I Married the Terminally Ill Emperor - Chapter 123
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Married a Terminally Ill Emperor
Chapter 123
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Facing Roand in his office, Dahlia silently drank her second cup of tea.
This was the first time she had a conversation with him since the existence of demon beasts became known, and her mouth felt parched.
She was curious about how much he knew in detail about demon beasts. However, she doubted whether he would speak honestly to her.
So she decided to put her curiosity aside and bring up the guard duty request first.
She was wondering how to persuade him when he smiled gently and spoke first.
“Princess, if you have something to say, please speak comfortably.”
“Haven’t you been busy lately?”
“Thanks to Emperor Gray, I’m having some leisure time for the first time in a while.”
He spoke coldly, openly revealing his dissatisfaction toward the Emperor.
Dahlia nodded awkwardly and moved her lips hesitantly.
He clearly disliked the Emperor, so would it be okay to ask for a favor?
Asking him to help her was essentially the same as asking him to help the Emperor. Every action she took as the prospective Empress would benefit the Emperor.
As she kept hesitating without speaking, Roand asked again.
“Princess, please speak comfortably.”
“Well… since you said you’re resting, I wanted to ask you something. I’m planning to go outside. Could I possibly ask you to guard me?”
“By outside, do you mean leaving the Imperial Palace?”
“Yes.”
Roand glanced at Cole standing behind her as if asking why he didn’t stop the Princess.
Instead, Cole sent him a pleading look asking him to please dissuade the Princess.
Roand turned his gaze back to the Princess and shook his head slightly.
“It would be better if you didn’t go out. Demon beasts are more dangerous than you think, Princess.”
“I know. That’s why I came to ask you like this, Roand.”
“Why on earth do you want to go outside?”
“Do you remember the maid child from before? Her orphanage is located in the capital outskirts. Starting from there, I want to gradually help neglected places.”
Roand’s eyes widened at this unexpected reason.
The image of the Queen overlapped behind Princess Dahlia.
The Queen lost her life trying to save me, a mere orphan. And now the Princess also planned to venture into dangerous places for the orphans at the orphanage.
Why on earth…?
“…Why would you go that far? They’re just mere orphans abandoned even by their parents. Why would you try to die for such children, why!”
Roand’s voice grew increasingly agitated. It felt as if the cold raindrops from that day were falling on his face.
The Queen should have survived, not him, an orphan.
He had asked himself hundreds, thousands of times why she made such a foolish choice, but he could never hear an answer.
Yet now the Queen’s only daughter, the Princess, was trying to do the exact same thing.
Meanwhile, Annie, startled by Roand’s words, glanced at Cole. She was worried that Cole, being from an orphanage, might have been hurt.
However, Cole was instead staring intently at Roand with a puzzled look.
On the other hand, Dahlia thought carefully and then spoke with a cautious expression.
“Hmm… Since you ask why, to answer that, it’s because I can do it. I want to do it because it’s something I can do. Everyone is busy, aren’t they? Your Majesty and the knights go on patrol, and the officials are busy in their respective positions. But I have a lot of time.”
“…”
Roand stared at her blankly, unable to say anything.
She does it because she can.
The cold raindrops he felt on his face turned into heavy rain, and he saw the Queen moving forward.
The Queen’s hurried figure, thinking only of helping him. Her sad face. Her faint smile. All of it was solely her heart trying to protect him.
…Your Majesty. I’m sorry. And thank you.
As he whispered the words he couldn’t voice aloud and covered his eyes with one hand, the Princess’s voice reached him.
“And… I have no intention of dying. That’s why I came to ask you like this, Roand.”
Only then, as if awakening from a dream, the cold raindrops he felt on his face instantly disappeared.
The Princess’s request.
He had neither the strength nor the heart to refuse her request.
“I will protect you, Princess.”
After all, the reason he became a Sword Master with all his might was to protect her.
The Princess’s face lit up brightly at his acceptance.
“Thank-”
“Isn’t the person the Captain should protect me, not her?”
As Dahlia was about to express her gratitude, Heidi, who had entered the office at some point, interrupted.
Behind her, Roand’s adjutant bowed his head with an apologetic expression.
“Hello, Saint.”
When Dahlia greeted her, Heidi sat across from her, next to Roand.
As if claiming ownership over him.
Soon Heidi smiled warmly and spoke to Dahlia.
“Wouldn’t it be better for the Princess to stay safely inside the Imperial Palace? In many ways.”
“In many ways?”
“Yes. If the delicate Princess recklessly acts- oh, sorry. If you recklessly move around and get into danger, Emperor Gray, who failed to protect the Princess, would gain the dishonor of not being able to protect even his fiancée from demon beasts, following the infamy of choosing the wrong prospective Empress.”
“Heidi!”
Heidi turned to Roand sitting beside her with surprised eyes.
Cold air was dripping from his face she met. Along with that, his gaze contained a warning not to treat the Princess carelessly. He had been endlessly warm only to the Princess.
Inside her, jealousy toward the Princess and greed toward him swirled fiercely.
Enough to ignore his warning and want to eliminate that fragile Princess from her sight immediately.
As if reading her mind, Roand’s gaze toward her became even colder.
Roand stood up from his seat and extended his hand to Dahlia.
“Princess, if you let me know when you’re going out, I’ll come to escort you.”
“Yes. Then I’ll contact you.”
Dahlia didn’t want to get caught in the tense confrontation between the two, so she quickly got up and left the office.
Silence enveloped the office with only the two of them remaining.
Heidi was the first to break the silence.
“Why on earth are you guarding the Princess?”
“Did you forget His Holiness the Pope’s command? The order to bring the Princess to Halen.”
Heidi glared at him with dissatisfied eyes.
She didn’t know he would use the Pope as an excuse.
Why were the Pope, him, and even this Empire’s Emperor all so eager to protect the Princess?
“Is that really the reason?”
“If she gets hurt, do you think His Holiness the Pope will forgive you and me?”
Heidi felt a chill down her spine at his blunt words.
Intoxicated by her role as Saint, she almost forgot something important. That the Pope’s commands were absolute.
His Holiness the Pope was not someone who gave second chances.
When she was receiving Saint education, there were several peers who dreamed of becoming Saint. However, those who made mistakes disappeared one by one, and in the end, only she remained.
Roand looked at her pale complexion with indifferent eyes and spoke.
“Do you understand now?”
“…Yes. Since His Holiness the Pope wants the Princess, we must ensure her safety. One thing I don’t understand is why His Holiness the Pope suddenly wants the Princess.”
“I don’t know. Let me ask you. Is there something about demon beasts that I don’t know?”
“No.”
The two looked at each other searchingly to understand each other’s true intentions, then turned their gazes away to avoid being caught in their respective lies.
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“Princess Tiara wants to go to the orphanage together? Why?”
Dahlia looked at Princess Tiara, who had suddenly barged in, with bewildered eyes.
The Krzea Empire’s diplomatic mission had all returned, but she alone remained here. Under the pretext of wanting to see her friend’s wedding.
But now she wanted to accompany them to the orphanage too.
Should they get matching friendship rings or something?
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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