Chapter 8

He also told stories about someone whose life expectancy would be reduced in real-time, saying that someone who opposed his words would  be eliminated. and that he would send someone to represent him in this diplomacy. They were stories that shorten my lifespan. I barely endured what I wanted to do—kill the Emperor, who I could see clearly.

I was profusely sweating because he kept telling confidential stories to the point that I thought he did it intentionally.

‘Please don’t tell me such private things!’

Throughout the hour, I realized with my whole body why the first condition the maid-in-law told me was confidentiality.

The day I was found talking about any of this, my throat would be blown away instantly. For the first time, I felt grateful that I couldn’t speak. This way, I’ll never accidentally spread secrets that would jeopardize my throat.

Then I realized a new fact.

‘I didn’t expect the Emperor to be a chatterbox.’

When I read the original novel, the original heroine was so chatty that the Emperor had no time to speak, and when he met the heroine, he was so embarrassed by his new aspect that he had no time to talk.

Because of this, the original book did not have many lines from the Emperor. Since the genre was also ‘Tragedy,’ most of the Emperor’s scenes were painted with knives and blood.

‘Because he has only talked to himself.’

Suddenly it occurred to me that he was lonely. No matter how perfect he is, he is the Emperor of the great empire. Since there is no one around to share his stories openly, he is holding onto a person he thinks is dead.

It is also easy to dispose of dolls when they make mistakes.

The throne is often called a lonely position, but I also knew the traumas of his childhood. Except for Lilliana in his lonely childhood, everyone in the palace ignored him, the Emperor turned away after the death of the Emperor’s birth mother, and this terrible world betrayed and mocked him.

The Emperor, who was sensitive and intelligent in nature, stopped believing in humans because of his childhood and preferred to be alone. Therefore, even though he was respected by the people and surrounded by numerous close aides and officials, the Emperor was always lonely.

‘Raven’s the only one that’s left by him. The Emperor must have given up because Raven followed him every day for years.’

I felt a little sorry for him.

‘At least you can trust me.’

I was just a person whose goal was to live the rest of my life comfortably, so I had no reason to betray the male lead if he didn’t kill me.

At that time, I suddenly felt that the inside of the room became quiet. One step later, I realized that the Emperor, who was in the middle of a conversation, suddenly shut up.

‘Huh?

He looked as if he had found something unexpected. It was something strange too.

‘Wait; what? Since when have you been looking at me with that face?’

I was embarrassed because I didn’t know what he was thinking, but my face still treaded without expression.

“You. . .!”

He sprang up, grabbed my shoulder, and pressed my face close. He wore a strong scent, reminiscent of the daytime.

‘Close! He’s close!’

He looked into my eyes from a distance close enough for our breaths to touch. His bright golden eyes seemed to penetrate deep into my heart.

‘What’s wrong with you all of a sudden?’

Cold sweat flowed down my cheeks without my knowledge. Seeing it, he rubbed the cold sweat on my cheek with his slim, hardened fingers. It was not merely wiping, but a gesture that seemed to be agonizing over the situation.

When I was in a moment of panic, the Emperor suddenly frowned, pushed me back, and immediately left the room. I subconsciously stroked my neck to check that my head was still attached to my body.

‘What’s wrong? Did you not like my sweat?’

I’m a human; how was I supposed to control such physiological phenomena? Forget about you being able to trust me. I take it back. I’ll give you to the heroine as soon as possible. (*t/n: she has me wheezing. you’re just gonna let him die?)

I was embarrassed and vented my anger internally when suddenly, the door opened, and Rina entered.

“Lona, what happened?

As soon as I saw Rina’s face, I felt like crying.

‘I can’t believe I can’t vent my heart out of this injustice! I can’t believe I can’t talk! Give me my voice back!’

I was bawling inside with my wish, which had a relatively high probability of being near unattainable when a seductive scent passed over the tip of my nose. My head turned automatically.

“Are you okay? I brought you lunch. Aren’t you hungry?”

Rina’s hands were filled with delicious dishes.

‘It’s my lunch!’

My lunch today seems to be a typical Ethirium traditional dish. I saw a turkey dish, stir-fried vegetables, a potato mousse, and two white rolls.

My stomach shook at that moment.

Rumble—! (*sfx)

It was only then that I realized I had been starving for half a day.

As soon as Rina went out to get my lunch, the Emperor returned, so I had to skip lunch and nap with him.

What’s upsetting is upsetting, but the Emperor wasn’t at fault.

When I put the piece of the turkey meat in my mouth, a sense of ecstasy spread throughout my tastebuds. I felt like my brain was melting. A piece of meat. A bite of potato mousse. And a piece of vegetables.

‘Sigh, it’s delicious. The person who cooked this must be an angel.’

I paused the fork that was moving vigorously. Looking at the yellow potato mousse, I remembered the Emperor’s golden eyes, which were shaking a little while ago.

‘That’s it…… didn’t he wear a face of embarrassment?’

He looked flustered but didn’t seem to get why. I didn’t understand his reaction, so I made a visualization and bit the fork in my mouth.

‘Why, all of a sudden? I didn’t do anything. You’re not surprised that a ‘doll’ sweated, are you?’

It was a little scary if you really thought about it. However, it was too calm to ignore the possibility.

‘He’s not called a crazy tyrant for nothing, is he?’

Even if you’re an Emperor, you can’t really say, ‘If you sweat, you’re not Lily.’

Aren’t there records of having already cut off a ‘doll’ because their hair color was different? When I thought about it, the tail of my eyes drooped.

‘I just have to be careful. I have no other choice.’

After organizing my thoughts, I took a bite out of the potato mousse with my chopsticks.

‘Hmm, it’s delicious!’

***

That’s how I ended the day peacefully. But the problem arose at night. At first, I thought my eyes were mistaken.

“Liliana.”

I looked at the man standing in front of the door, clutching my duvet with astonished eyes. The Emperor, who returned to his bedroom at the end of dawn, called me in a more languid tone than yesterday. Even worse, all he had on was a roughly worn tunic that had unraveled, showing his toned fronts.

I looked down at him with my drowsy eyes with dark circles underneath, and I thought I was dreaming the moment I woke up. His solid chest muscles were visible between the unlocked tunics.

‘Get dressed properly! No, there’s no other place to put my eyes.’

Frustrated, I stuttered even though I was talking internally at the moment.

The Emperor, who suddenly opened the door, returned to his absence and picked me up, bringing me to my bedroom. The fact that a man came into a women’s room at dawn was frightening, but also, he smelled different from the day.

‘Did you drink?’

The sweet and stinging scent pricked my nose. In addition, the Emperor’s eyes conveyed he had drunk quite a bit.

‘A drunken beast—’

Maybe he felt my flinch because he grabbed me with a bloody grin.

“What’s wrong? Are you afraid of me?”

He brushed the hair off my cheek and tucked it behind my ear. His touch was sweet, but there was no warmth in his eyes. At the same time, he smiled at me, his eyes folding finely into crescents, almost as if he was satisfied. The art of his face was so exemplary that I got lost in staring at his face.

I was unsure whether the Emperor wanted a response to my question or not, but regardless, he grabbed me straight away and pushed me to bed a little rougher than yesterday.

‘What’s wrong with you?’

I fell precariously on the bed, and I was frozen pale, but he suddenly touched his forehead and shook his head. His movements seemed to stagger quite a bit.

“Oh, I must have drunk a little too much.”

‘If the Emperor was like that, how much did he drink? Who would you frown after drinking the poison?’ (*t/n: guessing it’s an idiom about regretting what you’ve already done after it’s too late. aka, don’t cry over spilled milk. )

He threw off his top and came into bed, just like yesterday. Without any mercy, he stretched his arms around my waist. I was surprised by the pressure I felt in an unfamiliar area and flinched reflexively.

‘Hey! What is this!’

When I didn’t obey as much as he thought, the Emperor said in a tone of disapproval.

“Don’t move.”

His threatening voice froze me. Then, contentedly, he drew me toward him.

‘Ahhhhhh!’

Like yesterday, I couldn’t sleep. An unknown man’s chest was on my back, an unknown man’s arm on my waist, and his legs—

I was feeling the legs of a stranger.

‘Why! Why are you doing this at this hour?’

I couldn’t understand the reason at all. I shed tears inside.

‘What if I get eaten?’

I thought it would be either cut by a blade or eaten by him. He embraced me more than he did yesterday as if he knew I was shivering. Then, as if the Emperor was satisfied only then, and he breathed drowsily.

“Stop moving.”

Then it quickly became quiet.

After being frozen for a long time, I slowly turned my head when the Emperor’s breathing changed to a slow pace. The Emperor, with a slightly flushed face, was asleep, breathing.

‘Thank you very much for blessing me with an up-close of your handsome face. No, that’s not it! This is kind of frustrating.’

Perhaps because of alcohol, his body temperature was higher than yesterday. Moreover, I couldn’t sleep because I was so tightly hugged. It got stuffy.

☾*✲⋆.