Chapter 16
This, too, was an emperor’s duty. Lucian understood that well, and so he set off for the Empress’s Palace with reluctant steps.
He had dawdled so long that midnight was already approaching. A retinue awaited him before the Empress’s Palace. Rosalyn was nowhere to be seen, so she must be waiting in the bedchamber.
“We greet His Imperial Majesty.”
Anna stepped forward and bowed.
“Her Majesty the Empress awaits you in the bedchamber.”
“Very well.”
Lucian strode into the Empress’s Palace and made his way to the bedchamber. Without hesitation, he opened the door and entered.
There he found Rosalyn, clad in nothing but the white nightgown. In her blue eyes, nervousness and anticipation coexisted.
“I greet Your Imperial Majesty.”
Rosalyn offered an elegant curtsy, but Lucian did not respond. He seated himself at the table where wine had been set out.
Reading the mood, Rosalyn sat across from him. Lucian filled an empty glass and took a sip.
With her heart trembling, Rosalyn studied his striking features. Soon she would become his woman at last. The thought made her pulse race.
“I hear there was quite the uproar over the wedding night not happening yesterday?”
Rosalyn nodded at his low voice.
“Tonight, our imperial wedding will be consummated.”
His words made her heart pound even harder.
“Though whether this is what the Empress had in mind, I’m not so sure.”
“…Pardon?”
“What I require of the Empress is one thing only: that you exist quietly as the Empress. Nothing more.”
Bewilderment spread across Rosalyn’s face.
“Beyond that, there is nothing you can do.”
Lucian stood abruptly and walked toward the bed.
Rosalyn followed without thinking. Then Lucian drew a knife from his person.
“Your Majesty…?”
“If we need a bloodied sheet to burn in celebration of our wedding night, I can provide one readily enough.”
Before Rosalyn could stop him, he drew the blade across his own palm. He clenched his fist and let the blood drip onto the white sheet.
“With this, our wedding night is consummated. Understood?”
Rosalyn’s face turned white.
“But, Your Majesty…”
“I have no intention of bedding you. If that is what you were hoping for, you are free to return to your homeland.”
The imperial wedding had already taken place. There was no way Rosalyn, a noble princess, could make such a choice.
“Your Majesty, why…”
“No reason is necessary. What matters is that I do not want to.”
Lucian said it coldly.
“And if you involve the Empress Dowager in what passes between us from now on, I assure you the situation will only worsen.”
Rosalyn’s lovely face froze.
He was telling her, in terms that left no room for doubt, that he had no intention of receiving her as his true wife.
“If the Empress focuses on maintaining her position, then I, too, can show you respect.”
What Rosalyn wanted was not respect, but love. But in Lucian’s blue eyes, not a trace of such feeling could be found.
“But if the Empress forgets her place… I promise you, life in this palace will become very difficult.”
This was nothing short of a threat. Having already gone through the imperial wedding, he had drawn blood from his own body just to avoid consummation. It was beyond anything she could have foreseen.
Before this cruel reality, a single tear rolled down Rosalyn’s cheek. But that tear did not move Lucian’s heart in the slightest.
“So the Empress need only fulfill her duties. If you wish to earn my enmity, by all means, go relay this conversation to the Empress Dowager.”
“Your Majesty, have I done something wrong…?”
“No. You have done nothing wrong.”
Lucian’s voice was flat, final.
“I simply do not want you.”
He looked Rosalyn directly in the eyes.
“So you may resent me all you wish.”
“I have been in love with you, Your Majesty, ever since the first time I laid eyes on you. How could I possibly resent you?”
Lucian exhaled a short sigh.
Perhaps, had he never met Asteria, he might have willingly taken the beautiful Rosalyn into his arms.
But having already known Asteria, no other woman could kindle the flame in his heart.
This was the one emotion that even Lucian, Emperor though he was, could not control.
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