Eventually, Ines hesitated at those words. However, she soon let out a dry laugh. Looking back, there were hardly any occasions when he was in trouble because of her.
Angeliana, who had been observing Ines’s expression for a moment, spoke.
“Trouble is actually… a too refined expression. An emperor with a weak foundation can’t protect anything.”
At those words, Ines’s eyes involuntarily closed.
‘Foundation, a weak foundation…’
Ines was lost in thought for a moment. Clearly, what Angeliana meant by the foundation she could provide was to firmly establish Carson’s position. Then what?
“I can put the emperor on a solid rock. But what can you do? Warming the bed for a weak and crumbling emperor? My father said he should understand that much, but I… I really don’t want to do that.”
Angeliana’s words continued, but Ines couldn’t stop her thoughts. What could that rock that Angeliana created for Carson mean?
In the end, that rock would shake Carson’s entire body, completely seizing him in its grip.
“It makes me sick. Isn’t that right?”
Suddenly, Carson’s words from last night came to Ines’s mind. He had wet his lips on Ines’s neck and sighed, speaking as if spitting out a breath.
“I will never become an emperor as lonely as my father. ”
The hot sigh that was felt along with those words seemed to burn Ines’s chest again. She tightened her closed eyes as if adding more force.
“Lady, your words are correct.”
With closed eyes, Ines uttered the words with a penitent tone as if confessing.
“That’s true, it’s nauseating.”
Angeliana’s mouth rose slightly at the words uttered like a solemn oath.
“That’s right, it’s a nauseating task.”
“Well thought. If the feeling of thinking about him is just blind, then it would be easy to realize what path is for the queen.”
“That’s right. It’s only now that I realize. I’m such a fool.”
Ines shook her head from side to side, laughing self-deprecatingly.
The laughter was pathetic, as she, who had declared to become the empress by staying by his side, laughed at herself. Was wanting to stay by his side and looking at a small part of him less nauseating than warming the bed of a man with a wife?
No, that was probably even more hypocritical. The more she thought about it, the more her teeth trembled.
“That foundation… are you talking about the nobles?”
Angeliana leaned back lazily, nodding her head.
“That’s right. I can give, but you can never give it forever. It may sound childish, but that’s the reality and an inevitable thing.”
Angeliana stared directly at Ines, who had opened her eyes. And soon, her gaze in the calm eyes expected the surrender and resignation. However, doubt was mixed in Ines’s eyes, different from what was expected. At that moment, Ines showed a faint smile.
“You probably already know how I’ve lived so far, right?”
Angeliana shrugged her shoulders as if to acknowledge that.
“You’ve probably heard it already, but I’ll say it again. I’ll do anything if it’s necessary. If it’s for the Emperor, I won’t hesitate.”
Observing the firm eyes that now emitted a completely different light than before, the Lady’s head tilted involuntarily.
“What are you… talking about now?”
“I understood what you said earlier today. If you have nothing more to say, I would like to go back to work now.”
Ines tilted her head slightly, pointing to the desk piled with documents. Angeliana’s eyes widened.
“What did you say?”
The woman without a mask no longer pretended to be gentle.
“Just as you heard. I have nothing more to listen to or say.”
“You, you can’t understand if I speak gently.”
“No matter how you put it, nothing will change right away. I’m sorry, but I have to get up first. As you can see, there’s a lot of work to do.”
As Ines stood up, Angeliana’s face was mercilessly distorted.
“How dare you!”
She shouted, grabbing Ines’s wrist as she tried to move away. At the same time, a slap rang out. With the sound of flesh colliding, the face heated up.
And at that moment, the door opened with a creak.
“What’s going on here?”
The Emperor stood there, looking at the person with a colder face than ever before, as if pressing down on someone. Even in the face of his chilly anger, Angeliana did not waver. She simply let go of Ines’s hand and immediately stood upright, showing respect towards the Emperor.
Carson sharpened his eyes sharply to judge the situation.
“What were you doing here?”
Facing the razor-sharp voice, the Lady swallowed dry saliva for a moment.
“I was just meeting the ruler as the future wife.”
“Lady.”
At the title uttered like a scratching spit, she slightly knelt and politely answered.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“There’s no need for you to get involved in my father’s affairs.”
“It’s still a matter of my country.”
At that remark, Carson chuckled slyly. He walked slowly, approaching Angeliana as if stepping on her, and reached out his long arm to grab Ines’s wrist. Then, with force, he pulled and placed her behind him, as if hiding her. Angeliana’s eyes flared at this action.
“Don’t say strange things in front of this woman.”
“Your Majesty!”
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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