She approached the room where Shallen was staying and asked a servant to convey that Kasalyn requested an audience. The servant soon returned, shaking his head apologetically.
“He’s busy and says to come back later.”
As expected. Even in the busiest times, Shallen would always accept her audience requests. But now, him refusing without reason was clearly unusual.
“Then, please tell him this: I need to speak urgently regarding the dress room.”
“The dress room? What about it?”
“Just convey the message as I said.”
The servant hesitated but then nodded and re-entered. Kasalyn counted precisely five seconds in her mind.
Shallen, as if pricked by guilt, appeared barefoot at the door.
He probably thought he had devised a perfect scheme, but Kasalyn had watched him tirelessly for ten years. She could easily recognize his behavioral patterns and the unintentional emotions that surfaced on his face.
“What brings you here so suddenly?”
“Why did you give such an inappropriate order to Miss Logia?”
Kasalyn directly confronted him, and a fleeting, unguarded expression flashed across Shallen’s face.
But he was who he was.
If he couldn’t hide the sky with his palm, he’d use a parasol instead – a man inherently unscrupulous.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Is that so? Perhaps I, in my inadequacy, misunderstood something. Under these circumstances, I’ll have to entrust the investigation to the Imperial Security Bureau of Rennell. The Bureau is renowned for not missing even the slightest trace.”
Shallen, though caught off guard, was not the kind to admit defeat easily. His nature was to conceal the sky with any means possible, even if it meant hiding behind a façade.
Kasalyn, holding the copper-colored hair strand, let it fall to the ground deliberately.
Seeing this, Shallen finally dropped his pretense, realizing that lies wouldn’t work anymore.
“So what?”
“What do you mean, ‘so what’? Have you forgotten something? At least explain why you did what you did.”
“Think about it logically. Why would I have done such a thing? If you attend the ball, you’ll undoubtedly fawn over Emperor Parnes again, won’t you?”
“When have I ever fawned over His Majesty?”
He sneered mockingly.
“Don’t play dumb. The day you left me alone in the room, a servant saw you entering a secluded bedroom with the emperor.”
“I was just thanking the emperor for providing a new guest room. And even if I did meet with him, how is that wrong?”
“You’re the chief maid and the face of the queen! It’s not a position where you can behave like a vulgar mistress!”
Vulgar mistress.
Hearing those words, Kasalyn felt like she might lose all the patience and composure she had built up. It was like puncturing a tightly sealed wound with a needle, releasing all her pent-up emotions.
Before she knew it, her hand had struck Shallen’s cheek.
She knew she had to be rational, but this time, she just couldn’t hold back.
Shallen, having been slapped, touched his face in disbelief and then glared with widened eyes.
“How dare you strike the face of a king?”
He breathed heavily like an enraged animal, raising his hand threateningly.
“No, Your Majesty! Stop! You must restrain yourself!”
If Logia hadn’t intervened, Shallen would undoubtedly have retaliated physically, Kasalyn was sure of it.
With Logia’s intervention, Shallen barely calmed down, his body still trembling with suppressed anger.
Looking back, Shallen had always been like that. Seemingly gentle, but quick to raise his hand at the slightest provocation.
The thought of having once intended to spend a lifetime with such a man made Kasalyn realize how blind love could make a person.
“I apologize for laying a hand on you in your presence. I have no excuse and will accept any punishment upon my return to the Kingdom of Khan. However, I think you owe me at least a minimal apology.”
“What?”
“If you disliked my attending the ball so much, you should have spoken to me calmly. And calling me a vulgar mistress crossed a line between human beings.”
“Having the Emperor of Parnes on your side seems to have emboldened you in recent days. It must be nice to have the backing of a ruler from the Western Continent.”
It was a real puzzle.
Why did he keep bringing up Emperor Parnes, trying to link him to her in any way he could?
And why did he so dislike her meeting with the emperor?
“Is it so hard to simply say, ‘I was thoughtless’?…”
Kasalyn’s voice, struggling to maintain composure, broke pitifully as she saw Shallen’s face, showing no sign of understanding his wrongdoing.
She hadn’t asked for much.
Just one sincere apology.
But he, both in the past and now, couldn’t muster a hint of remorse, instead arrogantly jutting his chin up.
“Why should I apologize when I’ve done nothing wrong? You should be the one kneeling and begging for forgiveness. Didn’t you dare to strike my face?”
“…….”
“I would like to severely punish you for your insolence, but since we once shared affection, I’ll forgive you this time. But there won’t be a second time.”
If you understand, get out with that maid.
Shallen, seemingly doing a favor, was actually trembling with humiliation for being so easily seen through by Kasalyn, and he hurriedly shooed the two women out of the room.
“Ka, Kasalyn miss, this is, well…”
Logia, pale-faced and unable to meet Kasalyn’s eyes, was at a loss for words. She fidgeted with her hands nervously, clearly feeling guilty about the recent events.
“Let’s take a walk outside. It’s a nice day for a chat.”
“Uh… okay.”
Kasalyn deliberately linked arms with Logia and stepped outside. Logia, visibly terrified, hung her head low and trembled like a scolded puppy.
‘I need to ensure such incidents never happen again. I must teach her a lesson.’
There are two ways to do this – the carrot and the stick approach. Given Logia’s weak spirit, the carrot would undoubtedly be more effective.
“Why aren’t you angry with me? Why don’t you scold or reprimand me harshly?”
“Why should I?”
“I did a terrible thing. Although I followed the King’s orders out of fear, I…”
“The reason is simple. It’s not your fault.”
Logia, slowly lifting her head, seemed disbelieving of Kasalyn’s response. Her eyes were teary, on the verge of crying.
“You are a powerless maid. How could you refuse an order directly from the King of Khan?”
“Miss…”
Now, tell me. What’s the next plan of Rose or Shallen? They must have told you something.
“We’re already here. Go inside and rest.”
“Wait, miss!”
Logia, in a panic, reached for Kasalyn’s ankle as she turned to leave.
Kasalyn allowed a brief, triumphant smile before turning back, feigning ignorance.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have something to tell you.”
Rose, you made a mistake bringing in this girl as a maid. Innocent and compliant, you thought she’d obey unconditionally. But that also means she can break away from wrongdoing at any time.
Male lead says he’s pregnant — and it’s female lead’s child
Something seems a bit off about this world.
Wang Zhao thought as she watched a pregnant man walking towards her…
Intro
Female lead finds herself in a world where the men who possess the ability to bear children.
As she navigates this unfamiliar reality, she is caught off guard by the sudden appearance of her boyfriend, who reveals that he is pregnant.
Is this truly her boyfriend?
Why can’t she recall any details about their time together?
She begins to doubt whether the child her boyfriend is carrying is even hers.
Is there a hidden reason behind her amnesia, or could it be a side effect of her sudden arrival in this strange new world?
Just when it seems the protagonist’s life couldn’t become any more entangled, her ex-boyfriend makes an unexpected appearance, raising questions about the protagonist’s past.
__________
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