Page 465 of Remarried Empress

Where on earth am I? I looked around. I was certainly inside an imperial palace. Was it the palace of the Eastern Empire or the Western Empire?

Strangely enough, I couldn’t tell. My head felt foggy lately…

I was perplexed but I didn’t feel afraid. My legs moved forward on their own, toward the grand banquet hall. The door was ajar, even though it’s usually closed. I heard a ruckus inside. It wasn’t the noise from a party, or chatter. It was the sound of a commotion…

My curiosity was aroused and I naturally entered the banquet hall to see what was happening. Inside, I stared down from the balcony and saw two huge birds. Both were beautiful golden-feathered birds, screeching loudly as they flapped their wings, exposing their plump bellies. They faced each other with their beaks wide open and pecked at one another.

Why on earth are they fighting? What are they doing here?

I grabbed the railing of the balcony and leaned over to see better. That is when I noticed a sparkle. It was something shiny between the two birds. What is it?

When I squinted, I discovered that it was a golden crown. The two birds were fighting over a crown.

“My Queen.”

My eyes snapped open. There was no grand banquet hall, no majestic birds, no crown. I could only see a soft gold and ivory blanket.

“My Queen.”

Looking up, I saw not the majestic birds from my dream, but a sly and lovely bird looking down at me with worry.

‘Oh no! I must’ve fallen asleep while I was taking care of him. How long have I been asleep?’

“Why were you sleeping in that awkward position? And where is McKenna?”

Ah. Now I remembered.

“He looked tired, so I told him to get some rest.”

“Really? He didn’t insist on staying?”

Heinley’s expression turned fierce. But after McKenna left us alone, I crouched on the floor and rested my chin on the bed. In that position, I observed Heinley’s peaceful face as he slept soundly for a long time. I must have fallen asleep as I watched his handsome face.

“He wanted to stay. I was the one who sent him away. He’s always so busy.”

His expression told me that as soon as Heinley recovered, he would scold McKenna for leaving, so I defended him. Then I put my hand on Heinley’s.

“More importantly, what about you, Heinley? How are you feeling? It seems your voice has returned.”

“I’m fine. I don’t have a sore throat anymore.”

With a look, Heinley told me that he knew I changed the subject of McKenna on purpose, but he decided to turn a blind eye. He placed his free hand on his neck.

“It’s been like this since I was a child. I always get better after one day.”

“Thank goodness. Do you know how worried I was yesterday?”

“I know. But I may have recovered even faster thanks to My Queen’s loving care.”

“That’s not true.”

“It’s true. I felt like my life was in danger.”

What was the threat to his life? What did he mean?

When I stared at him bewildered, Heinley averted his eyes and sat up in bed.

“Oh! I’m so hungry.”

It was my turn to give him a look telling him that I knew he deliberately changed the subject.

***

“Breakfast should be light. Just a warm soup, preferably. You can eat some bread, but not much. It would be even better if you don’t eat it.”

The palace doctor checked on Heinley early in the morning and left after a few instructions. I ordered soup with potatoes and mushrooms and, once it arrived, fed Heinley myself, spoonful by spoonful.

It was awkward… but Heinley likes this. That’s what is important.

“This is a little strange, My Queen.”

He likes to feed me and tries to do it often. Does he find it strange now that I’m the one feeding him? Heinley’s mouth opened awkwardly.

Later, at lunch, the palace doctor allowed Heinley to eat a proper meal, as long as he avoided spicy and salty foods, so we sat across from each other in the garden, surrounded by spectacular autumn foliage.

Heinley was eating much more than usual, as if he were famished. While he ate, I blurted out the words I had wanted to say since yesterday.

“Heinley. Next time it rains, take shelter. Don’t get so wet.”

“I was trying to retrieve a mana stone by taking advantage of the heavy rain.”

“You got wet because of the mana stones?”

“Well…”

“I see. Mana stones are indeed the problem.”

I stopped nagging in the face of such an important problem. I didn’t know what to say, so I kept my mouth shut.

Heinley smiled and changed the subject.

“Still, getting sick wasn’t all that bad, since My Queen worried about me.”

“I always worry about you, so don’t get sick.”

Did Heinley really think I didn’t worry about him? He seemed so happy because of the wide smile on his face.

With a sigh, I cut up the fish in front of us and served it to him. Heinley ate most of it quickly, but he kept some fish on his plate, which he held up to my mouth with his fork.

He did this even though I should be taking care of him… But I didn’t want to nag, so I held back and opened my mouth.

As I chewed, I remembered what I wanted to ask him yesterday but couldn’t due to Heinley’s illness.

“What is it?”

“Heinley. Does Duke Elgy have a grudge against Emperor Sovieshu?”

“Elgy?”

Sovieshu asked in a letter whether Duke Elgy held a grudge against him. He said the doubt arose after he read about him in his diary.

When I read that, I became curious too. Did Sovieshu think that Elgy didn’t target the port, but him?

Heinley frowned with his fork in his mouth.

“Well, I’m not sure about the grudge. What I do know is that he hates him, but…”

“But?”

“He hates more than a few people.”

“So this happens often?”

“He’s cursed.”

Was he like that by accident? Or was it intentional?