132-136
Late at night.
Quite amusing, I must say.
The irony of me organizing a protest against myself was oddly entertaining.
Do they know, those people? That I am behind the protest and the food they receive for free, I paid for?
If they were to find out, how would their expressions be?
Probably they would detest it terribly? Perhaps they would even heap more scorn, deeming me a deceiver.
Watching them march late into the night, I snack on tacos before heading back to the palace.
“Your Highness… His Imperial Majesty urgently seeks you.”
Upon arriving at the palace, I hear that Theodora is looking for me.
I can guess why she seeks me.
Ah… Now I see.
“Very well. Where is Theodora?”
Inside, I may feel a slight tremor, but ultimately, I am no different from my role.
“At this moment, she is in the bedroom.”
Nodding at the guard’s words, I make my way towards the bridal chamber.
Along the way.
Moments spent with her come to mind.
Perhaps that is all over starting today?
-Sigh.
A bitter smile involuntarily forms on my lips.
It’s a bit… no, quite bittersweet.
From Noble mtl dot com
I don’t know if she was insincere, but our relationship wasn’t bad.
Maybe that’s where it ends.
Or… perhaps she’s hiding her claws.
Even if she understands the situation and despises me, her demeanor might not change drastically.
If she were to kill me, she would need to have my child to quell any potential chaos, at least that’s what I believe.
In place of me, the master of the Grand Kingdom, one who even if just a newborn, barely capable of understanding words, would suffice… Only then would there be a justification to handle the soldiers of the Grand Kingdom.
Lost in such absurd thoughts, I suddenly see our honeymoon suite.
“Has His Highness arrived?”
I smile at the guard who watches over our room and speak.
“Yes. Did Theodore come looking for me?”
The guard glances towards the door at my words and lowers his voice.
“Would you be sleeping in the Grand Suite tonight? His Majesty seemed quite displeased.”
“Your Highness, what did you do to anger the Emperor so?”
Upon hearing this, the senior maid makes a suggestive gesture.
“Oh my! Could it be something that would make him so angry… Is there no other reason?”
While the guard finds it somewhat surprising that this is seen as just a regular marital disagreement, it’s not his place to blame the oblivious guard right now.
“That’s not it. Don’t worry, just open the door.”
“Yes!”
-Creak!
As the door opens softly, in the dimly lit honeymoon suite, Theodore is lying on the sofa with his hand on his forehead.
He looks like a sick person.
Seeing him like that, I step into the room.
“You came to find me?”
I take off my coat and place it on the empty sofa.
He’s clearly not sleeping. Theodore doesn’t even flinch.
Perhaps he’s contemplating what to say?
So, I calmly sit on the sofa, waiting for her words.
There must be many questions she wants to ask.
Will she betray me as a traitor? Or will she sell me as a heretic?
Imagining such scenarios, I await her words.
After a long and unexpected wait, a voice I never anticipated to hear breaks the silence.
“Is it true what you said? Have you really… crossed over Epirus and Ezip?”
As if endlessly distressed.
My mouth feels dry hearing her tear-soaked voice.
This… I didn’t expect crying.
“Yes. It’s true. I handed over Epirus and Ezip to Johannes.”
At my words, she suddenly stands up from the sofa and looks at me.
Seeing her red eyes and nose, it somehow makes me feel a pang of guilt.
“Why?! How… how could you hand them over to me without a word? What… What kind of land is that? What kind of land is that!”
Epirus and Ezip.
Both are territories symbolizing the Emperor.
Epirus is the homeland of the former Emperor, while Ezip is the land where, after the first Emperor founded the empire and the population surged, Gold Dragon El Drashamhart, the former Empress, magically transformed the desert into fertile land for farming.
Of course, after the old Emperor passed away, the land was inherited by the descendants of the Emperor and Empress.
I know the significance that Epirus and Ezip hold for the imperial family.
But if only I hadn’t made that choice then.
By now, they might be enduring a tedious siege in Rome.
And the empire could be tearing itself apart, with the minions of the Demon Lord slowly descending upon this land.
“So what?”
That’s why I have no regrets.
“So what? So that’s why you did it?!”
I sigh at her glaring and say, “If, at that time, I had made that choice…”
“Shut up!”
She rises abruptly from her seat and looks down at me.
“Shut up! How could you think I’d want to hear such excuses? I thought you were… I thought you were loyal to the empire and to me! But what? I’ll admit that you saved Rome from the turmoil of war! But… how could you give away two of my territories without my permission and not say a word to me?! How could you do this to me?!”
-Slap!
Theodora slaps my cheek.
“Why didn’t you say anything?! Did you enjoy deceiving and betraying me? Did you? Selling Joy to a man much older than her! How can you laugh and make merry in front of us? Are you even human? Or… do you really love me?”
She grabs me by the collar and shakes me.
“Do you know how much Joy adores you?! Did you enjoy selling her off like a slave?! How could you do such a thing and laugh and make merry with our family?!”
Did my lips burst?
I taste blood in my mouth.
As the bitter taste of blood fills my mouth, I gently take her hand, untangle her grip on my collar, and softly say, almost in a whisper.
“Do you think I did it because I wanted to?”
How many sleepless nights did I spend trying to fix the chaos after Valorian’s death?
I even once went to the Imperial faction, prepared to die to prevent the worst while preparing for war.
That was not the end.
Stealing the land of a woman barely in her twenties, who was nothing but an emperor with a hollow title, and offering it secretly to Johannes was a humiliation that was hard to bear.
But more than anything else that weighs heavily on me…
Why does my heart ache so much?
It’s now, as I watch Theodora cry.
“Well?! Try to make excuses! You’re good with words, aren’t you?! Don’t just stand there like a mute, say something, even if it’s an excuse!”
-Smack!
“Why did you deceive me! Why did you deceive me?!”
-Smack!
“Did you enjoy it? Playing with me, did you enjoy it? Tell me, you scoundrel! You trash!”
I can’t say a word to her as she hits my chest with all her might.
It’s true that I have sinned.
So, I endure her striking hand, hoping that a little of her anger will be released.
-Smack!
“I believed! I believed! I believed you would be different!”
-Thud!
“How… could you deceive me like this?”
How many times did she hit me…
She sits down, trembling in her place.
“Sob… Is this your love?… Is this what your love is?”
Love… Is this love?
I watch her vent her anger and frustration.
“You’re a monster. Sob… A monster who doesn’t understand human emotions. What’s the difference between you and Baloran?”
She glares at me as if to kill, spewing curses.
“Both you and Baloran are monsters, both should have been beheaded and hung in the square!”
“A monster plotting rebellion and overthrowing the empire!”
“An emotionless lunatic!, a deceiver! You’re no different from inciting Joannes to rebellion! Do you know? Because of you, more people might die! Shedding tears for soldiers who died for such a cause, you hypocrite! You will die and fall into hell.”
“Why did our father save someone like you… I would have let you and the Duchess of Pulvia die. Both of you.”
At Mother’s words, my expression unknowingly hardens.
“What?”
Theodora catches that tiny moment.
She smiles with a chilling face.
“Oh! By the way. The Duchess of Pulvia died trying to protect a monster like you, right?”
And she laughs maniacally.
“Why? Feeling bad because we brought up your family story?”
For the first time, I grab her by the collar and glare at her.
“Insult or hit me as you wish. But just once… if you mention Mother again, I won’t stay still.”
As I grab her collar, seeing her struggle to breathe, I release her hand.
“Cough… Cough…”
Coughing like that, she speaks with a twisted face of pain and laughter.
“Aah~ Poor Duchess of Pulvia. Abused by her husband her whole life, lost her life trying to protect that son.”
My face twitches at her words.
Yes… I’ve asked too much.
Theodora, let me remind you of the situation once more.
I roughly grab her beautiful gray hair and tilt her head back.
“I clearly said I wouldn’t stay still, didn’t I?”
-Slap!
“Shut up! Traitor.”
Feeling her spit on my cheek, I glare at her red eyes.
“If you mention my mother one more time. I will kill both Joy and Hwantaehu. Got it?”
“Ugh…!”
Looking at her crushed by my threat, I speak.
“Retrieve that damn Epirus and Ezip, and it will be fine, right? Joy? Do you think I’ll let Joy have a political marriage?! If you don’t know, then shut up!”
And with that, I release her hair.
She starts laughing as if going insane.
“hehehe… hahahahaha! Try it! Dare to touch a finger to our family! Then…”
And she stares at me like a madwoman, muttering.
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“I’d rather die.”
Ignoring her words, I leave the bridal chamber.