"I want to sleep with Lady Rochefort tonight! I will not negotiate!"
My head was throbbing, not because of the effects of my recovery.
It was because a figure named Lilia Sanctis, the daughter of Duke Sanctis, was throwing a tantrum like a little child.
Her arms were full of blankets and pillows, and for the past two hours, she had been insisting on sleeping with me.
"Lady Lilia, you shouldn't act childish," I said, confused, still not knowing what to say to her so that she would give me some privacy. "And you shouldn't show that childish attitude to me."
I was used to living alone, so the idea of sleeping with someone else was not something I could enjoy in a short time.
I was still awkward with Marina always by my side 24 hours a day. If Lilia were added to the mix, I would feel even more awkward.
"Why not? I only act childish in front of you!"
What kind of excuse was that?
I commented silently, but still maintained a polite attitude with a smile.
"Still, you can't do that."
"What's all this commotion?"
I turned around, breathing a sigh of relief for just a moment, thinking that Kaelan could fix the situation.
Before my face could turn sour, I saw that Kaelan was already wearing his nightshirt and had brought a blanket and pillow, just like Lilia.
You're just the same! Why do you all want to sleep with me!?
I screamed in frustration in my heart.
"Lady Sanctis, why are you still here?"
Kaelan's question sounded harsh, full of dislike, supported by the cold face typical of a tyrannical king.
That should be my question to you!
Why did you bring pillows and blankets to my room, Kaelan Veyrent!
"Ugh, that should be my question! What are you doing here!?" Lilia quickly walked towards Kaelan, trying to block the man, but was successfully dodged. "Go away! Lady Rochefort is only allowed to be with me! She is mine!"
"I beg your pardon? She is mine!" Kaelan pushed Lilia's shoulder roughly. "Mine alone! Soon she will be my wife! Officially, she is my fiancée. Of course I can be with her! You? Who are you?"
"I am Lady Rpchefort's future wife!"
"Future wife, my ass! Step over my dead body, you bastard! She is my fiancée!"
Kaelan, you were a king, you know. Why were you talking so rudely?
It was useless to reprimand these two, because they would not listen.
What a hassle.
"Lady Rochefort is my future wife!"
"How dare you say that! She is my fiancée. My fi-a-ncée! Soon she will officially become my empress!"
Huh?
Wait, wait!
I haven't even heard about that plan! Kaelan wants to make me his empress?!
Maybe if the one hearing this was really Yuna Rochefort, she would be happy.
Not me. Being an empress or someone's wife, well, that's very troublesome in my opinion.
I'm still not ready to take the next step, especially with these two childish people who are still arguing.
"You should go!"
"You!"
"You!"
Seeing them both was like seeing two little kids fighting over their favorite toy.
Yes, and I was their favorite toy.
I chuckled softly, enjoying the commotion they created while sitting on a chair in my room.
Actually, my situation wasn't that bad.
If I were still living in my old world, how could I possibly be fought over by two people as beautiful as them, right?
"Why not you? I've allowed you to accompany Yuna for several days now. I should also have the right to be with Yuna!"
"Why? Don't you already have many women in your harem? Why are you still after Lady Rochefort?"
Harem?
Oh, yes. If I was not mistaken, Kaelan did have many concubines, regardless of gender.
Anyone could enter, as long as they had a high social status and are considered beneficial to Kaelan.
The man immediately glanced at me with an expression full of guilt and worry.
"I'm sorry, Yuna... about the harem..."
I snapped out of my reverie, waving my hand in front of my face casually. "It's nothing. Isn't it natural for an emperor to have many concubines before marrying an empress?"
"Argh! Don't, don't do that to me!" Kaelan covered his face with both hands, his tone sounding frustrated. "You should be angry at me..."
"Angry? Why?" I asked, confused.
"Because I already have many people by my side," he said, peeking through his fingers. "But I still want you."
"Well... that's..."
Just remembering it made me a little annoyed, actually.
I just wanted Kaelan for myself. Not to share with anyone else...
"I've made up my mind! I will dismiss the harem palace and send the concubines back to their homes!"
Kaelan ran towards me, then knelt down, took my hand, and kissed the back of my hand passionately.
"What do you think?"
Ba-dump...
Ba-dump...
Ba-dump...
My heart was beating so fast.
It was so fast that I was afraid it would explode.
How could Kaelan know what I was thinking?
Why would Kaelan do that? Would it be difficult for him to do that?
Why did he always know what I was thinking?
"Only if Your Majesty doesn't mind," I said, bowing to him, hiding my excitement.
My answer brought a sweet smile to Kaelan's face, making my heart pound even harder.
"Wait a moment, let me write a letter to the royal advisor to confirm my decision just now—"
"Just do it tomorrow, Your Majesty. It's already midnight," I got out of bed, approached Kaelan, and kissed his left cheek while wrapping my arm around him. "I'll sleep with you tonight."
***
In the end, Lilia stayed at the palace. However, she no longer slept in my room, but in a separate guest room some distance away from mine.
That night, unable to sleep, I decided to take a walk around the palace fountain to calm my mind and get some fresh air.
I left Kaelan, who was still fast asleep, simply because I didn't want to wake him up.
The man must have been exhausted from his busy schedule running the kingdom.
I thought that maybe after my night walk, I would feel sleepy.
Yet in fact, I caught sight of Lilia wearing a black robe.
Driven by curiosity, I decided to cancel my plan to walk around the palace fountain area and follow Lilia, who was walking in the middle of the night into the forest.
It was strange, indeed.
I mean, who would go into the forest at night?
But I was curious. Lilia's behavior was strange, and I was worried about her safety.
A little.
My body shivered because I was only wearing thin clothes, but I didn't care.
I followed Lilia until we arrived at an area I didn't recognize.
It seemed like I was already in the forest.
My eyes widened when I saw so many gravestones.
The scariest thing was that they all had my name on them, decorated with my favorite flowers, asters that were almost wilted.
There were so many gravestones that I couldn't even count them.
"Yuna, this time I promise, I'll save you..."
The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.
What did this mean? Kaelan had said the same thing to me when I nearly died from an almond allergy.
"I accidentally killed you again."
I was so fixated on my fear that I unconsciously stepped backward and crushed a branch, drawing Lilia's attention.
"Who's there?" Lilia shouted, her voice sounding so cold that I almost didn't recognize her.
Someone pulled me away from that spot in the blink of an eye while covering my mouth.
"Shh. Don't make a sound."
***