Chapter 10 – The Emperor’s Obsession
Left alone inside a quiet room, Gloria took a deep breath.
“Haaa…”
Her face troubled, she studied the hand that had poured tea on the court lady.
No matter the revenge or the betrayal, was this bone-deep weakness inevitable?
Having harmed others for the first time in two lives, her hands were shaking.
“I was really a useless person.”
Gloria clenched her trembling hands and muttered in a voice filled with pain. Without a husband, the Palace was the only resting place she could have time to herself. Even if the ‘Empress’ was finalized, his Palace would be separate, so she naturally thought that this place was in her hands.
However, Gloria tightened her grip thinking about how damaged the Palace management was.
‘The court ladies are heavily biased towards the Baroness.’
“Are you trying to grasp the Palace in your hands now?”
Gloria smiled dangerously and showed her hostility to Erun’s figure in her mind.
Saying it was for her own good, he blocked the news and even her ability to think. Don’t do anything, don’t think about anything, don’t move a finger; stay still like a pretty decorative plant locked inside the Palace.
And, in the end, he poisoned her.
Bang!
“You motherfu–!!”
She banged her fist on the tea table near her. The red blood seeping through the cracks in the glass seemed to flow from her broken heart.
Gloria stared at the broken glass and clenched her fist hard. She felt sharp pain rising in her hands, but it was nothing compared to the broken pride and the agony of losing her father.
“I don’t mind your rejection.”
Gloria muttered to herself, recalling Kaien’s cold glare. Duke Kaien Ludenberg.
‘Even if you continue to reject me, I will make sure to tie you to the position of Empress.’
[tl-n: just why she keeps calling him Empress lmao.]
Her unblinking eyes began to glow a different blue.
Starting his morning routine on the training grounds, Kaien raised his eyebrows when he noticed Diana following him all the way there.
“Elder brother, hurry and explain to me.”
“Her Majesty must be waiting for you. If you’re up, then hurry and go to the palace, Diana.”
“El. Der. Bro. Ther.”
“…”
The Duke, who couldn’t sleep due to Gloria’s ‘Be my Empress’ confession, was facing an even more bothersome situation in the morning: his little sister.
A slightly flushed face. Slender arms pushing his. Deep blue eyes looking straight at him, and moist lips in his direct sight.
“You crazy bastard…”
Kaien cursed at the sudden memory of Gloria’s soft lips that popped out of nowhere. He felt terrible thinking about her beguiling lips in this kind of situation.
Her older brother was swinging his sword faster than before, and Diana stared at him, not knowing how he was feeling.
‘You bad brother!’
Diana’s purple eyes began to grow fiercer. Once again, she recalled Kaien’s rudeness to Gloria.
“Then, will you give me your body and heart?”
“Argh!”
Angry at Kaien, who spat words worse than any that could be heard in the slums, she took off her shoes and threw them.
Kaien leisurely dodged the fiercely flying orange shoes with a frown, but Diana threw the remaining pair while shouting.
“Apologize right now! How could you say that to Her Majesty?!”
“You can go and apologize instead of me.”
“Elder brother!”
Diana shouted more sharply when Kaien, avoiding the remaining pair, answered as if it was insignificant.
‘She kinda resembles someone…’
Picking up his younger sister’s shoes and dusting them off, Kaien sighed inwardly at Diana’s fierce glare.
Though, Kaien did not regret it. ‘Just as she wanted me, I also asked for what I wanted.’
Kaien closed his eyes as he felt Diana’s hand approaching to pull his hair.
“I want you to become my Empress, Duke.”
The moment Gloria’s deep blue eyes looked up at him, Kaien’s mind went blank.
The Emperor’s eyes, which had only looked at the floor or avoided him in the past, were glittering as if swallowing everything before them, so Kaien, possessed by them, said without realizing it.
“It was to prevent Her Majesty’s dealings, so stop being angry.”
Kaien continued as he released Diana’s grip on his fine black hair.
‘That’s right, it’s just a deal.’
That was what he thought as he patted Diana’s head as she continued huffing.
‘If I could save my one and only sister, I would do anything.’
Diana, completely unaware of her brother’s feelings, turned and shouted at Kaien as she entered the mansion.
“You’ll be punished by heaven, Brother!”
Kaien only waved at his sister’s angry cry.
Erun frowned at the refusal of an audience with Gloria on the excuse that she was not feeling well.
“Her Majesty is sick?”
Offended by the Palace message, he grabbed the glove he was about to put on.
‘You get quite sick these days.’
He clicked his tongue with a disapproving face. Gloria’s sudden strange behavior made Erun uncomfortable.
He planned to visit Gloria today and take a look at her but, as if waiting for the opportunity, she canceled the appointment, claiming illness.
‘Is it really bad?’
He was offended by the sudden cancellation, but he was lost in thought while sweeping his chin with his hand.
After becoming Emperor, Gloria began swordsmanship training at a level according to her stamina, but she was often bedridden because her body was really weak. Because of that, Erun often worked on her behalf while the opposition looked at Marquis Lebossi unfavorably.
‘Of course, it was intended.’
Erun smiled and moved his gaze to the sunny sky outside the window. As he became more involved in government affairs instead of Gloria, the Emperor’s allies began to protest.
“You better be careful, Erun.”
One day, Kaien warned Erun. The Emperor’s power supported Gloria, but most nobles followed Duke Ludenberg. However, he didn’t meddle in estate affairs since he didn’t like to stand before the Emperor and internal Imperial affairs had a long and bothersome schedule.
Nevertheless, eventually, their voices gathered one by one and entered Kaien’s hearing, and so, he spoke with concern as his old friend was exposed to danger…
“You know that Her Majesty’s body is not good, right? I can’t let go of my work.”
Even though he had a troubled smile, he replied coldly. Kaien shut his mouth.
And, although he often reviewed state affairs in Gloria’s stead, he was helpful to the Empire. In the end, Kaien thought that more than a fear filled Emperor who just warmed a chair, it was good that Erun was being helpful to the country, so he said nothing again.
“You’re a man who can’t do anything but watch.”
Erun put on his gloves again and thought about Kaien. A Duke with only a handsome face but no significant achievements on his own. A man who lost his parents at a young age and became the head of the Ludenberg household after slaughtering all his relatives and outsiders who tried to take over the Duchy. A being who was called a ‘swordsmanship genius’ since childhood and was praised and supported by everyone.
Everywhere he went, people praised Kaien and bowed in front of him. Watching it countless times from the sidelines twisted Erun’s soul.
‘No matter where I went, no matter what I did, my existence wasn’t recognized.’
Erun motioned for all servants to leave. He sat on the sofa and drank from the glass placed on the table without giving a single glance to the servants filing out silently.
Erun tried to revive his sunken mood with a sweet drink filled with ice, but failed and put it down in frustration.
“…I’m always second.”
He held the clear glass tightly, and in his jealous mind he ticked off his virtues. He too was quite outstanding at swordsmanship. He himself was as knowledgeable as Kaien, and he had wealth and power comparable to that of the Duke of Ludenberg.
But somehow, he was always behind Kaien, and people paid no attention to him. Just because Kaien was part of the Duke’s household.
“That’s why I don’t like people with high status.”
Erun struggled to hide his wrinkled face and covered his eyes with his hands. A friend of the same age was ahead of him in family, wealth, and even swordplay.
The more time passed from childhood to adulthood, the more frustrated and resentful he grew over the gap. And most of that anger was directed at Gloria.
“You became the Emperor merely because you’re a direct descendant of the late Emperor even though you have no qualifications for the position.”
Erun groaned as he pictured Gloria lying in a cold sweat in pain. In his mind, he wanted to move to another country that valued ability over lineage and push them into a war.
So, before going to work, Erun practiced smiling while looking in the mirror.
Smile. Deceive them with a smile and make them bow before you sincerely. And disguised as kindness, he will push fools into the depths of despair and even more.
And thus both the Duke of Ludenberg and the Emperor of Erant will be mercilessly crushed under his foot.
‘If I had to name the foolish Emperor, wouldn’t that be you, Gloria?’
Erun put his hands on his forehead, and with a malevolent smile, his green eyes went towards the incense candles decorating the corners of the room.
The late Emperor did not particularly like alcohol or banquets and really only liked one thing, and that was incense candles. Gloria’s mother, the late Empress, used to love bergamot-scented candles the most, and Erun noticed it.
So, every time he went to an audience with the late Emperor, he offered a bergamot candle made by a candle craftsman…
And the Emperor was very pleased each time.
‘Such a stupid man… Now it’s your turn, Gloria Blake!’
——
tl/n: Don’t hate me but, I kinda… don’t hate Erun right now? I mean, I even like him a little? Although he’s just a foolish jealous bum, if it wasn’t because he killed the Emperor and Gloria in her past life, he could be the ML from some Isekai novel lol. Like the ML from Villainess’ pet.