Chapter 979 – Afterword ─ the Emperor and His Wife Need a Honeymoon ~ 2
Hedone truly thought that spring had finally arrived in her life.
“Oh my! Countess of Anjou! The new necklace you put on me this time is really beautiful.”
“As expected, you recognize me? Countess Castres? This necklace is quite popular in Holimpia these days.”
“Oh my, I never thought the Countess of Anjou would buy such a necklace. Hasn’t she been quite busy lately?~?”
“No matter how busy you are, you have to make sure you decorate yourself, right? Countess Bigor? Just like you can’t wear the same perfume for a month.”
In front of Hedone, there were beautiful ‘wives’ sitting brightly smiling and talking.
The women who were talking loudly had such elegant and beautiful bodies that if Venus were here, he would have glanced at their breasts for no reason.
These women were so busy decorating their bodies by wearing beautiful dresses and accessories that it felt as if light was radiating from their entire bodies when you looked at them.
“I’m glad that everyone participated in the tea time in such a beautiful way. But you all know what’s going on today, right?”
Surprisingly, it was Agrippa who prepared this event. Since she was now the empress and not the empress, the number of people who wanted to look better increased, not decreased.
“Of course. Empress Agrippa. This is for the beautiful Empress sitting here, Empress Hedone, right?”
Hehe, that’s right. Yesterday’s coronation and wedding ceremony were so beautiful that it made me want to get married again, right?”
“Oh, I thought the Duchess of Valois naturally wanted to get married again?”
Hedone could only force a smile in front of the women who spoke a word or two with a strangely sharp feeling.
Although she had nothing, she became empress. It wasn’t that her people didn’t look at her highly, but that didn’t matter now.
“Thank you all for your congratulations. This is my first time having a full-fledged tea time like this, so I hope that you will look at me with as much generosity as your beautiful heart, even if I show my shortcomings.”
“Hehe, of course. The beautiful Empress has just gotten married, so wouldn’t she be able to make a mistake?”
“Well… Of course! A woman who blames such mistakes and looks back on her is not worthy of being called a countess.”
Hedoné, who felt like he was walking on thin ice, looked up at Agrippa with a pitiful expression, unable to smile brightly.
“Don’t worry. They are all good girls.”
For Hedone, who thought spring had arrived, the ’empress’ work’ was more arduous and painful than expected.
* * *
“Abama has never done anything like this before?!”
Next to Venus, who growled in a very low voice, stood Ceres with a smile that went beyond a poker face.
“He was handling matters indirectly through women called the emperor’s concubines.”
“Me, what am I? The emperor who was coronated yesterday? Just because you tell me this based on common sense doesn’t mean I can’t do anything right away?”
“That’s why everyone comes to visit us.”
Venus, sitting on a golden throne, grasped his hair with both hands.
“Isn’t it like sitting at a table where no meal is prepared and hitting the plate with a fork to ask for food!!!”
“Hmm! Your Majesty?”
As soon as Ceres noticed, Venus, who was distressed, quickly changed her expression and straightened her back.
Venus was, of course, sitting in the throne room. And what she had to do was very simple.
Of course, there was a lot of complicated paperwork that had to be done, which depended on the future of the empire, but that wasn’t something that could be done now.
Venus Holympia, who became the father of an empire where the sun never sets, had to do things that were more painful, more frustrating, and more headache-inducing than that.
“Nice to meet you, Your Majesty Venus. My name is Count of Anjou.”
The Count of Anjou, who appeared wearing a stylish cloak, was a man of considerable height and good physique.
Venus had a vague idea of his age. He was a man who had already been married for 10 years.
“Welcome, Count of Anjou. What brought you to the imperial palace?”
“Your Majesty, I am truly sorry to tell you this, but I have come here because there is an evil bastard who has been fighting with our earl family for a long time for absurd reasons.”
Venus frowned in his invisible mind as he looked at the Count of Anjou, who spoke with proper courtesy as he knelt down.
‘In the end, isn’t this a story about preventing conflict in the name of the emperor? If it’s justifiable, I’d be happy to go out…’
It was obvious even without hearing the story.
“Count Bigor! He is truly evil, and for the most evil reason, he is coveting the territory our family owns.”
“Tell me why.”
“It’s an absolutely ridiculous lie. My grandfather’s grandfather…”
The Count of Anjou spoke with a very pained expression.
Of course, since most of the stories were useless, Venus naturally looked at Ceres.
“According to the information gathered by Mr. Leda, it seems that Count Bigor’s claim is that he is now asserting a contract that occurred between two families that dates back six generations.”
“If it’s six generations ago, wouldn’t he be your grandfather’s grandfather? If there are any documents left, isn’t Count Bigor the legitimate name?”
“Unfortunately, the contract disappeared a long time ago and is said to have been passed down by word of mouth.”
“Haaaaa… Isn’t this a story that no one can say is right?”
Venus pressed his forehead with his hand and sighed.
“Your Majesty, please forgive me of my injustice!”
“… I understand. Isn’t the dispute between you and Count Bigor unnecessary for the future of the empire where the sun never sets? Is there any need to shed unnecessary blood and sweat? I will talk to Count Bigor as soon as possible. So, don’t worry and take care of your territory.”
“Thank you. Thank you!”
The Count of Anjou, who spoke with a bright smile, looked satisfied and walked out of the throne room, and Venus sighed.
“Ceres… I really don’t think so…”
“The next guest is Count Bigor.”
“Ahh… Ugh…”
Venus caressed the sparkling imperial crown as she truly wanted to quit being emperor.
“Abama! I think I understand why you gave up on ruling the country…!!”
* * * * *
“What… Is this all…?”
“Don’t worry, Hedone. You’ll be able to memorize it in no time.”
“Wait, wasn’t the imperial palace’s treasury… One?”
“Oh, how can that be? The history of the empire is really long. What Hedone knows is that he created a new treasure trove when he ascended the throne. Hehe. When countless nobles are in conflict, a solution as simple as giving them decent treasures is a simple solution. Please remember that there is no such thing.”
Agrippa smiled brightly and pushed ten extremely thick books onto the table where Hedone was sitting.
The book was so surprisingly thick that the desk immediately screamed with a squeak.
“Since these are all books with magic, there is no need to worry too much about managing them.”
“Everything, I’m glad.”
“It has been managed for quite some time, so there will be very few cases where the records written in the book are different from the circumstances inside the treasury. However, it is Hedone’s job that must be managed consistently from now on, right?”
Agrippa smiled and tapped the book, and Hedone could not raise his eyebrows.
“You don’t have to go through the treasury in the basement or above ground of the imperial palace, carrying one book at a time, right?”
“Oh my! Huhu, is there any need for a woman the size of an empress to do something like that? You can just use the children who work in the imperial palace. Ah, it would be faster if you ask Ceres about that part. Can you do it well, honey?”〈 Br〉
“Wh… Of course, mother! I’m not even a kicker, but to this extent… To this extent…”
Hedone lowered her eyes and grabbed her book, opening it slightly.
The thick book was filled with information about well over 100 ‘treasures’, at most.
‘It contains detailed information about all the items in the treasure trove. This is definitely information you should keep in mind. If they mistakenly give the Count of Anjou the treasure that Count Bigor gave him a long time ago, they will create a huge political cause for themselves.’
Hedone, squeezing his eyes shut, coughed awkwardly and covered his lower abdomen with his hands.
“But mother…”
“Oh my? What’s going on? Hedone?”
“Boo, I’m embarrassed, but I… I felt a little sick, so I went to the bathroom for a moment…”
Hehe, that’s right. There’s no need to be too formal in front of me. You were sweating a lot during tea time earlier, right?”
Agrippa smiled a truly kind smile and kissed Hedone on the cheek.
In a truly pure sense, she was telling Hedone about various things because she wanted him to do well in the empress’s work.
But unfortunately, for Hedone, this was too burdensome and not something that could be done overnight.
“Then…”
Hedone nodded, got up and walked out of the room, almost as if he was running away.
“Wuuuuu… Haaah… I thought I could rest comfortably…”
With her expression dripping with pain, Hedoné felt really bad, so she began to walk pathetically to the bathroom.
I don’t know what terrible thing will happen when I wake up tomorrow.
It wasn’t a life-threatening situation, but Hedone felt really bad because something that seemed like it would never be resolved was before her eyes.
“Hedone?”
“Ah… Your Majesty?”
Hedone, who was walking forlornly down the hall, had a lucky chance with Venus. As soon as Hedone saw her beloved Venus, he pulled up her dress and quickly ran into her arms.
“Heh, Hedone?!”
“Your Majesty Venus…! There is so much work to be done. She is certainly happy to be the empress of an empire where the sun never sets…”
“Ah… Is that true for you too? I feel like it’s a bit painful for me to become an emperor, too.”
Apparently they got married yesterday!
Why do I have to do a mountain of work starting today?
The two, who had started to hate where they were sitting due to the pain, were busy hugging each other tightly and patting each other.
“Ah… Your Majesty… I’m having a hard time… I can’t believe I have to watch wives swear at each other like idiots for the rest of my life…”
“I already have a headache too… I wish I could rest for a few more days…”
As Venus spoke in pain, a word came to mind.
“Well… Yes, Hedone. Wouldn’t it be okay to go somewhere to rest for a few days?”
“Huh? But that can’t be possible… Ah.”
Light suddenly came into Hedone’s eyes as well.
“Don’t you go on a honeymoon after you get married?”
“That’s right! There’s no law preventing the emperor and empress from doing what every married couple in the empire does, right?”
The couple looked at each other’s faces with sparkling eyes and began to burn surprisingly foolish hopes…!
