The Empror's Trap

The Celestial Master's Office was an entity known to everyone in the Camelot Central Empire, yet truly understood by no one.

Established by Camelot's first emperor, the Celestial Master's Office's original purpose was to gather extraordinary talents from across the land and convey the will of heaven.

However, in the thousand years since Camelot's founding, the Celestial Master's Office's activities had been limited to teaching cultivation techniques to successive emperors, imparting knowledge to various sects, and making brief appearances at Camelot's triennial heaven-worshipping ceremonies—often with their faces veiled.

Court officials knew of the Celestial Master's Office's existence and its masters' formidable abilities. At least 40% of the current empire's cultivation techniques originated from them. Yet no one knew exactly what the office did or when they had last taken action.

Only the emperors knew this secret. Even powerful ministers like Kenji were in the dark. One fact was clear: The Celestial Masters rarely intervened. During the conflict with the Evil Cult, one Celestial Master fought the cult's third-in-command to a draw. This unremarkable showing was their only known action in recent years.

That encounter suggested the Celestial Master's Office was powerful, but not overwhelmingly so.

Yet all their correspondence and documents were classified at the highest level. The Celestial Masters communicated only with the emperor on official matters. No one knew what they truly did.

Now, as Pluvia read the contents of their message, she found it both amusing and absurd.

Since her coronation, this was only the second official document from the Celestial Master's Office, apart from their congratulations on her ascension. The content was so outlandish that she decided not to act on it.

The Celestial Master's Office was important, but they still needed to follow her orders.

"Tell your master that I'm not inclined to pursue this matter at present. If I have the energy for it in the future, I'll certainly consider it carefully," Pluvia said, waving her hand at the Celestial Master's disciple.

"In that case, please accept this second document from my master," the youthful-looking disciple said respectfully, producing another scroll from his box.

"Why didn't you give this to me earlier?" Pluvia asked curiously.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. My master instructed me to present this if you were dissatisfied with the first document," the disciple explained.

Pluvia glanced at the young disciple. When he had taken out the second scroll, she had carefully observed his small box. She was certain it contained no other documents.

This meant the Celestial Masters believed either two documents would suffice, or if two weren't enough, further efforts would be futile.

She accepted the second scroll and read it carefully.

"What do you think, Your Majesty?" the disciple inquired.

"...Tell your master I can implement the suggestions in the second document."

"In that case, I'll return to inform my master," the disciple said.

As Pluvia watched the young disciple leave—though called young, he appeared to be in his twenties—she absentmindedly stroked the cat lying beside her and sighed.

Sometimes, it was indeed necessary to heed the Celestial Masters' advice.

….

That evening, in Kenji's bedroom:

Kenji looked helplessly at the sleeping Lina.

She had fallen asleep on his bed.

They had only been talking. As usual, to help Kenji relax, Lina had given him a massage. Unexpectedly, due to the intense stress of recent days, Kenji had fallen asleep face-down on the bed during her massage.

His falling asleep was one thing, but when he woke in the middle of the night, he felt a weight on him. Turning his head, he discovered Lina's leg draped across his body.

Both of them had been exhausted lately. The psychological and physical relaxation had likely caused them to let their guard down completely in each other's trusted presence.

But honestly, for his personal guard to fall asleep beside her master... wasn't that a bit unprofessional?

As these thoughts ran through Kenji's mind, his gaze couldn't help but wander to the girl beside him.

Lina had an excellent figure. She appeared slender, but this was deceptive. Judging by the supple, firm state of her thigh, she was clearly just slim in her clothes.

Don't misunderstand—this doesn't mean he had seen her undressed...

Probably.

The girl beside him slept sweetly, her even breathing causing the soft curves of her chest to rise and fall. Her warm breath stirred something in his heart. Kenji had initially planned to carry her back to her own room, but seeing her like this...

He selfishly wanted to admire her a bit longer.

This girl before him was the only person he—and the original Kenji—had ever been willing to trust completely.

Since arriving in this world, Kenji had engaged in countless power struggles. He had long since stopped believing—or perhaps even in his original world, he had ceased to believe—in unconditional trust between people.

But here, he had found it.

Honestly, sometimes he wondered if abandoning everything—his wealth and power—and escaping to a remote place with her and his family, living in seclusion away from worldly affairs, might bring more happiness than his current life.

But his upbringing told him he shouldn't do that.

He knew his status made it difficult to give her an honorable position—the gap between their social standings was too great. Yet, they were inseparable. This was undeniable.

He was well aware of Lina's feelings.

As a healthy man, it was impossible not to have any feelings.

He was a man, but he was also a Man.

He had a man's emotions and desires, but also a man's responsibilities and obligations. He didn't want to act irresponsibly for momentary pleasure, knowing he couldn't give her a proper status.

"Mmm... young master... so mean..." Lina mumbled indistinctly in her sleep.

Kenji sighed and reached out to adjust her blanket.

However, she murmured and snuggled closer to him.

After some thought, Kenji decided to try calling her one last time. If she didn't wake up, he'd have to stay put for the night.

With this in mind, he leaned in and softly called, "Lina? Lina? Li—"

Soft lips silenced his words. Kenji felt dazed, but the sensation was very real.

Five seconds, ten seconds...

Just as he thought his heart might explode, the sleeping girl rolled over, finally releasing his lips.

"Young master... satisfied now~?"

What kind of dream was she having?!

Kenji felt both amused and exasperated. He could only gently move her leg aside, sit up, and quietly get out of bed to fetch an extra blanket.

Of course, he completely failed to notice that just as he turned away, the supposedly sleeping beauty's eyes flickered open briefly. She secretly observed him, then licked her lips contentedly...

A guard must always remain vigilant. She was human and needed sleep, true.

But she wasn't the type to easily fall into a deep sleep on her young master's bed.

How else could she ensure his safety?