Eilidh laid down her pen and pressed Claudius’s hand back. Without looking at him, she calmly spoke.
“It’s part of my duties.”
“A modest empress, your dream? So, I make this grand entrance, and yet your expression remains unchanged…”
“Go wash yourself.”
“What, you dislike the scent of another woman on me?”
He asked as if it was obvious, bringing his hand to her cheek. An unpleasant warmth trickled down her skin.
As Eilidh grimaced and looked up, Claudius’s deep red eyes were twisted in amusement.
It was a blatant mockery, yet strangely joyous. Did he find this situation amusing? Eilidh felt suffocated.
For a man who had just openly been with his mistress in the next room while his wife was nearby, his audacity knew no bounds.
Strictly speaking, Selina was not formally associated with the royal family. In Astrid’s palace, such individuals were referred to as ‘Shadows.’
They couldn’t appear in official settings but lived under the affection of the royals, protected and hidden within the palace.
Rules like those Eilidh transcribed had long since become mere scraps of paper. Keeping a mistress or two was as natural as breathing for those in power, and how many Shadows they harbored was their prerogative.
But all love should be equitable, and affairs discreet.
Even an emperor, with absolute power, had lines to respect. At the very least, he should have shown even a semblance of affection for the empress.
Yet, Claudius had long crossed that line, blatantly favoring only his ‘Shadow.’
He didn’t hesitate to show affection near the empress, in the Imperial Palace and gardens, and even at official events crowded with nobles, always accompanied by Selina.
For Claudius, implicit rules were nothing but trivial dust that could be blown away.
As a result, the authority and honor of the Empress within the palace were slowly declining.
Eilidh quietly exhaled the breath that had been caught in her throat. Then, she took her pen and brushed Claudius’s hand off her cheek. Right now, she didn’t want any part of her husband touching her.
“Such disheveled appearance tarnishes the dignity of the Emperor.”
“Is that the only reason?”
“Yes. What other reason could there be?”
Eilidh’s green eyes were unwavering. They shone with a clarity that seemed capable of enduring any storm.
Claudius frowned at the unmoved gaze of his wife. It was clear that further words would be futile.
He turned away from Eilidh without another word.
If humiliation had a smell, it would probably be like this. A bitter and sickening stench crept towards Eilidh.
She shook her head a few times and then fixed her gaze on the scattered papers. But it was hard to conceal all the sighs that leaked out.
As soon as Claudius opened the door, a clear and bright voice rang out.
“Your Majesty!”
A fresh fragrance accompanied bright pink hair brushing against Claudius’s bare chest.
Two innocent green eyes boldly looked up at him.
Selina, now tidied up, clung to the Emperor’s waist, her appearance as disarming as a blooming flower, far removed from the heated breaths and cries she had been emitting just moments ago.
“It’s cruel to leave after just one embrace.”
“You seem to be quite adorably jealous.”
“You said I was the only one just a moment ago…”
“Yes. In this kingdom, the only one who receives the Emperor’s love is you, Selina.”
Claudius wove his fingers through her hair, each strand softly entwining around his fingers.
Receiving his touch, Selina quivered lightly, further nestling into his embrace.
This was the power of royalty.
Those who received the Emperor’s love naturally held power within the palace. Selina knew this better than anyone.
The way the maids attending her behaved, and the luxury items filling her room, proved it.
Her family’s downfall and struggles seemed like yesterday, yet now she seemed to have grasped unlimited power.
Selina boldly stood on her tiptoes and kissed Claudius. Only a ‘Shadow’ would dare initiate a kiss with the Emperor. He chuckled lightly, willingly responding to her boldness.
Their fingers entwined more tightly, their breaths thickly filling the corridor and seeping through the open door.
Claudius glanced at Eilidh while sharing a kiss with his mistress. His haughty red eyes glanced down at her in the room.
‘Look here.’
It must be bothering her. She’s probably biting her lip in an attempt to maintain her composure, acting as if she doesn’t see, because she’s the Empress and must preserve her dignity.
Please let it be so.
But his expectation was splendidly thwarted. Inside the room, Eilidh continued busily moving her pen, showing not the slightest interest in the two outside.
It wasn’t that Eilidh was unaware of their antics. Closing her eyes and moving her hands didn’t shut her ears.
The quiet surrounding only amplified the whispers of the two, reaching Eilidh’s ears unobstructed.
If there’s a lesson Eilidh learned from her long stay in the palace, it was this:
If you can’t filter it out, then utterly ignore it.
If you can’t eliminate someone from your life, live as if they never existed in the first place.
How much time had passed? The two people by the door had disappeared somewhere.
It finally felt like Eilidh could breathe properly. Reaching the end of the scroll, she put down her pen and sighed deeply. The tightness at the pit of her stomach had somewhat eased.
Eilidh began to tidy up the papers spread across her desk. The last sentence’s period had spread along the grain of the paper.
She had tried to ignore them, but it seemed her concentration had unwittingly scattered. A bitter smile involuntarily formed on Eilidh’s lips.
It couldn’t be helped. She was already sick of letting things go. She gathered all her desires and thoughts onto paper and neatly stacked them in the bottom drawer of her desk.
As she closed the drawer, several sheets fluttered. Some bore the crests of noble families, but others were unmarked.
At first glance, they seemed like ordinary letters of well-wishes, but a closer look revealed promises of allegiance to the Empress.
“I have not forgotten the grace of Lady Melfiram, the Countess.”
“Remembering the beautiful days of May.”
Melfiram. A name that had become dangerous. Eilidh’s maiden family, now erased as traitors.
Eilidh deeply inserted the letters between the pages of the ‘Rules of the Empress’ she had been copying.
“Mother. Father. And brother.”
The ghastly images of her family that haunted her dreams, branded as traitors and executed. This nightmare continuously tormented Eilidh.
The one who had annihilated them was none other than her husband, Claudius.
“I will end it with my own hands. I must.”
Eilidh gripped the handle of the drawer tightly. The rage boiling inside her contrasted with the drawer’s quiet closing.
She returned to the composed posture of an Empress. It was time to start the next task.
Male lead is reincarnated to save his wife
I’ve also read this one twice already. The female lead is kinda soft and gets embarrassed easily—not really my type, but the plot is definitely worth reading. Hurry up and read it, y’all!
Intro
When Shen Yuan encountered Su Jin again in his previous life, she had already become the Prime Minister of the current dynasty. As for him, the former top young master of the capital, he had long since fallen into the abyss, becoming a singer on a pleasure boat.
After a song ended, he was redeemed and sent to the Su Residence.
Su Jin respected and cherished him, gave him a roof over his head, and bestowed him with warmth. Shen Yuan fell deeper and deeper, but before he could express his feelings, Su Jin passed away.
Shen Yuan died to follow her in death, but instead, he returned to when he was fifteen years old.
At that time, he was not yet engaged, and Su Jin was just a poor scholar.
Shen Yuan gritted his teeth, casting aside all his pride, and thought of ways to coax and entice her every day.
The colder and more indifferent Su Jin was towards him, the more proactive Shen Yuan became.
He was not afraid of being mocked by the world, only wanting to marry his Wife-master early, to hold her hand and never let go for a lifetime.
[Note: This story will not specifically point out the male lead’s reincarnation time point; it’s all in the details. Whenever you feel that the male lead is acting strangely, he has most likely been reincarnated.]
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
