It has been one month since Judas and Eliya had their wedding.
Eliya enjoyed that time without concern.
In reality, her absence for a month created difficulties for many people.
She had declared that the next target of the new Empire was the conquest of the Demon World.
She issued various orders to collect forces under the Empire for that purpose.
Naturally, some of those matters required Eliya’s consent or coordination with her.
Even so, Eliya had been missing for a whole 30 days.
The only reason such a thing was possible was because she was the savior of humanity.
If it weren’t for Eliya, civilization would have been devastated by the Evil God of Emptiness, and humanity would have disappeared.
Thus, after 30 days, it was only natural that Eliya would be overwhelmed with tasks like a landslide.
*
“Your Majesty. Thank you for permitting me to meet you….”
“Get to the point. Quickly.”
“Yes…! We cannot fully supply the timber needed for the vessels you directed. Therefore, I would like to discuss trade routes to the Phinia territory….”
“I’ll propose something to the lord of Phinia. If necessary, I’ll call you again.”
“Thank you!”
“Now, off you go. Next.”
Eliya had remodeled the large meeting room of the mansion to use as a temporary reception room.
This was because the palace wasn’t completed yet.
As soon as one person left, the next rushed in.
They seemed quite urgent.
Through the slightly open door, Eliya could see numerous figures waiting for her in the back.
With a sigh, she listened to the next request.
“I don’t have time for introductions, so get to the point.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I am Mavro from Santorini. Recently, the band of thieves targeting our city’s orchards has been increasing significantly. It’s difficult to deal with them with only the city guards.”
“Hmmm. Santorini… I believe there’s been heavy rain in that area recently, is that correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“There must be a small town nearby unable to use their crops due to the rain. We cannot ignore the possibility that they may resort to thievery to survive the next season. Do you not have the capacity to request mercenaries or support from other cities?”
“I’m afraid not….”
“Let’s send a few Royal Knights to temporarily oversee the peace. They should be able to finish preparations in that time. I will look into measures for the nearby town and inform you.”
“Thank you! Truly wise advice!”
“Next.”
As he left, Eliya signaled to Gallahaid.
It was a sign to select a suitable number of people to send out.
Gallahaid understood her intent with just a glance and began rifling through the list of knights.
People kept pouring in without a break.
And since the very beginning, there was someone sitting tight beside her.
It was none other than Judas.
Even in her fatigue, he was a source of strength.
No matter who came or what they did, he was holding her hand tightly.
He had nothing specific to do, but as the Empress’s support and Eliya’s battery charger, Judas remained at his post.
It wasn’t boring.
During the reception, he was busy admiring Eliya.
‘Wow. I couldn’t handle being an emperor.’
Eliya answered without hesitation, no matter the matter.
She seemed to know all about even distant cities.
It was as though her mind was updating the map and status of this world in real-time.
‘Genius, indeed….’
It had only been half a day since she came out of her cage, and now she was sitting in this reception hall.
This meant there was hardly any time for Eliya to catch up on the latest news.
Even so, she hesitated not in the face of any questions or requests.
‘If I were sitting there… I’d probably mess up several countries and get deposed.’
Before reincarnation, he had ascended to the throne but wasn’t capable.
He just seized power and flitted off to pursue his desires.
In fact, he had been deposed a few times due to rebellions.
‘This position of living off a genius emperor is just the most comfortable and suitable for me. Yum yum.’
Judas was quite satisfied with his current situation.
There were still plenty of guests left, but he knew he couldn’t avoid having a meal.
Miguel approached to inform them that dinner was ready, and Eliya nodded.
“Let those who have matters to discuss verified by double documents wait outside to write up what they need and head back. If not, they’ll have to stay and wait. But do we have spare rooms?”
“Yes. We can manage just in time.”
“Then handle it that way.”
The people poured out of the reception room.
Only Judas and Eliya remained in the spacious hall.
Eliya climbed into Judas’s lap and hugged him tightly.
“Ugh… I’m so tired….”
The once-cold Empress had vanished.
The woman curled up in his lap was just a cat-like girl full of affection and complaints.
Judas gently patted her bottom.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Then give me a kiss.”
A smile escaped him involuntarily.
The fact that she had no awareness of her own cuteness when she acted this way made it all the more adorable.
Smack.
After a light kiss, Eliya rubbed her face against his shoulder and whined.
“Why are there so many tasks…. Maybe I shouldn’t be emperor….”
“…Can you just quit because you don’t want to?”
“Hmmm. Perhaps not.”
“Watching from the side, I think only you could do this.”
“True. Who else would take responsibility?”
She chuckled and rubbed her face against Judas’s body again.
Judas savored the small warmth nestled in his embrace.
“Weren’t you bored?”
“Not at all. Well, it was work, but honestly, I had nothing to decide or take responsibility for. I just listened to news from other regions and watched you; the time flew by.”
“Umm… well, that’s a relief. I’m going to keep you by my side wherever I go from now on.”
The determination not to part even for a moment only seemed cute to Judas.
After enough rubbing, Eliya’s hair became messy.
Judas tenderly brushed her soft hair with his fingers.
“Aren’t you hungry?”
“Yeah. I’m hungry. Let’s go have dinner now. Mom is waiting.”
*
The restaurant was already set with a feast.
Amid the busy servants, Maria welcomed them.
Despite her status as Empress Dowager, she always personally prepared Eliya’s meals.
Since it was something she used to do as Eliya’s maid, she was quite familiar with it.
“Eli, Judas. Come in. You must be tired.”
Eliya lightly hugged Maria as a greeting.
“You’ve prepared so much. It must have been hard.”
“Hard? Eli has been working much harder.”
As Judas and Eliya sat down at the two-person table, the last dish came out.
“Will you be able to rest after dinner?”
Maria asked as she sat across from them.
Unless something special was happening, she would also join them for their meal.
Though it was their first meal together since the wedding, they had previously had several meals together.
Thus, Judas was already accustomed to feeding Eliya in front of Maria.
He naturally dipped bread into soup and fed Eliya.
After she chewed and swallowed, Eliya replied.
“There are so many people, so I think I’ll have to manage affairs until bedtime.”
“Oh dear… What will you do if you get too tired?”
“It’s my responsibility for leaving my seat for a month… I’ll have some ease after a few weeks of hard work. Plus, I’m fine because I have Judas by my side.”
“Eli will do well, but don’t overdo it, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“Judas must be quite tired too.”
“Pardon?”
Judas, who was masticating the bread that Eliya fed him, didn’t expect the question to return to him.
He hurriedly tried to swallow it, but Maria stopped him.
“No, no, take your time swallowing.”
“Yes, yes….”
Only after swallowing did he respond.
“Thanks to Eli, I’m managing alright. Well, to be honest… Eli does all the work, and I just sit beside her. I have nothing to do.”
“What are you saying? Just being there is fulfilling your responsibility.”
“Mom’s right. Just being beside you is so helpful.”
“Hmm…”
Hearing compliments and recognition like that, Judas didn’t know where to put himself.
The reason his face was heating up wasn’t solely due to the warm food.
Being praised for not doing anything particularly impressive was embarrassing, but that feeling wasn’t unpleasant.
Sometimes, it was fascinating how Eliya had become so positive.
Though he had seen this changed version of her for a while now, first impressions are not easily erased.
Of course, Eliya still had more moments of coldness and sternness.
Such a side was only triggered by him.
For example, when she would open her mouth as he offered her pasta twirled on a fork, saying, “Ah~.”
‘She’s too cute for her own good.’
Thinking that, he watched Eliya with fondness.
Just watching her made time slip away, needing no further entertainment.
Her very presence was a joy and comfort in life.
Then suddenly, Maria asked.
“How many children are you thinking of having?”
“…….”
Judas nearly choked on his food.
But he endured with unyielding will.
On the other hand, Eliya remained calm.
“Well, I’m not thinking about that yet.”
This had been an agreed matter between Judas and Eliya for the past 30 days since their wedding.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to have kids.
They simply agreed to focus on each other for now, knowing that having a baby would take some enjoyment away.
“Right, it’s up to the two of you, so do what’s comfortable. I was just curious.”
Judas was somewhat surprised by the two’s natural conversation.
Could it be because both were women? They seemed quite unreserved about the topic.
He was left feeling like he was the odd one out.
After an unexpectedly light moment, peace returned.
Once dinner finished, Eliya and Judas headed back to the reception room.
There was still a mountain of work remaining.
As they processed the flood of issues, it was late at night by the time they reached the bedroom.
They couldn’t afford to steal away their sleeping time.
Since it was late, Maria had already gone to bed, so Eliya headed to the bedroom with Judas without a word.
As soon as the door closed, Eliya jumped into Judas’s arms.
“Hug me.”
With such a haughty request, Judas willingly surrendered.
He tightly embraced her waist.
Then Eliya wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned into his chest.
“Uuh…. It’s finally over….”
“You’ve worked hard.”
Smack.
After a quick kiss, she rubbed her face against him again.
For some reason, Eliya felt inexplicably at ease every time she did that.
“Should we wash up and go to bed early?”
“Before we wash up.”
Eliya’s voice, which had been playful, now dropped a notch.
Her gaze, looking up, was no longer the same; it held a hazy feeling.
An expectation was packed into those eyes.
With that sudden shift towards a sultry, enticing atmosphere, Judas subconsciously tensed up.
Before washing up. The next words were exchanged with their lips.
They softly pressed their lips together.
It was different from the light kiss before.
This was heavy and thick.
Their breaths rose slowly.
In no time, their lips parted to savor each other’s essence.
Eliya gently closed her eyes and took a step forward.
Judas, seemingly pulled back, stepped back.
As they pushed forward step by step, Judas eventually stumbled.
He tripped over the bed.
Eliya climbed on top of him without breaking the kiss.
After they had kissed for a while longer, she pulled back just slightly.
“I need something hot to melt away this fatigue…”
“Well then… I guess we’ll have to work hard.”
With a playful smile, Eliya tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed him again.
Judas cautiously wrapped his arms around her waist.
And so, the night of the couple deepened.
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