INCOGNITO

I came out of the restroom. The duke also went out of his room. The two of us then met by accident.

"Good morning Your Majesty. Can Your Majesty have a good rest?"

Duke's words sounded like nothing had happened between us.

"Good morning."

There is a feeling of guilt in my heart. I wanted to say sorry but couldn't do it. The Duke then stepped on his feet.

"Huan Ran, you idiot!"

I then ruffled my hair. The duke is one of the consorts of the empress. However, I have to lighten the mood. Outside the tent, the Duke was beside the horse. It seemed he was preparing something.

"Can I help you?"

"Your Excellency."

The duke was surprised to see me. I then focused my gaze on some of the tools in front of him.

"Servant is preparing to go undercover."

"You want to go undercover?"

"We don't know what the drought situation is like in the Mist area. I want to directly ascertain the condition of the people."

Although the Duke is a bad husband, he is a good and wise leader. He is the husband of the empress, who has high intelligence.

"May I come with you?"

"It is very dangerous. HER Majesty might run into trouble if he gets caught."

"Didn't I come here to solve this drought problem?"

I looked at the Duke's face with passion and courage. The duke, who realised what I meant, then smiled and agreed. The duke gave an outfit. I know that the clothes are part of the disguise. I immediately put the clothes on.

"That outfit is very fitting for HER Majesty."

Men wore a folk uniform.

"Is it okay to wear men's clothes?"

Duke then held the tip of his chin. He looked at me right, then left. It wasn't long before he hit his palm and came up with an idea.

"What if Her Majesty disguised himself as a man?"

Am I disguised as a man? All this time, I was afraid when men approached me. That's why the men got bored and left me. And now…

"Trust me all. They definitely won't notice."

Because the Duke was determined to believe it. I was finally willing to disguise myself as a man. She changed her hair and appearance as best she could. It took almost an hour to finish finally. Duke then gave me a glass.

"It's me?"

I didn't think that I could change my appearance into a real man. But I feel frustrated. My face looks handsome than when I look like an empress. Even if I were a noblewoman, I would fall in love with my good looks.

"How is Your Majesty?"

"It's great. I just found out you're really good at this. Thank you."

I smiled at him. The duke blushed with embarrassment at that word of praise. After the preparation is complete. The Duke then mounted a white horse.

"This horse?" I asked the Duke, he and showed me the horse.

"This is the horse that brought our wagon all the way to this place."

"Why did you ride it?"

"We will go undercover as hunters.

"But I can't hunt."

"Your Majesty need not worry. We are only in disguise not hunting for real. This is the only way to keep us from getting caught."

I then nodded my head. Everything the Duke said was true. But I only saw one horse.

"Why only use one horse?"

"Isn't Your Majesty not good at riding? We have both ridden different horses but Your Majesty fell from the horse and suffered a broken hand. After that Your Majesty has never ridden a horse alone."

How can I remember it. I am not this empress. In my previous life I liked to play polo. But this secret must not be revealed to the Duke.

"You are right but if you have to do it."

"It's quite a distance to the Mist region. It will be there at night if we ride separate horses."

It was with a heavy heart and hesitation that I agreed. The duke held out his hand to me. I accepted it, then he grabbed my hips and naturally, I sat right in front of him. This was embarrassing.

"We're leaving now."

The duke rode the horse very fast. I, who didn't prepare myself, nearly fell. My body swayed like a drunken man. Did people in ancient times drive horses like this?

"What if I took the reins?"

I offered to the Duke. If he controls this horse, I may die before I get there.

"But Your Majesty cannot ride."

"I'm not good at riding horses but can control horses. Aren't you behind me to look after me?"

"I can't refuse it. But if something happens I will take the horse back."

"That's good."

The duke held my waist. I was shocked at once. But this is better than him controlling the horse. The horse then walked back. This time I was in control. On the trip, the Duke was silent. I'm glad to be able to ride the horse again. A few hours after we departing the Mist region came into view.

"We have arrived, Your Majesty."

"Yes."

"We'd better go to the buying and selling place. The most information place is there."

We entered the trading place. There were older people, women, and children wearing dirty clothes.

"We shouldn't give them anything."

I didn't understand what he was saying. They were people who had nothing. We should have helped them. The horse then stopped. We walked towards the fruit stand.

"Order a basket of oranges and apples."

"Yes sir."

The fruit merchant then gave the duke fruit. After paying, a boy came to me.

"Please give us some fruit. Now we are starving."

The Duke forbade not to ignore them. But I couldn't just stay silent. I then gave the fruit to him. Not long after that, several children who were his age came over to me. The Duke then took me on a horse and left.

"Luckily we left immediately. This area is already It's been a long drought. Many people are starving. We can run out of food if we give it all to them. The criminals must also know that we both aren't from the Mist region and take advantage of it by robbing our belongings and won't even hesitate to kill us."

I just found out now. So this is what the nobles say if the Mist region gets the nickname as the hell realm area. There are many crimes here, such as robbery, sexual harassment, and also murder.

"Looks like we have to solve this problem quickly. I don't think so. want my people to suffer from famine and much evil in the territory of the Northern Kingdom."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Where are we going then?"

"The servant asked while buying fruit. We will go to the nobles' place to look for information."