I Will Live for Your Death (20 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 187

The moment she stepped away from the nobles, she immediately encountered the Empress.

It was a far better option for Claudius. The light footsteps approaching from the far end of the corridor were unmistakably Ilyd’s—no matter how many times he heard them. Claudius stared at the green eyes slowly drawing nearer.

‘She’ll still be cold.’

Was this the first time they’d met since the incident at the hunting grounds? Ilyd hadn’t even come to pay her morning respects. She claimed to be unwell after the hunting tournament.

Though it was clearly an excuse, Claudius deliberately chose not to press the matter. He’d thought, “One day, you’ll come to me yourself, leading with drawn blades.”

“…Ilyd.”

“I greet His Imperial Majesty the Emperor. Did you rest well through the night?”

Her eyelids briefly closed, then opened again. Within those hazy silver lashes lay empty eyes, utterly devoid of emotion. Claudius stood mute, as if his lips had been paralyzed.

“This is no place for conversation in the corridor. I shall see you in your office.”

Her flat, low voice slowly tightened around Claudius’s throat. He barely managed a nod. Ilyd simply passed by him, heading toward the office as though following a preordained sequence.

Until now, Ilyd had at least shown signs of forcibly restraining herself—her expression wrestling with rising emotions, pitiful yet oddly pleasing to watch.

Now even that was gone. It seemed as if not even the faintest remainder lingered within her.

His resolve to bear everything vanished like sand at a single glance from Ilyd’s eyes. Helpless, Claudius followed his wife.

The moment they entered the office, Ilyd handed Claudius a stack of documents on his desk.

“Handed” wasn’t quite right—“thrown” would be more accurate. Claudius’s fleeting hope of brushing fingers with her during the exchange dissolved into nothingness.

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