In Emperor Maxwell’s bedroom, a faint metallic sound emanated from behind the floor-to-ceiling red cherry wood bookcase that covered one wall of the room. The sound was so subtle that it could easily be missed over the crackling of the fireplace nearby.
Three thick books on the seventh shelf of the bookcase jutted forward, revealing a rectangular door large enough for two adult men to stand in. The hidden door in the bookcase opened, revealing a tall figure draped in a cloak.
Emperor Maxwell entered the room, pushed the protruding books back into the bookcase, and the secret door seamlessly merged with the bookshelf, leaving no trace behind.
Throwing his cloak on a chair, Maxwell ran his fingers through his hair and let out a short sigh.
‘What was I even doing, sneaking around like a night cat?’
Suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of self-derision, he roughly washed his face with his hands.
The hidden door in the bookcase was connected to underground passages leading anywhere within the capital and beyond. It was never used for personal reasons, especially not for visiting a lady’s quarters.
It had always been used for secretive outings or to personally deal with those who overstepped their bounds.
But using it to deliver chocolates to a woman, and that too with the wariness of a thief, was something new and unsettling.
Recalling how he had snuck around behind trees near the third pond in the detached palace and dashed to the lady’s quarters, Maxwell felt his face heat up. The uncharacteristic lightness of his steps, his careful handling of the chocolate box, the joy of successfully landing it on the balcony of her second-floor bedroom, the anxious waiting and swallowing dryly, the rapid heartbeat as she emerged onto the balcony, the way his lips pulled up into a smile when she opened the box and smiled back, his lingering gaze on the closed balcony door – it was all so unlike him.
Embarrassed despite being alone, he cleared his throat needlessly.
He had never intended to visit her quarters. Arabel was not a child.
If she couldn’t endure this much, how could he entrust her with breaking his curse? He had arranged for her to receive four days of intensive lessons from the empire’s best strategist, Kyle, and placed three perceptive maids at her service.
What more could be necessary? Trying to shake off his concerns about Arabel, he had worked late into the night and returned to his bedroom…
“Your Majesty, where should I place this gift box?” Sebastian, his long-time bedroom attendant, asked, holding up a red velvet box found among the Emperor’s belongings.
It was clearly a gift box, but Maxwell had never personally given such a gift to anyone before. He usually rewarded his subjects with positions or wealth, not such quaint gifts.
Unaware that the box was intended for a lady, Sebastian waited for the Emperor’s instructions.
“Leave it on the table and go,” responded Maxwell shortly.
Sebastian, concluding it was just an insignificant box, left the room.
Unable to sleep, Maxwell eventually got up from his bed and strode over to the table, picking up the velvet box.
“This is definitely not because I’m worried. Nor is it because I want to see her face. It’s just… the chocolates might melt, and that would be a waste… Yes, that’s the reason.”
Speaking to no one in particular, Emperor Maxwell made excuses as he walked briskly towards the bookshelf.
Passing through the door, he held not his usual longsword but, as Sebastian described, a ‘cute’ red velvet chocolate box.
“This is the first and last time,” he muttered to himself, lying down on his bed after delivering the chocolates and returning to his bedroom.
“It’s her first day, she must be nervous… Frankly, her wellbeing is directly linked to mine. If she gets sick, it’s my loss. So, all this concern is purely for my own sake. Yes, that’s it. I won’t sneak around like this again.”
Usually clear-headed and able to justify his decisions and actions logically, the Emperor was unusually irrational and incoherent, tossing and turning in bed.
In the Emperor’s office,
“Your Majesty, we are here to report,” said Earl Corland and his son Timothy, kneeling on one knee on the marble floor and greeting the Emperor seated on the throne.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, the two officials began reporting to Emperor Maxwell, who listened attentively, a gentle smile playing on his lips.
Earl Corland le Henkriere, the continent’s greatest monster hunter, and his sole heir, Timothy.
In the current era, where ancient gods and mythological creatures no longer crossed the Ertel River to influence the human world, traces of them could still be found in the monsters that remained.
“We believe a black panther may infiltrate the capital,” Earl Corland said.
“Why do you think so?”
“We found traces of a wounded monster we had chased in the Termoil Mountains in a cave. There were also footprints and a notebook of a woman who had helped it.”
Earl Corland handed a note to the Emperor, who read it with a calm expression.
My Step-brother Is Obsessed With Me (Female-dominant)
A gentle female protagonist vs pitiful in the early stage, and a sick male protagonist in the later stage
Cheng Songer transmigrated into the body of a vicious cannon fodder female supporting character with the same name as her in a female-dominant novel.
In the original story, the cannon fodder female supporting character was inhumane, committing domestic violence, gambling excessively, being lustful, and even wanting to sell her stepbrother to a brothel for money.
As luck would have it, she just happened to transmigrate at this time.
Seeing Cheng Qingzhi biting his lip, enduring the tears in his eyes, looking pitiful, her heart softened.
She stuffed the money back into the Madam’s hand and reached out to him.
“Brother, come home with me.”
