BVWG 46

chapter 46

The Emperor fell silent for a moment, seemingly surprised by his own words, but then his expression softened. What had briefly seemed like a pang of conscience on his face quickly turned into a bright smile.

‘Does this man enjoy teasing me this much?’

His demeanor, so different from his usual cold and ruthless presence, made me stare at him intently.

“Why take it so seriously? I just remembered a story from some fairy tale you might have heard as a child and made a little joke.”

The Emperor, smiling at me as he teased me, looked even more radiant. Which made it all the more irritating.

“I never heard such fairy tales growing up.”

Previously, Ashara might have heard them, but since it wasn’t from my direct experience, I decided to exclude that.

Naturally, I thought he would brush off my words lightly—but the Emperor suddenly stiffened.

“Ah, I see. My apologies.”

It was as if he knew me—Han Choah—well enough to apologize. I didn’t understand his reaction. How could he possibly know Han Choah?

Noticing my frown, the Emperor gently smoothed the crease between my eyebrows with his long fingers.

“Even if it’s me, it’d be a problem if a princess furrowed her brow like that.”

Of course, his face, now smiling gently down at me, bore no actual wrinkles.

“Then why does Your Majesty frown so often?”

“Hearing the gods’ nagging constantly gives me a splitting headache. You’d understand if you experienced it too.”

The Emperor spoke matter-of-factly about his unfortunate situation.

“Does it still hurt now?”

“Yes. And it will probably hurt more for a while, thanks to the princess.”

Despite saying that, the Emperor seemed in good spirits.

“Because of me?”

“Yes. Something like that. Don’t try to learn more.”

He abruptly cut off the subject, his cold aura warning me not to provoke him further.

‘Is his head really that painful right now?’

On impulse, I reached out and lightly touched the area between his brows that was about to crease. The moment my fingers felt the smooth texture of his skin, I startled and pulled back.

The Emperor was also slightly surprised by my sudden action. His expression remained unchanged, but his eyes trembled just slightly.

Suddenly, he grabbed my hand with his large hand and placed it on the crown of his head.

Since he was so much taller than me, he had to bend his knees to achieve that posture.

With my hand resting on the crown of his head, he closed his eyes, seemingly savoring my touch.

I froze as I felt the soft strands of his silver hair slipping between my fingers.

My hand rested atop the center of the Empire’s ruler’s head. Anyone seeing us might have been shocked.

Yet the Emperor didn’t seem to mind my reaction and maintained the position.

Even with his eyes closed, his thick silver eyelashes quivered slightly.

Soon, astonishment and delight crossed his face.

“I knew the princess was special, but I didn’t expect her to have this skill.”

“…What skill are you referring to?”

“When I suffer from a headache, if the princess touches my head, the pain eases. The gods’ nagging remains, but the relief alone makes it bearable.”

It seemed I had, in some way, been helpful to him.

Finally, the Emperor let go of my hand and smiled. It was the brightest smile I had ever seen on his face.

“I now have another reason to meet the princess frequently. Since things have come to this, how about I grant the request I made last time?”

His tone had become playfully sly, as if in high spirits.

“What request are you referring to?”

“I’m a little disappointed that you don’t remember.”

Though he said this, there was no trace of real disappointment on his face.

“When we’re alone, I want you to call me by my name.”

“Ah… you really want that?”

I hesitated, but he nodded enthusiastically. His silver hair swayed slightly, giving off a faint, pleasant forest-like scent.

No citizen of the Empire could fail to know the Emperor’s full name:

“Malak Draco Deuscornu…”

“Don’t bother with the long name. Just call me Malak. I’ll call you by your name as well.”

His eyes curved into a satisfied half-moon.

The stronger forest-like scent made my mind dizzy. For a moment, no thought came to me except him.

“This is worth negotiating with that stubborn old man for.”

He muttered something to himself, almost whispering in a way I couldn’t understand.

Almost a week had passed since the absurd volcanic eruption incident near the Esperanza Duke’s estate.

During that time, I hadn’t experienced a single nightmare. Just as the Emperor had said, it seemed.

No longer tormented by memories of my previous life each night, I felt almost alive. Yet that didn’t mean I slept soundly.

Instead, the fleeting memories of parting from the Emperor at the gates of the Duke’s estate, his smile, would replay in my mind nightly. This, too, was a kind of suffering, though different from nightmares.

The area around the estate’s garden had been secured by royal knights, and civilians were prohibited from entering.

Similarly, no one dared visit the Duke’s estate for a while. Thanks to that, the people in our estate could enjoy a rare moment of peace.

But that respite would end by tomorrow. The royal guards had observed the garden for a week without finding further anomalies, so the restriction was about to be lifted.

I felt a tinge of regret. The estate’s quiet, less crowded atmosphere had been rather cozy.

I enjoyed the daily affection of my attentive nurse and father, chatting with Dalia, and practicing magic with Q.

Today, I was leisurely watching the gentle rain outside the window when a knock sounded at the door. Likely Dalia.

“Come in.”

As expected, a small blonde head peeked in.

She wore a large purple ribbon that covered most of her face. Merci had consistent taste in adorning Dalia.

“Asha unnie! I’ll show you something amazing!”

Her small feet pitter-pattered as she ran. She had put on a little weight since before, so her footsteps sounded slightly heavier—her figure now truly childlike.

I turned my attention to Dalia, and she eagerly held out her bracelet.

At its center was the core of a high-grade incubus, something I had acquired by chance during our first confrontation with one.

“I experimented a bit with this orb while you were away, unnie.”

I had been lazily leaning against the window, but straightened to scold her.

“Dalia! Do you even know what that is? It could be dangerous! What if something goes wrong?”

“I only did it when Q oppa was with me,” she said in a small, timid voice.

Q was an accomplice too! I’d have to scold him later for doing dangerous things with a child.

“Don’t ever do such experiments again. The orb’s purpose is something I need to discover myself if it’s to be useful.”

“I just wanted to help you, unnie,” Dalia said meekly. I softened slightly at her earnestness.

“…So, what did you find out?”

Only then did Dalia ask me to undo her bracelet. Following Q’s instructions, I reversed the magical formula he had placed and freed the bracelet.

“Unnie, try channeling a little of your magic into this orb.”

Since both Dalia and Q had already tried it, I had no reason to hesitate. I gathered a small amount of magic at my fingertips and sent it into the black orb.

The small ash-colored magic sphere was immediately absorbed into the black orb.

I watched wide-eyed as the orb emitted a pitch-black energy.

Dalia’s magenta eyes widened as well.

“Unnie, it reacted differently from when Q oppa tried. His magic was simply absorbed.”

Instinctively, I knew the energy emitted by the black orb was demonic energy refined from my own magic.

Since it came from me, it felt familiar, despite its darkness.

Could this mean the orb only absorbs the pure power of a white dragon? Q had no demonic power, which explained why the orb reacted differently to him.

As I pondered, the black energy that emerged from the orb gathered in my hand, forming an obsidian-like sphere before being reabsorbed.

Curious, I repeated the process several times.

Each time, the white dragon’s power was absorbed by the incubus core, while only the demonic energy was returned to me.

Despite absorbing the white dragon’s power, the core remained unchanged, as dark as the void of space.

The refined demonic energy continued to accumulate in my hand.

On the fifth attempt, just as the black energy was being absorbed, a magical interface sprang up from my right hand.

Dalia watched silently, eyes wide with surprise.

The mirror surface changed, revealing the face of a demon.

“Hey, how have you been?”

With a suggestive, seductive smile, the demon greeted me.

“Thanks to you. You turned our backyard into a volcanic explosion and sent a group of high-grade incubuses as monsters, so I didn’t have a dull moment.”

My bad habit of speaking sarcastically about inconvenient situations slipped out again.

“Ah, that wasn’t entirely my doing. Don’t blame me. That blasted old man kept insisting we act quickly, talking about power balance.”

“In the end, whatever the reason, it was your doing.”

“Both I and Baekryeong are mere puppets before that old man. It would be a lie to say I enjoyed causing that incident, though.”

I glared at the demon.

“Hey, sharp eyes like that could kill.”

“You saw correctly,” I said.

The demon laughed and clicked its tongue, as if resigned.