Chapter 47

Chapter 47

“I’m sorry for bumping into you.”

“Why? Did you want to dance with someone else?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You seemed so busy looking at someone. It wouldn’t be strange if there were a couple of pretty guys at the academy. Why are you so defensive?”

The emperor sometimes spoke thoughtlessly, and it was difficult to defend myself because of his status.

“I don’t care about that, so stop it.”

“What? Do you have a problem with that idea?”

“Your Majesty knows I’m not interested in anyone like that anymore.”

“Do you need to be so skeptical?”

I stared at him irritably. “I had to suddenly be like that. Stuck in a slave cart, there was no choice but to keep my guard up. Marriage is now the furthest thing from my mind.”

“Ha ha, that might be the case.”

“And what about you, Your Majesty?”

“Me?”

We went round and round, dancing, and my skirt spread out as the emperor twirled me.

“I don’t think the Emperor really likes marriage all that much either.”

“Does it look like that?”

“It’s none of my business, but…” I glanced at the door from where Vicky left. “Vicky likes you a lot. When I was at the academy, she used to say she admired you.”

“…Why are you telling me this?”

Oh no. His voice was low, and even the twisted smile was gone from his face. However, I couldn’t suddenly quit after bringing it up.

I forced myself to finish my sentence. “If you’re going to get married anyway, shouldn’t you get married to someone you really care about?”

The song was slowing down, but his movements stopped suddenly. The waltz, which hadn’t bothered me at all when I was moving to the music, now felt like noise. I felt the emperor’s cold eyes looking down at me.

“You’re not in a position to give me advice. Do you think just because you’re my secretary you can just say things like that? Know your place.”

My body shuddered involuntarily at the cold words.

He let go of my hand, then turned and walked off the dance floor. I stared blankly at his back before hurriedly following him. It wasn’t too difficult to see him in the crowd, but the mood felt awkward.

He wasn’t sweet, but neither was he picky nor capricious. In addition, it had been a long time since we had seen each other so openly upset that we couldn’t even look at each other. What even happened?

The emperor was the one who started talking about marriage anyway. It was the emperor who first made comments about my personal life, making assumptions about me.

Vicky, however, was certainly a life-threatening outsider. Was it out of line to tell him to be nice, to know that he was stressed out about his engagement to Vicky, and to advise him?

I didn’t even know why he was so upset.

It was not easy to pass through the crowd while holding onto my skirt with both hands. The emperor seemed angry, but he didn’t go too far, even considering that I was walking slowly because of my attire.

“I’m sorry I offended you.”

He stretched out his arm to me again as if nothing had happened, like a true, courteous partner. As I laid my hand on his arm, he gently touched my messy hair.

“Celestia. I will kill Vicky’s father before or after our marriage, whenever I get a chance. Even if I do marry her, I want to tell you in advance that I’m not going to be a good husband.”

My heart pounded in surprise.

He stood up straight again and pretended to smile. “I didn’t expect you to be this surprised.”

“What do you mean…?”

“It’s okay to be caught off guard, but I think it’s time for you to learn that useless compassion is a waste and a danger.”

I looked at his calm face and the predatory expression on it, still trying to calm my heartbeat.

Frankly, it wasn’t that surprising that he wanted to get rid of his enemies. Perhaps he had dozens of such plans. Standing in the brightest part of the country, he heard even the dirtiest of secrets, and his life was always in danger. It was because of his position that he could not afford to hesitate if he had to spill other people’s blood, so he could live.

But he’d never been this blunt before. I used to complain that I was always suffering from assassination attempts and that I felt bad for the future empress, but I didn’t say anything more than that.

As I said, “Yes, Your Majesty,” he nodded softly.

“More importantly, it seems like our long-standing target is hanging around here.”

“Target?”

“Yeah, that suspicious energy moved from here…”

‘Didn’t you just leave the dance floor out of anger?’

The emperor, who stood next to me, moved his eyes around and smiled, extending his arm to me. “I think this works too well.”

“My hand?”

“I don’t think my aura is very detectable once we’re together. Seeing that this is how it works to disguise the magic, I think it’s best to keep holding on to each other.”

Was that a joke?

His gaze scanned the railing on the second floor, then turned to the ceiling. Then it stopped at the chandelier.

It all happened in an instant.

He murmured, “I’ll be back in a minute.” He dropped my hand and vanished.

I stared blankly at the empty space, bewildered by his disappearance. The serene music contrasted with my growing panic.

Thump!

The academy students and guests raised their heads for a moment, but they quickly turned their attention back to having a good time with their partners.

But I was certain. The sound must have come from the place where the emperor had suddenly disappeared to.

I held my skirt as I walked briskly through the crowded hall. There were so many people that I was already exhausted when I reached the other side.

Where was he?

As I climbed the stairs connected to the second floor of the hall, trying to guess the direction of the sound, the sound of a collision once again punctuated the music. It seemed to be from one of the rooms attached to the hallway on the second floor.

It wasn’t easy to run in these shoes, but my worry overrode the discomfort.

Clack.

I pulled out a small dagger hidden in my sleeve and gently opened the door. It was so quiet in the room that it would have been embarrassing if I rushed over. There were eight men and women from who knew where, and the golden eagle decorations on their collars identified them as the emperor’s Guard Defenders.

When one of them opened the interior door, I saw him there, sans his mask and beckoning me to enter.

“…Are you okay?”

“Look—” His voice was very stable.

As the door opened wide, I saw a man lying at his feet.

I closed the door at the emperor’s order. His gaze passed over my face and reached for my wrist.

‘Did he see my dagger?’

He pulled the corners of his lips together as if he was trying not to laugh. “I didn’t know you brought something like that. Where did you hide it?”

“You know I need to protect myself.”

“What were you going to do with that?”

“I was wondering if I could be of any help.”

“Refrain from such reckless attempts in the future. If you’re an idiot who doesn’t know how to use a weapon, you shouldn’t bring it in the first place, otherwise it will only endanger your own safety.”

That was right.

I handed it over to the emperor. He took the dagger and scratched a line on the back of the man under his feet.

It wasn’t even very sharp, but with that simple gesture, the clothes were cut like paper. Applying magic to increase the cutting power of a blade was more difficult than intuitive techniques such as making a burst of flame. I was a little mesmerized by the emperor’s ability to do such things easily.

Because he was such a great man, he’d received recognition for his outstanding magic talent since he was young. It also made it necessary for him to showcase his abilities, so it really was a two-edged sword.

I knew him. He was the man from Golddina I saw last time. The one who had broken into my room and called me an imposter.

The emperor pressed his foot against him. “It’s no use pretending to be unconscious.”

While there was no answer, the man’s eyes opened.

“Why do you dare to sneak in so far and aim for Celestia?”

In response to the silence, the dagger spun round and round in the emperor’s hand.

A slow sigh. “I didn’t expect the emperor to show up here. Nothing is going my way.”

“So?”

“I don’t think you know what you’re dealing with.”

“You’ve made a big mistake.”

I don’t know where or how the emperor used his magic, or how he managed his mana. The man lying on the floor let out a suppressed scream that almost seemed to spill out of him.

“Gasp!”

“What’s your business?”

“I didn’t mean to take you on today.”

Wow, how arrogant. Was he really from Golddina? Foreigners usually wouldn’t be so informal to other nations’ leaders.

The thought must have crossed the emperor’s mind as well, but he made no mention of it, only kicking the man again. “Tell me why you’re here.”

“Escape… To tell you to escape…”