Chapter 44
Anel, lost in thought, couldn’t even come up with a response. She stared blankly at her lemon-colored hair, fluttering in the strong wind.
If it were to rain, it seemed like the color would turn bitter and sour.
Her view was filled.
“Still, what can I do, my lady.”
A low voice echoed in her ears.
Every time his voice sank into the meadow, the grass of the entire plain shook.
“I guess I have to be deceived.”
“Johan.”
Anel called his name unintentionally.
When her lips pronounced his name, Johan strangely twisted the corners of his mouth.
“As a gift you want.”
He enjoyed a moment of silence before saying,
“How far can you go, Miss?”
‘How far’?
Anel momentarily tilted her head at his choice of words.
“What do you desire?”
“In truth, there was nothing Anel couldn’t afford with her wealth.’’
She was the sole heir to the ducal family.
Now that the duchy had been abolished, Anel was the one managing the estate of the former ducal family.
And the wealth of the ducal family…
To Anel, it felt almost limitless.
Without the need to use the imperial budget, her personal assets alone were more than sufficient.
“Ah.”
As if realizing this fact, Johan gracefully narrowed his eyes and smiled mischievously.
“I made a slip of the tongue, Addressing the sole heir of the former ducal family.”
He slightly parted his lips, revealing a playful expression.
“I must have misunderstood, Speaking to someone who can afford anything with money… I dared to inquire about limits, but I guess that’s hard to comprehend, isn’t it?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“But unfortunately, Your Majesty, I wasn’t asking about the limits of money.”
Not asking about the limits of money?
Anel became dazed.
“Does that mean…?”
“Well.”
Johan wrapped the reins of the buttercup around his hands twice.
It was a signal that he was about to ride off.
“Think carefully with that clever mind of yours, What kind of gift I might desire.”
“Your Majesty.”
“Then maybe you’ll consider accepting what I might demand in return for the gifts.”
!”
Johan reached out towards her.
Anel, bewildered, tried to evade him, but Johan’s hand skillfully passed her by –
“Perhaps you’ll ask for the money hidden by the nobles of the empire, wagering even my name.”
Delfi headed towards Johan, holding the reins.
“For the citizens of the Empire, I will manage taxes. Organize grand festivals to relieve hunger… and even buy those who turned to thievery due to poverty.”
“….”
Johan smirked as if he had expected such a response.
“I know what you want.”
He handed the reins back to Anel.
“It means I can see all the thoughts swirling in that small head of yours.”
Then, Anel tightened the reins firmly once again to make sure.
“Now, shouldn’t you also know what I want, Empress?”
As soon as Johan finished speaking, he urged Buttercup and Delfi forward with a burst of speed.
Excited, the two horses tossed their heads simultaneously and began to run quickly.
“Hey…!”
“So, bring what I want, Then I’ll give you what you want.”
Anel bent down, holding the reins tightly to keep up with Delfi, who was running at an incredible speed.
Her securely fastened brown hair swayed slightly, demonstrating how fast they were going.
“Don’t worry. Unlike your words, Delfi doesn’t let go of a rider she acknowledges.”
“But you should have given a warning!”
Anel glanced at Buttercup and the man riding on top, running relatively smoothly beside her.
How skillfully he handled words. Buttercup, with a calm temperament, was running at a speed almost comparable to Anel’s riding horse.
“What’s wrong with a little fun?”
“Why should I have that kind of fun…!”
“Not your fun, but my fun, Empress.”
Johan laughed heartily.
“Isn’t that your duty? As an Empress, to please the Emperor.”
“Such a duty is not found in any code, etiquette, or legal code!”
“Is that so? Then just carve it into your mind when you return today.”
Unlike Anel, who had bent forward, Johann casually held the reins with one hand while leaning back.
His nonchalance was not something Anel found ordinary; rather, it disgusted her.
“Do not use your position so arrogantly.”
“Do you know why I willingly abandoned the comfortable position of a duke and usurped the throne, Lady Morata?”
The titles and formality, long unheard, made Anel shudder, bringing back memories of the first ball they had met.
“I don’t want to know.”
Anel tried to speak as firmly as possible, despite being swayed by Delfi.
“I wanted a world where my words became law.”
“Is that truly the reason?”
Johan smiled at Anel.
“Lady Morata, it seems you lack a sense of humor, Or are you excessively naive?”
“If that’s humor, I’ll pass.”
Tsk, tsk.
Johan clicked his tongue twice.
“Well, Lady Morata, it seems you lack a sense of humor, Or are you excessively naive?”
“If that’s humor, I’ll pass.”
Tsk, tsk.
Johann clicked his tongue twice.
“Well, Lady Morata, I’m not usually a madman… but.”
His expression was truly one of decadence.
Profound indifference to everything in the world, a deep decadence.
“I’m not crazy enough to endure troublesome things for such a trivial reason.”
“Then why… why did you do it in the first place?”
It was a question that had always lingered in her mind.
Why?
Why, despite ruining the lives of countless people.
Did you have to climb to that position?
“I want to know, Anel?”
“Johann turned his head and looked straight ahead again.’’
Even as he called her name.
He wasn’t looking at her at all.
“Everything had to be mine.”
His voice had no fluctuation.
“From the beginning, everything should have been mine.”
And at the end of the meadow.
Only when the white fence marking the boundary of reality appeared.
Johann looked back at Anel.
“You’re the one, Anel.”
His eyes were filled with empty greed.
Anel couldn’t quite grasp whether this could be called greed.
Gizel stood by the window, looking down at a pair of men and women.
Behind her palace, the hunting grounds of the royal family spread widely.
Thanks to that, from her bedroom, she could see the beginning of the hunting grounds.
“….”
Whether it was the wind or not, Gizel clenched her hands at the sight of the disheveled couple.
Anel, who didn’t fit her own size, was getting off a black horse.
Johann had dismounted earlier and was holding Anel’s waist.
The white horse he rode on was one Gizel was familiar with.
“…It was Buttercup, the name.”
“At times, she remembered having prepared powdered sugar for Buttercup, a kind gesture. While others would scold or shoo away the geese, Buttercup never did. Of course, she never paid any attention to the geese either.
“Still the same,” she thought.
Fetching sugar for the horse and Anel preparing sandwiches and cakes – that was Jiselle’s role. Anel always divided the sandwiches and cakes equally between Jiselle and Buttercup, but Jiselle couldn’t be satisfied. She longed to eat an entire cake and sandwich at least once. It was her only childhood wish, and now…
“Johan.”
The only man shining like a light in that meadow.
“Yes, Mama.”
She wanted to have him entirely to herself, Not because she loved him or wanted his heart. Just to possess the man no noble women had ever had.
“And tell the stable master that I want to learn horseback riding too.”
“Horseback riding?”
If she could have that man, whom no one else in the world had, even if it was just for show, it was a deal. After all, no one would ever know the truth. The man the entire world couldn’t possess. If she could have him, that was enough.
“Tell the stable master that I want to learn horseback riding too.”
Johan raised her eyebrow at the unexpected comment from Sangjun.
Then, she lowered her head after confirming where Jizele’s gaze was directed.
It was an effort to suppress the laughter that was about to burst out.
‘Oh.’
Jizelle wanted to follow the empress now.
‘Are you jealous of Her Majesty the Empress? Do you have any shame?’
An adult empress learning horseback riding. Joan thought it must be the first time in the history of the palace.
“Johan?”
At that moment, Jizelle called out to Joan, who was trying to leave the room.
