Splash, splash.

The warm water created gentle waves, caressing the tired body. The careful touch washing the wounds on every inch of skin was unbearably polite.

As the eyelids slowly rose, round eyes beginning to wake from sleep were revealed. Fragrant soap bubbles filled the view.

The scent of jasmine and tea roses cleared Arabel’s mind, telling her she was lying in a bathtub.

It was inside a large square porcelain tub, so big the ends couldn’t be seen. Like Lake Innis, moist and warm steam filled the spacious bathroom like a thin fog.

The reclining body that should have been touching the hard tub was incredibly comfortable. The hardness was not from the porcelain tub but stronger than iron, yet the good texture’s elasticity and embracing comfort put the mind at ease.

The now-familiar body temperature, scent, and muscle contours of the beloved.

Remembering the morning in the cave when she woke up next to the man who had returned to human form, nearly fainting from shock, a curve formed on Arabel’s lips.

A rough thumb rose above the water’s surface, tickling the pink lips as if tracing them, then pressed down slightly to take away the smile.

A slightly husky low voice fell on top of her head.

“For this moment only, smiling is forbidden.”

The round head resting comfortably on the chest lifted to the side.

Large eyes followed the long, stretched-out neck upwards, taking in the Emperor’s red eyes.

As the Emperor’s eyes looking at her were no longer stained with the blood color of pain, but sparkled with a cool, beautiful ruby color, Arabel’s eyes curved into crescents.

“Looking at me like that is also forbidden.”

A rather serious voice reached Arabel’s ears, and a large palm suddenly covered Arabel’s eyes.

Startled, Arabel grabbed the Emperor’s hand with both of hers and called out to him.

“Your Majesty…?”

The index finger of his other hand rested on the center of Arabel’s lips, preventing her from speaking further as the Emperor said firmly.

“Until we leave the bathroom, calling me, no, speaking at all is not allowed.”

At first thinking the Emperor was joking as he always had, Arabel’s heart fluttered, but at his solemn tone she bit her lower lip in bewilderment.

Suddenly, hot air was exhaled above her head, then whoosh, a tall silhouette rose above the tub, lifting Arabel’s body along with it in one swift motion.

Sensing his self-control had reached its limit, the Emperor carried Arabel out of the tub without hesitation.

The reason he hadn’t entrusted her bathing to the imperial bedroom maids or even Arabel’s own maids was… because of the wounds all over her body.

What explanation could Arabel give them? It was obvious that careless words would only create sordid rumors. He didn’t care about any rumors about himself, but he couldn’t tolerate rumors tainted with impurities about Arabel.

Above all… He didn’t want to entrust Arabel, who was wounded because of him, to anyone else. The Emperor’s jaw tensed strongly as he looked down at his lover in his arms.

However, as time passed in the bathtub, passion was brazenly raising its head and breaking his will to purely take care of her. The Emperor hurriedly tried to move Arabel to the bed, but she had woken up.

All Arabel had done was smile to herself, look at the Emperor, call out to him, and bite her lip, but to the Emperor’s eyes, they were irresistibly sweet temptations.

The Emperor wrapped Arabel’s body in a large towel hanging nearby and walked into the bedroom through the bathroom door.

Long, wet footprints formed on the deep blue marble floor. Even as he walked to the bed, the Emperor’s hands were busy drying Arabel’s wet hair.

After carefully placing Arabel on the bed, the Emperor handed her a new chemise and nightgown prepared beside it and said,

“Can you dress yourself?”

Arabel, her cheeks flushing bright red, nodded slightly. While the Emperor waited with his back turned, Arabel unwrapped the towel, removed the chemise she had been wearing in the tub, and quickly changed into the new clothes.

Thick water droplets running down the Emperor’s neck and back, and the water flowing from his wet black pants, were forming a small puddle on the floor.

As she tied the knots of her nightgown, Arabel realized. That in the moments shared with His Majesty as lovers, not once had the knots of her chemise been undone. That His Majesty’s pants had never disappeared.

Last night, even as she ran to him crying out in pain, His Majesty had desperately pushed her away. His fear of hurting her somehow… she could feel it with her whole body as she embraced him.

Arabel’s eyes trembled as she looked at the broad back layered with countless scars from numerous wars, bloody battles, and curses.

‘The vow to not let anyone treat you carelessly includes me as well.’

The Emperor’s words from last night at the capital villa echoed in her ears.

Arabel reached out her arm and grasped the Emperor’s fingers, and he turned to face his lover on the bed.

“Are you not in pain…?”

The Emperor asked in a low voice, cupping Arabel’s cheek with one hand.

Feeling that his eyes asking if she was in pain seemed more painful, Arabel’s throat tightened and she shook her head without being able to say anything.

Struggling to compose her voice,

“It doesn’t hurt at all. Most of the wounds are from my rushing here in a hurry.”

As she answered, the Emperor sat on the edge of the bed, gently lifted Arabel’s chin, and met her eyes.

“Because of me, you’re becoming prone to lying.”

Looking at the clear round eyes widening, the Emperor’s low voice flowed through his teeth.

“Even when you first came to the palace, you said it wasn’t difficult when it was. Even when you suffered unfair treatment, you didn’t show it… Now you say it doesn’t hurt when it does. All because of me.”

“No. It really doesn’t hurt.”

Arabel shook her head vigorously and clasped the Emperor’s hand resting on her cheek. To show it wasn’t a lie, her kind eyes gazed steadily into the deep red eyes without wavering.

With an unreadable look in his eyes, the Emperor stretched his neck and brought his face close to Arabel’s.

“Even so, please forgive this selfish and wicked me for wanting to keep you by my side.”

As the Emperor’s lips fell upon the pink lips, the chin held in his hand lowered slightly and Arabel’s lips parted.

The two lovers’ lips yearned for each other, desperately savoring and delving in, sharing deep breaths.

The Emperor’s Third Reception Room.

The royal family and elder nobles were waiting for the Emperor.

It was a meeting to express opposition to the Emperor’s intention to announce the abolition of the Empress Selection Competition. When the highest nobles of the empire entered the palace, no one thought the Emperor would meet with them so readily.

“How can you abolish the Empress Selection Competition that has continued for hundreds of years? And in the middle of the competition! It’s tantamount to declaring you’ll ignore imperial traditions.”

“If you abolish the Empress Selection Competition, next you’ll challenge other imperial traditions. You might even eliminate the special pensions given to royal and elder noble families.”

“Honestly, aren’t our families quite involved in businesses connected to the Empress Selection Competition and imperial traditional events? If these disappear one by one, we’ll suffer massive losses.”

“Didn’t I say before? If we join forces and come out determined, even His Majesty the Emperor won’t be able to ignore us.”

“We’ve been too submissive until now. We didn’t oppose and went along to support the young Emperor for the empire’s prosperity, so he’s looking down on us.”

“Let’s show our united strength this time. His Majesty should know what influence we can have on the empire when we band together.”

The royal family and elder nobles were continuing their boastful conversation. As if the reason they hadn’t been able to say a word about Emperor Maxwell’s actions until now was because they had been doing the empire a favor.

“If the Empress Competition is abolished here, I won’t stand idly by in my capacity as Empress Dowager, wife of the previous Emperor.”

As the Empress Dowager spoke with a fierce look in her eyes, the representative of the Sebilles diplomatic delegation sitting next to her nodded with a grim expression.

The guards outside announced the Emperor’s arrival and opened the reception room doors wide on both sides.

Without wearing a cloak and dressed in an unadorned black velvet uniform, the Emperor’s mere appearance dominated the unsettled atmosphere in the room.

From his deep blue-black hair to the long black gloves on his hands and the knee-high black boots he wore. All amplified the Emperor’s uniquely chilling coolness.

The Emperor’s arrogant red eyes, seated in the center, didn’t even glance at those standing to greet him as he signaled to his assistant Kyle beside him.

As Assistant Kyle nodded to his secretaries, several men in uniforms distributed long envelopes to those seated at the table.

When the Emperor lifted his chin, those gathered in the reception room grimly tore open the envelopes stamped with the Emperor’s seal and took out the contents.

“To avoid wasting time,”

With emotionlessly calm smiling red eyes meeting the gaze of each person gathered before him, the Emperor slowly opened his mouth.

“I’ve written answers here to your concerns and worries about the empire that brought you to this meeting, so read them. If there are still objections to abolishing the Empress Selection Competition after reading, I will listen sincerely.”

‘This time we absolutely won’t be swayed by the Emperor.’

Eyes firmly resolved promised unity.

The eyes of the royal family and elder nobles reading the documents reluctantly grew larger and larger as if by agreement, then contorted wildly, then trembled, before finally taking on the look of submissive sheep.

Even the Empress Dowager could not say anything and only twisted her lips. She just slightly clenched the corner of the document in her hand.

The documents handwritten by the Emperor were his work plans for the next 6 months. And there were two plans.

One was the Emperor’s schedule after the Empress Selection Competition was unanimously abolished by the royal family and elder nobles this afternoon, busy with preparations for the engagement ceremony, wedding ceremony, and honeymoon…

The other was the Emperor’s work schedule if the Empress Selection Competition continued as is, with two more rounds held, and if no winner emerged even then, a final round had to be held.

After the competition ended, if his “fiancée” did not win, the process of invalidating the competition and other details of how the Emperor would spend time in order to marry his “fiancée” were specified.

In summary, it meant he would thoroughly shake down the royal family and elder nobles.

Even without shaking them hard, their misdeeds could easily be revealed if the Emperor put his mind to it, but it was written that he would enter into a “careful and thorough” investigation during the waiting time.

From the wealth amassed by abusing the special laws given to them, to tax and land inheritance investigations, even assets secretly funneled to other countries, everything.

The Emperor had written a few numbers like a code next to their family names as if he already knew everything, which was the number of businesses they had not reported to the empire.

To those sitting with pale faces trying hard to smile like loyal subjects, the Emperor spread both hands wide. Speaking in a voice dripping with affection, with an expression full of benevolence, he said:

“If there are any objections to abolishing the Empress Selection Competition, speak now. I will listen with an open mind to everything. I didn’t wear my sword, lest you be afraid. See? So don’t worry and speak your minds freely.”

The Emperor turned his head and spoke to the Empress Dowager in a friendly voice.

“I heard the princess of Shatel withdrew voluntarily today. Isn’t it fortunate that of the three remaining candidates, two are ladies of our empire, and one is the princess of Sebilles? We could have had diplomatic friction if we weren’t careful, but I trust the Empress Dowager will speak well to Sebilles. After all, the Empress Dowager is a person of the Helterd Empire, not Sebilles.”

Silence fell in the reception room so that the sound of a needle dropping on the floor could be heard.

The Emperor’s gentle red eyes suddenly darkened coldly, and his weighty baritone voice pressed down on the shoulders of those gathered.

“If there are no further objections, I hereby permanently abolish the Empress Selection Competition effective immediately. If anyone continues to make a fuss about this in the future, I will consider it a direct challenge to me and respond accordingly.”