Chapter 48
A kidnapper, captor, extortionist, blackmailer—the Emperor’s fixer.
Remembering the rumors that originally followed Paiki, Aniella quietly closed the door. Thinking about it calmly, it was ridiculous. This was a place Paiki could control as he wished; how could she have thought he was the one being beaten?
That poor man was surely a problem for the Emperor or for Paiki himself, Aniella guessed as she turned around.
“Oof.”
Startled by the unexpected collision, Aniella stumbled back. Looking up to see what she had bumped into, she found Paiki. He had been standing behind her without making a sound.
“Aniella, I believe I told you not to enter rooms marked with an X?”
Paiki’s gaze, looking down at her, was cold. Aniella raised both hands and shook her head rapidly.
“I-I didn’t go in!”
She had only opened the door a crack and peeked. But she swore she didn’t actually enter, so it wasn’t a lie.
“But you saw.”
“Th-that, ah, no… I didn’t see anyth…”
Lies wouldn’t work. He was already certain she had seen. Aniella’s mind raced.
“I’m sorry, Duke! I thought something terrible might have happened to you…!”
Aniella brought her hands together in front of her, pleading with him. She hadn’t even had the presence of mind to properly secure her drawing tools. The pastels fell to the floor, scattering, and her sketchbook splayed open on top of them.
Paiki snatched her wrist with one hand and blindfolded her. As her vision was blocked, her fear doubled. She was terrified by the thought that she would end up just like the man she had just seen.
“You’ve caused quite a problem, Aniella. Do you know who that man you just saw is?”
“I-I don’t know, Duke. I don’t want to know who…”
“It’s His Majesty the Emperor.”
At this unexpected identity, Aniella’s jaw dropped.
“Did he commit treason?” Aniella asked in a trembling voice. She knew Paiki was a frightening man, but to capture, bind, and beat the Emperor!
Paiki, as if finding it absurd, said ‘What?’ and then let out a loud, hearty laugh.
“I am His Majesty’s fixer. I’ve merely provided a method to satisfy His Majesty’s secret s****l preferences, which he cannot tell anyone about.”
“S****l preferences…”
“I told you, didn’t I? This place was created to house things that must never be seen by anyone.”
That meant the Emperor was in that state because he wanted to be. Aniella’s head spun. It was a truth difficult to accept with her common sense.
“But now you know the secret.”
Paiki removed his hand. Her wrists were now tightly bound with rope. Aniella’s face turned pale. She didn’t think he would let her live, now that she knew the Emperor’s secret.
“Why did you disobey me and open the door? If you hadn’t, I could have sent you home as promised soon.”
“D-Duke…!”
“Now, even if I wanted to send you away, I can’t.”
Paiki slung her over his shoulder and trudged step by step towards her bedroom. When he threw Aniella onto the bed, she curled up like a hermit crab hiding in its shell.
Paiki sat down beside her and removed the blindfold. It was damp from the tears she had shed.
“Please, please spare me. I won’t tell anyone!”
“Hmm. It’s hard to believe the word of a woman whose sister is involved with a weekly magazine article. ‘The Emperor enjoys having his butt mercilessly whipped by tentacles.’ That’s a scoop that could shake the empire.”
“I won’t tell. Absolutely not. Not even to my sister Claudie!”
Aniella pleaded. Paiki stared at her intently, his lips parting slightly. He had intended to scare her a little, but not to make her cry this much.
When he gently wiped her cheek with his finger, her eyes fluttered, and tears streamed down her face. Her crying stirred pity in him, but why did she have to look so beautiful doing it?
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