The Emperor, seeing remnants of the audacious boy in the dignified mature man standing before him, smiled satisfactorily.
“Yes, you deserve your reward. I will announce it before the upcoming banquet.”
“Please grant me the certificate of award before that. My subordinates leading the hunting squad will soon arrive at the territory.”
“Ah, I’ve heard. Your private army stays in your territory.”
Edmund nodded slightly, indicating his plan to exile his uncle and other relatives who defamed him as mentally ill as soon as he received the certificate.
If there was internal dissent among his vassals, the certificate would strengthen his position.
The Emperor nodded, understanding the implications.
“I’ll instruct my aide to ensure the knights don’t get confused about their allegiance.”
“I am deeply grateful.”
Edmund replied in a gruff voice, bowing his head. The Emperor observed him silently.
Some call Edmund a loyal subject, but he is far from it.
Even if I offered him all the gold and jewels, along with the dukedom, I could not own his heart.
This only stimulated the Emperor’s desire to possess him more.
A man not swayed by affiliation or material, but influenced by people.
If someone captures his colorless, lusterless eyes, they would be completely absorbed, just like the dawn engulfing the sky and earth.
If only that someone could be my son. The Emperor coughed suddenly, recalling his disappointing, pitiful heir. The servant, accustomed to such incidents, hurried to attend to him.
The Emperor coughed lightly and dismissed the servant with a wave of his hand.
Edmund watched the Emperor closely with narrow eyes. The Emperor seemed to suffer from more than just a common cold.
He looked more frail than during their last meeting.
Well, it’s none of my concern anyway.
Edmund glanced down indifferently, waiting for the dismissal, but there was silence above.
The Emperor, covering his mouth with a handkerchief, coughed lightly and then spoke.
“How is that child… doing?”
Knowing about the bond between the Emperor and her through the letters written by Etrisha, Edmund opened his tightly closed mouth.
“Are you referring to Countess Biuel?”
“Yes, that child. She stayed at your estate because of your sister’s connection.”
“That’s correct.”
“Tsk tsk, bewitched by something, she distances herself from me, talking about marriage, and now divorcing that damned Count Biuel.”
Contrary to the reproachful tone, the smile spreading across the Emperor’s lips revealed pleasure and relief.
With a shallow sigh, the Emperor gestured, and a servant brought forth a letter.
Edmund took the letter placed on a golden tray.
“Deliver this letter to that child. I can rest easy knowing she is with you. Please take good care of that delicate child.”
Delicate child? Edmund’s thick eyebrows twitched.
Recalling Etrisha, who harbored dreams of vengeance in the city with a cunning smile, he was so astonished that he couldn’t leave even after being dismissed.
Upon arriving at the mansion, Edmund immediately received an unexpected report.
It was about a commotion involving Etrisha and a sister-in-law who had stormed the mansion.
Entering his office, Edmund encountered Lirien, who was crying.
“…Ah, sister.”
“Are you listening, Edmund? Isn’t that person too much? How could she, after knowing her sister-in-law’s husband for over ten years…”
Edmund, detaching his gaze from the documents, pressed his forehead and spoke in a somewhat distracted voice.
“You’ve said that six times already.”
“Uh, sorry, just thinking about the innocent and kind Etrisha, who you didn’t know about all this time, it hurts my heart…”
Lirien chuckled awkwardly, her cheeks flushed.
Edmund let out a snicker, looking at Lirien with half-closed eyes.
‘Who’s the naive one, really?’
He hadn’t felt the gap of the past nine years, thanks to his sister who remained unchanged.
It was as if they had met only yesterday, so familiar.
That’s why he brought Etrisha to the mansion.
Unaware of what that woman was planning to do to him.
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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