The Empress' Scandalous Paramour - Chapter 22

“A man that I could fall in love with.”

‘It couldn’t possibly be referring to Calick.’

My type was not a large, muscular, and sturdy man. My elder sisters knew that very well.

I liked men who were as beautiful as flowers, as soft as leaves, and smiled like curved willow branches.

A kind person who loves animals and children. Someone who does not excessively reveal themselves, is not arrogant, and is not conceited.

Yes, just like… Enrique from the past.

My precious shepherd.

A youthful face standing on the boundary between a boy and a man, still immature behavior, every step he takes is precarious and makes me want to help…

‘Ah.’

For a moment, I looked around at my elder sisters with a slightly shocked expression.

Then, my second elder sister clicked her tongue as if pathetic.

[Your taste is so obvious and consistent.]

“That… no. Anyway, that’s not what’s important. I no longer have the heart to love a human. How could I?”

Flustered, I hurriedly shook my head.

The betrayal I suffered was painful to the bone. So I vowed never to love anyone again, but suddenly I’m told to love again. And to sever that love with my own hands.

[You may think it’s cruel. But you’ve already been swept away by countless fates. You can’t just come back.]

My second elder sister, who was listening to the story, replied seriously.

[Remember. This is a test. You can love that human emperor again, or it can be someone else. In fact, it doesn’t matter who.]

Then, my second elder sister raised her index finger and made a motion as if poking my chest.

[You can even love a woman, so anyway, love a human once again. Have the rational emotional love that was the cause of your death. Understand?]

“……”

[You will cry tears of blood, but if you don’t sever that love, you can never return as a demon again. If you die in that body, you will enter the cycle of reincarnation as a human, so think carefully.]

Thud!

At that moment, my heart sank heavily.

“…Forever, can’t go back?”

[Yes. Your life as a demon is over. It’s over with us too. You will become human.] [You will also forget all your memories as a demon.] [Even so, we can’t directly help you.] [This is all we can do for you. It’s the result of negotiating with the law of cause and effect to the fullest. We can no longer interfere with your affairs.]

Several elder sisters answered in unison.

‘It can’t be. It can’t be!’

My whole body shook like a weeping willow. My mind turned blank and for a moment I couldn’t think of anything.

[As time passes, you will gradually become more human, baby. In the end, you will become a completely different being from a demon.]

My first elder sister whispered to me as if she was sorry.

I couldn’t say anything, so I just closed my mouth.

Vaguely thinking ‘I will live and die as a human’ and receiving an affirmation from my first elder sister that it will be so were completely different things.

My first elder sister was a being who saw the fate of gods and demons.

She was the darkness that split from the primordial chaos, and ruled over life and death, and even cause and effect.

Someone who was even absurd to call a god or a demon, existing in a higher place.

If it was the words of my first elder sister, there was no way out.

To my dazed self, my second elder sister added one more word as if shooting it.

[Don’t forget the lesson. Don’t stupidly love again, giving everything away. Only love enough to be able to take that life at any time. Like a demon.]

The light is gradually fading. Now it’s time to say goodbye.

My elder sisters opened their mouths at the same time and shouted in unison.

[Devotion is the work of humans and joy is the work of demons. Come back, youngest.]

Feeling my elder sisters’ energy moving away and my consciousness being thrown back into reality, I screamed silently.

“…Ah!”

Sting.

My fingertips were stinging. I came to my senses with a start, as if struck by lightning, and took a step back.

“Empress?”

Thud.

Enrique happened to be standing there.

If I didn’t intend to show that ‘our marital relationship is very bad’, I should have stayed still. But I was in no mood to do that, so I ended up pushing Enrique away.

‘It’s because of you. It’s because of you that I became like this, in this situation.’

My heart ached as if I had poured poison into it.

I couldn’t believe that he was the man I once loved so passionately that just looking at his face now made me nauseous.

I remembered a certain passage that Leonarda had written in her diary.

I wish he was dead. I’d rather he die and not be seen by my eyes.

The sharp handwriting clawed at the paper, wishing for his death.

That was exactly how I felt now.

‘I want to strangle you.’

I want to kill you for making me know love, taking away love. For even making me know despair.

Trembling, I pressed my fingernails hard into the delicate skin of my palm, trying to come to my senses.

It was a banquet that many people had worked hard to prepare.

I couldn’t make a historic scene by strangling Enrique here.

“Oho, did you see something scary?”

“You were standing still without saying anything for a few seconds.”

Calick and Cassandra were looking at me with very curious eyes.

Fortunately, my abnormal reaction just now could be understood as some kind of revelation or the shock caused by it.

I soon buried my emotions deep in my heart and smiled.

It was time to lie.

“As soon as I touched that dagger, my vision suddenly turned white. I heard some kind of voice… it said there was more than one revelation.”

“Oho. That’s very interesting. In fact, there were two revelations.”

My elder sisters, being demons, had prepared not only a dagger but also a target I could stab along with it.

That’s the demonic way of consideration.

For my elder sisters, it was the best they could do for their wayward youngest sister.

Live like a demon.

Dominate, use, and abandon without any guilt.

Stab the heart of the human you love for your own gain.

Because that’s what demons do.

Those words also meant that I had a shameful death that was not at all demon-like…

“This guy is my only dash. A much younger brother.”

Calick, who had been watching me closely, grinned and flicked his hand. Then a familiar youthful face strode towards me.

Standing together like this, I realized for the first time. He was a little taller than Enrique.

Sharp eyes and a chiseled nose. Tightly closed lips reveal stubbornness and personality.

Along with that, a huge yang energy that seemed to go out of control heated up my skin and made me flinch.

‘No wonder Cassandra dislikes him.’

They say an experienced leader easily defeats a challenger with a lot of experience, but it often happens that a young beast that has just become an adult bites the neck.

Then the head of the country changes and the guaranteed wealth and power also decline.

It would be most reassuring to get rid of him before that, but if that’s not possible… the best way would be to keep him far away.

‘Then you came here to die by my hands.’

Yes, everyone will be happy if you die.

Your brother, your sister-in-law, everyone who readily thought of abandoning you to an enemy country just because a revelation came down will clap and rejoice.

My elder sisters will also be happy.

Because to my elder sisters, a human life is not much different from that of an insect.

“As God commanded, I will dedicate my brother! Now, greet her. Mereum.”

Ah…

But what should I do.

I’m a bit twisted.

‘Since everyone wants you to die, I don’t want to be the one to stab your heart.’

Anyway, my elder sisters said Mereum was a high possibility, not that it had to be him.

I just need to find someone else who fits my taste, someone I can love and discard.

I quietly looked down at Mereum, who bowed before me with an expressionless face.

“…Greetings to Her Majesty the Empress of Nyx.”

It’s a pleasant voice.

His attitude was upright and his pronunciation was clear.

He was neither overflowing nor lacking, nor did he seem impatient or overly lax.

To put it negatively, he’s still young but has good worldly wisdom, and to see the positives, there’s nothing but endless things to praise.

The imperial faction nobles were already in an uproar, and the noble faction nobles also seemed shocked and greatly stirred.

Moreover, Helene, who was watching this scene from afar, bit her lip and clenched her skirt.

And Enrique.

Enrique did not hide his dissatisfaction with the current situation.

‘Well, this child is neither a hostage nor a captive. But he’s not an official guest either.’

Calick, the emperor of the desert, was a cunning man.

He didn’t say how to use his brother. He just said he would offer him.

Therefore, the treatment of Mereum and his position were all in my hands.

‘There’s a reason he greatly exalted me.’

If Mereum enters the Empress Palace, whether he wants to or not, he becomes a bridgehead between the Achilles family and the Desert Empire.

‘If we cut ties with the Achilles family, there are benefits for Cassandra.’

Well, even if that’s not the case, Mereum was perfect to use as a spy.

If he doesn’t act as a spy, that would be even stranger.

So Enrique would really, really hate this situation.

What emperor would want to keep a royal member of an enemy country by his empress’s side?

‘Then you will be a good tool to annoy Enrique.’

I curled my lips.

I felt Enrique flinch as our eyes met.

“Em, Empress, you have never officially taken a male concubine until now.”

“That’s right. If Her Majesty the Empress accepts the dedication, everyone will be able to offer male concubines.”

“I should hurriedly see if there are any outstanding children among my nephews.”

I heard the whispers exchanged behind the fans.

Mereum must have heard it too, but there was no change in his expression.

He seemed like someone who couldn’t feel anything at all.

He also looked like he had already given up, and seemed used to being mocked.

I didn’t like either way.

“If you are to be mine, it would be good to learn not to bow your head first.”