If You Dare to Violate the Saintess - Chapter 15

The Empress’s Palace.

Rosalyn was sobbing. For the Emperor not to have set foot in her chambers on their wedding night was without precedent. Naturally, this was a crisis she had never dreamed of preparing for.

The atmosphere in the Empress’s Palace was frigid. Not a soul dared open their mouth.

Just then, Rosalyn’s lady-in-waiting Anna hurried in.

“Your Majesty.”

Even Anna’s call could not break through Rosalyn’s distraught weeping.

“Your Majesty, I have wonderful news! His Majesty the Emperor has sent word that he will come to the Empress’s Palace tonight.”

At that, Rosalyn raised her tear-streaked face. Her blue eyes, though red-rimmed and swollen, kindled with a fragile hope.

“Is that… true?”

“Absolutely true. Yesterday he simply drank too much at the reception and couldn’t make it on his feet, that’s all.”

Anna wiped Rosalyn’s cheeks with a handkerchief.

“So please, dry your tears and prepare to receive His Majesty.”

“Yes, I need to draw a bath at once.”

“I’ve already told the young maids to prepare one.”

Rosalyn nodded and rose to her feet.

Yes, Lucian had simply had too much to drink. It could not be helped. A young emperor drinking too boldly at a celebration was understandable enough.

Tonight, she and Lucian would properly consummate their marriage, and she would become a true Empress at last.

“You haven’t eaten a thing since last night, so I’ll have soup and soft bread brought up first.”

“Okay.”

Rosalyn’s expression brightened as though she had never wept as though the world were ending.

The truth was, she had fallen for Lucian at first sight when the betrothal was arranged. She had never seen a man so handsome or so powerfully built.

And that man happened to be the young emperor who held hegemony over the entire continent, so surely, there could be no better match.

Thinking of it that way, the previous night could be dismissed as nothing more than an unfortunate mishap. Lucian had simply overindulged without realizing it while celebrating the imperial wedding.

* * *

Contrary to Rosalyn’s expectations, Lucian already dreaded the walk to the Empress’s Palace.

She was a beautiful, captivating princess, but to a man who had already tasted Asteria’s refined, ethereal presence, Rosalyn simply could resonate with him.

Asteria’s violet eyes, reflecting his image, remained vivid in his mind. At the same time, the lust he felt toward her blazed fierce and unrelenting.

“Your Majesty, they say that the Empress’s Palace eagerly awaits your arrival.”

“…How tiresome.”

Ezra’s expression grew troubled. But no matter that Lucian was Emperor, he could not unilaterally discard an imperial wedding with the Kingdom of Bellotien.

What’s more, the Empress had spent her first night alone. That was clearly Lucian’s fault.

Lucian often appeared lost in thought as he came and went from the White Tower. Ezra was secretly afraid that the Empress Dowager’s concerns might become reality.

“The Empress Dowager expressly implored you in this matter.”

“I know.”

Having gone through the imperial wedding, he could not refuse the wedding night. Lucian understood this, yet his heart was so full of Asteria that there was no room left for anyone else.

Rosalyn was a beauty with rich golden-blonde hair, blue eyes, but somehow that alone felt insufficient. He kept thinking she did not begin to compare with the mystique and refined grace Asteria possessed.

“What is the situation at the White Tower?”

“It is quiet, as usual.”

A pang of disappointment cut through Lucian. He felt hurt that had just married, and yet Asteria seemed entirely unaffected.

It meant his desire was one-sided. A fire blazed in his chest, but nothing of the sort stirred in Asteria, and the thought left a bitter taste in his mouth.

“Your Majesty, it is time to go to the Empress’s Palace.”

With a sigh, Lucian finally rose.

If the matter of the wedding night was not settled decisively, it would become a problem. And that could make it difficult for him to visit the White Tower.

That was the one thing he meant to avoid at all costs. He wanted to see Asteria whenever he wished.

“An imperial wedding is a truly exhausting affair.”