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Chapter 117
On the carriage ride back to the Star Mansion, Killian gently took Emily’s hand that was resting beside him.
A corner of his mind still fretted—had she regretted meeting him? Did she think he was a disaster who had stolen her happiness?
Fortunately, Emily, as if to soothe his heart, slowly leaned her head against Killian’s shoulder while keeping her hand in his.
Instantly, the unease in Killian’s heart vanished like magic.
One thing was certain: he truly could not live without this person.
“Did you talk well with Marquis Wipher?”
Emily’s voice brushed softly against his ear like a low whisper.
“Yes. He said he would like to meet Prince Kite as well.”
“That’s a relief.”
From now on, Killian would be meeting the nobles alongside Prince Kite.
“Ah, but…”
Emily suddenly lifted her head from Killian’s shoulder and stood up.
“I couldn’t ask during dinner because I had to maintain appearances.”
Killian swallowed nervously. He was already afraid of what she might ask.
“When you were young, you must have been very close with Marlin?”
Somehow, he had thought she might let it slide earlier.
“I have no memory of that at all.”
It was a lie. Actually, when that topic came up earlier, he vaguely remembered a blonde girl chasing him around crying, saying she would marry him.
“What did you say when Marlin asked you to marry her?”
“I truly don’t remember.”
Another lie. He had agreed when they were older—he just didn’t want to hear her crying.
Emily made a skeptical hum.
Finally, Killian swallowed and spoke.
“Emily, I was only about seven years old back then.”
Marlin had been only four.
“Still, thinking that you could have married Marlin is shocking.”
“Is that so?”
It was the first time Emily had shown him jealousy.
Even without looking up, Emily could feel Killian smiling.
“No matter what happened, we would have ended up together.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just can’t imagine a version of life where you aren’t by my side.”
Emily let out a small laugh.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Killian turned toward her, placing his hands on her shoulders and locking eyes.
“Then can you live without me?”
“Ugh, that’s an unfair question…”
Emily tried to lean back from Killian’s suddenly close face, but there was no space left. She turned her head away, avoiding his gaze.
“Honey, sit down right away; it’s dangerous.”
Seeing her evade him made Killian feel a competitive, almost predatory, thrill.
“The dangerous one is you.”
Killian leaned in diagonally and pressed his lips to Emily’s.
He didn’t know why he acted this way. From the moment he realized Emily could feel jealousy, he could not resist wanting to touch her.
The sweet scent of her, the intoxicating closeness, made rational thought impossible for Emily. It felt like getting drunk on fine wine.
As the kiss prolonged, Emily felt her strength draining from her body.
Seeing this, Killian supported the back of her head with his other hand, continuing the kiss in a more stable position than before.
The air inside the carriage grew hot from their actions.
Every movement—the brush of his prominent nose against her cheek, his large hands and broad shoulders holding her, the soft texture of his lips—made her head spin.
Only when they could no longer breathe did their lips part.
“What… just happened?”
Boom, boom, boom. Her racing heart thumped loudly, almost audible.
Killian took advantage of Emily’s dazed moment to plant a quick, light kiss on her lips and then sat forward as if nothing had happened.
His hand slowly reached again, this time enveloping Emily’s pale hand in his palm.
Emily worried that every time Killian faced an inconvenient question, he might kiss her, leaving her unable to speak.
When they returned to the mansion, an invitation from the royal palace awaited them.
“It’s an invitation to the Rose Palace completion party.”
The royal family threw countless parties despite being heavily in debt.
Killian casually placed a paperweight on top of the invitation.
“And this party will probably be the last one hosted by the Manfredi royal family.”
His words carried a chill as cold as ice.
Finally, the day of the banquet arrived.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Emily took a deep breath as she entered the hall with Killian.
She was usually the center of attention, but today it was especially overwhelming.
No matter which way she turned, the sparkling gazes of people across the room found her.
‘Persistent…’
Sweat trickled down the back of her neck.
At least she was glad she hadn’t styled her hair up today.
“Still, the atmosphere seems fairly favorable.”
“Yes. By the way…”
Killian’s eyes narrowed in displeasure at Emily’s back.
“Why is the back of your dress cut so low?”
He hadn’t noticed while she wore her coat.
“I chose this design because I wanted to wear it this way. Is that not allowed?”
“It’s not that…”
Before he could finish, Killian abruptly tore off the glove on his left hand.
“I’m going to step out for a moment.”
“Step out in the middle of talking to me?”
Flustered, Emily grabbed his arm.
“I’m going to gouge that man’s eyes out.”
“Why?”
“He looked down your back.”
Killian’s gaze was like a volcano ready to erupt.
“Killian.”
Emily scolded, her face serious.
“Cut it out.”
She pulled a lipstick gun from her clutch.
“I’ll handle anyone who tries anything funny myself.”
Killian had forgotten that his wife was an A-ranked magical user trained by the mafia.
“…Understood.”
He quietly put his glove back on. Emily shook her head.
Despite all the incidents that had made Killian anxious, seeing all men as her enemies was a problem.
At that moment, someone hesitantly approached them.
“Marlin.”
“Hello.”
Marlin greeted Emily, then awkwardly shook hands with Killian.
Normally, only Marlin would be awkward, but now Killian also found her irritating.
‘Dad meant well, but that did nothing!’
Marlin thought to herself.
“Marlin, what’s going on?”
Emily’s question brought her back to focus.
“Yes, the ladies are waiting for you in the lounge.”
She also saw nobles nearby itching to approach Killian.
“Go ahead.”
Killian sent Emily to Marlin. He, too, needed to deal with the nobles who would approach for future benefits.
“I’ll go then.”
Emily exchanged a worried glance with Killian and followed Marlin into the hall.
Women close to the empress, like Countess Prine, were absent. It seemed Lady Howard had intentionally kept them away.
“Welcome. Since your marriage, we haven’t had a proper chance to greet you.”
Lady Howard had treated Emily, married to a mafia member, as somewhat outside normal nobility.
But after Killian’s lineage from the Velvet family was revealed, Lady Howard felt very apologetic toward Emily.
“Does this mean the Velvet family will be restored?”
One lady asked cautiously.
“There has been no decree from His Majesty yet,” a lady, whose husband worked in the palace, answered.
“Before that, the Star Marquis must prove with a magical detector that he is from the Velvet family.”
Emily spoke with a heavy expression.
“We’ve already requested inspections from the royal family several times, but they haven’t responded.”
“Oh dear…”
The ladies’ expressions darkened.
“Apparently, they know that if it’s revealed that the Star Marquis is a Velvet descendant, it would disadvantage them.”
The Manfredi royal family were descendants of those who had no one left in the Velvet line to inherit the throne.
Lady Howard, strict about legitimacy, had always been wary of the Manfredi royals.
They had even claimed the large estates of the Velvet family as royal property.
“If the Howard family pressures the royal family to conduct an inspection, they’ll have to comply.”
Marlin cautiously mentioned the royal family’s debts, seeing an opportunity.
“Perhaps the inspection is delayed due to the royal family’s debts.”
“What do you mean, Miss Wipher?”
“To inspect the Star Marquis, people need to be summoned from the temple, which is quite expensive, isn’t it?”
“Even so, could the royal family not afford it?”
“Yes. I heard from a friend in the finance department that the debts the Star Marquis repaid were far greater than publicly stated.”
Lady Howard frowned.
“Are they living in luxury without us knowing?”
Then a lady whose husband worked in the palace quietly interjected.
“I also heard that a large sum of money flows to the temple. No matter what unreasonable demands the temple makes, His Majesty grants them all.”
“Really? That’s suspicious.”
Emily nodded inwardly.
The current emperor had ascended with the temple’s backing, so he had to grant their demands.
“Anyway, we must ensure what needs to be done is done.”
Lady Howard said firmly.
“We’ll gather the Marquis families from the Howard household. If it’s confirmed that the Star Marquis is indeed a Velvet descendant, we must restore the family promptly.”
A smile appeared on Emily and Marlin’s faces.
Finally, things seemed to be going the way they wanted.
