I Married the Terminally Ill Emperor - Chapter 97

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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 97

She pressed her chest firmly. Whenever she thought of the Emperor, her heart would race wildly, then ache and throb.

When she saw the future where the Emperor would fall in love with someone, this time pain washed over her.

As if she had unrequited love for him—why on earth was she acting like this?

Dahlia was startled by her own thoughts.

I have unrequited love for him? Me?

“Princess, did you have a bad dream?”

Annie asked with a worried voice.

“…Annie, I just had an absurd thought. I must have been thinking about His Majesty too much…”

Dahlia muttered with a dazed expression.

Right. It’s because the pattern on the Emperor’s back that I saw last night won’t leave my mind.

Having unrequited love for the Emperor—that’s ridiculous.

Dahlia shook her head vigorously.

“Did you see His Majesty in your dream?”

“Yes.”

Dahlia nodded, then wiped away the tears that were rolling down again.

“What makes you so sad?”

“Do I look sad?”

Annie nodded silently.

The Emperor had fallen in love, so why was she sad? It was something she should just accept calmly.

After all, she and the Emperor had agreed to marry temporarily to prevent the world’s destruction. Just for 3 months.

But her chest hurt.

Dahlia pressed her chest firmly. Just thinking about “temporary” and “3 months” made her chest throb.

Why? Why on earth was this happening?

“It seems like Emperor Gray will have a woman he loves…”

Annie looked at her with a startled expression. After looking around, Annie came closer and whispered so Cole wouldn’t hear.

“Did you see the future?”

“Yes.”

How wonderful it would be if it were just a simple dream? But she had seen the future. Seeing the Emperor’s sadness, it seemed like something that would happen after their marriage.

In a few months, the Emperor would fall in love.

“Annie. Something’s wrong with me. My chest hurts.”

Annie looked at her with worried eyes.

“Princess, shall I listen to what you have to say?”

She thought Annie would suggest going to the Royal Physician right away.

At Annie’s words, Dahlia instead pressed her lips tightly shut. She was afraid that if she spoke her feelings aloud, she would truly become aware of her true heart. Because the Emperor disliked women who liked him.

“No. I’m fine.”

“Then would you like to go for a walk? It’s a beautiful day today.”

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

Dahlia deliberately put on a bright expression.

There was no way she could like the Emperor. Absolutely not.

* * *

Emperor’s Office.

Oreon glanced at the Emperor, who seemed particularly downcast today.

It seemed like he went on a founding festival date with the Princess yesterday, but did they fight?

That’s when it happened.

“The common point between Silvia and that lady is a communication device?”

At the Emperor’s ice-cold voice, Oreon focused his attention and answered.

“Yes. We found what appeared to be burnt powder in both Silvia’s room and Lady Yofron’s room. It took a long time to analyze the powder, but we discovered it was a communication device.”

“Those who can access communication devices would be the Imperial Family or the Knight Order.”

“That’s correct.”

“Find out more details.”

“Yes.”

After Oreon left the office, the Emperor closed his tired eyes.

The Imperial Family or the Knight Order. What could they possibly gain by using those two people?

It made sense that Princess Viviana was targeted for attack.

Since they couldn’t touch him, they would have plotted to eliminate Viviana first.

He had been keeping his distance from Viviana to prevent such malicious beings, but naturally there were those who didn’t believe in that relationship.

But why attack the Princess of Foevern?

Attacking the Kingdom of Foevern would bring no benefit to the Empire whatsoever.

Of course, political enemies don’t always act in ways that benefit them.

Thinking of the Kingdom of Foevern naturally brought to mind Dahlia’s face from last night when she was shocked to see his back.

He didn’t have much time left. The superstition that ‘couples who get splashed by fountain water will live happily ever after’ had been floating around in his head so much that he couldn’t properly assess his condition.

He had always lived carefully, never showing his back to anyone, yet he had shown his markings to the very person he least wanted to find out.

He was simply amazed at how foolish he could be.

Surely Dahlia would continue to be curious. Perhaps someday he would have to tell her?

Come to think of it, she had honestly confessed her secrets to him, but he hadn’t shared any secrets with her.

Then Gray froze solid just like that.

As Emperor, he had always lived with the Empire as his top priority, and it was natural not to reveal the truth to her, a royal from a foreign country.

If he were to confess to someone that he was dying soon, that would pose the greatest threat to the Empire.

But hadn’t she also risked everything? Then shouldn’t he tell her too?

It had been so long since he had talked about himself to anyone that he didn’t even know how to bring it up.

“Ethan. Do you have any secrets?”

Gray asked with his eyes closed.

“Yes.”

Ethan answered bluntly.

At his unexpected answer, Gray opened his eyes with a surprised expression.

“What?”

“If it’s an order, I will tell you.”

“No. There’s no need for that.”

Ethan bowed his head.

“Is there someone you want to confess that secret to?”

“There is.”

“Who?”

“The person involved in that secret. I think I should tell that person someday.”

“When would that be?”

“When I want to tell them.”

Ethan’s simple answer actually made his complicated thoughts clear.

He wondered if he wanted to tell her now.

No. Rather, he hoped she wouldn’t know.

Dahlia was a tender-hearted and kind person, so if he told her he was going to die soon, she would surely be greatly shocked. If tears filled those big eyes and she cried sadly, would he be able to endure it?

Just the thought made his chest ache and hurt as if stabbed by a knife.

So he hoped she would find out as late as possible.

When they parted ways, when his existence would mean nothing to her.

He hoped she would find out in passing at that time.

* * *

Holy Knights gathered in front of an old cabin on the mountain slope.

“Search every inch of the area!”

“Yes!”

As it became noisy outside, a shabbily dressed man came out of the cabin.

“Holy Knights?”

The man who spotted the Holy Knights and widened his eyes approached while bowing repeatedly.

“Oh my, Holy Knights. Who are you looking for in such a remote mountain area?”

“A traitor who pretended to be a priest. Have you ever seen a priest named Spade?”

“No, I haven’t. Poor people like us aren’t even acknowledged by the priests.”

The man who bowed his head spoke while trembling.

The Holy Knight, well aware of the priests’ behavior, nodded and pointed to a half-tilted barn some distance from the cabin.

“What’s that over there?”

“It’s a place where we collect cow dung from the village. When we use it as fertilizer, mushrooms grow well.”

The Holy Knight frowned and looked at the Holy Knight standing beside him.

Then he shook his head in disgust.

“There’s no way that bastard would be in there.”

“Sir Sano, didn’t you hear the order to search every inch?”

Under his senior’s sharp gaze, Sir Sano had no choice but to approach the barn.

Holding the handkerchief to his nose and opening the barn door, he couldn’t enter inside due to the pungent smell of manure that assaulted his nostrils.

In the end, he just stuck his face in slightly and quickly scanned the interior with his eyes.

Along with the manure containers, one side was piled high with fallen leaves, grass, and other debris.

“There’s nothing here.”

Thinking he had done something pointless, Sir Sano spat and returned to the front of the cabin to report.

“Are you certain he’s not there?”

“Yes. I checked thoroughly without missing anything.”

Soon after, the Holy Knights thoroughly searched the cabin and its surroundings before departing.

The shabbily dressed Mountain Man only entered the barn after looking around cautiously, long after the Holy Knights had left.

“Priest.”

The Mountain Man lowered his voice as much as possible and carefully called out to someone.

Then Spade, who had been buried under the fallen leaves, opened his eyes wide and surveyed his surroundings alertly.

He tried to get up immediately, but a tearing pain shot through his back. However, that pain actually helped clear his mind.

To coat arrows with deadly poison.

Even though he had taken the antidote he always carried with him, his back burned and his eyes kept closing. He had climbed the mountain while his consciousness was fading.

He had to somehow escape from their encirclement.

He had lost consciousness as soon as he entered the dense mountain forest, but where was this place?

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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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