Picked Up a Beast, Turns Out He's an Emperor (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 49

Long past midnight, a small figure stood on the second-floor bedroom balcony, gazing down at the dark garden pond.

Perking up her ears even at the faint sound of a breeze skimming over the pond, she stood on tiptoes, straining her eyes. When no sign of the person she awaited appeared, disappointment clouded her large eyes, and her head drooped.

“I’ll just peek at you sleeping and leave—so if you hear anything, don’t be startled.”

Those were the Emperor’s whispered words, meant only for Arabella’s ears, as he escorted her to the front of the eleventh guesthouse.

The Emperor, offering Arabella his arm, passed by the ten candidates—whose lips silently clenched beneath their bowed heads—and entered the palace villa with her.

“I must go now; there’s much I need to settle today.”

Unbothered by the fact that every eye inside the villa was fixed on him, his crimson gaze remained solely on the woman before him.

His gentle, long fingers swept a stray lock of soft hair behind her ear, lingering briefly on the tender lobe before withdrawing.

She had wanted to say, “I’ll wait for you,” but the words never left her lips. Instead, she stood there, cheeks flushed, angry with herself for her silence.

The Emperor had told her not to wait and just go to sleep—but she couldn’t. Not with her heart still pounding. Though barely a day had passed since parting from him, she already missed him terribly. She felt like a greedy girl.

Having never once indulged in desire during her life, the girl now found herself bewildered by the whirlwind of emotions blooming within her since falling in love, and nervously bit her lower lip.

“Even if you still ache, is chewing your lips like that really going to help?”

Startled by the gentle voice above her, Arabella lifted her head.

Bathed in the faint light of a crescent moon, his shadowed, mesmerizing face filled her vision. Without a sound, the Emperor had ascended to the second-floor balcony and, before his sentence was even finished, pressed his lips to hers to stop her from biting them further.

Overwhelmed by the soothing softness of his kiss, tears suddenly welled in her eyes, and she squeezed them shut. Joy surged violently within her chest until it tingled.

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