“The livestock’s early morning cries are chilling to the bone.”

“I never knew cows could make such loud noises.”

“Not just the estate’s livestock, but all the forest animals and birds seem to be competing to make noise… it’s enough to make your ears ring.”

The emperor’s elite guards exchanged quiet conversation.

Tightly gripping their horses’ reins and remaining vigilant on the dim mountain path at dawn, the guards and soldiers who had just left the village were tense and confused by the sudden commotion of animals as they crossed through the forest.

Even the emperor’s white horse, renowned for its bravery in battle, seemed quite sensitive to the mournful cries of large and small wild animals in the deep mountains, repeatedly stumbling.

The emperor, suspecting he knew the reason for this disturbance, turned his gaze to the carriage beside him.

When the large eyes peeking through the small glass window met the emperor’s, they quickly disappeared inside like a fleeing fawn.

The emperor frowned and looked away, but soon glanced back at the window with the corner of his eye. Pale brown eyes brimming with tears reappeared, and a small palm opened and began waving enthusiastically.

Surely she wasn’t waving to greet the emperor…

With each timid movement of her palm, the cries of unseen animals in the dense forest grew louder.

A flock of barely visible black birds took flight into the dawning sky, circling above the carriage before vanishing.

It seemed that not only the village livestock, but even the wild forest animals sensed her departure and were causing an unreasonable commotion.

‘Now that you’re a mother, be extra careful when you enter the race. When I return, the twins will have grown so much.’

That’s what Arabel had said last night as she hugged the mare who had just given difficult birth in the stable, which she had helped with all night.

Arabel had cradled the two newborn foals in her arms and even given them names.

From the moment Arabel boarded the carriage and left the estate, crossing the village and entering the forest, the pigs, cows, ducks, and sheep all began to cry out noisily from their pens.

As the sounds of livestock faded into the distance, now the mournful cries of wild animals and birds from the mountains behind the passing estate rang out incessantly, putting the emperor’s guards on edge.

Unlike the animals making a noisy fuss, reluctant to let her go, her so-called family members showed no signs of regret at all.

The eyes of Arabel’s sisters and female cousins burned with jealousy and envy towards her, who alone was entering the imperial palace.

Honestly, Baron Kander and his wife, along with Arabel’s father Jonathan, who had received more compensation than expected, seemed not to care even if Arabel was being sold into slavery rather than becoming an imperial consort candidate.

The luggage she brought down from the attic room used by maids, not even a proper bedroom, was just one small bundle.

“Tsk.”

As the image of Arabel’s tear-stained face, constantly turning back to look, came to mind, the emperor clicked his tongue with a bitter taste and pulled on his horse’s reins to increase speed.

As the emperor sped up, the carriage and guards also began to race down the dawn mountain path without hesitation.

After some time, as they left the mountains of Baron Kander’s estate and approached a new territory, the emperor slowed his horse.

“I need to rest my eyes for a bit, so I’ll ride in the carriage.”

At the emperor’s words, the eyes of his right-hand man Commander Jacob and left-hand man Sub-Commander Paul widened in surprise.

The emperor rarely got into carriages. No, he never did. Maxwell had been attacked by assassins when he boarded a carriage to attend a capital event the year he became emperor.

The inside of a carriage inevitably limited one’s view and hearing, making it slower to react to attacks from the surroundings. Since that day, the emperor had always traveled on horseback, rain or shine.

What was even more surprising was that right now, there was only one young lady in the carriage, without even a chaperone.

Until now, the emperor had absolutely never created situations where he was alone with a woman. He knew it was obvious that scandals would be created and used politically because of it.

Moreover, the emperor despised “small talk” – that is, idle chatter or gossip – with young ladies. He was the type of person who considered any useless conversation, such as discussing the weather or what to eat today when men and women meet with nothing to do, a waste of time.

That’s why the emperor hadn’t made time to meet separately with the empress candidates until now. But he believed that marrying whichever woman became the victor in the competition was fulfilling one of his duties as emperor.

‘Should we put Arabel on horseback while Your Majesty rides in the carriage?’

As if reading the conflicted mind of Sir Jacob, the emperor preemptively spoke:

“There’s only one carriage, and we can’t very well send the young lady out to ride a horse. It looks like it might rain soon. There’s no choice. I’ll have to ask the young lady’s understanding and enter the carriage briefly to rest my eyes before coming out.”

Jacob and Paul simultaneously looked up at the clear autumn morning sky where the sun was rising. Far from raining, it was a very fine day.

Knock knock.

There was a sudden knocking sound from the carriage door that had stopped, and then it opened. Arabel, who had hurriedly wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, straightened her posture and looked at the emperor entering.

“What’s the matter…?”

As Arabel, whose eyes were red and swollen from crying, asked, Maxwell replied somewhat brusquely:

“Although the wound has healed, my body is still stiff and tires easily. If it’s not an inconvenience to the young lady, I’ve come in to rest for a moment.”

As the emperor answered while ostentatiously placing his hand on his stomach, Arabel’s eyes filled with a worried light.

The emperor felt oddly pleased at the round eyes looking at him with concern, and the corners of his usually straight lips turned up slightly.

He never tolerated anyone looking at him with pity or concern. No, no one ever looked at him that way. Because the emperor was the strongest ruler who had everything.

And yet, the girl’s eyes full of worry directed at him… inexplicably warmed a corner of his heart.

However,

“I’ll go out so you can rest comfortably. I can ride a horse well too.”

At Arabel’s words as she stood up, the emperor’s mood immediately soured.

“Surely you don’t want rumors spreading of a heartless emperor who throws a young lady out of the carriage on a tiring journey?”

“Ah, no. I was thoughtless…”

“I’ll be resting my eyes briefly, so pay me no mind and rest yourself as well.”

As the emperor threatened, Arabel shook her head and sat back down. The emperor, sitting on the bench opposite Arabel with his long legs crossed and eyes closed, raised his hand to tap on the carriage wall, and the procession started moving again.

‘I came in because I caught her crying, and yet.’

Maxwell’s closed eyes frowned slightly. He had never cared when someone cried before. That was the other person’s problem for not being able to control their emotions, not something for him to be involved with.

Clever young ladies had tried acting out scenes of shedding tears at appropriate times to get the emperor’s attention, but they realized it didn’t work on him. As they watched his back walking away indifferently without even offering a handkerchief.

The emperor slightly raised his chin and gazed at Arabel. Even though he was giving her the opportunity to speak to him on a silver platter, the woman in front of him only kept her head down, fidgeting with her fingers resting on her knees.

‘Shouldn’t you say something to get attention when you’re in the same space as the emperor?

The weather is nice, or how is the capital, or even what’s for lunch today – if you think about it, there are many topics to talk about.’ The emperor inwardly grumbled, disliking the silence filling the interior.

‘Honestly, for a woman of marriageable age, isn’t being alone with the emperor in a small space the opportunity of a lifetime? And yet she says such an odd thing about going out.’

Tsk, the emperor clicked his tongue inwardly.

The morning sunlight gently illuminated the emperor’s face through the gap in the thin curtains covering the window.

Arabel’s round eyes slowly took in the emperor’s face, who seemed to be sleeping with his eyes closed. It created the illusion of looking at a masterpiece most resembling the image of God that a great artist would offer to the divine.

Every aspect of the emperor shone with sharp, restrained elegance.

His black hair was slightly long in the front but neatly trimmed short in the back, glossy and tidy. Beneath his smooth forehead, thick and dark seagull-shaped eyebrows provided balance, and the eyelashes on his closed eyelids were dark and lush.

His nose bridge was smooth and high without any curves, perfectly balancing the proportions of his face, and his appropriately sized red lips exuded an intellectual yet alluring atmosphere. It was the kind of lips that made one understand for the first time the unfamiliar word ‘sexy’ that Maruga had spoken of.

His sharp jawline was not light but rather showed a masculine strength, and his healthy olive-toned skin reminded one that he was the number one warrior who led the empire to victory in war.

It was simply amazing that such an exquisitely handsome face, unimaginable even in dreams, was sleeping right before her eyes.

As her gaze lingered on his long, extended Adam’s apple, Arabel quickly shifted her eyes to look out the window. Remembering the emperor’s naked body she had encountered yesterday morning, Arabel’s face flushed bright red and she covered it with both hands.

Not believing what was happening to her right now, she lightly pinched her cheek. It stung, so it didn’t seem to be a dream.

Looking out the window at the smoothly paved road the emperor’s procession had entered, Arabel thought.

The emperor had an enormous charisma that even inspired fear, just as rumored. Especially when his red eyes, seeming to see through everything, focused on her, it felt like her heart was tied to a heavy weight and dropped with a thud.

But… Arabel gently smiled as she placed both hands over her heart.

‘He’s a good person.’

He could have forcibly taken me away, but he respected my opinion. And even raised me to be an empress candidate as a reward for my help.

Arabel silently prayed that the emperor’s curse would be lifted and that he would marry the noblest and most beautiful lady in the empire befitting him, and that she could be of help to the benevolent Emperor who even gave up his carriage.

A moment later, the small head began to nod up and down.

Her mind, which had been awake for nearly two days straight, could no longer resist falling into sleep. Though she could have leaned back comfortably, Arabel’s body was still sitting bolt upright, unable to shake off the tension.

Golden-tinged red eyes followed the nodding movement of Arabel’s head. The emperor closed his eyes again, trying not to pay attention, but they soon opened.

The emperor stood up, bending at the waist with a blanket from beside him, and carefully covered Arabel’s knees. However, seemingly unsatisfied, he furrowed his brow slightly and looked down at Arabel, whose head kept tilting.

It seemed she could sleep comfortably if he gently pushed her shoulder and let her lie down on the bench. After hesitating for a moment, Maxwell moved closer to Arabel and raised his index and middle fingers towards her left shoulder.

Just as he was about to push Arabel’s shoulder to make her lie down, thump, the carriage wheel must have hit a large tree root they hadn’t noticed, and the carriage rose high once before falling.

Losing his balance at the unexpected jolt, Maxwell pushed Arabel’s shoulder with his palm instead of the light push with two fingers he had intended… and fell on top of Arabel’s body as she toppled sideways.

Arabel’s eyes flew open in shock and met the red ones looking down at her from right above.

It wasn’t just their eyes that met in surprise and trembling – their bodies were overlapped, fitting together as if each curve and groove interlocked.

The emperor raised his upper body from Arabel’s body, stretching out his long arms.

Thinking the emperor was getting up, Arabel, her forehead now red as well, tried to get up too, but the emperor didn’t move any further. The emperor’s red eyes stopped moving and fixed on the slightly parted pink lips in surprise.

As his gaze rose again to fall on the large eyes, Arabel’s shoulders began to tremble finely. It was the same hunger-filled gaze she had seen for the first time in the mountain cave. Somehow even more frightening than a beast’s.

As the emperor raised one corner of his mouth and bent his arms down, slowly putting weight on the small body beneath him, Arabel tightly squeezed her eyes shut.

“If you avoid my eyes one more time, I don’t know what I might do. Open your eyes and look at me.”

A hoarse, clouded voice echoed in Arabel’s ears.