Chapter 41
Her beautiful, arrogant face was befitting of someone born into royalty. A flawless imperial of perfect bloodline. She must have lived a life that never required her to submit to anyone.
Like a carnivorous beast lunging for its prey’s nape, Karl leaned forward and cupped Adelaide’s cheek with one hand. As his fingers slid from her cheek down to her pale, slender neck, a rush of pleasure surged through him, as though he were holding the world itself. He let out a low sigh and slowly traced her crimson lips with his thumb—those lips that would not leave his thoughts.
He intended next to press down on her chin and push it into her parted mouth. He would have done so, if not for that frost-cold voice.
“Let go.”
“…….”
“I said, let go of my neck.”
The moment he gripped her throat, a shiver ran through Adel, making her hair stand on end. Yet despite her warning, Karl did not loosen his hand.
At the instant their gazes locked without the slightest gap between them, the golden eyes suddenly curved and the red lips drew an arc. Entranced by that seductive smile, Karl lost himself for a brief moment—and in that instant, Adel coldly slapped the emperor’s hand away. An unpleasant emotion slowly rose in Karl’s eyes.
“You don’t know your place.”
At the biting mockery, Adel burst into laughter. The eerie laugh went on for a while. When she finally reined it in, Adel glared at Karl with blazing eyes and spoke, cutting off each word distinctly.
“It’s you who doesn’t know me.”
How dare you choke my neck and threaten me.
The pressure that had been applied to her throat made Adelaide’s entire body boil over. Seeing Adel rage with a face full of resentment, Karl let out a scoff as well. With an unhurried air, he rose from the bed.
“No. It seems you’re the one who doesn’t know me.”
Don’t spout bullshit. Adel nearly said it.
“You have nothing but that paltry pride, yet you bare your teeth and puff yourself up like this. What are you thinking?”
Damn it all—Adel couldn’t retort to that. The emperor smiled faintly and whispered in a very gentle tone.
“Lower yourself. Bend. Kneel before me.”
At the poisonous whisper, Adel spat back as if chewing the words out.
“I won’t.”
“…….”
“I said I won’t.”
Karl quietly studied Adel’s face, then took a step back.
She probably didn’t realize just how twisted her expression was. Seeing the empress in such complete disarray satisfied him, even though the heat had already cooled.
“Well… the one who’ll regret it will be you.”
The sound of his footsteps receded, the door opened, then closed.
And how much time passed after that? Someone opened the door and entered again. Adel did not check who it was. Fortunately, that person did not ask what had happened and left her alone, exiting again.
A bleak autumn wind seemed to seep in through the tightly shut door, making her body tremble. As Adel rubbed her arms with both hands and brushed back the hair that had fallen loose, she suddenly realized her face was damp. Even now, warm moisture continued to soak her cheeks.
Her burning-hot nape felt so hot that Adel carefully touched her own neck. Her throat tightened anew.
Adel realized it then. Foolishly—only now did she realize it fully. Only after her whole body trembled like an idiot did she finally understand.
That she had truly come alone.
How trivial an illusion it had been to believe she had always walked alone. She had merely been walking ahead, so no one entered her field of view—yet if she had turned her head even slightly, how many trustworthy people had been at her side?
‘Don’t come. If you all follow me, who will guard the Tower Countermeasure Headquarters?’
She had left them all behind. Someone had asked if she was abandoning them. She hadn’t abandoned them—but in the end, she had. It would be a lie to say she felt no regret leaving them behind, but she thought it would be fine.
‘I’ve walked this road alone before, so don’t worry about me.’
She thought she had always walked alone. She took for granted the countless acts of loyalty, obligation, and goodwill that had protected her back. Like air that had always existed from the start, she forgot to be grateful. Arrogantly, only after losing them did she realize just how much she had relied on them.
Now, no one would come. Because she herself had made it that way.
Adel clawed at her chest and collapsed to the floor. Like a fish pulled from the water, she gasped, unable to breathe, choking and wheezing. Her whole body trembled as she suffered through an emotion she was feeling for the first time.
She was lonely.
＊ ＊ ＊
She didn’t even know when she had fallen asleep. She felt as though she were tracing the edge of an abyss with her fingertips. In that gap, had a demon crawled out of the darkness and wrapped its arms around her back?
‘That damned pride! Does pride put food on the table? Just bow your head for a moment—what’s so hard about that?’
Ah! Damn it!
‘Pride doesn’t feed you anyway~’
Damn it—sleep paralysis.
‘You ho~ld~ on~ to your~ pri~de~ and lose your~ sta~tus~ too~ You make such a bi~g deal~ out of something you could fix by just closing your eyes once and doing as you’re told~’
Someone sang into her ear in a sly voice. They say other people see ghosts biting knives, dripping blood, choking them, or dancing on their heads—but what tormented Adel was just this stupid song.
“Ugh.”
She strained with all her might, and it felt like she heard cackling laughter.
“Oh, seriously!!”
Adel, stiff as a board as she struggled, finally broke free of the paralysis and sprang upright. She sucked in rough breaths and irritably raked her hair back.
“Damn it… getting sleep paralysis over something so stupid.”
She couldn’t tell whether it had been sleep paralysis or her inner voice surfacing. Muttering in irritation, Adel threw off the covers and got out of bed. Her body was still trembling, so she rubbed her arms repeatedly.
She must have fallen asleep at some point after shuddering while staring into that endless abyss.
“Damn it! I can’t annul the marriage. And even if I did, it’s not like I have anywhere to go back to.”
The words you don’t know your place kept scratching at her chest, so Adel rubbed it roughly. When the demon-like face of the emperor came to mind, she shook her head hard.
That was when—
“Your Majesty the Empress, did you cough? This is Hanna Giggs.”
The roiling in her chest went cold.
“Come in.”
She appeared with the same face and appearance as yesterday.
“What is it?”
At the chilly question, Madam Giggs fell silent for a moment. It felt as though time stretched endlessly.
“An order has come down from His Majesty the Emperor to treat the supplementary budget for the Empress’s Palace as if it never existed.”
“…….”
That bastard. Truly a bastard.
Before she could even gather her thoughts, a petty, despicable act of revenge flew straight at her and lodged in her throat. Worse still, the news had come from the Ivory Palace.
And just as the news of the cancellation of the Empress’s Palace supplementary budget swept through the imperial palace like fire across a dry field, the Empress’s Palace struck back without yielding.
[Leonel Valdr is appointed as the Empress’s aide.]
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The honor… of becoming the Empress’s aide was something only Leonel had ever achieved in the history of House Valdr.
In any case, when the rumor that Duke Valdr had become the Empress’s aide spread through the palace along with the news of the supplementary budget’s cancellation, the palace was thrown into an uproar. People lost track of time gossiping about just those two topics.
The members of House Valdr could hardly believe the news that their proud young master had become the Empress’s aide.
“Then what about our young master’s marriage now?”
“He’s a duke—of course he’ll still marry.”
“But they said he applied personally.”
“……Why? What could our young master possibly be lacking?”
“Could it be that the Duke forced him?”
Unable to understand the young duke’s actions, many people ended up blaming innocent Theseus. They speculated that Theseus—known for strictly separating public and private matters—had driven his younger brother forward for the benefit of the ducal house. However, the butler, who had watched both Theseus and Leonel since childhood, asserted that this decision was solely Leonel’s own.
“Why did you make this decision?”
The butler asked as he adjusted Leonel’s attire while preparing him for his summons to the palace.
“We’ve been pushed into a corner. Shouldn’t we try everything we can?”
“……As expected. It wasn’t the Duke’s will, but yours, young master.”
“Is my brother the kind of person who would give me such an order?”
At that, the butler chuckled softly and stepped back, though his nose stung for no reason.
An aide? Why must it be our young master—why on earth!
Yet the butler could say nothing to Leonel.
“Then I’ll be off.”
“……Yes. Please take care.”
With an anxious heart, the butler watched his retreating back. Soon after, he consoled himself. Leonel was the kind of person who would seize whatever he desired, no matter what.
