Chapter 51. Are We Just Acquaintances?
After being captured by the knights of the Kingdom of Kalus,
Leonard, Cedric, and I found ourselves imprisoned.
The only relief was that it wasn’t some grim place for real criminals.
Perhaps they considered the possibility that I really might be the Empress?
Of course, who would believe it?
What kind of Empress would illegally enter a foreign country without even a proper escort?
Still, my assertiveness must’ve made them consider the slim chance, so instead of a cell, we were locked in a shabby room.
After confirming that the guards were gone, Leonard whispered in a low voice.
“Your Majesty… negotiation? That wasn’t part of the plan.”
“Did you perhaps anticipate something like this?”
Cedric looked at me with eyes full of hope, expecting I had some sharp trick up my sleeve.
“Of course… this wasn’t planned.”
“I… I knew it…”
“Don’t look so glum. It wasn’t planned, but I’ll figure something out.”
“So, you do have an idea then?”
“Do you think they’d dare to treat me carelessly if they knew I was truly the Empress of the Empire?”
In response to my proud declaration, Leonard replied in a sunken tone.
“That’s only if they actually bother to verify our identities.”
Cedric nodded.
“Indeed. If they decide we’re suspicious and just hand us over for summary judgment…”
“What happens in a summary judgment?”
“…”
Cedric silently looked up at the ceiling.
That meant death.
An execution ground.
The clang of shackles and the end.
Good grief—after everything I did to avoid a grim fate, and now I’m going to die here? Not even at the hands of a male lead, but some border patrol?
“Do not worry, Your Majesty. No matter what, I’ll make sure you escape safely.”
Under normal circumstances, Leonard always seemed capable of anything, but right now, his tone sounded unusually grave.
Even as the Empire’s top knight and shadowy mastermind, facing an entire nation’s military would be too much.
“I will help as well.”
Cedric.
I think it might be better if you deal with your pale face first.
You look like you might faint before the fight even begins.
That was when—
We heard arguing from outside the door.
“Your Majesty! Why are you unfastening it again? Lock it properly!”
“It’s just too uncomfortable!”
‘What the heck?’
I pricked up my ears, but the voices became too tangled to make out clearly.
Still, the word “Your Majesty” had been mentioned—it sounded like the king had arrived.
What kind of person would he be?
I couldn’t help feeling nervous and curious.
Then, the door opened.
“See? I told you I was right.”
The man who stepped in first spoke.
A man with crimson-red hair, dressed neatly in uniform.
“Looks like you’re the one who got lost this time.”
“…!”
My eyes widened in shock.
Seeing my reaction, the man gave a small smirk.
“Nice to see you again, savior.”
***
I was moved to a separate room alone with Karsen, the King of Kalus.
“You’re not seriously saying you’re the king, right?”
I rubbed my wrists where the ropes had been tied and asked him.
This weird man… is he really the king of Kalus?
I couldn’t believe it.
“Why? Hard to believe?”
He asked in return.
“Of course…”
I mean, how could I believe it?
Even now, I remembered our first meeting vividly.
He’d barged into the Imperial Palace, claiming he was lost and demanded I guide him.
A rude man who had swiftly taken down the imperial guards and was more surprised that I could speak than anything else.
The impression he left was nothing like that of a monarch.
If not for that blood-red hair, I would’ve thought it was some crude prank.
“Looks like I’m hard to trust. Well, even my secretary Momo says that all the time.”
“…So it really is true.”
“What, still don’t believe me?”
“Your behavior and manner of speaking—there’s not a shred of dignity to be found.”
I was the Empress of the Empire.
Yet here he was, speaking to me like we were equals.
My mention of dignity was, in fact, a direct complaint about that attitude.
“Ahh. That’s what’s bothering you?”
Karsen laughed as if he had just realized.
Then he leaned in toward me.
“Aren’t we more than just casual acquaintances?”
“What kind of relationship are we talking about?”
“The kind where we help each other find our way.”
“All I remember is being forced to give directions.”
“Well, it’s a special kind of connection either way, right? So why don’t we drop the formality when it’s just the two of us? Ah—but of course I’ll show due courtesy in public. Your Majesty.”
“…”
“Well then, let’s skip the pleasantries.”
Karsen sat down across from me and asked,
“What brings Her Majesty all the way out here? You’re quite far from the Imperial Palace to simply be ‘lost,’ aren’t you?”
Perhaps feeling stuffy, he rolled up his sleeves and unbuttoned the collar of his shirt.
“Ah. Let me rephrase. That might make this conversation smoother.”
His light gray-blue eyes gleamed sharply.
His expression hadn’t changed much, but I could sense the shift in atmosphere.
There was an unexplainable feeling of danger.
“As the Empress of the Empire, could you explain what business you have hauling explosives all the way to this northern land?”
Karsen emphasized the word explosives.
So, he had checked what was inside the carriage.
As expected. It would’ve been easier to talk if they hadn’t searched the carriage.
“I came to negotiate.”
At my words, Karsen gave a dry chuckle.
“With a carriage full of dangerous explosives?”
“What’s in the carriage was brought for operational purposes. I hope you won’t misunderstand. If we were planning to use them in war, we wouldn’t have come with so few people, would we?”
“If someone was planning to sneak in and do something reckless, fewer people would make it easier.”
“Are you saying an Empress would do something so dangerous herself?”
“……”
He stared at me for a moment, then gave a look of interest.
“Alright, let’s hear it. What ridiculous request are you going to make?”
I got straight to the point.
“The people of the Empire are suffering from a severe drought. I ask you to kindly open the waterway blocked by the dam.”
“That doesn’t seem to concern our waterways. The Empire’s drought is simply due to a lack of rain.”
“Of course, there’s no direct connection to Kalus’s waterways. But…”
“But?”
“But I know the Kingdom of Kalus has been gradually adjusting the water flow over the past decade.”
“…!”
At my words, Karsen briefly looked surprised.
That must’ve been because I knew something that had been done in secret.
In fact, this was a revelation that came out near the end of the original novel.
In the original, the Kingdom of Kalus was depicted as part of the villainous force that drove the Empire into a corner.
And one of their many strategies was to cut off the Empire’s water supply—the very lifeblood of the land.
The conspiracy to seize control of the water source had been carefully plotted for years, which is why even the male lead and the Empire had been slow to respond.
The former emperor’s tyranny and inner political chaos only made it worse.
And it wasn’t as though Kalus controlled the Empire’s only water source, so until recently it hadn’t been seen as critical.
‘The reason this particular waterway became vital was because all the other nations, except Kalus, are now experiencing droughts.’
If you trace the root, it all starts with the former emperor’s tyranny—an endless story.
“Adjusting the waterway, huh. That’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
The so-called Crimson Monarch.
Said to be the fiercest and most formidable warrior on the battlefield, but apparently no good at lying.
“How about stating your demands instead?”
“What if I don’t need anything?”
“What about salt?”
“……”
He didn’t even flinch.
“Or maybe…”
I smiled confidently and continued.
“A warm-water port?”
“…!”
Karsen’s expression shifted again.
That confirmed it. He was someone who couldn’t hide his emotions.
A warm-water port.
A port that doesn’t freeze over.
This too was something mentioned in the original novel.
Karsen rules a northern superpower.
A nation with the towering, rugged Kalon Mountains and vast plains.
A country with brave and powerful soldiers.
And the one thing the Kingdom of Kalus lacked—
Was a port that didn’t freeze.
Due to its northern location, it had to endure the harshest winters.
For such a country, the existence of a warm-water port was invaluable.
Karsen finally showed interest.
“You’re saying you’ll give us a warm-water port?”
“I don’t have the authority to freely trade the Empire’s territory. But… allowing free use of the port during the time the waterway is open—that might be possible.”
The warm-water port was my final trump card.
If I had succeeded in secretly blowing up the dam, the Kingdom of Kalus surely would have retaliated.
So I had prepared the warm-water port.
To use as a bargaining chip when the royal palace of Kalus resorted to force.
But now that I had met the King himself, there was no longer a need for such tactics.
I asked confidently,
“So? Are you interested?”
He obviously would be.
In the original, what the Kingdom of Kalus ultimately demanded—even going so far as to block the waterways—was precisely a warm-water port.
The moment he heard my offer, he would surely—
“No. I’m not interested.”
“What?”
My eyes widened at the unexpected reply.
“There will be war. Eventually, that’s where this is headed.”
Even my thinly veiled threat didn’t faze him.
“Kalus is not afraid of war.”
“Then… what do you want?”
“What do I want?”
He stroked his chin, pretending to ponder, then smiled at me.
“You.”
You…?
With a puzzled expression, I watched as he pointed his finger at me.
“You. I like you.”
“……!”
—
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