In the end, Rasilia chose to ask directly.
“My consort.”
The answer was quick. There was no hint of doubt.
“Then there is a contradiction. If I am truly Your Majesty’s consort, you should not harbor feelings for another.”
“I do think about it. But it was you who said I had feelings for the young Duke. Your words weigh heavily on me.”
“Ah…”
“And we started off on the wrong foot.”
Lescale slightly furrowed his brow.
“I thought of another as my consort, and you didn’t even know you were mine. Under such circumstances, one could harbor feelings for another… It’s a possibility.”
When his words briefly faltered, Rasilia thought she heard an involuntary sound.
Lescale straightened his brow and looked at Rasilia.
For a moment, Rasilia felt that those brilliant golden eyes might be the most earnest she had ever seen.
“But you promised to forget about the young Duke. And if you are truly my consort, you said you wouldn’t divorce me.”
“That is… yes, it’s true.”
“So I can endure. At least for a while.”
Having said that, Lescale leaned against the back of the sofa and covered his face with one hand. The sigh he let out was muffled by his palm.
“Don’t push me away. I can tolerate sitting next to you.”
“…”
This was difficult for Rasilia.
An Emperor who lied blatantly and persisted was easy to deal with.
But her heart softened towards an Emperor who drooped his shoulders and sighed. Especially if it was because she wouldn’t sit next to him.
Fidgeting with the lace on her sleeve, Rasilia finally spoke.
“…You may sit next to me, if you wish.”
“…? …!”
Lescale abruptly stood up. Rasilia quickly raised her hand, fearing he might jump over the table.
“But first, I have something to confirm.”
“Anything.”
Lescale didn’t jump over the table; instead, he shoved it aside.
Rasilia watched the table slide until it hit the arm of the sofa, then faced Lescale.
She was getting nervous anew.
But it was unavoidable.
Rasilia looked at Lescale and asked the same question slowly.
“Your Majesty, who do you think I am?”
(This is a time separator.)
“You don’t want the same answer, do you?”
Fortunately, Lescale sensed why Rasilia was asking the same question.
“To me, you are my consort. Do you need any other confirmation?”
She did. Rasilia needed it.
Until now, Rasilia had lived without knowing what an Emperor’s consort was.
If she was suddenly entangled in a fate as his consort, she needed a reason. She needed certainty.
Why it had to be her.
“Is it truly possible for Your Majesty, who doesn’t even know who I am, to consider me a consort?”
“…So, you want to say you’re not Cartahena.”
Rasilia looked at Lescale without responding.
Rascal stared at Rasilia without blinking, as if trying to discern the answer she wanted.
“I’ve known Cartahena since birth because Cartahena bore the mark of a companion. I never considered any other woman and didn’t need to. It was only natural for Cartahena to become the empress.”
Rascal gave a bitter smile.
“But I’ve also never considered Cartahena and didn’t need to.”
“That means…”
“Cartahena was no different from any other woman, mark or no mark.”
The bitter smile disappeared from Rascal’s face.
Instead, a look so serious it was frightening remained.
“So, I know that you’re an entirely different person from Cartahena. You’re not Cartahena; you’re my companion.”
“……”
Rasilia took a breath.
Rascal said the words Rasilia needed to hear.
“So, may I sit beside you now?”
Rascal reached out and took Rasilia’s hand.
As if Rasilia could read his expressionless face, Rascal sensitively detected Rasilia’s subtle reactions.
Rascal spread Rasilia’s fingers and interlaced his own, whispering,
“Let me sit. Next to you.”
“……”
Refusal was difficult.
It became several times more difficult after hearing those words.
Rasilia slightly closed her eyes and nodded.
Before she knew it, Rascal was pressed tightly beside her.
Rascal did not hide the swirling emotions in his eyes. Twisting his body while keeping his gloved hand still, he planted a kiss on the back of her hand.
His eyes were fixed on his lips.
The expression revealed in his eyes was so blatant that even Rasilia, who had little experience with men, couldn’t pretend not to understand.
“……Aren’t you curious about who I am?”
Rasilia tried to divert the conversation.
“Am I allowed to be curious?”
“I’d be curious if the person beside me suddenly changed one day.”
“There must be a reason you don’t want to talk about it.”
His lips touched beneath her nails.
She became curious why he would choose to kiss there.
She wanted to know how it was different from valuing every part of her, even as insignificant as a fingernail.
“What if I absolutely have to return to Delarta?”
“Ah……”
The kissing stopped at those words.
Rascal tightly held Rasilia’s hand with a suddenly changed expression.
“So… you were not a petty noble, but someone from Delarta?”
Male lead reborn without memories — but he still falls for her.
The person he finds displeasing in this life turns out to be his cherished wife-master in previous life…
Xie Zhi and Fang Xianxing who had known each other for less than three days through a blind date sat in the same car in front of the civil affairs bureau. They had a disagreement and failed to get married.
Xie Zhi immediately took out his phone, slid through his contacts, and randomly selected the next marriage candidate.
The woman snatched his phone and hung up. Looking at his phone wallpaper, she awkwardly changed the subject: “An ancient painting, eh? It looks pretty good, it’s just that the person in the painting looks a bit like me.”
When he heard this, he sarcastically mocked her for being so delusional, completely unaware that, the person in front of him was the reincarnation of Wen Ru, the famous prime minister of Yuan Shun whom he most admired…
The female CEO who doesn’t want to get married with a divorce agreement in hand × The male archaeological researcher who will only get married if he’s sure he can get divorced
