In truth, her heart had softened a long time ago.
But instead of nodding in agreement, she changed the subject.
“……You’ve been on the battlefield for a long time, yet your dancing skills are impressive.”
She had only just realized, but Roxan’s lead was remarkably smooth.
The dance had flowed so effortlessly that she only noticed it belatedly.
He responded to Sephia’s compliment with a smile.
“I spared no effort in practicing dance even on the battlefield, dreaming of such a day.”
“With whom did you practice? Your subordinates?”
At her question, Roxan crinkled his eyes in slight embarrassment and chuckled.
“With scarecrows.”
Sephia burst out laughing at his unexpected reply.
She had already become friends with him.
It was too precious to break this newfound, unguarded relationship.
The dance ended.
After they completed the dance with a formal gesture of gratitude, they looked at each other.
Affectionate gazes and gentle currents intertwined.
Sephia turned away, and Roxan too walked in the opposite direction.
The victory celebration party lasted a week.
The first day of the victory festival was coming to a close.
It was a night after everyone had left.
Two males met in the empty corridor.
It was when the white moonlight pierced through the black clouds.
Demios taunted the Duke.
“You finally made it back alive.”
“Thanks to Your Majesty. And… to her wishes as well.”
Demios’s expression hardened at the Duke’s response.
Soon, a bitter sneer appeared on the Emperor’s lips.
“…Well, it doesn’t matter. The Duke can’t do anything anyway. You can’t ‘speak,’ can you?”
The Duke’s silence only deepened Demios’s laughter.
“You’ll keep losing. After all, I’m the Emperor. The empire is mine, and so is the Empress.”
His smile was filled with arrogance.
Roxan remained cold-eyed.
“Let’s see. Was that position ever truly yours?”
Demios’s forehead veins bulged at his words.
“…You’d better watch your mouth.”
The growls of the two males reverberated through the dark night air.
It was the first standoff, likely to be prolonged.
Late at night, after the victory festival had ended.
The Repeto Palace, the fourth most splendid palace in the empire, was brightly lit.
In the large reception room, the palace’s owner and a couple faced each other, seated on a sofa.
“Damn it, damn it all… Damn!”
Count Edro trembled, clenching his fist.
His face was so red it seemed about to burst.
After grumbling for a while, he, unable to contain his anger, threw a glass at the wall.
Crash!
“Oh my!”
Countess Delsi, seated next to him, gasped in shock and clutched her heart.
Then, looking at the shattered glass, she scolded Edro.
“Heavens. That’s a cup made by craftsman Ersia…! Do you realize how valuable that is?”
“What do I care about such pottery!”
Delsi was upset about the broken cup, and Edro shook with boiling anger.
While his wife was fixated on the destroyed teacup, the Count pounded the table with his fist.
“That young upstart…!”
His rage was directed entirely at Duke Leopold.
Delsi wore a look of disdain, watching her husband unable to calm down.
“If you hadn’t said such things, we wouldn’t have been humiliated!”
“Who knew someone would hear? So it’s my fault, is that it?!”
“It’s strange if the knights didn’t hear with so many around. Please be more perceptive!”
Unable to withstand his wife’s reproach, the Count abruptly rose from his seat.
“What right do you have to order me around?! You can’t even control your own child! How can you not attend such an important event because you were drunk?!”
At her husband’s outburst, the wife retorted incredulously.
“Oh my, it’s my fault that Gelard didn’t come? He drank a bit too much, but aside from that, he’s grown up well! He cares so much about his mother!”
“It’s about why such a well-raised son couldn’t attend this event! Do you know how prestigious this occasion is?”
Noble society thrived on high-quality connections.
After moving to the capital, securing a solid position and recognition required the help of the local elite.
The Count, placing his wife beneath him, raised his hand.
“How dare you talk back to your husband. It’s because you’re not disciplined enough!”
“Ha? Go ahead, hit me! I dare you!”
Delsi was just as fierce in her anger.
Amid escalating chaos, Titie intervened.
“Please calm down, Father.”
Titie approached Count Edro, who had risen from his seat.
“It’s not the only opportunity. I’ll try to create another one.”
Her gentle words momentarily silenced the Count.
Titie took the opportunity to console Delsi as well.
“Mother. I’ll speak to His Majesty to get a finer cup as a gift. If not, there are still some decent ones among the gifts we’ve received.”
The Count and Countess’s gaze lingered on Titie.
Edro and Delsi simultaneously embraced her.
“You truly are our treasure!”
“Oh, Titie. I only have you.”
The Count and Countess, who had left her alone among many noblepeople, now embraced her, relieved.
The fight ceased as if it never happened.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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