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Chapter 31 – My Lovely Rabbit
The woman had brazenly cursed at his tears, and Kaien, who heard it for sure, looked serious.
‘Have I ever shown such words and actions in the Imperial palace?’ Gloria nearly burst into laughter as Kaien seriously tried to remember their past interaction.
Desperately swallowing a laugh, Gloria held out her hand to Lord Palodan and said,
“Those who are above are lonely. Since I’m in the position of Emperor, I am well aware of the Lord’s anguish. How could I not?”
“Your Majesty…!”
At the Emperor’s words, Palodan fell to his knees on the carpet with a thud.
‘Are you aware of my heart now?’ Lord Palodan looked at Gloria with rain droplets-like tears dripping from his eyes. Then he spoke to her loudly.
“That’s right! Does Her Majesty know the heart of this Lord? Even if I was criticized for being the vicious Lord in the world, I had no choice but to ensure the safety of my people. Huuukk-”
“I know. I know it well, so stop crying.”
‘Ah, I want to get rid of him right now.’ Gloria’s stomach threatened to rebel at the sight of Palodan’s crocodile tears. However, she rose from her seat and approached him, and he enthusiastically tried to hold the Emperor’s hand.
“…!”
Kaien had been watching only Gloria and suddenly flashed his eyes dangerously as the Lord’s thick hand neared her, and he immediately rushed to Gloria and folded her into his arms.
“Duke?”
Gloria was dumbfounded by Kaien’s sudden approach, reaching out and hugging her waist. As if the man before her had disappeared, her face turned red as she felt herself suddenly held in a man’s strong arms.
‘What the hell is this?!’ Gloria’s hair turned white at Kaien’s unexpected action. With Gloria not understanding the situation, Kaien’s nerves were elsewhere. He was staring at Palodan, who had raised his head with a puzzled face. His eyes were so bloody that the Lord almost peed his pants.
[tl/n: ‘hair turned white’ is an idiom meaning she was utterly surprised/embarrassed. Usually is used to express a situation that worries you too much]
Kaien spoke coldly, alternating his gaze between the Lord’s foolish face and his hands floating purposely in the air.
“Who’s hand do you dare touch without permission? Isn’t the Lord self-conscious?”
“Pl- please forgive my rudeness, Your Majesty.”
Kaien’s callous remarks brought Palodan to his senses, and he quickly lowered his head. Realizing that Gloria should not be left alone with the uncultured and impolite Lord of Palodant, the Duke issued a dismiss command to the man.
“I’ll send the Imperial gifts to the mansion. Now leave.”
“Ye- yes!”
“Duke!” At Kaien’s order, Gloria called out in a bewildered tone. Palos glanced at Gloria shouting in Kaien’s arms with a blushing face.
‘Was the rumor true?!’ Lord Palodan escaped from Kaien’s threatening glare and left the meeting room in a hurry– Bang! He slammed the door and frowned.
‘The rumor that Erun, who had been appointed as the Emperor’s husband for a long time, recently lost her favor!’ Everyone thought that the royal marriage between Gloria and Erun, with whom the late Emperor had arranged her engagement a long time ago, would go smoothly. Thus, Lord Palodan, who wanted to increase his status, paid Erun funds for a long time and gathered mercenaries as per his request. However, when Duke Ludenberg, who had been quiet until now, suddenly and openly approached the Emperor, Lord Palodan began to feel anxious about the possibility that not only the royal marriage but also the betrothal could be broken. No matter how much money he gave nor mercenaries collected, Erun did not show any sign of awarding him a central position. Whenever he asked, Erun’s standard ‘Just wait’ reply started to make him feel anxious.
‘Then, wouldn’t it be better to stick with the Duke rather than the Marquis now?’ The Lord of Palodan scurried downstairs to where the carriage was, roiling his dull brain.
‘What was the reason for bringing money to Erun and even holding back when he slapped me in the face with the document?! Wasn’t it for the reward of ‘going to the center’?’ For the local nobles, entering the center was a matter of raising the family’s status, so the Lord of Palodan didn’t distinguish between means and methods to achieve whatever it took.
“The Marquis is too uncertain.” Lord Palodan muttered as he put on the robe provided by the court lady.
He made every effort to relieve the anguish of his ancestors and became a central noble rather than a local Lord in his generation, but Erun did not give a definitive answer.
“If you don’t know, just in case, I’ll have to stick with the Duke a little bit.” The Lord got into the carriage, wiped his sweat with a handkerchief and said. As he recalled the face of Kaien he had seen in the meeting room, he swallowed.
“That immature jerk I–!”
Lord Palodan looked down at his still trembling hands and exhaled slowly. White skin contrasted with jet-black hair. The amethyst-colored eyes, sharp like blades, sparkled like jewels. Standing next to Gloria in his black formal attire, Kaien was truly like a black leopard sitting beside the Emperor. A black leopard that would bite his neck to death if he touched his owner.
‘Tsk, tsk. That weak Emperor must have been completely captured by the Duke.’ Lord Palodan clicked his tongue as he watched the scenery outside the window pass by.
Gloria was a more slender Lady than he had seen in the portrait. The rumor that Erun fainted after being beaten by Gloria must be false, and the Lord thought of something worth offering to Kaien.
‘I’ll have to fill up at least three carriages and pay a visit soon.’
Having driven out the Lord ofPalodan, Kaien glanced to the side.
“Why are you looking at me like that, Duke?” Gloria, recognizing his gaze, asked sharply. Seeing that her ears were red, she seemed to have been very surprised by his previous actions.
‘I made a mistake.’ Kaien rubbed his forehead and let out a sigh of regret. As soon as he saw Palodan’s thick hand about to touch Gloria’s, he acted hastily. Actually, he wanted to grab Palodan’s head and throw him away. However, as separating them was the priority, Kaien hugged her.
‘Are you eating properly? Your waist is too thin.’ Kaien frowned as he recalled Gloria’s waist wrapped in his arms. He was upset because her waist was thinner than Diana’s, but the priority was to apologize to Gloria, who sat on the sofa and stared at him. He bowed to her with a firm face and apologized.
“I have been rude, Your Majesty. Please forgive me–”
“You shouldn’t have hugged me there but kissed me on the forehead or something!”
“…Pardon?”
‘What does that mean?’
Kaien, who was asking for forgiveness, opened his eyes wide as Gloria jumped up from her seat and strode toward him. Gloria, who approached him close enough to almost touch his nose, had a dissatisfied expression on her face as if she had lost a screw and kept reproaching in a very angry tone.
“If we end up hugging each other like that, it can be confusing whether the Lord is doing it out of loyalty or love, right? For Lord Palodan to stick to you, of course, we must look like lovers. Don’t you think, Duke?”
“Lov…ers…?”
“That’s right.”
At the word ‘lover’ that came from Gloria’s mouth, Kaien kept his own mouth shut.
‘Aren’t you aware of what you’re saying to me right now?’ He felt troubled as he looked at her, who was near his chest. Just holding Gloria in his arms seemed enough to be seen as lovers in the eyes of the Lord of Palodan. As he left the audience chamber, he had peered at him and Gloria alternately with a treacherous look.
‘I guess I’ll have to bury him together when I get rid of Erun. How dare you look at her very precious self with those disgusting eyes.’ Unaware of Kaien’s thoughts, Gloria let out a long sigh. What she gave to Lord Palodan was the money she had been hiding since her days as Royal Princess. Of course, the amount of money that could be used with the Emperor’s authority was infinite, but she couldn’t avoid the finance ledger records.
‘If Erun looks at the state treasury record and finds I’ve established a direct relationship with Lord Palodan, it can be troublesome. And, if Palodan follows Erun to the end, I can use the source of unrecorded money as an excuse to get rid of him.’ Of course, it was a forced justification, but Gloria gave her money without hesitation because the karma that Lord Palodan had accumulated so far was enough to get rid of him. Gloria said with a sly smile at the still stiff Kaien.
“That Lord will come to give you money soon, so just prepare a list of Palodan’s real property.”
“When he worked for the Marquis?”
“Yeah. Looking at his face, it seems he might stick to you, Duke, but as a precaution. Aside from that, from now on don’t hug me like that next time.”
Kaien understood Gloria’s thoughts at once and almost smiled at her words but stopped. It was obvious she would notice and run away from him like a shy, lovely rabbit if he smiled openly, so he asked while feigning ignorance.
“Then what should I do?”
“That’s, of course, it’s…!” Then Gloria spread her arms out as if frustrated.
“…”
“Your Majesty?”
She froze on the spot. Kaien watched Gloria’s appearance, gradually turning red from the neck.
‘Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!’ Too conscious of the purpose, she was absorbed by the rest. Only then did Gloria realize how dangerous her words were, and looked at Kaien with a face tinged in red. He was already watching, covering his mouth with his hand; he stared into her face, noticing every single gesture, and she covered her face with her hands. It was just a gaze, but she felt dizzy and couldn’t come to her senses as if she had been touched by him. With Gloria’s face dyed as red as an apple, Kaien knew she had just realized it.
“Hmm.”
It was a bit disappointing, but now that she returned to ‘Lady Gloria,’ not the Emperor, it was an opportunity for him. Kaien instinctively seized the opportunity and looked at her with a subtly meaningful gaze. Gloria, realizing that Kaien’s darkened gaze was dangerous, crossed her arms, stepped back, and spoke with a stern voice.
“What are you trying to do to your Emperor, Duke?”
“I’m trying to take a closer look at what Your Majesty is teaching me.”
“No. You don’t have to come that close, so just step away…”
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“You must tell me what to do next.”
“Hiik-!”
Kaien suddenly wrapped his long arms around her waist again and pulled her into his chest. Looking at Gloria, who seemed about to cry with her face dyed red, he said, his eyes filled with thirst and desire.
“I would do it for you.”
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