Episode 1. Chapter 1. Prologue
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Soon, Theodoreâs face became even more sinister.
âDonât talk nonsense. Youâve been looking at me with those dirty eyes, now what? You donât like me?”
âI have never looked at Your Majesty with dirty eyes.â
But I calmly answered the truth.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You must be……”
âYes, I did like Your Majesty.â
Stop.
This time, Theodore, who had become so stiff, let go of my wrist which he had been holding the whole time.
“I liked you a little bit more than I thought. But It wasn’t as dirty as Your Majesty says.”
ââŚ.â
âIt was such a tender and precious feeling that it was heartbreaking to see your contempt. I really liked Your Majesty. I liked you a lot.â
ââŚ.â
His lips slowly opened at my emotionless confession.
âBut not anymore.â
ââŚ.â
Theodore, who had been staring at me blankly without saying anything since the beginning of my confession, finally spoke in a harsh voice.
âNoâŚâŚwhat?”
“Don’t worry, I don’t like Your Majesty anymore, and I won’t look at Your Majesty with the dirty eyes you speak of.”
âThat, whatâŚâ
Theodore couldn’t speak as well as a broken man. He looked like someone who was shocked by something.
Why was that reaction?
Was it so surprising that I didnât like him?
âWell, he’s a man who lives on top of the worldâŚ.’
I immediately agreed.
Theodore must think I should like him, even if his opponent was Yves Llewellyn, whom he hated so terribly.
I thought it was really Theodore, and I laughed out loud.
“I heard that Your Majesty stayed up all night. Wouldn’t it be better to close your eyes a little? You have an engagement ceremony in a couple days.”
Concerned about his health, I said indifferently, but he pointed out something else.
 ââŚwhy are you smiling?â
“What?”
Did I smile?
Embarrassed, I touched the corner of my lips without realizing it. Then I felt the corners of my lips were up.
Well, I guess I was smiling.
However, the noble emperor did not want to see my smiling face, so he hardened his expression again.
“Haha!”
Suddenly, Theodore let out a cold laugh.
âYour love is really cheap one.â
Then, openly, he began to belittle me.
âDid you go to Benjamin Ferdinand when you heard Iâm going to get engaged to another woman? And now, you don’t want to see me anymore, so I should just disappear into the corner of my bed?â
I laughed at his exaggerated interpretation.
“Why do you interpret it that way?”
“You’re making strange noises all of a sudden. Now, you donât like me.â
No, he said Katarina was having his baby?
But he still thinks I should keep loving him?
What’s with him?
It was crazy and absurd, but I asked, holding down those feelings as much as possible.
“Isn’t it good for Your Majesty and for Miss Katarina that I no longer like you?”
âStupid. If the woman I like had another man, I’ll win my love by killing that man.”
At that moment, goosebumps rose on my body.
âKill?â
“Yes. That’s true love.”
Theodore answered in a serious voice.
“So you didn’t love me.”
Slam!
He mumbled that several times before suddenly kicking me out and slamming the door.
Left in the hallway, I stared at the closed door.
“What is it, really… A person who destroys humanity… You bastard…”
For some reason, I felt sorry for Katarina.
***
Bang!
The door closed with a bang.
At the same time, all kinds of negative emotions erupted intolerably.
“That’s not love. So I don’t need to be shaken like this.”
Theodore felt bad and angry.
“If she really liked me, she should get rid of Katarina Ferdinand and stay by my side.”
Yes, he would definitely have done it. If Yvonne had had another man, he would have hurt that man immediately.
Just like when he was young, he scared Ernst away without Yvonne knowing it. So Yves Llewellyn claimed that she loved him was a lie.
Her love was that poor and crude. There was no need for his heart to be so swayed or hurt by her words.
âYeah, that canât be love.â
Theodore shook his head and murmured.
âShe must have had an arrangement with Benjamin Ferdinand and used the fake reason of love to stay close to me. Disgusting.â
⌠But if she had a really different plan, why would she look at him with those eyes?
Obviously, those eyes that loved himâŚ..
The eyes that she no longer showedâŚ..
Those beautiful green eyes that resembled Yvonneâs, which were sometimes fond and sad.
Theodore wanted to see those eyes one more time.
Were those eyes a lie too?
To deceive him?
He felt bad to think that Yves Llewellyn approached him with a hidden plan. Heâd rather be more willing to believe that she liked him and hung around him.
“She’s a damn woman.”
Theodore, who had been arguing mentally for a while, finally regained his composure.
âThere is no need to be agitated. I knew that woman was very suspicious, so I just have to keep her by my side and watch.â
âYes. Iâll make her stick to me every day so she doesnât see Benjamin Ferdinand anymore.â
âI must be strict and not let her leave the palace as much as possible.âÂ
There was no other intention in preventing Yves Llewellyn from meeting Benjamin. It was so that those two wouldnât meet and make a bad plan.
“If she stays with me, she’ll know for sure. What a nice guy I am compared to Benjamin Ferdinand.”
With a wrinkled face, he called the attendant to make hot tea instead of making up for the sleep he lost.
Standing by the window and savoring tea while admiring the gradually brightening sky, he removed his lips from the teacup at a sudden question.
âBut whyâŚâŚwhy do I want to kill Benjamin Ferdinand?”
Tea water dripped from the half-tilted teacup and wet the top of his shoe. But Theodore, unaware of that fact, tilted the teacup further.
âBenjamin FerdinandâŚâŚ âŚ .â
In the end, he even dropped the teacup he was holding to the floor and muttered in a grim voice.
Yves Llewellyn, who returned in the morning, clearly smelled of that man.
What did she do all night with him, leaving the duty of escorting aside?
She wasn’t feeling well, thatâs why she went to see him?
Gradually, his eyes became distorted.
âHaâŚ.â
Theodore turned away from the window, rubbing his face with one hand.
âWhy on earth do I care about a woman like that?â
It was not enough time to find traces of Yvonne.
That face was to blame.
D*mn it, because of that face that reminded him of Yvonne, thatâs why he paid attention to that woman.
Even though he knew she was not Yvonne.
“D*mn it.”
Theodore swallowed the curse words.
***
Preparations for leaving have begun.
I acted as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
Theodore’s engagement ceremony was now two days away.
I had no intention of escorting Katarina personally, so I was going to leave the Imperial Palace before that.
If possible, I’d ruin Katarina’s engagement ceremony a little.
âItâs okay, baby.â
I stroked my belly and whispered to the baby.
âEverything will be fine.â
I took out a piece of paper and a fountain pen and wrote the last letter to Theodore. This will be my goodbye note.
<Goodbye, Your Majesty.
The XX b*tch, who only disturbs Your Majesty’s mind, will now disappear.
Think of it as an engagement gift.
We were like X when we met, let’s not see each other again.
I hope you live a long life.>
(*X = curse words)
Seeing the words I wanted to say the whole time were beautifully written, I felt a little relieved.
After writing the resignation letter, the goodbye note was hidden inside the desk drawer.
I went to Armin Meyer with only the letter of resignation.
“Sir Meyer.”
“What’s going on, Sir Yves?”
I called him to the hallway and handed him my resignation letter.
“This is my resignation letter.”
âYes, you brought your resignation letterâŚ.What? Resignation?”
Armin shouted with a look as if he had lost the whole world.
“No, Sir Yves! Why all of a sudden…!”
He grabbed my hand and began to sob in despair. Other knights gathered in the commotion.
“What? Sir Yves is leaving?”
âNo, Sir Yves! What do we do if you leave?”
“Right. You are the only one who can handle His Majesty’s temper.”
“Did something happen recently? Did His Majesty persecute you?”
The earnest gazes turned to me all at once, but I lightly ignored them and answered.
âItâs just that Iâm not feeling well, everyone knows that I recently collapsed.â
“If that’s the case, you can take a vacationâŚâ
It was at this time. A cold voice pierced through the murmuring of the crowd.
“What’s going on?”
“Ah, Your Majesty…”
It was Theodore.
âThatâŚ..”
Everyone shut their mouths and glared at Theodore with resentment.Â
When no one answered, one of Theodore’s eyebrows twitched. Armin, who quickly recognized his sign, stepped forward and answered.Â
“Sir Yves Llewellyn says he’s going to resign because he’s not feeling well.”
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