Chapter 5.8

After finishing the contract, Adrian went straight to his bedroom and began reading a report that had arrived from the ducal estate earlier that day.

Carrier pigeons couldn’t enter the imperial palace, so he had stationed a knight at the entrance to receive the letters. The report was none other than about Leo.

Reading the passage, “He ran like a tiger the moment a sword was put in his hands,” an involuntary smile of a doting father appeared on his face.

When Adrian was young, he received sword training with Sebastian at the imperial palace. Those were probably the most peaceful days of his life.

His sword instructor, the best knight in the Quinze-Nouais Empire, once said to Adrian, “You run like a tiger when you hold a sword.”

Adrian, unable to control the emotion he had never felt before, stood up and began to pace, wiping his face with his hand.

Someone gently knocked on his door, then pushed it open without permission.

A frail female figure stood at the door, wearing a flowing, sheer indoor dress.

“Hah…”

His mood, which had been brightened by the letter about Leo, plummeted. Her lush, wavy blonde hair flowed down to her hips, and her chest, which was large in comparison to her waist, was almost completely exposed.

The woman walked lightly toward Adrian, making no sound. She, who had been staring at the floor, lifted her head to look at him, and her cheeks flushed red as if they had been painted.

Her entire body swayed with every step she took.

“I greet His Majesty the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais.”

Adrian furrowed his brow and rubbed his forehead. Exhaustion crept up from his toes. But the woman, unaware of his state, approached the table where he was sitting.

“This is a gift from the Turk Emperor to the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais for the night.”

A red liquor was poured to the brim of the glass. And the woman immediately brought the glass to her lips. It was an act to show that the drink was safe.

“I understand. Leave it and go.”

The woman had already been briefed on Adrian.

He was the young emperor of Quinze-Nouais, a silver-haired man so beautiful that every woman who saw him would never forget. But he was also said to be a man who cruelly killed his enemies and had never been defeated in battle.

And seeing him in person, he was more than the rumors. The alcohol went down the woman’s throat with a gulp.

But a man was just a man.

No matter how great a man he was, he wouldn’t be able to easily cast her aside, a woman who was rumored to be the most beautiful in Turk.

The woman, unfazed, put down her glass. And she poured the lip-red liquor into Adrian’s glass again.

“Your Majesty, it’s not too late to cast me aside after you have a drink of this.”

Adrian chuckled at the woman’s words. Taking that as a sign of permission, a beautiful smile appeared on the woman’s face.

She filled her glass again, and this time, she tilted it a little, purposely letting it flow down between her neck and chest. The scarlet liquor slowly flowed down toward her cleavage.

“The Emperor of Turk is making a mistake.”

“Pardon?”

“Keep in mind, the only reason you’re still alive for a few more seconds is because I’m in a very good mood right now. I command you again. Leave.”

At Adrian’s repeated dismissal, fear finally appeared on the woman’s face.

“B-but, Your Majesty. If you cast me aside like this, I will surely face death. Please, take pity on me and take me this night.”

The woman knelt in front of Adrian and crawled toward him. And she bowed her body in front of Adrian’s feet, letting her barely-covered chest spill out.

“Hah.”

An unbearable sense of weariness came over Adrian.

It was a weariness he hadn’t felt once since meeting Claire. Adrian had actually reclaimed most of the territories through numerous battles, and each time, the lords would send their daughters, or even the most skilled courtesans, into Adrian’s bedroom.

As he sat there in silence, the woman straightened her body and crawled up to Adrian, placing her flat palm on his chest.

“Your Majesty… my body is getting hot. The moment I saw Your Majesty, it felt like my body was no longer my own.”

The woman let out a tantalizing moan.

Adrian also knew that women like this were nothing but objects given to men, whether it was in Quinze-Nouais or Turk… and that men would embrace such women without any hesitation.

But Adrian had never once looked at such women.

When the hand on Adrian’s chest carelessly slid down toward his belly, Adrian, unable to stand it any longer, grabbed her arm as if to snatch it and turned her around.

A sharp gasp escaped her lips.

But with one arm still holding her from behind, Adrian pushed the woman toward the door.

At first, she couldn’t understand what was happening, but as she was pushed toward the door by the beautiful Emperor of Quinze-Nouais, her face was filled with panic.

Soon, the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais threw the woman out of the door.

“I’ll give you one last chance. If I open this door and throw you out, your emperor will surely kill you. So you open the door yourself and leave.”

“But, Your Majesty. I’m as good as dead if I just go back like this. So if I’m going to die anyway, I’ll die underneath Your Majesty.”

Adrian sighed and gripped her arm. Another moan escaped the woman’s lips.

“Agh.”

“Go. If you come back, I’ll kill you.”

Adrian opened the door and tried to drag the woman out. But because of the person standing at the door, Adrian froze in place.

It was no exaggeration to say that the moment Adrian’s eyes met Claire’s, who had a surprised look on her face, was the most shocking and flustered moment of his life.

“Ah… no…!”

It was the first time in his life that he stammered.

***

I hesitated for a moment in front of Adrian’s door. And just as I was about to find the courage to knock, I heard a woman’s moan from inside.

And there was no way I didn’t know what that sound meant.

I knew. The meaning of a woman who wasn’t a noble in this world… But…

The moment I turned my body to leave, Adrian’s door burst open, and I saw a strange sight of him holding a scantily-dressed woman.

And soon, a woman who was beautiful at first glance spilled out of his room.

“Ah… no…!”

Adrian stammered.

“I don’t know what you saw, but it’s all a misunderstanding.”

“No, I was just going to talk, no, ask you something…”

The woman who had been lying next to me had gotten up and disappeared, and I, in a dizzy and chaotic state, didn’t know what to do and hesitated.

“I’ll come back later. It seems you’re busy.”

“She’s a woman who just barged in. I just threw her out.”

“Yeah. It… seems like it.”

“Then, you believe me, right?”

“It’s none of my business.”

“Anyway, it’s fine, so come in.”

He let out a deep sigh and moved aside, as if inviting me in. I hesitated for a moment and then entered his room first.

A red liquor that looked provocative to anyone was on the table. He must have felt my gaze, as he hurriedly added,

“The Turk Emperor did something strange… So, that woman just now has nothing to do with me.”

As I approached the table, a flustered Adrian kept making excuses.

But what caught my eye wasn’t the drink. It was the letter Adrian had been reading. As I came closer and picked it up, a flustered Adrian quickly snatched it from my hand.

But I had already seen Leo’s name.

“Give it to me.”

“…”

“Give it to me, Adrian.”

“It’s just a report. You don’t need to read it.”

“I already saw Leo’s name. Give it to me.”

At my angry voice, Adrian reluctantly handed me the letter.

And in that letter was a report of what Leo had for breakfast yesterday, whether he slept well last night, and that he “ran like a tiger” when a sword was put in his hands…

“A sword?”

“A wooden sword. It’s not dangerous at all.”

Adrian roughly swept his hair back and turned his back to me.

“Adrian.”

“…”

“Adrian!”

I kept calling him, but he didn’t say a word, his back still turned to me.

“Did you… know?”

“Know what?”

“That Leo is your son.”

“…Yes. How could I not?”

“Then was everything planned from the start?”

“…Not everything. I only found out about Leo’s existence after I came here.”

I slowly walked up to Adrian and put my hand on his back. I could feel him flinch.

“Look at me.”

Despite my words, Adrian stubbornly didn’t turn his head.

“Do you still… hate me? Enough to want to kill me…?”

“Hah…”

He roughly ran a hand through his hair and turned to face me. Adrian’s face was contorted in despair. But I had to know the truth.

“Do you still want revenge? Is that why you found me again?”

“That’s impossible.”

“But it’s strange, isn’t it? Your sudden appearance in the Kabyl territory, and what the Turk Emperor said today was strange. So what am I supposed to think? I can’t help but think that you’re still looking for me.”

“Please, Claire… revenge is something the stronger person does to the weaker person.”

“Yeah, so…”

“You know better than anyone that I can’t do that to you.”

‘Then what in the world do you want from me?’

I was too scared to say those words out loud.

“Claire Ianster… do you have any idea how many times you’ve disappeared from me without a word?”

Adrian struggled to get the words out.

“Th… three?”

“Four times.”

“Huh?”

“At the orphanage, at the Count’s estate, at the Grand Duke’s castle… and from Quinze-Nouais…”

He grabbed my shoulders. It wasn’t a strong grip.

“You disappeared when I was an orphan, when I was your slave, when I became an Grand Duke in the north, and then you disappeared again after I became an emperor.”

“So why…? Is it true that you came to the Turk Empire to find me?”

“I didn’t want anything from you. I just wanted to see with my own eyes that you were alive.”

‘Then why…? What about Celine?’

Adrian was holding my shoulders, but he wasn’t looking at my eyes.

“I was afraid that even meeting me like this would be hard for you, so I just tried to watch you from a distance.”

‘Don’t talk like that. If you talk like that, it’s like you’re…’

“But we have Leo.”

“No, not Leo. No matter if he’s your son, I can’t give him up.”

The moment the child’s name came up, I couldn’t help but become defensive.

“Claire, please. I… won’t do anything to you now. I won’t even attempt to do anything you would dislike.”

“Then what in the world do you want from me?”

“Leo is the child who will become the Crown Prince of Quinze-Nouais.”

“What? Why him?”

“It’s obvious. He’s my only son.”

“You can have another child. If that happens, could Leo really be the Crown Prince? Besides, I can’t make my son a bastard.”

“You, how could you… say something like that to me?”

“What?”

“How could you say something so cruel…”

I had no idea what part of what I said he found cruel.

“Are you… are you saying that I could be with a woman other than you?”

“What?”

“Did you… really think I would be capable of that? Did you see me as that kind of person?”

Only then did I understand what he was saying.

“The woman who was in your room just now didn’t seem to think so.”

“Claire! You’re not only trampling on my heart, but you’re insulting me…”

Adrian covered his face with his hands and sank onto the sofa. He really looked hurt, but I was starting to get scared.

My heart raced when I found out that Adrian not only knew Leo was his son but also intended to make him the Crown Prince of Quinze-Nouais.

“No matter what you say, not Leo. He’s just my son. You have no right to him.”

I ignored Adrian’s words and quickly returned to my room.

Should I go back to the Kabyl territory and hide with the child? But I shook my head. There’s a proper order to running away. The moment he finds out I’ve disappeared from here, Adrian will get to Leo faster than I can.

***

 

The next day, I was surrounded by Turk maids from early in the morning, getting dressed up.

I wanted to scream that I was absolutely not in the mood for it, but I could only go to the Kabyl estate after tonight’s banquet.

And before that, I had to have a proper conversation with Adrian. Last night, I was just flustered and angry, but on second thought, it wasn’t a matter of just emotions. After all, Adrian was Leo’s father.

So I decided to persuade him. I planned to convince him that since he was already married to Celine, he should have a son as soon as possible.

When I met him again, he was different from before. And he repeatedly promised that he would never do anything I didn’t want him to.

He seemed to adore Leo so much that if I said he could see him often, he would change his mind and go back to Quinze-Nouais.

But why on earth hasn’t he had a child yet? Considering Adrian’s attitude last night, he and Celine… I shook my head, not wanting to think about it.

It was still not easy to think of Celine. Imagining her next to Adrian was inevitably quite painful.

I wore a dress as red as blood and minimized the decorations.

My face, like a villainess from a novel, was quite extravagant, so simple designs with a focus on one point suited me well.

I pinned my hair up, fully exposing my neckline. Taking the effort to dress up for the first time in a while made me feel a bit better.

Soon, the Duke appeared to escort me to my room.

He, too, was wearing his full dress uniform for the first time in a long time, and his inherent colors seemed to stand out even more clearly.

“Today… you look beautiful.”

He had probably never seen me so formally dressed up before.

“You too, Your Grace.”

At my words, the Duke’s arm tightened.

“Um, when can we go back to the Kabyl estate?”

“Are you in a hurry to go back?”

“Yes, I’m worried about Leo.”

“The Emperor wants us to stay for about a week after the banquet, but let’s leave tomorrow.”

“Will that be alright?”

“Of course.”

At his refreshing answer, I smiled brightly.

“Thank you so much.”

The banquet hall was not far from the detached palace, but according to the Turk imperial court’s rules, carriages were used for banquets.

When our carriage stopped, the Duke got off first and perfectly escorted me.

“Ugh, I’m a little nervous coming to a place like this after a long time. And it’s a banquet in a foreign country…”

“It seems you don’t feel the need to hide it anymore.”

“Pardon?”

“The identity card you gave me clearly said you were a Turk, have you forgotten?”

“Ha… haha…”

“Be especially careful here. The Turk Emperor is mostly generous, but he absolutely hates lies.”

My face flushed at his words. Anyone would be as embarrassed as I was to be caught lying so pathetically.

“I’m sorry.”

“I already knew, so there’s no need to apologize.”

Looking at my boss, who was full of consideration and patience, a sense of loyalty welled up in my heart.

“I’ll work hard.”

“Of course.”

The Duke smiled brightly. Honestly, in the past five years, this was the first time I had ever seen the Duke smile so brightly, even making a slight sound.

Just as I was half-lost in his smile, thinking how much a person could change, I felt Adrian from a distance staring intently at me and the Grand Duke.

Was this the murderous gaze he meant when he said he wanted to see me even from afar?

But I didn’t turn my gaze away. I knew why he was lingering around me, so after the banquet, I would definitely settle things with him.

Soon the first waltz began.

The format of the Turk banquet was a little peculiar. If Quinze-Nouais’s banquets and the atmosphere were more elegant, the Turk atmosphere was a little more lively.

The women’s attire was also more traditional, creating a vastly different atmosphere from the clothes I was wearing.

Soon, an unfamiliar waltz tune flowed, and the Duke held out his hand to me.

The custom of dancing the first dance with your partner and then being able to ask anyone you wished was the same as in Quinze-Nouais.

“I… I don’t know the dances here very well.”

As I whispered into the Duke’s ear, he responded to me in the same way.

“It’s not much different from Quinze-Nouais’s dances. I won’t show it even if you step on my foot.”

Thanks to this Duke, who had become much more fun lately, I couldn’t help but let a smile spread across my face. It was a good thing I didn’t burst out laughing.

As I took the Duke’s hand and started to walk out into the hall, I felt Adrian’s eyes still on me. It would be a lie to say I wasn’t bothered, but I tried my best to focus on Henry Kabyl.

Just then, the Turk Emperor leaned over and said something to Adrian, and he was seen striding towards a certain lady.

And he held out his hand to her.

At his action, I involuntarily stopped my steps towards the hall.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh! Nothing.”

I stood close in front of the Duke to dance with him. I thought his hand on my waist was surprisingly large and warm. As I placed my hand on his shoulder and got into position, the Duke took a deep breath.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

He, too, seemed a little nervous at first, but he soon relaxed his expression and led me well.

“This is the first time since my wife died.”

“What is?”

“Dancing at a banquet like this.”

I had been invited to a few nobles’ estates in the territory, but I had never danced with him before. Having nothing to say, I smiled awkwardly.

As I became a little more relaxed, I looked around.

Upon closer inspection, the woman Adrian was leading was the Turk Emperor’s daughter, who had also danced the first dance with Adrian at the Kabyl estate before.

The princess was constantly stealing glances at Adrian, her face blushing. Adrian also smiled as if in a drawing, leading her.

The woman was pretty. She didn’t have Celine’s poignant beauty, but she was cute and lovely.

“The second princess.”

“Pardon?”

“The person you’re looking at.”

“Oh… yes.”

I thought she suited Adrian very well. A person like her, could she embrace Adrian’s dark and painful side?

The waltz was ending just as I felt my breath getting short. Henry Kabyl stepped back from me and made a final bow, sweeping his arm wide. As I curtsied slightly to him and was about to return to my seat, Adrian suddenly approached me.

“Dance with me, Claire.”

Adrian, who had approached me at some point, grabbed my arm and turned me to face him. His silver hair, illuminated by the bright light, and his delicate smile filled my vision.

Before I could answer, Adrian pulled me close and hugged me tightly. I couldn’t even feel if his hands were cold or hot.

But Adrian, who had so hastily embraced me, took his hands off my waist just as the second song began.

“If you don’t want to, I won’t force you.”

“What?”

As his scent suddenly moved away, I involuntarily furrowed my brow.

“If you don’t want to dance with me, you can refuse.”

There was no way a Turk noble could refuse the Quinze-Nouais Emperor’s dance. But even if it wasn’t for that reason, I didn’t want to refuse him. As I remained silent, Adrian looked uneasy.

“You always run away when I touch you.”

“Me?”

I sighed and took a step towards him, who had moved away.

But even at my action, Adrian didn’t seem reassured, and without touching my body, he lowered his head and rested his forehead on my shoulder. The hot heat was transmitted directly to me.

In the hall where no music was playing, people were glancing at us, who were standing facing each other.

“I’m scared…”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t have much time, so I have to run without hesitation.”

Just then, music began to flow, and unable to just stand there, I lifted Adrian’s arm and put it around my waist. The dance had started, and it wasn’t a good idea to just stand in the middle of the hall.

But at my action, the air around him suddenly changed. Adrian’s blue eyes flickered and began to stare at me intently.

His eyes that never left me, his hands that were hot as if burned whenever they touched me, his chest that rose and fell as if he was having trouble breathing.

At some point, Adrian gave up dancing and was almost hugging me.

“Hoo…”

He buried his face in my neck and shoulder and let out a breath.

“What’s wrong, Adrian? You can’t do this here.”

“If not here? Can I?”

The surroundings were spinning, but only Adrian and I seemed to be standing still in a time warp. I felt a chill run through me at his every movement, and I couldn’t help but tremble.

And I realized that the people around us, who seemed to have found a lot of meaning in his small, insignificant actions, were now looking at us and just gulping.

“Claire.”

“…”

“I know I shouldn’t be like this, but…”

Every time he spoke, his breath touched my neck. I couldn’t regain my composure.

“When you left like that yesterday, I was so anxious.”

“About what?”

“I was afraid you’d abandon me and disappear again… So I waited until the light in your room went out. From outside the window, just like I always used to.”

I had briefly thought of doing that, but I had decided not to.

“But then you, who appeared before my eyes again, after humiliating me and trampling on my heart yesterday, was so beautiful… I really thought I was going crazy.”

“You, why are you doing this? What do you want me to do?”

“When you keep touching that man, I really can’t breathe. It’s so painful.”

I had now lost the will to push away this reckless Emperor. To be a married man and to crave affection so purely…

“Like when I recaptured the Pen territory, I need to keep my wits about me and strike at once when the opponent hesitates…”

“What?”

“That kind of strategy is useless. When I’m in front of you, I can’t hold my weapon. I can’t keep my head straight.”

It was hard to understand everything he was saying.

“I know I don’t have the right, but I keep getting greedy, I keep…”

“Hmm?”

At some point, I was clutching his coat collar so tightly that my knuckles had turned white. The music was already at its end.

Adrian ran his hand from my shoulder down my arm, held my hand tightly, and led me back to my seat.

The banquet was nearing its peak.

The most different thing about this place from Quinze-Nouais was that people drank a lot of alcohol. While the male nobles of Quinze-Nouais were more courteous to each other, the nobles here would get drunk and show off their friendship with loud voices.

When the nobles were a little drunk, the Turk Emperor raised his hand, and a stage was set up in the center of the banquet hall.

Everyone went to their seats, and I also took my place with the Duke’s escort.

Soon, traditional Turk music flowed, and dozens of dancers appeared on the stage.

I expected a very flamboyant and magnificent dance, but contrary to my expectations, it was a calm, beautiful, and sad group dance.

The performance was truly excellent. There were no lines, but anyone could tell that the dance was a sad love story.

When the performance ended, the emperors moved to a platform. Now, those who wanted to dance danced, and those who wanted to drink gathered and enjoyed themselves.

In one corner, a noble who was too drunk was being carried out by his servants.

The two emperors were seated in the same position, and right below them were the princes and princesses. The princes were all still young children, and it was said that the crown prince had not yet been decided.

I, too, as the Duke’s partner, was seated on the platform on the opposite side.

And among them, the second princess made no effort to hide her glare at me. It was probably because of Adrian’s actions towards me during the second dance.

Just as a new dance performance was about to begin, the Turk Emperor turned his gaze towards Adrian. Since the music was playing, the Emperor spoke to Adrian in a rather loud voice.

“The Quinze-Nouais Emperor is so beautiful that my daughter’s face won’t cheer up.”

“Your… Your Majesty.”

At his words, which could be considered rude, the second princess’s face turned beet red, and Adrian simply raised his glass and quenched his thirst.

He had turned so cold that I wondered if he was the same person who had been mumbling with his head on my shoulder.

“Speaking of which…”

The Turk Emperor seemed a little drunk as well.

“How about taking my second daughter with you to Quinze-Nouais?”

I couldn’t believe my ears.

Even though there was clearly an Empress in Quinze-Nouais, he was thinking of sending his daughter as a concubine to a foreign emperor for the sake of his country. No matter how important the relationship between the empires was, I couldn’t understand the idea of sending his own daughter as a hostage.

The two empires were on such a deep-seated rivalry. It was unknown how long this friendly relationship would last.

“I’ll think about it.”

But at Adrian’s unexpected answer, I was so surprised that I forgot my place and stared up at Adrian. There was even a lazy smile on his face.

At his attitude, as if he would take any woman, my eyes involuntarily sharpened.

Since Adrian showed no particular sign of displeasure, the Turk Emperor continued to talk without stopping.

“I hear that Your Majesty has an engaged fiancée, a woman of the most beautiful looks in the Quinze-Nouais Empire, so why haven’t you married her yet?”

‘What?’

“I was thinking of sending a pair of horses of the most noble bloodline in our empire if you would just get married.”

‘He didn’t get married?’

“But why have you left your fiancée as she is for five years? I have never heard of any imperial family in the world having such a long engagement period. Ah, it must have been because of the war.”

“I have already broken off my engagement with my fiancée.”

“Broken off?”

“Yes. It was just a matter of procedure taking some time, but it has been that way for several years.”

My mind went blank at their conversation, and it was difficult to just sit there.

“Then, why did you break off the engagement with that beautiful woman? A woman is just a woman if her looks are outstanding.”

Just then, the dancers’ performance, which had been running towards its climax, reached its peak and then ended. An incredible silence fell over the banquet hall all of a sudden.

“There is a woman I want to devote my life to.”

“Hahahaha!”

The Turk Emperor laughed heartily as if he had heard the funniest thing in the world. As if his laughter was a signal, a soft music began to play in the banquet hall again.

“If a woman is just what you want, why make it so complicated as to break off the engagement? Especially for the great Emperor of Quinze-Nouais.”

I couldn’t bear the confusion anymore and tried to get up. But Henry Kabyl, the Duke who couldn’t bear the situation even more than I could, grabbed my hand tightly and made me sit down again.

Just then, Adrian’s voice, which I was hearing for the first time, sounded so chillingly overwhelming, came from above my head.

“She is not a woman to be lightly mentioned and babbled about.”

The crowd became as quiet as if cold water had been poured on them. Soon, Adrian changed his expression to a smile and spoke again as if nothing had happened.

“I am just the master of Quinze-Nouais, but that woman is my master.”

The Turk Emperor’s face, which was uncommonly flustered, showed a different side of Adrian than the mild and gentle one I had seen until now. But he was not a man to be trifled with either.

“A woman who lays golden eggs. Am I right?”

Adrian did not answer.

“But that woman is here, in my empire.”

The Turk Emperor’s gaze flew and pierced me exactly. Startled by the sudden situation, I got up from my seat and accidentally hit the wine glass in front of me with my elbow.

The sound of the glass breaking echoed like a scream in the quiet hall.

And in that moment, I remembered that day. The day I first met Adrian again in the North.

As I was trying to run forward in a daze, I heard Adrian’s urgent voice.

“Don’t move.”

And with a crunching sound of glass, Adrian, who had been on the platform, was in front of me in an instant.

‘You… didn’t you marry Celine? Why? It’s been five years…’

I had assumed he had. It was so obvious that I didn’t even ask.

No empire would make its emperor wait five years for a fiancée.

And it wasn’t just any other woman, it was Celine. The person who had made him emperor, the woman Adrian would inevitably love in the end.

But not a single word came out of my mouth.

And he couldn’t have not known my confused eyes.

Adrian’s expression grew harder as he looked at my chaotic eyes.

But without hesitation, he lifted me up in his arms. It was natural for people’s eyes to widen in surprise at the sight of the emperor.

“Are you okay?”

Even at his gentle voice, my mind didn’t come back to me.

“I’m feeling a little dizzy…”

At my words, Adrian gestured, and Owen and Cedric approached. Since they couldn’t be armed in the banquet hall, they were in formal frock coats. I left the place with their escort.

After coming outside, my mind came back to me a little. I took a long breath.

“Owen.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Did Adrian really not marry Celine?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“His Majesty the Emperor never intended to get engaged for that reason from the beginning.”

“Then?”

“I am the only one who knows this fact. I don’t know if it’s my place to tell you this.”

That was what Owen said.

When I had to get engaged to Prince Sebastian because of the marriage ban, Adrian was already dreaming of a rebellion to get me back.

And Celine, who knew that fact, had proposed the engagement to him. Since Adrian’s support base was a little weak at the time, he had accepted the proposal.

But that engagement was a deal to be broken off once he became emperor.

What Celine got in exchange for that was not the position of Empress, but the only duchess of the Quinze-Nouais Empire.

***

Back in my room, I had my maids help me take off everything clinging to my body and I soaked myself in the bathtub.

As the hot water touched me, a lump rose in my chest.

So much time had passed that I was starting to forget why I had left Quinze-Nouais in the first place.

‘That’s right, I had to protect my child. Adrian still hated me, and the Emperor said there would be a war if I didn’t leave.’

At the time, I thought that was the best option. Yes, I thought it was the best. But now, I didn’t know why I was feeling this way.

I changed into my pajamas and lay on the bed, but I didn’t think I would be able to sleep, so I asked a maid to bring me a light drink.

I got up from the bed and walked over to the window. As I sat looking out the window, someone knocked on my door.

“Just put it on the table.”

But there was no answer from the maid.

Feeling strange, I turned around to see Adrian standing in my room, still in his banquet attire. He had probably rushed here right after the banquet, and I could hear him catching his breath.

It was incredibly hard for me to look at him.

“What’s wrong?”

I turned my back on him and asked coldly.

“Earlier, you looked unwell.”

“Stop it, Adrian. Are we the kind of people who worry about each other’s complexions? Why are you doing this?”

All my resentment and anger, for reasons I couldn’t explain, were directed at him without reservation.

“Of course I’m worried. Are you feeling very ill somewhere?”

“I don’t want to talk to you today. Please leave.”

“I just… Claire, what am I supposed to do if you’re like this?”

Adrian’s voice was trembling relentlessly, but I didn’t have the emotional space to care about his feelings right now.

“What did I do? Is it a problem that I said I didn’t want to talk to you?”

“Look at me. Are you not even going to make eye contact with me now? You have to tell me what I did wrong.”

“What on earth, why are you doing this to me? What am I to you that you would come here and apologize for a mistake you didn’t even make?”

“You’re mad at me right now. So I must have done something wrong.”

“That’s not it.”

“If you’re not mad, show me your face.”

“No.”

“See? Then tell me the reason. Is it because I said I would take the second princess? That was just me playing along with the Emperor. You know I wouldn’t do that when I have you.”

I kept my mouth shut. If I opened it now, all sorts of ugly resentment and complaints would come pouring out.

“Or is it because I said something strange in front of the Turk Emperor? Or is it because I hugged you in front of a lot of people?”

I no longer wanted to continue this kind of conversation.

“If it’s because you’re worried the Duke of Kabyl might misunderstand…”

“Please, Adrian. Stop it now. I tormented you to the point of death, and you hated me to death. You wanted to get revenge on me. Leo is the child who came about because of that. Have you forgotten?”

“No matter how upset you are, don’t talk like that.”

“Why? Can you describe our relationship more accurately than this?”

“I… I didn’t mean it that way.”

“What didn’t you mean? Adrian, have you forgotten what you said yourself in the hunting grounds?”

Adrian closed his eyes and shook his head.

“Claire, please. That wasn’t my true feeling. No, even if it was, those words…”

“So what? If you say it’s in the past and your feelings have changed now, am I supposed to gratefully understand your heart?”

“I don’t know why you’re so angry.”

Just then, someone knocked on the door and entered. Thanks to that, the heated atmosphere between us subsided a little.

“Where… should I put this?”

The young maid looked between me and Adrian with a puzzled expression, then slowly placed the bottle and glass on the table and left cautiously.

Meanwhile, Adrian stood with his back to me, running his hand through his hair. Even if he were to walk out of this room now, there was nothing I could do.

A broken dam did not know how to close.

But he said something I didn’t expect.

“…I was wrong.”

“What?”

“All of it, I’m just unconditionally sorry.”

“What were you…?”

His words twisted my stomach.

“Everything, all of it. So please, just don’t disappear anywhere.”

“I told you that’s the wrong answer, didn’t I?”

“Yes, I still haven’t found the answer you want. But no matter what I say, the conclusion is the same. Every moment I caused you pain was my fault. So, please, just don’t hide where I can’t see you.”

“Ha, where I disappear to is my decision. And what does it matter to you now if I hide?”

Adrian couldn’t stand it anymore and came to me, grabbing my arm.

And he turned me around to face him. As our eyes met, I saw him take a big breath. Every moment was painful.

“Please, Claire, don’t talk like that. Are you saying that you don’t know what I’ll become if you disappear again?”

“Adrian, I don’t know. What happens to you if I disappear, and why you’re searching for me so desperately.”

But when I pressed him so persistently, he turned away from me again.

“Why didn’t you marry Celine? It’s already been five years since you got engaged.”

“That’s…!”

“So why? What did you do during all that time?”

“…”

“You love Celine, don’t you?”

At my question of whether he loved her, Adrian turned back to me with a fierce look in his eyes.

“What about you?”

“What?”

“Do you love the Duke of Kabyl?”

“Why are you bringing him up here?”

He seemed to regret what he had just said and closed his eyes tightly again. But then he seemed to have made up his mind and looked at me directly. But he hesitated and took a few steps away from me.

“Yeah, you were like this before too. You followed Sebastian while I was away from home for a little while.”

“That was unavoidable. You know that.”

I, on the other hand, walked up to Adrian, who was pulling back, and stood in front of him. And I held his face in my hands.

Even with a look of immense pain, he quietly let me hold him, and for the first time in this room, we looked into each other’s eyes.

“But, I… I hated you for that. I knew it was an unavoidable situation, but I was so full of resentment.”

I stopped Adrian from turning his eyes away from me. I wouldn’t let him hide his emotions anymore. No, even if he did, I would be able to tell.

“Tell me, Adrian. Why are you so obsessed with me?”

“…”

“Why, after five years, did you come to the Turk Empire to find me?”

“…”

“Tell me now, or I’ll never listen to you again.”

“I missed… you.”

“What?”

Was this what I wanted to hear? At that one phrase, everything fell back into place. What more was there to say when he said he missed me?

“Claire, you always make me wait. What did I do for the past five years? I looked for you, I yearned for you, I regretted it.”

“…”

“I was scared. My memories of my mother returned, and you had disappeared… Since that day, I’ve felt like I’ve been standing alone in that forest where I first met you.”

Adrian tilted his head and rested his cheek on my left cheek. Surprised by his words, I gasped and tried to calm my mind.

“You don’t know what happened to me in that forest that day…”

I knew. But I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that I had read all about it.

“So, I hated you. No, it’s more accurate to say that if I didn’t think I hated you, I wouldn’t have had a reason to look for you. Because your eyes were telling me you didn’t love me anymore.”

Even though I had pressed him to tell me everything, my mind went blank as soon as he started talking.

“For the past five years, I cursed myself, wanting to kill the me who babbled on like that in the hunting grounds. But back then, I was young and I didn’t know how to deal with the feeling of resentment.”

“I… I tried to keep my promise.”

“Yes, the letter you left behind. If it wasn’t for that, I would have found you and killed you, and then I would have followed you in death right there. Because the thought that you had followed him because you wanted to was enough to make my heart feel like it was going to burst.”

It was a thought I had never even imagined. So did that mean Adrian had already loved me then?

“When I saw the carriage you were in fall off the cliff and get destroyed, I thought you were dead. It was only then that I realized how foolish I had been.”

“…”

“But when I found out you were alive, at first I believed I would be satisfied just by finding you. I thought that alone would be enough to get me out of this hell.”

“Adrian…”

“But it wasn’t. I can never make the right decision when it comes to you.”

“…”

“Seeing you look at someone else, smiling at him, and allowing him to touch you, that is also hell…”

Adrian slowly lifted his face from my cheek.

“Whether I find you or not, it’s hell. But since having you in front of me is less hellish than not, I have no choice but to find you.”

Adrian’s lips touched my forehead. He kept whispering to me with his lips slightly on my skin.

“I will never force you anymore. So, please, just let me see you, even from a distance. The man who would start a war just to whine for you to look at him is gone now.”

I should have said something, but I couldn’t say anything at all. Adrian now lifted his lips from my forehead and looked me straight in the eyes. His blue eyes shone clearly without a hint of a lie.

“I will never forcibly take Leo away from you if you don’t want me to. But since I won’t have any successors other than Leo anyway, just let him choose for himself when he becomes an adult.”

After looking into my eyes for a long time, Adrian put his hands on my waist and tried to push me away. But at that moment, I placed my hands over his.

And I pulled his arms and made him wrap them around my body. Then I slowly nestled between his arms and wrapped my hands around his back, hugging him tightly.

Adrian’s eyes widened in surprise, and his blue pupils shook relentlessly. But he soon shook his head.

“Don’t do this, Claire. Don’t provoke me.”

“No.”

As I said the word, I put more force into my hands on his waist and pulled him closer. Adrian’s eyes closed without him even realizing it.

“Please, I can’t control myself right now. You know how I feel and you’re doing this, you have a malicious hobby.”

“If you don’t like it, you can push me away.”

“No, I can’t do that.”

“Why can’t you push me away?”

I asked, but Adrian loosened his grip and grabbed my arms. At his attitude of trying to tear me away, I shook my head and buried my face in his chest.

His pounding heartbeat painfully throbbed in my ears.

“Hug me.”

“I want more than just to possess you now. So don’t do this out of pity.”

“Then what exactly do you want from me?”

“Claire, stop it now. Why do you enjoy having me beg and cling to you like this?”

“No. Look me straight in the eyes and admit it with your own mouth. Why are you searching for me so desperately?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

“Yes, you haven’t said it clearly, so how am I supposed to know?”

At my words, Adrian let out a small sigh.

“Right, I forgot for a moment. You are Claire Ianster. The villainess who captured my body and made me her slave, and in the end, took my soul as well.”

“And?”

“I… love… you.”

His blue eyes were filled with me.

“You love me?”

“Yes, I love you. What else could this be called if not love? You really are a wicked person, Claire Ianster. You pushed me until this word finally came out of my mouth, didn’t you?”

Adrian smiled gently.

“…”

“Right now, you want to see me begging and clinging to you for love like this, right? But even if that’s true, I can’t help it now.”

I lifted Adrian’s hand, which was wandering in the air, to my face and buried it deeply. And I lightly touched his large palm with my lips.

“No. …That’s not it.”

“It doesn’t matter even if it is. If I can hold you like this for even a moment, I can give up my country, my honor, and even my life. I’ll die anyway without you. That’s my love.”

“No. That’s not it. I… I just… wanted to hear the man I love say that he loves me.”

“What?”

Without giving him a chance to stop me, he suddenly pulled his hands away from me and violently stepped back.

“Don’t do this, this kind of cheap prank. I won’t forgive you.”

“Adrian! If you don’t come in front of me right now, I’ll really say that nothing ever happened.”

At my words, Adrian came to me with hurried steps and hugged me.

“Okay, even if those words are a lie, just stay like this for a moment. Even if you take me to the highest peak and then drop me to the depths of hell again, I can’t help it now.”

“That’s not it, Adrian.”

At my sighing words, Adrian this time looked at me with a desperate gaze, as if he was trying to find out all the truth.

“Ha… Since when, on earth… This doesn’t make any sense…”

I silently accepted his gaze.

“Ha, but! Then why did you run away again?”

“That’s because you were engaged to Celine, wasn’t it?”

Adrian pulled away from me and made an expression I had never seen before.

“Th-that was!”

“I know why. But at the time, I thought you would naturally come to love Celine. And you hated me, didn’t you?”

“…”

“And at that time, I knew I had Leo inside me. Actually, I was wrong. I got pregnant on purpose.”

“Claire!”

“Yes, I know. I was reckless. But, the marriage ban had been issued. There was no other way for me to keep my promise to return to you.”

“But you should have told me.”

I couldn’t answer that right away.

“Right… If I had given you certainty, you wouldn’t have made that choice.”

“I was going to tell you. The day after we went to the market together. But that morning, the Emperor called for me. And I had no choice. The Emperor had imprisoned my father in the imperial palace. And he wanted me to run away to a place where no one was. No, in fact, he tried to kill me.”

Adrian turned his head away from me. I tried to get him to look at me again by holding his face in my hands.

“Are you crying right now?”

“But still, I believed in you… and waited for you.”

“Oh, come on. Give me a reason to believe you. You were mean every day and said only mean things, and then you got engaged to Celine, and not only that, you started a war!”

Adrian’s face looked like he had given up from thinking too much. Seeing his expression, I suddenly felt a wave of sadness.

“If only you had told me a little earlier. If only you had realized a little earlier. Then… I wouldn’t have had to give birth to Leo all alone…”

As my face looked like I was about to cry, Adrian hugged me tightly.

“I’m sorry, Claire. It was all my fault. Don’t cry.”

“It’s okay.”

“I just needed the power… to get you back from them…”

“…”

“I was so foolish. I was a fool.”

Adrian lifted his head and slowly came closer to me. Then he paused again and asked with a shaky look in his eyes.

“I want to kiss you right now… Can I?”

At his words, I let out a little chuckle. Can he kiss me? But he said it with such a handsome face that it was forgivable.

“Adrian, you don’t ask for things like that.”

As soon as I finished my sentence, he devoured my lips. Despite his impetuous approach, his kiss was incredibly respectful.

Adrian’s long, soft kiss was enough to fill my head with nothing but him.

“Come to Quinze-Nouais with me, Claire.”

“Hmm?”

“Let’s take Leo and go together. Please, okay?”

He whispered to me, his lips still on mine. But at his sudden remark, I quickly pulled away from him.

“Quinze-Nouais?”

“Yes, let’s go home. Don’t think about anything, just trust me and follow me. I’ll make you happy.”

I smiled again, thinking that a man’s love confession was similar in Korea and here.

“What does that smile mean? Does that mean yes?”

“I don’t know.”

“Claire, don’t do this.”

“Just as you said, I’m a wicked person, so I don’t want to answer you right away.”

At my answer, Adrian immediately took my face in his hands. He leaned in as if to kiss me, then pressed his cheek next to my lips and whispered.

“Please, tell me. Tell me you will. That you’ll come to Quinze-Nouais with me. That you’ll be the only salvation in my life.”

“Uh… hmm…”

I felt my mind go blank.

“What did you say? Claire, answer again.”

But I couldn’t answer. It was because Adrian had devoured my lips again.

When he lightly bit my lower lip, my lips parted on their own. And as if it was only natural, Adrian invaded my mouth, and I was swept up in him again.

The long, soft kiss that seemed to have no end continued. I wrapped my arms around his neck and clung to him.

“Haah, haah.”

I twisted my face as I ran out of breath, and only then did he let go of me.

Adrian, who had given me a moment to breathe, immediately came back to my lips. But this time, he sucked on my lips with more force.

I had the illusion that only he and I existed in this space.

“Marry me.”

“Hmm, yes…”

“Be my one and only empress…”

“Yes… what?”

I was startled and pulled away from him. Surprise spread across Adrian’s face at my sudden action.

That’s right. It was a given, he was the Emperor, and if I married him, I would become the Empress… And my wayward son Leo would be the Crown Prince…

“I’m sorry, it’s just… Empress… I didn’t think that far.”

“What? Claire. It’s difficult to do this now.”

Adrian’s voice was feignedly angry.

“Yes, right? Okay, but just… let me breathe for a moment.”

Adrian smiled at my words and hugged me gently again.

“Okay, Claire Ianster. I’ll be patient while you breathe.”

But he really only gave me a moment and then took my lips again.

That night, Adrian, who had awakened his love, became the sweetest man I had ever known. He was over the top.

He had been leaning his back against the headboard for an hour, holding me from behind and fondling my waist.

“It’s… hard to hold back.”

“What?”

“Is it even possible for a man like me to only have one night of experience at this age?”

He mumbled with his lips on my neck.

“What?”

I was surprised and tried to pull away from him. But he wouldn’t let me.

“No, don’t worry. Until everything is certain and the crown of the Empress is on your head, I will never do that to you.”

“What… It’s not… that.”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing.”

He continued to bury his face in my neck and give me wet kisses. It was just as hard for me to hold back, but I couldn’t say those words out loud.

“Um, but Adrian.”

“Yes?”

“Actually, I have something to talk about alone with the Duke of Kabyl.”

All of his movements stopped at once. And he asked an unbelievable question.

“Do you love him?”

“What? What are you talking about? Then what was I just telling you?”

“Then why did you decide to marry that man?”

“I’m telling you this in advance in case you misunderstand later, but actually… marrying Henry Kabyl was a lie.”

“What?”

“I was scared you would take Leo, so I asked him to lie for me.”

“I… I was so…”

Adrian seemed speechless and kept repeating the same words.

“But if the marriage was a lie, then why do you have to meet him alone?”

“Actually, the Duke of Kabyl is waiting for my answer.”

Adrian pulled away from me and got out of bed.

“So it was true after all.”

“Yes, he really proposed to me. I was going to give him my answer when everything was settled.”

“So after I leave, were you really going to marry him?”

“No, I was… planning to refuse him… after you left.”

Actually, this was a lie. I would have agonized over it. For Leo’s sake… Henry Kabyl was a pretty good man.

“…I see.”

“Are you… sulking?”

“What? I’m the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais. There’s no way I would… I’m not.”

As I sat on the bed and grabbed his shoulder, trying to peek at the sulking Adrian, he pulled me back and kissed me.

“I don’t want to be petty… but I’m going crazy.”

Adrian kept giving me wet kisses on my face as he spoke.

“I know the size of your heart can’t be the same as mine.”

Suddenly, he looked me in the eyes seriously.

“But promise me. You must never smile at him. Got it?”

I raised my hand as if to make a pledge.

“I swear.”

He even winked and smiled at my gesture. 

‘Ah, how cute…’ 

And that night, we fell asleep lying on the bed as one.

***

The next day, Adrian was in a hurry to inform the Turk Emperor that he was returning to the Kabyl estate. The emperor seemed quite surprised, but he could not stop the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais from leaving in such haste.

And while everything was being packed, I decided to go and see Henry Kabyl.

“Your Grace, may I speak with you for a moment?”

Seeing me at the castle where he was staying, the Duke just let out a gasp of ‘Ah…’ and did not continue. But I entered without his permission. He was reading some documents in a separate reception room.

“Is something wrong at the estate?”

“No, nothing in particular.”

“I… I came to tell you something.”

“Yes, please have a seat.”

“I thought I should tell you as quickly as possible, more than anything else.”

“You didn’t have to…”

“Pardon?”

“Nothing.”

“I… I think I should give you back the necklace you gave me, Your Grace. Of course, I don’t have it with me now, but I’ll give it to you as soon as I get to the estate.”

“…Understood.”

From his attitude, I realized that he had already sensed what I was going to tell him.

“From the moment I saw your expression at the banquet yesterday, I was already prepared.”

“Yes…”

“And to be honest, I had a hunch.”

“About what?”

“The reason you hesitated. And I had also heard that the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais was not married. But I didn’t tell you.”

“…”

“I won’t ask for forgiveness. Even if I were to go back, I wouldn’t have done it differently.”

“I’m sorry I can’t give you the answer you want.”

“It’s not a problem. It’s no different from having been rejected several times already. I was just postponing it because I didn’t want to hear it.”

It’s really hard to reject someone. But it becomes a little easier to say when the other person has already noticed.

“And, isn’t Leo the child of the Quinze-Nouais Emperor?”

“You… you knew after all.”

“I couldn’t not know. When I first saw the Emperor of Quinze-Nouais, I was truly surprised. He was so much like our Leo that I thought that’s what Leo would look like when he grew up.”

“Yes, that’s right. But, I know this is presumptuous, but you will find a good match too, Your Grace. I wasn’t so sure before, but now I really feel that way. And I truly hope you do.”

The Duke nodded and managed a smile. He stood up with the documents in his hand. It was a sign that he wanted to end the conversation.

“Ah, I have remaining events with the Turk royal family, so I won’t be able to go to the Kabyl estate with you.”

I knew better than anyone that he had no other business here. But I just quietly got up from my seat.

“Um, Miss Taylor?”

“Oh, my name is Claire, Claire Ianster.”

“I’m only getting to know your name as you’re about to leave, Miss Ianster.”

“I’m sorry for everything.”

“Don’t be. And there is one thing I really want to say. Claire, you showed me that there is new hope in my life too. Thank you for telling me that I also deserve to be happy.”

I bowed to him respectfully and grabbed the doorknob.

“Then, I’ll be at the estate first.”

“Please do. By the way, Gary will be very sad. You’ll probably go to Quinze-Nouais as soon as things are settled, won’t you?”