Although the eyes, resembling the moonlight of the night, were gradually turning harsh, the queen couldn’t stop herself.
“As of now, the Emperor of our Empire has no successor. Commander Bergen, who is the Emperor’s younger brother, is rumored to be ranked first in the imperial succession order.”
“I’ve never had any intention regarding the imperial succession.”
“Even if the commander has no intention, people around him may not think the same.”
Aaron looked at the queen and grinned with malice.
He wanted to deny the queen’s words, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so.
The person who understood those words the best was Aaron himself.
As Aaron gazed at the queen, his gaze involuntarily became sharp.
“Are there not noble maidens from better families than Delia lining up in the Empire? Making connections with them would be beneficial for the commander’s future and the empire’s interests.”
For a moment, a cold presence emanated from Aaron’s voice.
“I have never desired anyone other than Delia.”
The queen fell silent in the suffocating chill.
To hide her trembling hands, she gripped the hem of her dress tightly.
With moist eyes, she looked at Aaron.
“Right now, the most dangerous person for Delia is the commander. So please release Delia.”
Although she had resigned herself to death and stayed by the king’s side, she wanted to save her children from misfortune.
“If you release Delia, I will immediately send Alberto to another country. I will renounce all claims to the throne and send him into exile in another nation.”
The queen lowered her head to Aaron.
It was a desperate plea filled with maternal urgency.
Rather than letting them suffer here, she preferred to send them elsewhere.
“Wouldn’t it be better for the heir to the throne to disappear, for the commander’s sake?”
“…”
“I will follow the commander’s will in everything, so please close your eyes just once. It’s a request from a mother.”
Aaron glanced at the trembling hem of the queen’s dress.
She had lowered her head and was pleading with Aaron.
Despite her efforts not to show fear, the queen’s plan to take Delia away stimulated Aaron to the point of forgetting gentlemanly manners.
Aaron, feeling a dryness in his throat, casually loosened his shirt collar.
He took a deep breath, filling his lungs, which had been tightly constricted.
“I understand what the queen is worried about. But I cannot annul this marriage. It is the only thing I desire.”
The queen realized that all her persuasion had been in vain.
With a bluish face, she screamed the final cry of despair.
“Commander!”
“As I told the king, we will not return to the mainland. We will stay in Ioventi as Delia wishes.”
“But…”
“As Delia wishes, we will get married in Ioventi, under her parents’ blessings. So, you don’t have to worry about the Empire’s nobility.”
The queen turned her head away from Aaron as if avoiding him.
“And please don’t worry too much about Crown Prince Alfredo.”
Aaron twisted his lips as he looked at the queen.
The queen’s plan to take Delia away was unpleasant, but thanks to that, Aaron learned the queen’s strategy, so it wasn’t entirely a bad thing.
A method to conquer a mother deer who cannot be threatened or tempted by force.
That was none other than baby deer.
“If Crown Prince Alfredo is found, I will treat him with respect and bring him back.”
Aaron glanced at the queen and then presented a polite smile once again.
“Perhaps, my lord? We might get along well as brothers.”
Conflicts arise when the powers on both sides are balanced.
The Crown Prince who fled as soon as the battle broke out on the Cabat Plains couldn’t be his opponent.
When one side was overwhelmingly stronger, such conflicts could be easily absorbed.
“I will instruct my subordinates. They will search all of Ioventi to find the Crown Prince, even if necessary.”
With a strangely sparkling gaze, Aaron made the queen step back, and she eventually sat down in her place with a thud.
Asking for the release of the children, she was entangling herself more.
To support her trembling body, the queen grasped the armrest of the chair.
“Feel free to decorate the garden not with marble sculptures but with jewels. If you wish, I can replant the trees as many times as you want.”
Taking a moment to catch his breath, Aaron surveyed the queen’s reception room.
A large window with clear sunlight, curtains made of damask cloth, furniture engraved with ivy patterns, and a subtle fragrance in the air.
In such a warm and gentle place, it seemed that Delia could stay a bit longer.
“If it’s too hard for you right now, you can delay approval for marriage. I can wait long enough for that.”
Aaron turned his head to look at the queen.
Despite his calm and gentle voice, a hidden sinister energy emanated from him.
In the coldness flowing through his skin, the queen’s face became even paler.
“But sending the princess outside of Ioventi is not acceptable.”
Aaron clearly warned the queen of the one line she shouldn’t cross.
“I won’t tolerate taking Delia away from me.”
Aaron, who sincerely warned her, stepped back.
Even if the queen didn’t look at him, Aaron’s posture remained undisturbed.
Perfectly upright and smooth in his movements, Aaron gave a flawless farewell and left the reception room.
As the door closed, the ripple of the disturbed air lingered around the queen, who remained alone in the reception room.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
