“Does it feel good?”
“Yes, but not there… a little higher up.”
“Yes.”
Splish-splash.
The sound of water echoed from the silver basin. Perfumed oil made from crushed white musk and pomegranates in palm oil wafted through the bedroom, filling it with a subtle fragrance.
I was lounging, with my smooth, callous-free feet in Derek’s hands, leisurely eating ripe red grapes.
Even I had to admit, my adaptability was remarkable.
‘Aside from the inconvenience of not having magic powers, living as the Empress isn’t too bad.’
Especially since I was a nominal Empress who didn’t even have to work.
I had power, backing, and servants who loyally followed my every whim. There was nothing troublesome to worry about.
Being human seemed manageable under these conditions.
“Your Majesty?”
“Hmm?”
“There’s something… I’d like to ask.”
Derek Noert, the knight, played the largest role in my comfortable life.
He was incredibly sensitive to my every gesture and look, always striving to fulfill my wishes.
Just look at today.
It was absurd for a knight to wash and massage feet. If other noble houses knew a knight was treated this way, it would cause an uproar.
Knights are known for their strong pride, and even for the lords they deeply respect, they wouldn’t easily kneel.
Let alone wash feet.
But Derek, at my mere request, brought warm water and fragrant oil without a word of complaint. He even served me with a look of gratitude.
I was quite pleased, so there was no reason not to answer his question.
“Ask away.”
“Recently… you refused a visit from His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Are you… alright with that?”
His tone sounded genuinely concerned, but at my age, how could I not discern the hidden meaning in his words?
Derek hoped I was truly unaffected.
He found it endearing to ask if I still harbored even a spoonful of affection for the Emperor.
I tilted my head slightly and smiled with my eyes.
“I’m used to being served.”
“…….”
“I no longer wish to serve anyone. Not even romantic affections, as they too are a form of servitude.”
I’ve always been a rather bold and cheeky youngest sibling to my sisters.
The only one I truly respected was my eldest sister.
Other than her, there was no one before whom I would bow.
Whether I’m weakened, turned human, lost my powers, or even if a blade forged of holy power was about to pierce and obliterate my soul.
I was born not knowing how to bow.
Enrique was the only exception to my rule.
“So, the answer is simple. Whatever the Emperor does, I am not only unaffected now, but I could go the rest of my life without ever seeing his face again.”
Derek’s hands paused at my straightforward answer, then resumed their movement.
‘Really, he’s like a winter bear.’
In size, height, and muscles.
Above all, I liked his ash-grey hair and eyes, reminiscent of the sky on a snowy winter day.
I glanced at Derek, then reached for the bowl of grapes and swallowed a few more.
“Ah.”
That’s when it happened.
As I bit into a plump grape, juice ran down, staining my lips. Derek, who was startled by my exclamation and looked up, met my eyes. Realizing my playful mood, he was taken aback.
“!”
I playfully wriggled my toes and licked the grape juice off my lips. Watching me, Derek’s neck flushed as his adam’s apple bobbed.
I laughed merrily, pressing his sturdy thigh with my toes.
“Knight, could you bring me that diary over there?”
“Yes.”
His voice was gravelly, clearly affected.
Teasing him was quite fun. Each time I played a trick, his life force intensified, making it easier for me to greedily absorb and convert it into my lifespan.
But I shouldn’t push him too far; he was too pitiable for that.
I took the diary gracefully offered by Derek and opened it to the page I had been reading yesterday.
The diary, with its red sheepskin cover and filled with high-quality paper, chronicled the events from when “Leonarda Achillo” became “Leonarda Nyx.”
I had found it a few days ago while redecorating my bedroom to suit my tastes and started reading it, thinking it might be useful.
Why haven’t I finished reading the crucial part yet?
‘It’s so frustrating. Extremely!’
My love life may have failed, but honestly, reading about someone else’s failed romance feels like a thousand fires burning inside.
Reading Leonarda’s scribbled stories, I had to take several deep breaths. The annoyance was unbearable.
[ I hate him for not looking at me. I wish he were dead. Better dead than in my sight… or maybe I… Ah, I can’t bear it anymore……. ]The part ‘or maybe I’ was haphazardly covered with black ink, but I could roughly make out the hidden content by the end strokes of the alphabets. And at the end of the last sentence, there were a couple of teardrops.
After skimming through the page I was reading yesterday with blurred eyes, I thumped my chest once and turned to the next page. Meanwhile, Charlotte, the maid who had just entered, was drying my feet with a fluffy towel.
Turns Out He’s Been Secretly in Love with Me
One-line summary: He acts like he doesn’t like her but is actually playing hard to get.
Synopsis:
Xu Muzhou like her. He has liked her for a very long time, and through repeated schemes, he finally closed the distance with her.
But this is still far from enough.
He wants to be the one who stands out among her many suitors, to fight for her attention, and to make her take the initiative to pursue him.
_____
Please help me, I want to bring you the best possible things.
If you find any chapter or novel with poor translation and editing quality, let me know by commenting directly under that novel or chapter. I will retranslate it as soon as possible.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
