He was anxious. Wondering what they were talking about. What their relationship was. How Empress Irina thought of him.
Was her smiling face always like that?
Seeing her smile, she felt like a different person. She was always crying or expressionless in front of him. Of course, he was the one who made her that way.
Something welled up in his chest. He wanted to separate them right away.
But given the situation, he couldn’t ignore the many eyes on him. He knew how much the nobles would bite and tear at him if he acted impulsively.
Ignore it for now. Later, he could punish the two who had disturbed him. How much he must have thought that.
Just as he had barely calmed his mind…
Royden reached out to Empress Irina’s face.
Thud-!
“What are you doing?”
Regardless of the nobles’ gaze, he couldn’t let that hand touch Irina. The moment he came to his senses, he was holding Royden’s hand.
Incredibly, he felt relieved that Royden’s hand hadn’t touched Irina’s face for a moment.
After warning Royden, he took Irina’s hand and led her to a place where there were no people.
“This is a bit…”
Irina fumbled and spoke.
He was surprised for a moment that he was holding someone else’s hand, but he didn’t have the leisure to recognize his strange behavior.
He had to relieve the discomfort pressing on his chest right away. As soon as they were alone, the emotions he had been holding back exploded.
“What’s the relationship between you and Royden? When did the two of you collude?”
I know it’s not true. I was angry with Royden beyond my control, but I wouldn’t distort him that much.
Royden is not the type of person to do that. But I still wanted to hear Irina’s answer clearly that it wasn’t true.
Royden had acted differently than usual, and I was curious about the motive that made him that way. There must be a relationship between the two that I don’t know.
However, the empress seemed to have no intention of explaining in detail.
“My family abandoned me because of money….”
“….”
“Now, the only family I have is His Majesty the Emperor….My husband….”
I froze for a moment. It was enough to realize it myself.
At that, I should have laughed and told her it wasn’t funny, that she was just my toy, and laughed at Irina’s words, but I couldn’t say a word.
“I don’t like it. I hope His Majesty the Emperor only has me.”
“….”
“I’m also the emperor’s only family, and his wife.”
Irina’s head gently touched his chest.
The warm body temperature of her head was transmitted, and the words that came out of her beautiful lips were affectionate.
It was clear that she had learned a seductive technique. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so helpless.
Thanks to my regained sanity, I managed to open my mouth.
“… It’s not even funny.”
Irina’s head fell from his chest. She was staring at him intently.
As I realized it, my heart was beating abnormally.
“I told you not to touch me.”
Since I was young, I hated physical contact with others. It was one of the traumas I had developed growing up in the slums.
The feeling of skin touching was not a form of affection, but rather felt close to desire and lust, making me feel repulsed from then on.
The sight of the mingling of skin that I didn’t want to see was so disgusting that it made me sick. Contact with others reminded me of that scene. It was impure and dirty.
Even as an adult, I despised physical contact to the point of avoiding touching others.
But this time was an exception.
The sound of his heart pounding was louder than the disgust of someone touching him. So he pulled away.
“Please make a place for me in official places from now on. I am the empress. Your wife.”
He almost burst into laughter at how absurd it was.
Strangely enough, he couldn’t speak ill of her when she said ‘wife’, which was even more absurd than Irina’s unreasonable words.
He was more angry at himself than at Empress Irina’s request. It felt like something was broken in his body.
“I just… want to be by your side.”
His attitude, which he thought had become cold, but as she spoke softly, it hit his ears like a strong arrow.
He still remembered the abnormal palpitations at that time.
Zion’s face crumpled as he recalled the past.
He didn’t know how to relieve these unfamiliar and unpleasant feelings.
The more he met Irina, the more he couldn’t act as usual. His head felt like it was going to explode.
‘I need to see the Empress.’
As Zion suddenly ran out of his office, his aide followed him in a fluster.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to the Empress’s Palace. Prepare the carriage.”
At Zion’s command, the aide recalled yesterday’s nightmare.
He was worried about another impulsive action, but he couldn’t say a word against Zion’s fierce attitude, which seemed strange even if he killed one person these days.
Getting into the carriage, Zion sorted out his thoughts. Going was impulsive, but what he had to say and do there shouldn’t be.
He must find out about these unfamiliar feelings and the symptoms of his heart pounding abnormally.
If he only knew the identity of these symptoms, he could treat the empress as before.
As soon as he arrived at the Empress’s Palace, Zion knocked on the door of the palace with quick steps.
At his sudden appearance, all the guards and maids moved busily.
The bedroom was empty. If she wasn’t in the bedroom, she usually spent time in the garden, according to a small maid. He moved his steps to the garden.
As he entered the garden, he saw Irina.
But Irina was not alone.
Next to her was a ‘dog’. A large dog was pouncing on Empress Irina.
When Zion flicked his fingers a few times, the dog made a crunching sound and rolled on the floor.
“Why is such a dangerous-looking dog in the Empress’s Palace?”
Zion asked the maids and guards in a cold voice.
Those who were unaware of the existence of the dog were shivering. They seemed about to collapse at any moment under his cold, scolding gaze.
“Hegi is not dangerous…so please let him go…!”
Irina interjected.
She was very worried about the dog. She looked at the dog that was held down with magic. It was a large dog that would be half her height if it stood up.
Irina, who had been restless, approached the surprised dog and comforted it by stroking it.
“Hegi…?”
She even named it.
She had been having a happy time making a cheeky friend while I was away. How much torment he had been going through because of Empress Irina.
Thinking so, a cold smile crossed Zion’s face.
“Beasts are just beasts. You never know when they might harm the Empress.”
“No! Hegi is a well-trained dog. He understands words and is a special child!”
Empress Irina spoke desperately.
She hadn’t shown such an attitude even once recently, but she seemed to have returned to her old self.
Thinking so, that in itself made him feel bad.
No matter what he did, the unpleasant feelings wouldn’t go away. It was all because of Empress Irina in front of him.
His mood was sinking.
“Kill it.”
Zion commanded the guards in a low voice.
The guards glanced at the Empress with regretful eyes, but they couldn’t refuse Zion’s intimidating words.
At that moment.
“Please, I beg you! Don’t kill Hegi…!”
The Empress knelt and pleaded. Tears fell from her transparent eyes. Her white face was quickly covered with tears.
“Please, Your Majesty!”
The Empress pleaded almost desperately, but Zion remained expressionless.
“Since we can’t show the Empress such a terrible sight, take her to her room.”
Everyone in the room was hopeful, but Zion did not rescind his order. The maids almost dragged the surrounded Empress away.
When the Empress disappeared, the guard opened his mouth.
“Shall we kill it here?”
Zion was silent at the guard’s words. He was just staring at the dog.
The dog had been whining under the magic Zion had cast earlier. If the command was given, it wouldn’t be hard to kill it.
“Don’t kill it, bring it here.”
“Yes, yes?”
At Zion’s words, the guard asked back as if he had heard wrong. Zion just stared at the guard with a menacing look.
As per Zion’s command, the dog was handed over to the Emperor’s office.
The dog, which had been released from the magic and put in a cage, was looking at Zion with clear eyes.
When Zion took the dog out of the cage, the dog looked at Zion as if it was a little wary.
When Zion flicked his fingers a few times, the dog’s body stiffened.
Suddenly unable to move, the dog was just rolling its eyes around.
Zion approached and grabbed the dog by the scruff of its neck.
The special dog, anticipating what was about to happen, whined. With just a little force, he could break its neck and cut off its breath.
Zion, who had been slowly applying force, soon let go and turned around again.
Zion couldn’t deal with the dog until late at night.
The face of Irina, who had been desperately clinging, kept coming
It wasn’t even funny anymore.
He had stained his hands with so much blood to get to this position.
To him, life was such an entity. Always to be sacrificed and could disappear. Not to mention the life of an animal.
But he couldn’t kill a single dog, and he was angry at himself for worrying about it all this time. But when he thought of Irina’s face, which had been soaked in tears, he felt bad.
That’s why he couldn’t make a hasty decision about this dog. If he really killed it, it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to turn back.
Irina might hate him for the rest of her life.
‘Hate.’
Wasn’t that the emotion he wanted from Irina? But when the opportunity came, why did he give it up?
Thinking about facing Irina with a cold voice and gaze made his heart feel cold.
“Your Majesty the Emperor!! May I come in now!”
Suddenly, the desperate voice of the aide came in, and Zion became a little annoyed. They wouldn’t leave him alone even in such a troubled moment.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s about…Her Majesty the Empress.”
Zion, who had been speaking sharply, widened his eyes at the mention of the Empress.
“Come in.”
The aide was a mess. His hair was disheveled, his face was pale, and he was sweating cold sweat.
An unknown anxiety overwhelmed Zion.
“Her, Her Majesty the Empress…!”
The aide spoke trembling with fear.
“She attempted suicide.”
He was anxious. Wondering what they were talking about. What their relationship was. How Empress Irina thought of him.
Was her smiling face always like that?
Seeing her smile, she felt like a different person. She was always crying or expressionless in front of him. Of course, he was the one who made her that way.
Something welled up in his chest. He wanted to separate them right away.
But given the situation, he couldn’t ignore the many eyes on him. He knew how much the nobles would bite and tear at him if he acted impulsively.
Ignore it for now. Later, he could punish the two who had disturbed him. How much he must have thought that.
Just as he had barely calmed his mind…
Royden reached out to Empress Irina’s face.
Thud-!
“What are you doing?”
Regardless of the nobles’ gaze, he couldn’t let that hand touch Irina. The moment he came to his senses, he was holding Royden’s hand.
Incredibly, he felt relieved that Royden’s hand hadn’t touched Irina’s face for a moment.
After warning Royden, he took Irina’s hand and led her to a place where there were no people.
“This is a bit…”
Irina fumbled and spoke.
He was surprised for a moment that he was holding someone else’s hand, but he didn’t have the leisure to recognize his strange behavior.
He had to relieve the discomfort pressing on his chest right away. As soon as they were alone, the emotions he had been holding back exploded.
“What’s the relationship between you and Royden? When did the two of you collude?”
I know it’s not true. I was angry with Royden beyond my control, but I wouldn’t distort him that much.
Royden is not the type of person to do that. But I still wanted to hear Irina’s answer clearly that it wasn’t true.
Royden had acted differently than usual, and I was curious about the motive that made him that way. There must be a relationship between the two that I don’t know.
However, the empress seemed to have no intention of explaining in detail.
“My family abandoned me because of money….”
“….”
“Now, the only family I have is His Majesty the Emperor….My husband….”
I froze for a moment. It was enough to realize it myself.
At that, I should have laughed and told her it wasn’t funny, that she was just my toy, and laughed at Irina’s words, but I couldn’t say a word.
“I don’t like it. I hope His Majesty the Emperor only has me.”
“….”
“I’m also the emperor’s only family, and his wife.”
Irina’s head gently touched his chest.
The warm body temperature of her head was transmitted, and the words that came out of her beautiful lips were affectionate.
It was clear that she had learned a seductive technique. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be so helpless.
Thanks to my regained sanity, I managed to open my mouth.
“… It’s not even funny.”
Irina’s head fell from his chest. She was staring at him intently.
As I realized it, my heart was beating abnormally.
“I told you not to touch me.”
Since I was young, I hated physical contact with others. It was one of the traumas I had developed growing up in the slums.
The feeling of skin touching was not a form of affection, but rather felt close to desire and lust, making me feel repulsed from then on.
The sight of the mingling of skin that I didn’t want to see was so disgusting that it made me sick. Contact with others reminded me of that scene. It was impure and dirty.
Even as an adult, I despised physical contact to the point of avoiding touching others.
But this time was an exception.
The sound of his heart pounding was louder than the disgust of someone touching him. So he pulled away.
“Please make a place for me in official places from now on. I am the empress. Your wife.”
He almost burst into laughter at how absurd it was.
Strangely enough, he couldn’t speak ill of her when she said ‘wife’, which was even more absurd than Irina’s unreasonable words.
He was more angry at himself than at Empress Irina’s request. It felt like something was broken in his body.
“I just… want to be by your side.”
His attitude, which he thought had become cold, but as she spoke softly, it hit his ears like a strong arrow.
He still remembered the abnormal palpitations at that time.
Zion’s face crumpled as he recalled the past.
He didn’t know how to relieve these unfamiliar and unpleasant feelings.
The more he met Irina, the more he couldn’t act as usual. His head felt like it was going to explode.
‘I need to see the Empress.’
As Zion suddenly ran out of his office, his aide followed him in a fluster.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to the Empress’s Palace. Prepare the carriage.”
At Zion’s command, the aide recalled yesterday’s nightmare.
He was worried about another impulsive action, but he couldn’t say a word against Zion’s fierce attitude, which seemed strange even if he killed one person these days.
Getting into the carriage, Zion sorted out his thoughts. Going was impulsive, but what he had to say and do there shouldn’t be.
He must find out about these unfamiliar feelings and the symptoms of his heart pounding abnormally.
If he only knew the identity of these symptoms, he could treat the empress as before.
As soon as he arrived at the Empress’s Palace, Zion knocked on the door of the palace with quick steps.
At his sudden appearance, all the guards and maids moved busily.
The bedroom was empty. If she wasn’t in the bedroom, she usually spent time in the garden, according to a small maid. He moved his steps to the garden.
As he entered the garden, he saw Irina.
But Irina was not alone.
Next to her was a ‘dog’. A large dog was pouncing on Empress Irina.
When Zion flicked his fingers a few times, the dog made a crunching sound and rolled on the floor.
“Why is such a dangerous-looking dog in the Empress’s Palace?”
Zion asked the maids and guards in a cold voice.
Those who were unaware of the existence of the dog were shivering. They seemed about to collapse at any moment under his cold, scolding gaze.
“Hegi is not dangerous…so please let him go…!”
Irina interjected.
She was very worried about the dog. She looked at the dog that was held down with magic. It was a large dog that would be half her height if it stood up.
Irina, who had been restless, approached the surprised dog and comforted it by stroking it.
“Hegi…?”
She even named it.
She had been having a happy time making a cheeky friend while I was away. How much torment he had been going through because of Empress Irina.
Thinking so, a cold smile crossed Zion’s face.
“Beasts are just beasts. You never know when they might harm the Empress.”
“No! Hegi is a well-trained dog. He understands words and is a special child!”
Empress Irina spoke desperately.
She hadn’t shown such an attitude even once recently, but she seemed to have returned to her old self.
Thinking so, that in itself made him feel bad.
No matter what he did, the unpleasant feelings wouldn’t go away. It was all because of Empress Irina in front of him.
His mood was sinking.
“Kill it.”
Zion commanded the guards in a low voice.
The guards glanced at the Empress with regretful eyes, but they couldn’t refuse Zion’s intimidating words.
At that moment.
“Please, I beg you! Don’t kill Hegi…!”
The Empress knelt and pleaded. Tears fell from her transparent eyes. Her white face was quickly covered with tears.
“Please, Your Majesty!”
The Empress pleaded almost desperately, but Zion remained expressionless.
“Since we can’t show the Empress such a terrible sight, take her to her room.”
Everyone in the room was hopeful, but Zion did not rescind his order. The maids almost dragged the surrounded Empress away.
When the Empress disappeared, the guard opened his mouth.
“Shall we kill it here?”
Zion was silent at the guard’s words. He was just staring at the dog.
The dog had been whining under the magic Zion had cast earlier. If the command was given, it wouldn’t be hard to kill it.
“Don’t kill it, bring it here.”
“Yes, yes?”
At Zion’s words, the guard asked back as if he had heard wrong. Zion just stared at the guard with a menacing look.
As per Zion’s command, the dog was handed over to the Emperor’s office.
The dog, which had been released from the magic and put in a cage, was looking at Zion with clear eyes.
When Zion took the dog out of the cage, the dog looked at Zion as if it was a little wary.
When Zion flicked his fingers a few times, the dog’s body stiffened.
Suddenly unable to move, the dog was just rolling its eyes around.
Zion approached and grabbed the dog by the scruff of its neck.
The special dog, anticipating what was about to happen, whined. With just a little force, he could break its neck and cut off its breath.
Zion, who had been slowly applying force, soon let go and turned around again.
Zion couldn’t deal with the dog until late at night.
The face of Irina, who had been desperately clinging, kept coming
It wasn’t even funny anymore.
He had stained his hands with so much blood to get to this position.
To him, life was such an entity. Always to be sacrificed and could disappear. Not to mention the life of an animal.
But he couldn’t kill a single dog, and he was angry at himself for worrying about it all this time. But when he thought of Irina’s face, which had been soaked in tears, he felt bad.
That’s why he couldn’t make a hasty decision about this dog. If he really killed it, it seemed like he wouldn’t be able to turn back.
Irina might hate him for the rest of her life.
‘Hate.’
Wasn’t that the emotion he wanted from Irina? But when the opportunity came, why did he give it up?
Thinking about facing Irina with a cold voice and gaze made his heart feel cold.
“Your Majesty the Emperor!! May I come in now!”
Suddenly, the desperate voice of the aide came in, and Zion became a little annoyed. They wouldn’t leave him alone even in such a troubled moment.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s about…Her Majesty the Empress.”
Zion, who had been speaking sharply, widened his eyes at the mention of the Empress.
“Come in.”
The aide was a mess. His hair was disheveled, his face was pale, and he was sweating cold sweat.
An unknown anxiety overwhelmed Zion.
“Her, Her Majesty the Empress…!”
The aide spoke trembling with fear.
“She attempted suicide.”
