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~Chapter 25~
Aisha was completely dumbfounded.
What? Did he just ask her not to say that she was mentally unstable?
They were on the same team, and yet, he was saying this?
“Also, you mustn’t let anyone know that you are the reporter and publisher of Sunday Exposé.”
Aisha agreed with this one thing. As she came to her senses, her eyes sparkled as she looked at Killian.
“You may not know, but the palace has been keeping an eye on Sunday Exposé.”
Well, she wasn’t totally surprised. Sunday Exposé had shaken up the social scene, and Killian Winters, who had been under constant watch at the palace, was linked to it. And most importantly, in the Draksyon Empire, there was no freedom of press.
Compared to the usual newspapers that churned out articles like palace trumpet blowers, Sunday Exposé was totally different. There was no way the palace didn’t know about it. In fact, it would have been strange if they didn’t.
“And maybe… the Empress Dowager has already figured out that you’re the publisher of that damn magazine.”
“What? You never said that!”
“Would it make a difference?”
“Huh?”
“You would have said ‘no’ right away.”
That was true.
“But this is just a guess. Anyway, I suddenly announced my engagement to you, so the Empress Dowager probably tried to figure out what happened. But they would’ve found nothing.”
“So, the Empress Dowager would have made some other guesses…”
“Exactly.”
Killian nodded, continuing his explanation.
“If Killian Winters engages Aisha Ashton, what benefits does he gain?”
“….”
“What’s the connection between the two of you?”
“That’s why they created this event. On the surface, it looks like they’re celebrating my return from war, but they’re actually probing me and checking you out.”
Aisha quickly caught on to his words. She thought it would take more than ten explanations, but she understood immediately. Killian looked at her with an unexpectedly surprised expression.
“You get what I mean. I won’t make a mistake because this is tied to my life.”
“…So, you were planning to make a mistake before you realized this was also about your life?”
“No, not exactly. I just meant I’ve steeled myself much more now. Why do you always twist what I say?”
“Tch, of course.”
“What did you just say? ‘Tch, of course’?”
The argument between them began to grow childish, and the coachman, who had been driving, glanced back and sighed heavily.
‘At this rate, only I’ll be alive when we return.’
Of course, he didn’t say this out loud because he had worked with the Winters family for a long time.
Killian had visited the palace many times, but this was Aisha’s first time.
“Wow. What is all this? It’s like another world.”
Aisha’s eyes sparkled as she looked around.
The palace in the Draksyon Empire was known for being covered in gold. Each castle was decorated with specific jewels, and the names of the castles were based on those jewels.
It was the kind of palace you’d expect to see in a romance fantasy novel.
But seeing it in person was far different than reading about it.
‘This is crazy. It’s unreal.’
If she had worked as a maid, just stealing a few of the jewels from the castle could have made her much richer. Aisha thought to herself.
“The meeting place is that way,” Killian said, pointing to a large castle ahead.
“Emerald Castle. It’s the most extravagant castle in the palace, and the Empress Dowager’s favorite place.”
“Wow. The name really lives up to it.”
As they got closer, Aisha saw the large emeralds embedded all over the castle. The sunlight made the emeralds shine like a magical castle, and it was so beautiful she couldn’t describe it.
But her thoughts about the castle ended there.
‘Is there anything I could write a story about? A handsome guard or a great wizard…’
It was a bad habit from her job.
“Please, just stay still,” Killian said, clearly noticing her restlessness.
“No matter how much you look around here, there’s no man more handsome than me.”
That was probably true.
“Help me avoid any shame for the lady’s honor.”
“Yes. I’ll do that.”
Tch.
Well, if Killian was as handsome as he was, he wouldn’t be just a supporting role. He’d be the main character with a big role.
At that moment, Aisha gave up on her desire to find a new Sunday Exposé protagonist and sniffled a bit.
“Sorry. I have a bit of a runny nose.”
“…”
“Don’t worry. I won’t make a fuss inside. I’ll just stay quiet.”
Killian wondered if bringing Aisha here was really the right decision. Shouldn’t he have just left her at the mansion, even if it meant facing Roselia’s attacks?
But it was already too late for regrets.
Inside Emerald Castle, it was just as luxurious as expected—chandeliers embedded with diamonds, furniture decorated with jewels of all kinds…
‘But how much longer do we have to walk? We’ve been walking for a while now.’
The hall seemed endless. Just when Aisha felt her patience thinning, Killian finally stopped walking.
“This is the biggest hall in Emerald Castle.”
“….”
“It looks like a lot of people have already arrived. I can hear noise from inside.”
Hmm.
Aisha’s face showed slight tension.
‘Finally, I’ll meet Belmore.’
In the original novel The Emperor Can’t Live Without Prisoners, Belmore Ellington, the emperor of the Draksyon Empire, was Aisha’s favorite character and the male lead. He was kind-hearted, and with his warmth, he melted the frozen heart of the female lead, Hilda Everett.
He was so different from the jerk next to her!
‘I never thought I’d meet him like this…’
Her hidden excitement began to rise, and her heart raced. After the last few days of torture with Killian’s training, she couldn’t believe she was about to meet Belmore.
“What’s with that weird expression?”
Of course, Killian didn’t know anything about this.
“Sorry, but could you at least fix your face?”
“Killian?”
Just then, a guard appeared and interrupted their conversation.
“Hello, Duke Killian. I’m Bill, a guard of the Empress Dowager.”
Killian stared at Bill for a moment before taking out the invitation from Roselia and handing it to him.
“Thank you for confirming, Duke. I’ll open the door for you. Please, enjoy your time.”
The guard smiled at them, his gaze briefly scanning Aisha, but she didn’t have time to worry about that.
The door finally opened.
Aisha took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves and then linked her arm with Killian’s, walking inside.
