Chapter 219

Side Story 1: The Exhausting and Longed-for Time 

‘I just want to stay in bed.’  

If someone were to hear this, they would likely say,  

“You’ve become so lazy.”  

They might even click their tongue and shake their head in disapproval.  

But hasn’t it been said that even the most trivial of concerns, which others may deem insignificant, can feel like a matter of life and death for the person experiencing them?  

Here, in the Sortenic Empire, there was a man known as the unparalleled wise ruler.  

Herix Glacian Questiago was one such man.  

He was currently wrestling with paperwork in the Emperor’s office, but every so often, he would stop, the pen he had been moving without pause coming to a halt. The common thread in these moments was that, each time, the lively sound of laughter could be heard from outside the room.  

“Work, Your Majesty.”  

His aide, Johann, said more firmly.  

“I’m just tired.” 

Herix muttered, but Johann knew better. There was not a hint of sincerity in those words. They were just a filler, a way of passing time. 

So Johann didn’t respond. Instead, he quickly processed the tasks that piled up in proportion to the work they were doing for the empire.  

In fact, Johann still sometimes found himself amazed.  

‘Just the fact that I’m here, doing this.’  

A crown prince and a boy soldier awaiting death seemed like two completely unrelated lives, yet when Johann was in danger of losing his life, it was the young Herix who miraculously appeared to save him. 

From that moment on, Johann swore his loyalty to him, and even though it was his first time serving someone and he was clumsy at it, Herix never seemed to mind. It was as if he had seen Johann’s awkward mistakes before and either corrected them or prevented them altogether.  

For that reason, sometimes Johann was a little afraid of Herix.  

‘What should I say?’  

Herix was human, yet there was something about him that didn’t quite feel human, despite the clear signs of humanity. Sometimes, Herix showed a maturity beyond his years, even seeming old and wise at times. His detached and transcendental attitude made him seem almost otherworldly. Not in the sense of being a beast or a monster.  

‘Rather, he feels like a higher form of humanity, something above us.’  

If he was to name it, it would be something like an innate ruler, a being born to dominate, or something ancient and incomprehensible.  

To Johann, Herix had become something of this sort. No matter how close they were, the fact remained that Herix was his superior, someone who inspired both fear and reverence in him.  

So, for someone like him, how could Johann give such a firm order to work? 

“Ahahaha!”  

The bright, cheerful laughter that flowed through the open window was the reason behind it.  

It was the kind of laughter that could make anyone listening feel uplifted, like the warm spring sunshine. It was the warmth that melted the frozen Herix and the fire that would prevent him from ever freezing again.  

‘The truth is… I still don’t really know.’  

The woman currently sitting in the Empress’s position in the Sortenic Empire, well…  

‘What should I say?’  

Was she the woman who suddenly dropped from the sky one day? Or was she the long-time ideal of his lord, the one he served?  

Before sitting on the throne as Emperor, Herix was often drawing a woman. 

For a high-ranking noble who loved art, it wasn’t too strange, but generally, they didn’t actively engage with their subjects in such a way. So, Johann found it curious that Herix would always draw whenever he had a moment to spare, even if he was tired. 

It was even more interesting that he always drew the same figure from multiple angles.  

And then, as if the heavens themselves acknowledged Herix’s devotion, it happened.  

— Share greetings.  

On the last day of the birthday banquet,  

Herix brought in a mysterious woman and introduced her to Johann. She had a tense expression on her face, with a thin veil covering her. 

The strange part was that she seemed to want to be recognized, but at the same time, she seemed like she didn’t. Of course, Johann didn’t recognize her face from anywhere in his memory.  

— It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady.  

Given that she was introduced by the Emperor himself, she was surely a noble. But when Johann greeted her and kissed the back of her hand, the expressions of Herix and the woman were odd. 

They seemed like they were trying to hold back laughter, and yet, there was something almost nostalgic in their gaze.  

‘It seemed like they were regretting something.’  

In any case, Johann didn’t feel like he was being looked at in a pleasant way. He strongly felt as though he had done something wrong.  

— We’re going to marry.  

However, when the Emperor suddenly declared this, Johann’s feelings didn’t matter at all. This was no longer a matter of discomfort.  

— …Are you serious? 

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