There's a Snake in the Empress' Bedroom (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12
Renisha’s invitation had arrived for Canaria as well.
Canaria walked lightly back into Rexus’s arms, holding the invitation.
The corners of Canaria’s eyes curved gently as she unfolded the invitation.
‘The Empress actually deigns to show me such coquetry?’
Perhaps even the Empress has finally come to her senses.
Until now, Renisha had never once invited Canaria to any formal occasion.
As if to remind Canaria of her place.
But this time was different.
It was the first invitation she had ever received from Renisha.
‘She must be worried—since it’s nearly time for her to be cast out, and I’ll remain in the Imperial Capital. After all, everyone can see I’ll be the next Empress, right?’
Canaria placed the invitation against her twitching lips.
It would be wonderful if she could become pregnant right on cue.
Rexus still had no heir.
If Canaria bore a child, she could claim that position smoothly, without any opposition.
The problem was, despite all her efforts, nothing had worked so far.
‘Could it really be as the Empress said… with the Emperor…?’
It was at that very moment Canaria entertained such a doubt.
Rexus, as if sensing her thoughts, snatched the invitation away.
Canaria snapped back to her senses.
She nearly made a mistake—she must be careful even with her thoughts in front of Rexus.
Canaria blinked innocently.
“Your Majesty, please give it back. It’s the first invitation you’ve ever sent me.”
Canaria pouted cutely.
“The first invitation? From Renisha?”
“Yes. Maybe the Empress finally wants to befriend me. She’s always been distant whenever I visited before. Could her heart have softened?”
Canaria giggled softly.
“Your Majesty.”
Canaria gently placed the invitation on the table and turned to straddle Rexus’s thigh.
Rexus wrapped a strand of Canaria’s brown hair around his fingers.
“There’s a dress code, and I must bring a partner as well. Please buy me a new dress and shoes, Your Majesty.”
Canaria pleaded sweetly.
Though she could easily manage it herself, things obtained from Rexus always carried more weight.
“Very well. As you wish.”
Rexus kissed Canaria’s forehead.
“And please accompany me yourself. I don’t know a single person there. At this rate, I might not be able to go at all for lack of a partner, Your Majesty.”
Rexus idly played with Canaria’s hair, lost in thought.
Seeing the Emperor remain silent, Canaria felt a flicker of unease.
‘Why won’t he answer right away? Could it be… he intends to go as the Empress’s partner?’
Canaria bit her lip and watched Rexus carefully.
But Rexus was thinking of something else entirely.
There was someone he absolutely needed to send to that event.
Cassius.
There was a reason he kept creating opportunities for Cassius to clash with the Empress.
He could simply depose the Empress at will and hand her over to Cassius, but the Temple would surely raise an uproar.
Though the Temple dared oppose Rexus’s will—an irritating notion—the Temple remained a useful faction to him.
He couldn’t recklessly provoke them. Thus, he needed justification.
The justification that Renisha had fallen in love with Cassius and must be expelled on moral grounds.
Rexus burst into laughter.
That formidable woman falling in love? Utter nonsense.
In all his life, Rexus had never once seen Renisha show affection toward anyone.
For such a Renisha to be deposed merely for loving some lowly slave?
He was already looking forward to seeing Renisha’s distorted expression.
“I’m afraid I’ll be too busy that day to attend.”
“Your Majesty…?”
“I’ll assign someone else instead. How about Sir Cassius, whom we saw at the banquet before?”
“Sir… Cassius?”
Canaria’s voice turned shrill.
“No!”
“Why not?”
Though his tone seemed languid, Canaria recognized the sharp edge that had crept into Rexus’s voice.
Rexus hated when anyone defied his will.
Canaria clenched her teeth.
How delighted she’d been that day, watching the Empress fraternize with Cassius.
It had felt like she’d finally placed the Empress beneath her feet.
And now she was being asked to be his partner?
She’d rather die than accept.
People would see Canaria attending with Cassius and recall her past as a maid.
They might even chatter that a maid belongs only with a slave.
But Canaria could only say one thing.
“…I wanted to go with you, Your Majesty. Be jealous. Love me.”
Canaria coaxed him sweetly.
“Can’t you just say you’d be jealous if I went there arm-in-arm with another man?”
Rexus laughed aloud.
Unlike Renisha, Canaria’s gentle, curving smile pleased him.
It was refreshing compared to Renisha, who meddled in politics, deceived Rexus, and strutted arrogantly with Rotera’s backing.
All Canaria ever asked for was something as simple as this.
Rexus scratched Canaria’s chin.
“My sweet Canaria. Just this once, follow my wishes. Next time, I’ll surely grant whatever you desire.”
Feeling the Emperor’s sharpness fade, Canaria relaxed.
She put on a pouty expression.
Her position remained precarious.
She’d just felt that truth unmistakably.
‘The Emperor’s child… pregnancy…’
Those words kept surfacing in her mind.
And the seed of unease Renisha had planted now lifted its head.
‘What if the Emperor is incapable of fathering a child…?’
Canaria bit down hard on her lip.
Once his favor waned and her beauty faded, Canaria might no longer be able to stay by Rexus’s side.
She would rather die than return to being a maid.
No one would ever know what thoughts Canaria harbored that day.
“…We couldn’t find any trace of the young lord anywhere.”
“No wonder. That’s precisely why even the Emperor is struggling to find them.”
After the Duke and Duchess Rotera died, the Emperor’s action was to launch a surprise attack on the Rotera ducal house within the capital and eliminate them.
But by the time the Emperor’s men arrived, the young lord’s family and child had already vanished.
Brixton Rotera.
Haylin Nova Rotera.
And finally, Isabella Rotera as well.
The child was estimated to be around thirteen years old and known to be a girl.
She was said to have inherited her father’s platinum hair and pink eyes.
Yet no girl with such distinctive features had been found anywhere.
Moreover, the young lord’s family had disappeared without a trace from the ducal mansion itself.
“Did they vanish into the sky? Or sink into the earth? There’s no sign they ever left the estate.”
“And the child?”
“It seems they realized something and managed to smuggle her out… but her trail vanished the moment she crossed the southern Bleur territory.”
Cassius pressed his fingers hard against his furrowed brow.
Renisha had told him to find her family as payment for the clothes.
He’d already realized this was Renisha’s way of testing him.
And Renisha…
The way Renisha had been when she said those words…
Cassius’s eyes twisted in pain.
He couldn’t possibly forget the fleeting glimpse of collapse he’d seen in that woman who’d always seemed unbreakable.
Renisha had been smiling, yet she looked as if she were crying.
It was desperation.
The desperation of someone clinging to hope that her family still lived, wandering desperately to find them.
“We must find them.”
“Understood. I’ll make further inquiries.”
“Our comrades are scattered across the nation. If we weave them together like a spider’s web and wait, something is bound to get caught.”
Terrion nodded.
“But, my lord.”
“Yes?”
“A strange invitation arrived. I couldn’t make any sense of it, so I brought it myself.”
Terrion placed the pale pink, extravagantly decorated invitation on the desk.
Its gaudiness was enough to make one’s eyes squint.
Terrion shuddered and flipped the invitation over himself.
“Why would this woman invite you? And as her escort to Her Imperial Majesty the Empress’s tea party, no less! Could you possibly have become entangled with her there?”
“…”
Cassius glared at the invitation.
Entangled? Well, there had been something.
She kept spouting nonsense, so he’d snapped at her—her face had flushed red, and after that, she hadn’t ignored him again.
It had seemed pathetic that a woman who called herself the Emperor’s consort knew nothing of history, which even Cassius knew.
“She might be trying to poison you.”
Given how venomous she appeared, it was a real possibility.
“Or… ah! Could she perhaps be smitten with you?”
Absolutely not. Just recall how she fawned over the Emperor…
“Did you perhaps give her any encouragement? Surely not with this woman? You mustn’t, my lord. Have you forgotten Duke Rotera’s kindness…?”
“Quiet!”
Cassius growled lowly.
Thanks to Terrion, who gave him no room to think, his head throbbed as if it would split.
“What did I do to deserve shouting at…?”
Terrion grumbled.
“In any case, it’s a place you’ll have to attend. An invitation from the Emperor’s consort—doesn’t it reek of something? The chance the Emperor is involved is practically certain.”
Cassius agreed.
What on earth was Rexus thinking?
If he disliked her so much, he could just grant her what she wanted and be done with it.
Yet he kept delaying the formal bestowal of her title.
By the way…
‘A tea party?’
Since Renisha was hosting, she’d surely be attending as well.
Every time they met, Renisha left a new impression on Cassius.
It felt as if a brand in the shape of her tiny palm had been seared onto his chest where she’d touched him recently.
That lingering sensation hadn’t even faded yet, and the thought of seeing Renisha again already made it hard to breathe.
Just what had Duke Rotera raised?
If asked to name the most dangerous thing in the Imperial Capital, Cassius was certain he’d choose Renisha.
“Sigh…”
Once again, he’d been given only three days.
His eyes lingered on the invitation to confirm the time and place.
As Cassius slowly read through the invitation, he suddenly froze.
“A blue dress code? Do they expect me to wear a blue suit? Where would I even get one! And a blue suit with my red hair?”
Terrion, imagining the sight for a moment, burst into uproarious laughter.
“Wow… the capital’s fashion world is truly incomprehensible.”
Cassius clenched his fists.
Damn it, where am I supposed to find a blue suit? Do people really wear such things?
They must all be mad.
Tesa tiptoed silently down the corridor, holding her breath.
Only after putting considerable distance between herself and Cassius’s office could Tesa finally breathe again.
With her face pale and bowed deeply, Tesa mulled over the conversation she’d just overheard.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
Why suddenly you want to hold her. Doesn’t it you the one who want to give her to Cassius
Who want to have a mad person as a husband. Everyone will run away if they could
So Cassius still have plan on reviving his clan. Terrion is part of his clan?