The Empress Tames the Tyrant - Chapter 18

Cayenne flipped through the records of the last council meeting for a while, but soon couldn’t hide his boredom. He glanced at the clock, which he had been checking since a while ago, but it was stuck at 5 o’clock. He was supposed to have dinner at 6, but time seemed to be dragging on today.

“What does the Empress usually do?”

While reading a particularly tedious part, he suddenly remembered the question he had asked. At that time, the head maid had said she would write down the Empress’s daily routine.

“Head Maid, if you have the Empress’s daily routine written down, bring it to me.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The old woman, who had been standing quietly by the door, approached Cayenne with a smile and handed him an envelope.

Cayenne ignored the elegant decoration on the envelope and hurriedly tore it open, looking at the neat handwriting.

[10 AM: The Head Maid enters Her Majesty the Empress’s chambers to inquire about her well-being and begin the day.]

Before, he wouldn’t have thought anything of seeing the Empress’s daily routine, but after meeting her face-to-face a few times, Alicia’s face came to mind from the first line, and he naturally imagined it.

“10 AM? Isn’t that too late?”

“It is the custom of noble ladies. Most of them wake up before that time, but they do not get out of bed until the Head Maid comes to inquire about their well-being.”

“That’s enough.”

It was quite different from his life, where he woke up naturally as soon as dawn broke, but somehow he didn’t dislike that fact. He was just a little curious if Alicia, who was only twenty, would rub her fair cheeks and whine or yawn as she woke up.

[Breakfast is usually a simple meal of fruit and tea. Tea time is at 3 PM after lunch, and dinner is usually around 6 PM. She usually goes to bed after 10 PM.]

It was Cayenne who had asked about the Empress’s daily routine, but he was a little taken aback when he actually read it. This was because that was all there was to the routine.

“Is that all?”

“That is the official schedule.”

“What about the unofficial one?”

“I am not a maid of the Empress’s Palace, so I do not know the details.”

Emma gave a rather witty answer, as befitting an old woman. It was a way of naturally providing a topic of conversation, as the Emperor was showing interest in the Empress for the first time in a while, and they were having dinner together tonight.

“Hmm! If she only does what’s written here, I don’t know if she’s a person or a cat.”

“Noble ladies each have their own way of spending time, so Her Majesty the Empress must have other routines.”

“Does she ever have visitors?”

Cayenne was surprised when Emma nodded immediately to his casually thrown question.

“Not even once?”

“No. Only letters from Lucan.”

“She’s so free, doesn’t she have any friends?”

This time, Emma stared at Cayenne. Men, why do they become so indifferent when they only deal with outside matters? He must have forgotten what he had said just a year ago after their marriage.

“I am afraid, Your Majesty ordered it so.”

“I? When?”

Cayenne asked back in bewilderment.

“From the beginning, was I even in a position to interfere with the Empress’s friendships?”

“You didn’t say it that way, but when the Empress mentioned it, you said there was no need for her to associate with the ladies of society yet.”

Cayenne blinked slowly, still not remembering. However, thinking about himself a year ago, it was something he might have said. It was probably to keep the strange Empress from Lucan from becoming too close to the nobles by befriending the ladies of society.

“The Empress is too rigid. She could associate with young ladies of her age or ladies who have nothing to do with politics.”

“Her Majesty the Empress is a prudent person, so she probably didn’t want to disobey Your Majesty’s orders. Besides, Her Majesty the Empress doesn’t have any close family so there were even fewer people to visit.”

It was a fact that Cayenne had completely forgotten. Lucan was a community, and as long as they were descendants of the Great Sage, they were all considered family, so he only thought of Alicia as a daughter of Lucan.

“She lost her parents early, right. Didn’t she have any siblings or relatives?”

“That, That’s also because Your Majesty told us not to bring any people from Lucan into the Imperial Palace.”

Whenever he asked what was wrong, he was told that it was all something he had ordered in the past, so even Cayenne felt embarrassed.

“I know that Her Majesty the Empress didn’t have any siblings or close relatives in the first place.”

Emma added softly to ease Cayenne’s embarrassment.

“However, the Empress’s nanny maid is now the Head Maid.”

“Is that so? That must be a comfort.”

Cayenne felt a little relieved at the thought that he hadn’t left her alone in the Empress’s Palace.

“It’s good if she’s not alone.”

“I’m glad Your Majesty is relieved.”

“Huh? Why would I be relieved?”

Cayenne asked back innocently. Emma just smiled silently. The old woman could see all his colorful emotions, but he himself didn’t seem to know.

“It seems that dinner time is approaching.”

Time, which had hardly passed when he was looking at the boring council records, passed quickly.

“I’ll only take the Chief Attendant with me.”

When the Emperor went out, a minimum number of people had to go with him according to etiquette, but Emma bowed her head, not wanting to spoil Cayenne’s mood, which seemed to be good. After all, even if she told him about etiquette, Cayenne would always act as he pleased.

“I’m getting hungry, let’s hurry.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Chief Attendant, who had been waiting in front of the door, quickly paid his respects and barely caught up with Cayenne, who was striding ahead. Emma paused for a moment, looking at their retreating figures.

“He certainly seems different from before but I’m not sure yet.”

If these days continued, even a couple who had no interest in each other might experience some change. However, that was uncertain as long as Cayenne had plans to return to Rubeo. This spark of emotion, which was still a small, wavering possibility, would be extinguished and forgotten as their distance grew and time passed.

“I can only hope for good fortune in the Empress’s Palace.”

Emma didn’t know much about the rapidly changing political situation, but she clearly remembered that Cayenne had been a very warm-hearted boy when he was young. It was heartbreaking that the late Emperor’s mind had become ill and banished that young boy to a barren land, and she also knew that the nobles and Lucan were conspiring to isolate the Emperor. In fact, it was bitter because there wasn’t a single palace servant who didn’t know this much.

“If only someone could soothe His Majesty’s heart.”

For now, she could only send her wishes to the Empress’s Palace. It was a role that was difficult to expect from the Empress, who was only twenty, but all the close aides who served the Emperor had the same hope.

❖ ❖ ❖

Alicia wore a soft sky-blue dress and greeted the Emperor.

“I greet Your Majesty.”

Her shimmering platinum blonde hair, half braided and half hanging long, gave her fair face an even more innocent atmosphere. Her almost makeup-free appearance also shone naturally and subtly.

“What’s that smell?”

Even before arriving at the dining room, a savory smell permeated the entire hallway. It was definitely the smell of delicious food, but he couldn’t quite recall if there was any food that smelled like this.

“Is that tonight’s dinner?”

“Yes.”

After Alicia answered shyly, she entered the dining room first and waited for Agnes to pull out her chair. Seeing this, Cayenne, who was facing her, naturally had no choice but to wait for the attendant to pull out his chair.

“Sit down.”

Cayenne familiarly received the attendant’s service and then gestured to Alicia. It was a great development in just a few days.

“Thank you.”

As Alicia sat down, a bowl of water was brought up for her to wash her hands. Cayenne now elegantly dipped his fingers in and out of the water without looking at Alicia’s actions, and wiped the moisture off with a napkin.

“More than that, I’m curious about the food that smells like this.”

Cayenne was focusing all his senses on his sense of smell, like a puppy. Looking at his honest face, it was hard to believe that he was the same person who had made everyone tremble in fear with his anger today.

“Today, I ordered all the dishes to be served at once to enhance the flavor of the main dish.”

How many people could slowly savor a salad while smelling the savory smell of fried food? Alicia had intended to do this from the moment she decided on the menu.

“That’s good news.”

Soon, plates covered with silver lids were brought before the two of them. Rarely, there were also pickled vegetables and salad. In addition, a glass filled with dark beer, not wine, caught their attention.

However, more than anything else, the hand that opened the lid of the main dish was the fastest and most honest.

“This is…”

Cayenne frowned at the unfamiliar food. The hearts of the palace servants who were serving nearby sank, but Alicia was calm. The chicken wings and legs, which had been carefully prepared by the Empress’s Palace chef and fried in the shape of tulips, smelled very tempting.

“I saw it in a book before. I was curious, so I tried making it.”

Alicia’s white fingers picked up a piece of fried chicken without any hesitation.

“In that book, it said that it’s right to use your hands when eating this food.”

“That’s good.”

Cayenne picked up a piece of fried chicken without hesitation and took a big bite. Then his eyebrows furrowed in shock. This time, Alicia had no choice but to watch his complexion with a slightly trembling heart.

“I don’t know if it will suit Your Majesty’s taste.”

Cayenne stared at the fried chicken in his hand for a moment, then took another big bite and made another shocking expression.

” This is food…”

There is no such thing as fried food in the dictionary of imperial cuisine. Perhaps it was an unreasonable choice.

“This is…”

Twenty-five-year-old, the strong Emperor’s eyes were still trembling with shock. At the same time, his hand did not stop and picked up a new piece of fried chicken and brought it to his mouth. Naturally, Cayenne, who seemed to be thirsty, downed the dark beer next to him and slammed the glass down, looking at Alicia.

“How is it?”

“It’s strange and unfamiliar. It’s a shocking taste.”

Was it because she had decided to tame him? Today, he seemed to have puppy ears on his head. And if he really had such ears, they would be perking up like crazy right now.

“It’s completely shockingly delicious.”

Alicia smiled, relieved by his honest impression. Cayenne’s hand was already picking up another piece of fried chicken.

“Besides, this crispy texture. Why haven’t I eaten something like this before?”

At that moment, a boyish smile appeared on Cayenne’s lips.

“I’ve prepared plenty, so please eat as much as you like.”

After all, there was an unchanging truth in any world.

That is, when taming someone, you have to start with food, and chicken must be fried.