The Evil Empress Adores Me - Chapter 64

“Anyways, how about it?”

After a momentary silence, Damian responded politely.

“…..If it’s really what you want, I won’t say no.”

Huh, you’re going to fight?

I clenched my fists. 

Honestly, I thought the instructor would have better sense. 

He’s only thirteen years old, he could end up hurting him with that sword, even if it is made from wood. 

But….should I underestimate Damian? 

‘After all, Damian’s the hero of this world!’

Meanwhile, the instructor who heard Damian’s answer nodded his head. 

He still has that eerie smile. 

“All right. Let’s wrap up today’s training, Dalian.”

The two men stood facing each other. 

Woo-hoo, go Damian! 

Wipe that blatantly disrespectful smile off his face!

I cheered enthusiastically for Damian in my heart. 

As I did, I heard a soft voice. 

“Dalian, I’ll let you go if you yield to me.”

The man that uttered those words wasn’t even holding his wooden sword properly. 

He held the weapon in a limp way, conveying how much he looked down at Damian. 

A forced smile formed on Damian’s face. 

“Thank you but no thanks.”

As soon as those words left his lips, Damian dashed at the instructor. 

……What, how can a person be that fast?

I rubbed my eyes, repeatedly blinking in astonishment. 

Klunk!

It was the sound of wooden swords clashing against each other. 

The instructor who frantically lifted up his wooden sword barely blocked Damian’s strike. 

The man let out a hard groan. 

“Gah!”

But far from stopping at that groan, Damian continued on the offensive. 

Klunk, Klunk!

The sound of clashing wooden swords rang constantly. 

I swallowed my saliva as I watched them intensely. 

I can’t believe that the sound of wood slamming into each other could make noises so sharp. 

The instructor who had been recoiling and taking slow steps backward shouted in a strained voice. 

“W-what is this…..ugh!”

And with that, the sparring was over. 

Thwack!

As the instructor backed up, he was caught off guard by a protruding stone behind him, causing him to stumble and fall backward with a heavy thud. 

Damian stood over him, pointing his sword at the man’s jugular. 

I heard Damian’s cold voice. 

“You said today’s lesson would end with this, right?”

“……what the hell!”

“I learned a lot today. Thank you.”

It was a calm voice without any hint of emotion in it. 

However, it seemed to have only worsened the shame the instructor felt. 

His face was redder than a tomato. 

He vanished without saying a single word. 

Ha, this is wild!

I jumped up from where I was sitting and ran over to Damian. 

“Your Majesty, you worked so hard, here’s your towel!”

“Oh, Lize. Thanks.”

I handed the towel. 

As he wiped off his sweat with the towel, he smiled bitterly, murmuring something to himself. 

“I was going to be patient and just put up with all he said…..but I couldn’t.”

“Pardon? What do you mean?”

“The instructor, he won’t be coming to the imperial palace anymore.”

Damian glanced in the direction the man had disappeared in. 

Why does that matter?

I tilted my head. 

“This isn’t the first time. At this rate, the Emperor will be in complete disgust.”

Damian let out a deep sigh. 

Welp, on that note, I don’t have anything to say. 

I rolled my eyes. 

“……well, won’t be the first time. There’s no escaping that.”

It’s no surprise. Damian already had three of his teachers replaced so far. 

In addition to the talent he had and the effort he gave, it was almost instantaneous to overwhelm the knights appointed by the Emperor. 

At least through this, it’s enough to show he’s the protagonist of this world. 

Then, Damian called me in a voice mixed with laughter. 

“By the way, Lize.”

“Yes?”

I unwillingly looked back, wrinkling my forehead inadvertently. 

Damian reached out, pressing the top of my head with his hand. 

“So, when will you get taller?”

At that mischievous tone, I got irritated. 

“Hmph, well if his Highness keeps pressing my head, I’ll grow less! That doesn’t mean I haven’t grown up any less though! I grew a lot!”

“But you’re still a lot smaller than me, aren’t you?”

“Your Highness. Don’t you think it’s a bit unfair to compare the height of a woman with that of a man?”

After I shot back, I pulled myself away from Damian’s reach. 

“On top of that, Your Highness, don’t you remember I’m ten years old now? 

“Meaning?”

“It means that it’s already been five years since I’ve been promoted to a full-time maid.”

I declared so with pride, my hands on my waist and my head raised up high. 

Damian gave a subtle smile as he looked at me. 

“So please think about my dignity.”

“Hold on, you have dignity as well?”

“Absolutely! Do you know how many maids are under me?”

I spoke to Damian, my nose slightly raised at him. 

Can’t I ask for at least this much?

At first, it started as silent laughter which led to chuckles and then all-out laughter.

“….Your Highness?”

“Ahaha!”

Damian continued to laugh with amusement. 

I looked at him with a confused face. 

“What’s so funny?”

“You reminded me of something. Of that.”

“That? What is that supposed to be?” 

Eventually putting a lid on his laughter and recomposing himself, Damian spoke up. 

“Why, you’re like a kitten. You think you’re grown up when you still have a lot of growing up to do…..” Damian added as he smirked. 

This seems trivial at this point. 

“……What? I beg your pardon?!” I exclaimed. 

First, a squirrel, now I’m a kitten!

Will I ever escape all these animal nicknames?!

We bickered for some time before heading back to the crown prince’s palace. 

On our way there, we walked side by side in peaceful silence. 

I gazed at him from the side and felt a feeling of contentment. 

I remembered how scrawny he was when we first met.

Damian, you’ve grown up so much!

***

By the time Damian finished washing up, we were greeted by a familiar friendly face. 

It was the Empress. 

“Wow, your Majesty!”

I ran to the Empress, happy to see her. 

The Empress smiled at me. 

“Lize!”

“What brings you here, your Majesty?”

Damian walked in right behind me as I asked the Empress a question. 

Come to think of it, I feel I’ve been seeing the Empress a lot more at the place lately.

Or am I just mistaken? 

I tilted my head in thought. 

“Ah, actually I’m here on business today.”

Huh? Business?

I looked up at the Empress with a quizzical look. 

“You do know we’re having a harvest festival to celebrate Thanksgiving this time, right?

“Yes, I know.”

Damian, on the other hand, seemed distracted though. 

Harvest festival. 

It was a festival to celebrate the bountiful harvest this year as well as offer our gratitude to Aurelia, the divine beast who protects our empire. 

It was not just a gathering for the royal family but nobles and officials would be attending too, however…

‘There’s a chance, the Emperor might not let Damian attend the festival.’

That thought alone made me feel miserable. 

I’m usually worried when it comes to Damian, he often doesn’t stand up for himself when he should. 

The Empress continued to speak. 

“Therefore, I’m thinking of meeting with the candidates who will accompany me during this festival.”

Wow, she’ll be organizing the event herself even down to the candidates?

I blinked my eyes in surprise. 

Only the immediate royal family has the right to offer tribute to the divine beast Aurelia during a festival. 

There are children though who are tasked with serving the royal family, they are called pages or companions. 

Also, the event needing to be organized by the Empress meant…

‘It means that the harvest festival will be held on a fairly large scale.’ 

Then, the Empress suddenly posed a question to Damian. 

“I’d also like the crown prince to come with me, what do you think crown prince?”

“Sorry?…..Me?”

Damian’s eyes widened at this unexpected proposal. 

The Empress smiled at his stunned reaction, nodding her head. 

“Yes. Rather than doing things on my own accord, I think it’d be better to listen to the opinions of others.”

The Empress shrugged her shoulders as she said so. 

“If you don’t want to, feel free to refuse.”

“No!”

In an instant, Damian raised his voice. 

Good grief, he scared me. Why would he scream all of a sudden?

The Empress and I both looked at each before looking back at Damian. 

Damian was clearly shocked that he shouted at the Empress, his silence conveyed his disbelief. 

After a while, Damian regained his composure and opened his mouth.

“Erm, I’d like to go too…..unless it’s rude.”

Both of his cheeks were burning red. 

“Why, if it’s rude…..I wouldn’t have asked the crown prince in the first place.”

The Empress gave a reassuring smile. 

I thought to myself about the Empress’s offer to Damian. 

The Empress probably started the whole “candidate” thing in consideration for Damian. 

As the Empress is a daughter of the Rochester bloodline, the noblest family in the empire. 

She could just lift a finger and any child of any noble family would be able to attend. 

‘If anything else, all the children of aristocratic families would long to go with the Empress.’

I shrugged lightly. 

Under such circumstances, the Empress’s proposition to Damian is simply ‘Proving to the whole world that her Majesty, the Empress considers the crown prince to be an immediate royal family.’ 

After all, only a member of the royal family can begin the ceremony. 

The Empress herself had said she wanted Damian to accompany her and ask for his opinion. 

That means the Empress considers Damian to be equal to me.