It was a scent that I had never encountered in my life before. Even though I had only smelled it briefly, it stung my nostrils.
It smelled as if it had been charred, and there was also a fleeting hint of a foul odor.
But I didn’t dwell on this thought for long. The chief servant of the palace drew my attention by clearing his throat softly with a stern look on his face.
“Lady Ferdia. His Majesty dislikes disturbances.”
“Yes.”
“Please be mindful that you are in the presence of the Emperor.”
“Yes.”
“……Then, please enter.”
The chief servant, who had repeatedly cautioned me, looked at me uneasily before leaving.
I passed through the reception room and stepped into the Emperor’s bedroom. It was as dimly lit as the corridor. Thick curtains were drawn across all the windows.
The only light illuminating the spacious bedroom came from the incense burners placed sporadically around the room. Smoke was rising from several incense burners.
‘The strange smell must have come from those incense burners.’
It seemed to be incense used to treat the Emperor’s illness. That was the only reason to burn this unfragrant incense.
But where could the Emperor be in this vast bedroom? Since he was unwell, he must be in bed.
Before I arbitrarily headed towards the bed, I first announced my arrival.
“Your Majesty, I have come at your summons.”
It was then.
“Cough, cough[Dash]!”
I flinched at the sudden sound of coughing and turned my head. The sound came from the direction of the bed, as expected.
Due to the canopy draped like a curtain, I could only vaguely see the silhouette of the Emperor lying in bed. I quickly bowed in that direction.
“I greet Your Majesty, the Emperor. I am Elodie Ferdia of the Ferdia family.”
“Come, closer…… approach.”
The voice that seemed about to break off was perilous to hear. Like a candle that might go out at any moment.
The health condition of the royal family was usually kept top secret, and it was the same in the Willeunt Empire.
But the fact that the Emperor did not appear at official functions and delegated most of the state affairs to the Prince revealed how much his health had deteriorated.
Therefore, among the nobles, it was taken as a given fact that the Emperor’s health had worsened.
Even I, a social outcast, knew that the Emperor was not in good health, but I had no idea it was to this extent.
‘Is he going to pass away today or tomorrow…?’
I was so worried that if he passed away today, I might be accused of assassinating the Emperor. It wasn’t an absurd imagination; it was genuinely frightening.
[Are you worried?]Greed inside the seal stone seemed to share my thoughts.
‘No. He’s still alive.’
[Like a wideawake corpse.]Ignoring Greed, who was talking nonsense, I approached the bedside as the Emperor commanded.
With great effort, the Emperor lifted his arm and drew back the canopy slightly. Our eyes met.
“You have, grown……”
“I have grown up safely under Your Majesty’s glorious reign in Willeuntia.”
“You…… speak well, even, flattery. Cough!”
Despite laughing and struggling to speak, the Emperor began to cough again. The bout of coughing subsided after a few minutes.
“It’s frustrating. My body doesn’t…… obey my will.”
The Emperor sighed and groaned as he propped up his upper body to sit up.
“The Savior has come to see me in person. I cannot…… greet you lying down.”
“You jest too much, Your Majesty.”
It certainly wasn’t praise calling me the ‘Savior.’ The evidence was in the Emperor’s eyes, which were staring at me like a predatory animal sizing up its prey, even though he was bedridden.
“Sit down…….”
At the Emperor’s words, I sat in the chair beside him.
“I heard about…… the incident at the assembly.”
“…….”
“The chancellor…… was very excited, said the Savior appeared…… someone said, and cough, that it was my son’s fiancée…… Very interesting, very interesting…….”
As I expected, it seemed he had summoned me to talk about the incident when I had breached the barrier at the temple.
I responded in a polite but firm tone.
“I am not the Savior, Your Majesty.”
A savior? I’m struggling just to save myself; what exactly am I supposed to save?
But the Emperor did not heed my words at all.
“You, Kulruk, say that, and also know, it is so. But… it’s not up to you.”
“……”
“The world… decides it.”
With a gaze that seemed to pierce my very soul, the Emperor stared at me.
After a moment of silence, I reluctantly opened my mouth.
“Your Majesty, do you wish me to become a savior?”
“I have a duty as the ruler of Willentia and the head of the Willeunt family to protect……”
“……”
“Recently, my brother’s monsters… are said to be boiling everywhere. The attacks on the civilian houses are frequent… the people’s sentiments are ominous.”
I had seen it briefly in the newspaper. New monsters that were not registered in the monster manual had appeared.
I had hardly ever gone outside the Huangdo Somnia, so I hadn’t seen a monster, and therefore didn’t pay much attention to the article.
Male lead is a Love-Obsessed Merman
When he discovers she has gone, he risks everything to pursue her on land, enduring agonizing pain to transform his tail into human legs…
One-line summary: Male lead chases female lead. The male lead’s love is a bit sick, an invincible love brain.
Synopsis
During a voyage at sea, Jiang Yang accidentally captures a merman.
Servant: I heard that mermen are fierce and brutal.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman obediently rubbing her palm like a puppy: “You call this fierce and brutal?”
Servant: I heard that mermen have no human nature.
Jiang Yang looks at the merman with wet puppy eyes, obsessively calling her ‘A Yang’ like a childish infant: “You call this having no human nature?”
With great difficulty, she releases the merman back into the sea and returns to shore.
Who would have thought that in less than half a month, the merman, who should have been freely wandering in the South China Sea, would shed his scales, endure the pain of losing his tail, transform into human legs, and come ashore to find her?
He kneels at her feet, rubbing her palm, with merman tears rolling down: “A Yang, don’t abandon me.”
_____
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