Married to a Man who Wants to Kill me

After that, her behavior grew more and more out of line. One day, in the garden when no one else was around, Rosetin said to him in a pleading, almost sobbing tone.

“The woman to whom your majesty should set his heart is me.”

“…….”

“I’m not the daughter of a family that holds a grudge against you, nor am I a stumbling block in your path; I can be as good a wife as you want me to be, and I can be happy without caring about anyone’s opinion and receiving everyone’s blessings….”

As he turned to leave, unwilling to hear more, she exclaimed sharply.

“What is the matter with you?”

And once again, she sent a strange gaze that touched his sense of guilt. Her trembling voice seemed to be filled with deep resentment towards him, and his mood sank deeply.

At that moment, someone watching them caught his eye. It was Lethenia.

Rosetin, as if she had noticed her too, had a calm expression as if she had always been that way. Her behavior was not unfamiliar, as she tried not to let others see her true colors.

Like looking in a mirror, Ian realized that she resembled him. Funny, it was a thought he’d once had about Lethenia, for as much as he and Lethenia hated each other, they had grown to resemble each other.

Just then, out of nowhere, a wolf pup appeared, and as soon as it saw its master, Lethenia, it trotted off. How did the beast that was supposed to be in Vanessa Palace come all the way here?

Soon he realized that Lethenia had been searching for her lost Casey. Casey passed by in front of Rosetine.

At that moment, Rosetin collapsed on the spot.

Of all times, it would be suspicious that she collapsed upon seeing Lethenia’s pet. Even with the unconscious person in front of him, his first thought was of Lethenia in distress.

He didn’t like the idea of Lethenia becoming entangled with Rosetin in this way.

If the daughter, who returned miraculously, felt threatened by Bledel again, Bedos might do something about it. There was no need to call people to make witnesses.

He hurriedly scooped Rosetin into his arms and left. His first words to her when she recovered were harsh.

“Let’s keep this quiet.”

There was no sympathy or mercy on his icy face; he was angry now.

The insensitive façade he always wore to hide his true feelings was gone, and he had blatantly lashed out at Rosetin for her involvement with Lethenia.

Rosetin’s dejected eyes turned to him, and just as he was about to leave without a word, she spoke up.

“Is that all you have to say to someone who just woke up?”

Even then, her eyes were wistful, as if she’d suffered a wound that couldn’t be washed away. A strange sense of déjà vu plagued him, like his heart was being shattered again.

He really didn’t like this woman. For the briefest of moments, he felt a pang of guilt at the sight of Rosetin, but it was only because of her resemblance with Lethenia.

He left Kaelin Palace without another word. Time passed, but his heart remained firmly closed to Rosetin, as it should be. It was inevitable.

He didn’t trust people. The human heart is inherently shallow and frail. There was no law that said Bedos could not become like Bledel.

He was wary of Count Bedos, lest he repeat the mistakes of his predecessor. He knew there was already someone in the Emperor’s faction who had crossed over to Bedos’s side.

And he used it to his advantage.

The same was true when he saw the Empress with a journalist named Colin Berid. The thought of her being alone with him in Vanessa palace made his stomach turn, but as always, he pretended to be okay.

Even at that moment, he had to wonder who might be watching and listening to his conversation with Lethenia, and calculate his next move.

<Since you’re going to find out anyway, I thought I’d better tell you in person. As you said, Rosetin Bedos will be my mistress.>

<If it looks like the Empress herself is accepting Rosetin into the Imperial family, I don’t think he’ll stand in her way.>

<Because we were young back then. I was deluded. You and me.>

His voice grew stronger. As if to tell the count’s spy, who watched everything from the sidelines, to go and tell him.

It was all he could do to get the Count to relent in his excessive obsession with Lethenia, but it would come back to haunt him.

Night after night, terrible nightmares of Lethenia gnawed at his soul.

The music from the banquet hall sounded like white noise to his ears, tearing him away from his uncomfortable thoughts. He looked into Rosetin’s eyes.

His expression grew even colder. He couldn’t understand why she would look at him like that when they were only connected by a political contract.

Their relationship wasn’t so special that it could evoke endless despair.

Her inscrutable demeanor sometimes choked him. Being around Rosetin felt like a cruel dig into a shameful past he’d hoped to bury forever.

Whenever he looked at her, he was reminded of Lethenia, who couldn’t hide her sorrow whenever he said something he didn’t mean to say. Rosetin spoke in a clear voice, but with a hint of pleading.

“Today is my celebration. Please stay with me for now.”

Ian didn’t hesitate to turn away at Rosetin’s plea, but she grabbed him urgently by the sleeve.

“Don’t go.”

<Don’t go.>

Ian was about to shake her hand away when he heard Lethenia’s pitiful voice in his head. Rosetin’s grief-stained eyes bore into his chest.

“If I wait here, will……you come back for me?”

<If I wait here…… Will you come and see me later?>

Ian felt a stirring in the pit of his stomach, wondering why he thought of her every time he saw this woman when the real Lethenia was somewhere else.

He looked at Rosetin’s hand holding his own and felt regrets that now meant nothing.

If he hadn’t left then, if he hadn’t said those words, would Letenia have been a little less hurt? For a moment, Rosetin’s orange eyes shine like vivid purple.

He sat down again, driven by an inexplicable attraction, and though he could find no rational reason for the action, he somehow felt as if he shouldn’t leave.

  *

“Miss Bedos has stopped by the Empress’ palace to pay her formal respects.”

Rosetin entered the Empress’s palace. In Asha, it was customary for the emperor’s mistress to formally greet the empress after receiving official approval.

This was to show her gratitude for the gifts she had received. However, this was just a formality.

It was often omitted unless the empress and the mistress were acquainted. It occurred to me that there were many unnecessary customs in the imperial court, such as the empress sending gifts to the mistress.

In the distant past, there was a sense of power in the empress’s gesture, a confirmation of her rank, but it was all meaningless now.

Rosetin was a maid in the Empress’ palace, and the last time I sent the Favia fan, I made it clear that such formalities could be skipped.

Still, her arrival was a bit unexpected. I ordered an attendant to bring her in.

After the celebration, Rosetin’s clear orange eyes seemed to have the aura of a regal empress, not the emperor’s beloved lover.

As if she had always been the Empress of Asha.

“The blessings of the great goddess Lumitaras be with you. I greet you, Empress, the bright moon of Asha.”

As our eyes met, Rosetin greeted me with the most respectful courtesy befitting an Empress. Today, her excessive formality felt a bit awkward.

“I thought I sent a message to Kaelin Palace that there was no need to send greetings.”

“I received the message, but I have prepared a gift to express my gratitude personally.”

Rosetin held a small booklet in one hand. Is that the return gift that the mistress should dedicate to the empress?

She tilted her head slightly higher, looked me squarely in the eye, and continued.

“Above all,…… I don’t want Her Majesty to be put in an awkward position because of me, because people might think that she deliberately refused to greet me.”

Rosetin smiled, a charming but slightly contrived smile. She, too, must be aware of the negative views of the Empress. 

I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something about the way she looks at me that makes me think she’s being a bit defiant. But anyway, she came especially in consideration of my position.

“I appreciate the gesture, but you don’t have to worry about that.”

“There’s something else I need to tell you.”

“What?”

She stepped closer and handed me the pamphlet in her hand. I flipped through it curiously. Inside were profiles of a number of men.

Names, ages, statuses, and characteristics, along with portraits. It was similar to the lover candidate profiles Stella had handed me. I looked at her as if to say, “What is this?”

“This is a gift to Her Majesty the Empress, and if you choose one of them, I will offer it to you as a lover.”

Now… What did I just hear?