A Blend of Romance and Fantasy - Chapter 39

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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39.
“I don’t know.”
“Because I saw myself in you. I envision you as the next Emperor.”
Emperor Yucal extended his wine glass toward Leonard Blake.
“Regardless of who becomes Crown Prince in this struggle, you’re the one destined to slit his throat and claim the throne.”
“You speak much, Your Majesty. Surely you didn’t summon me merely for idle conversation?”
“That’s right. What I mean is….”
Leonard Blake stared intently at the wine glass.
I couldn’t discern what it contained, yet refusing to drink was equally impossible.
After draining the glass, the Emperor finally continued.
“I intend to make you Crown Prince.”
At first, I felt nothing coursing through my body.
‘Perhaps I don’t need to use detoxification magic.’
Leonard Blake gripped the empty glass tightly.
“What do you mean, Your Majesty? Are you about to reveal the nature of the succession struggle and its resolution?”
“That’s impossible. I merely intend to announce at this banquet that I wish to elevate the Fourth Prince as Crown Prince.”
“You mean Benjamin?”
“Yes. My frail thirteen-year-old son who has just come of age.”
I understood his meaning perfectly.
A sacrificial pawn.
This ruthless father would present his young son as bait to others, thereby protecting my safety and power.
“Benjamin’s house governs the Silverstone Territory—the most fertile land. Moreover, his mother, the 3rd Empress, once enjoyed my favor. Now there are three more princesses, are there not?”
“….”
“Everyone will accept my decision. Besides, am I not a king who has lost his vigor? They’ll surely deem it madness for me to designate a child born of my newly taken concubine as Crown Prince.”
Emperor Yucal laughed as he poured wine into his own glass.
“Yet regardless, I am the Emperor. The Crown Prince is mine to choose. Thus Benjamin will be consumed by countless assassination attempts and threats…. If fortune favors him, he may even die. After that, you need only conduct yourself wisely.”
“If Benjamin dies, the Silverstone Family won’t remain idle, Your Majesty.”
“Isn’t that precisely why I’m making you Emperor?”
Emperor Yucal swallowed his wine and laughed.
“Once you become Emperor, you’ll subjugate all houses through force. Should they rebel, simply eradicate them entirely.”
“….”
“Ah, and as a matter of fact, I’ve already decided to send the three princesses below him to the Western, Eastern, and Southern Barbarian Tribes. They’ll become troublesome once you’re Emperor.”
In that moment, the daughters of the 3rd Empress flashed through my mind.
Ten years old, eight years old, seven years old—or thereabouts.
My only memory of them is their fearful gazes upon me, yet beyond that, I recall their innocent figures frolicking through the Imperial Palace.
Benjamin is much the same.
The “frailty” that Emperor Yucal ascribed to him fit perfectly—he harbored no interest in the throne and quietly indulged in the arts.
‘He’s decided to discard the utterly useless early on.’
It would be preferable to pierce a beast baring its fangs—at least one could offer justification afterward.
Yet taking the head of a defenseless weakling for personal gain had always filled me with revulsion.
But I had come too far to preserve my conscience. Knowing the backlash that refusal would bring, Leonard Blake bowed his head obediently.
“Yes.”
On the way back to my assigned room, conscience clawed at my heart like an endless nail, scratching relentlessly.
Yet there was nothing I could do.
The Blackwood Territory would have been better. There, even if I stained my blade with blood, I could find purpose in my existence.
But the Imperial Palace was different.
In a place devoid of human warmth, I felt myself becoming increasingly inhuman—a devastatingly clear realization.
“I’m exhausted.”
The words escaped unbidden. I hadn’t expected anyone to answer. And yet.
“Why are you so late? Did you get lost again? Wait, can you even get lost in your own home ground…?”
The owner of that familiar voice—one I’d grown accustomed to hearing constantly of late—stood before me.
For a moment, I couldn’t speak at all.
It had been an eternity since someone welcomed me like this.
I thought I would never feel such emotion again…
It was too warm to be reality, yet too overwhelming to be a dream. Every suppressed cell within me awakened.
“Leonard, are you alright?”
The moment those clear eyes met mine, my senses snapped back into focus.
“Ah, yes, I’m fine. What did you just say?”
* * *
One room for writing, one bed. Of course, I understand this is natural between newlyweds.
But isn’t this a complete cliché? Share a bed here, lock eyes, bodies touching… ahem.
-Charlotte, you have a weakness for handsome men, so absolutely not.
Aurora’s words echoed in my ears.
Right, I knew myself well.
I wasn’t the type to forcibly seduce a handsome man, but I was foolish enough to fall head over heels for a pretty face and hand over my deed of ownership!
“I absolutely cannot fall for Leonard.”
I paced anxiously in the bedroom, and the moment the Guard Knight outside mentioned Leonard had arrived, I rushed out.
He seemed absorbed in thought and didn’t notice me.
I quickly approached Leonard and poured out my complaints.
“Why are you so late? Did you get lost again? Wait, can you even get lost in your own home ground…?”
“…”
“But now a massive problem has emerged. There’s only one bed!”
I spoke rapidly like machine-gun fire, but received no response.
“Leonard?”
I observed him carefully.
Remarkably, he looked like someone who had forgotten to breathe.
His eyes rippled finely like a lake’s surface disturbed by a dropped stone, and his lips were rigid.
“Leonard, are you alright?”
“…Ah, yes, I’m fine. What did you just say?”
“You don’t seem fine at all.”
“It’s fine.”
What? This was completely different from the bold, shameless Charlotte back in Sincester.
I was slightly taken aback, but I feigned indifference and quickly grabbed his arm.
“Come inside first. We need to talk.”
The massive Leonard Blake followed me like a docile lamb into the bedroom—which had only one bed.
The Handmaidens stared at us with wide eyes, as if we were some curious spectacle.
“All of you, leave.”
In an instant, only Leonard Blake and I remained in the room.
I flopped onto the bed and patted the mattress repeatedly.
“Look. There’s only one bed.”
Unlike my serious demeanor, Leonard Blake appeared utterly unfazed.
Draped in his cloak on the large sofa beside the bed, he spoke with perfect composure.
“Of course there’s one. We’re married, after all.”
“But this is a contract marriage, isn’t it? Besides, in Sincester, couples sometimes use separate beds because of different sleeping habits.”
“That’s something to consider once we’re in Blackwood. Here in the Imperial Palace, even as the Sixth Prince, I’m a guest. I have no choice but to use the room assigned to me, regardless of my preferences.”
“Still, though….”
“Surely you’re not suggesting one of us sleep on the floor or the sofa? That would raise suspicions and cause complications.”
Goodness. He reads people’s hearts so well.
Though I glared at him, Leonard Blake merely smiled enigmatically.
“Don’t worry. I won’t lay a finger on you.”
“Who said I was concerned about that? I’m not concerned at all.”
“Then everything’s settled.”
I wanted to scream at that deepening smile.
What’s settled? Nothing is settled!
But I couldn’t throw a tantrum like I had in Sincester.
“…Can we use separate rooms once we’re in Blackwood?”
As I spoke carefully, Leonard Blake, who had been loosening his necktie, tilted his head.
“I don’t mind, but the more you insist on it, the stranger it becomes. It’s as if there’s some grave reason why we can’t share a bed. Could it be….”
As his voice grew quieter, my heart only grew louder.
“That you’re actually a man and are cross-dressing?”
“That’s really not funny!”
I cried out, and he chuckled, waving his hand dismissively.
“I was joking, just joking.”
“Please understand that your jokes aren’t funny at all.”
“But am I really so disagreeable to you? Enough to refuse sharing a bed over this urgent situation?”
“That’s….”
Before those vivid crimson eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to say no.
The truth was, it wasn’t that I disliked him—it was that I feared I might come to like him. Such selfish reasons were why.
“I, I don’t dislike you. It’s just unavoidable. I’ll give up.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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