Chapter 3 – Please, Be My Empress (1)
Tuk. Tuk Tuk.
As expected, cold raindrops began to fall from the dark gray sky. Tuk. The small drops rapidly turned into heavy rain and struck Gloria’s delicate body like daggers.
Shwaaaaaah.
Gloria began walking slowly, wiping her face with her hand as the sound of the ferocious rain surrounded her.
Warm tears poured out in her delight at feeling the rain hit her shoulders.
“Alive.”
The word escaped from her rain-chilled lips.
Diana’s life was ended by that devil’s cruel schemes.
“Alive!”
The stupid self who trusted her husband.
“I’m alive!”
From now on, she would turn the lives of those who betrayed her into a living hell.
Gloria closed her eyes tightly and screamed with all her might.
A Divine plot? Or a terrible dream just before falling into the afterlife?
‘It doesn’t matter anymore!’
She, who had lost everything and was betrayed by those she trusted, saw an opportunity in the future before her.
What if it was a joke from God, and what if it was a dream? She had the chance to eliminate that sly fox!
When Gloria vowed revenge taken the unexpected new opportunity.
Tap.
Gloria heard footsteps on the wet grass.
When she turned toward the sound, someone other than Erun appeared.
“What are you doing here, Your Majesty?”
Gloria bit her lower lip at the man’s frosty tone.
Black hair that embodied the night sky and contrasting pale skin.
A low-pitched voice that numbs your fingertips.
His elegant dark blue ceremonial uniform fit his well-trained body and indifferent expression perfectly, in opposition to his sharply shining purple eyes. Gloria called out his name before she realized it.
“Kaien Ludenberg.”
Unlike Erun’s bright atmosphere, this man created a somber atmosphere.
Gloria winced at the sight of Duke Kaien Ludenberg, who, like Diana and herself, had been friends with Erun for a long time before betrayal and death.
Gloria looked as if she was swallowing something bitter, but Kaien was indifferent to her and slowly bowed his head to show respect.
“I see the Glory of Erant.”
The pouring rain had softened somewhat, but the grounds were still wet. Kaien, holding an umbrella, walked beside Gloria.
Gloria clenched her fist at the man’s restrained behavior as he walked with his eyes fixed on her.
‘If it were me before…’
If it was like when they were young.
She staggered backward slightly, recoiling from the disapproval emanating from him.
Even though she had been with him as long as with Diana, she still felt that if she got too close to him, she would be caught and bitten on the neck.
The Duke of Ludenberg, always frowning every time she looked at him, stopped in front of her.
That distinctive scent that belonged only to him— As she neared him, an unfamiliar sensation washed over her.
Gloria stared at Kaien, so close she could feel his breath.
Kaien’s purple eyes filled with interest when he noticed that Gloria, unlike her usual terrified behavior, looked him directly in the eye even as he moved closer.
Even if she was a friend of his only sister, Kaien thought the worst of Gloria.
There was also the big issue that she hadn’t been recognized as Crown Princess and had not received appropriate successor education
‘A cowardly woman who is more emotional than rational and is always scurrying to hide.’
Kaien didn’t like Gloria because she had that fatal flaw as Emperor
Gloria burst into laughter at Kaien’s outright frown.
“…”
He frowned more deeply at her sneering laugh. Gloria covered her mouth with her hand to mask her smile and opened her mouth.
“Right. You were there.”
“Do you have any command, Your Majesty?”
She was the Emperor, and yet she was a woman who couldn’t say a word to him. Kaien’s eyes became sharp as such a woman boldly approached him today.
Gloria looked at him without answering, lost in her thoughts.
‘If it’s really the third month of 458 then… The wedding is around the corner.’
Diana was alive, and she was not yet married. The Late Emperor must have been murdered by that damned Erun, and now it was time for him to get rid of Duke Ludenberg and herself, the remaining obstacles in his rise to the throne.
Thinking so much, Gloria smiled and wrapped her hand around Kaien’s, which gripped the umbrella handle. Her wet fingertips, soft but chilled, reached Kaien, and he fixed a fierce gaze on her.
Kaien’s gaze, known to cause ruthless mercenaries to flee, did not frighten Gloria. She looked directly into his eyes and spoke.
“I, Your Emperor, command you.”
“…”
Kaien was startled. Gloria’s words showed a determination to crush everything under her feet instead of the light-hearted young lady she presented.
Although it lasted for just a second.
He frowned, upset that Gloria, who lacked Imperial qualities, was giving him orders out of the blue.
But he could not refuse her command.
Regardless of her lack of qualification, Gloria was the Empire’s one and only Emperor. Since he was a mere vassal, Kaien bowed his head to hide his displeasure.
Tuk.
“What are you doing?”
He waited for an order. However, rather than the Glorious Emperor’s command, a hand grabbed the tie hanging from his neck.
Whatever her intention, he glared at her ferociously like a beast on a leash.
Gloria flinched and the strength used to pull the tie faltered.
As Kaien tried to stand upright and opened his mouth to say something about Gloria’s ridiculous behavior,
Tok.
He had to crouch again since Gloria not only did not release the tie but pulled it more vigorously.
Their faces were so close they could feel each other’s breath.
Before Kaien snapped at his Emperor’s rudeness, Gloria spoke to him more firmly and clearly than ever before.
“Be my Empress, Duke.”
“What?”
Thunder echoed in the sky.
Did the sound mirror his feelings?
At the unexpected proposal, Kaien looked at Gloria with an idiotic expression for the first time in his life.
Be my Empress, Duke.
He could only look blankly at her. What was she talking about?
He looked at her, his expression clearly asking “did you finally go insane?” Gloria, undaunted by his bloody eyes, repeated her proposition.
“Literally. I need you to be my Wife.”
“You’re cra– hunh. It’s not ‘wife’ but Gukseo, Your Majesty.”
“Whatever.”
He almost blurted out the most pressing question, “Are you insane, Your Majesty?” But he managed to swallow the words.
As a man who had experienced many tough paths, Kaien recovered his equilibrium quickly. Although he prepared to be polite, his cold face showed stony refusal.
Gloria smiled confidently once more, and Kaien frowned even more at that sight.
Did she lose her mind for a moment?
The marriage of Erant’s Emperor is just a few months away, and the only Imperial Princess was hastily installed on the throne upon the late Emperor’s sudden death. It was apparent she had gone crazy from grief and responsibility.
‘Otherwise, there is no way she would behave like this.’
The noble Empress, who had always been doll-like, was soaked with rain and looked a mess.
Her hair was soaking wet and clung to her body, and where did she throw her shoes? She was barefoot, and the hem of her dress was covered with muddy water.
Kaien glowered at Gloria’s undignified appearance, but nonetheless, he removed his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders, sighing heavily.
Gloria’s expression softened, encased as she was in his scent and warmth.
‘Nice scent.’
It was nice to know that the familiar scent from her childhood was still the same. She picked up the sleeve and sniffed absently. At that, Kaien scowled.
A frustrating Emperor who couldn’t even express her thoughts properly. Kaien finally voiced the objection ringing in his head.
“It is not right for someone who is getting married soon to speak like that.”
“That’s right. I was supposed to marry Erun Lebossi soon.”
Kaien was disconcerted at the contempt falling from Gloria’s pretty lips.
He didn’t know the Emperor could make that kind of face. More questions arose inside him.
‘How could the woman who used to run away frightened just by looking at him be the same as the one showing such endless resentment and hatred now?’
Gloria again proposed to Kaien, who was standing still.
“Let me correct myself. Please be my Husband, Duke.”
‘Should I be grateful for changing from Empress to husband?’
“Why are you doing this so suddenly?”
Perhaps he was weary of Gloria’s persistence and determination, however, Kaien answered with the habitual frown on his face.
Satisfied with Kaien’s feral scowl, Gloria smiled.
‘It’s quite refreshing to see you troubled.’
This powerful man, second in authority under the Emperor and head of the Empire-founding Ludenberg Duchy, had a bad temper. He was the sort of man who would thoroughly trample and destroy anyone who committed even the smallest offense against the Duke’s family, and on the other hand, he was the same man who deliberately evaded her daily, even leaving his position to do so.
‘Even then, you avoided me.’
After marrying Erun. It was as if the Duke was waiting to be displaced from his position in the Imperial Palace rather than addressing the situation directly.
As she contemplated the Ludenberg family, she no longer feared Kaien.
TL/N: Yes, she asked him to be her wife lmao. “Gukseo” is the title granted to the Empress or Queen’s husband who doesn’t have the title nor the rights of a King or Emperor.