────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Chapter 26 – When Will I Become The Empress?
Gloria’s eyes widened as if she was genuinely surprised by Kaien’s strong grip on her wrist. She couldn’t understand why he was doing this all of the sudden, but then she turned her attention to Erun, who was full of anger.
“What’s the meaning of this!”
Erun shouted as he waited for the hand he knew would have gone to him. He leisurely waited for the Emperor’s consolation but-
‘You stole it!’
When Gloria’s hand was blocked, Erun’s face distorted greatly. Kaien, who snatched his fiancée’s hand, hid Gloria behind him and stared coldly. The garden became quiet as if even the birds held their breath. Kaien glared fiercely at the Marquis, showing his teeth.
“Who do you dare to reach toward, Marquis Lebossi?”
“I am engaged to Her Majesty, Duke. I will not tolerate any more disrespect than this!”
“Whatever.”
“What did you say?”
Erun said, holding back his desire to strangle Kaien, but the Duke replied indifferently. At Kaien’s unexpected response, Erun’s mouth went agape.
“Pfft.”
Seeing the Marquis’ stupid expression, Gloria let out a laugh involuntarily. Kaien turned his head at the laughter, but Gloria quickly hid it by pretending to cough.
‘What is this bastard doing!?’ Erun was confused by Kaien’s worried gaze as he handed a handkerchief to Gloria who was coughing. Kaien completely turned his back to Erun, blocking his view, and looked down at Gloria. Her face was red and hot as if she had been holding back her laughter too much, and while pretending to wipe her eyes with a handkerchief, the Duke whispered at her.
“Are you having fun, Your Majesty?”
“Lots.”
Her eyes sparkled as she quickly answered his question without hesitation
‘Actually, I wanted to see more.’ She wanted to twist Erun’s insides even more, but Gloria gently pushed Kaien aside. What came into her sight was Erun’s face, swallowing his anger.
‘You evil bastard.’
Gloria muttered inwardly, covering her cough with a handkerchief. She gasped for breath with a cough and reached to Erun. She felt nauseous at the sight of him approaching, but she held it in and told her fiancé.
“I’ve been angry since morning, and my head hurts so badly. Could you escort me to my palace?”
“Of course, Evee.”
After kissing the back of Gloria’s hand, it was Erun who deliberately called her by her nickname as if wanting for Kaien to hear, and he tried to push him, who was still next to Gloria, forcefully. Kaien, who was already aware of Erun’s actions, lightly avoided the distasteful hand and reached out toward Gloria himself.
“Duke?”
She, who had only thought of doing this much, was very surprised when Kaien took another step and held her in his arms. Erun had lost his target helplessly and looked at Kaien with an astonished face, and Kaien smiled as he spoke,
“Her Majesty is not feeling well, so as the Marquis said, you must punish Lord Palodan. The summoned Lord tried hard to appeal as if he knew Sir Erun very well. I already know that you are close, but I think you will be able to distinguish between public and private matters.”
“What nonsense! Why will I with Lord Palodan– No, before that. Let go of your Majesty right now!”
“Then, Your Majesty, I will take you to the palace, so please follow me.”
“Duke Ludenberg!”
“Your Majesty. Even if you feel a little uncomfortable, please bear with me.”
Kaien threw the task of punishing Lord Palodan into Erun’s hands and kissed Gloria’s white forehead.
Chu~ Still in his arms, his lips touched her as lightly as a feather. Kaien’s kiss, which seemed to tickle her insides, made Gloria’s cheeks dye bright red, as she had no immunity to him. Pleased by her red face that seemed to burn hot, Kaien smiled joyfully and headed to the Palace before Erun could catch up.
The Marquis, who had lost his fiancée in front of his eyes and was left with work to do, looked on helplessly.
‘What is this man thinking now?’ Gloria frowned as she returned to the palace in Kaien’s arms.
“What’s the matter, Your Majesty?” As she frowned slightly, Kaien looked down and asked. Gloria closed her eyes tightly as the low-pitched voice tickled her stomach.
‘Why are you doing this all of a sudden!’ Gloria wanted to rip her hair out. She had a one-sided love when she was young, but now she felt she was going crazy as she sensed her heart beating helplessly.
Kaien lowered his head as he saw her bite her lip and look restless. Surprised by the subtle scent that suddenly came, Gloria opened her eyes wide. The gaze of the two entangled in the air. Unknowingly, Kaien almost burst into laughter at the sight of Gloria holding her breath while dyeing her cheeks red. But he had to suppress it.
‘If I laugh this time, she might really run away.’
It was Gloria who, strangely, from a young age, often ran away and hid whenever he smiled. How painful it had been to see her running away, covering her face with her hands! So in front of Gloria, Kaien did his best to keep an expressionless face all the time.
‘There is nothing to laugh about.’
Recalling for a moment Gloria sticking out her face from behind a tree and then running away when she was still a princess, Kaien turned his eyes to the Gloria in his arms. Her face still looked gentle, but she, who bit her lips and frowned, was unfamiliar. Thus, he felt even more attracted to her. As soon as he held her in his arms, her floral scent and warm body temperature that reached his senses stimulated Karin greatly. He wanted to swallow Gloria’s luscious lips, knowing she would make a surprised expression and cover her pretty cheeks, but he held back his desire and asked.
“When will you make me your Empress?”
“That… well…”
“Now, people from all over the world must be coming. Shouldn’t it be done right now?”
Gloria was confused by Kaien’s question and let out a deep sigh. As he said, it was about two months before the royal wedding. During that time, people from different countries must have been preparing to visit to congratulate the Imperial celebration.
‘I know that Erun is acting on my behalf, so when they visit, I will be busy overriding his face stamped everywhere.’ Gloria covered her mouth with her hand and fell into anguish. In her heart, she wanted to give Erun utter disgrace. If he, who greets the nobles who came to celebrate the wedding and is supposed to be the groom but ends up in the guests’ seat, witnessing how she marries Kaien, how crazy would it be!
‘If that happens, Erun will go completely crazy and start a civil war.’
Gloria had dropped from Kaien’s arms, and her shoes crushed the grass. All the courtiers who quietly followed her approached her and began to support her. Kaien felt a sense of regret when her baby bird-like body temperature disappeared and automatically gave strength to the arm that was holding her. Gloria stood silently and smiled at him, waiting for an answer.
“I think you know when I’m going to make an announcement. Are you asking for assurance?”
“Yes. But I would like to hear from Your Majesty directly.”
“I thought you were patient, but you weren’t, Duke.”
To Kaien, who said he wanted to hear the answer even though he knew it already, Gloria lightly rolled her eyes. Nevertheless, she had no intention of answering easily, so she stepped back without any regrets. Kaien smirked at Gloria’s mean behavior.
‘Every day is new.’
Looking at Gloria’s back, who had turned around without answering a single question, Kaien pressed his hand into the corner of his smiling mouth. Still, he eventually gave up and let his mouth fold into a half-moon and closed his eyes.
Kaien, who had returned in time before Gloria, watched her in the distance as she was held in Erun’s clutches. She smiled, but looked gloomy; she was like a jewel that had been crafted in luxury but had lost its light.
“I’m nervous because it’s too shiny now.”
After returning, Gloria was shattered by Erun’s betrayal. She was burning, holding onto herself with shards of revenge and hatred piercing her heart. Like a jewel that had sunk in the dark, she began to radiate the light within her without hesitation as soon as she was broken.
“Not only the neutral bureaucrats but also the nobles will obey you.”
As he watched Gloria’s back heading toward the palace, Kaien turned around without hesitation. Her path will be full of thorns, but to clear her thorny road even a little bit, he returned to the Main Palace. As of today, bureaucrats and nobles will trust Gloria in her active participation.
‘Of course, it will take some time.’ The smile on his lips grew stronger as he looked forward to Gloria’s next move. At that moment, the late Emperor’s voice suddenly popped into Kaien’s mind.
“You’re really not greedy at all.”
His smile gradually disappeared as the late Emperor’s sad voice before she was engaged to Erun came to mind.
“If you want something, you have to be greedy. If you just watch from the side like that, you won’t be able to protect anything.”
Take it even if you are greedy. Otherwise, you can’t protect anything. On a hot summer day, noisy due to Gloria’s fiancé’s internal affairs. Kaien entered the palace at the Emperor’s call and sat with the late Emperor in the resting area listening to him silently. The Emperor spoke to him, who kept his mouth shut, while carefully lighting each of the bergamot incense candles around him.
“Didn’t I, who was weak, come here with the greed of wanting to live with the Empress and proudly propose to her?”
The weak face of the Emperor was full of longing, recalling the time he had with his wife, who had left first. Kaien frowned at the scent of bergamot candles that subtly filled the room. It was definitely a good scent, but strangely, his heart was beating unsteadily, and the late Emperor, who was lighting incense candles, laughed and said.
“Marquis Lebossi often offers it as a gift whenever he sees me, it’s made by a craftsman, so it smells good. Teresia really loved it.”
Read latest Chapters at Wuxia World . Site Only
“Your Majesty, I–”
“Duke Ludenberg.”
The late Emperor deliberately cut off Kaien’s words and turned to him. The soft, low-pitched voice was very firm. The Duke closed his mouth and the Emperor continued,
“Be greedy. Those without desire are eventually eaten by others.”
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────