🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 17
Don’t do this. I’m struggling right now. I’m sick, in pain, and exhausted. If you had eyes, you’d see it—I’m basically a critical patient!
Can’t you just leave me alone instead of clinging to me like this?
Why does this guy have to be the Emperor? If he weren’t, I could just swear at him and throw him out. I bit down on my lip to hold back the curse that almost slipped out.
The Emperor must have sensed my mood, because he spoke in a slightly deflated voice.
“…Fine. Anis, rest here for now and recover. I’ve already ordered preparations so you can come to the palace once you’re better.”
The palace?
I shot him a sharp glare.
“Your Majesty, I don’t think I’ll be able to visit the palace for a while since I’m ill.”
I cut him off coldly, and the Emperor fell silent for a moment. But he didn’t back down and continued speaking anyway.
“I understand you must feel hurt because I suspected this might be a staged act. And you’re probably angry because you were injured when I called for you. But Anis, staying here alone is dangerous. You only have one knight as a guard right now, don’t you? Next time, you might really die. So come to the palace with me. It’s much safer there.”
At his words, irritation surged in my chest.
“If Your Majesty hadn’t come in the first place, the assassins wouldn’t have even gotten close to me.”
Everyone except Devin looked shocked at my words. I looked directly at the Emperor and said firmly,
“I had been holding them off just fine until Your Majesty arrived and forced us to disable the traps.”
And was it really a coincidence that assassins showed up in such numbers on the very day the Emperor came to visit?
As I glared at him, the Emperor’s expression stiffened. I continued coldly,
“This estate isn’t as dangerous as you claim. And right now, I’m tired and need more rest.”
I clearly showed that I had no intention of continuing the conversation. After a brief silence, the Emperor stood up.
“…I understand. Rest well. I hope you can also let go of any resentment toward me.”
Even as he stood, he looked at me with lingering reluctance, but I pretended not to notice. He sighed and walked out of my room.
The moment he left, however, he staggered slightly and was quickly supported by his startled attendants.
“…?”
Thud.
The door closed, and the Emperor’s unsteady figure disappeared.
What was that? He looked like he suddenly got sick or something.
Tilting my head briefly, I turned to the attendants still inside my room.
“Please leave the room. I need to speak with my knight. I’ll call you if needed.”
“Yes, Countess.”
Click.
Once the palace attendants left, the room fell silent.
I turned to Devin.
“Why did you let the Emperor into my room?”
Others might think a mere knight couldn’t stop the Emperor, but I knew Devin could have if he wanted to.
He had seen me get stabbed because of the Emperor—so why had he let him in?
But Devin asked me instead,
“Do you still believe His Majesty the Emperor is the culprit?”
“Isn’t it suspicious? The assassins attacked on the exact day the Emperor, who hadn’t contacted me in a long time, suddenly showed up. And then he called it a staged act, demanded evidence, and because he shouted at me, I got my throat injured…”
“Calm down, Lady Anis. It’s not good for your wound.”
As my voice grew louder and my face flushed with anger, Devin tried to calm me.
Seeing my agitated state, he sighed and answered seriously.
“I understand why you’re suspicious, but I’ve concluded that His Majesty is not connected to the attackers.”
Then Devin explained everything that had happened while I was unconscious.
During the battle, the imperial knights and assassins fought with full strength. The assassins had truly tried to kill the Emperor—and as a result, even the Emperor was injured.
“The Emperor was injured?”
So that’s why he was staggering earlier? I was startled.
“He’s hiding it with his clothes. They’re trying to keep it quiet in case information leaks, but His Majesty was also cut by a poisoned blade. There was quite a commotion in the other room earlier. He has already taken an antidote.”
Even though it was being kept quiet, Devin had apparently noticed everything.
“If the Emperor were the culprit, there would be no reason for him to get injured by a poisoned blade just to act.”
Devin then added why he had never suspected the Emperor.
“If His Majesty truly wanted to kill you, there would be no need for anything complicated. He would have simply ordered the imperial knights to arrest you. Given the number of negative reports against you, even a few fabricated charges would have been enough to frame you.”
Negative reports?
“People… dislike me?”
“…There have long been nobles who opposed you becoming Empress.”
Devin answered carefully, as if worried I might be hurt. But instead of being shocked, I actually felt relieved—it finally matched what I vaguely remembered from the original story.
The revolutionary faction of the empire called Anis Milleir a true empress who cared for the people but was killed by corrupt nobles. Meanwhile, the nobles called her the worst empress candidate in history—a disgraceful witch who overstepped her place.
So the nobles really do hate Anis.
Devin continued cautiously, watching my reaction.
“Given the situation, it’s understandable that you would suspect His Majesty. But as you saw earlier, you are not someone the Emperor can simply discard.”
I frowned, recalling how the Emperor had been acting earlier. Devin spoke calmly again.
“You two practically grew up together.”
“Grew up together?”
“Yes. After your parents died protecting the previous Emperor, the Dowager Empress brought you into the palace and raised you herself. She also told the current Emperor to treat you like family. So you spent your childhood together.”
In the original story, Anis died early on, so only her engagement to the Emperor was mentioned—nothing about their childhood.
I murmured,
“So I grew up in the palace…”
“Yes. But after the Dowager Empress passed away, you returned to this estate.”
Pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place.
“Then… was it the Dowager Empress who arranged the engagement?”
“Yes. Their marriage was also part of her final will.”
Wow, even a deathbed wish?
I felt a little exhausted just hearing it.
No wonder the Emperor took this engagement so seriously.
What if he refuses to break it off even if I ask for a cancellation?
A small sense of dread crept in.
Devin continued,
“Even though you two bickered, you actually looked after each other. Perhaps His Majesty simply didn’t know you had lost your memory and spoke to you like that at first…”
For a brief moment, I had been worried the engagement couldn’t be broken.
But hearing Devin defend the Emperor made my expression darken.
“Even if you say that, Devin… I don’t intend to forgive the Emperor easily.”
