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Published at 4th of December 2022 08:17:44 PM


Chapter 57

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Chapter 57

At her call, Zachary turned to Iellie.

Her husband had a calm face. He said he was ‘okay’, not ‘not mad.’ She realized why Zachary couldn’t even get mad. If she had thought a little, she would have known, but she was stupid.

Eventually, she sighed and opened her mouth.

“I see. Because Zachary is the next head of the Hessenweitz…”

Zachary was infinitely kind. However, the weight on her shoulders was very heavy. The only Duke in the Empire, the successor of Hessenweitz, and a young man who awakened the power of the silver dragon. He was one of the people the Imperial Family was most wary of.

‘Zachary’s every action has a political meaning… It must be difficult for him to express his feelings freely.’

…Why hadn’t she thought of it until now? Iellie swallowed her sigh.

She gazed at Zachary in the eye and spoke.

“I did not properly consider your position. I was short-minded, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s something you don’t need to apologize for…”

Embarrassed, he shook his head at her. Then, she smiled with a mischievous expression.

“By the way, now that I have become a short-minded person.”

“…Yes?”

“I’ll be angry for you.”

Having said that, Iellie crossed her arms. She tilted her head sternly and opened her pretty lips.

“Damn Imperial Family. Dumb, idiot, stupid, rude, clueless, and annoying. Really unlucky.”

She really did not raise an eyebrow and poured out abusive language about the Imperial Family. Zachary rolled his eyes.

“Hey, Len?”

“They have to stop trying to harass you in such a frivolous way.”

With her brows narrowed, Iellie raised her lips slanted. She persisted in shedding ridicule and sarcasm, “They should be less childish than this. The future of the empire is very bleak because such people are the imperial family.”

Zachary blinked and smiled. She glanced up at Zachary with a sullen face. Anyhow, he seemed to be feeling better. It was a relief, but this time she herself was the problem.

‘How dare you do that to our Zachary? Ah, I’m getting angry!’

Iellie felt her stomach boil. How pampered they were, only because they were the Imperial Family!

“Hey, calm down. Because I’m fine.”

“I’m not okay, they’re really shameless.”

Her voice, mixed with Zachary’s laughter made Iellie gush alone.

Gently, he caressed her cheek.

“Still, Len, I don’t want you to be offended because of the Emperor.”

“….”

She stared at Zachary, still sullen. Apparently, her husband was a saint. Otherwise, how could he have such a calm face…? Iellie took a deep breath and shook her head.

“Well then, Zachary. Would you like to go inside first? I’m going to go to the bathroom.”

If she washed her hands in cold water, it might calm her down a bit. As she opened her mouth with that in mind, Zachary said, “Then, let’s go to the front together. I will wait.”

“Ummm… No, it won’t take too long.”

She grinned and told him to go in first.

When she tapped Zachary on the back and turned around—

“Len.”

“Yes?”

What, why was he calling her in such a hurry…? Iellie looked back at him. After hesitating for a moment, he smiled brightly.

“Thank you.”

“Uh, why?”

“Because you got angry on my behalf.”

The moment she saw that smile, her mind went white.

‘Oh my gosh, my heart.’

It was like a heart attack, calm down!

“…What, it’s nothing.”

“No, I am very happy.”

Zachary uttered so with a happy face.

Even though Iellie tried to turn around, pretending to be calm, her cheeks were burning.

‘…What the hell is it? Why do I keep getting excited by Zachary’s every word or expression?’

Zachary, it was illegal to smile like that. She knew it obviously didn’t mean much, though his appearance made her struggle. Her heart kept getting excited, and she kept sneaking glances at him. What stupid thing was this…?

‘In the past, I thought we were like brothers and sisters. However… Is that still the case?’

Her mind was confused, and it was hard to tell this and that. Not wanting to be conscious of him, she bit her lip.

Iellie, who turned on the cold water, dipped her hands until the backs of her hands turned red. Taking out her handkerchief and wiping it loosely dry, she watched her flushed face as it returned to normal. Fortunately, it was fine.

‘I’m glad we have some time left for the opera.’

With that in mind, she came out of the bathroom. She had to go back to her seat.

“Lady, you dropped your handkerchief.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Then, a man handed her a handkerchief. Did she not put her handkerchief in her bag? Iellie, who suddenly took the handkerchief and thanked him, widened her eyes.

…No way, that man?

“Did you receive the invitation I sent you?”

“…Emperor?”

No, why was he here? She was astonished. The man standing in front of her was the Emperor. Beneath his red hair, the gray eyes twinkled.

She bowed her head.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

“Don’t be so stiff, between us.”

…What kind of relationship did we have? Iellie barely swallowed the retort, which had reached the tip of her tongue. The other person was the newly ascended Emperor. To come across such an Emperor ‘by accident’ and ‘personally.’

‘Was this meeting really a coincidence?’

Questioning the moment, of course, she knew in advance that the Emperor was going to see this opera in person. Still, the supreme person of a country personally wandered around a place like this and ran into her?

“Come to think of it, it seems that you were quite dissatisfied with the opera.”

Then, the Emperor opened his mouth leisurely.

She paused for a moment. Did he hear her and Zachary’s conversation? However, the content of this opera was definitely something that would be unpleasant for a member of the Duke’s family.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty.”

Nevertheless, she politely apologized. Even so, the relationship between the Imperial Family and the Duke family was walking on thin ice. If the family relationship deteriorated because of those words, it would be a big deal.

“My previous remarks were somewhat rude.”

Having said that, Iellie glanced at the Emperor. He was arrogant and self-righteous, though he was not a fool. It seemed that the Imperial Family threw the glove at the Duke first, so he would probably accept the apology.



“Do not worry. I have no intention of making an issue.”

As expected, the Emperor grinned.

Iellie was a little relieved. The Emperor was speaking to her to pretend to be generous.

“Do you think I’m going to embarrass the Lady with just those words?”

“Thank you.”

“Nonetheless, I accepted that statement because it was what the Lady said.”

‘What does this mean…?’

Iellie strained her tight shoulders.

The Emperor continued speaking in a slow voice, “Because I think Lady Hessenweitz is special.”

“May I ask what those words mean?”

“No.”

The Emperor’s eyes looked straight at her. Inside, the feelings, unknown to her, were deeply entangled.

“If I tell you that I want the Lady to take her surname back to Blanchett, not Hesseinweitz.”

“….”

At his words, she bit her lip.

The Emperor, who was observing her expression with interest, spat out a word.

“Of course, I’m joking.”

“It seems a bit inappropriate as a joke to a Lady who is already married.”

Iellie answered calmly. What the Emperor just said, was it really a joke? It would have been nice if it was a joke, but unfortunately, the way he gazed at her didn’t seem to be the case.

The Emperor smiled obliquely.

“This allows the Lady to shake off the personal thoughts that she had.”

Stupid little bastard… She had to work hard to manage her facial expressions. The Emperor spoke again.

“You are much more beautiful today than that.”

“…Thank you for the compliment.”

Iellie had a trembling face as she answered. The Emperor stared at her with a laid-back face. The beautiful lady with her pink hair curled up that barely hid her hostility towards the Emperor…

‘How pretty is that… What a surprise.’

His eyes darkened with a soaring possessiveness.

A woman as bright as an Asha flower. Even though he met so many women, he never had a woman who ignited his emotions like Iellie. He licked his lips.

‘But, now is not the time.’

Above all else, it took a lot of effort to pick beautiful flowers.

The Emperor stepped back.

“Oh, the handkerchief I gave to Lady Hessenweitz does not belong to the Lady.”

“That means…”

“It’s mine. I think the Lady is avoiding me, so I used that as an excuse to talk to you.”

Iellie couldn’t hide her surprised face. However, the Emperor smiled softly and concluded the conversation.

“I will give you that handkerchief as a present. See you later when the opera is over.”

‘No, I don’t want to see you again.’

Iellie could barely say the answer. The Emperor disappeared, leaving only a fragment of a smile. She glanced down at the handkerchief in her hand.

“Asha flowers and swords…”

In the corner of the luxurious handkerchief, elaborate designs were embroidered with gold thread. A coat of arms that symbolizes the imperial family.

“…I don’t want it, really.”

Unable to throw away the handkerchief, she roughly shoved it into her bag with a disgusted look.

People who used the Opera House’s royal seats, that was, private rooms, could see each other. It was because the royal seats were clustered in the center of the third floor. It was natural for the Royal Family and the only next Ducal couple of the empire to use royal seats.

That meant, the chance that the Emperor and her would meet was not low.

“See you later when the opera is over.”

Recalling the words, Iellie shook her shoulder. She never wanted to see the Emperor again.

“Len?”

“…Ah, Zachary.”

“What’s the matter. You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

When Iellie stumbled into the private room, Zachary looked at her worryingly.

‘Right, I saw one. Not a ghost, but the Emperor.’

She grumbled inside. No, really, why would she encounter the Emperor like that? Besides, why ask such a question?

As she sat in her seat, she answered with a sullen face.

“That’s because, on the way, I saw the Emperor.”

“…The Emperor?”

Zachary’s face had already hardened. He asked again in a cold voice, “Did His Majesty do anything to you?”

He was fierce, as if he was going to war. Seeing that, Iellie quickly shook her head.

“No, not like that.”

Rather, the Emperor heard her swear, so she made a mistake…?

Biting her lip, she answered.

“If I had to say… I think I am close to making a mistake.”

“You?”

Zachary’s expression darkened.

…Really, what a headache. She then buried her face in her hands and moaned, “Yes. I think His Majesty must have heard what I said.”

Iellie, who was explaining, became a little embarrassed. To be honest, this was the Imperial Family’s fault first. They not only blatantly denigrated the only Duchy of the Empire, but even made the denigration into an opera. However…

“Even though it was the Imperial Family who acted rudely in the first place, if they want to make a fuss, they can.”

“Len.”

“Of course, His Majesty said that he would bury it, though… What if something goes wrong because of me?”

Her head is sore. She hung her body over the back of the chair with a tired face.

“It’s okay.”

As she panicked, Zachary patted the back of her hand. As always, he spoke in a friendly voice.

“Don’t worry too much.”

“…Zachary?”

“No matter what you do, I will always be on your side.”

She didn’t know that the words she had always said would come back like this. Iellie stared blankly at Zachary.

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