“Are you making fun of me?”

“Make fun of you? No way. The way you confidently faced Evan, despite being so nervous, was incredibly charming.”

He gently stroked my hair.

“Ha… Will there be any problems later?”

But even as he affectionately caressed me, my heart didn’t calm easily.

My trembling hand, it’s the Duke, no one else. A powerful figure, second only to the Emperor in the Empire. And I, the one who had dared to defy that authority.

“Problems? What problems?”

“Maybe… someone will come to slit my throat…”

Let me reiterate, I’m just an ordinary citizen who lived in Korea. No connection with power whatsoever. That’s why I can’t help but fear the consequences after venting my anger.

“Why?”

“Because I behaved too arrogantly…?”

“Where did that spirit from earlier go?”

“Well… That was just a momentary outburst due to anger. It’s irritating to be openly ignored… it felt like Rian was ignoring me, and so…”

Speaking ill of me doesn’t really bother me; I’ve been through worse in the Bakjak mansion. But earlier, I couldn’t hold back the anger.

“How do you see the person right in front of you?”

“The Emperor?”

“That’s right. In the Empire, there is no one who can surpass me. And you are my wife.”

He gently swept through my hair.

“The only person who can surpass me is my wife… You are the strongest person in the Empire.”

“How do I surpass you?”

“Bella, if you want to surpass me, you can do it anytime. I’d love to show you right away, drag you to bed.”

Rian’s eyes blazed red again. His voice, moist and damp, made my body feel like it was melting.

This man who suddenly entered my life, being excessively sexy, made my whole body react intensely.

“Rian…”

“Come to think of it… Didn’t you say you’d bear my child? Seeing Shasha, even if it’s a daughter, it wouldn’t matter. Let’s make one today.”

“Okay… No, I never said I’d bear your child!”

The man who had come in abruptly, so sexy that it was overwhelming, made my mind quickly return. I almost fell for his words.

“Oh, that’s a shame.”

“Why is it a shame? Does it make sense to enchant people like this?”

“It makes perfect sense. And it’s you who enchant people, not me. You don’t know how irresistible you are. Oh, it’s really exhausting. When can I have you entirely?”

“Later. I just want to rest today.”

My heart almost jumped out. That man doesn’t really know how sexy he is.

“Still, today we officially became a couple.”

“It will be later. Let’s talk about it when the children become ordinary kids. Please don’t force it.”

“Ah… Okay…”
Sometimes Rian looks like a child. Perhaps this appearance is something he shows only to me. It’s a side of him that others can’t know, the way he is when he’s completely himself.

It was so cute that I almost burst into laughter.

“Shall we go now? Can we finally go to rest?”

“Yes.”

That’s when it happened.

At the moment when we were about to leave, the party hall we were in just a while ago became strangely noisy. Normally, I would have ignored it and just left, but this was too noisy to ignore.

“What’s happening?”

The party hall was already noisy, but this noise felt different, as if it was on a different level.

“Hmm. Let’s check it out.”

But we didn’t need to check. A servant quickly ran out towards our direction.

“Yo, Your, Your Highness…”

“What’s the commotion?”

“Count Velocchi has come and is causing a commotion.”

For a moment, I forgot where Count Velocchi’s estate was. It seems like my parents have arrived.

“Just throw him out if he causes any trouble.”

“Uh… Y-yes… However, he… he’s causing a disturbance insulting Empress Mama.”

Suddenly, Rian’s expression hardened.

“Insulting the Empress?”

“Yes. I think we shouldn’t leave it like this…”

Upon hearing the servant’s words, Rian looked at me with a serious expression.

“Bella, go to the room. I’ll resolve everything, and then I’ll come to the room.”

“No, I want to go together.”

“Not anyone else… if you go, it’ll only give you a headache.”

“But they are my parents. If they’re causing trouble because of me, I can’t avoid it. If I just kick them out, it will surely cause even more trouble.”

Letting out a small sigh, Rian nodded as if there was no other way.

“If you say so, there’s no other choice.”

Rian reached out his hand to me. I took his hand, and we entered the party hall again. As we approached, all we could hear were the loud voices of Count Velocchi’s wife.

“Even though my parents did nothing wrong, she ran away from home, acting as she pleased, making her parents embarrassed. We forgave such things, but now, acting as if she doesn’t know her parents just because she became an empress? Shouldn’t you at least invite your parents to your daughter’s wedding? But you didn’t even send an invitation! This old parent had to come here by ourselves!”

There were no people responding to her. Perhaps they were afraid of giving a response and offending the Emperor or Empress, people were keeping a proper distance.

However, Count Velocchi’s wife’s words were quite interesting, and people gathered like a flock of clouds.