her obedient servant. | remarried empress x f!reader

- ; [ 018 ]

You grunt and shake your head, 'that's not the problem here, why should he care? Navier has never caused such a ruckus when he brought in the dog whore. What gives him the right to cause such a stressing scene for the Navi?'

"You must have a human heart. Is it normal to ask your wife to accept the child you had while having an affair?" Kaufman's words have never been so satisfying to listen to.

"An affair? Rashta is an official Concubine."

"Oh, is it that the Emperor of Rypt is only allowed to love his political partner? If that's the case, I think this is a cultural difference. I understand."

Is this bastard trying to start a damn war? How could he say that to the Grand Duke and in front of his wife?

God, a thousand words rooted from your rage wanted to spill from your mouth, however, if you were to speak now and offend the bastard of an Emperor, the Empire's image would be ruined in the eyes of the guards witnessing this scene.

"I don't know why the arch duke has done this, but I don't trust anyone who gets carried away by his emotions. Archduke, I won't put you in prison to spare your reputation."

"Look at this hypocrite talk."

Oops, did you whisper that too loud?

"But I will have to rethink my deal with Rypt." The ravennett smirks before walking away, the royal guards following him.

"Geez, what a professional business man our Empire's Emperor is. Cancelling a trade because he got jealous of a man who he knows would treat his wife better. I truly feel he's fit to rule the great Eastern Empire" Voice dripping with sarcasm, you cross your arms, tapping your foot disappointedly on the ground.

'Wonder if his braincells escaped through his dick while he fucked that white crusty bitch.'

"( y/n )! Watch what you say!" Navier puts a hand on your shoulder, golden eyes glaring straight through your soul. She's already scolded you countless times for letting your tongue slip, and yet you still insist on letting it run as if you were insulting a mere nobody.

You groan, nodding your head. She tells you to watch what you say, knowing that the Emperor wouldn't have any power over you anyway.

You wonder which she fears, losing you to the Law, or losing that piss-poor ugly man to you.

She sighs before turning to Kaufman, "Archduke, this matter…"

"You don't have to be sorry. It's my fault for not overcoming my emotions at that moment." He bows before quickly walking away.

"..What exactly happened?" You turn your head to look at Navier, who still looks guilt-stuck from the situation.

Frowning in concern, you slide your arms around her shoulder to give her a hug, noting that no one but her ladies-in-waiting and Lady Artina would see the scene. She sighs, moving her arms to return the comforting gesture before pulling away.

"You're close with the Archduke, yes?"

"Yes, but what about you-?"

"I'm fine, ( y/n ). Please talk to him until he feels better, I'll wait until tomorrow to talk to Sovieshu." Her gaze is commanding, eyes telling you any objection would be futile.

"…Alright. Just know that you shouldn't apologize to that bastard for what happened today."

"I know."

You chuckle before patting her head, "Good. Just don't stress yourself out too much because of today"

With that, you rush off to wherever Kaufman had gone to, your footsteps growing further and further away.

Navier wonders if you're able to fix the love potion situation. She's been aware of your actions behind her back, thanks to Laura telling her that you've always asked peculiar questions, and with simple connecting the dots, she was able to figure out you've been dealing with the corrupt nobles and small problems of the citizens in an effort to minimize her work.

She had always meant far too much to you, though you mean too much to her as well.

_______________________________________

"You're telling me you gave her a love potion?"

"Yes."

"And she didn't suspect you'd have given it, so she unknowingly came to you for help in figuring out what potion you gave to her on her birthday is?"

"Precisely."

"You confirmed it was a love potion, but she didn't believe words alone so you drank it and accidentally fell in love with her?"

"Mhm."

"And now you can't find a cure, so you're now a mad man in love?"

"…Unfortunately so."

You break out into a laugh, holding your stomach as you roll around the grassy ground with tears brimming your eyes. "I thought you were wiser than this!" You breath out through wheezes, pointing at him, "But you're far more entertaining than I had imagined!"

After finding Kaufman, you dragged him back into the garden to sit, eat, and clear his mind, just as you had originally planned to do alone.

So, once the both of you had settled on the mat, he began explaining the situation a while back and the story as to why he'd punched the Emperor in the face.

"You're so damn lucky too! I only got to punch that monkey to my delight when we were kids. I don't get why I'm prohibited to do so now that we've grown older. He's still the same old bastard and a few flying fists would surely wake him from his tom foolery." Sitting up from the ground, you grab a handful of cookies before stuffing them in your mouth.

Kaufman laughs softly, just as he always does when he listens to your stories, gently pulling of the leaves entangled in your hair as you let him, basking in the joy of tasting home-made cookies.

His tea cup is empty, settled to the side on the ground while your cup is still full, long forgotten after you started telling him fond memories of your childhood in the house of Troby.

The sunlight warms both his skin and yours, the light shade of the tree leaves brining enough zephyrs to keep you cool.

For a moment, as he stares at you ramble on and on about Navier beating up Sovieshu as a kid, he thinks you're beautiful. Even as your expression contorts into an irritated one because you've gotten to the part where you tell him how unfair it was to lose to Navier in pillow fights, he thinks perhaps spending the rest of his days together with you wouldn't be too awful.

Ah, has the potion worn off?

He wonders.

Perhaps he'll be answered when he comes to visit the Empress another time.

"By the way, remember Koshar? Navier's brother? I believe you met him in the Eastern Kingdom a while back when we bumped into together at the tavern"

He nods, "Yes, He looks rather identical to her Majesty it's almost hard to tell the difference."

"Well, He'll be coming back to the Capital after a really long exile. What do you think of that?" You remembered they didn't start out on good terms, though they did seem okay with each other at the end of the night.

"He was exiled? I wasn't aware. Why? He's of royal blood, so it's rare to see such a case."

"Yeah, he isn't exactly the most gentle person when people get on his nerves. Let's say he took it too far once and the Late Emperor didn't favor his violent actions too much."

"Ah…" Kaufman puts a hand on his chin, "I think the citizens would be skeptical of his return, though I'm sure Her Highness would be happy to see him back. Perhaps not too much because he seems like he's going to give her headaches." He ends his sentence with a mischievous  chuckle.

"Heh, I can't say I disagree. He's kinda dumb so he doesn't think before doing whatever he wants"

"Hm, then the both of you are similar in that fashion, yes?"

"Are you calling me dumb?"

"…"