Chapter 8: How to Capture Someone’s Heart
On a peaceful morning,
I sipped my tea leisurely, a smile on my lips.
Fortunately, it seemed that my efforts to persuade everyone about my lack of interest in Jerome had finally worked.
No more reports regarding Jerome came my way.
Nor were there lingering gazes from all over the palace.
It appeared my message—that I had no interest in Jerome—had finally reached everyone.
Now, there should be no unnecessary misunderstandings.
I finally felt like I was one step closer to achieving the peaceful life I wanted in the Imperial Palace.
“Your Majesty, the Empress.”
A cautious voice called out as Marie approached me.
Her expression suggested she had something to say.
“What is it?”
“The books you ordered have arrived, Your Majesty.”
“Books?”
“Yes, the ones you showed interest in while I was reading, and you asked me to quietly procure.”
“…?”
Interest? Quietly procure?
Of course, I had never asked her to get books.
This must have been something Helena had ordered before my possession.
Why was I getting such an ominous feeling?
“What should I do with them?”
“Bring them here.”
Marie brought a box, and I opened it to find several books inside.
When I saw the titles, I was shocked.
“Oh my.”
What on earth were these books…?
The titles were all so loud and attention-grabbing.
“101 Ways to Capture Someone’s Heart”
“Practical Advice for Those Who Want to Be Loved”
“Why Did the Lady Give the Knight an Extra Scone?”
From advice on winning someone’s heart to books with daring red covers—it was quite the collection.
“Do you like them?”
Marie watched my reaction closely.
I couldn’t bring myself to shatter her enthusiasm.
“They’re… really interesting. I’ve been eager to read them.”
At my response, she beamed.
“For Your Majesty, I’d fetch not just ten, but a hundred of these books!”
“Haha, that’s all right. I appreciate the thought.”
“If you ever need anything else, please call for me.”
With those words, Marie excused herself.
I felt like a storm had just passed through.
Naturally, I had no intention of opening those books.
After all, I wasn’t interested in Jerome at all!
Advice on winning someone’s heart? Utterly useless to me.
And why the lady gave the knight an extra scone? I couldn’t care less.
I placed the books on the terrace railing and let out a small laugh.
“Helena must have really liked Jerome.”
In the original story, she had been portrayed as a villain desperate to win the male lead.
But after possessing her body, she seemed more like a woman starved for love rather than an outright villain.
How desperate must she have been to monitor his every move and procure such books?
“If Jerome could be won over with a book like this, Helena wouldn’t have struggled so much.”
I recalled the events of the previous night.
Surprisingly, Jerome had come to see me.
— “Why did you say you did something you didn’t do?”
— “What exactly do you think of me?”
Once again, he had said cryptic things and left without waiting for an answer.
Or perhaps he hadn’t intended to receive an answer in the first place.
“Why did he say such things?”
Even after pondering it for a long time, I couldn’t come up with an answer.
Ugh, overthinking it was only giving me a headache.
Just as I shook off my thoughts and turned to go back inside—
Thunk!
My hand accidentally knocked over one of the books on the railing, and it fell below.
Shortly after, there was a dull thud.
Thud—
“Ugh!”
A person?
I quickly leaned over the terrace railing to look down.
A man was rubbing the back of his head.
“I’m so sorry! Are you hurt?”
When I called out, the man looked up.
“Your Majesty, the Empress?”
“Could it be… Sir Leonard?”
To my surprise, the person who had been hit by the book was none other than Leonard.
“Is this Your Majesty’s book?”
He picked up the fallen book and asked.
Wait, hold on—a book?!
The title of the book flashed through my mind.
Panicking, I shouted, “No, don’t look! Whatever you do, don’t look!”
At that moment, preserving the Empress’ dignity wasn’t my priority.
No, no, no!
I dashed down the stairs in a frenzy and reached Leonard.
As I stood before him, panting heavily, he looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“Haha, I’m so sorry. I dropped this and ended up hitting you. Is your head all right?”
“I’m fine. But this book seems very important to you. You rushed down here.”
“Yes, it’s very important.”
So, please hand it over.
I extended my hand to retrieve the book.
“…?”
But he didn’t return it.
Instead, he subtly moved it behind his back, as if reluctant to give it up.
I stared at him in disbelief.
“What are you doing?”
“Returning the book isn’t difficult, but…”
“Then, please give it back.”
“My head still hurts a bit. If it’s all right with Your Majesty—”
His lips curled into a slight smile.
“May I have a cup of tea?”
“…What?”
***
His request was brazen, but I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.
After all, I had unintentionally hit him with the book.
“The tea is excellent.”
Leonard, sipping the tea Countess Chloe had served, remarked with a bright expression.
Even today, his beauty was dazzling.
It was just him drinking tea, yet it felt like watching a photoshoot. Was that an exaggeration?
But with the sunlight streaming through the window illuminating him, his appearance truly inspired admiration.
You… That face should be illegal…
Without realizing it, I found myself captivated, admiring his appearance.
Noticing this, Leonard asked me a question.
“How often does His Majesty the Emperor visit this place?”
“?”
It was an odd question.
Why was he suddenly asking that?
“Almost never…?”
Although Jerome had visited me recently, it was an extremely rare occurrence.
Even in the original story, Jerome hardly sought out Helena.
On the few occasions he did visit, it was usually to scold her for tormenting the heroine, Fay.
“…I see.”
“His Majesty has no reason to visit here.”
Exactly. If anything, he’d probably spend that time visiting the Imperial Consort’s Palace again.
“Well, I can’t say why His Majesty behaves that way, but if it were me…”
Leonard stared directly at me and continued.
“I think I’d visit this place quite often.”
“What an amusing joke.”
That’s a terrifying thought.
If he came here every day, I’d live in constant, nerve-wracking tension.
Dealing with Jerome alone was enough, but seeing Leonard frequently would be detrimental to my heart.
Yes. If I didn’t know this man’s true nature, I might have been flustered and excited in this situation.
“Have you finished your tea? Then, please return my book.”
When I bluntly demanded the book, Leonard smiled softly.
“Your Majesty seems to dislike me.”
“That’s not true. Spending time with someone as popular as you in society—how could I possibly dislike that?”
“Is that so? Then why does it feel like you don’t want to spend time with me?”
With his eyelashes lowered delicately, he spoke as though forlorn.
Yet his voice didn’t sound sad at all.
“All I want is to get my book back.”
“It must be a very important book.”
“It’s a gift.”
I extended my hand toward him.
“So, please return my hostage.”
He gave me a playful smile.
“What if I refuse?”
His unexpected response made me furrow my brow.
Was Leonard always like this?
I had known him to be a very polite and respectful individual.
“You said one cup of tea was enough, didn’t you?”
“The tea is delightful. Would it be possible to have another cup?”
“…I feel like you’ll end up drinking every last drop of tea in this palace before leaving.”
“That sounds like a fantastic idea.”
“You… Seriously…”
I was at a loss for words at his cheeky attitude.
“By the way, why are you here? This isn’t part of your jurisdiction, is it?”
“Though my skills may be lacking, as the Knight Commander, I have no fixed jurisdiction. While inspecting the general security of the palace, I happened to come across this area.”
I couldn’t help but feel suspicious.
I asked with a doubtful gaze.
“So, you just happened to be investigating directly beneath my terrace?”
“I was concerned that someone with malicious intent could easily scale this height.”
“…”
His glib reply confirmed my suspicions.
This man didn’t come here by chance.
If any other knight had said the same thing, I might have believed them without question.
“Be honest. Why are you really here?”
“It’s purely to inspect the security. Unless…”
Tilting his head slightly, he added,
“Maybe it’s because I wanted to see Your Majesty.”
I laughed off his words lightly.
“I’ll be honest with you. I find you intimidating.”
“Oh? May I ask why, if you don’t mind?”
“Before that, wouldn’t it be better if you told me your true purpose first? Why are you here?”
“My purpose…”
He briefly fiddled with his teacup.
“It seems Your Majesty believes I came here with a specific purpose.”
I nodded.
“Indeed, that’s what I think.”
“Why is that?”
“Well…”
I almost answered instinctively but quickly shut my mouth.
I had nearly blurted out the word “villain.”
Yes. The man before me…
Knight Commander Leonard…
Was the villain of this story.
Perhaps even more dangerous than the protagonist, Jerome.
I didn’t know what had brought this ominous man to me, but for the sake of my peaceful and comfortable life as the Empress, he was the number one person I needed to avoid.
“Well… Just a feeling.”
I brushed it off vaguely.
After all, I couldn’t very well tell him I knew his true identity.
“A feeling?”
“Yes.”
“I see. Understood.”
He gave a brief nod.
Then, standing up, he bowed.
“It was a pleasant time, Your Majesty. I’ll take my leave now.”
With those words, Leonard turned to leave.
“Wait.”
I stopped him.
He turned back, looking at me as if to ask why.
Don’t give me that innocent look.
“The book. You have to return it.”
“Oh, the book.”
Raising the book in his hand, he replied nonchalantly.
“I’ll return it next time.”
“What?”
“I’m quite interested in it myself.”
With a languid smile, he whispered,
“How to capture someone’s heart, that is.”
—
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