Don't Be Kind Rashly (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12
She’s going to die. Rustica Jenus, the once highly capable knight who had enjoyed the full support and favor of Calleta Emperor Carlos Arthur Ingram, sensed the shadow of death.
If pierced through, she’d die instantly. No—even a single blow would send her, the Emperor, and the utterly useless tea table and chairs (beautiful but offering no defense whatsoever) flying. Her entire body would be torn apart by the shock, and she’d perish.
But Lu strained with all her might not to move. She wanted to leap up and run backward, but she held herself back.
‘It’s already too late. Even if I ran now, I couldn’t possibly escape.’
She couldn’t cast magic, nor could she defend or attack.
In the end, she could only flee on foot—but no matter how fast she ran, she’d never escape the range of that enormous monster. So Lu convinced herself: she simply had to stay seated right where she was.
‘The Emperor is sitting here. I can’t afford to falter.’
If he stared at her so calmly, as though nothing were amiss, then she absolutely must not scream and flee.
She couldn’t possibly do that. Though Lu couldn’t control her expression, she desperately held her ground, sitting rigidly in place.
‘Is that monster really going to hold its ground like this?’
The Emperor didn’t budge an inch. He looked as if he’d made up his mind to see how she’d react.
Surely he’d do something—he’d be hit too, after all. He’d at least move, wouldn’t he? She silently pleaded for him to move, but he merely faced her with perfect composure. Until the very last moment, he never moved.
The massive forepaw, tipped with razor-sharp claws, swung down directly toward them. Lu struggled to keep her eyes wide open until the very end.
Boom!
Thanks to that, when the sudden deafening crash sounded again, Lu didn’t miss a thing—she saw exactly what had happened.
At the very instant the claw, as long as a sword, descended, a brilliant beam of light struck the monster’s chest with tremendous force. Lu narrowed her eyes against the dazzling radiance.
Though it was merely light, the impact was undeniable. The monster staggered, and the beam split into multiple strands, deflecting the descending paw and striking the monster repeatedly.
The monster was buried so deeply in light it became invisible. That huge, grotesque creature was tightly bound by the luminous strands—and then, just like that—
Kraaagh!
Its screaming maw was bound shut, and it vanished entirely along with the light. Once again, only the idle afternoon tea table remained in the wasteland.
“…Your Majesty, where exactly are we?”
“The northwestern region of Perseeta. The very edge of the Flache territory I mentioned before.”
He said it was ruled by a noble who shared Lu’s surname.
“As you can see, it’s an area where monsters frequently appear. When a monster wave erupts—monsters endlessly spawning from places where mana has coalesced—it becomes an utter wasteland.”
The Emperor answered in detail while taking another sip of tea. Lu, however, had forgotten even to drink her tea and was looking around.
“This much should finally catch your attention, Ambassador.”
The Emperor, who hadn’t even glanced at the monster and had been watching only Lu, muttered to himself. At his words—so full of what seemed like stubbornness or something else—Lu had no choice but to turn her gaze toward him.
“It’s rather difficult. Normally, I alone would have been enough—but apparently not this time.”
What nonsense. Did he really expect her to believe that, after bringing her here just to intimidate her and then speaking like this? Lu fixed him with a stern look.
“If your aim was to startle me, then you’ve succeeded.”
“My aim was to find out what interests you, Ambassador—not to startle you. For that part, I apologize. But…”
He looked at Lu as if measuring her.
“Wasn’t it more thrilling than startling, Ambassador?”
It was as if he’d pierced straight through her—through the combat instinct that had once raged within her but had now grown cold and dormant.
It was certain. The Emperor kept staring directly at her, reading every hidden thing within.
“My combat instincts died long ago.”
Lu deliberately added further denial as she murmured the truth she knew.
“Did the Calleta Emperor say that?”
The Perseeta Emperor gave a cold laugh. Lu suddenly realized that, for the first time, there was mockery in his laughter.
Until now, this man had always laughed sincerely. He’d never once mocked Lu. All his hostility was directed solely at the Calleta Emperor.
“Our Emperor has never said such a thing…”
“No, your Emperor simply made you ‘believe that.’”
The Emperor cut off Lu’s words mid-sentence and looked straight at her.
“How could instincts honed through real combat possibly deteriorate? Even retired veteran knights keep those instincts razor-sharp—that’s normal, that’s common sense. For someone your age to have lost that instinct is utter nonsense.”
His voice was intense. Though it was Lu whose instincts had faded, the Emperor sounded more aggrieved and furious than she did.
It sounded as if he cared deeply for her—as if he were angry on her behalf. Either she was imagining things, or the Emperor had crossed a line.
“It’s true that my combat instincts are less than half of what an ordinary knight’s would be.”
Though she’d clearly just drunk tea, speaking those painful words aloud felt as if her throat were splitting open.
Suddenly, Lu recalled something that man had once said.
He’d claimed he’d once been a child soldier driven to the front of the Wall to defend the Calleta Empire.
He’d said Lu had saved him. She remembered the young blond child soldier with fierce eyes.
But aside from that, strangely, she couldn’t recall anything else. How they’d met, how they’d parted—she remembered none of it.
Perhaps it simply hadn’t mattered enough to her to remember. Yes, he clearly hadn’t been important to her.
“…If Your Majesty’s proposal for me to switch allegiance stems from my former reputation as a knight, then it’s futile. I can never take up a sword again.”
“What if I could make it possible for you to hear?”
Hayden quickly seized her words and asked.
“It’s impossible, so I won’t answer further.”
Oh, really? If he thought she’d give up that easily, he was sorely mistaken. Hayden broke into a wide grin.
“Then I suppose I’ll have to see you more often from now on, Ambassador. Are you free tomorrow?”
Lu’s expression, which hadn’t even twisted severely when the monster charged, now completely soured.
“You’re being far too obvious about your dislike. It hurts.”
How excessive. The handsome man placed a hand over his heart, looking deeply wounded. Yet the Ambassador he addressed didn’t even bat an eyelash.
“I’m not free tomorrow.”
The Emperor stated simply.
“Make time.”
What an arrogant jerk.
“It’s your fault for not trusting me, Ambassador. If there’s no trust, we’ll just have to build it by meeting often.”
From start to finish, it was all nonsense. Emperor Carlos of Calleta at least had dignity—but this fellow, when listened to quietly, was just throwing a tantrum and blaming others.
His physique was far too developed to be called childish, yet he acted like a child. But Lu, who’d dealt with children before, immediately began placating him.
“I’m a dreadfully dull person to meet with often, Your Majesty.”
“We’ve already had plenty of fun today, so there’s no need for such modesty, Ambassador. I’ll see you again at the same time tomorrow. I’ll send a carriage—don’t refuse.”
“Aren’t you busy?”
The Perseeta Emperor smiled brightly.
“I am busy. Precisely because I’m giving you a slice of my busy time, I’d appreciate it if you showed some sincerity in return, Ambassador.”
So this was local pride. In Perseeta, the one sitting at the very top led the way in asserting it.
Lu glanced once more at the teapot. One day, she’d surely smash that neatly combed head of his with it.
“Your Majesty seems to place great importance on tea time.”
Ah, so she’s thinking of bashing my head in with the teapot. Hayden replied, clearly delighted.
“What wouldn’t be important if I’m sharing it with you? Wasn’t today rather enjoyable?”
The woman, tough enough to hold her ground without flinching even when a monster charged, gave a stock reply.
“If Your Majesty enjoyed it, then it was an enjoyable time for me as well.”
“How very typical of someone from the Calleta Empire.”
It was a sneer implying she devoted all her energy to flattering the Emperor, but Lu didn’t even blink this time. Words like that couldn’t wound her.
“I am from the Calleta Empire, so it’s only natural.”
She answered firmly and took a sip of tea. On a certain idle afternoon, tea time in the wasteland continued.
After returning to the palace, the Perseeta Emperor sat by the window, gazing down at the retreating figure of Calleta Ambassador Lady Rustica Jenus as she left the palace grounds.
She had left immediately after their tea time in the wasteland—without so much as blinking—and had departed the moment the Emperor moved the tea table back to the palace.
“Your Majesty.”
Instead of replying, the Emperor extended his hand toward the voice. A plate of cake, accompanied by a fork, was placed in his hand.
It was an ordinary cake, generously layered with whipped cream and powdered sugar, filled with jam and strawberries. He’d brought it because it felt awkward for the Calleta Ambassador walking below to arrive empty-handed.
“The poison test has passed for now.”
At the quiet report, the Emperor nodded. Of course. Even Martin, the Calleta Emperor’s spy and servant, well-versed in poisons, wouldn’t do something insane like poisoning a cake brought out suddenly.
But how many subtle poisons could slip past a temporary poison test? Watching Lu’s neatly tied hair fluttering in the breeze, the Emperor broke off a soft piece of cake with his fork.
‘Is it truly safe for His Majesty to eat what the Calleta Ambassador brought?’
Those attending the Emperor dared not voice their concerns. They worried, but since the Emperor had decided, they absolutely couldn’t interfere.
The young Emperor, newly enthroned, was generally generous—but even so, he remained an extremely difficult person.
“Your Majesty, the Court Duke requests an audience.”
The Emperor, with cake in his mouth, gave a slight flick of his fork—an indication to grant the audience. Even when Court Duke Sir Simon Kainberg entered, the Emperor kept his gaze fixed on Rustica Jenus from his seat by the window.
“Your Majesty.”
“Have some cake. It’s sweet.”
“No, thank you. Unlike Your Majesty, I’m not the sort who remains unharmed after eating poison. Perhaps Your Majesty should also refrain from eating it, if possible.”
Simon Kainberg looked at the Emperor with clear disapproval. The Emperor, however, was enjoying himself like a boy, his red lips smeared with white whipped cream.
He was a fully grown young man, nearly two meters tall—hardly a boy.
“It’s a gift from Lu. I must taste it.”
When he pronounced the name ‘Lu,’ his voice was filled with affection. Had she made it herself, he would have eaten the entire cake alone, even though he didn’t particularly enjoy sweets—by any means necessary.
But since she hadn’t, he was sharing it with Simon as if bestowing a favor.
“There’s no poison.”
Hayden kept watching Lu’s retreating figure until the very end. Sadly, her brown hair disappeared into the distance.
Those emotionless gray eyes would soon grow cold again. Sir Simon Kainberg knew that from this moment on, the palace would once again enter a state of tension disguised as calm.
A servant quietly placed a cup of hot coffee beside the Emperor and withdrew.
“Signs of a large-scale monster wave have been detected in the western region. It seems it will erupt soon.”
The west had long been rich in mana, naturally attracting many mages.
Of course, they’d been nearly wiped out thanks to the Calleta Emperor. Fortunately, the newly crowned Perseeta Emperor had swiftly stationed those who’d crossed the Wall in the west to prepare for the monster wave.
Only the mages who’d come from Calleta could effectively stop the monsters emerging from points where mana tangled and knotted.
“I know. I went to check myself just a moment ago. The scale is enormous.”
“Just a moment ago? Surely you didn’t bring the Calleta Ambassador with you?”
“She was quite startled.”
Simon Kainberg struggled to suppress an exasperated expression.
“If your intention was to frighten her, then you succeeded…”
Was it really acceptable to recklessly show anything to a foreign diplomat—especially one from an enemy nation? Sir Simon Kainberg felt doubtful but decided to stop worrying about it.
One shouldn’t try to understand the Emperor’s eccentricities with logic. The Perseeta Emperor was beyond common sense.
“Lu wasn’t frightened.”
The Emperor smiled.
“The eastern nobles will obviously sit this one out again.”
“They were already sitting it out before, but now that I’m here, they have even more reason to do nothing.”
The eastern nobles, who possessed prosperous trade and fertile lands, would surely leave everything to the newly crowned Emperor and merely watch from the sidelines without stepping forward in the empire’s critical affairs.
In the days when there were no mages and no Emperor, they’d maintained only the empire’s facade, hoarding wealth among themselves and utterly ignoring nobles from other regions.
“Didn’t Your Majesty single-handedly stop the last northern monster wave entirely on your own?”
“Monster waves erupting in the north are common occurrences.”
The Perseeta Emperor, who had finally turned his gaze fully away from the window, elegantly finished his cake plate while gently swaying his long legs.
“It’s only right for an Emperor to stop monster waves.”
Sir Simon Kainberg, who had been listening quietly, glanced once at the ceiling, set down his documents, and approached to take a plate of cake.
“I thought you didn’t want to eat?”
“Hearing Your Majesty repeat the same excuses the eastern nobles use is so irritating that I feel I must eat something sweet.”
“It’ll help you think. Someone, bring tea for Lord Kainberg.”
“I’d prefer coffee. Your Majesty, the scale of this western monster wave will be incomparable to the northern one. The northern wave ended after just four battles—and I know you didn’t even unleash your full power then.”
Back then, to put it plainly, the Emperor had merely toyed with the monsters, deliberately stretching the fight over four encounters. He’d played with both the monsters and the nobles.
“Will you personally lead the charge this time as well?”
“The Imperiale is always ready to deploy.”
Merely mentioning the Perseeta Imperial Knights, the Emperor’s personal order, was enough for Sir Simon Kainberg to understand perfectly. He nodded.
“Understood. Is there anything else you wish to command? …Regarding the Calleta Ambassador, perhaps.”
He truly didn’t want to ask, but he had no choice. The Emperor was paying far too much attention to her—and in an extremely personal way, at that.
“Magic fluctuations will likely be detected in the Calleta embassy sometime today or tomorrow. Tell them to pretend they don’t notice.”
“Yes? But, Your Majesty…”
“It’s about time Carlos Arthur Ingram grew curious enough to die.”
He wouldn’t be able to resist coming himself. The Perseeta Emperor set down his fork with a cold smile.
Thus, he’d sent Lu back today—to the Calleta embassy, crawling with spies and assassins.
She’d be safe today. And for the next few days, she would remain so.
But after that—once the embassy had settled in properly and it became known throughout Perseeta that the ‘Jenus’ family was here?
No one could guarantee the safety of Lu, who was merely a temporary measure for the Calleta Emperor.
A temporary measure was precisely that—temporary. Once her usefulness ended, she’d be discarded. The woman he’d barely managed to keep close would be dragged back beyond the Wall.
The Emperor had no time to spare.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
I’m not sure where Lu gets the patience to deal with Hayden. He’s like a bulldozer. He seems convinced he’s helping her yet he doesn’t consider her opinions throughout it all.