Some nobles completely lacking talent in managing their domains would hire capable retainers to act as their deputies.
But I was probably the first to hire someone to stand in for the position of queen.
“More importantly, Lady Chamberlain.”
They finally addressed me properly.
“Do you have any plans to visit my villa again this summer?”
“It’s my turn. I was planning to invite you to the salon I’m hosting next month.”
“Instead of that, would you like to come to my mansion today? It’s not far from the palace. We’ve just received some fresh tea leaves.”
I glanced around and forced an awkward smile.
I was truly an extraordinary case.
The wife of the Guardian, blessed by God, and someone who had the Emperor’s full attention.
The wedding, in particular, caused such a stir that people still spoke about it.
Everyone wanted to invite me to their gatherings, desperate to speak with me even just once.
But I didn’t accept.
The imperial authority had stabilised, and now I didn’t have to attend social gatherings to help Claudia anymore.
Besides, ever since the wedding, I’d only had eyes for one person.
‘If it were before, I wouldn’t have been able to refuse a lady’s earnest request, and would have reluctantly attended every gathering…’
But now, I didn’t want to waste my energy on trivial matters.
And I didn’t want to make Felix anxious because of my careless decisions.
I wanted to pour all my love and attention into him alone.
“I sincerely thank you for the invitations, but please understand.”
I gave a strained smile as if caught in a dilemma, and shrugged my shoulders.
“I’m newly wed, after all.”
Then, with that bold remark, I slipped away smoothly.
A moment later, a commotion arose behind me, but I didn’t slow my pace and hurried on.
Chicken delivery coming through!
・・・・・
The Ministry of Magic had always been incredibly busy, just like now.
“Ah, my lady, you’re here!”
"Oh dear, I was just about to contact you, my lady, but the Guardian is currently out..."
“Out? Where did he go?”
“W-well…”
The fried chicken didn’t taste good cold.
I looked down at the basket of chicken with a regretful expression.
The sorcerer who spoke to me nervously fiddled with his beard so much that it was making me dizzy.
“H-he just stepped out to a village near the outer city wall to check on the people’s welfare… He should be back soon.”
…Why did he sound like he was desperately trying to come up with an excuse?
Wait. Was he even avoiding eye contact?
And why was he breaking out in a cold sweat?
I narrowed my eyes at the long-bearded sorcerer, whose suspicious behaviour was obvious to anyone.
“That’s a lie, isn’t it?”
“Wh-what? How could I possibly dare lie to you, my lady?”
You’re doing it right now!
You bearded man!
“Beard, turn around and look me straight in the eyes when you say that.”
If he’d lied more convincingly, I might have let it slide, even if it left me feeling uneasy.
But this? He was practically screaming with his whole body for me to doubt him — how could I ignore that?
I strode up to the sorcerer, who desperately avoided my gaze and turned his head away.
It was then.
“The Guardian’s gonna get scolded again.”
Right around the corner, I caught a faint, youthful voice muttering softly.
Get scolded again?
“...Looks like he did something to get scolded for, huh?”
Gasp.
The young sorcerer standing nearby quickly covered his mouth.
The other sorcerers glared at him like he was their mortal enemy.
The moment I left, they’d probably tear that careless young sorcerer apart.
Suspicious. Very much so.
“I-I haven’t been sleeping well, so I ended up saying nonsense.”
“Sounds like you were so sleepy you blurted out the truth without meaning to.”
“N-no way!”
“Why don’t you stop with the lies that’ll be found out right away and just be honest?”
He hesitated, glanced around nervously, then finally sighed and confessed to me.
“Actually… the Guardian went into the dimensional rift to research a new spell.”
“If it’s the dimensional rift...”
Wasn’t that the same empty void where I met the real Leraze?
That foggy, featureless space where you couldn’t even tell up from down, or front from back.
A sudden wave of anxiety hit me.
What could have possibly driven him to go to such a dangerous place?
Did something happen again? Did Felix run off to solve it alone, without even telling me?
But if that were really the case, that boy wouldn’t have said, so casually, "He’s gonna get scolded again."
As I tried to push aside my unease, the explanation continued.
“The dimensional rift isn’t a complete, structured world like ours. It’s pure chaos — no rules, no order.”
“And?”
“Time flows differently every time you go in.”
“…Wait, that sounds incredibly dangerous.”
An hour might pass there, but over here, it could be a hundred years, right?
Just like the legend of the Peach Blossom Spring. [1]
When my face turned pale, the sorcerers who were lingering around rushed over in a group and waved their hands.
They turned ashen and shouted.
“No, my lady! It’s not what you think at all!”
“Yanmar! If you’re gonna explain, do it right! Why’d you stop halfway?!”
Only then did the boy realise his slip-up and sucked in a panicked breath.
“The time difference changes with each visit, but one thing’s certain: time moves slower outside the rift than inside. That’s why he’s been going there often lately — to get more done in less real-world time.”
“You — ahem — didn’t have to mention the ‘often’ part! Cough!”
A sorcerer in the back blurted out the warning mid-cough, trying to disguise it as advice.
The problem was, he was so loud I could hear every word.
Ah. So that was how it was.
Felix had ‘been at work’ for about five hours now, but if time passed differently in the dimensional rift, then he might have actually experienced five whole days already.
And the important thing was, not only had Felix been hiding that fact, but even the sorcerers.
“When is Fel coming back?”
“He should be back before the end of the workday.”
No wonder something felt off.
Before we got married, he was so swamped he could barely sleep. But ever since the wedding, he seemed to have all the time in the world.
It was because he had been working in the dimensional rift!
“Let me ask just one thing.”
“Y-yes?”
“Did he go completely empty-handed?”
“Well, yes, he did, but…”
“Sorcerers don’t normally carry things around like ordinary people — they store them in subspace.”
More explanations followed.
Obviously, I didn’t ask because I didn’t know. I was married to a sorcerer, after all.
“Do you think Fel’s eating well-balanced meals cooked by the chef? Or is he just stuffing in some kind of survival rations to get by?”
“Ah.”
Only then did they catch on to what I really meant — and groaned as if something in their heads had cracked open.
I heard someone mutter, “Now that you mention it… he never stops by the kitchen before leaving…”
“Sigh…”
And it wasn’t just about his meals, was it? He was probably barely sleeping, too.
A sharp ache tugged at the back of my head.
When I clutched my head and swayed, the sorcerers panicked and rushed to steady me.
“M-my lady! Get a hold of yourself!!”
“We’ll escort you to your room right away. A healing spell—”
“No.”
I gently pushed their hands away, careful not to be rude, and spoke.
“Take me to Fel’s office.”
Felix would return to his office once he finished everything in the dimensional rift.
And to the trembling sorcerers, I added firmly:
“Right now.”
・・・・・
Felix showed up sooner than expected.
Not even an hour had passed when he tore through space and emerged from the wall.
“...Irene?”
He was so startled that he actually called me by my full first name.
I was crouched in the chair, clutching the basket of fried chicken laced with preservation magic, and let out a low, eerie chuckle.
“Be honest with me, Fel.”
With no trace of amusement in my eyes, just the faintest curl at the corners of my mouth, I tilted my head and asked:
“How long were you in the dimensional rift?”
“You heard everything.”
Maybe he figured the moment I was seated here like this, it meant I already knew.
Looking just a bit flustered, Felix stepped in front of me.
“If you’re honest, I might let it slide.”
Not that I could actually do much to him even if I didn’t let it slide.
At that, he looked at me with quiet concern.
Of course, he wasn’t worried about getting scolded by me — he looked more concerned that I might be shocked.
‘If it had only been a day or two, he wouldn’t be making that face.’
And no sooner had I thought that—
“I think it’s been about a week.”
I was speechless.
‘If you're going to worry about worrying me, then don’t give me a reason to in the first place!’
“Do you realise you're made of flesh and bone, and that if someone stabbed you, you’d bleed like any other human being?”
“...”
“You think just because you’re strong all day and night, your youth is eternal? Huh? One day your body’s going to break down, and you won’t even know what hit you!”
I had planned to start gently.
But as I kept talking, my frustration boiled over — I started huffing with anger.
Felix just stood there, quietly looking down at me.
It was like he knew I was furious — but more than that, his affection for me took over, and he completely failed to keep a straight face.
With him looking at me like that, I felt like some yappy little Pomeranian, baring its teeth and barking away.
“Did you hear what I said?”
“Ah.”
Only then did he wipe that faint smile from his lips and lower his gaze.
Like he was truly remorseful — almost pitifully so.
This man...
I narrowed my eyes and gave Felix a disapproving look.
'He wouldn’t have listened even if I said anything in the first place.’
He would pretend to go along with me at first, but the moment my guard was down, he would go right back to eating just enough to survive and barely sleeping.
After all, he had lived like that his whole life.
And even though I knew it wasn’t a habit that could be fixed easily...
“How long does it even take to eat? Why are you working so hard that you can’t even spare that little bit of time...?”
I sighed deeply and murmured.
I was about to raise my voice and start nagging — but all of a sudden, the energy drained out of me.
What was the point in saying anything when he wasn’t even going to listen?
There’s got to be another way.
‘It’s not like I can lock him up and make sure he eats three proper meals a day.’
I sank into deep thought.
“Rin?”
“...”
For a moment, I got so caught up in my own head that I completely forgot Felix was right in front of me.
“Rin...”
When I gave no response and simply clutched the basket tightly, Felix grew even more restless.
He dropped to one knee, gently took my hand, kissed the back of it, and whispered softly.
“It’s all my fault. Please forgive me, okay?”
Why was he suddenly acting like a poor, soaked puppy, whining so pitifully?
He wasn’t even letting me stay mad...
“Ah!”
Just then, I suddenly remembered what I had seen in my dream that morning.
I jumped to my feet.
In doing so, it ended up looking like I had shaken off Felix’s hand.
Oh, that wasn’t on purpose...
Felix said nothing, but stared at my hand so intently, it bordered on obsessive.
His eyes began to darken like they were slowly sinking into the depths of the ocean.
Just like in the dream.
Before he could get the wrong idea, I quickly reached out and grasped his hand tightly.
“This won’t do.”
I spoke firmly.
“Take a vacation.”
“Huh?”
“If Fel’s been working in the dimensional rift since after we got married, then doesn’t that mean most of the work is already done?”
“Well, that’s true, but...”
Honestly, I had a rough idea of the circumstances, too.
Because Felix took me away, Claudia ended up passing her duties on to him.
When he came back earlier than I expected, having finished the work, I felt relieved thinking: ‘Maybe she wasn’t that spiteful after all.’
But in reality, Felix had just found a way to get through that massive workload faster.
‘And since he did the tasks Chloe assigned perfectly, she probably got even more annoyed and piled on more work.’
In the end, this vicious cycle of sibling rivalry meant Felix took even less care of himself.
“I usually side with Claudia on most things, but even I think she really messed up this time.”
I said, crossing my arms.
"So just say 'to hell with it' and quit everything and come back."
Felix looked genuinely surprised by what I said.
Normally, when the Diamond Siblings clashed, I stayed neutral and told them to work it out through talking.
“Take some time off. Come with me to Irene Kingdom, and let’s get some proper rest together.”
If it were for Felix, what did it matter if my name became ‘Irene Irene’?
Willing to sacrifice my name, I said solemnly:
“I’ll keep a close eye on you, making sure you eat and sleep properly. I’ll stick right by your side from morning till night until it becomes a habit.”
Felix, who had been staring up at me with a dazed look, smiled softly, resting his cheek against my hand.
Like a spring flower blooming out of season in autumn.
Since he was at fault, I thought he’d reluctantly agree, pretending he had no choice.
But what was with that face, looking like he’d just won the whole world?
Seeing him smile so purely, like a flower in full bloom, it was actually I who got flustered.
“A year for the vacation, then.”
No, I didn’t mean it should be that long.
I was thinking maybe three months at most.
I stared at Felix in disbelief. He was suddenly more eager about this than I was.
“If Rin thinks that highly of me, then who cares about that job?”
So, he seriously wanted to quit his job for a whole year?
Of course, I liked the idea of spending more time together…
“You acted like you’d work until you died.”
“I think I’ve put up with enough of Chloe’s spoiled whims by now.”
He scooped me up effortlessly and whispered teasingly in my ear.
“The throne has stabilised enough, too.”
Since Felix held me so tightly, I couldn’t move; I felt like an animal caught in a snare.
How should I put it? I felt like a mouse caught by a lion while worrying about a cat.
"What about the Guardian’s duty?"
“Her Majesty will cover my share, I’m sure.”
I was left speechless.
Thinking about what Claudia had done to Felix, there was no way I could stop him if he left like this.
Well, this really was a case of giving an inch and losing a mile.
Mourning Claudia silently, I let myself be held by Felix as we smoothly headed toward the Irene Kingdom.
Translator's Corner:
[1] The story/legend of the "Peach Blossom Spring," 무릉도원 (武陵桃源), is a famous Chinese fable written by Tao Yuanming (陶渊明), also known as Tao Qian, a poet from the Dong (Eastern) Jin Dynasty (around 317-420 AD). It tells of a utopian world hidden from the outside — a place untouched by time or conflict.
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