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~Chapter 45~
I Told You This Is Mine
All the education Regina received in the imperial family was done by the will of the Empress of the Permang Empire.
No one could stop her when she said Regina should get the same education as Hereis, so she wouldn’t be lacking as a member of the imperial family. Not even the Emperor could go against her.
Thanks to this, Regina learned how to think, speak, and act like royalty.
‘Sometimes I wondered why I had to go through all this…’
But now, she realized how useful it was.
Regina’s blue eyes grew dim.
While Regina was lost in thought, Conrad brought his face close to hers.
She didn’t notice him right in front of her, so, feeling a bit mischievous, Conrad bit her lips.
Regina’s eyes went wide, filled with surprise. Seeing her so startled made Conrad feel a bit better.
“What… What is this?!”
Regina pulled back, covering her lips with her hand. Conrad’s eyebrow lifted.
He let out a small laugh at the way she looked at him, like he’d done something shameless.
“Is there a problem with me kissing my Empress?”
“That’s not it!”
‘My magic isn’t lacking, so why is he doing this?’
Regina was confused, and just looked around. Conrad looked calm and confident.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t we married?”
It wasn’t wrong, but…
Regina’s lips parted, but she couldn’t say anything. Her mind felt busy and tangled.
When Conrad saw her cheeks slowly turning red, his eyes changed.
The red between her lips made his throat dry, and his fingertips tingle. He wanted to go further, to get lost in the moment.
If Regina hadn’t been so surprised, he might have done more. Her unusual reaction today made him suspicious.
‘Is it because of that magic tool conversation? Is there someone she wants to give that cravat to, and now my kiss bothers her?’
His thoughts kept turning, and he couldn’t stop. Regina’s hesitation felt like a sting.
He thought their relationship had moved past just being a contract.
Was it only him who felt this way?
“Tell me. What’s making you uncomfortable?”
He looked at her with narrow eyes. Regina looked away.
“I was just a little surprised, that’s all.”
“Why were you surprised?”
She bit her lip and answered softly.
“I just didn’t expect it.”
“Didn’t expect what?”
“There’s enough magic, and we don’t need to act like lovers, so you doing this all of a sudden…”
Conrad tilted his head and spoke,
“I’m going to kiss you, hold your hand, and hug you whenever I want. You’re my Empress.”
Regina opened and closed her mouth a few times, thinking hard about what to say.
Conrad tried to hide his impatience.
He could push her to answer, but he knew he wouldn’t get the response he wanted that way.
“But, we’re only together because of a contract.”
At her hesitant words, Conrad almost sighed, but he held it in.
“We’re married, we had our first night together, we’ve done everything—but I can’t give you a simple kiss?”
“Ah…”
Regina’s face finally relaxed, as if she understood. Conrad pressed on.
“Isn’t it okay to accept this much now?”
Regina was still hesitating, so Conrad leaned closer again, pressed his lips softly to hers, and whispered,
“And you said this is mine, didn’t you?”
Her ears turned bright red. She could feel his warm, soft lips close to her skin.
His breath and his steady gaze made her skin heat up. The soft touch on her lips didn’t feel bad.
‘I’m nervous.’
They’d been together before, but she always thought of it as part of their contract.
Now, with no lack of magic, this was their first real touch, and her heart beat fast.
It felt like they were just about to cross a line.
As their breaths mingled—
Conrad’s tongue touched hers, stealing all her breath.
“Mm…!”
The sound of their tongues meeting filled the room. Regina, feeling her body grow hotter, lightly tapped Conrad’s shoulder.
She thought, if this keeps going, they might end up doing this on the desk with all the documents.
“…Why?”
Conrad’s low, rough voice sounded in her ear, making her fingertips tingle.
He kept his eyes on her lips, now shiny with saliva. He gently touched her lips and whispered again,
“Do you hate it?”
Regina’s body said otherwise, but Conrad asked on purpose. He wanted to see her shake her head.
Of course, she did.
Seeing her shy denial, Conrad smiled like a satisfied beast.
Regina, looking down, didn’t see his pleased smile.
“B-but, there’s still something I need to say.”
It was still bright in the room. Embarrassed, Regina changed the subject.
“I want to move where I’m staying.”
“Where?”
“To the Empress’s palace. It still needs some organizing.”
“Why?”
“Because I need to be there to control the social circle.”
Just as he expected.
Once again, Conrad felt sure: the right person was wearing the Empress’s crown.
It almost seemed like a waste that someone so capable wasn’t originally a Fredericks noble.
If she had been, he’d never have let her go.
No—even now, he could still keep her.
Getting past the magic barrier wasn’t easy. Until her seal was broken, Regina couldn’t go back to Permang.
“High society is very important.”
Regina’s voice brought Conrad back from his thoughts.
“That’s right. For now, the Grand Empress controls it, but…”
In politics, some nobles didn’t rely on Chloe, but in society, it was different.
If the noble ladies disliked you, you couldn’t survive.
“So, I want to change the center of society this time.”
She had already shaken Chloe’s control of the palace finances with the incident about the knights. Now, it was time to win over the ladies.
Many of them had sons who were knights.
Seeing Regina’s eyes shining with hope, Conrad couldn’t help but smile.
How could he dislike someone who truly supported him?
