Nikolai exuded confidence.

That sight made my anger rise even more.

I couldn’t let things flow as he intended.

I spoke with a voice as composed as possible.

“Even if you’re the emperor, aren’t you ashamed to bring a lady with a bright future and force her into an unwanted marriage? Besides, Your Majesty, don’t you already have a child?”

“Elizabeth Emster, a lady? Even the dogs passing by would laugh at that.”

“Ahem.”

“With over a hundred lovers in just one night? Compared to you, my harem is modest, even shabby.”

“We’re just close friends. We only met a few times for meals, that’s all.”

“Why don’t you try making a more sincere excuse?”

“At least I’m not married!”

“That will happen soon enough.”

Nikolai smiled brightly.

It was a beautiful and lovely smile that startled my heart, which was tightly wound with irritation.

But I wasn’t hungry enough to be captivated by the beauty of the villain who came to ruin my life.

“Is kidnapping your hobby?”

“Of course not.”

“It doesn’t seem like your first or second time, though.”

“When necessary, one shouldn’t hesitate. Persistence is also required.”

It was a threat that escaping would be futile.

The man standing like a statue next to the imperial throne offered advice.

“Your Majesty. Please release Miss Elizabeth. If you want to make her your empress, you should treat her accordingly.”

“What if she escapes? Careth, will you take responsibility?”

“She will behave. Won’t you?”

Careth looked at me with calm eyes.
The emperor’s closest aide, Careth, seemed as reasonable as I had heard.

Although my body was forced to kneel on the marble floor, I lifted my chin proudly.

“I won’t behave, but I won’t run away either. I’ll leave on my own feet.”

Nikolai shrugged as if to say, ‘See?’

Careth replied calmly.

“Be careful with your words. This is a place where a single word can become a disaster.”

“I’m sure. There’s someone here who likes to nitpick words and punish people, right? I heard his specialty is kidnapping.”

“His Majesty is not always unreasonable.”

“In this situation, it’s hard for me to agree.”

I wriggled while tied with ropes.

Did I look like a caterpillar doing a shoulder dance?

Careth let out a sigh.

Nikolai, the root cause of all this trouble, was observing me with his lips tightly closed.

His gaze was persistent, as if he wouldn’t leave a single hair unexamined from head to toe.

I doubt even an astronomer discovering a new planet would have such a serious and passionate expression as this man.

Although he was joking about being husband and wife, his eyes were as cold as ice.

‘Why is he so obsessed with me? What exactly is he plotting?’

Nikolai, who had been deep in thought, gestured.

“Release her bindings now.”

With the support of maids, I straightened my knees.

Deep red bruise marks remained on my snow-white wrists.

More than the stinging pain, what troubled me was this incomprehensible man named Nikolai.

“Everyone, enter.”

The emperor’s order fell.

The audience chamber doors made of blackish-purple oak and gold opened.

Thirty nobles dressed in silk clothes entered in a line.

“We greet Your Imperial Majesty.”

The nobles offered their greetings with disciplined movements.

They were faces I had familiarized myself with through portraits.

‘The heads of the four great families. There are also elders of the nobility council, and all the high-ranking officials of internal affairs, including the prime minister.’

It wasn’t that I had relied solely on Douglas’s help.

Using my inexhaustible wealth, I had gathered all the information about Nikolai and the political scene.

Money was indeed good.

There was an overflow of information even unknown to avid readers who had memorized the original work.

However, Nikolai’s private life was guarded like an iron fortress.

Even the best industry experts couldn’t get close.

‘I expected kidnapping to some extent. What wouldn’t a man who made such a crazy contract do? But why did he call the nobles?’

Nikolai wasn’t just the frivolous playboy known to the public.

There was something he was hiding.

It didn’t seem to be just about his lower body issues.

The secretive emperor suddenly rose from his throne.

He approached me step by step, treading on the wrinkle-free bright red carpet.

“Your Majesty?”

An intense tension descended upon the grand hall, lavishly decorated with stained glass, chandeliers, and golden statues.

The nobles watched the emperor’s every move with wide eyes.

For a moment, I forgot to breathe.

Even if the other party was a kidnapper, when the world’s most handsome man comes right up to your face.

And if that’s not enough, he kisses your hand, you can’t help but react that way.

“!”

Soft and warm lips touched my skin.

The slight pressure pressing down on the back of my hand violently struck my heart.

Fireworks of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet exploded before my eyes.

I bit my lip.

Afraid that an excited moan might escape between my teeth.

“Elizabeth. How about accepting the emperor’s heart now?”

Nikolai’s voice was sweet as if coated with honey.

The look in his eyes as he gazed at me was incredibly profound.

He looked like a man sincerely yearning for his lover’s affection.

It was enough to stir my heart, even though I knew everything was exaggeration and lies.

‘His method acting is amazing. He’d devour the Oscars if he became an actor.’

The tingling sensation didn’t leave the back of my hand.

I rubbed the back of my hand vigorously to erase the intimate touch, but it was useless.

I felt ashamed that I had been excited even for a moment.

“Your Majesty. Why did you call the elders?”

“I thought I might need witnesses to change your mind.”

Nikolai fluttered his bewitching lips.

The intelligence of a schemer flashed and disappeared in his deep green eyes.

Nikolai skillfully put on the mask of a Casanova again.

Then he knelt on one knee before me.

“Elizabeth. Will you marry me?”

The nobles swallowed empty air at the successive shocks.

I could clearly see what they were thinking as they tried to ignore my existence.

– The emperor has been thoroughly bewitched by this man-eating femme fatale!

– Why is he making such a fuss here when he could just keep her as a concubine?

– Surely he’s not going to enthrone her as empress?

– No matter how much of a playboy he is, he wouldn’t do such a thing, would he? He’ll soon get bored!

Unlike the mocking nobles, the heads of the four families that had produced four empresses were watching me warily with tense expressions.

They seemed to have noticed that Nikolai’s attitude was unusual.

“Elizabeth can’t answer because she’s conscious of your gazes. The empresses from noble families must be worried too. She’s more delicate than she appears.”

Nikolai nonchalantly wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

I tried to shake it off, but he didn’t budge.

If I could, I wanted to write on his forehead, ‘I’m a clueless playboy who knows nothing.’

Or perhaps a warning sign saying ‘Caution: Split personality!’

“If you all bless our marriage, Elizabeth would gladly become the favored consort. What do you all think?”

The faces of the four family heads turned pale.

The gazes directed at me became even more ominous.

I bit the inside of my cheek gently.

Now I could understand this situation.

‘Oh! You’re trying to shake things up by using me? Do you think I’ll meekly submit to a kidnapper?’

***

What would happen if a highly favored empress appeared among the concubines maintaining an awkward balance?

‘Some will flatter, some will reveal their true intentions. They might even try to overthrow the emperor.’

Nikolai watched the nobles’ reactions.

As expected, the nobles began to raise their voices, divided into factions.

“What fault is there in a monarch having several wives?”

“Everything has its procedures and rules.”

“It’s an imperial order. As subjects, we must obey!”

“How wonderful it would be if we had an empress! We should hasten the enthronement of an empress on this occasion!”

Recently, the nobles’ influence had been growing, centered around the four great families.

There was an increase in noble landowners who seized local power behind the emperor’s back and accumulated wealth illegally.

There were even reports of some secretly raising private armies while colluding with enemy nations.

The clever rats hid their tails well.

Nikolai had to distinguish between loyal subjects and treacherous ministers while wearing the mask of a Casanova emperor.

It was a difficult and lonely task.

‘More dangerous than a plague is the fear and anxiety of the people. I must hide the fact that the Netherbloom carriers are isolated in the harem. The problem is the rats blinded by power.’

But Nikolai’s attention was not on the nobles who would be calculating on their abacuses, but on Elizabeth, who was observing with a cold face.

The cherry blossom scent tickling his nose.

With the stench gone, everything felt much clearer.

‘I thought she was just fragrant, but she’s much smarter than known. She’s already noticed what I’m plotting.’

Elizabeth wasn’t flustered.

She didn’t interrupt by blurting out rough and honest words.

Though she occasionally glared at me with terrifying eyes, Elizabeth was handling the situation much better than Nikolai had expected.

Nikolai felt an inexplicable sense of pride in choosing her.

‘As expected, I’m not captivated by that woman. I haven’t lost my self-control either. As always.’

He had to convince himself like that.

He had brought a woman unrelated to the Netherbloom.

Even at this moment, he was anxious that she might run away.

It was a much more pathetic and shabby appearance than the playboy Nikolai had been imitating.

If he wasn’t swayed by Elizabeth, there was no need to feel ashamed.

If he was just using that woman, there was no need to fear change.

A diffuser to drive out the Netherbloom stench.

A firebrand to divide the cowardly nobles.

That was enough use for Elizabeth.

“Your Majesty. Marquis Douglas Nettleton has requested an audience.”

Nikolai’s eyebrows twitched.

He didn’t miss the slight color rising to Elizabeth’s fair face.

The desire to chase him away and the desire to meet Elizabeth’s former fiancé arose simultaneously.

‘He’s just a fallen noble in name only. There’s no need to waste time meeting him directly.’

That’s what he should have done, and what he intended to do.

But he met Elizabeth’s provocative black eyes.

Their gazes intertwined, sparking bluish flames.

She wasn’t a single flower, but stood straight like a knight on the battlefield.

Did she have something to say?

Nikolai tried to forget, but the red lips he couldn’t forget for a moment moved slightly.

‘If you’re scared, just leave.’

***

“Please withdraw the enthronement of Miss Elizabeth as empress!”

Douglas presented a box containing the eyes of Morasyncia to Nikolai.

He was not intimidated at all in front of the emperor and the formidable nobles.

He could have lost his life in an instant.

His entire family could have faced great calamity.

But Douglas had not forgotten his promise to protect me.

‘I underestimated Douglas. He’s handsome, kind, and upright.’

Why would he take such a risk for a woman who had abandoned him?

I couldn’t understand it even a tiny bit.

That’s why I was more grateful and touched.

So much that I had no idea how to repay this favor.

I gazed at Douglas’s back, which seemed especially broad today.

“It’s a treasure bestowed by the first emperor. Back then, the empire had five great noble families.”

“I apologize, Your Majesty.”

“So, you’re using your right of remonstrance for that woman?”

“That is correct.”

“Do you know what that means?”

Nikolai’s eyes transformed ferociously.