Chapter 15
The thought of the female lead suffering in this tragic tale had its own morbid appeal, so I wasn’t planning to interfere. However, this childish, thuggish behavior needed to be addressed.
Having reached this conclusion, Lysei reached out and gently cupped Edin’s face in her hands. She hadn’t intended to, but faced with such a handsome visage, her hands moved of their own accord. It wasn’t as if she’d ever considered touching the Emperor’s face in the first place.
“What do you think?”
A negative response was expected, but Edin surprised her yet again with an unforeseen answer. And while she was audaciously touching his face, no less.
Rather than feeling offended, however, Edin felt a stirring in his lower body and covered her lips with his own.
He kissed her softly, then with increasing pressure, his tongue darting out. But it was pushed back, unable to enter her mouth. Lysei had pulled away, pushing his face back with her hands.
“Your Majesty.”
“Why?”
His eyebrows furrowed in annoyance at the rejected kiss. He missed the feeling of her hands on his cheeks.
“Does Duke Theor come every time the Nyxna changes?”
Edin was more irritated by her knowledge of Theor than by the unexpected question itself.
“How do you know that name?”
“It’s impossible not to know the Empire’s only Duke.”
‘Ah, this is irritating.’
The fact that Lysei knew Theor.
“Indeed.”
“You haven’t answered my question yet.”
At Lysei’s words, Edin hesitated for a moment. Then, he gave a short nod.
“Why?”
“….”
“I’m curious why he would come to the Emperor’s chambers, especially this late at night.”
Only the Empress had the right to question the Emperor in such a manner, yet Edin wasn’t bothered by Lysei, a mere Nyxna, acting this way. He simply hesitated to answer her question, his lips sealed shut.
He had never been ashamed of his actions before, but for some reason, the simple words “for fun” were incredibly difficult to utter.
In his life as Emperor, had anything ever been difficult for him, besides his mother’s affairs?
No, had he ever been at a loss for words over something so trivial?
Perhaps it was because he subconsciously recognized the absurdity of his actions.
Edin parted his lips slightly and moved to sit beside her, settling heavily onto the bed.
“Why do you ask?” Edin asked, lifting his wine glass to his lips.
Lysei took the glass from his hand, placing it on the table. Then, mirroring his earlier action, she leaned forward, almost trapping him in a similar position. To the Emperor, no less.
Lysei had stopped him from drinking because kissing the Emperor after he’d consumed leech blood wine felt repulsive. Edin, however, misinterpreted her actions as an invitation, slipping his hand into her thigh-high slit slip.
“Because it shames the Nyxna.”
The Emperor’s hand, stroking her thigh, stilled.
‘Oh, I forgot for a moment, this b*stard is a psychopath.’
‘Is he going to have me beheaded for defying him?’
The original story’s depiction of his temperament flashed through her mind, and a sudden fear gripped her.
But then, his hand resumed its gentle caress, and she felt a flicker of relief.
“Were you ashamed?”
“I, um… no, but… perhaps the other Nyxna were, hmm… they probably were.”
As his hand moved between her thighs, caressing her intimate area through her lack of undergarments, a soft moan escaped her lips.
“Ah, wait… Stop touching me.”
Driven by a sense of responsibility to protect the next Nyxna, the future female lead, from this abusive behavior, Lysei boldly grabbed Edin’s wrist, continuing to speak.
“Your Majesty, please listen to me.”
“…?”
“I would like you to refrain from doing this in the future.”
Edin’s brow furrowed slightly. No one had ever spoken to him this way, not even the Empress.
Lysei flinched, fearing he might order her execution, but she wouldn’t retract her words.
She wondered if she was overstepping, as there was no mention of the heroine experiencing this in the original story. But she wanted this handsome man to live up to his looks. Besides, she couldn’t ignore injustice, so she pressed on despite his displeasure.
“It’s unbecoming behavior for the Sun of the Empire, Your Majesty. Perhaps for the Duke, but not for you.”
Edin’s face brightened at her next words. Not him, but perhaps Theor. It meant, in his eyes, that Theor was the kind of man who would engage in such behavior.
Pleased with this interpretation, Edin’s mood lifted instantly. He nodded, promising to stop.
“I promise.”
‘Huh? That easily?’
Lysei’s eyes widened in surprise.
“May I touch you now?”
Edin looked up at her, asking permission even though he didn’t need it.
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