Chapter : 32
As soon as the Duke of Kasier appeared, the darkness that had shrouded everything like the night sky was lifted, and the surroundings brightened.
Through the now-clear window, I could see the place where I had stepped down from the carriage.
It seemed that the Emperor’s magical barrier had been broken.
I survived—
I really survived!
The real Duke Kasier had found me.
But why… why did I feel so relieved?
Kasier was still a villain like the Emperor, yet seeing his face made me feel safe.
“Are you all right? Were you hurt anywhere…?”
The Duke came straight to me, inspecting my condition.
Instead of answering, I ran into his arms.
My hands, clutching his collar, trembled like the fluttering wings of a small butterfly.
I had been pretending to be fine, telling myself I could handle this—but truthfully, I was terrified.
In this world, I was nothing more than an ant, whose life could be snuffed out at any moment by the Emperor’s will.
Was it because the Emperor was watching?
Kasier didn’t ask me anything about what had just happened.
He only placed a careful hand on my back and quietly comforted me.
Strangely, just having him by my side was enough to ease my fear—
as if he were truly my husband.
“You found this place faster than I thought, Kissen. Did I underestimate you too much? Or perhaps…”
The Emperor, Rosskalox, shifted his gaze from the Duke to me.
“…you had a reason to act so desperately for once?”
“What were you thinking, Your Majesty? Why would you do such a thing?”
“Why don’t you guess, and tell me what you think I’m planning?”
Even with Kasier standing before him—after breaking through his magical barrier—the Emperor looked utterly relaxed.
“The Emperor of the Empire, staging a kidnapping in broad daylight—of a Duke’s wife, no less, his own nephew’s wife. If this leaks among the nobility, Your Majesty won’t be spared from scandal.”
Kasier’s voice was colder and lower than I had ever heard it before.
I couldn’t even imagine what kind of expression he was wearing as he faced the Emperor.
But one thing was certain—
his words carried a clear threat.
A heavy silence settled between the Emperor and the Duke.
I had almost forgotten—Kasier was the Emperor’s loyal dog.
Was he even allowed to defy him like this?
If the Emperor’s temper turned sour, it could all end terribly.
If things went wrong, I could end up buried quietly in some remote mountain alongside the Duke.
After all the effort I had made to stop Kasier from losing control—
don’t tell me this is going to end in another ruinous ending.
My heart began pounding again—
but this time, not from fear, but from panic.
“As long as your lips stay shut, this won’t leak anywhere. But surely you know that already. Don’t tell me you’re threatening me?”
“It was Your Majesty who first threatened my wife.”
The two men faced each other, neither yielding an inch.
Yes, I had been kidnapped, but every time the Duke opened his mouth, I grew anxious that he might provoke the Emperor’s wrath.
“Threaten you? I merely wanted to see her—the woman who melted the icy heart of my dear nephew.”
“There were many ways to meet her that didn’t involve abduction. If Your Majesty had shown even a bit of prudence, my wife wouldn’t have suffered such an ordeal.”
“True. That’s why I invited you both to the palace. But my loving nephew decided to hide his wife away instead.”
So… that’s why the invitation said I should accompany him?
Because the Emperor was curious about me?
Yes, I’d strayed from the original route—but kidnapping me?
At least we made it to the palace; otherwise, he might have stormed the Duke’s mansion itself.
Typical madness for someone who commands even Kasier.
“My dear nephew, I’m sorry, but I can’t let the Duchess go just yet.”
“What nonsense are you spouting now?”
A crack appeared on Kasier’s composed face.
Instead of answering, the Emperor turned his gaze to me.
Why… do I have such a bad feeling about this?
“I still have a few things to discuss with the Duchess.”
“Then I’ll join—”
Kasier was about to insist on staying, reluctantly but firmly—
—but the Emperor interrupted, “No need. I wish to speak with her alone.”
Placing his hand on my shoulder, the Emperor pulled me away from Kasier in an instant.
From his other hand, facing Kasier, a torrent of darkness—vast as the universe—burst forth.
“So until our conversation is finished… stay right where you are.”
“You damned old—”
Caught completely off guard by the Emperor’s strike, the Duke couldn’t even finish his words before he was swallowed by the black void.
“Duke Kasier!”
I shouted, but he was already gone.
“Where did you take him?”
I didn’t know where the courage came from,
but I looked straight at the Emperor and demanded an answer.
“How surprising,” he said, smiling faintly. “You can make that kind of face—even to me, the Empire’s one and only sun.”
Despite the smile, every word pressed down on me with overwhelming weight.
But I couldn’t back down now.
Kasier had come all this way to save me.
He must have been afraid too, yet he still faced the Emperor.
“I asked where the Duke is, Your Majesty.”
Seeing how he’d cast Kasier into some unknown space just for defying him, I knew I didn’t stand a chance if I lied or faltered.
If I was going to lose my head anyway, I might as well die boldly.
That way, at least my story would sound heroic in the afterlife.
“You have courage,” the Emperor said, clearly amused. “I like that.”
I’d expected him to draw his sword, but instead, his expression turned oddly pleased, as though he genuinely admired me.
What… what is going on?
His reaction caught me completely off guard.
“Kissen will return soon,” he said lightly. “I sent him to the Doorfield—a place of hundreds of gates. If it’s him, he’ll find the right one and come back unharmed, though it might take some effort.”
The Emperor extended a hand toward a doorway that led to a corridor and looked back at me.
“In the meantime, I’d like to borrow some of your time.”
The place the Emperor brought me to was a reception room.
It was so calm and peaceful that it was hard to believe there had just been such chaos.
I didn’t even think to touch the tea before me; instead, I stared at the man sitting across the table.
He, on the other hand, seemed completely absorbed in savoring the tea’s aroma and taste.
Would it kill him to say something?
Just sitting there drinking tea was unbearable.
“I actually knew,” he said suddenly.
“…Pardon?”
“I knew. That you’re the only daughter of Marquis Alios—and the real Duchess.”
“How could you possibly—”
“I had a photograph prepared beforehand. So recognizing you wasn’t difficult. I was going to tell you the truth right away, but… your reactions were so fascinating that I decided to watch a bit longer.”
So he’d known all along—and still toyed with me?
“I caused you quite a bit of trouble on our first meeting,” he continued lightly. “I apologize. Age makes one sentimental, you see—I grow lonely sometimes.”
Coming from a man whose face didn’t even have a single wrinkle, the words rang completely hollow.
“But,” he said, “if you ever find yourself in need of help, you may seek me out. Once—just once. As long as your request isn’t excessive, I’ll grant what you wish.”
Now that was tempting.
Sure, I’d been through hell, but if I got a promise like that from the Emperor himself… it was practically a blank check.
Still—why offer me such a deal?
Watching how deftly he handled the Duke, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some hidden agenda behind it.
“I’m honored by Your Majesty’s generosity,” I said carefully.
Still, I wasn’t about to refuse a good thing.
After the proper courtesies, I went straight to the point.
“Your Majesty, may I ask why you wished to see me alone?”
“Of course. It’s not every day I get to meet someone like you.”
Then what was this all for?
Why stage a kidnapping in broad daylight in the imperial palace of all places?
Assassination?
That wasn’t my specialty.
Or maybe he wanted me to spy on the Duke?
That would make more sense.
Even if Kasier was his nephew, he possessed enough power to stand against the Emperor.
Perhaps not immediately, but with the right plans, he could lead a rebellion.
That made him someone worth keeping an eye on.
“And what exactly did Your Majesty want to confirm?” I asked.
“That you are truly the Duke’s wife.”
…At least he wasn’t about to order me to do something dangerous.
But “truly”?
Did he know something?
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
When uncertain, it was best to play dumb.
“You may not realize it,” the Emperor said, “but earning Kissen’s heart isn’t easy. For me, it’s harder than conquering the Empire itself.”
For a fleeting moment, the ever-smiling Emperor’s expression darkened.
So… was he not just using Kasier as a pawn?
He looked almost… sorrowful.
As though he truly regretted being unable to win Kasier’s affection.
“But it seems someone else has managed to open his heart before me,” he said. “I wondered if perhaps—because of the arranged marriage I pushed upon him—you were a fake wife he brought in just to deceive me. Kissen takes after me; he’s clever in that way.”
He knew his nephew all too well.
That might actually explain a lot—
maybe the Emperor’s meddling was why Kasier had been so insistent on our marriage contract.
“But it’s a problem, isn’t it?” the Emperor went on, his voice suddenly sharp. “To deceive my eyes with a false bride. If you didn’t know my true identity before, that’s one thing—but to lie to me knowing I am the Emperor? That is a grave offense.”
The warmth vanished from his face.
His once-gentle smile turned icy in an instant.
To lie before the Emperor was a crime worthy of execution on the spot—treason itself.
Did he actually know?
But no one else knew about the contract marriage except the Duke and me.
Not even our closest attendants, Fani and Liri.
“When I saw with my own eyes,” he said quietly, “I understood.”
At those words, I swallowed dryly, instinctively.
The Emperor’s golden eyes gleamed sharply, piercing straight through me—
“I knew that you had lied to me.”
