Hi, everyone! Kanata Satsuki here. Out of all the books in the world, you chose to pick up the third volume of The Emperor’s Lady-in-Waiting, and I can’t thank you enough for that.
This time around, even though Lyse and Sidis are already engaged, they get involved with an imperial matchmaking event. At the same time, there’s a mystery for the couple to solve. Imperial and foreign nobles are mingling, and even though Lyse is only there to make sure things run smoothly, a foreign nobleman keeps approaching her.
Sidis thus gets jealous, which leads to a bit of an outburst. As you’d expect, the emperor turns into a dog. “Everybody’s out there living their best lives” is the general feeling I wanted to depict. And since our couple’s engaged, I also wanted to add in more lovey-dovey scenes between them. I hope you enjoy it!
The mystery behind the Donans also gets unraveled a bit. If you’ve read volume one, I hope you can connect the dots as to why the emperor became a dog! Or maybe it’s just too obvious that I really like dogs...
Also, good news, everyone! Lady-in-Waiting is getting a manga adaptation, and I’d like to thank Akari Chikusa for her beautiful artwork. The way she draws Sidis is such a treat! My writing got touched up a little in the manga adaptation, and now it reads so much better. I’m at the edge of my seat every time I read the new chapters! It’s published on Ichijinsha’s Zero-Sum Online, and I’d be delighted if you’d give it a read there. My heart flutters whenever I see Sidis’s expressions, and seeing the emperor the way he is in the manga brings me such joy!
As always, big thanks to my editor, even though I get questioned about the lack of cute fluff. Sorry about that... Also, I’d like to thank Ichige Yoru for the wonderful illustrations, cover, and the depiction of the love triangle in full color! I laughed so hard when I saw Sidis’s fantasies drawn out.
This book wouldn’t have come into being if not for the efforts and hard work of the editorial department, proofreaders, and publishing team. And most of all, thank you, dear readers, for your support.
I’ve also included a bit of a postscript since I had the room to do so. It’s set right after the matchmaking event, and it begins right after this afterword. I hope you enjoy it!
-Kanata Satsuki