“If you look at history books, those who disobeyed the emperor’s orders……”

Emperor Maxwell traced his lips with his long finger and spoke in a dry voice.

Though his voice clearly lacked emotion, the air in the dining room grew chillingly heavy.

“Not just that person, but their entire bloodline often received severe punishment.”

Arabel’s long eyelashes trembled as she lowered her gaze to her knees under the table.

“If you rebel, you could be dragged away mercilessly and imprisoned underground for life without seeing sunlight, or your entire family could be ruined. Disobeying the emperor’s orders is essentially no different from treason.”

He hadn’t planned to threaten so blatantly. Especially not against a small, powerless woman barely reaching his chest.

Until now, no one in the empire had rejected the benevolent hand he extended. They had been anxious to grasp a hand he hadn’t even offered. He had never felt the need to do this before.

Maxwell watched Arabel’s reaction while clenching his jaw in self-loathing.

She already couldn’t meet his eyes properly, and now she probably wouldn’t even raise her head out of fear. As expected, Arabel showed no reaction and sat quietly for a moment, biting her lower lip.

She must be quite scared.

As the emperor opened his mouth to ease the tension with a gentler tone…

“Your Majesty……”

Arabel raised her head to gaze into his red eyes and slowly spoke.

“I’m not afraid because you won’t do that.”

The handsome face that always maintained a poker face stiffened for a moment. It was a completely unexpected response.

“Why do you think that? Are you not afraid of me, your emperor?”

“Your Majesty…… You are the best person I’ve ever met.”

Her honest eyes that didn’t avoid his gaze and her sincere voice struck the emperor’s heart painfully.

“You think I’m a good person?”

“Yes.”

“Why do you think that? I clearly explained what an emperor can do.”

“But Your Majesty didn’t forget the help I gave and came to find me. Even though I only did what I should have done, you’re trying to give me a great reward. You’re even trying to put me, who’s not qualified, on the list of empress candidates.”

Arabel’s round eyes curved into crescent moons as she gave a gentle smile.

“Your Majesty, who thinks even of someone as insignificant as me, must be the kindest person in the world. Thank you. It’s the first time… Someone has thought of me this much……”

The emperor tried to open his mouth to answer, but his throat constricted and no sound came out.

It was a smile full of happiness, without a trace of fear. Maxwell’s brows furrowed at the dazzling, plain and calm smile that was neither special nor enchanting.

“Ah, since my master exists, you’re the second kindest person I’ve met.”

Arabel truly couldn’t lie, as she said.

The emperor, who had been staring at Arabel’s smile as if bewitched, came to his senses when the detestable word “master” was mentioned and narrowed his eyes.

Maxwell gave up on trying to threaten or force her to come to the palace. If he forced her to come, he felt she would never show him that smile again.

However, unwilling to admit this fact, the emperor concluded that using power against a weak woman was not what a strong person does.

‘I need to make her come to the palace with me willingly.’

Maxwell thought as he looked at Arabel, who was not as docile as he had expected.

For some reason, his brilliant mind that had never betrayed him wasn’t working properly. Because he realized that no matter what sweet words or threats he used, her resolve wouldn’t change.

She had a completely different way of thinking from anyone he had dealt with before. Emperor Maxwell decided to take a gamble he had never attempted before.

The emperor, who had to hide himself to ascend to the throne and never revealed his true self even after becoming emperor, who freely crossed the boundary between lies and truth for his goals, slowly opened his mouth.

“To break my curse…… I need your help.”

The emperor had never spoken of his weakness before. Moreover, he had never asked anyone for help. The hyenas would have rushed to bite his throat at that moment.

Though his reason-dominated mind was trying to stop him, his voice flowed out of his mouth.

“I don’t know how you did it, but…… After spending the night with you, my wounds were completely healed. And.”

The emperor paused for a moment, swallowed dryly, then continued.

“Usually I return to my original form four days after turning into a beast, but when I met you, I returned to my form after just two days. You are clearly connected to my curse. Can you… help me escape this nightmarish curse?”

After finishing his words, the emperor leaned his head against the chair.

Soon, a calm but powerful voice reached his ears. When he opened his eyes, kind round eyes were looking at him steadily.

“I will help you. I will do my best to assist Your Majesty.”

Arabel added, even clenching her small fists.

“I will go to the capital with Your Majesty.”

Ha, it was this easy. A shallow sigh escaped through Maxwell’s teeth.

What could persuade Arabel was not wealth and glory or threats, but simply requesting her help with the truth.

The emperor felt his throat burning and took a sip of the terrible cheap wine in front of him.

“Then, what about your rendezvous with your master?”

“My master will understand. When Your Majesty’s curse is broken, he will allow me to follow him then. Please let me leave a letter in the cave before we depart.”

It wasn’t saying she wouldn’t go at all. But for now, he had to be satisfied with this.

The emperor thought as he forced a smile, while vowing to investigate and reveal the true identity of that scammer called her master.

“Then, is there any problem with leaving tonight?”

“Um……”

Arabel wrinkled her nose and smiled awkwardly.

“Speak.”

“Can we leave at dawn tomorrow? Lily, I mean my cousin’s racehorse, is due to give birth to twins tonight. If I’m not there, she’ll get anxious and have a hard time. She was already crying all night yesterday because I wasn’t there……”

To Arabel, helping the emperor and helping a racehorse seemed equally important.

Maxwell, feeling strangely conflicted, nodded with a forced cheerful expression.

Lotus Palace inside the Heltered Empire’s Imperial Palace

Empress Dowager Natalie was walking through the lotus garden with the second princess of Sevils Kingdom, her home country, and a noble lady from a count’s family.

“Are you having any inconveniences?”

“Thanks to your care, I’m doing well.”

“I’m also staying very comfortably. Thank you.”

Empress Dowager Natalie said as she threw food to the golden carp in the pond.

“Soon the final competition will begin, so we won’t be able to meet privately. If you have any concerns, tell me in advance. I’ll prepare for you.”

“I don’t know how to repay Your Majesty’s grace. Thanks to you, I’ve made it to the final competition.”

When the count’s only daughter from the Empress Dowager’s kingdom expressed her gratitude with clasped hands, Empress Dowager Natalie’s expression turned cold.

“You seem to be misunderstanding a lot.”

“Pardon?”

“Your role is to do your best to help Princess Lilibet become His Majesty’s companion. That’s why you’ve reached the final competition. Remember this. If not, your father and family will face tremendous difficulties.”

When the Empress Dowager warned coldly, the count’s daughter turned red to her nape and nodded.

The Empress Dowager turned to Princess Lilibet, a direct descendant of her family, and spoke in a gentle voice.

“We have high expectations for you, princess. Make sure you’re selected as empress this time to continue our kingdom’s tradition. Besides this child here, I’ve also put the daughter of Marquis MacGuire as a candidate for your sake.”

“Yes, Empress Dowager. Don’t worry. I will certainly become Emperor Maxwell’s wife.”

Princess Lilibet responded affectionately with sky-blue eyes sparkling brighter than the autumn sky, and the Empress Dowager smiled with satisfaction.

Lilibet, her niece and the most likely candidate in this selection competition, was a possessor of dazzling beauty noticeable at a glance even from afar.

Her ambition was as great as her beauty, and she was relentless in achieving her goals. If anything became an obstacle in her path, she would remove it by any means necessary.

The Empress Dowager was quite fond of her niece who resembled her in many ways.

The greatest resource of Sevils Kingdom, which lacked natural resources, was the royal bloodline with outstanding beauty. Just as she had done, Lilibet would become Maxwell’s wife and provide great help to Sevils Kingdom.

If Lilibet becomes empress this time, her brother, the king, promised to proclaim the Empress Dowager’s only son Eric as crown prince of Sevils Kingdom. She must make sure her niece stands beside Maxwell in two months.

The Empress Dowager’s eyes sparkled as she handed Lilibet the expected test questions.

“How is the Empress Dowager’s side doing?”

Caroline, the emperor’s aunt and wife of the Grand Duke of Lesang, asked her husband as she put on a dress for the banquet.

“She’s mobilizing all her forces to make her niece the empress.”

“How dare she, not knowing her place! If only mother hadn’t passed away early, she wouldn’t have even dreamed of marrying father.”

“By the way, are you confident? Even if it’s a small country, princesses and noble ladies from Sevils have been selected as queens in various kingdoms. I hear Princess Lilibet’s beauty is already famous outside the palace.”

“What good is beauty alone? She takes after my aunt, full of ambition but dull-witted. If the Empress Dowager hadn’t helped, she would have been eliminated in the preliminaries.”

Caroline lifted her chin confidently as she put on a diamond necklace.

“No matter how outstanding Lilibet’s beauty is, she can’t match your niece Grace. Just wait and see. In two months, the bride entering the chapel holding Maxwell’s hand will be Grace.”

The daughter of Baron Bernando, rumored to be the most excellent among the selection candidates, was expelled without even finishing the competition properly due to a scandal with a guard knight.

The culprit behind this was Grace. The person who placed the baroness’s daughter’s handkerchief under the sheets in the knight’s room and hid the knight’s underwear in the Rose Palace where the baroness’s daughter was staying was…

Though Grace might be slightly inferior to Lilibet in beauty, her mind worked faster than anyone else’s. If Grace, whom she had raised like a daughter since infancy, becomes empress, the power of the Grand Duke of Lesang’s family will soar to unimaginable heights.

Caroline’s lips curled upwards at the thought of rising higher in the social hierarchy than her thorn in the flesh, adoptive mother Empress Dowager Natalia.

Just then, her butler entered and reported.

“A message has arrived from His Majesty the Emperor, who is currently inspecting the provinces.”

At the messenger’s report, Caroline turned her head and extended her hand.

At the same time, in her reception room, the Empress Dowager was leisurely opening the envelope containing the emperor’s letter delivered by a messenger.