Shallen and Rose walked side by side toward us.
Shallen, with a faint frown, glanced alternately at Kasallin and Parnes, then suddenly grabbed Rose’s hand as if to make a point.
Rose, momentarily bewildered, flashed a bright smile at Kasallin.
“Wow. To meet like this in a place like this? This must be a sign from the goddess that we should all take a walk together. Don’t you think so, sister? What do you all say?”
Rose asked with eager anticipation, but the other three, as if by agreement, didn’t even respond.
“Kasallin. Who is the gentleman standing behind you?”
Shallen asked, casting a quick glance at the man behind Kasallin.
Kasallin realized a beat late that they still didn’t know the emperor’s face.
“Here. Allow me to introduce. His Majesty the Emperor.”
Kasallin politely extended her palm to gesture toward Parnes.
Shallen and Rose’s eyes widened simultaneously.
However, the emotions in their gazes held a subtle difference.
While Shallen’s eyes carried the wary glint of someone encountering a predator, Rose couldn’t tear her gaze from Parnes’s face, as if enchanted.
“Oh… my apologies. I didn’t recognize you.”
Shallen quickly sized up Parnes, then offered a handshake with a brighter, more sociable smile than ever.
Surprisingly, Parnes readily accepted his handshake.
“To meet like this in a place like this.”
“Yes, indeed. It’s even more pleasant to meet outside. By the way, did you… ‘happen’ to run into Kasallin?”
For some reason, Shallen put particular emphasis on the word “happen.”
For a brief moment, a mocking smile flickered across Parnes’s face.
“No. We were taking a walk together.”
“A walk… together, you say?”
Shallen quietly shifted his gaze to glance at Kasallin.
“Why so surprised? It’s not as if it’s unthinkable for me to walk side by side with this lady.”
“Well, true enough. It’s just… a bit unexpected.”
Shallen’s hand clenched into a fist and then slowly relaxed.
It was an old habit of his, one that surfaced when things didn’t go his way or when he was irritated.
Kasallin thought it was probably because of her actions.
Standing so boldly before the emperor, he must be inwardly cursing her for being presumptuous and rude.
“Then, enjoy the rest of your walk. If there’s no further business, we’ll take our leave.”
Parnes said this and quickened his pace again.
Did “we” perhaps include her as well?
With a mix of uncertainty, Kasallin started to follow Parnes slowly, but it was Shallen’s slightly urgent words that stopped her.
“If it’s alright, may we join you? As leaders of our respective nations, there’s much I’d like to discuss.”
Shallen made a plausible excuse while naturally nudging Kasallin to Rose’s side.
Then he positioned himself near Parnes.
As the Robepon sisters followed slowly behind, Parnes and Shallen walked side by side, but their conversation was too far away to hear, no matter how much they strained their ears.
“Do as you’ve always done. That way, I can at least alleviate my boredom by thinking about how to punish you later.”
If only there had been a bit more time to talk, perhaps she could have understood the meaning of those words.
Somehow, she felt a pang of regret.
“Sister. What are you thinking about so deeply?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Hmm.”
Rose tilted her head to peer closely at Kasallin’s face.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Just… I was thinking how beautiful you are.”
“Suddenly…?”
“It’s not sudden. I always think you’re beautiful. Your face is as white as jade, with big cat-like eyes, lustrous black hair, and a slender figure. Completely different from me.”
Rose mumbled, touching her own face.
“Look at this. My hair is dry and a dull brown. My face is freckled, and my lips are so small they look stingy. My face is gaunt like a child from the slums. That’s why I’m so jealous of you. You were born beautiful, so it’s easy for you to get along with people. You even go on friendly walks with that fearsome emperor.”
“It’s not because of that that I was with His Majesty…”
“You’re so lucky, sister. If I were just a bit prettier, I could have lived an easier life like you.”
Kasallin stopped near the stream and looked at Rose quietly.
While the two men, engrossed in their conversation, grew farther away, Rose tilted her head as if puzzled.
“What’s wrong, sister?”
“Since it’s just us, I’ll speak frankly. Do you really think all my success so far has been purely because of my looks?”
“No, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. But I think it’s partly true. You got a lot of pocket money from relatives, monopolized Dad’s attention when he was alive, attended an expensive royal academy, and received all sorts of gifts and even marriage proposals from powerful young lords. It’s also true that I grew up in your shadow.”
“Rose.”
“Of course, I don’t resent you at all. I respect you as family and as a maid.”
Kasallin was so dumbfounded that she crossed her arms slowly, unsure of what to say.
The sound of the stream flowing below her ankles was oddly similar to Rose’s sulky laughter.
Rose paused for a moment, kicking a pebble by the stream with the tip of her shoe.
“But you know, it feels like life is about rising high and then crashing down when things go wrong.”
“What?”
“It’s all about luck, isn’t it? Look, I got lucky late and now I’m this happy. These days, His Majesty Shallen cherishes me so much.”
“Rose, stop. I don’t want to hear any more of this.”
Kasallin struggled to suppress the grief and anger welling up from an old wound.
But Rose, as if unwilling to hide her happiness any longer, stubbornly followed her.
The polished sole of Rose’s shoe splashed water from the stream.
“Why do you always avoid it when I bring up happy things?”
“Rose. I’m a bit tired right now. Let’s talk later.”
“It feels like you’re still stuck in the past, and now you’re even jealous of me. Don’t you think so?”
Finally, a spark flared in Kasallin’s eyes.
She took a bold step forward and raised her voice.
“Know your limits. There’s only so much I can tolerate!”
Kasallin, who rarely lost her composure, showed clear anger, startling Rose.
But the trouble was the moss-covered pebbles beneath her feet.
Losing her balance and slipping, Rose fell into the water before she could do anything.
“Ah!”
For a fleeting moment, Kasallin recalled Rose’s childhood, when she’d cry and call out “Sister, sister” whenever she was distracted.
Back then, they weren’t exactly close, but at least they weren’t worse than strangers.
How did it come to this?
“Rose, take my hand!”
The sound of nearby guards rushing over could be heard, but she couldn’t just stand there.
Kasallin jumped into the water and reached out to Rose.
But what Rose grabbed wasn’t Kasallin’s hand.
“Good heavens, Your Majesty! How could this happen!”
Shallen, rushing over in a panic, ignored Kasallin and quickly pulled Rose out of the water.
Rose, clearly conscious, pretended to be half-fainted, slumping into Shallen’s arms.
“Rose. My queen. Are you alright? Can you hear me?”
“Your Majesty…”
Aside from her slightly pale face, Rose, who seemed unharmed, clung to Shallen’s embrace, trembling.
Shallen patted her back quickly but glanced around with an expression tinged with shame.
“It’s alright. It’s just a fall into the water. If you’re not hurt, that’s enough.”
“Just a fall into the water? I nearly died!”
“Yes, yes. You must have been terrified. But everyone’s watching. You can’t lose your dignity as a queen.”
“Y-yes…”
Shallen was a man who valued appearances.
To him, ensuring his queen didn’t cry loudly in front of the guards was more important than comforting her.
Rose, swallowing her tears, stood up with Shallen’s support.
Kasallin, staring blankly at the two, tried to stand on her own but collapsed again.
Since the carriage accident that caused her miscarriage, her legs occasionally gave out.
Shallen, who neither knew nor cared about this, began scolding Kasallin outright.
“What kind of disgrace is this in a foreign land? From a distance, it looked like you were shouting and getting angry. You didn’t push her into the water, did you?”
“What kind of sister would push her younger sibling into the water? Unless she’s lost her mind.”
“True enough. But even if Rose slipped by accident, Kasallin, it’s your fault. As a maid, you should have looked after the queen properly. If you weren’t her sister, you’d be dismissed as a maid.”
Kasallin tightly gripped her soaked skirt.
Her eyes burned with tears.
Sitting on the pebbles, drenched like a drowned rat and being reprimanded, she felt utterly pathetic.
“Come on, stop pretending to be hurt and get up. A maid is the face of her mistress. Think of the queen’s dignity.”
“You’re truly cruel.”
Shallen furrowed his brow, as if he couldn’t understand.
Yes. You’ll never understand.
No matter how much I explain this heart that’s rotting away day by day, you’ll never comprehend it.
Kasallin straightened her trembling legs.
She gritted her teeth, thinking that falling again here would be the most humiliating thing.
That’s when it happened.
“Oh…!”
Suddenly, her body was lifted into the air, and strong arms wrapped around her shoulders and knees.
Kasallin looked with startled eyes at the man who had lifted her as lightly as a feather.
It was Parnes.
He examined her slender ankle, then clicked his tongue softly.
“It’s sprained. Didn’t you notice you were hurt?”
“Your Majesty, you don’t have to do this. I can walk on my own.”
“Stop squirming and stay still. Or shall I carry you like a sack?”
Kasallin, held like a child in his arms, didn’t know what to do and eventually lowered her head.
At that moment, Shallen approached with an unusually stern expression.
“She’s right. We can’t possibly trouble Your Majesty. I’ll have our attendants take care of Kasallin…”
“No. I’d rather take her myself than entrust her to a petty man who won’t even offer a hand to an injured lady. Everyone, step aside.”
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
