Despite the fact that Claudia, his close friend, had been chosen as the sacrificial lamb.
A dry desert wind seemed to blow through the hole in her heart.
The gritty sand filled her mind.
She wanted to spit out the scraping sand, but the invisible particles only increased.
Just like her sad affection for Douglas.
“Douglas, you know what I’m contemplating, right?”
“…Treason?”
“It would be more accurate to call it a revolution.”
“Would it truly be a revolution? The empire is peaceful. His Majesty is not the depraved man rumors claim him to be.”
“Having tutored the crown prince, you’ve become a servant of the royal family.”
“Radia, I think you’re the one caught in confirmation bias.”
“While children in the slums starve to death, what is the Emperor doing? Surrounded by Elizabeth’s skirts, he engages in petty gambling.”
“I’m not advocating for the Emperor’s poverty policies, but poverty isn’t something His Majesty can solve alone. Shouldn’t we look at the system built by those who share the power before blaming the ruler?”
“Let me ask a loyal servant. Despite the everthreatening southern border, the Emperor halved its defense budget. What will happen when the Warden Kingdom launches an invasion?”
The southern border was a dangerous area, perpetually troubled by conflicts with the Warden Kingdom and frequented by pirate gangs.
Even with the elite knights and military stationed there, Nikolai had slashed the southern border’s budget.
A massive redeployment of troops had occurred because of this.
“When our knights return to the archipelago, the only ones left will be the beggars wielding rusty swords.”
“The Emperor must have had his reasons.”
“Douglas, I like your goodness and innocence, but you’re neither good nor innocent right now. You’re merely blinded by love.”
Knowing her words were harsh, Claudia couldn’t stop.
Douglas asked with a bitter face,
“If I really loved Elizabeth, wouldn’t I be the first to wave the flag of revolution?”
“What do you mean?”
“If the Emperor falls from grace, an opportunity would arise for me.”
“……!”
“Sometimes I wonder. If the man who protects and monopolizes Elizabeth disappears, could I gain her? Would she want me?”
Claudia had no words.
Douglas harbored a gaze warmer than any she had seen from him before.
It was the flame of desire.
The possessiveness of a man.
Claudia, who had no experience in love, could also sense it intuitively.
No matter how much she circled around him, she knew she could not capture even a fragment of his heart.
“Radia, there must be a story where a great knight like you defeats a tyrant and a villainess. Then, wouldn’t there also be a story where a reborn villainess changes the world?”
“You’ve read too many novels, Doug.”
“Maybe so. But those unbelievable stories keep me cheering.”
“Cheering?”
“Who knows, maybe that villainess had her reasons. She might have originally been a good person, or could have turned into one.”
“So you want to believe Elizabeth that much?”
“It’s not that I want to believe; I do believe. Even if she does something unbelievable, I will believe her. Because I have vowed to do so.”
Douglas was smiling happily.
For a woman owned by another man.
As he mulled over his vow for her.
Unaware that each of his words were like sharp daggers piercing Claudia’s heart.
He probably didn’t even care.
It was a perfect defeat, one where she could neither get angry nor resist.
Biting the inside of her cheek, Claudia made a resolution.
‘I will fight as Elizabeth’s proxy. I will wield a sword and face the tyrant and villainess. If an opportunity arises, I will not miss it…!’
(This is a time separator.)
It was just as she was about to lie down on the bed.
“What will you do if Claudia refuses your proposal?”
Nikolai, who had suddenly appeared in the canary room, asked bluntly.
She adjusted the front of her pajamas with calm movements.
To remain composed even when an extramarital man intrudes during the dead of night.
I wanted to applaud my adaptability.
“Good evening, Your Majesty. The moon is bright tonight.”
“Skip the pleasantries.”
“What’s the problem? Haven’t you left it to me?”
“Simon is skilled. He’s different from those who rely solely on their family name.”
“That’s good. Claudia will acknowledge her defeat obediently only if she fights an equal.”
“Except for Claudia, there are hardly any knights who can defeat Simon.”
“So?”
“If you pick another knight as a proxy, you might lose.”
“Is that why you came here like a thieving cat?”
Through the halfopen window, the cool night air flowed in.
Nikolai closed the window and drew the curtain with an awkward face.
The room became perfectly sealed.
With that, the air surrounding us became dense.
Nighttime Nikolai was completely different from daytime Nikolai.
When he looked at me as if seeing an inanimate object, always.
His intense eyes, as if they wouldn’t miss even a hair on me, boiled up like lava.
“I worry about you.”
Thump. Thump. Thump.
His deep tone penetrated the sound of my heartbeat.
His voice, somewhat sad and plaintive, made a corner of my heart feel as if it would melt.
“I’m uneasy because of you.”
Nikolai reached out his hand.
Before his fingers touched my lips, my knees went weak.
I plopped down onto the soft bed.
It was then that he cast a dark shadow over me.
My Ex-Girlfriend Is The Regent In The Female-dominant World (Male lead transmigrates to the matriarchal world)
Two years ago, Gu Sui picked up a homeless woman in ancient costume from the street.
Apart from occasionally claiming to be a princess from a female-dominant country due to illness, her figure, appearance, intelligence, and martial arts skills were impeccable.
Naturally evolving from roommates to girlfriends, as time went on, Gu Sui found it increasingly difficult to tolerate her queen syndrome.
“Mu Jiulu, can you stop controlling me inside and out? Let’s break up.”
Gu Sui made a breakup call, and since then, he couldn’t find any trace of her.
A year later, Gu Sui, who was planning to move, woke up the next day and found himself in a different place.
“Young Master, today is the day you choose your Wife-master through martial arts competition at Jade Dew Pavilion. Please get up quickly.”
Gu Sui: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
As the only son of a general’s mansion in a female-dominant dynasty, the young empress personally issued a decree allowing Gu Sui to select his Wife-master through martial arts competition. Whoever could defeat him could marry him.
Gu Sui: “……”
He didn’t inherit the original owner’s martial prowess, so anyone could defeat him! And what the hell is a Wife-master?
Forced to come to Jade Dew Pavilion, the densely packed women below made Gu Sui’s agoraphobia act up, and his face was full of resistance.
Until he saw the Regent sitting on the second floor, with a smile on the corner of her lips, her eyes wicked and nonchalant.
Hmm… she looked a little familiar.
It turned out that the Regent also found him a little familiar.
Mu Jiulu fiddled with her bone clasp, her deep gaze locked on the man who was out of place in this world.
“Finally, I found you.”
Male transmigrates into female-dominant world
One-sentence summary: What goes around comes around, taking turns in the crematorium
