Chapter 8.2
‘It was me who first drew a line and viewed them with colored glasses just because everyone here is a carnivorous therianthrope. They are all sincerely welcoming me.’
Elena clenched her fists, determined to work even harder for those who had accepted her, a rabbit therianthrope, as the Empress of the carnivorous therianthrope empire.
“Iris. Thank you for coming.”
“Of course I had to come.”
“…”
As Elena looked at Iris and Lucael standing side by side, she first thought that they made a well-matched pair. The thought that Iris, beautiful and elegant and of the same species, would suit her wolf emperor husband better than herself, felt like someone was stabbing her heart.
‘What’s wrong with me? I don’t feel good and just want to go back to my quarters.’
“Your Majesty the Empress. You don’t look well. Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
Elena smiled gently at Ramie, who had approached her side at some point and was looking at her with concerned eyes, saying she was fine. Her heart began to race wildly the moment she met the eyes of the emperor, who came right to her side and placed his hand on her shoulder, gazing at her intently.
“Y-Your Majesty.”
“You’re not feeling well. There’s no need to force yourself to stay here, Empress. Come, let’s go to our quarters together.”
“No, Your Majesty. I am now the Empress of this empire, aren’t I? With people still gathered here for us, leaving would be disrespectful to them.”
“Empress…”
“Oh my~ I’m even more moved by Your Majesty’s generous heart!”
“Me too!”
Ramie and Leila’s fantastic rapport made Elena smile, though she secretly wished they would tone it down a bit.
“Ramie.”
“Ah! Young Duke! Oh, Marlin!”
Elena’s attention turned to the couple standing face-to-face with Ramie. The man was Ramie’s fiancé and the heir to the Rodney Duchy, the Young Duke. And the woman standing beside him, whom Elena was seeing for the first time today, was the daughter of Count Lucel, the close friend Ramie occasionally mentioned.
“I thought you couldn’t come because you weren’t feeling well.”
“I got better, so I came to pay my respects to Her Majesty the Empress.”
“I see.”
Elena observed the Young Duke of Rodney and the daughter of Count Lucel conversing with Ramie through half-lidded eyes.
‘Those two… something about them bothers me. They give off the vibe of a cheating boyfriend and best friend going behind the female lead’s back, like in those trashy dramas.’
With somewhat faded memories of her past life, Elena was reminded of scenes from a predictable yet addictively watchable drama. Though she didn’t like the feeling, she engaged in polite conversation with the approaching Young Duke and the Count’s daughter.
“Your Majesty, I’m afraid I must take my leave now. My father hasn’t been well lately.”
“Tell him I’ll visit him soon.”
“It’s an honor. Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress. It has been a great honor meeting you.”
“Take care on your way back, Iris.”
“Yes.”
As Iris turned to leave with a smile beautiful enough to captivate even women, she seemed to twist her ankle and let out a short cry, nearly falling to the floor.
“Ah!”
Elena reached out to help the falling Iris, but before she could, Lucael swiftly caught Iris by the waist and held her in his arms.
“As clumsy as ever, I see.”
“Your Majesty, really.”
“……”
“Your Majesty the Empress, please don’t misunderstand. They grew up together like siblings since childhood.”
Elena merely smiled at Ramie, who was anxiously watching her reaction, and took her seat.
‘Right, Azel and I too… Why am I so narrow-minded? I’m truly hopeless.’
Leila, observing Elena sitting down with the smile gone from her face, stood firmly before the Emperor who was still in close proximity to Lady Rozel.
“Your Majesty the Emperor.”
“What is it?”
“No matter how close you may be with Lady Rozel, I must ask you to show some restraint in front of Her Majesty the Empress.”
“What…?”
Lucael looked at Leila with a bewildered expression, clearly displeased, before finally noticing his wife’s unhappy countenance.
“Oh dear…”
“Your Majesty, I apologize. I wouldn’t want to cause any discord between Your Majesties because of me…”
“Haha. It’s fine, Iris. Don’t worry about it and go home.”
“Yes, ah!”
“Iris!”
Leila’s expression turned ice-cold as she looked down at Iris Rozel collapsing weakly.
‘More cunning than a fox. Not just her, but…’
Even more displeased with the Emperor, who seemed bewitched by the fox and was fussing over her, Leila snorted and approached Elena’s side.
“Your Majesty the Empress. As you can see, many guests are departing. How about we move elsewhere and have a chat?”
“Let’s do that.”
“I hope you’ll feel comfortable with me as well. Please call me Leila.”
Leila, leaving the banquet hall with a smiling Elena, gave a derisive snort toward the Emperor who was watching them go.
***
Elena lost track of time listening to Leila’s entertaining stories. At Ramie and Runi’s suggestion that they should return to her chambers, she made her way back. The wolf emperor was pacing in front of the door.
“Your Majesty?”
He strode toward her upon noticing her, and she barely managed to suppress a scream.
“The rest of you, withdraw.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Y-Your Majesty!”
The wolf emperor husband grabbed her wrist and pulled her inside, leaving Elena anxiously wondering if she had done something wrong.
“Eli.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Are you angry?”
“What? Oh, no. Why would you think that?”
“You didn’t call me by the nickname I asked for.”
“Ah!”
Elena smiled brightly at Lucael, who looked visibly upset, and opened her mouth.
“Lu.”
“Eli.”
“Yes.”
Elena felt her heart beating faster as his large hands gently enveloped hers.
“I hope there’s no misunderstanding.”
“Pardon? About what?”
“Iris and I grew up almost like siblings, and since she’s been clumsy since childhood, looking after her became a habit. I was worried you might misunderstand.”
“Your Majesty, hehe.”
Lucael momentarily lost himself looking at Elena’s smiling face.
“The Lady is so beautiful that I might have felt a bit jealous.”
“?!”
“Seeing you two standing together, you looked so well-matched that I couldn’t help but…”
“Elena. In my eyes, there is no woman more beautiful than you.”
“Lu…”
Elena felt her whole body heating up at the Emperor’s touch as he caressed both her cheeks.
“Eli, I promise you. I will never do anything to make you misunderstand.”
“Your Maj… no, Lu. Thank you so much.”
“Rather than thanks, I’d like to hear that you love me.”
“Ah, Lu, wait… eek!”
Finding herself in the Emperor’s arms and brought to the bed, Elena met his gaze as he laid her down.
“Lu…”
“Shall we consummate our marriage?”
“C-Consummate, you say?”
Elena’s eyes nearly popped out as her voice rose. Lucael, gently pressing down on his adorable wife, spoke.
“We’re married after all, so we should consummate it, shouldn’t we, my wife?”
Discussion
0 CommentsReactions
No comments yet.