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Chapter – 41
“Please, tell me when a really bad criminal suffers like that. It sounds… enjoyable. I could even give my input on how the torture should be done.”
“Ho. You’re the first woman I’ve met who enjoys something like this… no, actually, you’re the second.”
“There’s someone else like me?”
“Yes.”
“Your Majesty, shall we depart in the carriage?”
“Ah. Laviel, have the knights prepare the luggage to be brought along.”
“Oh… that bag is still in my room…”
“You must have already made up your mind, then.”
As he nodded, a knight quickly entered the mercenary office.
“It’s not like that…”
“You pretended not to care, but I know you wanted to come along with me.”
“Ah…?”
But the Emperor didn’t seem to be listening at all; he only wore a satisfied expression.
‘Right. I’m going anyway, so what’s the point of saying anything now? It’s just wasted effort.’
Still, anxiety slowly began to rise within her. She had put a condition that she wouldn’t become Empress, but… was it really okay? Could the Emperor protect her?
‘I already have… no other path.’
Perhaps this way would be better for continuing her work as a lawyer. This world was different from her old one.
If someone displeased others, people wouldn’t hesitate to threaten or resort to violence. And if one had power, such actions often went unpunished. So she needed backing. She had learned this clearly through recent events.
“I’ve brought it.”
By then, the Emperor’s knight had returned carrying her bag.
“Then we can go. Let’s move.”
At that moment, knights from Baron Stork’s household approached the carriage. These were the same people who had been struggling all day and were even thrown out together earlier.
“If we have the chance later, we’ll meet again.”
“Are you really leaving?”
“Even if I return, it’ll be after a long time. Please convey my regards properly to Baron Stork and Iz.”
“Yes…! I’ll tell them that His Majesty personally called you ‘my love.’”
“Huh? No, I said ‘my person,’ not ‘my love!’”
But deliberately or not, the Emperor ordered the carriage to depart immediately.
“Ah… no!”
“You won’t get through even if you say it.”
“They’ll misunderstand…! This makes it look like I’m going for the Empress’s position out of ambition.”
I pouted in frustration, and his shoulders shook with amusement.
“More importantly, are you well?”
“Huh?”
“I sent the palace physician personally last time, didn’t I? Since then, are you alright?”
This wasn’t a question she could ignore. She had to thank him. Once again, she realized just how skilled the Emperor was at changing the topic.
“Ah… I should have thanked you for sending the physician personally last time, but I was too preoccupied with the incident. Thank you.”
“It seems to have helped. Your face looks much better than that day. Are you taking your medicine properly?”
“Yes. It’s supposed to help my condition, so I take it diligently.”
And indeed, she felt much better whenever she took the medicine.
“That’s a relief.”
“I was originally given a terminal prognosis. What did the physician say? Is it still terminal?”
He hadn’t given her a clear explanation. She hadn’t pressed the question before, thinking he wouldn’t answer, but curiosity was now overwhelming.
“Terminal, huh. Laviel, what difference would it make if you were terminal?”
“Nothing really… would it change anything?”
“If you’re terminal, will you just give up and not fight to live? Spend all your money and just live recklessly? Quit being a lawyer?”
Seeing him genuinely curious, she shook her head.
“No.”
“Hmm?”
“Life is too short to waste on that.”
She had already experienced death once. The time she died without doing anything, with no one to care for her or love her… she had regretted it. At least she would live fully, even if only for a day.
So whether she was terminal or not, her goal in life remained the same.
“I want to live fully, even if I die tomorrow. Struggling, like a cabbage worm drowning in water.”
“Most people, when they hear they’re terminal, feel hopeless and do nothing, don’t they?”
“That could happen. Every step I take might feel meaningless. But not for me.”
The Emperor’s lips curved slightly.
“Interesting. You’re definitely different from ordinary people. Even I…”
“Huh?”
“Never mind.”
The carriage fell into an unusually quiet atmosphere. Trying to match the mood, she closed her mouth, but then quickly spoke again.
“So… am I terminal? That’s why you’re asking.”
The Emperor didn’t give a clear answer, so she guessed and asked anyway. He, however, looked firm.
“No.”
“…No? You’re not lying?”
“Why would I lie? Only those with something to lose lie.”
“I see.”
“According to the palace physician, your condition isn’t great, but you’re not terminal.”
Her heart, which had been racing with anxiety, finally settled.
“Hah… I really thought I was terminal. I thought I’d recovered… The physician didn’t explain clearly, and His Majesty didn’t either.”
She sighed deeply and lowered her gaze to the carriage floor.
“You acted as if it didn’t matter if I were terminal.”
“Of course anyone would not want to die.”
“Is that so?”
“Then, Your Majesty… did you know I wasn’t terminal?”
“Yes.”
“…Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was curious. Laviel, I wanted to see what you’d say. And as expected… I like it very much.”
Which part did he like? The part about living like a struggling cabbage worm, or…?
‘No, but the Emperor wouldn’t lie…’
She looked out the window. The landscape passed by quickly, and the sense of reality felt completely absent. Days of living as Laviel had been like dreaming.
Even seeing the people, the buildings, the horse-drawn carriage itself—it all felt surreal.
Reality only felt present when going to court.
She barely understood that the person in front of her was the ruler of the land she stood on. Her gaze naturally returned to the Emperor.
“Do you have anything to say?”
“Huh?”
“You’ve been staring at me for a long time.”
“Ah… no, it’s nothing.”
The carriage continued on, arriving at the palace once more.
The scenery changed, showing unmistakably that this was the Imperial Palace. Even Laviel, who had lived here her whole life, had only ever observed it from afar. Now, she had entered it herself.
A wave of tension washed over her. Doubts about her choice lingered, yet being in the palace made her mind sharp.
‘Right. No use regretting coming here. I had no choice. I just need to stay focused and get the Emperor divorced, and it’ll all be over.’
Perhaps she would then ask to be sent to a distant country. In this world, all nations spoke the same language, and there were no major wars. She could practice law elsewhere. Laviel, having lived her life in a room, might even want that.
“Step down.”
The carriage stopped, and the Emperor dismounted first. She followed without hesitation.
This kind of outing seemed normal for him. Unlike movies or dramas, no servants appeared to greet him; only the knights who accompanied him followed closely.
She walked after the Emperor, looking around like a naive country girl who had come to the capital.
After some time, they arrived at a room.
“This is my office.”
“It’s quiet.”
“Quiet?”
“I thought servants would come out and fuss upon your return.”
Even the staff of Count Avalon would come out to greet their master, but here, no one came for the Emperor.
“Why should I bother telling anyone my schedule? Only fools do that. I don’t need to, because I am remarkable enough as is.”
He exuded incredible confidence. Her tension melted, and a smile spread across her face.
“Smile often. It looks good on you.”
