5. Meaning of pajamas

“But, this is….”

What Lasilia chose was, ironically, a pajama set.

For Lasilia, who was not accustomed to Eliaden’s dress culture, the pajamas, which were splendidly built for the wedding’s first night, looked like just a comfortable nice little dress.

Of course, the pajamas were never worn.

There has never been a time when the empress and the emperor slept together. The pajamas that were carefully made for their first night remained as new clothes and only ever hung on the hanger.

“Well, are you sure?”

The maids exchanged crazy glances.

It was a pity that Lasilia missed it because she was looking at the clothes she chose.

“Yes, this is my favorite.”

“Well, that’s… okay, then.”

Naturally, the maids did not believe that the empress’ amnesia was real.

It was also the maids who knew best that all the diseases the empress had attached to herself were false. Her life was precious, so she didn’t mess around too much.

The maids did not suspect that the empress would be unable to recognize her pajamas due to the memory loss.

“All right, Your Majesty. I’ll dress you up according to the clothes you chose. Please sit here.”

“Yes.”

Lasilia sat down in front of the dressing table as the maids asked. Following the ladies’ gesture, the courtiers stuck together and began brushing.

Since it was a nightgown, there was no reason for her makeup to be too flashy, or her hair to be meticulously braided. The court ladies, who combed Lasilia’s long hair, gathered only half of her hair, tied it loosely, and put a jewelry pin in it.

“Is there anything lacking, your Majesty?”

When the courtiers withdrew, the Marquis of Pasha approached the side of the dressing table and asked. In a nutshell, there was no such thing.

The dress, which was densely embroidered with light peach-colored silk and shiny silver, was much more beautiful when worn than when it was caught on a hanger. For Lasilia, who had always been wearing all similar-like prophet clothes, the texture of the silks wrapped around her skin was a luxury.

“Isn’t she looking too pretty?”

Lasilia muttered unconsciously.

“You’re beautiful in every form.”

Lasilia’s cheeks blushed a little at the words of the marquis of Pasha. She must have looked like a narcissistic since she looked into the mirror and muttered that she was pretty.

‘That was what I was saying to the empress.’

Strangely, she didn’t feel unbearably distant from this beautiful face.

Maybe it was because the hair was similar. Lasilia had long black hair like the empress. Her face may not have been as beautiful as the empress, but other than that, she might have looked a bit similar.

She didn’t feel much taller or smaller than before, and the body shape didn’t feel all that different either.

‘I wish I could look like a very sick person to evoke sympathy if possible…with this face, it would be for the best. This dress is also the most modest among them all.’

Lasilia nodded to the Marquis.

“That’s enough. You all did a great job.”

“Haw…your majesty.”

The maid and courtiers opened their eyes wide when they heard that they had worked hard. If nothing happened after, even Lasilia would have thought the reaction was a little strange.

Goo, goo, goo!

(Screaming)

But something did happen.

Birds were making a fuss outside the window.

“What’s going on?”

The color of the feathers was similar to that of the talking birds this morning.

Lasilia jumped up and headed to the window.

The maids who saw the empress open the window after she had finished grooming herself were at a loss.

Clack, squeak!

Lasilia opened the window.

And what she saw was a rather strange sight.

“…Ugh, you crazy birds! Go away!”

The birds were rushing at someone who was lightly leaning their buttocks over the a narrow window-frame.

The person was one of the emperor’s two knights that she saw during the day.

“Stop it.”

First, Lasilia shooed away the birds. She thought the person might fall at this rate. Before even thinking, the words naturally flowed out, and the birds stopped doing what they were doing as if they understood them.

“……Oh, my God. Thank you, Her Majesty. I didn’t expect you to show me this mercy.”

The knight, who seemed to have cut his reddish blonde hair short and showed his earlobes coolly, was a very impressive beauty in every way.

In the day time, his appearance must have been hidden by the emperor’s own crazy appearance.

But whoever it was, it wasn’t pleasant to see a person when I opened my window.

“You must have had business in my room.”

The knight whose name was Riyan erased the embarrassment with a smile.

“And I didn’t know I’d get caught like this. Who knew that those crazy birds would suddenly scream …Oh, I shouldn’t have been caught.”

“…….”

The beauty’s cheeky smile made the atmosphere soft, but it gave me goosebumps when I thought about it for a second.

‘He was watching me… to find out whether the memory loss is fake or not.’

Lasilia straightened herself up.

‘I can’t let my guard down for a moment.’

The birds kept staring at Riyan with pointed eyes as if they were on the same wavelength. It was as if they were ready to come back at any moment.

“It wasn’t the birds that were crazy, but the person who was in a place where they shouldn’t be.”

“Well, you’re not wrong. So what do you want to do with me?”

Riyan smiled and asked.

“If it’s justifiable, I’ll accept the punishment. It’s my mistake to be caught.”

At the same time, Lasilia’s expression hardened.

He was too proud for some caught monitoring her. In addition, he said that the problem wasn’t that he was monitoring her, but that he was caught.

“So you think there’s nothing wrong with this.”

“Why are you saying that? Your Majesty must not have thought that there would be no eyes to look at the Empress. But I swear it on my knife, even if there are eyes that watch you, it’s still less than half of what her majesty usually does to his majesty.”

“…….”

If this was true, it meant that the emperor and empress had each other monitored.

“Why. If you can’t trust each other even this much, why’d you even get married?”

The more she knew, the stranger it got.

“But can I ask you a question?”

Riyan pointed to her clothes out of the blue.

“From what I hear here, you’ve changed for the meeting later in the evening… Are you going to wear that?”

“I’m more curious about the reason why you’re asking me about my outfit. Is that what the emperor’s knight usually does?”

“No, it’s not that…”

Riyan interrupted once in the middle.

“……Well, I was wondering why you changed your mind.”

“I changed my mind?”

“Doesn’t this mean you’re going to allow contact now? That’s why you changed into this, isn’t it?”

“Contact…?”

Lasilia couldn’t understand a word Riyan was saying.

“What does that mean?”

“Oh, dear. Are you going to say that you don’t even remember what contact is?”

“Like said, I lost my memory. I don’t remember anything.”

“Hmm…”

Riyan examined every inch of Lasilia’s expression with his piercing eyes.

Then suddenly he smiled.

“Well, that wouldn’t be bad either. Above all, your majesty seems to have changed.”

Riyan pulled out his head, put his lips to Lasilia’s ear, and whispered.

“Listen, Your Majesty. I’m glad if Her Majesty has changed her mind anyway. I’ll forget what you’ve done so far, so please do your part now.”

The behind-the-scenes words that no one could hear except Lasilia quickly continued.

“But if it’s just a scam again this time, I swear on it with my sword, Your Majesty will surely pay for it.”

The latter was a clear threat.

　

After finishing what was to be said, Riyan quickly pulled himself away.

“Then I’ll be going now.”

Whistle!

Riyan jumped down. He took a understanding of the terrace railing downstairs with his toes and went down again using the rebound.

It was too quick to do something about it.

Bad guy, bad guy!

Scold him! Scold him!

But not for the birds. As if they could read her displeased expression, the birds quickly went after Riyan.

“Ah! You crazy birds! Stop!”

Since he was holding onto the railing with both this hands, the birds pecked on them. His neat hair was messed up, and Riyan quickly disappeared with his head that looked like a magpie house.

“…….”

Lasilia, who was looking at the place where Riyan disappeared, finally turned by the window.

Surely this place was strange.

Not only was it certain that the birds were talking, but they were also taking sides.

‘Oh, are you taking the Empress’ side, not mine? Could it be that these birds belonged to the empress?’

Once again, the unknown overwhelmed her.

The thing that bothered Lasilia the most, among them, was ‘contact’.

“Your majesty, are you okay?”

The Marquis of Pasha asked carefully.

“Shall I bring forth a cart? A poet…or a musician?”

“That’s fine. Instead, I want to ask you something.”

“Please go ahead, Your Majesty.”

Lasilia asked the Marquis, who bowed her head politely.

“What does contact mean?”

　

* * *

“I have great news!”

Riyan jumped into the emperor’s office in excitement. This time, it was not an official door, but an entrance using the window.

According to Riyan, it was usually faster.

“Shh. His Majesty is still asleep.”

“He’s recovering. At times like this, no matter how loud I get, he doesn’t wake up. No, didn’t you hear me? I’ve got some great news.”

As soon as Riyan closed the window, she grabbed Serben’s shoulder and spoke. Serben, who saw how excited his twin sister was, also began to get excited.

That look wouldn’t mean bad news. He didn’t see that look even when they found out the empress was real.

“What is it? Hurry up and tell me.”

“The Empress changed her clothes for dinner tonight. Guess what she’s wearing.”

“No, don’t do that, just tell me. You know I’m not cut out for that.”

“Pajamas.”

Riyan actually wanted to bother Serben a little more, but her mouth was so itchy to tell that she couldn’t stand it.

“Pajamas? She was wearing them during the day, too.”

“It’s not that, she took out the pajamas meant for their first night.”

“Uh…what?”

Serben blinked for a moment.

“So what I’m saying is…”

The answer came from behind the two men.

“Does that mean she’s going to sleep with me?”

It was Lescal.

“Your Majesty!”

Sitting on the sofa, Lescal slowly smiled.

“I’m looking forward to this evening.”