Heroine On Strike

For some reason, Cladis, once again, ignored her words as if he didn’t understand why she kept mentioning Clara. He acted as though Clara meant nothing to him.

“I don’t know where you got that idea from, but even if that’s true, it has nothing to do with our marriage.”

“Why do you insist on continuing with this marriage? Is it because I’m the only woman from the three Duke families? Is that why you need me?”

Ella tried to remain calm while pushing her annoyance back down with her fists clenched. She actually did not need to ask him at all. She knew she was useful for two reasons. First, she was the only daughter of the Constance family. Second, among the three Duke families, she was the only woman of marriageable age. Drolin’s daughter wasn’t a possible candidate. Her father barely became the duke of the Drolin family. The only person qualified to become the crown princess in the entire continent was Ella. At this point, only the emperor was aware of that. It was a secret that the Cladis, unfinished Crown Prince who did not even marry yet, would not know. It was the secret law of the Imperial family. Cladis found out about this when the emperor was on the verge of dying in the novel. Ella was betting on the fact that Cladis did not know about this secret yet. She wanted Cladis to dump her, unknowing of what he was doing while he was into Clara. Cladis, who fell in love with Luciella, was like a bull who stopped at nothing for the sake of his love. Ella wanted him to have such feelings for Clara too, and it would make things much easier for her. Although, she’d still feel a bit bitter about it. Ella believed so. There was a part in the novel where Luciella joked about how things would have been much different if she wasn’t Duke Constance’s daughter mentioning the secret of the Imperial family. Hearing her joke about that made Cladis very angry. As a result, he angrily declared that he would do anything to make her empress regardless of her family lineage.  

“There’s no point in my life if you are not my partner!”

It was one of the most memorable parts of the book where Cladis revealed how much she meant to him. Ella wanted Cladis from the novel to be here right now, but he never came. Instead, she was stuck dealing with this Cladis, who was different from the one she read about.

‘Is there something I’m forgetting about?’ Ella thought about the Cladis, who loved Luciella his entire life. She was the only woman to Cladis, and considered other women as some other living being instead of women. He never smiled at other women. Yesterday, she saw him smiling at Clara. Ella clearly understood what that meant. It was something that any reader who read the book would realize. There was no better evidence than walking together while smiling, but he still was maintaining his coldness. What was going on? Ella was becoming increasingly confused. 

Then at Ella’s cold words, Cladis threateningly spoke in low voice, “I’m sorry, but that’s not why I need you. His majesty is the one that wants us to wed. I don’t even have the slightest intention of going against his will.”

Ella froze in response to his threats. Although yesterday was shocking, she was appalled by his threats. Cladis was always kind to Luciella, but now she felt like a stranger to him. She was frustrated for being treated like this because he was a regular woman to him now. She was overcome with sadness and clenched her two fists. Ella had to accept that the Cladis in front of her and Luciella’s man in the novel was a completely different man. She was in love with another woman now. It was obvious that he was different. It was wrong for her to assume that he would do the same actions as the book when he’s in love because he was the same person even if she was not in love with Ella. ‘He has no consideration for me in his calculation.’

Perhaps he was thinking ofs having Ella, who he didn’t love, as his hollow Empress, or make her a working machine. He didn’t need to be kind to a woman that he didn’t even love. Maybe that was why he could threaten her. Ella was angry just thinking about that and gritted her teeth. ‘I have to let him know that I’m just as angry too.’ Enduring such humiliation wasn’t something for Luciella or Ranhee. After taking a few seconds to think about it, she realized what she needed to tell Cladis.

“I’m sorry, your highness, but I don’t need you either. As such, I will take matters into my own hands. It would have been easier with your help, but I guess that’s too bad. I’ll stop this marriage myself.”

Cladis’s face grimaced after he heard Ella’s declaration. He couldn’t understand why things were going this way. Ella, on the other hand, was satisfied by Cladis’ expression at her words. Cladis tried to keep his calm, but he was overwhelmed by his fury as he watched Ella smile who was casually making a very beautiful smile even after throwing a huge bomb on him. Then, he remembered what he had witnessed moments ago.

“Were you trying to get into a scandal with Cullan or something?”