I Married the Terminally Ill Emperor - Chapter 94

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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 94

At that, Dahlia’s heart dropped with a thud to the ground.

My Empress.

Though she had agreed to marry him, the words ‘my Empress’ sounded as if they were already intimately close. Her ears burned hot as if they were on fire.

“…I’m not an Empress yet.”

“Right. My future Empress. The medicine only lasts 3 hours, so you’d better drink it quickly.”

At his urging, Dahlia hastily took the medicine bottle and drank it.

“What color did I change to?”

Dahlia lifted her face toward the Emperor. The Emperor’s persistent gaze lingered on her face.

Isn’t he staring too intently? Feeling her face growing redder, she lowered her head, and then heard his voice.

“You turned brown. But your beauty isn’t hidden at all. Won’t this be useless then?”

Dissatisfaction was evident in the Emperor’s voice.

“That’s the same for Your Majesty too. Your face is practically glowing!”

Dahlia spoke in a grumbling tone, feeling unnecessarily embarrassed.

“Call me Jin. Unless you want to attract attention by calling me Your Majesty outside. I’ll call you by your fake name, Ria.”

He suggested with an amused voice.

“That’s a bit…”

Dahlia trailed off with a bewildered expression. Even though it was his middle name, calling him by his name felt awkward.

“Shall we practice?”

Lightly ignoring her refusal, he urged her on.

“…Jin-nim.”

Dahlia lowered her long eyelashes and shyly opened her mouth. Her face was already red as a beet.

“Just Jin would be better. Let’s go.”

The Emperor naturally took her hand and opened the door to go out.

Behind the door, the interior decorated as a general store was visible.

Dahlia’s eyes sparkled as she looked around with curiosity.

Being a general store, it had everything. Children’s toys. Decorations. Plates. Porcelain.

The Emperor picked up a women’s hat and a men’s hat from the display case and approached.

He placed a wide-brimmed bonnet style hat on her head.

“Is it okay to just use these without the owner’s permission?”

Dahlia looked up at the Emperor with a surprised expression.

“I’m the owner here. Is there anything else you’d like to take?”

“Oh, I see. No, there isn’t.”

Relieved, she adjusted her hat and sent him an urging look that meant let’s go out quickly.

The Emperor also put on the hat he had brought.

Soon they opened the general store door and went out, and the night market spread before their eyes.

Torches were installed throughout the streets, so even though it was night, the surroundings shone brightly like day. People bustled about, and lively voices could be heard here and there.

Dahlia’s eyes sparkled as she continuously observed her surroundings.

Having only stayed at the Star Palace all this time, she had never even been to the capital of the Kingdom of Foevern. This was her first time seeing so many crowds, and her first time seeing so many goods piled up.

Everything was unfamiliar and new since it was all her first time.

“Ria, it’s dangerous.”

In an instant, Dahlia was pulled into the Emperor’s embrace.

Without realizing it, she had been walking forward as if enchanted, failing to notice someone rushing toward her who almost collided with her.

“I’m sorry.”

The young man who had been running quickly apologized with an apologetic face and disappeared.

Dahlia looked up at him with an embarrassed expression.

“I’m sorry.”

“When there are many people around, it’s better to be careful, young lady.”

“Tch. I’m not a child.”

“Who was it that just got distracted by food a moment ago?”

Dahlia smiled sheepishly in embarrassment and took his hand first, gripping it tightly.

“This is how I should do it, right?”

He looked at their joined hands and smiled at her as if to say that was the right answer.

“Yes.”

Dahlia approached the food stall that had caught her attention earlier.

“Welcome!”

A middle-aged man with a warm appearance smiled kindly.

The food stall was full of unusual foods.

Seeing the fried food that looked like scorpions, Dahlia stared at it intently with curious eyes. She had been so focused on this that she hadn’t noticed someone approaching.

“It’s fried scorpion. Would you like to try some?”

The middle-aged man cautiously offered it to the noble who clearly had an elegant bearing.

During the founding festival, there were nobles walking around dressed modestly like commoners, but even wearing hats couldn’t hide their beauty.

“This was really a scorpion? Is it edible?”

Dahlia asked back with a surprised face.

“Of course. It’s quite savory.”

The middle-aged man held out the fried scorpion skewered on a stick.

“Ah, I didn’t bring any money…”

“Are you from a foreign country? During the founding festival period, all food is free.”

The middle-aged man kindly explained to his novice noble customer.

“Really?”

Dahlia’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Of course. We decide in advance how much we’ll sell per day, report it to the country, then sell that amount of food for free.”

“Then doesn’t everyone try to sell tons of food? Because they want to make money.”

The middle-aged man laughed heartily.

“That’s why we have to submit our account books for the year in advance. They calculate the average amount from those books and pay us accordingly. And we also want to enjoy the founding festival, so we tend to sell moderately and then close up.”

“Wow, that’s very reasonable. Citizens get to eat food for free, and food sellers make money.”

“That’s right, hahaha. The successive emperors have been faithfully upholding the First Emperor’s will that ‘during the founding festival period, no one should go hungry.’ Among them, the current Emperor is the best!”

Dahlia felt pleased as if she had been praised herself and glanced sideways at the Emperor standing next to her.

He remained expressionless even at her praise.

“Really, Emperor Gray, you’re the best!”

When she repeated the middle-aged man’s words, only then could she see the corners of his mouth slightly rise.

He’s pleased but pretending not to be.

“Ah, but be careful because there are bad people who deceive visitors from foreign countries and ask for money.”

“Thank you for letting me know.”

“My arm hurts. I need to sell these quickly so I can enjoy the founding festival too.”

Dahlia inadvertently accepted the fried scorpion skewer he held out to her.

“Thank you.”

“Now, may happiness stay with you. During the founding festival, everyone greets each other like this.”

“Yes! Now, may happiness stay with you!”

The middle-aged man smiled and turned away to serve other customers.

As Dahlia moved away from the food stall, she looked at the fried scorpion skewer with troubled eyes.

The Emperor, who had been watching her from the side, chuckled softly.

“If you can’t eat it, you can throw it away.”

“I can’t do that. It was a gift.”

Dahlia shook her head with a tearful expression. Then she took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut.

“I’m going to try it! Don’t stop me! I’m really going to do it!”

As Dahlia tried to taste the fried scorpion skewer with trembling lips, he snatched the scorpion skewer from her hand.

Dahlia’s eyes flew open as she stared at her empty hand.

“Wow- I had just made up my mind.”

As she spoke with a deflated expression, he casually brought the fried scorpion skewer to his mouth.

Dahlia’s eyes widened as she looked up at him.

“Your Maj- I mean, Jin, you can eat that?”

“I used to eat it sometimes during the founding festival.”

He ate the fried scorpion like it was a snack.

The Emperor is a Sword Master. When he uses his sword, aura comes out, his body is agile, he rides horses well. He’s an amazing person who defeats demon beasts without fear.

But this was the first time he looked so brave.

“Jin, you’re amazing.”

Dahlia looked up at him with sparkling eyes.

“I didn’t expect to receive such a look of respect just for eating one of these in your place.”

“When I was young, I couldn’t eat cucumbers, so Elder Brother ate them for me. From then on, I decided to respect Elder Brother.”

He burst into refreshing laughter at her innocent confession.

“Then am I also an object of your respect from now on?”

After Dahlia nodded vigorously, she shyly gave him a thumbs up.

“Yes! You’re the best!”

* * *

After that, Dahlia bustled around like a restless squirrel, constantly on the move.

“This is pretty.”

“How much is it?”

“Oh my, how cute.”

“I’ll buy it.”

Every time Dahlia said a word, the Emperor became her treasury, then her porter.

“Now, on to the next place!”

Wearing a bracelet with shells woven over her thread bracelet and even a necklace made of flowers, Dahlia’s look was certainly excessive, yet it suited her perfectly without any sense of rejection.

Gray enjoyed watching Dahlia’s bright expression as he faithfully followed her around.

Then, suddenly, all the lights in the night market went out at once and darkness descended.

Dahlia, who had been walking ahead, stopped abruptly in surprise.

“Jin?”

Dahlia called out to the Emperor with a slightly trembling voice.

Even though she was clearly holding the Emperor’s hand, fear rushed over her momentarily as everything went pitch black before her eyes.

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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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