The Empress' Scandalous Paramour (5 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 9
So they’re holding a summit soon—I guess it’s with the Desert Kingdom, then.
Probably an order to infiltrate and gather intelligence on the Nix Empire’s current situation.
The one who gave that order was likely his older half-brother.
After all, a younger brother gifted enough to forge a pact with the Spirit King would be seen as a threat.
‘Looks like they hoped I’d be caught infiltrating and get killed here. What am I supposed to do? I have to save this kid.’
The basin was filled with blood. Since such unsanitary conditions were unacceptable, I immediately discarded it and flicked my finger.
“Fresh water.”
At once, clean water rippled into the basin—an act of spirit aid.
I dipped my handkerchief into it, wrung it out thoroughly, and started by wiping away the dried blood.
I hadn’t expected to end up in this situation, but I was glad I’d accepted Derek’s handkerchief earlier.
Once I’d cleaned around the wounds, a breeze drifted in from somewhere. I quickly sorted through the herbs it carried, separating the useful from the poisonous.
“Hey—this one’s toxic! Are you trying to kill him?”
The boy, who had been on high alert with his senses sharpened, had already lost consciousness.
‘Perfect.’
Before he could wake up and cause another scene, I hurriedly set to work.
Splints for the cracked bones, bandages for the areas still bleeding—while tending to him, I inadvertently discovered countless scars scattered across the boy’s body.
His skin around the shoulder blades and spine, which should have been as smooth as desert dunes, was a mess. I frowned.
‘At this point, he’s practically a combat slave.’
No—combat slavers wouldn’t treat a boy his age this way.
It was common knowledge that adult slaves were far more valuable than children, so slavers avoided sending the underdeveloped straight into battle.
Yet this boy had been forced to fight from an extremely young age simply because he was born with dangerous abilities.
Moreover, he seemed never to have received proper treatment.
“Hey, water. Aren’t children of the Sun God’s bloodline naturally resilient? I heard their wounds heal quickly with even basic care.”
The droplets, clearly unwilling to respond, swirled erratically. I raised an eyebrow and pointed at the boy.
“You’re not going to treat him?”
The threat worked instantly.
The now-submissive droplets formed words in midair.
[ My contractor has never received treatment. ]Though the sentence wasn’t difficult to understand, I had to read it several times before it sank in.
What kind of treatment could possibly leave such precious bloodline untouched by healing?
With a grimace, I smeared ointment over the old scars too—knowing it was futile, but pity overwhelmed me for this boy who’d been driven, again and again, to the brink of death until he ended up here.
“If it were up to me, I’d never treat you like this. I take very good care of what’s mine.”
I muttered softly, crushed an herb with numbing properties into a paste, and applied it to the severe wounds. It was fortunate he’d passed out—he’d need stitches.
After a short, steadying breath, I moved my hands with practiced skill.
Given my naturally combative nature, sewing up my own wounds was practically routine. It felt awkward at first, but after about two centuries of doing this, stitching became second nature—effortless.
‘Though that was only true with my original body…’
Now, it requires quite a bit of focus.
Once I’d finished treating the last wound, I rolled my stiff shoulders and stretched.
I had no idea how much time had passed outside. Everyone must be terribly worried.
“…Ah, but what about my coat?”
It was soaked in blood—impossible to wear again.
And an even bigger problem was my dress.
I looked over my ruined appearance and made a troubled face.
Derek and Mrs. Bertolt were going to faint when they saw me—I had no excuse ready.
‘What should I do?’
Exhausted, I slumped down carelessly—when suddenly, water droplets bubbled up and began circling around me.
“Oh—you’re offering to help? Thank you.”
The spirit’s skill was truly remarkable. In an instant, everything was clean again—from my sleeves to the fluffy fur trim of my skirt.
Relieved, I collapsed flat on my back.
It wasn’t exactly proper behavior for an Empress, but this was how I’d always lived.
It’s not wrong to act naturally when no one’s watching, right?
Saving one dying human had drained me more than I’d expected.
“I’ll rest just a bit—wake me in an hour…”
Spirits really are convenient.
If it were possible, I’d love to forge a pact with the Spirit King myself—but a demon like me could never manage that.
As I idly mused over such pointless thoughts, I curled up and gently patted the boy’s shoulder.
So much had happened that drowsiness washed over me effortlessly.
[This is the timeline separator]‘My body feels light.’
How much time had passed? The boy snapped his eyes open and immediately checked his condition.
His fingers moved normally; his thighs felt firm and strong.
Judging he could stand, he slowly sat up.
There was pain, but it was negligible.
Others would need a full month of rest for such injuries, but the boy’s recovery was extraordinary—and his pain threshold was lower than most, so there was no reason he couldn’t move.
Water droplets swiftly gathered beside him, sent by the Spirit King with whom he’d made a pact.
“I’m fine.”
The boy—Meriem—didn’t smile. He simply didn’t know how.
Instead, he reached out toward the droplets, intending to stroke them gently.
“Hmm…”
At that moment, a voice that shouldn’t have been there echoed in his ears.
Had the droplets not instantly blocked his view, he would have mistaken the intruder for an enemy and killed them.
“…You treated me?”
Thanks to the spirit’s explanation, he retracted his killing intent—but remained wary and suspicious.
After all, an ordinary person couldn’t possibly enter the Spirit King’s pocket dimension.
“……”
Yet, as he stared at her peacefully sleeping face for a long while, Meriem began to feel foolish.
She was fragile.
He could feel the pulse fluttering in her carotid artery. Her blood flowed slowly; her heartbeat was barely audible—as if it might stop any second.
Her pale skin resembled snow that would melt under the slightest sunlight. Slender wrists, small frame—she seemed incapable of harming anyone, let alone protecting herself.
Her rich golden hair dazzled him oddly, and Meriem scowled without reason.
‘Strange woman.’
Now that he noticed, this fur coat wasn’t his.
She’d laid him here, treated his wounds, and simply collapsed from exhaustion.
Meriem, reasoning slowly but clearly, rose from the fur coat. At his will, the droplets cleaned the coat thoroughly, and then he carefully lifted the woman into his arms.
She was so light he feared she might float away—he instinctively tightened his grip.
“Did this woman kiss my forehead?”
After laying her down on the now-clean coat, Meriem suddenly asked. She’d mentioned something odd about a “goodnight kiss” as payment for treatment.
But the droplets scattered immediately—meaning “no.”
‘So her promise to treat me first wasn’t a lie, after all.’
Unexpected.
Meriem had never met someone who didn’t lie.
Even this mission was proof of that.
His half-brother, the Emperor, had tasked him with infiltrating the Nix Imperial Palace before the summit to obtain top-secret information about the Empress.
In the Desert Kingdom, the Emperor’s command was absolute—disobedience was unthinkable. To prove loyalty, one had to complete five tasks assigned by the Emperor.
Noble-born youths typically received safe assignments, but without a mother to back him, Meriem was given only dangerous ones.
Still, he never complained.
He understood exactly how wary his half-brother, the Emperor, was of him.
He was a poisoned asset—too valuable to kill because of his pact with the Spirit King, yet too dangerous to keep close. So they’d sent him far away, hoping he’d die on his own.
Meriem had survived being sent beyond the border to volcanic zones, to frozen tundras—clinging stubbornly to life.
No one ever welcomed him back, yet he always returned to the Desert Kingdom.
It was the only place he could call home.
Though even that seemed lost now, thanks to some abrupt …
Meriem wiped his face dry and tried to banish these useless thoughts.
If he kept suppressing his emotions—again and again—someday he’d feel nothing at all. That day would surely come.
Reaffirming this to himself, he recalled the one who’d inflicted these wounds.
‘That monster…’
All prior intelligence about Nix had been false. Even the palace layout was fabricated.
He hadn’t truly trusted it anyway, but wandering the palace led him straight into the Emperor. Despite moving with utmost stealth, the Emperor somehow spotted him and swung his sword without hesitation.
When Meriem blocked the first strike, the Emperor looked surprised—then immediately unleashed overwhelming divine power in a relentless assault.
Meriem escaped with his life thanks to his exceptional reflexes and physical prowess, but his injuries were too severe to return to the desert. The Spirit King had to create a protective barrier around him.
‘That was already three days ago.’
The man was cruel—killing without hesitation. His dead-black eyes held not a trace of life.
‘If we’d fought in the desert, it would’ve been an even match.’
Indeed, leaving his homeland weakened him significantly.
Meriem clenched and unclenched his fist, then gazed down at the peacefully sleeping woman.
Her serene expression strangely brought him a sense of calm.
Even knowing hell awaited just beyond this space, perhaps it was because— for the first time—he was with someone he didn’t wish to die.
Meriem, who’d never once heard “you may live,” was deeply shaken that someone had actually healed and saved him.
“So this ‘goodnight kiss’—is it just pressing lips to the forehead?”
Afraid of waking her, he asked in a low voice. The droplets instantly burst into clear, teasing laughter.
Annoyed by their mockery, Meriem growled fiercely.
“Don’t laugh. I’ve never done it, and I’ve never received one either.”
Just imagining it made his whole body itch. The back of his neck burned hotly—he felt like bolting away somewhere immediately.
He couldn’t fathom why anyone would press their lips like that, but a deal was a deal.
He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his lips briefly against her smooth forehead.
He couldn’t breathe.
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.
_____
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Leonarda really said “I’m done” and meant it 💀 queen finally clocked in and chose violence. Enrique only interested now?? too late bro.
Meriem down BAD already and bro hasn’t even met her again 😭 meanwhile Leonarda fighting the whole empire solo… yeah this banquet bout to be chaos fr.
She really said “fix yourselves or I will” 😭🔥 empress about to run bootcamp fr, Valkyrie redemption arc loading…