Rosetta’s heart pounded. A smile naturally formed on his lips, and his fingertips tingled.
He grabbed his burning ears with both hands, then stared intently at the mirror as the voice reached him again.
Yes, the voice had started coming through. The man’s voice.
It was a voice that suited his gentle, low face well. The man spoke again.
“It would be better if I could understand what he’s saying.”
It would be even better if he talked to himself a lot. Or if he had a hobby of singing.
Rosetta wanted to hear the man’s voice in more detail. He pressed close to the mirror. Though he felt the voice coming through his head rather than his ears, it was an unconscious action.
As Rosetta stuck to the mirror, staring at the man, he heard Puti’s shocked voice from behind.
“Your Majesty!”
Rosetta frowned. He didn’t know when the man would speak, and he worried the man’s sweet voice would be drowned out by Puti’s loud voice.
Instead of ignoring Puti as usual, Rosetta turned to look at him and said,
“Don’t speak.”
At Rosetta’s somewhat sharp command, Puti hesitated and asked back,
“Pardon?”
“Keep your mouth shut, and if you have something to say, write it down.”
“What do you…?”
“You’re noisy.”
At this point, the timid Puti would usually back away. But today, for some reason, Puti was persistent. While watching Rosetta carefully, Puti slowly approached him and said,
“No, Your Majesty. I just heard something absolutely ridiculous.”
Rosetta’s hand twitched. Puti keenly noticed Rosetta’s movement to cover his mouth and whispered quietly,
“I-I’ll speak quietly.”
Since he wasn’t someone lacking awareness, if he was acting like this, there must be something important to discuss. If not, Rosetta vowed to make it so he couldn’t open his mouth for a while, then asked Puti,
“What is it?”
Once Rosetta gave permission, Puti quickly got to the point.
“Why did you summon Angel to your chambers?”
Rosetta, who had been looking at Puti as if asking what he was talking about, finally remembered he had an appointment with Angel today.
The month Angel had mentioned had passed. While it was welcome that he could hear the man’s voice, the man still wasn’t with him yet, and Rosetta had once again summoned Angel to the imperial palace.
The scheduled time had passed, and he was curious how much longer he had to wait.
The more time passed, the closer he got, the more anxious Rosetta became. Rosetta turned his head back toward the man in the mirror and answered,
“Well, I can’t leave this room.”
He didn’t know when the man’s voice might be heard, so he didn’t want to leave the room. The connection was getting stronger and stronger, so he had to keep staying in front of the mirror.
So naturally, he had instructed that when Angel came to visit, she should be brought to his chambers. But now Puti was making an issue of it.
At Rosetta’s answer, Puti raised his voice as if frustrated.
“Have you forgotten what I said?! Rumors are spreading, you know? What will we do if ridiculous rumors circulate about Your Majesty and Angel being involved?”
Puti, who had gotten excited and raised his voice again, glanced at Rosetta and lowered it again at the end.
Rosetta, who had been raising his eyebrows in displeasure, realized the meaning of what Puti had said and asked him,
“You haven’t dealt with it?”
Not wanting to receive that look of uselessness again, Puti quickly answered,
“Of course I’m cracking down on the rumors. But Your Majesty needs to cooperate too!”
His voice got loud again. The man wasn’t very talkative, so fortunately it was quiet now, but at this rate, he really might miss his voice because of Puti. Rosetta reached out and grabbed Puti’s neck, saying,
“Volume.”
Puti flinched and answered,
“…Yes.”
Puti trembled as he watched Rosetta carefully. Even though no force had been applied to the hand, he felt his life threatened for a moment.
Should he back off at this point? As Puti was debating, he recalled Rosetta’s gaze once more.
That look of uselessness.
Puti tensed his trembling body and barely mustered the courage to speak.
“Y-Your Majesty. When that person comes here, how bad would they feel if they heard rumors that Your Majesty is dating someone else or has a lover?”
At Puti’s words, Rosetta’s hand slowly fell away from Puti’s neck.
“……”
Afraid his neck might be grabbed again, Puti quickly backed away and urged the silent Rosetta once more.
“Please go to the reception room for a moment, have a quick conversation, and come back.”
Rosetta gestured for Puti to leave, saying,
“How annoying.”
Even as Puti quickly backed away, he demanded confirmation in a small voice.
“Your Majesty? Then I’ll escort you to the reception room.”
“Fine.”
Puti bowed deeply and backed away.
“Thank you!”
Having obtained what he wanted, Puti quickly escaped Rosetta’s room. His neck, where he’d been grabbed, still felt cold.
***
Angel asked Puti, who was standing before her,
“Where is His Majesty?”
The appointed time had already passed. It was clearly Rosetta who had summoned her, yet he wasn’t keeping the appointment time.
“He’ll be here soon.”
Angel really didn’t like Puti standing there stiffly with his head held high. That insignificant servant was always like that.
The Emperor’s servant who, ignorant of his place, acted rudely toward Saintess Angel, who was praised by everyone except the Emperor.
The reason Angel had tolerated Puti’s arrogance until now was because Rosetta was always present when Puti acted rudely.
But now Rosetta wasn’t here. So Angel didn’t need to hold back.
Angel irritably opened her mouth.
“To summon a guest and not be here first—what are you doing instead of properly attending to His Majesty? Are you doing your job properly?”
Then Puti bowed his head and answered,
“The Saintess gave her reply later than expected, so I wasn’t able to properly adjust His Majesty’s schedule.”
Angel let out a hollow laugh. So right now, Puti was saying that Rosetta being late was Angel’s fault.
“It’s my fault?”
When Angel answered sharply, Puti hurriedly shook his head and lowered his already drooping eye corners further, saying,
“Not at all. However, just as the Saintess experienced, I hope you’ll understand that schedules cannot be adjusted at will. Isn’t His Majesty someone who leads a great nation called the Empire?”
If one looked only at Puti’s apologetic expression, one would think Angel was unilaterally oppressing him. But contrary to his expression, there was a blade in what he said.
‘You also came late saying you had a schedule even though His Majesty summoned you. So don’t say anything to Rosetta.’
That alone was annoying enough, but Puti added more.
“Even I, an insignificant servant, have so much to do—how much more so for His Majesty?”
Angel glared at Puti with cold eyes.
Puti had used his position as a servant, but ultimately those words were attacking Angel once again.
‘The Emperor Rosetta is far more impressive than you and has more schedules, so be patient.’
At the same time, it was a rebuttal to Angel’s initial jab asking if he was doing his job properly. Angel raised one corner of her mouth crookedly and said,
“You really do resemble your master.”
Then Puti smiled brightly as if pleased and answered,
“It’s only natural. Doesn’t a subordinate serve and respect their master and want to learn everything from them? Though it doesn’t happen at will.”
Unable to hold back any longer, Angel jumped up from her seat and shouted,
“Are you saying I don’t resemble my father…!”
But before she could fully vent her anger, Rosetta entered the reception room. Rosetta didn’t even bother with the perfunctory apology for being late and said nonchalantly,
“You’re here.”
In the meantime, Puti had cleverly backed away and left the reception room. Angel bit her lips and glared at where Puti had disappeared, then turned her gaze to Rosetta. For now, she had to focus on Rosetta, who was in front of her.
“Your Majesty. The reason you summoned me today is…”
Rosetta said nothing. Angel gripped her rising lips as she looked at Rosetta, who wasn’t looking at her and seemed lost in other thoughts, staring down with a serious face.
“You don’t need to be too impatient. Though it has been a little past the timeframe I mentioned…, you’ll be able to see that person soon.”
Of course, she wasn’t comforting him but mocking his pathetic appearance.
“Originally, the more impatient one’s heart is, the more mistakes occur and problems arise. So please keep your mind at ease.”
As she was pouring out words to him for a while, Rosetta suddenly got up from his seat, lifted his ankle to show it, and said,
“Look.”
Angel stared blankly at that ankle. Rosetta, ridiculously holding out one foot, still looked elegant somehow, which was absurd.
Unable to contain her bewilderment, Angel asked back,
“Pardon?”
With a proud face, Rosetta asked,
“How is it?”
Only then did Angel realize that Rosetta hadn’t been in a bad mood but had been ignoring her. Angel’s insides began boiling again.
Seeing the red thread connected to his ankle had become more solid and thicker made her even angrier. Angel answered, suppressing her emotions as much as possible,
“…How impressive.”
