Chapter 4 Part 10

As if noticing that accepting the empire meant accepting Rahil as well, Anais replied with a cold voice. Rahil pressed his lips to her cheek, saying,

 

 

 

“You are my empress. Is there anything I cannot say to the empress?”

 

 

 

“Even if I were to say I heard such words from Your Majesty, nobody would believe it anyway.”

 

 

 

“Ugh!”

 

 

 

As if his words had irritated her, her fingers, which had been caressing his abs, tightly gripped the e***t sh*ft. Despite the firm grip, Rahil’s body experienced pl*asure over pain.

 

 

 

“It hurts, Anais…. Ah….”

 

 

 

It wasn’t meant to be a pleasurable touch. Yet, when Rahil said it hurt, her fingers loosened. Rahil knew of Anais’s temperament as well.

 

 

 

She was someone who could be kind even to a man she disliked.

 

 

 

“Can I touch you?”

 

 

 

“No.”

 

 

 

Rahil sighed, but instead of using his hands, he gently brushed Anais’s cheek with his lips. Although it should have felt bad, it felt tender, making Anais sigh.

 

 

 

“Your Majesty is really strange. If you think of me as someone else’s substitute….”

 

 

 

“No.”

 

 

 

His heart sank. He hadn’t expected her to think that way. He had tried hard to express his feelings without saying them, but if she ended up thinking that way….

 

 

 

“It’s not like that, Anais. I’ve never thought of you that way.”

 

 

 

He had called her name many times, but his feelings had never been conveyed to her. It was frustrating and sad, but it was all due to the seeds he had sown himself.

 

 

 

The desire to be understood without words is also an easy escape. If you deny it, that’s the end of it.

 

 

 

Rahil knew he was being cowardly. He didn’t want to be hated by her, afraid that she would run away. It was all an excuse for himself, not for her.

 

 

 

Anais’s hand slipped out from within Rahil’s robe. Rahil let go of her wrist but did not let go of her entirely.

 

 

 

She seemed to have resigned to the fact that Rahil would not let her go. She closed her eyes without asking further, which could also be seen in the darkness.

 

 

 

“I’m sorry, Anais.”

 

 

 

I’m hurting you because I’m afraid of being hurt. 

 

 

 

That fact made Rahil feel ashamed of himself.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Daylight broke, but rain was falling. The ambiguous light that could soon stop poured through the curtains to the foot of the bed. Anais frowned, feeling Rahil’s arm embracing her.

 

 

 

‘If I get wrinkles between my eyebrows, it’s all Your Majesty’s fault.’

 

 

 

He lay beside Anais. Perhaps remembering her discomfort, he wasn’t hugging her as tightly as before.

 

 

 

Still, his arm was around her, and Rahil was in position that seemed he was looking at her before. Listening to his steady breathing, she wondered if Rahil had fallen asleep late.

 

 

 

‘What does it matter?’

 

 

 

When she asked if he considered her a substitute for Angelica, Anais couldn’t see his expression. It was night, and the lamps were all extinguished. But she remembered his flustered voice.

 

 

 

She had been expecting some lukewarm kindness. Since they were married, if it couldn’t be undone, they could still have a good relationship under the condition that Rahil kept his distance.

 

 

 

But Rahil kept crossing the line. He overstepped, and whenever she told him to stop, he looked pitiful. Anais got angry whenever she felt her heart might soften.

 

 

 

‘Sub-male lead, but unnecessarily handsome!’

 

 

 

Why does he smile at me, when he’s someone else’s! Is it because he’s the emperor? I’m someone who can burst a sour grape that I can’t even eat!

 

 

 

…Ah, should I just burst it all?

 

 

 

Whether Rahil was cold or not, what did it matter? Wasn’t that the reaction she initially expected from him?

 

 

 

Just because he was a bit kind to her didn’t mean Anais had softened. Her heart was still hard, and she had not allowed Rahil even a bit of her affection.

 

 

 

So, let’s burst it open. She thought of piercing and stabbing until the juice flows and the pulp spills out, mashing it to a pulp.

 

 

 

Because that’s better than tasting the miserable feeling of being in unrequited love with the sub male lead.

 

 

 

Having come to a conclusion, Anais pinched the cheek of Rahil, who was soundly asleep. As hard as she could. Rahil’s eyes, surprised by the sudden pinch, softened as soon as he saw Anais.

 

 

 

“Uh, hmm. Did I do something wrong?”

 

 

 

“Your Majesty, why aren’t you angry?”

 

 

 

She had tried her hardest, but for Rahil, it wasn’t particularly painful. He was just startled by the action itself and wanted to check who it was. Once he recognized it was Anais, not even a hint of anger flared up.

 

 

 

“Should I be angry?”

 

 

 

“Do you like me?”

 

 

 

Rahil’s breath stopped at the question that came out of nowhere. He couldn’t even blink as he looked at Anais, his mouth slightly agape.

 

 

 

“When you touch me, does your heart race?”

 

 

 

“Anais.”

 

 

 

As her pinching hand relaxed and started to move away from his cheek, he caught it with his palm. Anais’s blue eyes were staring straight at Rahil.

 

 

 

His eyes, a much darker blue than hers, were severely flickering. He seemed to want to avoid her gaze, yet at the same time, seemed unable to do so. Caught in that conflict, Anais impulsively whispered.

 

 

 

“If you really love me….”

 

 

 

You can kiss me.

 

 

 

The words that followed were swallowed by Rahil in an instant. For that moment, he had long forgotten the desperation of not wanting his feelings to be revealed. Trembling with joy down to every single cell, Rahil embraced Anais tightly, indulging in her lips and tongue.

 

 

 

It was his first kiss, and he hadn’t known he could kiss like that.

 

 

 

It was only two days since their first night, not even a week of patience, but to Rahil, it felt as if he had been waiting for decades.

 

 

 

I like you. I love you.

 

 

 

A heart that couldn’t form words shattered into the air. Rahil fervently prayed, stealing even Anais’s breath. He didn’t know what he was praying for or what he wanted. He just hoped this moment would last forever, gently cradling Anais’s cheek.