The Empress' Beast Selection (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 11
Occasionally, sheltered young ladies raised in strict households would inquire about noble sons through their acquaintances like this.
Titié didn’t fit that description at all, yet Sophia couldn’t point it out.
‘I still don’t really know who he is myself.’
Compared to the intimacy they’d built internally, all she knew about Roxan was his name.
She didn’t want to introduce him to Titié, but it was awkward that she couldn’t explain Roxan to anyone in the first place.
“Hm?”
At the trailing, questioning tone, Sophia reflexively closed her mouth.
Just then, Roxan stepped forward in her stead.
“I am a close friend of Her Majesty the Empress.”
“Oh my.”
Titié covered her mouth as if startled.
Her round eyes crinkled as she tilted her head and let out a light, tinkling laugh.
“Your voice is truly lovely. It sounds even deeper than His Majesty’s.”
Roxan responded to Titié’s compliment with a silent smile.
Taking it as a positive reaction, Titié introduced herself with a playful glint in her eyes.
“My name is Titié Louvre.”
“I see.”
At the unanswered reply, Titié blinked in confusion.
Then, with a soft hiss like escaping air, she adorably scrunched up her nose.
“I bravely told you my name first—won’t you at least tell me yours, my lord?”
Roxan showed no reaction even to Titié’s pouting complaint.
Watching him, Sophia found herself inexplicably relieved—and then surprised at her own reaction.
‘Why did I feel reassured?’
If Roxan had introduced himself to Titié first…
Sophia flinched at the sudden pang of disappointment.
Unaware of Sophia’s reaction, Titié puffed out her cheeks in mock offense.
“Fine. I’m not the type to pry anyway. But… what were the two of you doing together?”
“We were taking a walk.”
“Walking is nice. I was alone and feeling bored—may I join you?”
Titié seemed utterly oblivious to the maid standing behind her.
Roxan gave an apologetic smile at her hopeful gaze and stepped closer to Sophia.
“That would be impossible. My friend has only Her Majesty the Empress as her companion.”
It was an elegant refusal.
Titié stood stunned, as if openly pushed away.
After a moment, she seemed to grasp something and clapped her hands together.
“Oh! Now I understand—the nature of your relationship.”
Titié beamed brightly.
“So Her Majesty the Empress has a lover after all!”
Sophia’s expression instantly hardened.
Titié clasped her hands together proudly and let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew, thank goodness. Her Majesty shouldn’t be left lonely, right? Don’t worry about rumors—I’m not so tactless as to go spreading them.”
I can keep it a secret.
Titié pressed her index finger to her lips and winked one eye.
It was utterly exasperating.
Sophia barely suppressed her anger and struggled to maintain composure.
“My friend is not a lover, and what you just said would be deeply insulting to anyone who isn’t.”
“Oh….”
Titié trailed off in surprise.
Looking frightened, she shrank back slightly, then alternated her gaze between the two and asked,
“Then I’ll apologize. But… are you truly not?”
Her expression remained innocently curious.
Yet her pupils, devoid of light, were different.
They were the same eyes Sophia had seen when they’d ridden together in the carriage—deep and murky like a dark swamp.
Just as Sophia couldn’t tear her eyes away from that gaze,
Roxan, standing before her, shielded her behind his back and spoke.
“People naturally develop awareness at different rates.”
“Ah, so that’s—”
Titié, who’d been entranced by Roxan’s face, finally understood his meaning.
In short: because you’re a lover, even a sane person appears that way to you.
“I don’t quite understand what you mean.”
She was still smiling, but a clear crack had formed.
A faint shimmer of dark violet flickered at the inner corners of her eyes.
The moment Sophia noticed the shift in her gaze, tears welled up in Titié’s eyes.
“…Ah, I’m sorry.”
Plop. Plop.
Transparent tears rolled down her porcelain-white cheeks.
As Titié swayed unsteadily, her maid hurriedly steadied her.
The weeping woman appeared utterly delicate.
Yet Sophia had seen it—Titié glaring at them both with a chilling stare.
“I-I should take my leave now.”
Visibly shaken, Titié stammered and trembled.
Her maid bowed deeply toward Sophia before leading Titié away through the woods.
The secret lake regained its quiet once more.
Though relieved Titié had left, worry still lingered.
‘I can’t help myself, but…’
It wasn’t about herself—it was about Roxan.
“Did Lady Titié already know you were His Majesty’s lover?”
“No one in the capital is unaware of the rumors.”
Contrary to Sophia’s concern, Roxan seemed unperturbed.
She could only speak in a firm tone.
“Then you must also know you could become a target of His Majesty.”
In a situation where even Empress Sophia could easily be framed as an aggressor, he was far more vulnerable.
She didn’t intend to scold Roxan.
She was simply worried for his safety.
Yet Roxan was smiling—brightly, as if delighted by her concern.
“Then Her Majesty must protect me. As a token of our new friendship.”
It was undeniably a dangerous situation.
Yet seeing him smile like that made everything feel not so bad after all.
She knew she shouldn’t get swept up in his teasing—but still.
“Shall I do that, then?”
“I’d be most grateful.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them, and Roxan matched her reply instantly.
All she could do was smile back.
After a while, Roxan pulled something from his breast pocket.
“A gift to commemorate our friendship.”
It was a brooch set with a vivid blue gemstone.
He took Sophia’s hand and pressed the gem’s surface against the back of her injured hand.
In that instant, the gemstone glowed brightly before fading away.
Beneath the lifted gem, her hand was perfectly smooth—as if it had never borne a wound.
Astonished, Sophia turned her hand over again and again, but not even a trace remained.
It felt as though time itself had been rewound.
‘Could it be… a magic artifact?’
A rare treasure crafted by mages who tirelessly imbue mana stones with spells day and night.
Though incredibly precious and valuable, most such items were single-use, making them exceedingly rare.
Was it really alright to use something this precious on a mere scratch from a pen nib?
She was certainly grateful—but more embarrassed than anything.
“It wasn’t such a serious wound.”
Hiding her fully healed hand behind her back out of guilt, she saw Roxan’s lips curve into a gentle smile.
“The severity of a wound doesn’t always correspond to the pain it causes—especially when it’s a wound of the heart.”
His golden eyes held Sophia’s gaze.
As if trying to see straight into her soul.
He looked up at the sky.
The sky, shortened by the shifting season, was already beginning to paint itself with twilight hues.
“I should head back now.”
He released Sophia’s now-smooth hand.
“I’ll see you again at the Victory Ceremony.”
He stepped back one pace, gazed at her for a long moment, then finally turned away.
Sophia couldn’t tear her eyes from his retreating figure.
Whoosh.
The wind stirred the branches—and her inner thoughts along with them.
‘I didn’t even get to say thank you.’
Deeply ripened leaves drifted down, one by one.
***
The next afternoon.
In the Empress’s garden, pink cosmos blooms had burst forth to greet autumn.
Sophia sat on a bench at the center, reading a book.
She turned her head briefly to rest her eyes.
Tucked inside the thick book was a red maple leaf used as a bookmark.
It was the very leaf Roxan had plucked for her at the secret lake.
Only after he’d left did she realize the leaf remained in her palm.
Just another fallen red leaf, indistinguishable from those on the ground.
Yet the one she held seemed unusually beautiful and delicate—too precious to let go.
Upon returning, Sophia had asked a maid to preserve it as a bookmark.
Though no longer possessing its original texture after being soaked in special solution and dried, the leaf retained its vibrant color perfectly.
Sophia gently stroked the smooth surface of the bookmark.
It felt strangely similar to her healed hand.
Her hand was clean now. Though she’d deliberately kept the wound, its disappearance didn’t upset her.
Rather, it felt as if her emotions had been understood.
That was why she’d kept the maple leaf—simply because she wanted to hold onto at least one thing.
‘It’s gotten quite chilly.’
Sophia rose from her seat.
Though it had only been a brief rest, her mind felt somewhat calmer.
Just as she entered the corridor of the Empress’s quarters,
she spotted a group of noblewomen gathered at the corner.
They were the Duchess of Pheasant and her circle of bird-named ladies, who’d visited the palace earlier for an audience.
“They still haven’t been allowed into the capital, I hear?”
“I don’t know why, but that’s terribly unfair treatment.”
Normally fond of gossiping about men, this time they spoke with unusual seriousness.
‘Who are they talking about?’
Curious, Sophia approached the group of noblewomen.
“What were you all discussing?”
“Oh—Your Majesty!”
Startled from their absorbed conversation, the noblewomen turned toward Sophia.
The Duchess of Pheasant folded her fluttering fan and replied,
“We were speaking of the barbarian suppression force. It seems they still haven’t been permitted entry into the capital.”
Male lead first thought she played hard to get, only to realize she
really disliked him
Short intro:
What she can’t stand the most is the streets full of effeminate men, especially that so-called top beauty whom she avoids at all costs.
Shen Yaoxing looks at Jiang Mingyue, who keeps approaching her with coy shyness.
Shen Yaoxing: Bro, don’t be like this, I’m really about to throw up!
She fears nothing in heaven or earth, except for him getting close to her.
*
At first he thought she was just using the trick of feigning indifference to attract his attention. Later, he learned that she truly despised him.
This dealt a heavy blow to Jiang Mingyue, and he vowed to make her, like everyone else, fall at his feet in worship!
***
Synopsis:
Before transmigrating, Shen Yaoxing only wanted to find a reliable man to spend her life with. Who knew that after transmigrating, she would become a reliable woman herself…
A forced misandrist, highly skilled, and reliable female lead
vs.
An initially aloof and arrogant, later morbid, obsessed male lead
_____
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