Chapter 6 : I Married a Sick Husband
“Are you here to make sure I’m dead?”
“What are you saying—”
“Don’t avoid the question.”
The Emperor aimed the sword closer to Meredith’s neck.
Meredith looked at the Emperor with a nervous look.
She couldn’t understand why he was doing this to her.
“You knew that this would happen.”
“…..”
“You even refused to show up earlier this night.”
“…I don’t know what you’re misunderstanding.”
Meredith calmly explained, “But, the reason I rejected Your Majesty was simply that I thought that Your Majesty was in poor health.”
“You did it for me?”
The Emperor smirked as if he were having fun.
“Then why did you come all the way here instead of sleeping?”
“It seemed so rude of me to refuse the first night because of Your Majesty’s condition, so I just came to see you now,” Meredith answered honestly.
“That’s rude.”
But the Emperor didn’t seem to believe her much.
“Are you pretending to be naive or you’re truly naive?”
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you avoid the assassination on the first night of the marriage?”
“What— That’s not true, Your Majesty!”
Meredith raised her voice as if she was falsely accused.
“I’m very embarrassed right now, too. I’m just here to lie down in the same bed as your Majesty… because it’s our first night of marriage. I’m telling you.”
Meredith tried to explain the misunderstanding to the Emperor with a stern but desperate voice.
“Most of all, I had no contact with the Empress Dowager.” (T/n: It means Meredith’s mother.)
“Do you want me to believe that lie?”
“Your Majesty seems to have a strong misunderstanding of me.”
“Misunderstanding?”
“I swear I’ve never seen the Empress Dowager. Not even once in my life.”
“Duke Schwartz was at the wedding when you became Empress. Do you expect me to believe that?”
“It was a marriage that I had no choice in.”
Meredith continued calmly.
“And if I had known you were as weak as day, I would never have agreed to be Empress.”
“It sounds like you were tricked into getting married.”
Although true, Meredith didn’t necessarily agree with that statement.
“But it wouldn’t have changed if I knew it in advance.”
“…..”
“Because then, I had no power to reject Duke Schwartz’s order.”
After Meredith’s words were over, the Emperor stared silently at Meredith.
Meredith waited for the Emperor to move the sword that had been stubbornly aimed towards her neck.
Such a confrontation lasted for some time.
And at some point.
“Your Majesty— Oh my!”
Someone came into this mess.
“What’s all this about?”
He was a man with red hair and a pair of glasses.
He also had a neat appearance at a glance.
She doesn’t know where the hell he came from, but he looked quite surprised to see the room.
Well, who wouldn’t be surprised to see this situation?
“Ah.”
Then, the man found Meredith and frowned.
“Why is Her Majesty here—”
The funny thing was that even though he found the Emperor pointing a knife at Meredith’s neck, he didn’t seem very surprised.
Meredith also noticed that the man, like the Emperor, thought of herself as a figure under the Empress Dowager.
“What’s the matter, Your Majesty?”
“There’s a visitor.”
“Oh, I see.”
The red-haired man took the serious word with great indifference.
As if this happened more than once.
He frowned and said to the Emperor.
“Even if you kill when you kill, you can take the sword away, Your Majesty. My skin is shaking.”
“…..”
The Emperor didn’t give him any heed to the man’s words.
He finally breathed a short sigh and put down the sword.
As soon as her neck was safe, Meredith felt her legs relax.
She stumbled. Eventually, she sat down at the spot.
Then the red-haired man approached her and held out his hand.
Meredith slowly raised her head.
“Please get up, Your Majesty. The hem of the dress will get dirty.”
Only then did Meredith slowly get up, holding the man’s hand.
But her legs were still shaking.
The red-haired man who was looking closely at Meredith, who was shaking, opened his mouth again.
“I’m sure you would have known if things were going this far, but you’re too nervous. You have excellent acting skills.”
“She said she didn’t expect this situation at all.”
Before Meredith could even open her mouth, the emperor replied.
The red-haired man immediately refuted it as if he could not understand it.
“But the Empress is not Duke Schwartz’s second daughter.”
“There seems to be a misunderstanding, but I never expected this situation.”
Meredith then opened her mouth and intervened in the conversation between the two.
“I think you see me as the Empress Dowager’s puppet, but I swear I’ve never seen your face. Not even once in my life.”
“The Empress continues to feel wronged, Sir Felix.”
Felix, that seemed to be the name of that red-haired man.
“They didn’t know I was sick, and they forced this marriage.”
“What did you explain about your refusal to stay up all night? I thought the Empress refused to have the first night because she gave me her word.”
“It’s because I’m not feeling well. She thought it was her consideration.”
“You don’t believe everything the Empress says, do you?”
Felix narrowed his forehead and responded to the Emperor’s words.
“Your Majesty, this is Duke Schwartz’s daughter. Maybe this is all part of the plan.”
“Plan?”
“What if Duke Schwartz planted a spy on our side?”
“There’s nothing you can’t say in front of me.”
Meredith, who was still listening, cut in with absurdity.
“I’m sorry, but I have a lot to ask about right now.”
“I know what the Empress is curious about right now.”
The Emperor replied in a quiet voice.
“But I can’t tell you that until I clear my suspicion that the Empress is on that side. It’s confidential.”
“Okay, how can I prove that I have nothing to do with Duke and Empress Dowager Schwartz?”
“Well.”
She heard a creepy cold voice.
“That’s for the Empress to come up with.”
“….Pardon?”
“To put it mildly, it’s much easier for me to kill the Empress here and cover her with assassins.”
“…….”
“I have nothing to gain from keeping the Schwartz family alive.”
The Emperor bowed his upper body toward Meredith.
That alone cast a long shadow toward Meredith.
In his shadowy face, she could not even see the color of his illness.
With the pressure overwhelming her whole body, Meredith couldn’t even get to see his pale lips.
The feeling of being thrown in front of a beast.
“So think hard.”
It was like a threat or warning with whispers.
“Give me the reason why I shouldn’t kill the Empress?”
—It was not wrong.
It seemed that the Emperor was considerate of the Duke of Schwartz.
‘Then it would be better for you to take this opportunity to kill me.’
She understood that remark.
‘But that’s Your Majesty’s situation. It’s not me.’
Meredith got very upset.
‘I have never benefited from the blood of the Duke of Schwartz since I was born.’
Now she’s in danger of dying just because she inherited the blood of the Schwartz family even though she didn’t do anything wrong.
Meredith glanced at the fallen assassins with blood everywhere.
She may soon be in the process of death.
Thinking so gave her the chills.
She couldn’t die like this.
‘I have to think about it. Why you have to keep me alive.’
And it would be totally useless unless it was for some great reason.
Meredith tried to think fast.
She needs to find what that man needs the most now.
What that man needs most—.
‘—Ah.’
Suddenly, one came to mind.
But it was like gambling.
Nevertheless, there was no better idea to save her life.
And there was nothing more he needed.
“I—”
Meredith opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.
“I can cure Your Majesty’s illness.”
Chapter 6 : I Married a Sick Husband
“Are you here to make sure I’m dead?”
“What are you saying—”
“Don’t avoid the question.”
The Emperor aimed the sword closer to Meredith’s neck.
Meredith looked at the Emperor with a nervous look.
She couldn’t understand why he was doing this to her.
“You knew that this would happen.”
“…..”
“You even refused to show up earlier this night.”
“…I don’t know what you’re misunderstanding.”
Meredith calmly explained, “But, the reason I rejected Your Majesty was simply that I thought that Your Majesty was in poor health.”
“You did it for me?”
The Emperor smirked as if he were having fun.
“Then why did you come all the way here instead of sleeping?”
“It seemed so rude of me to refuse the first night because of Your Majesty’s condition, so I just came to see you now,” Meredith answered honestly.
“That’s rude.”
But the Emperor didn’t seem to believe her much.
“Are you pretending to be naive or you’re truly naive?”
“Pardon?”
“Didn’t you avoid the assassination on the first night of the marriage?”
“What— That’s not true, Your Majesty!”
Meredith raised her voice as if she was falsely accused.
“I’m very embarrassed right now, too. I’m just here to lie down in the same bed as your Majesty… because it’s our first night of marriage. I’m telling you.”
Meredith tried to explain the misunderstanding to the Emperor with a stern but desperate voice.
“Most of all, I had no contact with the Empress Dowager.” (T/n: It means Meredith’s mother.)
“Do you want me to believe that lie?”
“Your Majesty seems to have a strong misunderstanding of me.”
“Misunderstanding?”
“I swear I’ve never seen the Empress Dowager. Not even once in my life.”
“Duke Schwartz was at the wedding when you became Empress. Do you expect me to believe that?”
“It was a marriage that I had no choice in.”
Meredith continued calmly.
“And if I had known you were as weak as day, I would never have agreed to be Empress.”
“It sounds like you were tricked into getting married.”
Although true, Meredith didn’t necessarily agree with that statement.
“But it wouldn’t have changed if I knew it in advance.”
“…..”
“Because then, I had no power to reject Duke Schwartz’s order.”
After Meredith’s words were over, the Emperor stared silently at Meredith.
Meredith waited for the Emperor to move the sword that had been stubbornly aimed towards her neck.
Such a confrontation lasted for some time.
And at some point.
“Your Majesty— Oh my!”
Someone came into this mess.
“What’s all this about?”
He was a man with red hair and a pair of glasses.
He also had a neat appearance at a glance.
She doesn’t know where the hell he came from, but he looked quite surprised to see the room.
Well, who wouldn’t be surprised to see this situation?
“Ah.”
Then, the man found Meredith and frowned.
“Why is Her Majesty here—”
The funny thing was that even though he found the Emperor pointing a knife at Meredith’s neck, he didn’t seem very surprised.
Meredith also noticed that the man, like the Emperor, thought of herself as a figure under the Empress Dowager.
“What’s the matter, Your Majesty?”
“There’s a visitor.”
“Oh, I see.”
The red-haired man took the serious word with great indifference.
As if this happened more than once.
He frowned and said to the Emperor.
“Even if you kill when you kill, you can take the sword away, Your Majesty. My skin is shaking.”
“…..”
The Emperor didn’t give him any heed to the man’s words.
He finally breathed a short sigh and put down the sword.
As soon as her neck was safe, Meredith felt her legs relax.
She stumbled. Eventually, she sat down at the spot.
Then the red-haired man approached her and held out his hand.
Meredith slowly raised her head.
“Please get up, Your Majesty. The hem of the dress will get dirty.”
Only then did Meredith slowly get up, holding the man’s hand.
But her legs were still shaking.
The red-haired man who was looking closely at Meredith, who was shaking, opened his mouth again.
“I’m sure you would have known if things were going this far, but you’re too nervous. You have excellent acting skills.”
“She said she didn’t expect this situation at all.”
Before Meredith could even open her mouth, the emperor replied.
The red-haired man immediately refuted it as if he could not understand it.
“But the Empress is not Duke Schwartz’s second daughter.”
“There seems to be a misunderstanding, but I never expected this situation.”
Meredith then opened her mouth and intervened in the conversation between the two.
“I think you see me as the Empress Dowager’s puppet, but I swear I’ve never seen your face. Not even once in my life.”
“The Empress continues to feel wronged, Sir Felix.”
Felix, that seemed to be the name of that red-haired man.
“They didn’t know I was sick, and they forced this marriage.”
“What did you explain about your refusal to stay up all night? I thought the Empress refused to have the first night because she gave me her word.”
“It’s because I’m not feeling well. She thought it was her consideration.”
“You don’t believe everything the Empress says, do you?”
Felix narrowed his forehead and responded to the Emperor’s words.
“Your Majesty, this is Duke Schwartz’s daughter. Maybe this is all part of the plan.”
“Plan?”
“What if Duke Schwartz planted a spy on our side?”
“There’s nothing you can’t say in front of me.”
Meredith, who was still listening, cut in with absurdity.
“I’m sorry, but I have a lot to ask about right now.”
“I know what the Empress is curious about right now.”
The Emperor replied in a quiet voice.
“But I can’t tell you that until I clear my suspicion that the Empress is on that side. It’s confidential.”
“Okay, how can I prove that I have nothing to do with Duke and Empress Dowager Schwartz?”
“Well.”
She heard a creepy cold voice.
“That’s for the Empress to come up with.”
“….Pardon?”
“To put it mildly, it’s much easier for me to kill the Empress here and cover her with assassins.”
“…….”
“I have nothing to gain from keeping the Schwartz family alive.”
The Emperor bowed his upper body toward Meredith.
That alone cast a long shadow toward Meredith.
In his shadowy face, she could not even see the color of his illness.
With the pressure overwhelming her whole body, Meredith couldn’t even get to see his pale lips.
The feeling of being thrown in front of a beast.
“So think hard.”
It was like a threat or warning with whispers.
“Give me the reason why I shouldn’t kill the Empress?”
—It was not wrong.
It seemed that the Emperor was considerate of the Duke of Schwartz.
‘Then it would be better for you to take this opportunity to kill me.’
She understood that remark.
‘But that’s Your Majesty’s situation. It’s not me.’
Meredith got very upset.
‘I have never benefited from the blood of the Duke of Schwartz since I was born.’
Now she’s in danger of dying just because she inherited the blood of the Schwartz family even though she didn’t do anything wrong.
Meredith glanced at the fallen assassins with blood everywhere.
She may soon be in the process of death.
Thinking so gave her the chills.
She couldn’t die like this.
‘I have to think about it. Why you have to keep me alive.’
And it would be totally useless unless it was for some great reason.
Meredith tried to think fast.
She needs to find what that man needs the most now.
What that man needs most—.
‘—Ah.’
Suddenly, one came to mind.
But it was like gambling.
Nevertheless, there was no better idea to save her life.
And there was nothing more he needed.
“I—”
Meredith opened her mouth as if she had made up her mind.
“I can cure Your Majesty’s illness.”