Chapter 20

Where did he happen to see it? Ethelred attempted to stab Lorentz’s left arm as he steadied Maribelle’s hand without hesitation. Maribelle was the one who was embarrassed as a result of this.

“Your Majesty.”

It was clearly a call to stop. As if he could read Maribelle’s bewildered look, Ethelred tilted his head to set his gaze on her.

“A man can live with only one arm.”

Ethelred apparently thought that Maribelle was embarrassed because she was worried that Lorentz would die. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have explained that he wouldn’t die.

He didn’t even inquire as to why she wished to stab her uncle.

‘How in the world am I supposed to fix this?’

Maribelle sighed and took her hand away from Ethelred’s.

“He’s my stepfather. He is the father of my sister.”

Considering this new information, Ethelred relented, thinking that stabbing her “step father” with a sword would not be a good idea.

“Oh, no. I apologize. Was he your step father?”

He’d already attempted to stab him, and despite apologizing there was no way the incident could be forgotten. Furthermore, the person he directed the apology to was Maribelle, on the other hand, Maribelle didn’t care enough and chose not to bring up Ethelred’s lackluster apology.

Instead, she posed a question.

“Before, you put the sword to Sir Kir’s neck first, but this time you put it to just his arm?”

“Unfortunately, I hired him as the Head of Staff so if I kill him, I’ll have to hire someone else.”

‘Is Uncle in charge of Head of Staff?’

For a brief moment, Maribelle was taken aback. The sudden news caused her voice to choke as she spoke lowly.

“I’d prefer you put me in that place.”

“Do you want me to try to kill you as well?”

Maribelle sighed and pulled her hand away from Ethelred’s. She almost felt she should raise her hands as if proving she had nothing to do with this.

“Everything is done in accordance with Your Majesty’s wishes.” Implying that if he wanted to kill her he could freely try.

“Pft.”

It wasn’t Ethelred who chuckled, of course. Lorentz, who was still sweating in anxiety, also wasn’t the culprit.

With the exception of Maribelle, all eyes were drawn to Kir.

‘Are you in a bad mood again?’

Maribelle, instead, was looking at Ethelred. Ethelred’s eyes, which had become softer, sharpened once more. Ethelred already had a sword in his hand, and the warning he gave Kir the day before was still valid.

‘You’re not going to aim the blade at Sir Kir yet, are you?’

“Kir, wake up.”

As if to mock him, the tip of Ethelred’s sword aimed toward Kir. The effect was good. Kir returned to his calm serious self as if he had never laughed.

“That’s, I’m  sorry. I didn’t expect the Lady to be this fierce.”

‘Don’t talk about someone right in their face, Sir Kir.’

“Get used to it. She’s going to be my future wife.”

“Yes?”

This was Maribelle’s question. Wife? The Emperor’s only wife is the Empress. Even if she was a candidate for the Empress and had already received a marriage proposal, she believed it was a ruse because there was no mention of a wedding at all.

‘I can’t believe he said I’m going to be the Empress,’

She can’t help but be surprised. Ethelred was the only one without a look of shock on his face. On the contrary, he looked in awe at Maribelle, who appeared to be taken aback.

“Why are you so surprised? Are you not a candidate for Empress? Or do you want me to bring another woman?”

“That’s not—”

Maribelle immediately shut her mouth. When she answered no, it was as if she was proving to herself that her dreams would be in vain.

‘Can I be the Empress?’ Me?’

It won’t be that bad. She concluded earlier than she had expected. The first feelings of embarrassment was just that, embarrassment, not discomfort and certainly not hope.

As Maribelle had predicted, Ethelred sent a marriage proposal and then did nothing, so she was now seen as the Emperor’s favored woman, more or less.

Candidates are simply just candidates. Is there really no Young Lady aiming for the throne of Empress?

No, there’s no way there isn’t.

Maribelle is said to be from the Duke of Edenbert, but- despite her parentage- she was a person with an ambiguous position who had never been referred to as the Young Lady of Edenbert. As a result, there must be a chance that a family similar to the Duke of Edenbert would seek the Empress position.

Is there any reason to not accept the title of Empress? Maribelle had already expected to spend the rest of her life at the Imperial Palace after making such a scene at the party.

Everything she had was earned by selling the rest of her life, so there’s no reason to refuse just because her status would rise.

Besides—.

‘Ethelred with another woman.’

Her stomach felt uncomfortable. She felt a little lost imagining someone else with him. She was the only one who spent the night with Ethelred. Maybe she had mistaken herself as being special. Stupidly—.

“Maribelle, why did you stop talking?”

Maribelle was simply observing Ethelred’s fixed gaze on her. For a short time, the surroundings came to a halt. She felt a strange conviction as she faced the red eyes gazing at her heatedly.

‘Maybe…’

She doesn’t think it’s a mistake.

‘He has a special place in his heart for me.’

She’s already special to him.

There’s no need to call it “love” but Ethelred might make an exception, maybe, just for her.

‘So, I need to be a little more confident.’

‘Think about it. Who would survive stealing a kiss from a tyrant in the middle of the party? It’s just me. It’s just me.’

Even if the plan has a grand excuse to justify it, the facts remain the same.

Maribelle took her time opening her mouth and spoke in a small but firm voice.

“I don’t think another woman is necessary—”

Ethelred’s lips curved into a faint smile, Kir interrupted just as he was about to say something.

“Then do you intend to accept men instead of women?”

“Shut up, Kir.”

“Yes.”

Ethelred sighed as Kir became more quiet. His expression had softened noticeably, but the tip of the sword returned to Lorentz despite his decreasing anger.

“Perhaps this will soon be the Emperor’s relative.” (t/n: by marriage, a royal relative.)

Lorentz’s eyes, which were shaking in fear, regained their light at that moment. The Emperor’s relatives. Are there more enticing words? Especially to the greedy type.

‘Should I let you dream of a high position for a moment?’

Despair is something only those who once had hope can truly feel. The higher you feel, the worse the fall will be.

“Y-your Majesty! Indeed that kid is the Empress—Argh!”

Lorentz sank to the ground with a painful shriek. This time he was truly stabbed. The thigh was stabbed.

Ethelred looked coldly at Lorentz, clutching his leg, as he cried and crawled.

“I never granted you the right to speak.”

“Ugh— Y-Your Majesty.”

A chilling gaze fell on Lorentz for a moment before shifting to the escort knight standing next to Kir. Maribelle drew the sword from that Knight.

“Take him with you. Keep him out of my sight.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The knight knelt and began carrying Lorentz. Lorentz was not a small man, but the knight dragged him onto his armored shoulder because the knight was so tall that it was difficult to support him.

“Maribelle.”

Maribelle shifted her gaze from Kir’s back to Ethelred in response to Ethelred’s call. He looked down at his blood-stained hands, or more precisely his gloves, clicked his tongue once and then removed them.

Ethelred had a cool expression on his face, as if the previous violence had been a lie, and very unlike the expression he had when he looked at Maribelle so affectionately a short time ago.

“I’m not going to ask you why you’re so angry at him. I’m sure you’ve got your reasons.”

“—Yes.”

“He’s the Head of the Staff, so there’s a lot of people he knows. If you pull out your sword every time, you’ll get into trouble.”

He was warning her not to go too far. Maribelle understood what he was saying. It would appear to be a better idea to either avoid him or hide her burning hatred rather than attempting to take her revenge right away.

“Learn a thing or two from Theovalt. Maybe Self-defense or a sword? When you can’t even hold a long-sword, how can you stab a man?

Hmm? Maribelle raised her head.

“…You mean I can still stab him?”

“There’s nothing you can’t do in my Palace.”

Ethelred laughed.

“I told you. If there’s anything you want to do, do it. I won’t stop you.”

As Ethelred showed a lack of interest in what Maribelle did or didn’t do Maribelle became terrified all of a sudden. What if Ethelred actually wasn’t treating her specially like she had thought earlier, what if he was simply trying to get more use out of her somehow?

Maribelle opened her mouth after a brief hesitation.

“What about being the Empress? That’s not what I wanted.”

“That’s right.”

“Why did you promise to marry me? Were you just saying that for show? Is there anything else you’d like me to do for you?”

“Should I keep another woman?”

“You know that’s not what I’m saying.”

Ethelred raised an eyebrow. If she had seemed indifferent just a moment ago she now looked slightly offended. She wanted to take back her question immediately.

‘I should not have inquired.’

She could have just walked away if she had just been quiet as usual. She was offended because he one sidedly decided and was now not even answering why he did that.

Her stomach became numb. If she goes against Ethelred here even a little bit more, she can’t guarantee that he would continue to help her pursue her revenge.

Ethelred’s eyebrows, which appeared to have stood up, slightly lowered as Maribelle was about to take an unintentional step back.

“Because I don’t know what you want.”

“…..?”

“I didn’t know what you wanted, so I gave you something in my own way.”

“Do you mean the position of Empress is a gift?”

“I apologize if you didn’t like it. I thought it would be better to give you a status rather than jewelry. Because you are already a candidate.”

“I don’t need jewelry.”

Maribelle paused, moving closer to Ethelred. Something tells her it’s all right.

“Don’t try to give me too much, Your Majesty.”

“I’m only doing it because I want to.”

“I can’t live perpetually in debt.”

The reason behind the marriage offer could not be better for Maribelle. The anxiety melted away like snow. She was delighted to receive the gift, but she was even happier to have heard that Ethelred was giving it to her simply because he wanted to.

“Do you need anything from me?”

“Well. Should I expect something in return when I give a gift?”

“Then allow me to ask you a question.” She said walking slowly closer.

Maribelle raised her chin. As she got closer to him, she had to raise her eyes even more. Only then were they able to make eye contact.

It’s amazing.

She hopes she isn’t the only one who believes their relationship is special. She wants them to be special to each other before she talks about love. Friendship, trust or at the very least, loyalty were all things she hoped to establish before even thinking about love.

So I’m going to ask you a question here.

“Do you think I’m special to you, Your Majesty?”

Ethelred sighed and frowned.

“I’m not sure why you’re so concerned with judging your own values.”

“I—!”

“Anyone at the party would think you had caught me. Don’t you agree? The Emperor is embroiled in a scandal. It’s embarrassing for me to say that.”

It wasn’t at all embarrassing, but he went on anyway.

“Anyone would think you have a firm grip on me. Of course, you are special. Can you not believe that?”

Maribelle shook her head. That was, in fact, her first thought. There is no more certain and powerful person than that of the Emperor who had absolute power. Ethelred went on indifferently.

“Unfortunately, I’m not the type to be held by anyone.”

He just laughed after spitting out a lot of embarrassing facts.

“So rather than you having me, I’ve got you.”

“Do you still want to know if you’re special?” Ethelred questioned lightly.