- Assassination
All this time, I thought that he did not love me.
His gaze towards me was indifferent, and his voice was always stiff.
But now, the look in the eyes of the man who was passionately kissing me—one hand around my waist and the other cradling my head—was as hot as a blazing fire.
“I love you.”
With every parting of our lips, his voice whispered love, filled with both sorrow and urgency.
I could tell without him needing to say those words.
I understood how much he had longed for me all this time and how desperately he was treating me now.
‘But if it continues like this… I cannot be with him.’
Having completed my thoughts, I suppressed the pleasure coursing through my body and pushed him away.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Whenever he was with Cornelia, he could never let his guard down for even a moment.
In an instant of carelessness, he might lose his reason and unleash his desires upon her.
However…
‘Does she love me?’
Could this be a dream? If it were, please don’t let me wake up.
Repeating this in his mind thousands of times, he pulled out the heavy feelings he had kept inside.
I love you.
And fearing that he might wake from this blissful dream, he urgently pressed his lips against hers.
Eventually, he realized this was reality.
The sensations felt through their lips were too vivid to be a dream, and his whole body was on fire.
‘Am I really with her…?’
Confessing his true feelings to her and having her accept his love.
It was something he had longed for so much.
No, it was a reality more blissful than he had wished for.
She was responding to his kiss without pushing him away.
Yet, despite this, anxiety still lingered in his heart.
‘Why is that? I should be more than happy…’
At that moment.
“Wait.”
He flinched at her action of pushing him away with her delicate fingers.
‘Why on earth…?’
Looking at her, he could see that the heat they had just shared was now cooling.
The anxiety that had been nestled in a corner of his heart began to creep up, whispering to him.
‘Don’t you still understand? She can leave you at any time.’
He wanted to deny it.
But she already had a history of leaving him.
‘Moreover, Demian is not my child… There’s no connection between us.’
Perhaps he might become a stranger to her like this.
Overwhelmed by anxiety to the point of becoming restless, he lost his judgment.
“Cornelia, have I done something wrong again?”
He urgently grabbed her hand and asked, but she shook her head.
“No, you haven’t done anything wrong. I just…”
In that moment, he recalled a time when she had been angry with him and then resigned.
‘Is she trying to push me away again by saying I haven’t done anything wrong?’
Finally, a desperate voice escaped his lips.
“I’ll fix it! If I’ve been bothersome, I’ll change everything. If you’re angry because I deceived you, I’ll do better from now on. I’ll be a good dad to Demian too. So please…”
Cornelia was the only light in his dark life.
He knew that, but he had tried to give her up because he thought her happiness was more important.
However, the blissful sensation he had felt once trampled his resolve mercilessly.
Now, he had no confidence in living without her.
But whether he could be with her or not depended entirely on her will.
‘So the only way is to cling to her, the absolute being.’
After a brief moment of bitter laughter, a desperate plea escaped his lips.
“Please don’t push me away.”
Even as he clung to her, he had no time to feel that he was being cowardly or pathetic.
His mind was solely filled with the hope that she wouldn’t leave.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Even while listening to Erich, I couldn’t understand his words.
‘No, why is he suddenly asking what he did wrong? Why is he saying such things? We just kissed,’
But then his next words made me realize why he was acting like that.
‘Could it be that he’s reacting like this just because I pushed him away for a moment? It’s because we kept kissing that we couldn’t even talk properly!’
However, I couldn’t let this misunderstanding continue.
After all, he was looking at me with desperate eyes that transcended his anxiety.
‘And I’ve made mistakes too…’
I intertwined my fingers with his hand that was holding mine.
Finally, I opened my mouth.
“Is it because I pushed you away? Didn’t you hear me say that I liked you? I said it despite feeling embarrassed, so don’t just brush it off like that!”
At that, he responded with a slightly defeated demeanor.
“No, it’s just that you suddenly pushed me away. I thought I had done something wrong again.”
Honestly, I had no words.
I had caused him to misunderstand, and I had also done something wrong to him.
‘I’m honestly scared. I’m worried you might feel betrayed because of this. But…’
Yes, I couldn’t avoid it forever.
If I didn’t reveal the truth to him, our relationship would surely stagnate here.
So, I gathered my courage.
“The reason I initially pushed you away was because I had something important to tell you. And it was about the wrong I did to you.”
“What do you mean? There’s no way you could have wronged me…”
“Demian is your son.”
I saw his eyes widen in shock at my words.
My heart sank, but I continued speaking calmly.
“I deceived you all this time. I was afraid that if I revealed the truth, you wouldn’t agree to the divorce.”
Seeing him silent filled me with anxiety.
However, instead of shrinking back or retreating, I tightened my grip on his hand.
“I know you must feel a great sense of betrayal. But the reason I’m revealing the truth is that I want to… become a real family with you.”
We lived together, but we didn’t share our true feelings, nor did we express affection; it was a strange relationship.
Until now, our relationship had been more like roommates than a married couple.
But knowing his true feelings and realizing my own desires, I felt a longing.
I wanted to become a real family with him.
And to achieve that, this step was necessary.
“Of course, you must have felt betrayed. But I…”
I hadn’t even finished my sentence.
He pulled me into his embrace.
“Yes, honestly, I felt betrayed. But…”
His clear blue eyes held me.
Eventually, tears flowed from his eyes.
“But I’m more overwhelmed with joy. Because a family I thought I had lost for so long has come back.”
His words, acknowledging me as his real family, made me choke, but I held back my tears and smiled.
Today was a happy day, a day when our family was reunited.
“Let’s go back. To our home, where our child is waiting for us.”
At my words, he smiled brightly.
“Yes.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Meanwhile, the empress was scowling at the unexpected news.
“What? That woman is the crown princess? What does that even mean!”
“It has been decided at the state council meeting.”
“So, how could those conservative nobles recognize a woman as the crown princess!”
“Well, it seems evidence has been found that the founding emperor had black hair. So, they say that black hair is a sign of being the founding emperor’s bloodline…”
Crash!
The empress threw a cup in anger.
“Don’t be ridiculous! How could that ominous woman possibly inherit the power of the first emperor? She must have schemed to take my son’s position!”
She then glared with fierce eyes at the head maid and demanded, “Where is that treacherous woman?”
“I’m not sure, but it seems she’s preparing to leave the palace.”
“Bring that woman here immediately…”
The empress, who was about to give the order to bring her to the empress palace, closed her mouth.
‘No, that woman wouldn’t come willingly.’
The empress stood up.
“I will go myself. Lead the way.”
Quickly heading to the carriage waiting area, the empress was able to spot Cornelia there.
“Cornelia!”
When she called out to her daughter, Cornelia turned to her with a defiant gaze.
“Why have you come to see me, Your Majesty the Empress?”
For a moment, she felt a surge of emotion, but considering the situation, she spoke calmly.
“Let’s go to the empress palace first and talk…”
“No, thank you.”
Rudely refusing before the sentence was even finished, Cornelia continued.
“It’s obvious you’ll just talk about useless things. Like giving up the title of crown princess or releasing my uncle.”
The empress’s face twisted in anger.
‘This wicked woman, she knows everything and yet dares to…’
As the furious empress tried to approach, someone blocked her path.
It was none other than Duke Blant, the empire’s greatest swordsman and the hero of the northern border.
“Get out of the way!”
She shouted bravely, but upon seeing Duke Blant’s fierce gaze, she instinctively took a step back.
With her legs weakening, the empress stumbled and grabbed the head maid for support.
“Y-You dare…”
At that moment, a voice came to calm him with a sigh.
“Darling, I’m fine, so could you allow a moment for the empress and me to talk?”
Like a well-behaved dog, Duke Blant stepped back.
Cornelia approached the barely standing empress and said,
“Your Majesty the Empress, if you were trying to command me with your authority as a mother, you are mistaken. Just as you do not regard me as your child, I do not consider you my mother.”
“You, you! You insolent wretch!”
“Yes, it was you, Your Majesty, who made me this way. So, if you wish to be respected, it would be wise for you to conduct yourself properly.”
Understanding the implication, the empress trembled.
In other words, if she wanted to maintain her position, even as the empress, she should remain silent as if a mouse had died.
