, completely drunk, end up sleeping on top of Leo? No, that doesn’t even make sense.’

Leo didn’t have enough affection left for her to let her sleep on top of him without protest. If anything, she was lucky he hadn’t thrown her off.

Or maybe, since she was drunk, and they were in the same room… perhaps Seilia had…

Even though they were supposed to be over, she had heard somewhere that alcohol could change a person.

Among the rumors circulating in society, there were stories about lovers who, after drinking excessively, ended up in bed with someone else. Such incidents often led to the ruin of their relationships.

To be honest, Seilia couldn’t deny that she still had lingering feelings. If she truly didn’t care, she wouldn’t have been so tormented by all of this.

But she was in the midst of strongly denying those feelings. And now, being tested like this, she couldn’t accept the situation.

What am I hoping for? Am I wishing something had actually happened last night? I’ve been trying so hard to push him away. I was doing so well. 

‘No, it’s not possible.’

Shaking her head vigorously, she convinced herself it was just a dream. She pinched her delicate arm submerged in the water, but the sharp pain she felt was all too real.

Half-submerged in the water, Seilia was lost in her thoughts, tormented by her imagination.

***

Leo woke up much later than Seilia, feeling unusually refreshed after a long, deep sleep.

He rarely slept well, so the sensation of waking up fully rested was a rare and fleeting pleasure.

Hearing a knock at the door, Leo adjusted his disheveled robe and told the visitor to enter.

It was his secretary, Neir, who cautiously stepped in.

“Your Majesty, I have something to report.”

“Speak.”

Leo replied, sitting up.

“Due to your late awakening, the morning meetings have been postponed.”

Ah, I see. 

It seemed he had overslept.

Had someone burned incense to help me sleep? 

He hadn’t indulged in wine like Seilia had last night, yet he had slept unusually well.

Holding his head in his hands to ease the dizziness, his gaze fell on the empty spot beside him. The disheveled bedding suggested she had left in a hurry.

“Where is Seilia?”

Though he knew she had already left, Leo asked in a monotone, just in case.

“She woke up before you and headed straight to her office early this morning, Your Majesty.”

At times like this, her actions were always remarkably swift.

“Tsk.”

“Inform the Empress that I will meet with her in her office after the meetings are concluded.”

There would always be opportunities to see her. Leo’s eyes gleamed with a hint of obsession.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After finishing his instructions, Leo crossed into the adjacent room.

As Neir headed toward Seilia’s office to deliver the message, his thoughts were a tangled mess.

The lord, who was usually the first to wake, had overslept, while the Empress had left the room first? 

And earlier, when the Empress was heading to her office, she had looked over her shoulder repeatedly, as if being chased. 

Something was definitely off. 

Lost in thought, Neir soon found himself passing through the central patio and entering the building on the opposite side, the Southern Palace.

***

Meanwhile, seated at her desk, Seilia was trying to work, but her pounding headache only worsened.

Despite taking medicine from Marse earlier, it didn’t seem to be working. Her condition remained stubbornly unchanged.

But she had to keep working, if only to avoid the possibility of Leo barging in at any moment.

As she continued her work, Marse entered and informed her that someone was here to see her.

“Let them in.”

Seilia said absentmindedly. But upon hearing that the visitor had been sent by the Emperor, she snapped her head up and quickly shouted,

“Don’t let them in!”

Unfortunately, the door had already opened.

Was he planning to throw me in prison? 

For briefly resting my head on him last night? Or perhaps for something else… 

A thousand thoughts raced through her mind in an instant.

Thankfully, the person who entered was not Leo but his secretary, Neir.

At least it wasn’t Leo. Neir, at least, wouldn’t pull out a hidden dagger and stab her.

“What is it?”

Feigning indifference, Seilia kept her eyes on the desk as she asked.

In truth, her mind was blank with anxiety.

What wouldn’t that man do? If not death, then what was he planning to say? 

“His Majesty has instructed me to inform you that he will meet with you in your office after the meetings are concluded.”

Dressed in a light blouse and skirt, Seilia felt a choking sensation and began unbuttoning her collar slightly.

With a sigh, she finally responded.

“Very well. You may go.”

Though she agreed, she wished she could turn back time and unhear the message.

What on earth did he plan to do in my office? 

Whatever it was, she had a bad feeling about it.

There was a foreboding sense that nothing good would come of this.

An hour later, as the meeting was nearing its end, Seilia, who had been gripping her pen so tightly that it almost cramped her hand, finally put it down in an attempt to erase Leo’s command from her mind. She began preparing herself to head to Leo’s office.

Thinking it was better to face the blow sooner rather than later, she decided it was best to just go.

Dragging her heavy steps, Seilia finally crossed the patio and slowly began climbing up toward the office.

All the while, she was filled with immense regret, contemplating whether she should just turn back.

When she arrived at the office, Seilia saw someone else standing in front of the door.

It was none other than Prince Eselyn, accompanied by his attendants, standing right outside the office.

Why are you here? 

***

“Empress?”

“Prince Eselyn?”

They had been running into each other quite often lately.

“What brings you to His Majesty’s office?”

The Southern Palace was strictly controlled, and even distinguished guests invited to the wedding could not enter freely.

How did he manage to get in?  

“I came to deliver a message from His Majesty the King, Empress.”

His Majesty the King was Eselyn’s father. Seilia assumed there must be some additional political matter she wasn’t aware of and simply nodded her head.

“I see.”

As Seilia nodded, Eselyn’s lips curved into a resilient smile.

That smile was always a delight to behold.

Although her own worries were far from trivial at the moment, seeing Eselyn made them fade into the background once again.

He truly had a strange charm. It almost felt like a waste for him to exude such charm toward her.

“Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yes, well…”

Though her flushed face suggested a meaning entirely different from what he might have been thinking, Seilia did not deny it outright. Seeing this, Eselyn’s smiling lips stiffened into a firm line.

At that moment, the sound of heavy footsteps approached from afar.

“…Your Majesty the Empress, Prince Eselyn.”

It was a familiar cold voice—the man she had been waiting for. It was Leo.

When she turned around, Leo, accompanied by several of his guards, had arrived at his office. He looked at Seilia and Eselyn with an expression of interest.

But that interest was not one of pure curiosity; it was more like the look of a predator sizing up its prey.

“…I greet Your Majesty the Emperor.”

Eselyn rose and offered his respects. The warmth he had shown while looking at Seilia was gone, replaced by an expression as cold and detached as Leo’s.

“May I ask why you have come to my office and why you are conversing with the Empress?”

The subtext was clear: if it wasn’t important, shut up and leave.

“I came merely to deliver a message from His Majesty the King. Besides, is there any reason I cannot converse with a friend?”

“Did you just say ‘friend’?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. That is correct. I said ‘friend.’”

When Leo repeated the word, Eselyn responded without hesitation, his voice loud and clear. Leo’s expression darkened even further.

Most people would have already fled under the sheer pressure, but Eselyn, who countered Leo’s every word without backing down, only made the atmosphere grow colder and more tense, as if it might freeze over entirely.

Letting out a sigh, Seilia pinched the bridge of her nose.

The combination of them three was one where it wouldn’t be surprising if someone ended up hurt.

If that wretched Princess Blair were here as well, no one would leave unscathed.

The nerve-wracking tension had started again.

“And since when have you been ‘friends’ with her? I was entirely unaware of such an intriguing fact. Why are you only telling me this now, Madame?”

Leo looked at her as if demanding an explanation.

“…”

Watching the two men now dragging the concept of ‘friendship’ into their argument, Seilia found herself at a loss for words.

Friend or not, she just wanted to go inside already.

“Well, that’s not the most important issue right now, is it? My apologies to Prince Eselyn, but I believe having a conversation with my wife takes precedence. After all, there’s much to resolve from yesterday.”

As he finished speaking, Leo fixed his gaze directly on Seilia.