ISTIMB 7

7. The First Proposal

Nikolai was brimming with composure.

That smugness only fueled my rising fury.
There was no way I could let things go according to his will.

I steadied my voice as much as I could.

“Even if you are the Emperor, how could you drag off a young lady with a bright future ahead of her and force her into a marriage she doesn’t want? Aren’t you ashamed? Besides, Your Majesty already has a child, don’t you?”

“Elisabeth Emster, a lady? Ha. Even that stray dog over there would laugh at such nonsense.”

“Ahem.”

“By my count, you’ve had over a hundred men you called lovers for just a night. Compared to that, my harem is humble—pitiful, even.”

“They were just close acquaintances. We only had a few meals together!”

“Try making your excuses with a little more sincerity.”

“But I never married any of them!”

“You will soon enough.”

Nikolai smiled brightly.

It was such a beautiful, dazzling smile that it startled even my heart wrapped in layers of irritation.

But I wasn’t so starved for affection that I would swoon over the looks of the villain who had come to ruin my life.

“Is kidnapping your hobby?”

“Hardly.”

“You don’t look like a first-timer to me.”

“When it’s necessary, you can’t hesitate. And persistence is key.”

It was a warning—running away would be useless.

The man standing statue-like beside the throne spoke up.

“Your Majesty. You should release Lady Elisabeth. If you mean to make her Empress, she must be treated accordingly.”

“And if she escapes, Kares, will you take responsibility for it?”

“She won’t. Isn’t that so?”

Kares looked at me with calm, steady eyes.

As I had heard, the Emperor’s closest aide seemed like a reasonable man.

Even though I was forced to kneel on the marble floor, I lifted my chin proudly.

“I won’t sit quietly, but I won’t run either. I’ll leave on my own two feet.”

Nikolai shrugged as if to say, See what I mean?

Kares replied evenly.

“Watch your words. A single remark can bring disaster in this place.”

“I know. There’s someone here who enjoys punishing people for their words. Isn’t his specialty kidnapping as well?”

“His Majesty isn’t always so unreasonable.”

“Hard to agree, given the circumstances.”

I twisted my bound arms.
Did I look like a caterpillar wriggling about?

Kares sighed.

Meanwhile, the true culprit of all this chaos, Nikolai, pressed his lips together and silently observed me.

From head to toe, his gaze was sharp and relentless, as if it would strip away even the finest downy hair.

Even an astronomer discovering a new planet wouldn’t look as grave and fervent as he did.

He joked about husbands and wives, but his eyes were as cold as ice.

Why is he so fixated on me? What’s his real scheme?

Lost in thought, Nikolai suddenly gestured.

“Unbind her.”

The maids helped me rise to my feet.

Red bruises had blossomed deep on my pale wrists.

But what tormented me more than the sting was the enigma that was Nikolai—impossible to decipher.

“Bring them in.”

At his command, the grand doors of the audience chamber swung open.

Made of ebony oak and gold, they revealed thirty nobles in splendid silks filing inside.

“We greet His Majesty the Emperor.”

The nobles bowed with practiced precision.

I recognized their faces from portraits.

The heads of the Four Great Houses… elders of the council… and even the Chancellor. All the high officials are here.

I hadn’t relied solely on Douglas for help.

Using my bottomless wealth, I had gathered every scrap of political information on Nikolai.

Money really was wonderful.
I learned things even avid readers of the original story wouldn’t know.

But Nikolai’s private life was locked down tighter than a fortress.
Even the best experts couldn’t get near it.

I expected kidnapping to some degree. A man who made me sign that crazy contract is capable of anything. But why summon all these nobles?

Nikolai wasn’t just the frivolous playboy the world believed him to be.
There was something more, something he was hiding.

Then, to everyone’s shock, the secretive Emperor rose from his throne.

He stepped across the flawless crimson carpet, one deliberate step after another, closing the distance between us.

“Your Majesty?”

A suffocating tension filled the lavish hall, adorned with stained glass, chandeliers, and golden statues.

The nobles’ eyes widened as they followed his every move.

I forgot to breathe for a moment.

Even if he was my kidnapper, when the most handsome man in this world stood right in front of you… and then bent down to kiss your hand… how could anyone not falter?

“!”

His soft, warm lips brushed my skin.

The faint pressure pressing down on my hand sent a violent tremor through my heart.

Colors exploded behind my eyes.

I bit down on my lips, terrified that a breathless sigh might escape me.

“Elisabeth. Won’t you finally accept the Emperor’s heart?”

Nikolai’s voice was honey-sweet, his gaze tender and longing.

He looked every bit the man earnestly pleading for his beloved’s love.

Even though I knew it was all an act, it shook me to my core.

Damn, his method acting is Oscar-worthy.

The tingling sensation lingered on my hand.

I rubbed furiously at the spot, but the trace wouldn’t disappear.

The fact that I had even briefly fluttered made me furious with myself.

“Your Majesty, why did you summon the elders?”

“I thought perhaps witnesses might help persuade you.”

Nikolai’s lips curved with sly mischief.
His emerald eyes gleamed briefly with the shrewdness of a schemer before the Casanova mask slipped back into place.

Then, before everyone, he dropped to one knee.

“Elisabeth. Will you marry me?”

The nobles gasped at the scandalous display.

The very same nobles who had always ignored my existence now betrayed their thoughts plainly.

—The Emperor has fallen completely for that bloodsucking femme fatale!
—He should’ve kept her as a concubine plaything, not made a spectacle of it here!
—Surely he doesn’t mean to crown her Empress?
—No matter how depraved, he won’t go that far. He’ll tire of her soon enough!

While many nobles scoffed, the heads of the Four Great Houses looked tense, wary.
They seemed to sense that Nikolai’s attitude was no trivial matter.

“Elisabeth is too nervous to answer under your scrutiny, isn’t she? No wonder—she’s more delicate than she seems.”

With feigned nonchalance, Nikolai wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

I tried to shake him off, but he didn’t budge.

If I could, I’d write across his forehead: I’m just an ignorant scoundrel.
Or hang a sign: Warning: Split Personality!

“If you all bless our marriage, then surely Elisabeth will gladly become my consort. What say you?”

The faces of the Four Lords turned ashen, and the glares aimed at me grew sharper.

I bit the inside of my cheek.
Finally, I understood.

Ah, so this is your game—you’re using me to shake the board. But you think I’ll let a kidnapper use me so easily?

What happens when a beloved imperial consort suddenly rises within a precariously balanced harem?

Some will flatter. Some will show their true colors. And some might even move to topple the Emperor.

Nikolai watched the nobles’ reactions.
As expected, they split into factions, raising their voices.

“What’s wrong with a ruler having many wives?”

“There are laws and procedures for everything.”

“A royal command is absolute. We must obey!”

“If only we had an Empress already! This is the perfect time to crown one!”

Lately, the Four Houses had been tightening their grip on the nobility.

They seized regional powers behind the Emperor’s back, amassed illicit wealth, and even rumors spread of private armies raised in secret—some with ties to enemy nations.

The clever rats hid their tails well.

Behind his mask as the Casanova Emperor, Nikolai had to sift loyalists from traitors.
It was a taxing, lonely task.

Fear and unrest among the people are more dangerous than plague. The carriers of the Deathblossom must remain hidden in the harem. But these greedy vermin… they’re the real problem.

Yet Nikolai’s eyes weren’t on the scheming nobles.
They were fixed on Elisabeth, who watched with cold detachment.

The faint fragrance of cherry blossoms teased his nose.

Now that the stench had gone, everything felt sharper, clearer.

I thought she was only pretty. But she’s far sharper than her reputation. She already suspects what I’m plotting.

Elisabeth did not falter.
She didn’t interrupt with blunt words.
She only occasionally shot him a fearsome glare.

She was handling things far better than he expected.
Choosing her gave him a strange sense of pride.

See? I haven’t fallen for her. I haven’t lost my self-control. Just as always.

He told himself this, needing the reassurance.

He had brought in a woman untainted by the Deathblossom.
And even now, he worried she might flee.

It was a far pettier, uglier figure than the playboy he pretended to be.

If he wasn’t swayed by Elisabeth, there was no shame in it.
If he was only using her, there was no need to fear change.

She was a diffuser to mask the stench of the Deathblossom.
A spark to ignite division among cowardly nobles.

That was enough.

“Your Majesty. Marquis Douglas Nettleton requests an audience.”

Nikolai’s brow twitched.

He noticed the subtle light on Elisabeth’s face.

The urge to drive Douglas away and the urge to see her former fiancé clashed within him.

He’s nothing but a hollowed-out noble. Meeting him would be a waste of time.

That’s what he told himself, what he intended.

But then, he met Elisabeth’s provocative, dark gaze.
Sparks danced as their eyes locked.

She was no delicate flower, but a knight bracing for battle.

Did she have something to say?

Her red lips parted—those lips he could never forget, no matter how hard he tried.

If you’re scared, why don’t you back off?

“Your Majesty, I beg you to rescind Lady Elisabeth’s investiture as imperial consort!”

Douglas presented a box containing the Eyes of Morashincia to Nikolai.

Before the Emperor and the gathered nobles, he showed no sign of intimidation.

He risked his life—perhaps even the downfall of his entire house.

But Douglas had not forgotten his promise to protect me.

I underestimated him. Handsome, kind, and righteous…

Why would any man risk so much for a woman who abandoned him?

I couldn’t understand it at all.

And that only made me more grateful. More moved.

I didn’t even know how I could ever repay him.

Today, his broad back looked especially steadfast.

“That is a treasure bestowed by the First Emperor. Back then, there were Five Great Houses.”

“My apologies, Your Majesty.”

“So. You mean to invoke your right of defiance—for her?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Do you understand the weight of what you’re doing?”

Nikolai’s gaze turned vicious.