“No.”
“Oh dear, Lady Meredia. Please let go of that.”
“I said no.”
Well, to be honest, it’s true that what I said could easily be misunderstood.
Still, was it really necessary for Lady Meredia to grab me by the hair and get into a scuffle right in front of the emperor’s favorite shop?
“What do you mean no? Do you really think I’m going to allow this?”
“No, please just hear me out…”
“And the other party is the emperor? Are you insane?”
But from Lady Meredia’s perspective, maybe it was a completely reasonable reaction.
“…Oh my, are they a married couple fighting?”
“The man’s definitely in the wrong. How could he cheat on such a terrifying woman?”
Thanks to that, it was only natural that we became the center of attention for people walking through the pleasure district.
“But isn’t that a women’s boutique over there?”
“Yeah…? Maybe he’s the opposite gender?”
“…Doesn’t really look that way. Eek?”
Of course, even those nosy onlookers quickly scattered in all directions when Lady Meredia turned her red-tinged eyes toward them with a sharp glare.
“Hmph, the way they scattered is just like cockroaches.”
“They’re back alley folks after all. They probably excel at running away.”
“…Hey. You think you know the back alleys better than I do?”
Lady Meredia muttered with a frown as she watched them, then turned back to me and spoke again.
“Don’t get cocky just because you know one secret spot. I know way more hidden places in the back alleys than you do…”
“…Like the auction house that only opens on Sundays and gathers all the treasures of the world?”
But when I boldly countered, Lady Meredia flinched slightly and began staring at me in silence.
“Everyone knows that’s said to be the best intelligence guild, but in truth, it’s composed entirely of your loyal followers. And there’s also that place that looks like an orphanage but actually trains deadly assassins.”
“……”
“I also know of a shop that does anything faithfully for the right price, and a flower shop that looks ordinary but actually deals in every poison known to man, and then…”
“…Stop.”
As I continued, she looked horrified at me revealing her secret haunts and hurriedly reached out to cover my mouth.
“Mmph, mmph.”
It wasn’t the first time Lady Meredia had silenced me like this, but this time, she was noticeably rougher.
Or maybe, she had always been holding back when dealing with me?
“Sigh, leaving everything else aside, that flower shop doesn’t sell poison to anyone except me. How on earth did you know about it?”
“Ha ha, I just guessed that a place like that might exist.”
“……”
“Really, I’m telling the truth.”
Anyway, since the conversation looked like it would drag on, I glossed things over, and after staring at me with suspicion for a while, Lady Meredia let out a sigh and lowered her hand.
“Fine, I’ll admit you know the back alleys as well as I do.”
“Ha ha.”
And as she continued, I thought she was finally going to approve my plan.
“But knowing things and going into a host club to entertain customers are completely different matters. Don’t you agree?”
As expected, Lady Meredia wasn’t about to let me go in that easily.
“Do you really think there won’t be a single person in there who recognizes you? You’re not the anonymous count’s son anymore. You’ve even appeared in newspapers several times.”
Of course, I didn’t come unprepared, so instead of answering, I pulled a mask from my pocket and showed it to her.
“What’s that?”
“All the hosts in there wear masks. They only remove them when meeting one-on-one after being chosen.”
Lady Meredia inspected the mask and then asked with a hint of disbelief, “What kind of ridiculous rule is that?”
“Well… maybe the noblewomen think choosing blindly is more thrilling than just picking.”
Since completely covering the face would make it impossible to tell anyone apart, the mask was more like one you’d wear to a masquerade—just enough to hide the upper face.
Fortunately, the eye area was covered with enchanted black fabric, which allowed me to conceal my squinting eyes.
If the masks didn’t have that feature, I wouldn’t have even considered this operation.
“And where did you even get something like that?”
“…Bergen kindly swiped one for me.”
“But even so, isn’t there still a risk of being caught once you’re inside?”
“Don’t worry. I already arranged for one of the hosts scheduled to work today to… well, take the day off.”
I had left it to Runiel and Bergen, so I didn’t know how they handled it, but I trusted they’d done it properly.
What mattered more right now was persuading my current bodyguard—Lady Meredia.
“…Put it on first.”
“Sorry?”
“I said try wearing the mask.”
While scratching my head at that sudden demand, I quickly obeyed and put the mask on in front of her.
“How do I look? Pretty convincing, right?”
“……”
“My most attractive feature—my eyes—are hidden, so you’ll have to help me win popularity from the inside, Milady. So, um…”
I was about to go over the plan again when I noticed something strange in Lady Meredia’s expression.
“What’s with you…”
“…?”
To borrow a modern expression, she looked like she’d just taken the red pill.
Anyway, with that dazed look in her eyes, Lady Meredia muttered in a low voice.
“…You’re actually handsome.”
“Excuse me?”
“It really was your eyes that were the problem.”
Then, as if it were nothing, she placed her hand under my chin and began to stroke it, and my mind instantly went blank.
‘I’m really weak to this sort of thing…’
Suddenly initiating skinship and saying something like that—isn’t that cheating? And she didn’t even seem aware of what she was doing, which made it twice as frustrating.
“…Our child better not inherit those eyes.”
“Sorry, what?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
I’d frozen up from the unexpected comment, so I didn’t catch what she muttered next, and tilted my head in confusion at her sudden flustered behavior.
“Anyway, at this rate…”
“…?”
“…You’ll attract bugs.”
And just like that, Lady Meredia suddenly returned to her usual self and continued speaking.
“Oh, come on. Even with my upper face covered, I’ll be a total newbie in there.”
“…Really?”
“You’re the one who needs to hype me up inside, remember?”
“Hmph…”
She still didn’t look fully convinced, but compared to the earlier tension, her mood seemed to have softened a bit.
“…Either I’m seeing you through rose-colored glasses, or you really don’t know how good-looking you are.”
“…?”
“…Sigh. Fine. Just answer me this.”
Murmuring to herself, Lady Meredia let out a deep sigh and asked me a question.
“Once you get chosen by the emperor, what exactly are you going to do?”
“Well, I’ll threaten her using the intel we have in the private room.”
“That’s it? No backup plan in case that fails?”
I understood why she reacted that way, but there was only one possible answer to this.
“No, I don’t have one.”
“……”
“Because it’s not just anyone—it’s the emperor we’re dealing with. It’s all or nothing.”
Lady Meredia, who had been quietly listening to my words, asked a question in a low voice around that time.
“What does ‘all or nothing’ mean?”
“If we put it in dice terms, it means either rolling a 1 or a 6.”
After thinking for a moment, Lady Meredia curled her lips and responded with a wry smile.
“So basically, you’re gambling.”
“Haha…”
“…Well, I do like gambling quite a bit myself.”
And so, I finally succeeded in persuading Lady Meredia.
“We’re on the same boat anyway. I’ll wager my life too.”
“…Ah, just my life is more than enough.”
“Idiot. This is where you’re supposed to just say thank you.”
Anyway, having finished persuading her, I was about to step inside the establishment wearing the mask when—
“…Still, there’s one last thing bothering me.”
“Yes?”
“I’m just asking just in case, so listen carefully.”
Suddenly grabbing my arm, Lady Meredia asked in an uncharacteristically meek voice.
“You’re not going to mess around with those noblewomen, right?”
Trying to suppress my laughter, I puffed up the muscles in my face and pinched my thigh to keep from laughing out loud as I answered in a low voice.
“While I have you, Milady?”
“I-I still don’t trust your words alone.”
I thought that would be enough, but apparently Lady Meredia still felt something was missing.
‘Well, can’t be helped.’
I didn’t want to be poisoned by Lady Meredia later, but I also figured it was time to increase our physical intimacy a bit.
Also, I wanted revenge for the one-sided affection she showed me earlier.
“Wait, what are you doing now…?”
Maybe it was that train of thought.
Or maybe it was the moonlight glittering in the early dawn sky.
“……!”
Kissing Lady Meredia on the cheek really only took a second.
If no one had been around, I would have kissed her on the lips instead—but alas.
“…What was that for?”
“You said you couldn’t believe words alone. So I showed you through actions.”
Still, the good part was that I got to see that same dumbfounded expression Lady Meredia had made back in the carriage.
“Shall I head in now?”
“……”
“Ah, Milady, you should enter through the main entrance. I’ll go in through the staff-only entrance at the back…”
And this time, her stunned expression lasted a bit longer.
“…Can you hear me, Milady?”
“……”
“Lady Meredia?”
Actually, it lasted long enough that it almost disrupted the entire operation.
***
About an hour later—inside Pro Domina, the place rumored to be the emperor’s playground, according to Whitney.
“Is she coming again today…?”
The nervous manager of the establishment looked around anxiously, then moved into a secluded corner.
“Sigh, I feel like I lose a year of my life every time I open this door…”
He took out a key from his pocket, unlocked the only locked door in the shop, and pulled on the doorknob.
“Hmm.”
“Ah—p-pardon me. I mean, I’m deeply honored!”
And then suddenly—despite the door having been closed since the last use—someone appeared from inside.
“Keep your voice down.”
“…Hik.”
“Are you planning to announce to the world that the Emperor of the Empire is here?”
That someone was none other than the emperor herself, Lilia Winter Klaus, who was supposedly bedridden in the imperial palace.
“Thank you for visiting our shop again today…”
“…You don’t look thankful at all. Enough with the empty formalities—just hand me today’s catalog.”
“Y-yes, right away!”
At her sharp command, the manager quickly handed over the list of today’s hosts.
“Let’s see if there’s anyone who can satisfy me today…”
“U-uh, excuse me, Your Majesty…”
“Hm?”
With a trembling voice, he asked the emperor a question.
“May I ask why you always leave after just browsing the catalog and the exhibition?”
At that, the emperor narrowed her already thin eyes and smiled broadly, turning the question back to the manager.
“Do you really want to know?”
“N-no, not at all!”
Sensing the cold killing intent hidden behind those words, the manager hurriedly backtracked and bowed his head.
“How unmanly. Doesn’t seem like today will be fun either… hmm?”
Looking back down at the catalog with a chilly expression, the emperor then raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
“…”
“W-what is it?”
Moments later, she suddenly burst into laughter and placed the catalog down on the table.
“Today might actually be interesting.”
Her eyes were fixed on one newcomer host listed at the very bottom of the catalog.
Cliche Novel 