Chapter 17

Perhaps he was befuddled but I couldn’t figure out why. I bit onto the fork, not understanding why he made that kind of expression.

‘You were talking just fine, but then why? I didn’t do anything, right? Don’t tell me you were actually surprised that a doll was sweating?’

I became a little scared if that was it. I couldn’t say that it wasn’t an impossibility considering the situation. He isn’t called a crazy tyrant for no reason after all.

Then I delved back into my previous imagination of the emperor cutting necks. I surmise he was fully capable of saying, “You’re sweating, you’re not my Lily.” and then indifferently cut off my head. He’s already had a history of cutting a person’s head because their hair color was different.

When I thought about this factor, I felt depressed. ‘I have to be careful if I want to keep my pathetic life.’

As I sorted out my thoughts, I scooped up the mashed potato with a spoon and took another bite.

‘So delicious!’

***

It was so calm that time that the day finished peacefully. But a problem arose during the night. At first, I thought I heard wrong.

“Liliana.”

I looked at the man standing at the door holding a blanket with shocked eyes. When the emperor returned to his bedroom at dawn, he spoke to me in an even more relaxed voice than yesterday.

Furthermore, he was wearing nothing but a loose tunic!

I thought I was dreaming when he looked down at me with his mesmerizing eyes. His firm pectoral muscles visible through the open tunic.

‘Put your clothes back on! I-I don’t know where to put my eyes.’

Even though I was talking to myself in the moment, I was terrified.

The emperor, who appeared in front of the majestic door, didn’t return after he left earlier so I returned to my own room to get some sleep. Inconceivably, he grabbed me and put me back into his bedroom. Back then, I was terrified that a man entered a woman’s room at dawn, but then soon realized it was him.

‘He smells a bit differently from earlier. Did he drink alcohol?’

The sweet, stinging scent pierced my nose. From his eyes, I could tell he drank a lot.

‘A drunken beast…’ I was frightened, but he smiled and grabbed me.

“Why? Am I that scary?”

He removed the hair that clung to my cheek and put it over the back of my ear. There was no warmth in his eyes, but his touch was sweet. Feeling satisfied he smiled at me brightly. The face was so beautiful that I couldn’t help but be in awe for a moment.

I guess the emperor expected a different answer from me, because he grabbed me straight away and pushed me to bed roughly.

‘Why are you like this?’

I fell precariously over the bed and turned pale, he suddenly touched his forehead with his hands and shook his head. It looked like he was staggering too.

“I must have drunk a lot.”

‘How much did the emperor drink? Even after drinking enough for it to be considered poison, it only elicited a frown from him.’

He threw off his top, just as he did yesterday, and climbed onto the bed. Then, he swung his arm around my waist without mercy. I was amazed by the power felt in the unfamiliar area, and I reflexively got frightened.

‘Ahh! What’s this?!’

The emperor, noticing I wasn’t getting pulled close as fast as he wanted, spoke, “Don’t move.”

Because of his intimidating tone, I froze. Satisfied, he quickly pulled me towards him.

‘Ahh!’

Like yesterday, I couldn’t comprehend it. I felt the chest of a stranger on my back, the forearm of a stranger on my waist, and the legs of a stranger on my legs.

It seems like my choice was to either be slashed clean by a sword or be bitten to death by him. He hugged me more than yesterday, whether he felt I was shaking or not, he ignored it. Then he let out a content sigh.

“Let’s sleep now.”

Then it soon became quiet.

After staying rigid for a while, once the emperor’s breath became regular, I slowly turned my head. The emperor, with his slightly red face, was fast asleep.

‘Such a handsome face so close to me…’ I inwardly admired, then I berated myself after a moment of clarity. ‘No, it’s not! It’s a bit suffocating. Can’t breathe in peace with him so near.’

His body temperature was higher than yesterday because of the alcohol, making it hard for me to sleep. Besides, I still felt stifled inside.

This was bound to be a long night.