CH 32

Translated by TrinityVox

Edited by Schwarzel

“I want to stay with you like this forever.”

Alexei gently stroked Eleonora’s cheek and brushed her lip with his finger but she couldn’t move, frozen from shock by the sudden kiss. Then he kissed her once again. At first, it was just a light touch but slowly, he deepened the kiss.

It was Sergei who saved Eleonora, who had lost all the strength from her body.

“Your Highness! What are you doing?!”

Since Alexei cast a sound barrier, no one answered when he knocked and, not hearing a single sound, Sergei forcibly opened the door.

And the scene that greeted him was Eleonora being assaulted by Alexei.

Noticing Sergei, Alexei annoyedly dispelled the barrier. The moment he did, Sergei’s spit spewing roars of anger echoed through the room.

“What are you doing with a lady you’ve only met twice?! There’s a proper order to things! Especially Eleonora-sama, she doesn’t have any kind of rumors of that sort! You couldn’t hold back even just a little?!”

Hearing his voice, Eleonora finally came to her senses and hid her face with both hands out of embarrassment.

(My whole body is hot-pe. There’s no doubt I’m making an unladylike expression-be. No, I can’t show my face anymore!)

Without concern for her feelings, Alexei wrapped his hand around her waist and pulled her toward him.

“Why did you enter as you please?”

“Your Highness! Eleonora-sama is the Duke’s daughter. Please go through the proper procedures.”

Alexei reacted to the words ‘proper procedures.’

“Ah, understood. Let’s get married now.”

As expected, Sergei stopped Alexei, who was smiling with joy, from touching Eleonora’s face again.

“This is not okay! Please have an engagement ceremony at the Imperial Church, then after a year, you can have your wedding ceremony. We have to follow imperial customs! You are the emperor!”

Alexei thought this was unreasonable. He wanted to make the woman in his arms his at this moment, why did he have to wait a whole year?

“Such traditions are unnecessary. Abolish them immediately.”

“Your Highness…You may be fine with this but that doesn’t mean that your descendants will be able to find suitable marriage partners. You learned about it too, the fool who felt secure after getting engaged and revealed his true colours. There are two instances of that happening written in history.

Sergei breathed heavily through his nose.

“No, not just that. Within the year after the engagement ceremony, we can expect a big economic impact! Perfect for the exhausted empire! That’s why we must first hold an engagement ceremony. Moreover, we have to make a wedding dress the empire will be proud of. Honestly speaking, one year isn’t enough.”

Alexei imagined the image of Eleonora as his bride in her wedding dress.

“It certainly will take time to prepare the most beautiful dress in the world. Yes, I see. It’s a shame but we can hold off on the wedding for now.”

This was the first time Eleonora had heard that they were getting married.

“…Marriage?”

She raised her head and tilted her neck.

Seeing this, Sergei flew into a rage.

“Your Highness! You haven’t even proposed to her?! What is the meaning of this?!”

Alexei forcibly held her in his arms, driven by his desire to make her his own, but then realized he had never confirmed her feelings.

It was clear that she was embarrassed because she liked him, but he needed them both to say how they felt out loud.

“Sergei, leave for a moment. I want to be alone with Eleonora.”

“I can’t trust you right now.”

“Then if it takes too long, you can just come in.”

“You really won’t lay a hand on her?”

“Yes, I got it, so leave quickly.”

Sergei reluctantly left the room.

Now it was just the two of them.

Alexei sat Eleonora down on the sofa and bent down on one knee then looked at her with his blue eyes.

“Eleonora, I love you. I don’t want to be separated from you ever again. I want you.”

Hearing his words, not only her face, her entire body started burning. Then she slowly replied.

“I-I like both you and Ham-chan-pe.”

(Shoot-pe! Why won’t my words come out without the dialect-dabe?)

Without concern for her dialect, Alexei smiled and grasped both her hands.

“No matter what, I will protect you. I will never make you cry. I won’t ever make you sad.”

“…I also wanna make you happy.”

Alexei was moved by her words and hugged her. As he went in to kiss the embarrassed girl, Sergei barged in once again.