Chapter 7

What Edelis truly hated was the idea of marrying the Emperor. She had no desire for a position like Empress, where she could die at any moment. All she wanted was to live long and peacefully as an unmarried noblewoman.

“Getting married to the Emperor is just a little too much…”

“The Emperor you despised—I’ve already taken care of him, so there’s no need to worry.”

Edelis screamed inwardly.

‘The reason I hated the Emperor wasn’t just because he was creepily perverse—it’s because I wanted to stay alive!’

Her mind was a storm of confusion. Why did her sweet Lehan become Emperor? Why did he end up being the one to kill her?

The Lehan she knew would never do anything to harm her. But the Emperor? The Emperor could easily say, “Then die,” and stab her with a sword. She didn’t want to live in constant fear of her life.

“Just go back for now. There are too many people watching, and this just isn’t the time. Let’s talk later.”

“I refuse. Didn’t I say earlier that you would be the Empress?”

Yes, she had heard that from her father just days ago. Still, she hadn’t had time to mentally prepare for anything other than escape. Now that the Emperor himself stood before her, running wasn’t an option. He knew her face, and once she tried to escape, a warrant would be issued, and she’d be dragged back in no time.

“…Can I refuse?”

The moment the words left her lips, she heard the collective gasp of the people around them. To her, Lehan might look like a sweet retriever, but to everyone else, he was less a hunting dog and more like Cerberus straight from hell.

“Were you planning to run away after stealing the Emperor’s first night?”

Lehan parroted the exact same line she had once thrown at him on the night he left:

—Were you planning to run off after stealing the Count’s daughter’s first night?

Realizing what he’d said, Edelis was utterly flustered.

“What?! First night!? Nothing even happened that night!”

“Nothing happened… you say?”

“Yes!”

Even as she said it, she worried whether lying about the Emperor’s ‘first night’ might be considered treason and get her killed. At the time, the previous imperial family had deemed her unfit to be empress consort based on what they believed was a serious scandal. Still, surely she wouldn’t be punished for slandering an emperor that Lehan himself had removed?

“I remember the blood spilled that night.”

“Someone might seriously misunderstand what you’re saying!!!”

Edelis now realized that when she got too flustered, she couldn’t say anything coherently. She frantically waved both hands in denial, but the expressions on the imperial knights’ faces had already turned subtly awkward. She was starting to feel like she really might lose her mind.

Sure, Lehan’s hand was injured that night, and yes, his leaving had been a major moment in her life—but still!

‘Why would he say it in a way that makes it sound so suggestive!?’

The way he worded it made it seem like she had seduced an innocent boy, had her way with him for a night, and then tossed him aside.

“You took all my firsts, and then…”

“Aaaaah! No! That’s not what happened!!”

Lehan spoke proudly. All the feelings he’d experienced for the first time—excitement, affection, love—were because of her. Since he hadn’t mentioned what kind of “firsts,” he believed every word he said was true. His confident tone only made the knights look at Edelis more suspiciously.

‘It’s not like that! Nothing happened, I swear! If anything had happened, he would’ve been fourteen!! Do I look like someone who’d mess with a minor?!’

…she screamed internally, on the verge of tears, but all she managed to choke out was: “Nothing happened that night!”

“But you said, ‘Am I going to end up marrying you?’”

“That’s because I thought there’d be rumors about you taking my first night!”

Edelis felt utterly humiliated by how often this first night topic kept coming up, but her life was on the line, so she had to push through the embarrassment. On the other hand, Lehan seemed completely unfazed. Whatever had happened in the past seven years, he was nothing like the bashful boy she once knew.

“Edelis, whether or not that night truly happened doesn’t actually matter.”

She blinked in confusion. Nothing had happened that night, so there was no reason for them to get married. That had been her whole argument. Why didn’t it matter?

“If it had happened, we’d just need to get married, right? Because one must take responsibility for their actions.”

“…I suppose so.”

She nodded slowly. Back then, she had briefly imagined that if Lehan hadn’t left, she might’ve ended up marrying him. She’d even asked him if they might.

‘Of course, that was years ago! Long before he became Emperor!’

Since nothing happened, she had felt safe saying so.

“Even if nothing happened, you’re fully qualified to be Empress.”

“But I was disqualified from the past selection because of that incident!”

“Sure, but I wouldn’t choose my wife based on something like that.”

His straightforward admission made Edelis even more nervous.

“Besides, you are the only daughter of Marquess Brill, a war hero. I want to marry you. Didn’t you tell me last night that you wanted to be with me and asked me to take you away?”

She had said that.

’But that was because I thought he was Lehan, not the Emperor!!’

She hadn’t meant “Take me to the capital to become Empress.” She had meant anywhere else but here. If she’d known he was the Emperor, she would’ve greeted him warmly and then said goodbye forever.

Edelis was speechless. She had been so sure she could talk him out of this. Lehan had never refused her anything before.

‘He’s never once won a verbal argument with me!’

But now, no matter how she turned it around in her head, there was no good way to refute him. She couldn’t exactly say, “Well, you’re going to fall in love with someone else and stab me to death,” could she? That would make her sound crazy. Being labeled insane was dangerous—it could mean being locked up in a mental ward where the conditions were reportedly brutal. In comparison, a swift death by royal execution didn’t sound half as bad.

Still, if she refused to marry him and the Marquess ended up rebelling again, things would only get worse.

‘He’s already done it once—what’s stopping him from doing it twice?’

Edelis didn’t want to be the reason her father turned into a full-time rebel. Especially since he had cared for her so much in Lehan’s absence. She realized she had to adjust her life plan.

<1. Escape> — Already failed. No way out now, and the atmosphere made it clear she was headed straight to the palace.

<2-1. Refuse marriage> — She couldn’t win logically.

<2-2. Refuse marriage + Be stubborn> — Persistently rejecting a seemingly problem-free marriage might be seen as a slight against the Crown. Off with her head again.

Only one option remained.

Edelis smiled on the outside, but her resolve hardened inside.

‘I’ll get divorced.’

<3. Marry him, then divorce. Live it up as the Empress until the real female lead shows up. Then, with a sweet smile, she could say, “Oh, I would never stand in the way of your true love. Hohoho~” and disappear. That way, she wouldn’t get stabbed, her father wouldn’t rebel, and if things went well, Lehan would be the one at fault—meaning she’d get a hefty settlement and live comfortably elsewhere.

“…Fine.”

At this point, she resolved to leave the palace with far better preparations than she had coming in. As Empress, she’d have access to much more valuable items than as a Marquess’s daughter. After leaving, she could live not as a mere commoner, but with her own villa by the sea and a household staff to boot.

“Really?”

Lehan’s face lit up as he asked, and when Edelis nodded, he laughed with visible joy. He stepped forward, picked her up, and spun her around in delight. Edelis let out a startled scream and instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck, worried she might fall. His breath against her chest made her cheeks burn red.

The officials witnessing the scene wore expressions of pure confusion, but Lehan didn’t seem to care in the slightest. He just continued smiling happily.

“L-Lehan! Put me down!”

When he laughed and asked if she was dizzy, Edelis was too overwhelmed by the stares of those around her to explain the real reason. She just nodded instead. At that, Lehan reluctantly set her down as if disappointed.

“…Why do you keep laughing?”

“Because you’re cute.”

He was only twenty-one! Just twenty-one!

“You’re younger than me…”

“Edelis, I’m the Emperor.”

As she reminisced about his childhood, Edelis’s face darkened instantly.

“Edelis?”

It suddenly hit her that even after learning Lehan was the Emperor, she had still been speaking informally. That alone was enough for a beheading charge under lèse-majesté.

‘Would I not get stabbed in the heart, but beheaded instead?’

In the book, she’d been stabbed—but that didn’t mean things couldn’t change.

‘If I become Empress, I get stabbed. If I don’t, I get beheaded. Great.’

Maybe, just maybe, since Lehan was smiling now, he’d let this much slide. Still, Edelis wasn’t eager to test that theory. She couldn’t exactly say“Wow, I’m dead! The book was wrong! I didn’t get stabbed—I got beheaded!” if it turned out badly.

“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

“Please, speak comfortably. My Lady.”

Lehan’s lips curved into a crescent smile as he held her tighter.

“Why am I your lady?! Y-You’re the Emperor now!”

“I’ve never once been free from you.”

His low chuckle made a few maids blush. They knew he was the Emperor—and a tyrant—but with that handsome face smiling so sweetly, they couldn’t help but feel disarmed. But Edelis was not deceived. Unlike the maids, she was fighting for her life.

“…I’m fairly certain I said you were free that night.”

She spoke, hoping he wouldn’t respond with a ‘How dare a mere Marquess’s daughter claim to be the Emperor’s master!’ and stab her. Even if her tone wasn’t perfectly formal, she did her best to recall everything she knew about lèse-majesté and act appropriately.

“I said I’ll always come back to you, no matter what, because you are my master. Have you forgotten that?”

“Whether you claim I’m your master or that you’re the Emperor, make up your mind—pick one!”

Edelis didn’t know which note she was supposed to dance to. Seeing her flustered, Lehan laughed openly.

“I intend to use anything that works in my favor.”

***

In the end, Edelis boarded the carriage, leaving behind the stunned stares of the onlookers. Her father looked like he had a lot to say—but Edelis had just as much on her mind.

‘If Father had just told me Lehan was the Emperor!’

If he had, she would’ve run the moment Lehan left her room. She wouldn’t have waited around thinking he’d come save her. He wasn’t there to save her. He’d be the one to kill her in the end.

Edelis pressed herself into the far corner of the carriage, as far as she could get from Lehan, who was seated near the door.

“What’s on your mind?”

As the carriage started moving, Lehan smiled softly and asked her gently. She couldn’t very well say, “If I’d known you were the Emperor, I would’ve escaped before you arrived,” so she dodged the question.

“It’s nothing, really.”

“Feel free to speak.”

“…But you’re the Emperor.”

“And the Emperor says it’s fine.”

Edelis didn’t hesitate long. An Emperor’s favor could change at any moment, and she only had one life—no room for gambling.

“All right then.”

“Drop the formal speech.”

Oh, it was an order.

“You could’ve just said it was a command.”

When Lehan let out a chuckle, she realized she had spoken that last part out loud. Edelis silently screamed inside, but thankfully, Lehan was delighted.

“It feels like we’re back to before I left the Count’s estate.”

As Lehan sank briefly into nostalgia, Edelis let out a quiet sigh of relief. For now, he still seemed to be on her side.

‘…Well, considering how nice I was to him, he should be.’

She had rescued him from the arena, shown him affection, taught him the value of life—she had done well. At first, her kindness had been intentional, but over time, as they grew closer, it became natural.

If she had known he’d become Emperor, she would’ve treated him even better.

“I was really good to you back then.”

“Yes. So much that I couldn’t understand why.”

“You don’t have to. Just remember how kind I was, Lehan.”

‘So please don’t kill me!’ She looked at him, her eyes silently pleading. He smiled back.

“Of course. I remember every bit of it.”

As he said that, Lehan moved to sit beside her. Edelis flinched.

‘What if he suddenly chokes me? Or pulls a dagger from his coat? In the book, he killed me in front of people—but now that Father is a marquess, maybe the method of death has changed?’

Panicking slightly, she tapped her knee with her fingers. Lehan reached out and took her hand in his. His once-small hand had grown large, easily covering hers. She had already thought about escaping through the window—but now even that seemed impossible.

What bothered Edelis most was the way he had said “every bit.” It made her feel like he remembered every single thing—including the bad ones.

“You… don’t have to think too hard about the past. It was a long time ago.”

“I remember it as clearly as if it were just yesterday.”

Edelis tried hard to recall what wrong she might have done.

‘Was it when I pushed him into the lake? Or the fact that I rescued him from the arena with less-than-pure intentions? What was it? I was just trying to save my own life!’

As she shed mental tears, she forced the topic to change. She didn’t want to bring up painful memories from their time at the estate.

“More importantly…how are things?”

At her question, Lehan began to recall the events of his past.

***

On the day of Edelis’s debutante ball, a man claiming to be the butler of the Grand Duchy of Raksid approached him discreetly.

“I am Pogran Hillsbane, butler of the Grand Duchy of Raksid.”

“…I am Lehan, knight escort of Edelis Brill, daughter of Count Brill.”

Lehan had no idea why a grand duke’s butler would speak to him. But he was aware that this “butler” was most likely a noble himself—unlike him.

At Pogran’s request, they moved to a carriage with no crest or insignia, away from prying eyes. What the butler said there was enough to shake Lehan to his core.

“His Grace wishes to meet you, Young Master Keirhan.”