Yasiris quickly scanned her surroundings.
Fortunately, when the maid entered the reception room and ordered snacks with a single glance, the room was empty.
But it was not appropriate to speak loudly even if there were no people around, especially in the palace's ears where there were a lot of listeners.
“This does not seem to be the place for casual conversation, Duke.”
“Then would you like me to accompany you to your room, Your Majesty?”
“Duke Kilodon”
“It's a joke.
I'm so scared I can't even say a word.”
Miquelon laughed with a frightening look of contempt in his eyes.
Then he took the ring out of his pocket with slow courage and threw it into the air, showing his calm demeanor as he held it.
“Who would have known that?
The two heroes of the passionate love story that set Ozephia on fire were actually in a contractual relationship.”
Yasiris looked at Miquelon with a stern face.
Out of all the people, the person she didn't want to know the truth was the one who found out.
As he said, this was a false pledge formed by each party's circumstances.
It was a baritone, who needed armor and a noble position, who applied first.
Yasiris needed a way to escape the threats of her abusive brothers.
Since she also wanted to continue the Kyloden bloodline, she took his hand.
Since their relationship was on the verge of collapse, they did not make any material promises in the official engagement documents.
Rather, they did their best to make people believe in their love.
Since she knew him as her childhood friend and had been interacting with him for a long time, it was easy to portray emotional behavior.
The help of Selina, who was Bariteon's servant and lover, could not be ignored.
While Yasiris was thinking about the woman's voice smiling shyly, she stopped.
“Did you say Selena died?”
Wasn't she supposed to come to hand over the ring she lost earlier?
Miquelon obediently answered Yasiris's question,
“She was found dead in front of my brother’s grave last month, and it appears that the incident was a suicide based on the surrounding circumstances.”
The shocking news made her bite her lips.
Suicide.
No matter how I thought about it, it felt like someone who couldn't forget the deceased baritone had lived a miserable life and then ended his life.
An innocent person died because of me again, because of me Baritone died, and now Selena is gone too.
Logically, she knew that.
It wasn't her fault that Baritone was killed, or that her kingdom was defeated, or that Selena committed suicide.
But…
crazy emperor,
Everything seemed to turn against her as if it were her fault.
“Haa…”
Yasiris put her trembling hands behind her back.
Her thoughts were still tangled, but she couldn't show weakness in front of the man trying to break her down.
As she struggled to maintain her composure with her slow breathing, Miquelon approached her.
“I found many interesting things while following Selena's tracks.
Even though I ignored such trivial things like this ring, there are really interesting stories written in her diary.”
“Duke”
“It's the truth about you three.
I didn't realize that the beautiful princess would fool the whole world.”
“Stop”
Yasiris calmly interrupted the conversation, but Miquelon did not stop.
With a smile on his face, he stared at her violently with sharp eyes.
“Are you going to continue to pretend not to know, even after arranging a cruel engagement to restrain me?
You must be very disappointed that instead of my brother, I will become the master of Kyloden.”
“Duke Kilodon”
"Pretending to be in love.
If you hadn't made a fake engagement in the first place, everything would be much better now.
Oh, would you prefer that now that your status has risen?"
“Miklon Kilodun!”
ka-chuck-
Just as Yasiris was about to raise her voice, the door opened.
She turned around out of reflex, and saw a maid hesitantly carrying a tray of tea and snacks.
“I'm sorry...”
“Come in”
Ignoring the maid's attempt to apologize, Yasiris quickly interrupted the conversation and ushered the maid into the living room, ignoring her rapid heartbeat as she stared at him sternly.
She skilfully deflected the subject, concealing her anxious thoughts about how much the maid might have overheard as she quietly prepared refreshments on the table.
“Is the only thing you brought back this ring?”
"Why?
Do you want something else?"
It was a sour situation, and fortunately, Miquelon was consistent with his tone.
First of all, if rumors spread, it would be the Kyloden family that would suffer the most and not her.
They had a lot to lose, both in terms of entanglements and assets.
With that in mind, Yasiris calmly extended her hand.
“The ring will suffice.”
“That's a relief.
I've already burned everything else.”
Miquelon responded to Yasiris's gaze, offering her a large, jeweled ring.
Bariteon's full name engraved inside was sparkling as the light fell on it.
“At first, I intended to burn these as well, but my dear brother cast an expensive spell on them, so they are in perfect condition.
But because they are engraved with his name, I can’t sell them, so they have become a nuisance.”
It is a waste of time to get rid of it, and there is no point in keeping it.
It was clear in Yasiris's eyes that he had brought him just for this reason.
It wasn't particularly useful to her, but it was a souvenir from an old friend.
Jasiris accepted the ring without a word.
She intended to cherish him, if only to mourn Bariteon.
“I'll take that well.”
“I originally intended to demand payment, but you solved the tax issue for me, so I'll give it as a gift.”
“Okay, thank you”
“If it is useful to Her Majesty, it is a great honor.”
Their exchange lacked any real emotion.
In the midst of the tense atmosphere, Yasiris was fiddling with the ring on her hand.
At that moment, she didn't realize that she shouldn't receive it.
And by the time she did, it was already too late, after everything had collapsed.
"What is this?"
Ting-ting-
Yasiris immediately recognized the item Kazan placed in front of her.
It was the ring she had received as a souvenir from Baritone a few hours earlier.
Why does the Emperor have this?
I looked at Kazan in surprise.
Why would an item intentionally wrapped in cloth and hidden deep in the closet end up in his hands?
She had considered the possibility that the maids had mentioned the ring, but that was an exaggeration.
Not only had they thoroughly searched her personal belongings, they were now taking them out on her without even saying a word?
She felt like she couldn't breathe.
The vague feeling of imprisonment became palpable, causing dizziness.
But Kazan did not wait for her to regain her composure, but rather approached her and asked her while stomping on the ring forcefully.
“I asked you, ‘What is this, Empress?’”
“...You see, it's a souvenir, Your Majesty.
From Kiloden's baritone...
Ah!”
Yasiris stopped when Kazan grabbed her chin.
His red eyes, staring at her, were intense like fire.
“You still miss him, don't you?”
“It's a misunderstanding, I only received it as a souvenir.”
“Why did you choose to keep a ring of all things?
What a weak excuse.”
“This...!”
Yasiris could not utter another word.
Kazan grabbed her tightly and pulled her to the bed.
Ah, a short moan escaped her lips as her body stiffened.
His face approaching her was menacing as he growled.
“It seems you still don't understand.”
"Actually, it's just a misunderstanding.
I only received one thing, and it was the ring."
“You still don't understand who you belong to”
Yaris closed her mouth and did not answer.
From the beginning until now, she had no feelings for Baritone as a lover, but she had never thought of betraying him, her former fiancé.
However, she liked the baritone well enough.
Even if he was no longer in this mortal life, his memory had never left her heart.
Although she could not say it directly, whenever Kazan asked her such questions, she remained silent.
This was the most respect she could show to her childhood friend who died because of her.
To ensure that he did not turn into a more miserable man than he already was, she held on to the honor she could protect until the end.
“…then”
After a long silence, Kazan spoke.
Yasiris couldn't understand the different emotions that passed through his eyes.
She couldn't even understand why he was acting this way in the first place.
It was clear that Kazan didn't like her.
If he loved her, he wouldn't treat her so cruelly.
And he won't act as if her feelings don't matter at all.
Obsession, anger, possessiveness...
Yasiris knew that these words suited Kazan, but yet she could not understand why it had to be her.
He's just a desperate being of love and hate, and he's in great distress.
“Just to be fair, I think I should embrace other women, right?”
Yasiris did not like this side of Kazan's personality either, as he would blame her for everything and justify his actions.
She suppressed her frustration.
Not to be surprised, she took a deep breath and replied,
“That's right, who will prevent Your Majesty's will?”
“Even if it means I get to bring a wife and spend more time with her?
Wouldn’t your position be at risk?”
“When did I care about my situation?”
This time, Kazan was silent.
When did he care about her?
There were so many things she wanted to say, but she couldn't bring herself to say a single word.
How dare he?
How dare you?
Kazan's mind immediately drifted off.
He felt like strangling Yasiris, and claiming her as his own.
No, in fact, he wanted to strangle her.
He wanted to rip out the crawling, aching heart and scratch it.
Yasiris added color to his life, then destroyed it again.
He hated her to death for abandoning their covenant, yet she remained dear to him, causing him pain.
The contradiction drove Kazan crazy.
My beloved and my hated traitor.
I wanted you to hold on to me, for your own sake.
Kazan clenched his teeth and spat out each word as if he were chewing it.
“You don't really care?”
“Yes.
Please do as you please, as much as you wish, Your Majesty.”
“Even if you knew how much it affected you?”
“As I just mentioned, Your Majesty.”
Yasiris paused for a moment and looked calmly at Kazan.
She tried to discern the hidden emotions in his red eyes but gave up.
Instead, she calmly stated the truth.
“Whatever happens to me, it will not affect Your Majesty.”