A jawline that cannot be overlooked.

A nose bridge that draws admiration.

Arrogant eyes that know all too well how handsome he is.

Today too, Nikolai was flaunting his presence as the world’s most handsome man.

“Your Majesty. What brings you here?”

“I was passing by.”

“That can’t be true.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Your Majesty’s main living spaces are the reception hall on the first floor of the main palace, the office on the second floor, and the training ground. None of these overlap with the path here.”

“You’ve done your research.”

And spent some money too.

And didn’t spare any of my devilish charms either.

“You must have also known that I don’t have time to mingle with women?”

Nikolai’s tone was prickly, as if displeased by the womanizer treatment.

“Honestly, I was surprised. I thought you spent most of your day in the harem.”

“Didn’t you say it yourself? That I don’t seem to be as promiscuous a Casanova as the rumors suggest.”

“Sometimes when I see Your Majesty’s actions, it makes me want to believe those rumors again.”

“Are you still holding onto that day?”

The day he traced my lips with his finger, about to kiss me.

I was extremely flustered by the sudden advance.

The trembling was also hard to control.

Not wanting to be caught off guard, I acted defensively.

I’ve regretted it ever since.

‘When did he ever suggest just kissing first. I acted like the most virtuous lady in the world, so Nikolai must have been bewildered too.’

Even after possessing Elizabeth, the foundation of a Confucian girl remained unchanged.

I was excessively rigid when it came to matters of the opposite sex, and often became defensive.

That was who I was.

When I lived as Kim Yena in Korea, it wasn’t a problem.

Rather, that side of me was liked.

The problem was that it was a huge obstacle in seducing the tyrant.

‘The original Elizabeth would have been bolder and more aggressive. That would be much more advantageous to win. You’ve become a femme fatale, why can’t you use it?’

I had secured the position of Education Officer, but the seduction game was still stagnant.

Claudia would return soon.

She might return earlier than in the original story.

It meant I had to shed my past life as a Confucian girl and be reborn as a true femme fatale.

Should I practice a bit first?

“It seems it’s not me who’s holding onto that day, but Your Majesty, isn’t it?”

I whispered sweetly, narrowing my eyes.

It took several deep breaths and mind control, but my body remembered Elizabeth’s coquetry.

“Didn’t you say you could never win like that?”

“It was just advice. Ignore it if it bothers you.”

“I could. I plan to approach you differently than before.”

Nikolai leaned his arm on the bookshelf and tilted his head towards me.

Blue flames sparked in his green eyes.

It was the gaze of a man, not an emperor.

No, was it the gaze of a predator eyeing its prey?

Feeling the air grow thin, I parted my red lips.

“Approach? I feel like I’ve become an impregnable fortress.”

“Conquering you is more difficult than an enemy stronghold.”

“Is that a compliment?”

“It might be a complaint.”

Approach and conquer.

Does this man know how dangerous his words are?

Every word strikes dizzily at the pit of my stomach.

“You seem honest, but you’re full of secrets. You don’t allow approaching or touching.”

“……”

“Is there another woman who troubles the emperor as much as you do?”

Nikolai stretched out his large hand.

The shadow of five fingers fell across my face.

It was close enough to hear his heartbeat, yet no part of our bodies touched.

But all the fine hairs on my body stood on end.

An explosive tension bubbled up from deep inside my stomach.

I bit the soft flesh inside my mouth.

I couldn’t lose control like this.

“Don’t complain. My opponent is quite difficult too.”

With a secret smile, I cupped his jawline with my right hand.

For a moment, Nikolai’s pupils dilated then contracted.

Something tightly stretched seemed to snap inside him.

‘You didn’t expect me to touch first, did you? Better to attack than be attacked.’

But there was something I didn’t anticipate.

“Elizabeth.”

A low, cracked voice, almost like a moan.

Slowly curling up corners of his mouth.

Unusually sharp canines were revealed on either side of his even teeth.

“You really are interesting.”

An unfamiliar way of speaking emerged.

Nikolai had never called me ‘you’ before.

He had never shown such blatant greed before.

I instinctively sensed danger.

A baseless certainty seized me.

‘This isn’t Nikolai…!’

Something more violent, more impulsive, more feral.

A bright red warning light flashed noisily in my head.

It felt like facing a hungry beast in a dead-end alley.

‘I need to run away right now!’

But my frozen legs wouldn’t move an inch.

I couldn’t even breathe properly.

Relying on survival instinct, I barely squeezed out a voice.

“Y-Your Majesty?”

“…!”

“Is this the Your Majesty I know?”

As if electrocuted, Nikolai’s shoulders jerked.

Half-bending his knees, he leaned back against the bookshelf.

His increasingly rapid breathing pierced my eardrums.

“Haa. Haa……”

Nikolai looked in great pain.

It also seemed like he was forcibly swallowing something sharp and unpleasant.

What could it be?

What is it that makes him grit his teeth and writhe?

“…I’m fine now.”

He didn’t look fine.

His pale face was stained with an inexplicable sense of defeat, and cold sweat beaded thickly on his forehead.

But it was the Nikolai I was familiar with.

Only then did he release the handkerchief he had been gripping so tightly his knuckles turned white.

“You’ve sweated a lot.”

I dabbed his forehead with Nikolai’s handkerchief.

He just looked at me with a very tired expression.

Until now, Nikolai had changed masks several times.

The cold emperor.

The decadent playboy.

The clumsy innocent.

Some faces must be lies, and some must be truths.

Perhaps fragments of truth are mixed in the lies, and stains of lies are smeared on the truths.

But it was different from any of those faces.

It was as if a ferocious beast had revealed its true colors.

Which face is the real Nikolai?

Why is this man now showing such deep sadness and loneliness without hesitation?

“You should get some fresh air. And wash your face with cold water too.”

I spoke in a deliberately cheerful tone.

Nikolai noticed the consideration.

After a moment’s hesitation, he held out his hand.

“Will you come with me?”

Nikolai didn’t know.

That at some point, I became unable to refuse the hand he offered.

I too couldn’t understand.

Where this irresistible trembling started and in which direction it was flowing.

“If possible, take me somewhere nice.”

I barely managed to imitate Elizabeth’s alluring smile.

Though he gave a bitter smile, Nikolai seemed relieved.

Why does that look so pitiful again?

What’s there to pity about a man who has everything in the world?

[This is the timeline separator]

“This is the nice place?”

I pushed back the stuffy hood.

Nikolai, also hooded, rested his chin on a table sticky with grease.

“Put aside your prejudices and enjoy.”

His voice was hard to hear over the raucous laughter of drunks.

I put my ear close to Nikolai.

“What did you say?”

“En. joy. it.”

Cigarette smoke, acrid charcoal smell, and the stench of rotten vegetables filled the cramped interior.

All kinds of trash littered the floor, and I even saw a fat rat sniffing around the kitchen.

“What am I supposed to enjoy among drunkards, gamblers, and rats?”

“It’s quite enjoyable. I’ve been coming here since I was young.”

“Your taste is so refined.”

“You flatter me.”

“Why didn’t you come alone? Those ladies would have welcomed you too.”

I nodded towards women wearing garish makeup.

Dressed in see-through dresses, or was it lingerie that looked like dresses, they were looking for partners with practiced skill.

“Handsome man! Have a drink with me.”

The women seduced men with blatant gestures.

I was the only sane person blushing in this place.

“Is this okay in broad daylight?!”

“They’re both enjoying it.”

A mercenary grabbed one woman tightly.

The woman arched her back and laughed coquettishly.

Soon, a lingering kiss followed between the two.

The soul of the Confucian girl temporarily left this world.

“Ahem. I didn’t bring you here to show you that.”

Nikolai cleared his throat amidst the whistles.

Seeing him embarrassed, it seemed some common sense remained.

“Then why did you bring me?”

“This place has really delicious skewers.”

“Skewers?”

“I wanted you to taste them. I used to enjoy them too, in the past.”

I quickly averted my gaze.

Skewers were piled like mountains on every table.

Shrimp, pork, chicken wings, mushrooms, and more grilled on charcoal skewers looked quite appetizing.

I unconsciously gulped.

Nikolai gestured to a waiter wearing a dirty apron.

“Bring one of each.”

“I can’t eat that much!”

It was only 10 minutes ago that I had been modest.

I threw down an empty skewer while grabbing a new one at the same time.

Sucking my fingers, I savored the juices bursting in my mouth.

“This place is really delicious!”

“Where did the person who said they couldn’t eat much go?”

“How can you resist meat grilled on charcoal? Especially the pork is fantastic!”

Ah, samgyeopsal.

The nostalgic taste of home that brings tears to my eyes!

It would have been perfect with gochujang and green chili peppers, but I ate to my heart’s content after a long time.

Nikolai just stared at me without touching the food.

“Why didn’t you eat the food made by the imperial chef?”

“Should I be honest, or polite?”

“Elizabeth and etiquette don’t suit each other.”

“Then I’ll speak frankly.”

I put down the pork belly skewer and wiped my mouth with a dirty napkin.

“It was the worst ever. Salty, sweet, sour, greasy. Like various seasonings were growling at each other in my mouth.”

“Was it that bad?”

“How do you eat such things, Your Majesty?”

“Because I have to live.”

“What? You’re not someone with numbed taste buds.”

“They are numb. For quite a long time now.”

I was more surprised by his nonchalant answer.

No wonder he chewed like a machine, he really couldn’t taste.

I could feel the chef’s anguish, having to pour on all kinds of seasonings.

‘They say taste can disappear with severe stress. Being an emperor must be quite tough.’

With a bit of sympathy, I muttered.

“So that’s why you like chocolate cake the most.”

“How did you know that?”

“Know what?”

“That I enjoy chocolate cake. Only a few of my closest aides know that. Who told you?”

“Well… I must have seen or heard it somewhere by chance?”

My improvised excuse couldn’t convince Nikolai.

“We’ve only dined together once, and I didn’t eat chocolate cake that day. I even ordered them not to bring it, so the chef wouldn’t have baked it. Yet you say you heard it by chance?”

“Merchants are usually quick with information, you know.”

“You hardly involved yourself with the Emster merchant group. Though you spent their money lavishly.”

Should I have used the psychic excuse instead?

How can I naturally move past this?

“You must really have no joy in life if you don’t know the pleasure of eating.”

“Don’t change the subject, Elizabeth.”

“Food is the best among the three basic human desires: hunger, sleep, and sex.”

“I’ve never felt hunger.”

“Ah! So that’s why all your desires are focused on sex?!”