The Former Empress Roughly Hides Her Abilities - Chapter 82

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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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【Chapter 82】

“I, I…”

Yuna’s lips trembled.

‘I didn’t know. But I can’t say I didn’t know. That would be like confessing I’m an idiot…’

While Yuna hesitated, unable to find words to say.

The Emperor demonstrated firsthand what it meant to swallow when sweet and spit out when bitter.

“Step back for now.”

“Your Majesty!”

“It seems God did not help you today. Of course, I do not doubt the Saint either. How could the One who is busy watching over all things in the world look after only you every time?”

‘He’s abandoning me this quickly?’

Just because I failed once, he’s doing this right away?

But the Emperor had his own circumstances.

He had brought the Saint into the conference room because she had repeatedly assured him that she could persuade people.

[Since the Cardinal gave me advice, I’ll be able to move everyone. Your Majesty just needs to create the opportunity.]

If the Saint had succeeded, the Emperor would have become a ruler with a capable lover.

But now that she had revealed her incompetence with absurd logic.

Keeping her around would only earn him the label of an incompetent monarch obsessed with romance rather than governance.

“The situation is not good right now. You know that your staying here won’t resolve the situation.”

As he said, people were constantly murmuring among themselves.

Yuna bit her lower lip hard.

‘I just made a mistake. I was just a bit hasty in my judgment…!’

What makes you all so great that you keep chattering away?

The Emperor consoled Yuna.

“When the situation improves, they’ll quickly forget. After all, you are the Saint.”

He needed to keep the threads of their relationship connected so they could join hands when circumstances changed.

“You’ll call for me later, right? Ah, I understand…”

After Yuna disappeared.

The Emperor’s gaze turned toward Rianel without a moment’s hesitation.

‘I really want her.’

That competence of hers.

If he could grasp her in his hands, he could elevate his throne to even greater heights.

‘But she won’t come over easily.’

That made him even more desperate.

Former Empress Ensilen had come over immediately when he gently stroked her ambitions.

But Rianel coldly drew a line as if she were someone who had been greatly betrayed before.

‘Unfortunate… no, this is actually a good thing.’

Something that not just anyone could easily possess was what truly showed its worth when owned.

Moreover, he was the Emperor.

Power existed to make the impossible possible.

Just as Rianel was leaving the conference room and the Emperor was about to follow.

“Your views on tariffs were truly interesting. Every time I see the Princess, I’m reminded that the Empire has many talented people.”

Prince Zarban, who had been waiting in the corridor, spoke to Rianel.

He couldn’t even enter the conference room, yet he was pretending to know by picking up bits of what happened inside. How pathetic.

Men, especially those in power, don’t put effort into things that bring them no benefit.

The Emperor, who saw through Zarban’s intentions, frowned.

‘Something dirty has gotten on what I had my eye on.’

* * *

Zarban wanted Rianel.

Not as a woman, but as talent.

‘Why do such talents only exist in the Empire?’

Was it because the Kingdom’s patriarchal system was so deeply rooted that there was no space for capable women to stand out?

He didn’t know why a talent like Rianel had fallen to the Empire, but it was clear he needed to bring her to the Kingdom.

‘Even for my succession to the throne.’

However, even Zarban thought there weren’t many advantages of the Garta Kingdom to present to her, so he showcased advantages from a different angle.

“All men of the desert have trained bodies. We are all warriors, so we don’t neglect our bodies.”

They had fundamentally different bodies from the frail men of the Empire, that was his point.

Zarban puffed out his chest. Though it might not show through his tunic, a healthy man’s muscles were bound to look attractive to the opposite sex.

Rianel slowly nodded.

“Your biceps are developed and your pectorals are bulging. I can see it’s a body that consistently trains.”

“That’s right, you know something about it.”

Did women of the Empire also have knowledge about muscles?

Something seemed odd, but Zarban brushed it off.

“It’s not limited to just the upper body. The lower body is solid too. That’s why there are few unmarried men among desert kingdom males. We’re all devoted to our families and satisfy our wives.”

“I don’t think that’s the case.”

This time, a rebuttal came immediately.

“If your quadriceps or gastrocnemius were developed, tendons should be visible below your trouser cuffs. But since nothing can be confirmed, I can tell you have relatively weak lower body.”

‘What…?’

Having become someone who had relatively neglected lower body training, he frowned, then suddenly laughed.

‘What a funny woman.’

Right, what did muscles matter anyway.

He was a man closer to being a diplomat than a warrior.

“…Right. You seem to have deep knowledge about muscles, so I think we’ll get along well. Won’t you have some tea? I’ll serve it myself.”

He had conveniently bought some tea that the nobles went crazy for when coming to the Empire.

Rianel narrowed her eyes as soon as she saw the tea leaves.

“Where did you get this?”

‘That’s right, she’s taking the bait.’

Zarban was inwardly satisfied.

‘Well, it’s tea that cost 500 gold, so naturally…’

“You’ve been scammed.”

“?!?”

Zarban was momentarily speechless.

Could she tell that in 3 seconds?

“Where did you purchase this tea? Do you remember the personal details of the merchant who sold it?”

However, Rianel was serious.

As the actual person responsible for protocol, all responsibility would fall on her if things went wrong.

Rianel knew that such trivial incidents could become pretexts that worked against them in negotiations.

Zarban let out a hollow laugh.

‘She doesn’t even react to my proposal and immediately shows interest in mere tea leaves.’

Even if preventing fraud was good news, he wasn’t someone who couldn’t see through the truth mixed beneath it.

‘This woman has not even the slightest interest in me!’

It was a painfully plain truth.

* * *

State Minister Callen, who had nervously entered when the Emperor—who usually stayed out of government affairs—requested a private audience.

“…What did you say?”

Furrowed his brow upon hearing the Emperor’s nonsense.

It was already distressing enough that his daughter was dating that Bureau Director who was obsessed with his mentor, and now even the Emperor was here tormenting him with all sorts of trivial words.

“Don’t you also think it’s a waste to keep your daughter as just a Team Leader at the Special Tax Bureau?”

The Emperor never made direct demands even when he wanted something.

Knowing his own incompetence, this was the result of being careful about his conduct to avoid criticism.

‘It would be good for your family house too, the Empire should treat such talent well. Your daughter deserves it…’

However, having sat in the State Minister position for a long time, the Duke understood what he was getting at.

‘So he wants to make my daughter the Empress.’

He couldn’t understand it.

‘Why now, when he wouldn’t even look at her during the time she used to follow him around saying she liked him?’

The fact that the Emperor wasn’t good son-in-law material also contributed to dampening the Duke’s mood.

While ignorant women might be charmed by his decent face and the position of Emperor and cling to him, there was no one as narrow-minded and petty as the Emperor.

When situations arose where he had to take responsibility for something, he would habitually shift the blame he should receive onto his partner and slip away by himself.

Knowing how the Former Empress had become isolated in the Imperial Palace, he absolutely didn’t want to hand over his daughter.

However, since he couldn’t refuse outright, the Duke decided to check the Emperor’s true intentions.

“I would like to ask the reason why His Majesty holds my daughter in such high regard.”

“Whenever I see your daughter, I’m reminded of the Former Empress who died so regrettably at a young age. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.”

The Duke’s eyebrow twitched.

So right now…

‘He likes my daughter because she resembles his ex-wife?’

Among the common pickup lines men use to woo women was “I feel like I’ve seen you somewhere before.”

However, this one wasn’t cliché but was so excessively original that it was absurd.

Where in the world would you find a crazy bastard who pursues a royal marriage for such a reason?

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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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