The Tyrant Empress is Obsessed with Me

10 – A Private Meeting with the Emperor

‘I really don’t want to go…’

As morning comes, Ascal’s eyes open instinctively.

But today, of all days, he didn’t want to get up. He wanted to be one with the bed forever.

Why?

Because he had acquired the Barb Empire’a royal treasure by chance at an antique auction and now had to have a private audience with the Emperor.

‘Emperor’s private meeting.’

Just thinking of the words makes his body tense up with anxiety. The current Emperor of the empire may be old, but he still wielded immense power.

No matter how well they were doing, even the best officials could be sent away with a single wave of the Emperor’s hand.

In a word, the best of the best.

That’s why he pays close attention to inspecting his attire. If he makes a mistake with his clothes, even with one button, he doesn’t know what kind of situation it might lead to.

Ascal, feeling pressure, tried his best to take his time and carefully groom his hair, becoming more and more delayed. However, even that had its limits.

‘I take reluctant steps.’

If only the event were cancelled due to heavy rain.

Would there be anyone who hates going to work more than him right now?

There was.

‘Why are they like this?’

Upon arriving at the Section 3 office, Ascal was taken aback by the unusually gloomy atmosphere.

“Ah, I want to become a sea cucumber.”

Susiya seemed to be becoming an invertebrate due to whatever she did last night and was struggling helplessly.

While it’s understandable for Susiya, since she’s always like this, the others were also not looking good.

“I am a tree.”

Deban, demoted to Section 3 as a losing bet, was sitting on a rocking chair, staring at the ceiling with unfocused eyes.

He must have been quite shocked.

‘Well, let’s put these two aside.’

However.

Lia’s condition seemed strange as well.

Rather than her condition, precisely speaking, her attire was off.

She wore an eye patch over one eye, as if a black dragon had grown out from her right hand overnight.

Ascal stared intently at Lia.

Feeling his gaze, Lia responded.

“I’ve caught an eye infection. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can go to the emperor’s event this time. It would be a catastrophe if I spread the infection.”

An intuition came to him.

Lia was lying. It wasn’t because of an eye infection, she just didn’t want to see her father, the emperor.

Whether it was because her true identity was nearly exposed on the day of the ceremony or she simply didn’t like her father.

However, he felt a little irritated.

If she didn’t want to go, she should be honest about it. Why lie about an eye infection?

The Yulia of this world?

Ascal decided to tease Lia a little.

“It’s worrisome. Can you take off your eyepatch and let me see it?”

“I can’t. If I somehow pass it on to you, chief, it would be a big problem.”

“It won’t spread just by looking at it. Take it off for a short while.”

“It’s dangerous.”

After arguing for a while, Ascal used his trump card.

“Or is there any reason why you can’t take it off?”

Ria, who hesitated for a moment, finally sighed and declared her surrender.

“Alright then, please step back a bit.”

Ria removed her eyepatch.

As she said, her right eye was bloodshot red. It seemed that she wasn’t lying about having an eye infection.

‘Wait.’

Ascal took a step closer.

“Chief?”

Memories of his past life surfaced. When he didn’t want to go to school, he often feigned illness. Rubbing one eye with the back of his hand would make it bloodshot red, as if he had an eye infection.

And the color of his eye at that time was exactly the same as Ria’s.

“Take care of yourself.”

However, Ascal did not pursue the matter further.

It was lowly to provoke a cornered rat.

It wasn’t necessary for Ria to join him in this imperial visit. Moreover, it wouldn’t be just Ria to suffer if her disguise was revealed.

Pandora’s box had to remain closed for now.

“Well then… I need a temporary aide to accompany me.”

Ascal looked around the office.

The others were either on business trips or inexperienced. Eventually, the appropriate candidates were narrowed down.

Ascal looked at Devan.

Devan, who grew up in a renowned aristocratic family, was well-versed in the manners of the upper class and had plenty of work experience, making him a suitable temporary aide.

Devan, who had been swinging in his chair, stopped.

“So, you need my help after all? I won’t refuse to help if you ask.”

“Susia, you’re coming too.”

Susia, who was lying face down on her desk, squirmed.

“…Me?”

“Right. I still have the sin of running away from the sweet potato field.”

“How cruel.”

“I did cabbage.”

At the terrible joke, Sushia jumped up from her seat.

Sushia quickly finished her preparations and spoke coldly.

“I’ll follow you, but don’t ever make such a joke again.”

“…Fine.”

Ascal seemed a bit hurt.

There was a carriage.

When it was time for the appointment, Sushia’s eyes widened as she stepped outside.

“Wow, indeed it’s the royal carriage. It’s no joke. Just the size, and even the decorations seem like they would exceed the cost of a house…”

The carriage was quite similar to a car in a previous life.

So Sushia’s admiration was similar to seeing an expensive car.

“Are you Ascal Devre?”

The coachman, dressed in old-fashioned clothes, bowed his head. The two followed the coachman’s lead and got in the carriage.

“The seats are incredibly soft.”

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“Indeed.”

“You’ll get a carriage from the empire when you become a 5th level official. I saw you’re almost there. I’m jealous.”

“It’s incomparable to a royal carriage.”

While the two were chatting, they sensed a presence across from them.

“Ahem.”

A middle-aged man with a mustache.

A familiar face.

“…Evaluation director? What brings you here?”

“Of course, I have to follow you, who is both my subordinate and the one receiving the award. My subordinate’s merit is my merit, after all.”

So he had come to pick some beans.

Somehow, this seemed like the epitome of a normal imperial official’s mindset.

“I see.”

Ascal tried to respond calmly.

Because if he didn’t hold back, he felt like he would burst into laughter.

“Taking the blame for me? That’s a pleasant thing to hear.”

His evaluation of the department head rose a bit in his mind.

“You’ve become quite arrogant lately.”

“Excuse me?”

“After all the favors I’ve done for you, you haven’t even sent me a single gift. That’s the problem with young people these days. Back in my day…”

Just when he thought he could relax, thanks to the royal coachman’s professional driving skills, the department head began to nag. The evaluation that had just risen plunged again.

Ascal pretended to listen to the nagging while nodding from time to time. After about thirty minutes, the department head seemed satisfied and changed the subject.

“By the way, Sushia. Have you ever thought of becoming my assistant? The conditions would be much better than working in the third division.”

“Um… No, thanks.”

It was an immediate refusal.

“What? Why?”

“Well, sir. It’s because it smells when you’re around. Should I say it’s like an old man’s smell? And I don’t like your mustache either.”

At Sushia’s sharp words, the department head was possibly shocked and left speechless.

This was possible because Sushia had the powerful background of being a noble’s daughter. Even if he had to listen to such harsh words, the department head whose background was far behind couldn’t even make a sound.

‘Sushia. Nice.’

Thanks to that, the carriage became quiet, and Ascal could comfortably arrive at the royal palace.

The royal palace was truly magnificent at first glance. Despite rumors that the empire was on the brink, it still looked strong, because it had accumulated a lot of wealth.

The royal palace was one of them.

“You must be Ascal Dever. We’ve been waiting for you. And who is with you?”

“I’m Sushia Senestia, who came as an attendant.”

“Well, a welcome to the daughter of Lord Senestia.”

The royal guard, who had a serious expression, bowed his waist. The name of the Senestia noble family seemed to be well-respected even in the royal court.

“I’m Karis, the evaluation department head.”

“Well… Mister Karis, you are not on today’s invitation list.”

“He’s our superior, can you just let him in?”

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

Department heads usually have quite a bit of power, but the evaluation department with its weak standing hardly received good treatment. If it had been a powerful department like the magic department or the-execution department, it would have been a free pass.

“Well then, please follow me to the reception room.”

One of the privileges of being high-ranking is the ability to make lower-ranking people wait as long as one desires.

Regardless of the era, subordinates always had to wait. This was no exception even in the royal court.

“When can I finally meet His Majesty the Emperor…?”

“He’s in an important meeting. You should be able to see him soon.”

This was the third time he had heard this.

The essential checks, like verifying his identity and outfit, had already been completed a while ago.

Finally, after Ascal had consumed half of the refreshments in the reception room, permission was granted.

“Please, follow me.”

Ascal checked his attire one last time before facing the Emperor.

The grand door opened, revealing the throne.

And there, sat the Emperor.

“You’re the eldest son of the Debrulle Barony… I thought you’d become a soldier, but instead you became an officer. You never know how things will turn out in this world.”

A voice filled with a metallic rasp.

His health so frail, he couldn’t get up without assistance.

Still, the sharp eyes of the Emperor pierced through Ascal as they looked down upon him.

Kamalron Barba.

He is the secret weapon that tilted the empire.