I suppressed my emerging smile and asked again with a serene expression.
If he didn’t respond, there was nothing I could do, but I figured it was worth a shot.
Actually, I had nothing to lose.
Everyone’s attention turned to Emperor Rinel’s mouth in unison.
“No rush.”
Emperor Rinel said to me as he picked up a small piece of bread with a stern expression.
“Ah, yes…”
The corners of my mouth, which had been preparing to smile, turned bitter.
Rejection always comes with embarrassment.
“Let’s talk later.”
He asserted again firmly.
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
‘Look at that, do you think the Emperor is going to listen to you?’
I felt ridicule from the gazes of the maids directed at me.
Unknowingly, I hung my head.
Then, something came into view right in front of my eyes.
What’s this?
I looked up at him with a bewildered expression.
“Tonight.”
He handed me a piece of bread and said.
I took the bread he handed me in surprise and blinked.
“We’ll talk about it tonight. For now, eat this.”
“Ah, yes…”
“The bread from the Kingdom of Chatonil is softer, but the more you chew this, the more savory it gets. But you should be careful, as it might break your teeth.”
My heart rate suddenly soared at the faint smile of Emperor Rinel, who ended with a blunt tone.
As he said, the fruits and foods from the Kingdom of Chatonil, where I lived, were generally better than those from the lowertemperature Lapeon Empire.
Especially, the bread made from wheat grown only in the Kingdom of Chatonil is famous for being much softer and richer than bread from other countries.
He knew this fact and made a joke while handing me the bread.
I took a bite of the slightly hard bread by dipping it into the soup and chewed vigorously as I responded to him.
“I’ve always liked something tough.”
“Good taste.”
“Excuse me?”
“……No, it’s nothing.”
Emperor Rinel said with a suddenly coughing, and a lower tone voice.
His face became heavy again, and he ordered the maids who were blatantly eavesdropping on our conversation to leave the banquet hall.
The maids showed a somewhat disappointed look but bowed politely and left the banquet hall.
“They are all beautiful maids.”
I said to him as I watched the glamorous backs of the maids.
“Well, their faces are.”
The word ‘face’ made the burn scar on the right side of my face feel hot.
In fact, I was more envious of their flawless, smooth skin than their pretty appearance.
Ever since I got the burn scar, I often stood far away from the mirror when I looked at it, squinted my eyes, and looked at my face.
Or I turned my body slightly to the left and admired only half of my face.
The Emperor, who had been watching me closely, said with a softer tone.
“The Empress has elegance.”
“Do you also know how to comfort?”
“If it sounds that way, you can take it that way. Pretty people shine themselves, but elegant people have the power to brighten their surroundings.”
“That’s a good saying.”
I nodded to his words and chewed over his words several times in my heart.
“Elegance is not something anyone can have. But the Empress has it.”
The words he casually said settled hotly in my heart.
I felt strange.
My heart, which had been beating with fear, embarrassment, or fear until now, started to flutter for the first time with a fluttering feeling, the expectation of being loved.
What should I say in this situation?
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Eventually, I conveyed my gratitude with a clichéd phrase and poked at the unlucky salad.
I wanted to see his current expression, but I held back.
Not wanting to show that I was nervous, I quietly controlled my breath.
I took the knife and fork again to cut the rest of the steak, but my hands started to shake a bit.
Once again, his hand came and went in front of my eyes without warning.
In an instant, my plate disappeared and his plate was placed.
“Take this.”
He handed me a plate with steak cut into manageable sizes.
Probably seeing me hesitate, he cut his own steak and offered it to me.
Despite his expressionless face and brusque voice, he was a man whose actions were quite affectionate.
Wasn’t he cursed with a body temperature much lower than normal?
The wizard who cast the curse had turned this man’s body into ice, but had not been able to freeze his heart.
I put the steak that Emperor Rinel had cut himself into my mouth with a fork.
“How does it taste? Is it okay?”
He seemed to ask, waiting.
“Your Majesty, the steak is very… It has become cold.”
Perhaps because it was food that his hand had touched, it was much colder than the steak I had been eating.
“But it’s delicious. Your Majesty, try mine too.”
At my words, he quickly cut the steak I was eating and put it into his mouth.
I waited quietly, looking forward to his impending reaction.
As soon as he took a bite of the steak, his eyes lit up.
Savoring the taste, he pointed to his mouth with his finger.
I knew what he was trying to say.
“How is it?”
“How can it still retain this warmth?”
“It must be because my heart is warm.”
I just held back a smile and answered.
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
