“No.”
He could not say why because it looked like his own situation.
There was a reason Lev had said he would clean as punishment. It was because he thought he could do some work while properly avoiding the Emperor, and do something he was confident in so he would not get something to pick on.
And since the period was only a week, he thought it would be fine because it was not a burden. But an unexpected hidden obstacle was lying in wait. It was none other than the Emperor.
On the first day, the flowerpot, yes, he let it go thinking that could happen. Since it was something Michel d’Albret had given him, the Emperor must have felt bad.
The person he had in his heart giving a gift to his consort might not have been very pleasant. But from then on, no matter how he looked at it, it was just spite.
“Put it in order.”
On the second day, when Lev went to the office, dozens of books were strewn across the floor.
No, maybe it looked like it was hundreds. The bookshelf that filled the wall was empty. They had all come out of there.
“Put them in by category and by author.”
Whether he knew or did not know that his consort was staring at him in disbelief, Guien calmly gave the order.
‘Ah, that devil!’
How nice it would be if he could shout like that, but Lev, who was on the losing end in status, quietly opened a book. He thought he would need to know what was inside first to sort them by category.
And not long after, Lev looked at the Emperor again with a face that said this was unbelievable.
“Why?”
The books were already sorted by content. Maybe they had been like this from the moment they were taken out of the shelves.
What was he even supposed to call the temperament that had deliberately dragged them all out anyway?
“…No.”
This time too, Lev shook his head as if it was nothing. Seeing his consort’s face that looked like it had a lot to say, Guien carefully held back the corners of his mouth that wanted to rise and sat at the desk.
He could see Lev going back and forth between the bookshelf and the floor.
Bending down and straightening up, squatting and standing, Guien watched without missing a single moment.
Today, perhaps because he had planned to clean from the start, Lev was dressed simply in a white shirt and trousers.
The thin silk fabric was the kind that lightly clung, so his upper body showed faintly through it.
The soft curve when he bent at the waist, the movement of his arm muscles when he stretched out his arms. Everything entered Guien’s field of view.
The bookshelf filled up quickly. Since it had been organized in the first place, it was not something that would take long.
Still, filling the higher spots was hard labor. Even if he stretched his arms out, it did not seem like he could reach, so Lev looked around the office.
Just then, a chocolate colored wooden chair caught his eye.
When Guien, who had been checking documents, suddenly lifted his head, Lev was in the middle of placing books into the top of the shelf.
Guien narrowed his eyes as his gaze landed on the chair his consort was standing on.
“Lev.”
At the low voice calling him, Lev, who had been reaching toward the bookshelf, flinched and stopped.
“Yes?”
“You should be careful.”
When Lev turned at the words that followed, the Emperor had a worried expression. Lev thought it was because he was working up on the chair.
“It is fine.”
Lev answered flatly and tried to put the book in again. Guien set down the document he had been holding, stood up, and walked to the bookshelf.
Sensing someone behind him, Lev looked back again. The Emperor was slowly stroking the chair’s backrest with his hand.
“This is a precious mahogany chair the Minister of Foreign Affairs gave me as a gift.”
“Yes?”
Even if he did not know furniture well, Lev did know that mahogany was considered a high end wood, and he gaped.
“He said he had it specially ordered.”
Lev hurriedly looked down at the chair beneath his feet.
Aside from the seat being unusually wide, being made of a slightly dark colored wood, and the armrests being carved with fairly delicate patterns, it did not look particularly special.
‘I just brought it over and used it. Who would have thought it was something like that?’
If it was something given by a person called the Minister of Foreign Affairs, it was not something he should have been stepping on.
Flustered, Lev hurriedly twisted his body to climb down.
“Uh, ugh…!”
But because he moved too suddenly, he lost his balance, and Lev’s body wobbled and tilted.
“Be careful!”
Guien caught Lev as he was about to fall and held him in his arms. At the same time, the chair toppled over with a loud crash.
Guien could feel Lev’s startled breath on the back of his neck as it came out.
The heated sound of his breathing tickled his ear. He could also feel warmth and trembling through the hand that held Lev’s waist and thigh.
“Ah! I am sorry.”
The one who came to his senses first was Lev, who was in the Emperor’s arms.
Lev hurriedly pulled away and apologized. His flushed face and shaking gaze could not hide his confusion.
Guien looked at his hands that had suddenly become empty, then clenched and opened them again and again.
Even now, the heat and pleasant pulse remained in his palms as they were. He was just about to reach up and grasp the neck where Lev’s breath had touched his palm.
“Ah!”
Lev, looking down at the floor, let out a useless breath.
“What is it?”
“The chair….”
Guien followed Lev’s gaze. He could see that one leg of the mahogany chair had snapped.
“This is…, troublesome. If the Minister of Foreign Affairs finds out, he will be sad. Since such a precious chair has been ruined.”
As if he had suffered something truly upsetting, the Emperor shook his head. Lev was just as troubled.
The chair being broken was a problem, but the bigger problem was something else.
If the Minister of Foreign Affairs found out that the one who broke the gift he gave was the Emperor’s consort…
“Shall I keep it a secret for you?”
It was clearly a kind and gentle tone. And yet, Lev could not easily nod.
He had been taken in too many times by an Emperor making that kind of expression.
“What do you want?”
Lev asked outright.
Then Guien smiled brightly and said,
“Well. I will think about that and tell you.”
That was exactly the kind of thing that made him fear consequences. Because he had no idea what he might demand.
He was smiling so slyly that Lev hesitated even more, but there was no other way. Lev looked back and forth between the broken chair and the Emperor, and in the end, he made a decision.
“Yes. Please keep your mouth shut.”
He did not have a choice anyway. Guien’s smile deepened. It felt so unsettling that Lev wavered over whether to take it back, but before he could, the Emperor changed the subject first.
“Then shall we go eat now?”
“And this?”
When Lev pointed to the books that were still more than half left, the Emperor looked toward the door and called the chief attendant.
“Did you find it, Your Majesty?”
When the chief attendant asked respectfully, Guien pointed to the mahogany chair with its broken leg.
The chief attendant’s gaze moved there. His expression did not change, but in his eyes, a question of why this had happened flashed for a moment.
With no words because he was guilty, Lev silently lowered his head and avoided that gaze.
“Put it in order.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
When the chief attendant answered, Guien looked back at Lev as if asking if that was enough, then discovered the round brown head and let out a small laugh.
“Let’s go.”
Lev still could not lift his head, and without being able to look at the chair again, he quickly followed behind the Emperor.
“Did you hear the news?”
Lev, who had just lifted a spoonful of beef stew with its faint sweetness and soft meat texture, paused and looked at the Emperor.
“What news?”
“That your older brother is in the capital.”
“My older brother?”
Lev looked at the Emperor with eyes asking what that meant. In fact, after being possessed, Lev had never once seen his older brother.
Saying he wanted to paint, he had left home years ago and said he was wandering all over the country.
Still, he sent letters now and then, but usually his older sister, Julia, received them, read them, and wrote back.
For Lev, it was only to the extent of being told that he was doing well.
But for the Emperor to know the whereabouts of such a brother.
“How does Your Majesty know that?”
As if saying, ‘Well, how would I know,’ the Emperor slightly tilted his head to one side.
His long blond hair slid down over his shoulder like flowing water.
“You have been watching him.”
Lev spoke in a tone full of certainty.
Yes, that meticulous Emperor would not have ended things with just receiving a single contract.
He would have put someone on that side, and surely, information about his brother would have flowed in.
‘He said the palace is recruiting a court painter, so it must be because of that.’
The Emperor even seemed to have roughly grasped why his brother had come to the capital.
This was not something you could know just by hearing things while going back and forth to the territory.
“Did you even put someone on my brother?”
“Well… What do you think?”
‘What do I think? It is obvious.’
Of course he did, which was why he knew. But was there really a need to go that far. All the Emperor and he had was a contract for half a year.
“You are wasting manpower.”
Or wasting money.
“It is not waste if I am just using what I already have.”
At Lev’s blunt remark, the Emperor answered as if it was nothing. It was true, but he had no idea why it sounded so irritating.
‘Still, a court painter…’
It was something he had never considered. But if that opportunity arose, of course it made sense for his brother to come to the capital.
If he could work in the imperial palace, it was the best thing for painters. Food, clothing, and shelter would be provided, stable income would be guaranteed, and above all, there would be a chance to catch the Emperor’s eye.
And he could have his skill recognized by the nobles in the capital too, so he would likely receive even more work.
“Are you going to meet him?”
The Emperor asked in an indifferent tone.
Lev shook his head as if there was nothing to think about.
He did not really want to. No, rather, it would be troublesome if he did.
‘If he asks why I am in the imperial palace, what am I supposed to say?’
He could not honestly say he was the Emperor’s consort, could he?
He could say he was working as an attendant, but that did not appeal to him either.
‘Or maybe he already heard from Julia.’
Julia was the only person who knew that he had left with the Emperor. If Julia had told the truth, he might already know.
That would be a headache in its own way. It might be better for both of them if they did not run into each other.
Guien, who had been quietly watching Lev, idly poked the salad in front of him and answered.
“Alright, then. Do as you like.”
As if that was the end of the matter, the Emperor focused on his meal again, so Lev also scooped up the stew with his spoon. Hearing news about his brother made his mind feel unsettled, and his appetite dropped sharply.
“You will eat more, right?”
When Lev gave up on eating and set down his spoon, Guien raised one eyebrow slightly.
“I have eaten.”
Guien swept his eyes over the stew and surrounding food that Lev had barely touched, then looked at his consort.
His gaze said, I know how well you usually eat, so what are you talking about?
“Is it because of your brother?”
“Yes, well.”
Unable to say he was not bothered, Lev nodded obediently.
Guien looked at his consort with that worry showing, then likewise finished his meal.
“Shall we play a game?”
“A game?”
“Yes. That game you like. You said you spend the afternoon playing that with the attendants to pass the time.”
“Aren’t you busy?”
“Not at all.”
Lev glanced at the chief attendant. The Emperor had so much work that Lev wondered if he could believe it.
When their eyes met, the chief attendant only smiled calmly. There was work, but if the Emperor said he would rest, what could he do, that kind of meaning was in his smile.
“Alright.”
Lev had guessed as much, and he let it pass. And so, after finishing their meal, the Emperor and his consort spent the entire afternoon playing games in the training garden.
There were many things that weighed on his mind, but it was not a bad time.
After finishing dinner, he walked side by side with the Emperor.
The candlelight that lit the corridor after night fell swayed softly in the autumn wind coming in through the windows.
Each time it did, the two people’s shadows tangled into one and then split into two again and again.
“Rest first.”
When they arrived in front of the office, Guien stopped and spoke to his consort.
Lev looked up at the Emperor with eyes asking why.
“There is something I have to check by today.”
Guien curved the corners of his mouth as he read Lev’s look, which said that if there was something like that, should he not have worked instead of playing with him all afternoon.
“Sometimes I have to spend quiet time alone with my consort.”
Lev’s eyes widened, unable to say anything.
It was because the Emperor’s voice sounded so affectionate.
A line just as gentle was drawn on the Emperor’s lips as well.
At the touch that lightly pushed his shoulder, telling him to go in, Lev went into his room with a dazed face, trudging along.
The ear that grew distant looking slightly red probably was not only because of the light.
Only after watching Lev completely disappear into the room did Guien enter the office.
Even when he waited until late at night, the Emperor did not return.
Lev stared blankly at the door connected to the office, then lay down.
He could not fall into deep sleep, and only after tossing and turning all night long, when he felt the presence of someone lying down beside him, did he finally manage to fall asleep.
But when he woke up again, the space beside him was still empty. Still, from the pillow being slightly pressed down, he could tell that the Emperor had been there.
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