IBTLW Chapter 2

“I will make preparations.” Lauren said, assisting her with familiarity.

In her hazy memory, Leah visited the harem every day, around this time, and ate lunch with the men.

I must cut them all out today.

The pieces of jewelry and pocket moneys that Leah gave them were enough to shake even the national treasury.

Ugh, she even held a beauty contest and put a diamond ring on the toe of the most handsome man.

That was how Leah squandered her wealth—on silly things.

She burst into laughter at the vaguely recollected memories.

Fortunately, it had only been two months since the empress created the harem, and the things she did had barely surfaced. However, in the long run, complaints and rumors would gradually arise.

I can’t let this go on if I want to be on good terms with the emperor. Amazingly, he just left me alone.

She tried to remember how the emperor reacted to Leah’s harem.

But oddly enough, no related memories came to mind. They were married by arrangement, so she forgot they were even together.

Her harem had prevented them from getting to know each other.

Um, it’s difficult. The emperor has to live, too, but to do that, she has to be friendly.

If she, the harem-obsessed wife the emperor was never close to, suddenly convinced him not to commit suicide, he would think she was crazy.

Luckily, she had only been married for three months and had only been in the harem for two months.

Leah wasn’t that far-fetched yet, and they were newlyweds, so the opportunities to get to know him were endless.

I need to dispose of the harem and get close to the emperor.

After changing her image, she would take care of the male lead’s health and prevent his suicide!

While she worked hard thinking of her plans, the attendant waiting for them approached.

“I will guide you to the harem.”

“Alright.”

She grinned as she carried out her plan. Meanwhile, Lauren, accompanying her, paused and whispered in her ear.

“Her Majesty, would you like a dark beer?”

“…Yes? Didn’t I already say I’m not drinking?”

She was clueless as to what the head maid meant.

Seeing her bewildered, Lauren whispered to her lowly that only she could hear it.

“Yesterday, Her Majesty said that you want to drink dark beer when you smiled lightly and wine when you smiled broadly, you will bet on wine, giving the winner a chance to listen to the first hearing…”

“Cough, cough!”

M-male lead, wait a little bit. This corrupt soul, I will revive it quickly.

* * *

“Her Majesty, you’re here!”

“I haven’t seen you for a day, but I miss you so much that my tears came out and my eyes are wrinkled!”

Leah and her entourage arrived at the Empress’s Palace. 

As soon as they entered the freshly made and well-colored annex—that was—the entrance to the harem, men of over a dozen, flocked to them.

A man with dark brown skin and chocolate abs.

Biceps and triceps bulging, like a bodybuilder.

A bagel man with clean tear marks on his milky white skin.

A tempter with his long red hair hanged loosely, and his eyes wide open with the front of his chest undone.

Leah’s taste for men comes in a variety. Everything was there except the ones that were really not there.

With a look, she drove the men who, by a point, seemed to accumulate public resentment and went to the largest room in the palace.

“Your Majesty, sit next to me. I placed a soft cushion on it.”

“You are cheeky. Her Majesty should be by my side!”

“What a joke. Yesterday, Her Majesty said that she will drink with me…”

She’s a b***h.

She was not a rude person. But these troublesome tax stealers made her mouth rough.

Um, if I don’t want to cause any problem, I will have to correct my speaking habits, too.

She pretended to ignore the word that almost came out of her mouth and blamed it on Leah’s bad-tempered nature. Determined to achieve her goal today, she called out the men who were still fighting.

“Excuse me—”

“Her Majesty let me hold her hands! I even wore pods! Haven’t we somehow had skinship”

“Only that? We did a love shot together!”

“Stupid. I drank from the same glass as Her Majesty, yesterday. That was an indirect kiss, you know? In other words, the announcement that Her Majesty is going to have a deep kiss with me soon—”

“Hey!”

Hearing her scream, the men who were passionate about the competition kept their mouths shut.

For a moment, she was riled because it was absurd.

She glanced at the man who had bulging muscles up to his buttocks.

Even though Leah set up a harem, she had not gotten deeper into it yet. It was an insult to her innocence!

The room was quiet. Sitting on the large sofa, she looked at each of the men in the room.

With an elegant smile, she opened her lips.

“You all pack up.”

Leah’s voice echoed through the still room.

…

“Everyone is fired.”

She also added a friendly tone. However, over a dozen of handsome men thought she was joking. They tilted their heads and dropped their aegyos.

Note: Aegyo is a display of affection often expressed through a cute voice, change of speech, facial expressions, or gestures. It literally means to behave in a flirtatious, coquettish manner.

“Your Majesty, are you kidding me?”

“What a cruel thing to say! How can we live without Her Majesty?”

“I can’t live without money. Not now!”

Leah shook her head at these money demons and pointed her index finger to the door.

“Right now, one at a time.”

She blinked and repeated what she said. Then, all eyes looked at her as if saying, “The Empress must be crazy!”

“Your Majesty! No!”

“Please don’t leave me!”

The men in the harem reacted fast. They started crying and clinging to her.

She was startled when some of them climbed onto the sofa where she was sitting.

“Your Majesty! Heuk, heuk, Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”

W-what Come on! Let go of me!

They held onto her clothes and stretched them, shedding tears as if they could not miss the easy push.

Lauren and the attendant were confused whether she was serious or just acting fickle.

“Help me! Get them all out!”

Argh! It almost came off!

She shouted as she snatched the hem of her clothes from the rushing ant-like hands of the men.

The guard blew the whistle, and the knights in the hallway ran to her help, drawing their swords.

Chaeng!

“Stay back.”

“You had an indirect kiss with me last night! You can’t steal a man’s innocence like this and leave!”

The man who was fine a while ago did not back down this time.

In the end, Leah decided to organize each men with a knight next to her. Afterward, all of them were squeezing tears together out loud.

It was called the Military Operation.

“Your ass stresses me too much.”

“You said you wanted it yesterday!”

The knights dragged the man who had developed butt muscles out.

“Why are you sticking out your chest? It’s a sin to be sarcastic.”

“They said that the less the men cover up, the better!”

The knights also dragged the wide-eyed exhibitionist out.

After dragging about 20 handsome men, the harem—no—the Empress’s Palace seemed to shine more and more. Just like her future!

But there’s still a lot to do, right?

It would take her a week to clear the harem, and every minute and second that passed was a waste!

Eventually, she walked around the men in silence, her eyes wide awake.

“Your muscles are disgusting.”

“H-heuk, you said that my washboard abs are my charm!”

“I don’t like the color of your hair.”

“Yes? I dyed my hair while playing with Her Majesty!”

The results were very satisfactory.

After about 30 minutes, there was nothing but the cries of handsome men who were being dragged away and the complaints of the knights who did the dragging.

“Finally, one left!”

After kicking out the artistic guy with bad breath due to consuming only coffee and cigarettes, Leah looked at the last man approaching and smiled proudly.

“I… Her Majesty, the Empress. Are you feeling uncomfortable?”

Lauren, who was watching despairingly everything at her side, whispered in her ear.

She was in good mood right now, saving money by saving taxes.

“No?”

She blinked her eyes in confusion.

Lauren began to make a troubled expression. She thought the Empress, who had been soaking in nightlife, could not have suddenly come to her senses.

“I understand you were upset about last night, but you must not do this, Your Majesty.”

She did not understand what Lauren was saying, so she tilted her head.

“Wasn’t Her Majesty offended by what the ministers said about the harem? The budget for the Empress’s Palace is not going to be reduced, for the time being, so Your Majesty, please relax and rest until the night comes.”

“Pardon?”

Great! She felt even better knowing that her pocket money was still there and could not help grinning.

Perhaps misinterpreting her laughter, Lauren, who comforted her, and the approaching knight both turned pale.

“Why do you both look like that?”

She was about to ask about tonight’s event when the knight, dragging the last handsome man, finally arrived in front of her.

She planned to send the handsome man out first and then—

What a handsome young man. It was like a soft puppy with a transparent, crying face.

Doesn’t it look like you’re sinning just by looking at it?

She felt like her conscience was being stabbed.

Although Leah picked her profile, she was a damn nerd and only looked at beauty.

Her subordinates should have figured it out. No matter what, you must keep your moral conscience!

“Hey, how old are you?”

“I… I’m twenty, Your Majesty.”

A handsome man with a fairy-like Peter Pan appearance cried.

Oh my, gosh. For an adult, he looks much younger than his actual age!

“Your Majesty, are you in a very bad mood?”

Seeing her expression turn serious, Lauren froze.

She looked at the man again and suddenly remembered an incident of Leah fussing about things. She was eating lunch with the same menu as the first day of the week. She got tired of it and flipped the table over.

She then ordered to catch the chef like a mouse, eventually changing the chef of the Empress’s Palace for the fifth time. Perhaps Lauren was nervous because the empress did not know where to go.

Aware of the situation, she calmed her mind and gave an order.

“Get him out at once.”

“Yes!”

The waiting knight quickly pushed the back of the handsome man, who was unaware of what was happening.

She folded my arms and sighed for almost selling her conscience.

For some reason, it seemed that she should expect a lot more extraordinary events related to Leah in the future.

Will I be able to liquidate completely and buy my own house in two years?

She asked herself with a look that looked more annoyed.

“What were you doing? Didn’t you think you should stop him when you saw his face?”

“F-forgive me, Your Majesty. I’ll take whatever punishment you give!”

“No, no punishment—”

“Her Majesty, the Empress! I’m afraid it’s impossible! If you ask for a knight’s head privately, it will be a disaster!”

Before she could even finish her words, she was already treated as a cold killer who cuts off necks.

I’m sorry!

No matter how fickle Leah was, she was the best! 

But she did not even do anything, so why were you treating her like this?

“Your Majesty, please revoke your order. Imperial Knights must abide by certain rules! I’d rather you give me another punishment. Oh, you can ask me to find you a more handsome man!”

No, I’m going to quit the harem?

-To be continued