Chapter 69

“Go ahead.”

An hour passes quickly.

“I’ll figure it out somehow.”

To be able to escape to the East, I can’t just wait and see everything fall into ruin like this.

“I trust you, Duke!”

The attendant looked up at me with eager eyes.

“I’m the youngest attendant, so I can’t even change my affiliation…….”

When they arrived at the emperor’s palace, the palace was like a mourning house, as the young attendant said.

As if they had all seen ghosts, all the servants looked enraptured.

Then as soon as they saw me, their faces brightened as if they had found a ray of hope.

“Your Majesty is in the bedroom, Duke.”

The servant, who led me to the deepest part of the emperor’s palace, hesitated for a moment and whispered quietly.

“I’ll root for you.”

I nodded as I barely caught myself.

“Who is it?”

“Your Majesty, the Duke of Baloa has arrived.”

As if waiting, the door burst open and Cardan beckoned at me.

“Come on in.”

As the servant said, he was dressed in a light gown.

In addition, his hair was messy, and he looked like he had rolled over in bed.

I was suddenly frightened. It’s not too late, isn’t it?

In a hurry, I passed Cardan and went straight to the bed right in the middle of the bedroom.

“Where are you going?”

Cardan called me up, but I couldn’t stop.

“Excuse me for a moment, Your Majesty.”

“What are you doing?”

As I approached the bed, Cardan asked in a cool voice as usual, but he seemed a little embarrassed.

Also.

My hunch was right.

I pulled the sheets aside without hesitation.

It’s not here

The unexpected sight threw me for a moment, but soon I noticed the suspiciously crumpled sheets on the other side of the bed.

I crept up onto the wide bed.

“What are you doing?”

From behind, I heard Cardan’s voice, who was greatly embarrassed.

That didn’t stop me.

I flung myself at the sheets. At the same time, Cardan grabbed me and reached out.

Plop.

I felt something lightly press against me as soon as I fell onto the bed.

I blinked blankly.

Cardan, who held my hand and raised it above my head, was panting shallowly.

At first glance, I could see his solid chest moving up and down between his open gown.

The sheet I grabbed was in Cardan’s hand before I knew it, and as he slowly lifted the sheet, it quickly became clear that there was nothing under it.

I stared blankly at the empty bed, and a low voice slowly swept through my ears.

“I’m asking you one last time. What was that?”

“Uh…”

When I turned my head, I saw his overly handsome face right in front of me.

His sharp eyes, his tall nose, and the thin corners of his mouth.

His disheveled hair added strength to the drowsy atmosphere, but it didn’t look ridiculous.

At this rate, even the youngest attendant who’s been weeping, would pass over.

“Uh, so.”

I tried to make my mind work again.

“So, the news that the prince is in Your Majesty’s bedroom…….”

I tried to find the right words to explain the current situation without provoking Cardan as much as possible, but it sounded strange no matter what I said.

The hand that grabbed my wrist strengthened.

“So why would you do that in my bed?”

For a moment his eyes shook finely. As if he had noticed something, Cardan cut off his words roughly.

“Damn it.”

Cardan quietly chewed on all kinds of expletives for a while and stared at me as if he was about to kill me.

My body trembled slightly under his fierce glare.

“I’ll only say it once, so listen carefully.”

I nodded without realizing it.

“I am not interested in sodomy.”

……Really?

I couldn’t completely believe it, but I nodded at Cardan, who seemed about to twist my neck immediately if I expressed doubt.

“If you understand, that’s fine.”

Cardan smiled satisfactorily and raised his upper body.

At the same time, the warmth that lightly wrapped my body disappeared, and the cold air came out.

When I bit my lip so as not to tremble, Cardan’s eyes fell on me.

A faint silence flowed slowly.

As the bite slowly loosened, Cardan’s eyes were slightly wrinkled.

It couldn’t be, but I couldn’t get rid of the feeling that his eyes were wandering around my lips.

In an instant, as I felt suffocated, I realized Cardan’s legs had brushed both my sides. Now that I see it, it was like being trapped under him.

‘The Duke didn’t seem to know. His Majesty has a heart for the Duke.’

The prince’s voice seemed to ring in my ears again.

Don’t tell me…

As I was vehemently contemplating.

Flick

Cardan covered my face with a sheet.

“Puha.”

As I was trying to roll up the sheet while gasping for air, I heard a short click of Cardan’s tongue. This was as the weight that had trapped my body disappeared.

“Your eyes are filthy.”

I was so out of breath that I couldn’t even speak.

You’re the one who’s filthy! What’s wrong with my eyes? Cardan’s existence itself is filthy.

I put on a bright smile after removing the sheet while diligently muttering swear words towards Cardan in my mind.

“Haha, what do you mean?”

I rolled down from bed and tidied up my messy clothes.

When I looked up, I saw Cardan staring my way.

But his face crumpled mercilessly when his eyes met mine.

The back of his neck was red as if a fever had spread to the tip of his head.

I bent down in a hurry.

“Please excuse my rudeness.”

“Don’t misunderstand something like that.”

Cardan, who muttered a few swear words again, pointed to a place decorated with various sofas and tables on the other side of the bedroom.

“The prince is over there.”

As I approached where Cardan pointed, as he said, the prince was lying randomly on the large sofa.

It looked like someone had thrown him on the sofa.

I didn’t have to know who was to blame.

I hurriedly corrected the prince’s posture and brushed off the tangled sheets and covered him.

“I brought him from the Empress Dowager’s palace bedroom. He was unconscious.”

Cardan glanced at me.

“I didn’t drug him.”

“Of course, Your Majesty couldn’t have done such a mean thing.”

Cardan burst out laughing.

“As expected, it’s good that the Duke doesn’t have a useless misunderstanding.”

It was a strange sarcastic tone, but I lightly ignored it and made up a serious expression.

“Can you tell what he ate when he lost consciousness?”

Cardan pointed to various plates and glasses on the coffee table.

“When I brought the prince, I asked the servants to roughly bring what was at the dinner table then, but…….”

I glanced at Cardan and put the fork in his direction beautifully.

Cardan stared at me with an expression of bewilderment as if he had noticed my intention, but I didn’t give in and made up a pretty smile.

“Your Majesty’s ability to distinguish poison is the finest in the world.”

Cardan picked up the fork with a worldly face as I raised both my thumbs.

“If the poison is too little, I may not be able to detect anything.”

And he pointed the fork in my direction with a threat.

“I’ll force it down your throat then, so be prepared.”

“Of course.”

I couldn’t believe it. I smiled brightly.

“I don’t feel anything”

Shortly afterwards, Cardan, who had finished the dessert, strode up with a fork full of appetizers with a delicate smile.

“Nothing?”

Cardan pressed my cheeks with one hand to open my mouth and thrust his fork into it mercilessly.

And he smiled satisfactorily at my distorted face with food in my mouth.

“Seeing that haven’t died yet, it doesn’t seem to be poisonous?”

Such a heartless being

However, as Cardan took the next course, I had no choice but to chew the appetizer harder.

Finally, I forced the food down my throat with wine.

“Kuuk, ugh– kuuk”

Cardan cut his finger with a kitchen knife and held out his hand. Blood dripped from the wound.

While I was coughing because I didn’t know what to say, Cardan lifted my face and forced my lips to open.

Before I knew it, his callous fingers touched my lips and stirred my mouth.

The fishy taste of iron spread over my tongue.

I froze with my eyes wide open in surprise.

“What, what?”

Only then did Cardan’s eyes, which were violently wrinkled, catch my eyes.

“If you’re poisoned, hurry up and take it.”

His harsh whisper came along as he gritted his teeth.

It’s not poison. I just choked.

I shook my head hard in frustration, but Cardan pulled me closer instead of letting me go.

A low voice reached my ears.

“Damn it, I was sure there was no poison.”

I mumbled hurriedly as he picked up the kitchen knife again as if he intended to bleed more.

“I’m not poisoned, I was just choking.”

I kept trying not to chew his finger, but my teeth kept rubbing against his finger.

I gulped as the wrinkles deepened between Cardan’s brows.

The bitter taste spread again, perhaps because my tongue touched his wound.

He seemed to be in a pretty foul mood, and as expected……. Is it X?

However, contrary to worries, Cardan’s eyes, which had been hardened, slowly eased.

“Really?”

I nodded eagerly.

“Then that’s fine.”

Cardan, who let me go, stared at his injured finger for a moment.

Don’t tell me he’s going to blame me for him cutting his finger for nothing?

But Cardan only clenched his hands with his fists, and said nothing.

After barely coming to my senses, I said, feeling the taste in my mouth.

“This wine is definitely not ordinary wine.”

♥♥♥

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