The Empress' Scandalous Paramour - Chapter 29

Finally, Mereum muttered softly.

Without any hidden meaning, I simply asked him bluntly.

“So does it hurt your pride?”

“…No. It’s not like that.”

As if I had guessed wrong, Mereum suddenly raised his head. His eyes somehow resembled those of a young animal seeking its protector, and I found myself unconsciously stroking his head.

“Then?”

“I… well.”

“Well?”

“I don’t really mind. Even becoming a consort.”

I thought he was hesitating to say something, but it seems he had made a big decision in his own way.

I was so dumbfounded that I ended up laughing.

“You little one. Do you even know what position a consort is?”

As I ruffled his hair roughly, Mereum shouted with his neck flushed red.

“I, I know! I know everything I need to know.”

“Oh really.”

Well, thinking of Calick and Cassandra, it doesn’t seem like he just slept quietly on the way here.

“It seems you’ve seen and heard things not very good for a child’s sensibilities in the desert from a young age. I have no intention of treating you as a consort.”

I’ll return to my original position as soon as possible.

If I could only find my true self, that revenge would be all too easy.

No, I could even wage war.

Just the thought of engaging in a full-scale war with the holy knights made my skin tingle and feel good.

I want to bring my demon subordinates and magical beasts to start the most horrific war in human history.

It felt like all this old anger would be resolved if I could stain the imperial throne with the blood flowing from Enrique’s neck and wear a crown made of his bones.

“Eldaim says you’re making an evil expression.”

“My, my. As expected of the Spirit King. How perceptive.”

I giggled and then comfortably leaned back on the couch, pulling my shawl around me. In a half-lying position, the heat billowing from the fireplace tickled my cheeks.

“Anyway, find a dream other than being a consort.”

“A dream?”

“Is it an unfamiliar word? What you want to become, what you want to do. Wanting to strangle your brother… well, even that’s fine.”

But somehow, I didn’t think Mereum would do that.

His soul, loved by both the Sun God and the Spirit King, was spotless and noble.

‘That’s why it’s tempting.’

Once upon a time, Enrique was like that too.

The current Enrique has become corrupted… but there was a time when light shone from within his soul as well.

“I… I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t even know if I want to live or die.”

“Hmm.”

“The nice room you gave me. The soft bed and… expensive clothes. The sweet scent everywhere in this palace. All this feels strange and awkward. I’ve never had such things since childhood.”

Well, how could you have dreams when you’ve never had anything to dream about?

I’m not sure how young he was when he took on the emperor’s duties, but even if we assume it was from age ten, it’s already been 5 years.

That’s too harsh and long a time for a child.

I gently caressed Mereum’s cheek as he forcibly strained his eyes to look elsewhere.

“Then let me decide for you. How about that?”

“How can you?”

“Well, let’s do this. You want to live.”

I don’t know what part of him was touched by the single sentence I uttered in a gentle tone, but Mereum turned his head abruptly to look at me.

To that, I said again seriously without smiling.

“You want to live. From now on, just know that.”

“…Okay.”

“Good boy. Because you want to live, you’ll continue living from now on. But you won’t become my consort.”

“Why?”

Why, you ask.

It’s the first time I’ve seen someone so young wanting to become a consort already.

I tapped the tip of Mereum’s nose and replied.

“I detest anything underdeveloped.”

“In just three years, I’ll be fully grown. I’ll be taller than the emperor.”

“That’s not wrong, but. You should find someone to love or something. Why be tied to me?”

How cute.

I can see you’re displeased, little one.

“You’re just attached to me because I saved your life. That attachment can become various emotions.”

“…The people here say you are their purpose and meaning of life. That knight too.”

“Derek? That’s true.”

“Can’t I be like that too?”

Those lovely golden eyes became moist.

How beautiful they are, now filled with moisture when they were dry and withered before.

I felt an urge to agree to whatever he said, but I forcefully held back.

“Find out slowly what you want to do, what you like while staying by my side. In exchange for you sharing the sun’s power with me, I’ll support you unconditionally.”

“I like wielding a sword. I think it suits me better than a knife.”

“Then I should call a blacksmith soon to make your sword.”

Crackle, crackle.

The flames dance in the fireplace.

Somehow, this time spent with Mereum felt very special.

Is it because I feel at peace after a long time?

“Oh, besides sword training, you should always learn to see things more broadly. You need to read situations and make moves before the enemy.”

“…”

“That’s the quality of a leader. Learn a lot from the knights for now. I think Sir Shoppen would know tactics well, so I should ask him to allocate some class time for you too.”

It’s enjoyable to pay attention to Mereum’s affairs.

As I was pondering what else I could teach him, a shadow fell over me.

Mereum had leaned his upper body close.

“Do you like that? Being a leader.”

“Well… if you ask if I like it or not, of course I like it.”

“Then I’ll do that.”

It’s not a casually uttered word.

Looking up at Mereum’s face while lying down, I read his determination.

“And someday I’ll become stronger than the emperors of both countries.”

“That’s… a wonderful dream!”

Not bad at all.

I was genuinely impressed.

I told you this child is smart.

“Oh, right. That bracelet from before. I used it very effectively. Should I return it?”

“No. You don’t have to return it.”

“Wasn’t it a precious item?”

There’s no way the emperor would have given such a thing out of affection for Mereum. It must have been his mother’s or sister’s.

However, Mereum seemed unwilling to speak more about it and closed his mouth.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, shall I keep it?”

“…Yes.”

“Thank you. It was a very necessary item.”

It’s late, and my body feels languid. My eyes are starting to close.

But it was so comfortable here that I didn’t want to go back to the bedroom at all.

“Sleep?”

“Just a little…”

“If you’re going to sleep, use this as a pillow.”

Mereum carefully supported my head and placed a cushion underneath.

Thanks to that, I could comfortably fall asleep without resisting the drowsiness that was gently creeping in.

‘My chest feels ticklish.’

The sound of soft breathing, the crackling of firewood. Even the sound of rain that had started falling at some point, tapping on the window.

Everything is peaceful.

The empress’s palace, which he thought would be similar to hell like with Quan, was a world so different from his imagination.

‘It tickles… I can’t stand it.’

But he doesn’t know how to stop feeling this ticklish sensation.

Pain can be endured, resentment or anger can be suppressed. Tears can be swallowed, suffering can be borne.

If he thought of cramming himself into a small box, he could feel nothing.

But this is different somehow.

He can’t express clearly what’s different, but since coming to the empress’s palace, Mereum has found it difficult to feel nothing.

As if something was broken.

And at the center of this strange sensation was the empress.

‘It’s dazzling.’

As the reddish glow from the fireplace reflected on her golden hair, she looked just like a fire spirit.

It’s not enough to say she’s beautiful, but he doesn’t know how else to express it.

He’s come to not know many things since arriving here.

“…”

Can I… pat her head?

Watching her sleep deeply, Mereum impulsively reached out his hand but quickly withdrew it in shock.

She’s a woman who can’t even live like a normal person.

Someone who easily faints, he was afraid of harming her by touching her carelessly.

“…I’m scared. That you might suddenly die.”

At their first meeting, he learned for the first time that there are people who keep their promises.

He thought everyone was just trying to kill him, but he learned there are also people who save lives.

It was shocking.

The second meeting was in the banquet hall.

He had no idea that this country’s empress, the very subject of God’s revelation, would be her.

As soon as Mereum saw her with her red eyes slightly raised, he tasted joy like the flooding of the Nashtef River along with a sense of frustration.

Doesn’t being an empress mean she’s already married?

Come to think of it, his brother Calick also said to become a good ‘lover’ to the empress.

That was all his position amounted to.

She, the wife of Emperor Nix who had given him a sense of defeat.

It was natural that he couldn’t take his eyes off her throughout the banquet.

‘But that emperor tried to protect a woman called the saint, not you.’

The anger Mereum felt then was like a volcano.

Calick also had many wives.

Mereum often saw other wives getting angry when he favored a particular wife.

But in any case, that was between a wife and husband.

That woman called the saint is not a wife, is she?

It’s a place with many people. Mistresses or lovers cannot appear at formal gatherings.

Also, at such official occasions, one must always take the side of the legal wife no matter how displeasing. Emperor Nix’s attitude is unacceptable.

‘How can he look at another woman, leaving you behind.’