Page 427 of Remarried Empress

“My Queen.”

“…”

“Queen?”

While I was deep in thought, purple eyes suddenly appeared in front of me. I leaned back in surprise.

“What are you thinking so deeply about?”

It was Heinley. He kneeled on the floor, placed his chin on my lap, and looked up at me.

I shook my head with an unconcerned smile.

Truth be told… I was wondering if it was possible that Sovieshu lost his memory.

However, I couldn’t tell Heinley that I was thinking about Sovieshu.

“I was thinking about the painting.”

As soon as I brought it up, Heinley flinched and stood up.

“I see.”

He walked over to the table, drank a glass of water and, acting nonchalant, tried to leave my room.

“Heinley.”

When I called his name, he slowly turned back to me.

Come to think of it, he’s been like that since yesterday. He changes the subject every time I want to talk about my painting.

“Did you receive my gift?”

When I finally asked him about it directly, Heinley put on a serious expression as he carefully studied the gold trim around the edges of the bed.

He observed the decorations with so much care, it seemed like they had been spoiled.

“Heinley? You didn’t receive it?”

“Yes, I did, My Queen.”

“What did you think?”

“It’s a wonderful painting. I think My Queen is a talented painter.”

As I nodded happily, Heinley continued cautiously,

“The meaning implicit in the painting is… very deep.”

‘Deep? Why does he sound unconvinced?’

“It took me a while… to understand.”

He hesitated again on his last word.

“My Queen, I realized that the meaning of your painting coincided with… my thoughts.”

I can’t believe he hesitated for the third time.

Also, why does he act so nervous? If he understood the meaning, why did he seem so unsure?

When I frowned, Heinley paused before turning into Queen. He was hidden beneath the pile of clothes, but then he emerged, spread his wings vigorously and began to dance.

He was adorable… but he was also suspicious. Even his dance steps were a little different from when he danced with joy in the past.

What’s the matter with him? Is my expression scary?

Although I rubbed my cheeks, I couldn’t tell if my expression was scary with my hands alone.

“There is nothing to worry about.”

Still, he was so stiff that I became concerned and spoke in the softest voice possible. Heinley stopped dancing, hopped to my side, and returned to his human form.

When I clicked my tongue and stroked his messy hair, his blond hair felt soft between my fingers. Maybe because he is a bird, his hair was like silk. I liked the way it felt, so I closed my eyes and stroked his hair while leaning against Heinley’s chest.

Suddenly, Heinley called out.

“My Queen.”

He sounded a little uncomfortable. How long has it been? The last thing I remembered was stroking Heinley’s hair. When I opened my eyes, I was asleep, using his chest like a pillow.

“I’m sorry, I must have dozed off.”

As I hastened to raise my head, Heinley reached out and gently placed my head back on his chest.

“I don’t know if I should tell you this…”

“What? Wait, why do you like to move my head as you please?”

“Your head returns on its own to my chest.”

I didn’t protest but tickled his chest, when he added,

“Isn’t Emperor Sovieshu acting a little strange?

At his words, I stopped tickling him. I remembered what Sovieshu said about losing his memory.

Of course, I had thought it was a lie. But now that Heinley pointed it out, I began to wonder… ‘Can it be true?’

“What did you find strange about him?”

“Hmm, about that…”

Several wrinkles appeared between Heinley’s brows.

“It’s hard to put into words.”

“Why?”

“The way he talks is… a little different.”

“What do you mean by ‘a little different’?”

Heinley frowned as if it was really hard to explain.

In the end, he couldn’t find the right words, and as my bedtime set by the palace doctor approached, he pulled the covers over me, kissed my forehead, and left.

However, the doubts in my mind did not disappear and settled in a corner of my head.

Did Sovieshu really lose his memory?

***

Yesterday’s weather was beautiful, but over the course of one day, the sky turned completely dark and gray. Judging by the thick, dark clouds, it would rain at any moment.

However, the wind was still pleasantly cool, so I kept the office windows open.

As I worked sitting at my desk, I looked out the windows whenever I got bored. I also spoke to my baby with my hands on my belly.

“Do you see that? Those are clouds. Dark clouds. Clouds like that appear before it rains.”

“…”

“This is a pen. And this is an ink bottle. To write, you have to dip the tip of the pen in the ink… Well, you’ll learn that later.”

“…”

“I’m sorry I can’t read a children’s story to you right now. If you’re bored, you can fall asleep.”

Of course, I never talked to my baby when someone was around because it would look strange. People would think that I was talking to myself.

Time passed quietly until around lunchtime.

Just as I debated about whether I should have lunch with my ladies-in-waiting, with Heinley, or eat in my office while I finished my work, one of my attendants came in with an awkward look and reported.

“Your Majesty. Emperor Sovieshu has come to discuss an ‘official’ matter.”

Once I nodded as I grumbled on the inside, my attendant left and a moment later Sovieshu entered.

Yesterday, I got carried away due to his unexpected remarks, but today I definitely will not react emotionally.

I waited until Sovieshu was standing in the middle of the office and asked coldly.

“What have you come for?”

Sovieshu approached me steadily and placed his hands lightly on my desk.

“I heard that Your Majesty Navier is a mage.”

“That’s correct.”

What does he care?

“First of all, congratulations.”

“You came here to say that?”

“I’ve come to discuss an official matter.”

“What is it?”

“I’m here to make a proposal.”

“I’ve told you not to speak to me informally.”

“We can both talk informally. I don’t mind.”

“…”

What I would like to do is insult him, but then the line between us would fade away. I wanted to keep my distance from him, so I didn’t answer.

Sovieshu smiled slightly as if all was well and got to the point.

“You can study at the magical academy if you want.”

His proposal was strange.

“You want me to become a student at the magical academy?”

“If you don’t want to attend classes with other students, I can arrange private lessons for you. Of course, you would have to come to the Eastern Empire.”

I still hadn’t mastered my magic because my ability had manifested very recently.

Although I may seem extraordinary to others, it’s only because I’m also the Empress. In fact, I knew better than anyone that I wouldn’t even measure up to an average mage.

For that reason, I had put a lot of effort into my magic practices with buckets of water before Sovieshu’s arrival.

Given how badly I wanted to improve, the proposal was very attractive.

However…

“It’s not necessary.”

I asked for his help to build a temporary dam because it was an urgent problem faced by the people of the Western Empire. I didn’t want to receive Sovieshu’s help to improve my personal magic ability.

“It will be very hard to learn on your own.”

“It’s not necessary.”

“Why won’t you accept my help?”

“You know perfectly well.”

I didn’t know if Sovieshu really had lost his memory, but I did not care to confirm it.

I looked down at the papers and waved my hand, signaling to him to leave.

I would never act so impolitely before the Emperor of a neighboring country, but now it didn’t seem wrong. Wasn’t Sovieshu the first one to treat me without respect?

“…”

But no matter how long I waited, I didn’t hear the door open.

When I finally looked up with a frown, he was just looking at me, amused.

“Why are you still here?”

Despite my anger, Sovieshu answered with a smile.

“It’s wonderful.”

“Wonderful?”

“You grew up so wonderfully. Did you use a rare spell to grow? Can you now eat as much as you want? I’m curious about everything.”

“!”

“What the hell happened to me, watching you grow into such a wonderful woman and…”

Sovieshu swallowed the last words. It was as if he didn’t want to say them.

It was a good choice. I didn’t want to hear it either.

But…

“Have you really lost your memory?”

“Yes, even if you won’t believe me, it’s true.”

If it was true that Sovieshu had lost his memory, I suppose it was because he suffered a blow to the head. Didn’t he receive the proper treatment? Is it because Evely was here and could not heal him on time?

I sighed. If that were the case, it was impossible not to feel partially at fault.

Besides… if he had indeed lost his memory, it was surprising that his memories went back to the days when we had a good relationship.

After I spent a while tapping a document with the tip of the pen, I finally opened my mouth and spoke carefully.

“If you really lost your memory, I hope someday you get your memories back. But we can’t go back to the past.”

“…”

“We can’t go back to the time you remember, so all that’s left for you is to adapt to the present.”

“…”

“You hurt me a lot. You married someone else, and I also married someone else. And now, I love my husband.”

Sovieshu’s expression darkened and his smile faded.

I belatedly realized that I was still tapping the paper with the tip of the pen as I spoke. The ink seeped out and turned into a black tear.

“I once cursed you because I didn’t want you to be happy. Now, I don’t care so much.”

As I blotted the ink spot, I spoke with complete sincerity.

“I hope that you also find happiness with someone else.”

Of course, as long as he was not as happy as I was. That could still make me angry.

“Navier.”

“I’m serious. Sometimes I don’t mean it when I’m angry, but at least this time I do.”

“Navier.”

“What?”

“You want me to be happy?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want me to find love again?”

“Yes.”

“But you can’t come back to my side, right?”

“I can’t.”

“Then, can I be your lover?”

“Uh… what?”

“That way I can love someone, live happily, but you won’t have to come back to my side.”