Remarried Empress - Chapter 451

Where should Rivetti stay once she arrives? I don’t know if she should stay in a room for distinguished guests, in a room for ladies-in-waiting, or in one of the empty rooms near mine.

“If the room is too close to Your Majesty’s, she might feel overwhelmed.”

“Geez, I don’t think so, Miss Rose. Rivetti is the kind of girl who wants to be as close to the Empress as possible.”

“But Laura, Miss Rose may be right. She’s a cheerful young girl, but… a lot of bad things happened to her all at once. We can do our best to cheer her up, but she may need some time alone as well.”

“That’s right. She wasn’t in her own territory, she was caught— Ah, I meant, she was found in a nearby town. This may indicate that she wants to be alone and away from people who know her.”

My ladies-in-waiting had different opinions, which changed repeatedly as they discussed the matter. It would not be easy to come to a consensus. After they went round and round for a while to no avail, they pushed me to go see Heinley.

They thought that I should get his opinion, but it was obvious that they wanted to encourage me to spend more time with him. Secretly, I wanted to see Heinley too… so I pretended not to understand their underlying motives and hurried off to get Heinley’s opinion.

But though I went to his office, the training grounds, the garden, and even the area behind the Twilight Garden where he built his precious nest, there was no trace of Heinley.

Could he be hurt somewhere? Could he have been struck by an arrow while flying around? Did he get lost? What if he suddenly fainted? What if he crashed into a big tree mid-flight and broke his wing?

I was becoming anxious. It was worse when McKenna couldn’t tell me where he was.

“He may be napping on a tree enjoying the sunlight, Your Majesty. He does it often. Don’t worry.”

McKenna smiled like it was no big deal that Heinley was missing, but how could I not worry?

“He could be in danger. A pretty little bird like Heinley attracts too much attention, McKenna.”

“What? A pretty little bird? You must not be talking about Heinley, but about me, right?”

“I meant Heinley. Of course, your blue feathers are also very pretty.”

“… Forgive me, Your Majesty. With all due respect, I can’t agree that Emperor Heinley is pretty or little. It’s a matter of pride and common sense.”

McKenna shook his head as if to forget my words. Then, he quickly looked around to check that no one could see him, turned into a blue bird, and flew around the room. After a few turns, he picked up his clothes with his beak, flew out the window, and returned as a fully dressed man shortly after.

“The blue bird you just saw is little and pretty. His Majesty Heinley is huge.”

In my eyes, Heinley’s gold feathers were the prettiest. That was also because I love gold. Of course, I couldn’t deny that McKenna was a bit smaller, but Heinley wasn’t huge either. He was just the right size to hug him comfortably. It was the most appropriate size for a bird.

“I’ll continue to look for him.”

McKenna didn’t seem to be much help, so I left the place and asked around again, becoming more and more nervous.

Suddenly, I recalled the fountain where I discovered that Heinley is Queen. The fountain in that abandoned palace had surprised me in several ways. Could he be there?

As soon as I considered it, I felt an inexplicable certainty that Heinley would be there, so I quickly headed for the abandoned palace. I walked through the rickety front door, past the bumpy gravel path, and through the deserted corridor. Then, I saw the fountain.

‘My intuition didn’t fail.’

Just as I expected, Heinley was there. He was sitting on the edge of the fountain, singing with his eyes closed while he looked up at the sky. His clothes were scattered nearby.