The Obsessive Male Lead Is Obsessed With Me! - Chapter 102

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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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Episode 102

“What do you mean?”

“That oracle, it’s about me.”

Lionel blinked once before answering.

“Yes.”

I wasn’t the only one surprised by his straightforward confirmation.

“Really? How did Your Highness know about that?”

“No, wait. There’s something more important than that right now.”

I wasn’t particularly curious about how Lionel knew I had an oracle and what its contents were.

Of course he would know since he’s the leader of the underworld. It was good that he blocked any answer since he couldn’t reveal this fact in front of my family, but.

‘Wow, now that I think about it, I’m getting angry.’

I asked Lionel with a forced smile on my lips.

“Was it because of that oracle that you told me to become empress?”

“Yes.”

“…Ugh!”

Suddenly, old memories came flooding back.

When I asked if he would yield the crown prince position to my brother once he recovered, he burst my bubble by saying he naturally would. I wanted to ask if he would still quietly step aside even if I became my brother’s fiancée, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

Has nothing changed even after all this time? Surely he’s not going to say something like he thought hard about it but doesn’t think it’s love, right?

‘This won’t do.’

I’m burning with anger inside. This absolutely won’t do. I need to make this clear here and now.

I grabbed Lionel’s shoulders and asked with blazing eyes.

“So you’d be fine with me marrying another man?”

“I wouldn’t be fine with it.”

“Right, of course… Huh?”

What did this man just say?

“You’d be fine with it?”

“No. I wouldn’t be fine with it.”

‘Wow, I’m actually hearing the words “I wouldn’t be fine with it” come out of this man’s mouth.’

That was so unexpected that I was left speechless, just blinking, when Lionel placed his hand over mine that was gripping his shoulder and calmly added.

“That’s why I was going to start a rebellion.”

“What?”

“If you were destined to become empress, I thought I should become emperor. So I planned to occupy the Imperial Palace and pull my brother down from the throne.”

“Pfft!”

“Cough, cough! Cough cough!”

Because Lionel casually said something so shocking, my family members spat out the water they were drinking, choked on their food, and started pounding their chests and coughing in chaos.

Only Lionel’s face remained peaceful and calm. I was momentarily dazed by that innocent face before coming to my senses.

“You were going to start a rebellion? Not joking, but for real?”

“Yes.”

…What on earth is going on?

‘In the novel, he was corrupted by external forces and started a rebellion against his own will.’

I thought I had completely broken that flag.

What? He was going to start a rebellion? And of his own will at that?

“B-but yesterday you were going to devote yourself to the temple!”

“I was only planning to stay for exactly one day.”

“What?”

“I couldn’t let anyone find out that I had other intentions. After diverting the Former Empress’s attention, I planned to occupy the Imperial Palace late at night and pull down the Emperor.”

Is it okay to talk about pulling down the Emperor so casually?

I couldn’t close my gaping mouth. At least it was comforting that all my other family members had the same reaction as me.

As if he couldn’t see us, Lionel continued in a carefree voice.

“If things had gone according to my original plan, the palace occupation would be finished by now…”

His glance at the clock was as leisurely and relaxed as if he were bringing up lunch plans.

Rather, that attitude made me certain. If this man had really set his mind to planning something, no one could have stopped him.

“I was already wondering what to do about the oracle, but since the owner of the oracle is known to be someone else, there’s no immediate need to start a rebellion.”

It was a very meaningful statement.

I wasn’t the only one who felt that way, as Father, who had been gaping, belatedly asked Lionel.

“Your Highness, may I presume to ask just one question?”

Lionel answered in a calm voice.

“Not Your Highness, but prospective son-in-law.”

“R-right. Prospective son-in-law. …When you say there’s no ‘immediate’ need to start a rebellion, if such a need were to arise…?”

Lionel answered immediately.

“I would start one, right away.”

His answer without a moment’s hesitation contained no heroism or resolve. As if it were something completely routine and natural for him.

Rather, that made me think it was beyond the stage where others could stop him.

Now I see, those eyes that seemed normal had spun not just once but a full 360 degrees.

My family members seemed to have similar impressions and asked me with their eyes what we should do about this.

But even if they asked, it’s not like I had any brilliant solutions!

‘No, I thought that as long as I prevented this man from being brainwashed by Nicole, he wouldn’t start a rebellion…’

Where exactly did this go wrong?

Is it my fault? I didn’t mean to, but did I seduce Lionel too well? So he decided that if I had to become empress, he would become emperor too?

‘Then does that mean… from now on, instead of monitoring this man going to devote himself to the temple, I have to monitor whether he’s secretly starting a rebellion?’

I thought everything had ended well, but after going in circles, this is truly the real beginning.

I felt like crying, but my mood wasn’t too bad.

‘Well, it’s better than him saying he doesn’t care whether I marry another man or not.’

Really. What a funny man.

When did he pretend to be indifferent, saying he didn’t know what love was? When exactly did he fall so hard for me?

“Cecil.”

“Yes?”

At Mother’s call, I stopped my thoughts and looked at her.

Mother glanced toward Lionel’s hands. More precisely, at the handcuffs binding his hands.

“Take good… care of him.”

In other words, keep him well tied up so he doesn’t cause trouble, right?

I nodded.

“Yes, I’ll take good care of him.”

Fortunately, Lionel didn’t seem to have any immediate plans to start a rebellion.

He seemed to like being called prospective son-in-law, so he probably had no intention of separating me from my family and monopolizing me alone.

In other words, even if Lionel really started a rebellion in the worst-case scenario, I wouldn’t be kidnapped and confined, right?

That one thing was truly fortunate.

* * *

After the Former Emperor’s funeral ended, the new Emperor and Empress’s coronation ceremony concluded safely.

Usually after a coronation ceremony, the newly enthroned emperor and empress host events to show their faces to the people, such as parades or commemorative speeches.

However, showing the sickly and weak emperor would only instill anxiety in the people, so the Imperial Family decided to skip the face-to-face events.

Instead, proclamations announcing the enthronement of the new Emperor and Empress were posted throughout the capital.

Those proclamations emphasized that God had arranged the fate of empress for Nicole, and that Nicole had chosen Cayen. It was to manipulate public opinion to make it seem as if Cayen becoming emperor was tantamount to God’s choice.

For the same reason, a new stone tablet was hung in the Central Temple.

It had been a very long time since an oracle was given to an ordinary person who wasn’t royalty. People flocked to the Central Temple to see the newly hung oracle.

[You shall bear a great ruler who will be remembered throughout history]

To anyone who saw it, this was clearly an oracle meaning she would become Empress.

Moreover, not just any wise ruler, but a wise ruler who would be remembered throughout history.

While people wondered what kind of child the current Imperial couple would have, they also wondered about the whereabouts of Lionel, who they had believed without doubt would become the next Emperor, but couldn’t even attend the Emperor’s funeral.

“Isn’t he still in the Northern Region?”

“No. He’s already returned to the capital. The monster wave has already ended, hasn’t it?”

“Really? Then why couldn’t he attend the late Emperor’s funeral?”

“Well, the thing is…”

Quite a few people had witnessed the scene in front of the Central Temple where the Northern knights stood blocking the door, clinging and crying desperately to prevent Lionel from entering.

What this meant was that many people had also learned about the imperial decree ordering Lionel to devote himself to the temple.

“What? Devotion to the temple? Why so suddenly?”

“Why do you think? Remember what oracle the Second Prince received.”

[Regardless of his own will, he shall rise to the supreme position]

“If the oracle’s content had been ordinary, it might be different, but the Second Prince’s very existence must have felt threatening to keep in the Imperial Palace.”

“So that’s why they rushed so urgently to send him off to the temple, right? Don’t covet the throne, but go to the temple and become Pope instead.”

The people weren’t fools.

Naturally, many suspected that the late Emperor’s death had been too sudden. They were just keeping quiet for fear of being dragged away without a trace if they spoke carelessly.

But just because everyone kept their mouths tightly shut didn’t mean the restless atmosphere would settle down.

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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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