Chapter 3

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“What is it?”

“Ah, in the main room, His Majesty is in there raging! Hurry up, he’s telling me to bring Marie!”

At the same time, isn’t the attendant looking at me?

‘Marie?’

Is that what you mean by me?

“. . .I know.”

After grasping the situation, the maid came to me hurriedly, instructing the attendant, who looked ready to faint, to get water.

“Follow me.”

Then they pulled my forearm.

Pain blossomed as dry fingers squeezed my bony forearm.

But when I saw the hardened face of the maid, the pain flew away.

When I arrived here, I remembered the conversation between Raven and the maid.

‘Well, can’t you tell me where you are going now?’

***

It was this scene that I would encounter the King, dragged like a cow to a slaughterhouse.

t/n: basically about to be killed, lol.

The maid, who traveled at a flying speed to the first floor of the Imperial Palace, stopped in front of the people trembling in fear.

“Ah, the maid of Elmeria.”

Raven was there with a troubled face, and as soon as he saw me, he was noticeably relieved.

Then he pushed me straight into the room.

‘Uh? Only me? Now, wait! Is the emperor inside there?’

Fortunately, they opened the door, pushed me in, and stood behind the door to check the situation.

The situation reminds me of seeing whether a lion will eat the new meat or not.

‘At least, you should have to gave me some time to prepare myself!’

I swallowed my dry saliva and turned my gaze into the luxurious chamber.

The room was quiet.

However, the violent scent of blood that did not match that atmosphere of silence touched the tip of my nose.

I saw two sofas neatly in one side of the room.

‘How the hell can they move that sturdy-looking sofa into two-sides?’ 

“Who are you.”

The hairs on my whole body stood up.

The emperor, who was quietly revealing his presence in the middle of the room, growled as if he hated the presence of me.

“I must have told them to not to let anyone in.”

When I saw the emperor’s face revealed through his frowned bangs, I was overwhelmed for a moment.

‘You’re so handsome!’ 

Thanks to the original work, I was leaning in his favor a little, but the male lead was a decadent, handsome man.

He passed the level of handsomeness that seemed to make people’s noses bleed as he passed by them.

His milky skin, the onyx black hair, his golden jeweled eyes, and red lips shining in the middle were enough to bring statues to his knees and acknowledge him as their masters.

At the moment, I thought that it would be okay to just die from a knife if it was frim that handsome man.

‘No, wait. That’s not… Huh?’ 

He was close in front of me while I was fascinated.

‘What happened?’

The moment I was surprised, I choked.

It was because the emperor, who came to me in no time, grabbed my waist and lifted me into the air. When nothing touched my feet, fear came.

‘Oh My God! Have you lifted me with one hand now?’ 

Power was a business. But rather than feeling surprised at that moment, I was chilled by the emperor’s lively gaze and harsh actions.

‘Let’s go ahead and die for 3 years now!’ 

It was a moment to look back at Raven to ask for my life.

“Rav. . . huh?”

The emperor tried to call Raven.

But his annoying gaze stopped at me before he could even reach Raven’s.

My expression that had been wrinkled was released in an instant, and it became a face that seemed to be hit in the back of the head.

The golden eyes that were directed at me shook slightly.

He seemed to have recognized my face only now, and he seemed to be greatly agitated.

It was evident that I was still keeping my mind when I came in. Soon his eyes widened open, and silence flows into the room.

A moment passed, and a husky and low voice flowed through his red lips.

“Lily… Ana?”

That was the name of the original heroine.

My grip from his hand loosened, and I barely managed to land on the floor properly.

When my breathing returned, a violent cough broke out.

“Colok! Kolok!”

t/n: coughing noises

As I looked up, I could see the emperor’s eye’s focus gradually returning, releasing from madness.

‘Oh, I guess he’s properly alert now. That’s why Raven brought me.’

The effect of the dubious doll was unexpectedly awesome. But at the same time, I felt indifferent.

‘I was prepared, but it doesn’t feel very good to be called by someone else’s name.’

When I was barely stable, I set myself upright.

However, I looked down because I couldn’t bear to see the emperor’s face when his mind returned.

Then, I saw the scenery in the room that I had not seen before.

As in the original work, the emperor’s power is destruction, even with a single knife. His body was well-balanced with tight muscles, and there was blood everywhere.

The carpet was dyed black with blood, and two noblemen fell on top of it. At first glance, it seemed it was work done by the emperor.

‘Lord, are you dead?’

Fortunately, he was wriggling slightly, so you could see he hadn’t died yet.

Since my first meeting with the emperor was full of thrills and excitement, sweat soaked both of my hands holding the hem of my skirt.

The tyrant emperor was indeed the man in the tragic romance-fantasy.

Handsome, attractive, and lively.

‘Although, his personality is very bloody.’

If I had met the emperor without knowing the original, I might have just fainted here.

“Woo.”

t/n: kind of like a sigh/exhale

The emperor wiped his eyes once with his hand.

“Raven.”

Raven came in at the call of the emperor, stopped by my side, and bowed his head in moderation.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“They’re yours.”

t/n: the men on the floor

“I will take the punishment sweetly.”

The emperor frowned on his face, deeply exhausted. Roughly sweeping his curly hair, he threw a bloody dagger on the floor.

“Remove them.”

At the same time as his order, attendants rushed into the room and led the men who had been fallen.

I tried to look at them in a little more detail, wondering if the ones carried out might be in my future.

But before that, I noticed that the emperor’s gaze turned to me again, and it hardened.

‘Why, why do you look at me like that? Do you want to cut my head off too?’ 

Cold sweat ran down my back.

I stared at a predator that froze and looked down at me like a small animal caught in a trap.

The emperor’s gleaming golden eyes reflected my strangeness intact. For a moment, the emperor glanced at me a little more, and then gave me a congratulatory spirit in a dry tone.

“Export her.”

Then, after looking at me, he opened another door that connected the room next door and went out.

‘Sweet.’

When the door was closed, I let out a relieved sigh and sat down.

‘I lived.’ 

After a while, when I came out of the room with my limbs intact, the maid was showing a sad face.

From that appearance, I realized that I was alive. I breathed deeply, again and again, gently rubbing my sweaty palms against the hems of my clothes.

As before, the maid took me to the emperor’s bedroom with a cold face. Still, unlike the previous time she pulled my arm, she let my feet walk at their own pace.

‘Today, I’m going to wait in my room.’

I nodded and plunged into a chair by the window designated by the maid. From the early dawn, I didn’t care about what would happen.

‘Really, I don’t think my heart will remain if I do this every time.’ 

I realized so clearly why people and in the books referred to him as a tyrant. I realized why he needed a ‘sacrificial doll,’ it was in order to calm him down.

‘No, what kind of carnivore are you?’ 

The emperor, who became hard on his sleep, was literally a tyrant who brought blood like it was wind.

If I couldn’t soothe him that in time, it seemed that no one would have a neck left in the Imperial Palace.

A little while ago, I thought of his shiny golden eyes and trembled.

Not even the beasts I saw at the zoo had that kind of eye.

It was like a hunter’s gaze looking for weaknesses and scanning the situation. And his ferocious eyes softened as soon as they noticed the doll’s existence.

I looked down at my trembling palm.

‘Did I prove my worth?’ 

At least I would have found it useful if I were enough to calm the emperor. You can think of it as having gotten at least the protection from Raven or the maid.

‘Well, it’s because they’re not dead yet, anyway.’ 

I gave up quickly and shouted positively.

A little while ago, the maid brought my dinner. For a slave, it was too much duck meat, white bread, and vegetable soup. I thought it might be the reward for calming down the riot a little while ago.

When I grabbed a silver spoon that had been decorated with fancy craftsmanship and ate a bite of the steaming soup, my cold body filled with warmth. Somehow I felt a few tears rolling down my face.

‘Wow, it’s delicious.’ 

My heart pounding in surprise began to calm down in front of the delicious dishes.

Besides, it’s a steaming warm dish. Nothing could be sweeter.

The cold grain porridge eaten in the cages of the slave traders was so tasteless, enough to bring tears.

‘Hey, this is all about eating and living! Let’s eat as much as we want.’ 

I decided to clear the horror that the meeting had just happened in my mind, asking myself to think about the future. After dipping white bread into the soup, my whole body trembled.

‘This is really good!’ 

***

At the same time, the personal study of the Imperial Palace.

The emperor, Ridrian, who finished his routine safely, was not very happy. He was arrogantly leaning against the chair and regularly tapping the handle of the chair with his index finger. Raven, standing across from me, was a little nervous.

“Raven.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“I would have said that I don’t need it.”

“Aren’t you already limiting? I decided that it couldn’t be done anymore, so I moved to dogma. I will gladly be punished for your dissatisfaction.”

There was no tremble in his eyes.

Ridrian laughed as he looked into the face of his impudent subordinates.

“You seem to be mistaken if you think I won’t touch you.”

A thin cut from his flesh oozes crimson from his body, which was instantly irritated.

Raven noticed this and knelt right in front of the desk.

“You are worth a million words. Your Majesty is the Supreme of this Ivant. You can order anything you want.”

“Ha! The horse is shrewd. Looks like I’ve taught you well.”

Ridrian covered his face with his hand and smiled. Tiredness was thickly buried around his dark and dead eyes. The emperor, who had not slept for more than a week, was half-sane.

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Ridrian is kinda a mood tho—like u haven’t slept well in months? same queen, I feel u.