As soon as Elizabeth stepped into the emperor’s chambers, Yulis asked, “How was it?”
“She’s purer and cuter than I expected,” Elizabeth replied with a faint smile.
Yulis, who had been absorbed in a report on railroad construction, glanced up at her with a raised brow. “That’s it?”
Elizabeth shrugged. “She’s the complete opposite of me. She doesn’t overanalyze things, nor is she overly complicated. Satisfied?”
“Are you suddenly criticizing yourself now?”
Yulis tried to make sense of her words, but they seemed to go in circles. Elizabeth continued without skipping a beat.
“It’s been so long since I met someone with such a pure soul that I felt like my own was being cleansed. I ended up chatting about all sorts of things. It’s so unlike me that even I was surprised.”
“...”
Yulis stared at her, stunned. It had been ages since Elizabeth had spoken so animatedly about something. Ever since ascending to the position of empress, she often wore an expression of fatigue, as though the fulfillment of her long-sought revenge had left her hollow and aimless.
Yulis couldn’t help but grow more curious about the acting lord of Halo.
“So, are you planning to meet her again? I think I just got a little jealous.”
“Don’t interfere. Even I wouldn’t stand a chance right now. Both the Tower Master and the northern Grand Duke are interested in her.”
“...What?” Yulis’s eyes widened in disbelief as he turned to face Elizabeth fully. “The acting lord of Halo is a woman?”
“See? I knew you didn’t care at all!” Elizabeth stomped toward him, fuming. Yulis, flustered, looked at his empress.
On the bed were piles of confidential reports and documents from all over the Ellano Empire, threatening to topple over. Just keeping up with them left Yulis with barely enough time to eat.
As a newly crowned emperor who had claimed the throne by executing the previous emperor, Yulis faced monumental tasks just to get a handle on the state of the empire. Most of the documents from the previous administration were either useless or destroyed, forcing him to start from scratch.
Elizabeth sighed deeply as her gaze swept over the overwhelming stacks of papers. With so much to handle, it was no wonder Yulis hadn’t even noticed whether the acting lord of Halo was a man or a woman.
“Do you at least know where Halo is?”
“In the northwestern part of the continent, near the Pelos Grand Duchy,” Yulis replied promptly, his intelligence as sharp as ever.
Elizabeth felt her irritation bubble up further. “Fine, let me summarize this for you: The lord of Halo died in an accident, and his widow took over as acting lord. Everyone expected the territory to collapse over the winter, but instead, it’s grown remarkably fast. She hired the Tower Master and started a soap business with green herbs and an underfloor heating project. Both were massive successes, drawing people and wealth to Halo in droves.”
“She hired the Tower Master? How?” Yulis asked, his face a picture of disbelief.
Elizabeth shrugged. “I have no idea. Ahwin’s actions have baffled me more than once. Maybe he fell for her at first sight.”
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“...”
Yulis’s expression darkened. The Tower Master, Ilriel Ahwin, had once been his rival in love. From what Yulis knew, someone like Ahwin never abandoned feelings once he developed them. In fact, Yulis had believed Ahwin might carry his unrequited affection for Elizabeth to his grave.
“I can see why now that I’ve met her. Penelope has a charm that draws in people like us.”
“Now I want to meet her too,” Yulis remarked, intrigued.
“Absolutely not!” Elizabeth raised her voice sharply, making Yulis arch his eyebrows. It had been a long time since she’d spoken to him with such intensity.
Yulis chuckled softly. “The more you insist, the more I want to meet her.”
“Forget it. The last time someone tried to meet Penelope in secret, Ahwin nearly shattered the imperial barrier in a fit of rage. Do you want to get scolded by the court mage? I’ve been on the receiving end, and it’s not fun.”
Yulis studied Elizabeth for a moment before concluding, “Ahwin must be serious about her.”
“I think Rianel is too,” Elizabeth added.
“Hmm. In that case, maybe I should...”
Elizabeth’s raised eyebrows made Yulis laugh silently.
“Alright, no jokes. Let’s prepare a gift for Penelope—something she absolutely can’t refuse.”
“How about this?” Yulis held up the report he’d been reviewing moments earlier. Elizabeth leaned in to examine it closely.
It was a project proposal for the Durek Railroad Expansion, an initiative Elizabeth had originally proposed and Yulis was currently prioritizing.
“Extending the Durek Railroad to Halo? Penelope would love that. She seems quite ambitious about developing her territory,” Elizabeth mused.
“Let’s make it happen,” Yulis decided, handing the report back and scanning the necessary details.
“A strong, capable ally in the north,” he thought.
For the first time in a long while, Elizabeth felt a surge of enthusiasm.
***
The next morning.
Penelope groggily climbed out of bed late in the morning. She had only fallen asleep at dawn after the late-night imperial banquet.
“To think I had a private audience with the Empress in the imperial palace... it still feels like a dream.”
She still found it hard to believe what had happened the night before—meeting Elizabeth, the heroine of the original story, and having a full conversation with her.
“It’s surprising how well we connected. Maybe it’s because of our similar situations?”
But Penelope quickly shook her head.
Their circumstances weren’t similar at all. Compared to the enormous responsibilities Elizabeth carried, Penelope’s struggles were insignificant.
Moreover, Penelope harbored a less-than-honorable thought: “If things get too tough, I can always abandon the territory and escape.”
“Someone like Elizabeth should be in charge. The people would truly benefit from her leadership. As for me, I just happened to get lucky.”
She assessed herself with brutal honesty.
After a quick wash, she changed into her everyday clothes and slumped onto the sofa in the drawing room, indulging in a moment of laziness.
She knew she needed to eat, but she felt guilty about bothering the staff, who were probably resting after the morning tasks.
“There should be something in the dining hall.”
If nothing else, she could always ask the chef to prepare a simple snack.
With her mind made up, Penelope headed downstairs to the dining hall. As she crossed the living room with determined strides, she suddenly froze in shock.
Near the entrance, the living room was piled high with mountains of gift boxes wrapped in colorful paper and tied with ribbons.
“Are these for Ahwin?”
Feeling puzzled, Penelope approached the entrance.
The butler, who had just entered while carrying an enormous box, noticed her and greeted her politely.
“Good morning.”
“Oh, good morning. By the way, what are all these packages?”
“They’re all gifts for you, Lady Penelope.”
“...What?”
Penelope’s eyes widened.
“Why on earth would anyone send me all this? And who sent them?”
Her mind was a whirlwind of confusion.
At that moment, her thoughts flashed back to the previous night at the banquet, where countless nobles had approached her with an unusual degree of friendliness. She’d been overwhelmed by the sheer number of greetings and introductions.
“Surely... these aren’t from Ortega, are they?”
Feeling uneasy, she cautiously asked, “These didn’t all come from one person, right?”
“No, they did not. I’ll prepare a list of the nobles who sent them and provide it to you later. Would you like to have breakfast first?”
“Oh... yes, please,” she replied, nodding with relief.
As she turned away, she jumped in surprise.
Ahwin was standing there, glaring at the mountain of gifts with a deep scowl.
“W-What are you doing over there?”
“I’m checking if any of these senders could qualify as my rivals,” he replied flatly, his eyes still fixed on the boxes.