Chapter 117: Chapter-117

“I want to be useful,” Larus said simply. “And I meant what I said before—I want to be your partner. That includes the boring parts.”

Heena felt something warm settle in her chest. “Alright. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

She pulled over a stack of documents and started explaining what to look for—discrepancies in valuations, suspicious timing of reports, patterns that indicated fraud.

Larus listened carefully, asked intelligent questions, and started working through his own pile with focused attention.

They worked side by side like that for a while, the only sounds the scratch of pens on paper and the occasional rustle of documents.

At one point, Larus found something and made a small sound of surprise. “This noble claimed his estate was worth half its actual value for tax purposes?”

“Common trick,” Heena said without looking up. “Mark it for investigation.”

“Already did,” Larus said, adding the document to a separate pile. “This is actually kind of satisfying. Like solving a puzzle.”

“Wait until you’ve been doing it for eight hours straight,” Heena said dryly. “Then it’s less ’puzzle’ and more ’torture.’”

Larus laughed. “Fair enough.”

They continued working in comfortable silence.

Eventually, Heena glanced at the clock and realized it was nearly 4 AM. She looked over at Larus, who was still focused on his documents, occasionally making notes in neat handwriting.

“You should get some rest,” she said. “You don’t have to stay up all night just because I am.”

“I want to,” Larus said. “Besides, I’m not tired. I’m too…” he paused, searching for the word, “…happy, I think. To sleep.”

Heena smiled. “Happy doing paperwork?”

“Happy being here,” Larus corrected.

Soon, as they were doing the documents one by one, the system who was floating beside Heena suddenly spoke up in shock.

“Host! What the heck? You just let an enemy prince read confidential imperial documents! Isn’t that wrong?”

Heena just rolled her eyes. Even though she continued reviewing her documents on the outside, she spoke in her mind, “Are you crazy? What can he even do?”

The system spoke frantically. “But Host, he’s an enemy prince! What if he steals information about the empire and does something bad with these documents? What if he—”

Heena laughed inside. “You are really a foolish system. Do you really think I’m such a fool that I would just let an enemy prince know all the important information about my kingdom? And make my workload even heavier on top of that?”

The system looked at her like—’Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing though?’

Heena felt her blood pressure rise. “Literally, I want to ask that damn Lord God how the hell he even assigned you to me.”

She took a mental breath.

“Listen,” she continued. “These documents are all nonsense. None of them are actually useful or contain sensitive information. They’re just old tax records and property disputes that the nobles dumped on me out of spite. As for why I’m letting Larus help with them—” she smiled internally, “—you’ll understand tomorrow morning.”

The system went quiet, confused but trusting.

—

’’The Next Morning’’

The next morning came, and just as Heena had predicted, when she arrived at the court, a commotion had already spread throughout the entire palace.

Everyone—and she meant ’everyone’—knew that the Empress had been alone with Prince Larus the whole night. Working on documents. Documents that she had never even let her own five consorts ’touch’, let alone review.

The gossip was spreading like wildfire:

’”Did you hear? The Empress and Prince Larus were together all night!”’

’”Working on imperial documents!”’

’”She trusts him more than her own husbands!”’

’”He’s not even officially married to her yet!”’

The most amusing part? The faces of her five consorts.

They looked like they had eaten shit.

Literally. Their expressions were priceless—a mixture of shock, outrage, jealousy, and impotent fury all rolled into one.

Kieran’s jaw was so tight it looked like it might crack. Adrian’s usual composed expression had cracked into something strained and bitter. Damien’s calculating smile had turned into something more like a grimace. Raphael’s serene mask was slipping, showing frustration underneath. Even Lucian, who usually looked bored by everything, seemed genuinely irritated.

Heena walked into the court chamber with perfect composure, Larus walking respectfully a few steps behind her, looking fresh and alert despite the all-nighter.

Everyone stood and bowed as she entered.

“We greet Your Majesty!”

Heena sat down at the head of the council table and waved her hand dismissively. “Continue. Start the court session.”

The officials began presenting their reports, but the tension in the room was palpable. Everyone kept stealing glances at Larus, who had been given a seat near the Empress—closer than any of the five consorts.

About halfway through the morning session, Lord Remington—unable to contain himself any longer—cleared his throat.

“Your Majesty,” he said carefully, “we have heard some… concerning reports. About imperial documents being reviewed by… unauthorized personnel.”

Heena raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And who would this ’unauthorized personnel’ be?”

“Prince Larus of the Marus Kingdom,” Lord Remington said, as though this was some great revelation. “A foreign prince who has no official position in this empire was apparently given access to sensitive imperial documents. All night, we hear.”

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the assembled nobles.

“Is that so?” Heena said mildly. “And tell me, Lord Remington—which documents, specifically, are you concerned about?”

Lord Remington blinked, caught off guard. “Well… the imperial administrative documents, Your Majesty. The ones that—”

“The tax assessment records from seven years ago that ’you’ and the other nobles dumped on my desk yesterday as political revenge?” Heena interrupted sweetly. “Those documents?”

Lord Remington’s mouth opened and closed.

“Yes, I had Prince Larus review those,” Heena continued. “Along with the property dispute records from a decade ago. And the trade violation reports from eight years ago. All of which, I might add, are ’public records’ that anyone with sufficient clearance can access.”

She leaned back in her chair.

“Tell me, Lord Remington—which of those documents do you believe contained sensitive information that could harm the empire?”

“Well, I… that is to say…”

“Because if you’re suggesting that old tax records are state secrets,” Heena said, “then perhaps we should discuss why you’re so concerned about a foreign prince seeing ’your’ family’s tax assessments. Is there something in those records you don’t want examined?”

Lord Remington went pale.

Lady Ashford jumped in, trying to save the situation. “Your Majesty, the concern is not about the specific documents, but about the principle. A foreign prince—”

“My ’fiancé’,” Heena corrected. “My future Empress Consort. The person who will be sharing governance of this empire with me. Or are you suggesting I should never trust my own husband with any administrative duties?”

She looked around the table.

“Because if that’s your position,” she continued, “then perhaps we should discuss why I’ve never once asked my ’current’ five consorts to assist with imperial administration. Should I assume they’re also not trustworthy?”

Kieran stood up abruptly. “Your Majesty, that’s not what we’re saying—”

“Then what ’are’ you saying, Commander?” Heena asked. “Please, enlighten me. In small words, preferably.”

Kieran struggled for a response.

Damien stepped in smoothly. “Your Majesty, I think what everyone is trying to express is concern for proper protocol. There are established procedures for granting access to imperial documents—”

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