The Empress' Scandalous Paramour - Chapter 51

Even though I was wearing a maid’s uniform, he was clearly treating me as a lady.

‘The farewell greeting is nice too.’

As a maid, I would have to work, so there was no need for rubbing salt in the wound by saying things like have a good time or rest well.

But isn’t luck something everyone needs?

‘I like him too much. To the point of absurdity.’

There’s no way there could be affection between people who just met.

So I could love Shylo Silverrose as much as I wanted.

I could kiss him, whisper sweet nothings, exchange shallow feelings… and finally grasp a dagger in these two hands.

‘It seems possible.’

My heart beats rapidly.

Excited by the thought that I had found a way not to kill Mereum, I hurriedly turned around.

“!”

As soon as I did, a familiar shadow loomed over my head. An energy I hadn’t noticed while with the Grand Duke poured over me.

“…Leo.”

When the heavy voice dug into my ears.

I felt as if I had been dragged out of the reality I had forgotten and thrown to the ground.

My chest stung.

[This is the timeline separator]

After that, Mereum treated me as if nothing had happened, with the same attitude as usual.

I was the one feeling guilty and watching his reactions.

Why do I feel like an unfaithful husband who abandoned his first wife, really.

“How’s the water temperature?”

“It’s fine.”

So tonight, I treated Mereum much more gently than usual.

Normally, I would never have allowed him to serve me personally, but today the word ‘no’ just wouldn’t come out.

‘Before Mereum confessed, I didn’t feel this way even when I met various men at parties.’

Ah, maybe back then it was simply because I didn’t like them…?

“All done.”

Mereum knelt on one knee and lowered himself to wash my feet himself. After carefully drying them with a soft towel, he immediately kissed my knee.

I flinched and pulled my leg back, but he was persistent.

If I run away, the Mereum I know would follow just as much and kiss the other knee, so there’s no choice but to let him.

“…I heard the Siren group is coming.”

I tried to say something, but my voice cracked at the end.

I cleared my throat and continued.

“Everyone on this ship needs to plug their ears with wet cotton. The Sirens’ song is deadly and can enchant people to fall into the sea.”

“Mm.”

“We brought soldiers with experience fighting on ships from the start, but it’s still a disadvantageous battle for us. We should give them a warning.”

I hoped no one would die, but I had no intention of stopping this selection process just because a small danger had arisen.

If it fizzled out in the middle, what could have become legendary would turn into a laughingstock.

It was right to find a way to maintain the event and protect it without damage.

“Can you perhaps send scouts through the water spirits?”

I asked in a gentle tone as I lifted Mereum’s chin. He lowered his eyes and quietly replied.

“If you wish.”

“You should look me in the eyes when you talk.”

“Right now… I don’t want to.”

Just because he acted like nothing was wrong didn’t mean nothing was wrong.

It seems he saw everything when I was dining with the Grand Duke.

At a loss for words, I closed my mouth, not knowing what to say.

Mereum, who seemed somewhat angry, squeezed his eyes shut and then slowly opened his eyelids.

“I know you have no reason to love me. I only wanted one thing. For you to allow me to love you.”

He continued quickly in a somewhat rough tone.

It was as if I could see a red, gaping wound.

Mereum was crying out that it hurt.

In the only way he could.

“I know. I know all of that.”

“…”

“It’s just… I can’t understand why it can’t be me.”

Having said that much, Mereum closed his mouth again and reached for the bowl of cream.

The man’s large, hot hands gently massaged various parts of my feet. It felt like the fatigue from walking all day in uncomfortable shoes was melting away.

Then, as if by mistake, Mereum traced my ankle bone in a circular motion with his thumb. When I flinched at the sight of my thin ankle in his grasp, looking as if it were shackled, Mereum immediately pulled away.

But the warmth he left lingered there for a long time.

“…I need the magic core possessed by the leader female of the Sirens.”

After hesitating, I began to stroke Mereum’s hair.

It would be silly to apologize, and I wasn’t going to tell him why it couldn’t be him.

I could only hope he would cheer up as I playfully mussed his hair.

“Since they’re intelligent monsters, they’ll probably offer the magic core to me willingly when they see me. After all, it’s an honor for them to make me complete.”

“You’re not planning to go into the sea yourself, are you?”

Mereum, who had been quietly listening to me, frowned.

I cupped his cheeks and whispered gently.

“You’ll protect me, won’t you?”

Originally, my body could breathe both underwater and in the high sky.

Now that I’ve become human, I can’t be that omnipotent, so I need help.

Mereum was my ace in the hole.

“It should be a magic core at least a hundred years old, so it will be a great help to me. I need it to be able to stand against my brother.”

He didn’t seem to like the idea of me going into the sea myself, but I didn’t change my mind.

Mereum could fight with the power of the Spirit King, but that would only be if the leader didn’t offer the magic core.

“I’ll pretend to accidentally jump into the sea, so send your spirits then. It needs to look like just an accident to everyone else when I fall into the sea.”

You’ll do it, won’t you?

As I stroked under his chin and asked, Mereum met my gaze as if he had no choice.

“On one condition.”

The sun-like eyes, completely different from the blue eyes of Grand Duke Silverrose I had seen today, flickered fiercely as if to burn me.

Like a person thirsting for a drop of water in the desert, Mereum clung to me desperately.

“Tomorrow. Spend time with me. The Sirens probably won’t come tomorrow anyway.”

“Tomorrow…”

The cheerful voice saying to meet on the deck echoed in my ears.

‘He said to come if I missed him, not that we had to meet.’

Thinking selfishly like a demon, I nodded.

“Let’s do that. We haven’t been comfortably together recently.”

“Do you understand what I’m saying? I’m asking you on a date.”

“Yes.”

That much should be fine as a parting gift.

Now that I had a sure means to return to my original body, Mereum would only get hurt if he stayed by my side.

“The name of this ship is A Midsummer Night’s Dream, isn’t it?”

Just until we get off this ship. Only until then.

Mereum should be allowed to dream at least that much.

It’s a dream that will be forgotten when you wake up anyway.

[This is the timeline separator]

The next day, as soon as I opened my eyes, I went looking for Enrique.

I thought I would be able to find his whereabouts soon since I had also given notice to Mereum, but no. Enrique was nowhere to be found, as if he was hiding somewhere.

‘Didn’t he come here because he had something to say to me?’

It’s a course of action I simply cannot understand. If he came, he should have talked to me, what’s the point of hiding?

The morning passed without any result, and the afternoon I had promised to Mereum arrived.

‘I’m glad I brought a light dress just in case.’

The deep red silk dress matched today’s weather very well.

It wasn’t the kind an empress would wear, but it was the type of clothing my original self liked.

Since it was a style I could easily put on without someone to assist me, it didn’t take long to get ready to go out.

After putting on pearl earrings and the well-combed wig, I suddenly brought my hand to my face in the mirror.

“I’m almost there.”

I can go back soon.

I’ve been gradually breaking down Enrique, so once I return to my original form, it should be a fair fight. Then I’ll reclaim my magic that he stole.

“I am a demon.”

Not human. Don’t try to remain human.

As if brainwashing myself, I muttered and then scratched the mirror surface hard with my fingernails.

Everything is going well, but an inexplicable anxiety is choking me.

Because it seems that love will ultimately make me remain human. I’m anxious that I might never end up grasping that dagger.

I didn’t like that love, which comes so easily to some, was difficult for me.

I should have just loved anyone quickly.

Why am I taking this emotion of love so seriously at this age?

“I’m here to pick you up.”

Just then, with a knock, Mereum appeared.

Since it was supposed to be a date, I couldn’t help but laugh at his hairstyle that seemed more styled than usual.

“My goodness. Did you style your hair yourself?”

“…I got a little help from the knights.”

Mereum touched the ends of his hair, seeming embarrassed.

Then he held out his arm to me and changed the subject.

“Faivel was doing something on the deck.”

“Faivel?”

“Some kind of competition, it seems. I’d like to watch it together.”

“I am curious about what Faivel might have prepared…”

I glanced at the clock in the cabin.

It was already past lunchtime, two o’clock in the afternoon.

If he had come early and waited, it would already be time to leave.

‘Surely not to run into him.’