I turned my steps again at Catherine’s resentful voice.
I went out of my way to send Rinell to his bedroom and now this?
Was I too much?
“Catherine, what do you mean by that? I don’t remember doing anything to deserve such resentment.”
I asked in a flat voice.
Catherine was tightly pressing her lips together, unsure whether to speak to me or not.
It seemed like she was conscious of Rosie in front of her.
Eventually, Catherine broke the silence and opened her mouth.
“Yesterday… wasn’t it my first night?”
“And so?”
“And so… Your Majesty? You have more days to serve Your Majesty than the concubines, so you should have refrained from stopping me on the first night!”
Catherine, who had been haughty, had a desolate look on her face.
What does she mean by that?
“You mean the Emperor didn’t go to your palace last night?”
At my question, Catherine let out a sarcastic laugh, as if I was pretending not to know.
“Yes! He, he didn’t come.”
Catherine answered, barely containing her anger.
“…I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”
Catherine tilted her head in disbelief and glared at me.
“Besides, wherever the Emperor goes, it’s his will. You know it’s not something I can control just because I’m the Empress, don’t you?”
“Then where the hell was the Emperor yesterday…!”
Catherine trembled and murmured.
That’s right. I’m curious too.
“Catherine, the floor is cold. Get up now.”
I probably looked like a gracious Empress to her, feeling a bit pitiful.
Perhaps because of my pushy tone, Catherine hesitated before starting to move.
“Eh…uh?”
With the help of an attendant, Catherine tried to stand up, but collapsed back onto the floor.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
My shoe was stepping on the hem of Catherine’s dress.
Catherine seemed to want to ask if I had deliberately stepped on her dress, but she didn’t.
I was willing to tell her the truth if she asked.
“Here, grab this.”
Feeling a bit sorry, I extended my hand to Catherine.
It was a hand extended out of consideration.
“Ah!”
But Catherine let out a scream like she was surprised,
“…did she faint?”
and collapsed onto the floor.
“Mama, mama? Catherine mama!”
Catherine’s attendant held her in his arms and shook her vigorously.
“Tsk tsk, it seems like she was tired from waiting for His Majesty last night. Let her sleep and don’t wake her.”
“Yyes? Oh, yes… Your Majesty…”
“When she wakes up in the greenhouse with fresh air, her fatigue will be relieved. She will come to her senses.”
Catherine’s attendant was looking at me with a pale face, as if he was about to faint.
“Rosie, you go back to the palace and put some ice on your face. You don’t need to be here.”
I ordered Rosie, who was standing awkwardly because of Catherine’s fainting.
“I, I will do as you say, Your Majesty.”
“Good.”
I nodded to Rosie and was about to turn away when I looked down at Catherine, who had fainted again.
“What a spectacle, swinging your hands at others so thoughtlessly. You probably never even extended a warm hand to anyone in your life.”
At my words, Catherine’s closed eyes flickered.
She had been pretending to faint.
I chuckled at her poor acting skills and simply turned around.
I was not afraid of the backlash from what happened in the greenhouse today.
However, I was afraid of the backlash that would come my way going in an unexpected direction.
I didn’t want Rinel to get into trouble because of me.
As I left the greenhouse, I looked up at the sky without thinking.
Dark clouds were rolling in over the clear sky.
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
