Chapter 199 - If You Want, For a Lifetime

“You seem to have ended up eating them all, Your Majesty?” Patrizia’s face instantly turned bright red at Rafaella’s words. Mirya noticed from the side, but Rafaella did not seem to have any intention of backing down.

“Is not His Majesty’s heart so virtuous? Ever since he was born, he has never had to put even a single drop of water on his hands.”

“Instead, he made other people cry tears of blood.” At those cold words, Rafaella could only shut her mouth. Patrizia walked on quietly, a look on her face that hid whatever she was thinking about. She had come out because she could not digest everything she had consumed, but the weather was not a little chilly to be taking a leisurely stroll.

Mirya caught on to that, and asked Patrizia, “Your Majesty, would you like to go in now?”

“… I am alright for now.”

“What if you catch a cold at this rate? Please, let us go back inside.” At Mirya’s urging, Patrizia had no choice but to head back towards her palace, just as someone came into her line of sight. Patrizia stiffened in recognition without realizing it. That someone looked extremely happy to see her, contrary to the reaction she had.

“Empress.” Lucio smiled brightly and walked so swiftly he was almost running towards Patrizia.

Patrizia winced as she stepped back. -What is this, suddenly…-

She greeted Lucio with an awkward smile, disturbed by his haste. “The Great Sun of the Marvinus Empire… I greet Your Majesty, the Emperor.”

“It is fine to skip such greetings. Are you on your way back from a walk?”

“Yes. I was just about to head inside now.”

“Ah…”

At those words, his expression promptly turned to that of a dead puppy. Rafaella could not hold it in and laughed quietly at the instant transformation; Mirya was shocked at her behavior and struck Rafaella on the side.

Patrizia spoke to Lucio with an awkward face, “Then I will take my leave…”

“By the way…” Lucio caught Patrizia as she tried to turn away and leave, “If you are not busy… Can you walk with me for a short while?”

“…”

During the brief time Patrizia hesitated, Mirya and Rafaella reacted quickly and beat her to it.

“Your Majesty, my father has been worried so… I will be taking my leave to head back home!”

“Please remain with His Majesty the Emperor before returning together, Your Majesty. I will leave to prepare the bedding in your quarters for your sleep later!”

“No, wait a…”

Before Patrizia could say anything more, the two women swept away as swiftly as if they were late for an appointment somewhere else. As Patrizia looked over the spot where the two had been standing with dismayed eyes, she heard Lucio’s distinctive baritone say, “Do I make you feel uncomfortable?”

“…”

Patrizia did not answer, and Lucio thought it might be for the better. As she had trouble answering, she quietly bit her lip. When Lucio saw this, he placed his hand on her lips without realizing it. He murmured quietly, “I would prefer that you do not do anything to hurt yourself.”

“Ah…” Patrizia looked at Lucio with slightly surprised eyes. -Why is he so uselessly putting on an act of being sweet…?- Patrizia gently removed his hand and asked him, “Did you have anything to say to me?”

“…The brownies.” He asked quietly, “Did you find them delicious?”

“…”

It was a question built on the premise that she had eaten them. It seemed Mirya had already relayed the news to him. Patrizia sighed inside, choosing to be honest with him. “It was not too shabby for something a beginner made.”

“That is a relief.”

“Suddenly doing something you never did before… How should I interpret this?”

“Did I not tell you?” He turned his head slightly and blatantly stared at her. Patrizia continued facing ahead, walking silently without responding to his gaze. However, Lucio did not seem to be bothered at all. He fixed his gaze at her and continued with his explanation. “That I will try.”

“Over something as simple as brownies?” Patrizia responded cynically.

Lucio was undeterred as he added on, “Of course, that is only a fraction of it! I do not have any intention of stopping after just this one time.”

“Your Majesty has no intention of stopping after this one time?” Patrizia burst into a snort of laughter. “Your Majesty speaks as if you plan to do this for your whole lifetime!”

“If that is what you want.”

“…”

“Then I plan to do so.”

With that one statement, Patrizia had a different expression on her face than before. Lucio did not manage to catch it. After all, it was said a man in love was more dense than one might expect.

“Your Majesty speaks of something that sounds like a dream, coming from the Sun of the Marvinus Empire.”

“It is a given that I thought I had to do at least this much to atone for all that I did to you.” He faced her with a bitter smile on his face. “If this is not enough for you, I will try even more!”

“It is all so sudden to me,” Patrizia answered in a shaky voice. “It feels too much like a joke for you to suddenly be saying you love me.”

“It is not so sudden,” Lucio responded calmly. “It has been quite a long time since I told you that I loved you. It is just that you… you did not want to listen to that.”

“…”

“I am not trying to blame you. Since the situation was like that… it was too difficult for you to accept those words from me.”

“That is still the case…”

“Indeed,” he continued without disagreeing with anything. “That is why I am saying I will continue to try.”

After saying that, Lucio took off his outer coat and wrapped it around Patrizia. Patrizia remained as still as a mannequin. He whispered quietly from behind her. “Because you look cold.”

“…”

“If I was behaving overboard, I will ask for forgiveness.”

“If you catch a cold because of me…” For the first time, Patrizia made eye contact with Lucio as she asked, “will you resent me if that happens?”

“Resent you.,” he repeated quietly. “It would not be enough for me to even praise you for the rest of my life.”

“…”

“So would there any possibility I could do something like that?” Lucio whispered as he adjusted and tucked in Patrizia’s collar. “The resentment is for you to feel. I would not dare to do something like that.”

“…”

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Translated by Haeli

Edited by RED