Chapter 10

Sobbing… Wailing…

Liliana woke up to the sound of someone crying miserably. At first, she thought it was her mother crying in her dream and felt worried. But upon listening closely, the cry sounded much younger than her mother’s.

Liliana opened her eyes slowly and tried to move, but her whole body screamed in pain, so she had to stop.

“Ouch…”

“Your Highness! Are you awake?”

Sophia hurriedly ran over upon hearing Liliana’s groan. She touched Liliana’s forehead and gasped in surprise.

“You’re sweating so much! Someone get a doctor!”

Liliana tugged on Sophia’s hand and shook her head.

“It’s just a nightmare.“

“Excuse me?”

“I dreamt of Fecilia tormenting me again.”

Liliana smiled as if it were no big deal, but Sophia’s heart felt like it was being torn into a thousand pieces.

Fecilia had tormented Liliana horribly. After that day when she was caned because of Fecilia’s tattle, Liliana sometimes had nightmares about it. It was too cruel for a child to endure.

Sophia sat beside Liliana, holding her hand tightly. Sophia was a maid and Liliana’s only friend.

“Your Highness, please forget that day. You’ll never have to meet Princess Fecilia again.“

“Right.”

Liliana nodded with her eyes closed.

“And I won’t get to see Mother again, either.“

“Your Highness…”

Sophia couldn’t hide her sadness and started crying.

“Empress Consort Liliana, the doctor has arrived.”

The head maid entered with the doctor, who checked Liliana’s condition.

“Considering the height you fell from, you were quite lucky.”

Of course. The power of the wind had been involved, minimizing the damage. She was sure she wouldn’t die or be seriously injured, but Chuchu’s unexpected weakness had caused her immense pain.

Oh! Chuchu!

Liliana suddenly remembered Chuchu. The crying she heard must be from Chuchu. Liliana had been holding Chuchu when she fell, so Chuchu must still be at the landing site.

Oh, this is bad… I can’t ask anyone to bring her. Liliana’s head throbbed as she touched her forehead. The doctor prescribed painkillers and left the room.

Afterward, the head maid approached cautiously.

“Your Majesty, I have something to tell you.“

“Go ahead.“

“His Majesty the Emperor is very angry.”

At those words, Liliana’s eyes sparkled.

“Is that so? Then he won’t come here again?“

“Pardon? Your Majesty, what do you mean by that…“

“It means it’ll be very quiet for a while. Please convey my deepest apologies to His Majesty and tell him I will live quietly as if I were dead.”

However, things rarely go as planned.

* * *

“You’re in better shape than I thought.”

Liliana couldn’t understand why the supposedly angry person had come to the Emerald Palace. She lay in bed with a sulky expression.

“I greet His Majesty, the Emperor, the Sun of the Empire. I apologize for not being able to greet you properly due to my condition.”

Despite nearly a decade of hardship in the kingdom, some habits die hard. Liliana recited polite words as if they had been prepared for her.

Helio crossed his legs and sat down with a look of disbelief.

“I heard you were thrilled about me not coming.“

“Who would dare say such a thing?“

“To whom does your ‘dare‘ refer? Your maids? Or perhaps yourself?”

Liliana kept her mouth shut. Helio had warned her from the start. All the maids here were spies, so she shouldn’t think of escaping.

The head maid had clearly seen Liliana’s excitement at the thought of Helio not coming and reported it.

Should she call her loyal or overly zealous? Liliana desperately wanted to get rid of that spy, but what could she do when the spy’s master was the Emperor? She muttered resignedly.

“I’ve never had a problem with anyone in my palace.“

“I thought you were a neglected child in the Kingdom of Nieta, but it seems you lived quite freely?“

“Neglected can sometimes mean freedom, Your Majesty. Even if it comes with rough treatment.”

Liliana mimed throwing something into the air, but her arm muscles trembled, forcing her to stop. She sighed deeply and lowered her arms.

Helio sighed, too, as if mocking her. His sigh was so long that Liliana, staring at the ceiling, looked at him.

Helio leaned forward, his hand on the bed.

“W-what, why, what are you doing?”

Liliana tried to back away in panic, but her injured body had no escape from the narrow bed.

Fortunately, Helio stopped at a reasonable distance.

“I’ve been thinking.“

“About what…“

“Why do you refuse to share a bed with me?”

Liliana feigned innocence, but Helio’s blue eyes were piercing. He leaned back, crossed his legs, and rested his hands on his knees.

“That accident was intentional, wasn’t it?“

“No. Absolutely not. It was an accident.”

Liliana spoke in a firm, clear, and unmistakable voice.

“So, it was intentional.”

It was simply because of who he was. Helio didn’t believe a word she said.

Helio seemed lost in thought, as if he hadn’t heard Liliana’s words. He started listing reasons why she might refuse to sleep with him.

“Do you find me unattractive? That can’t be it.“

“Where does that confidence come from…?“

“I’m the Emperor of this nation. Do you know what that means?“

“Not really.“

“It means I should be the most self-aware person in this country. In that sense, I believe I am very handsome. In fact, I know that it would be hard to find someone more handsome than me, not just in this empire but worldwide.”

Liliana was at a loss for words. First, his confidence, and second, his words seemed plausible. Seeing Liliana’s dumbfounded expression, the Emperor smiled confidently.

“Since you agree, this reason is ruled out. Then, do you dislike my personality? Well, I’ve met quite a few people who did. But it doesn’t seem like that’s the case with you.“

“Again, where does that confidence come from..“

“I can tell from the way you talk back to me. Usually, people are scared or try to avoid me in various ways. Not you.”

Once again, Liliana was rendered speechless. Yes, she admitted it. She didn’t particularly dislike being with Helio.

After all, who wouldn’t enjoy the company of such a handsome person, mainly when he played around like this? Liliana, who had no other friends besides Sophia, found it even more appealing.

Seeing her stubborn face, Helio came to another conclusion by himself.

“You seem to agree with that as well. So, what could it be then?“

“As I said, I’m not avoiding sleeping with you. That day was clearly an accident. Think about it. No matter how much I want to avoid it, would I risk my life? Especially with someone as attractive as you, Your Majesty…”

She stammered at the end but thought she had argued logically enough. Helio, too, seemed to find some merit in her words and remained silent for a moment.

But soon, he snapped his fingers right before Liliana’s eyes, making a sharp sound. Startled, Liliana widened her eyes and looked at Helio.

“Don’t think you can fool me. It seems you’re not capable of it.“

‘Why wouldn’t he just pretend to be deceived! Is it really written on my forehead like he said last time?’

Liliana cautiously raised her hand to cover her forehead. Seeing this, Helio bent over and chuckled.

Liliana slowly realized how foolish she had been, and her face turned beet red.

After a long moment, Helio stopped laughing and asked with a serious expression.

“I’ll ask again. Why do you refuse to sleep with me? Having a child would give you power. I wanted to sleep with you to give you power. I didn’t want to see you being pushed around by the Empress.“

“…I know. I’m grateful for that.“

“You know. So why then?”

She had heard that Helio was angry, but the man before her didn’t seem that way. He seemed genuinely curious about her intentions.

Liliana hesitated but decided to be honest.

“I don’t need power. I just want to live quietly.”

Helio laughed out loud as if mocking her.

“The imperial palace is not a place where you can live quietly just because you want to.“

“Yes, but if I have a child and still don’t gain enough power, I’ll have no choice but to tell my child to endure when they’re slapped by other royals.”

Liliana seemed very calm. She looked like someone who had thought and agonized over this matter for a long time.

“If my child dies, I won’t be able to seek revenge. And when I have to send them off to marry in a foreign land, I won’t be able to do anything.“

‘Like my mother.’

Liliana didn’t say it, but Helio understood. This was a story about Liliana herself and her mother.

A mother who had a king’s child but couldn’t protect it because she had no power.

“I don’t mind enduring it myself. But I don’t want to tell my child to endure. That seemed very painful.”

She knew because she had seen it up close. Every day, Liliana’s mother would apply ointment to her wounds with a face that looked like she was about to cry. Every time, Liliana thought,

Children make their mothers suffer.