Chapter 81
Would he worry about me like that if I got hurt too?
A pointless thought crept in, born from a sense of hurt. Eunha shook her head, thinking she was being foolish.
Still, the sadness she felt from the cold treatment she’d received from the person she liked didn’t disappear.
Eunha could still clearly remember the moment she first met Rixion.
She had thought then that she had never seen anyone so handsome and impressive in her entire life. She had seen countless famous celebrities, both domestic and international, but she could confidently say that none of them compared to him.
She experienced “love at first sight” for the first time. So fast it was hard to believe even for herself, her heart had been stolen in an instant.
As the days passed, those feelings only grew stronger—so strong that she now liked him more than she could handle.
That was why it hurt whenever he didn’t even glance at her, or when he replied as if she were a nuisance like he was doing now. It was painful. Agonizing.
“Staying inside the Imperial Palace is so boring. I want to go outside.”
Eunha muttered softly to herself with a gloomy expression.
Rixion must have heard her small voice, because without even looking at her, he replied,
“I understand how you feel, but without His Majesty’s permission, leaving the Imperial Palace is not allowed.”
“But it was fine back then. The Emperor allowed it, and we went to the festival.”
“That was a one-time exception, as promised to His Majesty. It’s not possible anymore.”
When Eunha tried to persist again, Rixion answered with a sigh.
No matter what she said, his responses cut her off coldly. Eunha’s face grew even more miserable.
“Then at least tell me something interesting. I’m bored.”
For some reason, irritation rose up inside her, and she snapped without realizing it. The moment the words left her mouth, she regretted it—but spilled water couldn’t be taken back.
She timidly glanced at Rixion, but he was still looking down at her with an expressionless face.
“I am not here to entertain the Saintess.”
Rixion spoke indifferently, without any particular sign of anger.
Unable to meet his cold gaze, Eunha lowered her head and spoke,
“I know… I’m sorry. Please forget what I just said.”
She then stared at the ground with a completely deflated expression, hoping he would understand that she was reflecting on her mistake and felt sorry.
But no matter how slumped her shoulders were or how dejected her face looked, there was no response from him.
The other knights looked at her helplessly, unsure what to do, but Rixion still seemed to have not even a shred of interest in her. If anything, he seemed annoyed.
Following the Emperor’s orders, Rixion was solely focused on his duty as her guard, vigilantly watching their surroundings.
From the beginning, he had always been like this. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he barely responded at all, and whenever she crossed the line by asking personal questions, he openly showed his displeasure.
As if his entire being was declaring that he had no interest in her whatsoever.
The only one hurt by that was Eunha herself.
Feeling like she might burst into tears, Eunha lowered her head and stood completely still.
“Lady Eunha, what’s wrong?”
“Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
The knights who had been watching her from a short distance approached and asked.
Everyone here bends over backward for me. Even the Emperor—the highest authority in this country—treats me with nothing but kindness.
So why… why is this man the only one who won’t even look at me?
Suddenly, a stubborn impulse rose within her. She wanted his attention—no matter how, no matter what she had to say.
Looking at Rixion with resentful eyes, Eunha spoke impulsively.
“Actually, I met Lady Christener yesterday.”
As expected, Rixion’s eyes immediately turned to her.
Meeting eyes that looked both shocked and angry, Eunha continued calmly,
“I went while the Duke stepped away briefly because he had something to attend to.”
Even Eunha herself felt unfamiliar with her own behavior. She had never provoked someone like this before.
Yet now, as if it were second nature, she was deliberately saying things to irritate him—just to draw the attention of the man she liked.
Was it because she had secretly left the Imperial Palace? Or because she had gone to meet Lady Christener?
Staring into Rixion’s ice-cold eyes, Eunha wondered.
Which of those facts was irritating him more?
“Lady Christener was really kind. Even though I visited her suddenly, she treated me warmly, and I was so happ—”
“Why did you go see her?”
But Eunha’s defiance didn’t last long.
In an instant, Rixion’s hand shot out and grabbed her left shoulder.
His eyes, sharp and threatening, stared straight into hers.
I’m scared.
Eunha froze instinctively, overwhelmed by fear.
Those eyes, as if he wanted to strangle her at any moment, and that large hand gripping her shoulder as though it might snap it in half—it terrified her to death.
“Your Grace!”
Sensing the dangerous atmosphere, the knights hurriedly stepped between them.
One of the knights called out to stop him, but Rixion didn’t even spare him a glance.
“I asked why you went to see Liz.”
As he spoke, he tightened his grip on Eunha’s shoulder.
“Aah!”
Overwhelmed by both the instinctive fear Rixion radiated and the sharp pain in her shoulder, Eunha screamed.
Seeing this, the knights rushed forward and clung to both of Rixion’s arms.
“Your Grace, please calm down!”
With several knights restraining him, Rixion finally seemed to come to his senses and froze.
The blue in his eyes slowly returned as he looked at Eunha standing before him.
From Eunha’s trembling eyes, a single tear rolled down her cheek.
Rixion stiffened, then released her shoulder. As if fleeing, he stepped back a few paces from her.
The knights who had been clinging to his arms also let go.
Realizing what he had just done, Rixion’s expression hardened.
He looked around with confused eyes, then ran a hand through his hair.
“My apologies. I’ll go cool my head for a moment.”
Without even looking at Eunha, Rixion said this and hurriedly left.
Left behind, Eunha stared blankly at his retreating figure. Tears streamed from her wide eyes, soaking her cheeks.
“Lady Eunha, are you all right?”
The surrounding knights crowded around her, each one expressing concern, but Eunha felt no comfort at all.
After Rixion left, Eunha also stopped her walk and returned to the Seventh Palace where she stayed, as if she might collapse at any moment.
And that day, she shut herself in her room and cried and cried, all day long.
“Liz, what kind of trouble did you cause again, you little menace?”
After the order banning outings was issued, I had been spending my days peacefully inside the mansion.
But for some reason, my brother Michael came charging in early in the morning, berating me.
I looked up at him with bewildered eyes and replied,
“I’ve really behaved myself these past two days. I didn’t cause any trouble.”
“Then why did His Majesty suddenly summon you to the Imperial Palace?”
“The Emperor?”
This time, I was genuinely surprised. I pushed aside the gossip magazine I’d been reading and jumped to my feet.
“He wants me to go see him?”
“No—why would the Emperor want you? You really didn’t cause any trou—”
Ignoring Michael’s nagging mid-sentence, I was protesting my innocence when I suddenly froze.
No way… Rixion Luhanes didn’t tell the Emperor about that incident, did he?
No, that couldn’t be it. Why would my almost getting kidnapped have anything to do with the Emperor?
Or… did he find out that I healed those families in District Four? No, that couldn’t have been discovered either.
Then is it because I met Ji Eunha the day before yesterday? Because she snuck out to meet me? But why would I get scolded for that? I wasn’t the one who called her out.
“You look like there might be something on your mind.”
As I frantically ran through possibilities, Michael narrowed his eyes and glared at me.
I flinched internally and quickly looked away. This is why I hate sharp-eyed brothers.
“Hurry up and confess. I’ll think of a countermeasure.”
Michael was one hundred percent convinced that I’d caused trouble again. He pulled out a chair and sat directly in front of me.
I felt annoyed at how low Michael Christener’s trust in his younger sister was—yet at the same time, oddly touched.
Just like he had for the past twenty-three years, he was ready to clean up the mess his little sister made. That self-sacrificing attitude was genuinely moving.
Honestly, I wanted to seize this chance, confess everything, and let him handle the aftermath.
But I truly had no idea why the Emperor was summoning me to the Imperial Palace.
After thinking it over once more, I finally shrugged, acting like I didn’t know anything.
“I’ll just go and see for myself. It’s not like he’s going to kill me, right?”
