Chapter 31

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Ellie, who entered with the servant, gasped the moment she came in.

‘D-Did I hear it wrong?’

The Emperor’s servant also blushed out of embarrassment and not knowing what to do there.

Concubine Edith was hugged by the Emperor who lay on the back of the chair.

She was clutching onto His Majesty’s uniform tightly with her cute hands and breathed evenly.

“Are you… sleeping, Your Majesty?”

The Emperor didn’t answer when the servant called him.

Seeing how he asked the servant to bring the maid there, it was possible that he was trying to send Concubine Edith back to her place, but they didn’t expect him to fall asleep during that time.

They couldn’t take care of things in their own way, and they must not wake up the sleeping Emperor as well.

After a lot of contemplation, the servant went to the Emperor’s side and whispered quietly.

“Your Majesty…. Your Majesty, please wake up.”

When the King’s servant whispered, the Emperor’s head turned slightly.

He raised his head that previously leaned against Helen and gathered back the rest of his senses.

‘Did I just fall asleep….’

Carmun was also taken aback at himself. How long has it been since he fell asleep properly like earlier…..

He beckoned to the servant, who he had seen through the veil with slightly hazy eyes.

“The maid?”

When he asked in a low voice, the servant extended her hand toward the door.

“She’s here.”

It was just then that a maid, who had a slightly baffled expression, appeared in his sight.

‘Why does she seem surprised?’

Come to think of it, she somehow looked bewildered as well.

Thinking about it for a moment, Carmun suddenly realized the reason was because of the small head that could be seen below his sight.

He put her on his lap and slept along with her, but he forgot for a moment that she was there.

‘Why is it so comfortable here?’

It was so funny. The woman fainted after seeing him even if they only met for the first time and then fell asleep while being held in his arms?

He opened his mouth slightly out of embarrassment and turned his head away after staring blankly at the sleeping face of Edith.

“Take her back.”

“Ah, sure.”

The maid looked hesitant to walk closer.

As he waited quietly, the maid contemplated before deciding to walk closer. She soon stood beside her master and shook Concubine Edith’s body to wake her up.

“What are you doing? Are you going to wake her up?”

“…Yes?”

“She didn’t just fall asleep, but Concubine Edith had fainted.”

“…What?”

Taken aback, the maid opened her eyes wide.

What are all these people so surprised about?

She looked exactly like the maid who served Concubine Edith.

“I’ll provide you with a knight so that you can return to your abode safely.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Ellie responded anxiously with a nod.

After beckoning the servant to bring in the knight, he handed over Concubine Edith to the knight.

Concubine Edith didn’t even wake up while she was being passed over to the knight’s arms.

When he looked at the woman’s face who was still asleep, he wondered if she wouldn’t open her eyes to wake up because she was settled in his arms.

‘Well, it’s quite right, though.’

He noticed it right from when she passed out after looking at him. Concubine Edith was very afraid of him.

At that point, I suddenly felt offended and frowned.

“Now you can go.”

Then, the knight, who had taken Concubine Edith in his arms, bowed his head before walking out. The maid followed closely behind them.

The servant blinked their eyes in an absentminded manner.

He would have been scolded by his master since he usually observed him, but he had another matter that needs to be done today.”

“Call the priest.”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

The servant leapt up from their place while saying that question. He seemed fine, but they thought it would have been serious if he decided to call the priest.

“It’s not for me.”

“It’s for that….”

The Emperor’s long fingers were pointed toward the door.

Since it was impossible for the door to get hurt, he probably referred to Concubine Edith who left earlier.

“I’ll send the priest to Concubine Edith’s abode.”

The servant quickly replied all the while controlling his expression.

It hasn’t been long since the bomb was dropped in front of everyone on the hunting ground. The Emperor was most likely to win the hunting festival since he caught the bear that was as big as a single house, and at the end, it was also said that the bear was dedicated to an unknown concubine, not to the Empress.

That one was enough to make the Empress angry.

But if the priest were called……

He wasn’t in the position to care about this matter, but he became nervous and swallowed his saliva.

The Emperor, who was the one who actually dropped the bomb, looked indifferent. He didn’t know what kind of expression displayed behind the veil, but from earlier, did he fall asleep along with a concubine in the tent?

“H-He’s in love!’

The servant couldn’t grasp the situation without completely excluding love at this point.

***

It wasn’t until the night passed by when Helen finally managed to wake up.

She didn’t expect how uncomfortable her pajamas felt on her body right after she woke up. Due to the nightmare that she experienced, her pajamas clung tightly to her body due to sweat that came out of her body.

‘Did Ellie change my clothes?’

She left the bed and lost in her thoughts while looking over her attire that had been changed.

So… when she thought that she…. was going to die when being chased by the bear…T-The Emperor…!

Yes, the Emperor saved her!

Helen suddenly started to shake at the flashes of memories that appeared on her mind while letting out a yawn.

“When did I return to my room?”

She was stunned and got goosebumps all over her body at the same time.

That man, The Emperor, made her shudder.

From the coldness laced on his voice, she knew at once that he thought poorly of her.

“Besides, I felt like he knew that I was the one who went into the library…’

Helen’s hand trembled out of shock.

She held it with her other hand so that it wouldn’t tremble, but it was useless.

“Sigh… Don’t be nervous.”

He doesn’t know about it yet. Maybe it’s just because he doesn’t like me.

‘Let’s not think too much about it.’

Helen took a deep breath by herself and tried to catch her breath.

When she was sitting on the bed and exhaling slowly, the sound of music was heard from the Lion Palace through the open window.

The sound was very small, but it surely sounded like the party was currently in full-swing.

Right after that, the door suddenly opened and Ellie entered.

As soon as Ellie saw Helen who had awoken, she opened her eyes wide like a startled rabbit.

“Your Highness!”

She smiled brightly as if she was relieved, but the smile suddenly disappeared.

“Why, what’s the matter?”

Helen was embarrassed when Ellie’s expression changed abruptly like that.

“As expected, you were the one who saved His Majesty’s dog, right?”

“Huh?”

“If not, then it’s weird.”

What is she suddenly talking about?

Helen asked with her eyes wide open.

While she was asleep, Ellie had a look of confusion on her face about what happened.

“I encountered a bear in the forest and fell down….”

“Yes, I heard it from His Majesty.”

“Y-You met the Emperor, too?”

Helen asked, her eyes shook slightly.

My hands, that had stopped, started to shake again.

H-How did Ellie meet the Emperor? Why? For what?

“T-The Emperor didn’t try to hurt you, did he?”

“What? Hurt? Me?”

Ellie had a clueless look on her face.

T-That’s a relief.

Helen’s expression became less serious, feeling relieved without Ellie’s acknowledgement.

“Did His Majesty save me when I fainted? Did he hand me over to you?”

“Yes.”

It was scary for her to know about that.

Helen felt a little guilty because she only viewed the Emperor in a bad way.

Murderer, warmonger, crazy ruler, the bloodthirsty ruler….

Not only her, but everyone also saw the Emperor as a crazy man.

There were also a lot of rumors about him being known as a traveller on various occasions.

Helen has heard countless rumors over time, but today was her first time to actually see it.

In reality, the Emperor looked very scary, but still, he was the one who had saved her.

“I should thank him when we meet again next time. Ah, we probably won’t see each other ever again….”

Ellie tilted her head while looking at Helen who murmured to herself.

“Why did you keep it from me? You seem to owe me a lot of stories.”

“…Huh?”

“I’m talking about His Majesty. When did you become so close with him? As expected, you were the one who treated the injured dog, right?”

Helen asked with a frown.

“What are you talking about…?”

Helen smiled sulkily while throwing her question about what had happened. Ellie blinked both of her eyes.

“Didn’t you treat Louis?”

“What do you mean…?”

“Then why did His Majesty do it? Why did you ask me for a medicine tube?”

“What’s with the Emperor?”

At the way Helen asked bewilderingly, Ellie frowned as if she had no idea about it.

Helen was nervous at Ellie’s face which reddened slightly due to whatever she was thinking about.

From the moment the Emperor was mentioned by Ellie, all kinds of thoughts rushed into her mind and overwhelmed her.

“I heard you fainted after encountering a bear on the hunting ground.”

She couldn’t say that she actually fainted when looking at the Emperor, not a bear. So she had no choice but to only nod quietly.

“So that’s why you came back while being carried by His Majesty in his arms. It was seen by all the people on the hunting ground. Her Majesty the Empress also saw it… Anyway, do you know what His Majesty did after that? He held you in his arms and treated you like someone precious to him! He didn’t pass you over to the servant and went straight into the tent! When I entered, you fell asleep while hugging each other tightly.”

“What, what, what…? You’re lying!”

“I’m not lying! I’ve seen it directly with my own eyes!”

“There was no way that His Majesty would have done that……….”

She felt bad at the slight tremble in her voice.

“D-Don’t joke with me! This kind of joke isn’t funny at all….”

“I’m not joking. Your Highness, please tell me the truth. What really happened? Your Majesty isn’t the type of person who would do that….”

Ellie nibbled on her lips.

Right after she said about not wanting to be the lover of His Majesty on their way to the hunting ground earlier, she suddenly found out that her master actually had a relationship with the Emperor.

Moreover, he was being so affectionate by carrying her in his arms!”

Helen’s face would’ve turned even more terrified if only she saw the vicious expression of the Empress.

“I’m telling the truth.”

“Really? S-So the Emperor did that?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“..Pardon me?”

“Why did he do that? You said he isn’t the kind of person who would do that.”

When Helen was taken aback and asked for the reason, Ellie was at a loss for words.

She would have known the answer the best, but Her Highness didn’t seem to figure out the reason.

“Isn’t it because…. he fell in love with you? After all, you look really beautiful, Your Highness.”

Her master was so innocent that she couldn’t believe it was someone who just woke up after losing consciousness. A pair of big eyes, sharp nose, and soft mouth reminded her of a deer.

Her appearance, which seemed like a deer, stood out even more because of his droopy eyes that were on the verge of pouring out more tears.

Helen’s long and wavy hair was currently in such a mess.

“Haha….”

Love? It would never be anywhere close to love.

The Emperor, who she met in a brief moment, already gave off a very ferocious vibe.

He killed a huge bear that could have thrown him away in just one swing. There was completely no hesitation in that single swing.

That alone wasn’t the reason why she judged the Emperor as a cruel person. However, his character was very challenging, and at the same time, she was originally afraid of him as well because he was stated to be cruel according to the rumor.

“What if I also die? Not only me but also Ellie…….”

He even killed one maid already.

Gulp.

The sound of gulping was heard loudly from Helen’s throat.

The Emperor already figured it out. That she was the one who entered the library.

So this was an example for her. Killing a bear right in front of her…

The ultimate end of Concubine Cecillia and Velly, who were called instead of her, was also messed up.

She was the third concubine, three times close to 30 by three numbers.

And it was something that might have made my neck snap out of its place.

The chilly energy spread across his neck, and Helen caressed his neck with her hands.