Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Say You Love Me
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Asherad's footsteps halted in front of the door.
“Yohannis is in there?”
Asherad stared coldly at the door to Daphne's room. At that moment, a low voice drifted from beyond the door.
“Do you love His Majesty?”
In that instant, Asherad wanted to drag Yohannis out of the room and kill him. How dare he, with what right did he ask such a question?
Yet Asherad stood frozen, as if under a spell. It was as though his feet had turned to stone. He couldn't flee, nor could he enter.
He desperately denied it to himself, yet he waited for the woman's answer.
Say you love me.
Say it.
What?
It was ridiculous even to him. To stand there like a fool, desperate to overhear a confession of love from the woman he had treated like a dog.
The corridor air was cool, but Asherad's body burned hot. He heard the pounding in his ears. His heartbeat. His heart raced so fiercely, like a condemned prisoner awaiting judgment, waiting for her verdict.
“No.”
The answer was the one he had expected. Guilty.
It was the answer he had already anticipated, yet it felt like a blow to the head.
She doesn't love me, that woman.
The one who had looked only at him. She said she didn't love him.
Beautiful clothes, sparkling jewels, a warm and comfortable room, a large mirror, delicious food. He had given her all of it, yet surrounded by his gifts, she said she didn't love him.
Back then, she had shone with such foolish, innocent eyes, swearing she would stay by his side forever.
Should he cast her back into the abyss, then?
Would she light up at the sight of him again if he stroked her head there? Would she beg for his love?
Or should he kneel before her? This strange emotion pulled him this way and that.
How repulsive it was, to be swayed by the heart of that wretched woman who had once wished only for misfortune upon him.
For three years buried in the battlefield, never once forgetting her, that sadistic desire to plunge her into misery—how close it was to love.
Asherad gave a bitter smile.
He turned his back to the door. He didn't hear the rest of the conversation. No, even if he had, it wouldn't have changed much.
It was a lie anyway.
* * *
“You don't love His Majesty?”
Yohannis asked, as if not particularly surprised. Daphne decided to assume those words had leaked through to Asherad.
Even if she said she loved him, he wouldn't believe it anyway. How much she had cursed him. How she had screamed her hatred and thrashed about.
What she could show him wasn't a lie that would only arouse suspicion, but one mixed with a degree of truth.
“But I'll stay by his side.”
“…….”
“As long as that's what His Majesty desires.”
She had no choice. In this suffocating space, the only way to live was under Asherad's grasp. Going with the flow, as he wished. Just like that. Was he surprised by those words? The man fell silent for a long while.
“Honest. I like that.”
She tried to add more, but Yohannis asked nothing further. Daphne's expression hardened.
“The first thing to tell you, Miss Daphne.”
“…….”
“Everything you do in the Imperial Palace reaches His Majesty's ears. Be cautious in all things.”
That was the first lesson. Daphne already knew it. It was such a simple lesson that she brushed past its cruelty.
* * *
Exactly ten days later, Daphne was finally able to get out of bed. What was strange was that Asherad hadn't visited her even once during those ten days.
Abandoned again? Daphne couldn't understand Asherad's behavior.
She let out a cold laugh. That grand so-called love must have cooled by now. Her only relief from boredom came from occasional conversations with Yohannis, or with Amanda and Sara.
As Daphne had predicted, Amanda burst into tears the moment she saw Sara. But Sara seemed awkward instead. Daphne recalled that Sara hadn't told Amanda about her survival.
Why hadn't Sara told Amanda on purpose?
In any case, the two quickly became close again as before. They chattered freely in front of Daphne, and listening to them felt like going back to her maid days.
She didn't miss those times.
Yet, memories surfaced of the days when she knew nothing and longed only for Asherad's touch. Days when receiving Asherad's gaze was the pinnacle of happiness.
Her peaceful world, built on deception.
“This place is comfortable, that's for sure.”
“Yeah.”
“We almost had a big problem if you hadn't come.”
“You should thank Daphne.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Daphne smiled at Amanda's forced words. Seeing it, Amanda scowled.
“Oh, right, Daphne. A tailor from the dress shop is coming soon. We need to get fall clothes fitted.”
“……Yeah.”
“I heard there's a big Raphaello Art Festival this fall?”
Daphne's eyes widened. The Raphaello Art Festival was one of the competitions held every five years. A place where famous and new painters showcased their works, it was a reason the Pheneios Empire was renowned for its arts.
“Since when was she so into painting?”
Sara elbowed Amanda, who spoke in a snide tone.
“You should ask His Majesty to take you.”
Daphne nodded. Artemisia had entered that festival too. She had submitted under a man's name and received a lot of votes.
Life returned to Daphne's face. She had been putting off going to see Asherad.
Now she had a reason to see him.
* * *
“Is that true?”
The nobles, led by Duke Turbul, were all stunned. They couldn't believe the words coming from Asherad's mouth.
“He's finally taking an empress for the empire!”
In that moment, nobles from Asherad's faction and others united in joyful exclamations. Asherad, who had only kept a lover, had finally declared he would take an empress.
“However, how can one choose a bride based merely on the names of kingdoms and families on maps or paper?”
He rested his chin indifferently as he spoke.
“I shall hold a ball to find a lady to my liking.”
Finding a bride to his heart's content at a ball. How fairy-tale-like and romantic. Yet the one who said it showed no expectation of such thrill.
If anything, he seemed bored.
Ah, the power-sensitive nobles caught on immediately. The ball was a pretext, and he was wary of marrying the daughters of powerful noble houses.
But the empress's seat was empty. Moreover, calling it a ‘ball’ meant Asherad was including not just foreign princesses, but also this country's noble daughters as candidates.
“It would be perfect to overlap with the Raphaello Art Festival season.”
“So soon?”
A noble who had been envisioning flashy dress lineups to catch the emperor's eye asked urgently. Asherad smiled faintly.
“Didn't I say time is of the essence?”
Only a few months remained. They were at a loss over the emperor's bombshell declaration. Asherad rose from his seat, giving them time to chatter.
As he exited the council chamber, an attendant followed.
“Your Majesty. Miss Daphne is waiting.”
“…….”
Asherad ignored the words and kept walking. He looked up at the sky. The autumn sky was clear blue, the weather fine, and his heart in tatters.
* * *
“Why isn't he coming?”
Daphne waited for Asherad, but he didn't return to her room. Daphne found it amusing anew. In the past, she wouldn't have dared to even think of summoning him. Now, calling for him felt natural.
Had that man noticed her presumptuous change?
When night fell and everyone slept, Daphne finally rose from her seat. As she reached for the door handle to leave, the door suddenly slammed open.
It was Asherad. Wearing a loose shirt with the front unlaced once more, he lifted the corner of his red lips.
“Daphne. Were you waiting for me?”
She nodded, and Asherad's smile deepened. Daphne felt an ominous premonition.
“Since Your Majesty wasn't coming, I was going to…….”
“No. You can't.”
“…….”
“I don't think I'll sleep tonight.”
He passed by Daphne and sat in the chair. Even a mere chair looked like a throne with his legs crossed. Propping his chin, he said to Daphne.
“Daphne, come here.”
That smile was dazzling like before. Drawn to that dangerous face, Daphne approached as if entranced. As she moved to sit across the table, Asherad spoke.
“Not there. Here.”
Asherad pointed under the chair with his hand. The corners of his mouth, feigning amiability, dropped at once.
Asherad was telling her to sit under that chair, just like before.
Like a dog.