- You should have killed me
A sharp pain was felt, but it was brief.
In my exhausted body, I couldn’t even feel sensations properly. Today had been too eventful. Arriving in the capital, getting off the carriage, riding a horse, visiting the castle, and even going to the temple to meet the heroine…
Sighing deeply, I recalled the events of the day. He lifted his head.
“What are you thinking about like that?”
“I didn’t think of anything special. Just thought I’m tired… So, where do I sleep tonight?”
I blinked my eyes. A yawn escaped.
“Young Lady, it’s better for you to just use this bed.”
His somewhat disheveled voice pierced my ears.
He licked the mark on my neck with his tongue. It was a signal that he had drunk all the blood.
Power is nice. To take away the Duke’s bed with just a few words.
At that moment, the door creaked open, and a fresh scream echoed in the room.
“Oh, my! I’m sorry. I thought no one was here, so I was trying to clean.”
A maid in a maid uniform rushed in and quickly closed the door.
Behind the closed door, the sound of something falling over was heard.
This is bad. Sleepiness was gone in an instant.
“It seems it’s getting troublesome.”
“Why?”
His posture was peculiar. I was lying on the bed, and he was sitting on top of it. To someone unaware of the situation, it was a posture that could easily be misunderstood. Even though he asked like that, he didn’t lift his head from my neck. He probably knew. He was pretending to be genuinely curious.
Moreover, the scene the maid witnessed was the moment our lips met. If someone had seen it from behind, it would have looked like a deep kiss.
“You might be misunderstood. This way, the Duke will seem to love me even more.”
Moreover, the maid was someone unfamiliar with the Duke’s mansion. Outsiders were unaware that I was a vampire. So, if she were to spread the news about him kissing my neck… it would be troublesome.
“I tried to act like a safe and ordinary master here. It’s ruined now.”
“Is that so?”
He answered nonchalantly, as if it were nothing significant.
* * *
I prepared to go to the palace early in the morning.
There was no need for me to go, but I wanted to avoid the turmoil of being kicked out during the mansion’s major cleaning. I could have just enjoyed tea at a nearby shop or in one of the outbuildings. However, Deon was determined not to leave my side, as if he couldn’t stand the thought of losing sight of me now that I couldn’t escape… No matter what I said, it was an utterly useless protest.
The distance to the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Temple was not far. It would take about ten minutes by horse. However, unlike the Imperial Temple, the atmosphere here was bleak and dark.
Even the palace guards seemed tense at the sight of Deon. Despite their efforts to avert their gaze, both the sentinels and the palace stablemen were visibly on edge, trying to ignore Deon but secretly keeping an eye on him.
“Have you arrived?”
A knight standing in the reception room saluted when he saw Deon. It was a refined gesture.
“Speak formally.”
“Yes! Prince… No, Grand Duke Deon is going to the…”
Even though it wasn’t a surprise visit, he hadn’t even clarified the proper title with the knight. Deon, who always had an expressionless face, now seemed irritated.
The knight kept stammering, not sure what to call Deon.
Even though they knew he was going to deliver greetings at the palace, he was instructing people below to treat him with disrespect. I frowned involuntarily at this childish behavior.
If he continues like this, how will this child endure it later?
In Deon’s list of executed, my name might be written in larger letters than ever.
“That’s enough. I’ll say it. Open the door.”
“I apologize.”
“Guard Young Lady. I’ll go in alone. Wait outside the reception room.”
“Yes. Understood.”
Finally, the door opened. Deon walked purposefully toward the Emperor, who was standing far away.
“Stop.”
The Emperor’s voice echoed in the large hall.
He had only walked about five steps. Deon abruptly stopped.
“It’s better to greet from there. Is there anything inconvenient about observing the etiquette? I’ll soon be leaving the palace, so don’t close the door.”
The Emperor stopped the knight from closing the door.
It was humiliating.
Even though his face wasn’t visible, it was possible to guess the suppressed anger.
The current Empress of the Empire, who took the place of the deposed Empress and is also Deon’s mother.
Her elegantly arranged brown updo looked refined. She didn’t seem as ruthless as the Empress of Azanti, even her wrinkles appeared compassionate.
Don’t judge by appearances.
The Empress wiped the sweat from the Emperor’s forehead with a gentle touch using a handkerchief. It seemed quite sincere.
“I greet Your Majesty, the Emperor.”
“I see some faces I haven’t seen in a while. Have you made a family in the North where I sent you to reflect?…”
The Emperor, who had managed to stop coughing, asked. Deon acknowledged the greeting without going into detail.
“As for that woman…”
The Emperor pointed toward the door, where I was.
“Leonie Sien.”
I quickly bowed my head.
“Sien?”
The Emperor furrowed his brow.
It sounded like a voice asking which fallen family is attached to this name.
No, could the discomfort be solely because a family with an unknown name like Sien has entered the imperial family?
“With your age in full vigor, it’s time for Deon to find a partner.”
The Empress neatly folded the handkerchief.
“Hehe… Considering what your mother did to the imperial family, it’s not quite fitting for you to set foot in the capital… But considering past merits and the fact that you are my son, let’s have a little celebration. Is there a suitable event…?”
In response to her words, the Empress, as if waiting, answered.
“There is going to be a bazaar hosted by the nobles soon. You can be introduced there. Deon… the Duke’s mansion.”
“The bazaar is an annual event. Using it as a celebration might be…”
“But wouldn’t it be even more meaningful? It’s a good opportunity, considering it’s an event where all the nobles in the capital participate for a good cause.”
The Empress smiled slyly.
“Then, let’s do that.”
The Emperor nodded.
“…Thank you for your hospitality, Your Majesty.”
“Indeed. Deon de La…”
“Your Majesty…”
The Empress, who was next to him, tightly gripped the Emperor’s hand. Then she whispered something and lowered her head.
It was so discreet that not even the shape of her mouth could be seen, but it was clear.
“Do that, Deon.”
He clenched his fist tightly. The knuckles turned white, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.
In the end, the Emperor did not call out his title.
* * *
It became increasingly difficult to observe the Emperor behind him. The tension made it hard to breathe.
Carefully, I slipped away into the corridor. The red carpet laid in the corridor made my head spin.
As I turned the corner, a long shadow appeared at the end of the corridor. The shadow gradually approached.
Was it Viter or Edan? No, commoners couldn’t enter the palace through Edan.
The face came closer. Blonde hair. A familiar face.
It was the Crown Prince.
He had his fists clenched and looked at me leisurely, raising one corner of his mouth.
“I didn’t expect Deon to rescue you so quickly. Does he find you more horrifying than I do?”
The one who handed over nobles to slavery seemed indifferent to facing me, as if there were no one to punish him. His arrogance pierced the sky.
“Long time no see.”
I smiled at him.
“You’ve been through a lot. Withering away like this… Can you continue to stay by Deon’s side? You have to be as cunning as a fox.”
He raised my chin with his finger. I jerked away from his touch nervously.
The actions of the villain were simple and uniform.
“Are you planning to face me even after being sold out? How shameless.”
“I just wanted to scare you. If I had planned it, would Young Lady be alive now?”
Blond hair shimmered at the tip of his chin. This is your original hair.
The once well-matched brown hair had turned blonde without me noticing. It suited him, in its own way.
“You followed us to the palace. Do you really intend to have a serious relationship with Deon? Even if you do, you won’t live long.”
He continued to taunt incessantly without closing his mouth.
“Do you feel unjust? Do you know how often Deon changes people? At most, it’s been two years. Now, it’s been six months, so Young Lady’s expiration date is about a year and a half.”
No, it’s only been four months.
Your guesses always miss the mark. And soon, one more will miss. The fact that you can become the emperor.
“A meeting of the worthless and the abandoned. If a child is born between you, how pitiful would it be… You match well.”
It was a predictable remark that didn’t miss a single detail.
<The statement that it doesn’t suit you hurts more than the one saying it suits you.>
I remembered what I said to him before leaving the North. I laughed without realizing it.
“Did I make a joke?”
He squinted his eyes.
His eyebrows went up. Although he was handsome, there was no resemblance to Deon.
I stopped laughing.
“Aren’t you afraid of me, Your Highness?”
“Me? Afraid of you?”
He responded as if he were amazed.
“Am I crazy to be afraid of you? Am I supposed to be as crazy as Deon? Why would I be afraid of you?”
“I am perfectly fine. Since the Duke has entered the capital. You angered the Duke and gave him a good excuse to counterattack. Aren’t you afraid?”
“What?”
“I can’t stop him with just disrupting the appointment ceremony. Your Highness should have been more careful. At that time, you should either have mercilessly killed me or prevented the Duke’s entry into the capital.”
He made an uneasy expression. And soon, he realized that he had been hit and looked determined.
“Don’t worry. Young Lady. I’ll soon have you married off with the Duke. Check the numerology.”
You will die before you can kill me. It’s a shame.
The numerology is already scheduled.
You may be cruel, but you are just a noble who has never had a drop of blood on your hands.
The last moments of a captured enemy should be witnessed personally or executed. You always left it to others. That’s why you always fail.
Deon is a person who spills blood in his hands every day, whether it’s someone else’s or mine.
The fact that he won’t become the winner was not pointed out.
After all, he was just an extra who would perish with me.
😁😯👍