Chapter 20

Helio realized that it was the little things that made Liliana happy. He rested his chin on his hand and gave her a teasing remark.

“You, don’t smile like that.”

Liliana looked puzzled, touching her face cautiously as she asked, “How did I smile? Did I look silly? Prisila sometimes says I look silly when I smile…”

“No.”

Helio cut her off, saying, “You smile unnecessarily beautifully. Who is Prisila, anyway?”

Liliana froze like a stone, unsure which part of his statement to respond to. She blushed deeply and stared out the window.

Instead of pressing her further, Helio took the opportunity to appreciate her flushed cheeks and ears, wondering if she might burst with just a touch.

Liliana’s face gradually returned to its standard color as silence settled between them. Her eyes began to droop, heavy with sleep until they eventually closed entirely.

Helio moved closer, and Liliana’s head started to tilt with the carriage’s motion. She woke up with a start at the movement but, recognizing Helio, dozed off again.

Helio felt odd at not being seen as a threat by someone. He gently placed her head on his shoulder. Liliana followed his touch obediently, mumbling, “The Empress Dowager helped me today.“

“Yes, I heard.“

“She’s such a high-ranking person to be concerned with someone like me…”

Liliana yawned, her eyes watering slightly. Helio wiped the tears from her eyes with his thumb and looked ahead.

“She played the role of a mother for the first time.”

But Liliana had already fallen asleep, lulled by the carriage’s gentle rocking.

* * *

The following day, Liliana woke up with a scream. She thought she had slept well, only to find a blond man lying beside her!

Instinctively, she pulled the blankets over herself, revealing the man’s bare chest underneath. She screamed again and tried to back away, but Helio, who had been watching her, grabbed her waist and placed her safely back on the bed.

“You’re quite active in the morning,“ he commented.

Liliana’s heart pounded as she felt his firm muscles through the thin fabric of her nightgown and saw his face so close. It was too much to handle first thing in the morning.

“Why… why are you here?“ she stammered.

“What else was I supposed to do?“

“You should have gone back to the Imperial Palace!”

Liliana tried to push Helio’s arm off her waist, but he only held her tighter, smiling confidently.

“Leave you sleeping in the carriage?”

The events of the previous night came rushing back. Helio’s comment about her pretty smile was followed by a profound silence.

Blushing, Liliana wriggled out of his grasp. Helio didn’t resist; he raised his hands in surrender.

“I couldn’t return after bringing you to the Emerald Palace. As I said, I’m protecting you in my way.”

If the Emperor were to leave the Emerald Palace and return, rumors would spread that his favor had cooled, and many people, including Beatty, would look down on Liliana.

Helio had stayed by her side to show he cared.

Liliana sighed deeply, covering her face with her hand. Helio, still shirtless, didn’t seem to mind.

“Put on some clothes. I’ll call the maid.”

As Liliana reached for the bell cord, Helio grabbed her wrist to stop her.

“You want the Emperor’s clothes to be attended to by a maid when the Empress Consort is present?“

“That’s how it’s done in my country.“

“Not in the Empire. It seems I need to get you a tutor.“

“…I agree. Lady Gabriel almost dismissed me yesterday.”

Despite grumbling, Liliana eventually fetched Helio’s clothes and helped him put them on. Helio accepted her assistance naturally, slipping his arms into the sleeves.

“How did you find the founding festival?“ he asked.

Liliana adjusted his collar and replied without hesitation.

“It was good. Especially the second half. The first half was boring, though.“

“It must have been boring. You didn’t do anything.“

“Didn’t do anything?”

Liliana bristled at his words. She had to endure countless stares during the first dance and was disregarded by Beatty for not knowing the Empire’s customs. But saying she did nothing was too much.

However, Helio swiftly turned to face Liliana and asserted, “You did nothing. My sister, Princess Lucia, prepared for the founding festival.”

There was nothing to say to that. Helio wasn’t talking about what happened on the day of the founding festival.

It took a lot of effort to organize an event like the founding festival, and Liliana did not contribute even a bit to it.

She had heard that Helio’s half-sister and subject, Princess Lucia, took charge of this year’s founding festival preparations.

“But that’s the Empress’s job, not the Empress Consort’s. Princess Lucia had to step in since the Empress’s position is vacant.“

Liliana made it clear that it wasn’t her fault. Meanwhile, her white hands were busy buttoning Helio’s dress shirt individually.

Helio smiled as he looked down at her diligent hands.

“My mother’s birthday banquet is coming up. I’d like you to prepare it.”

Liliana focused on buttoning his shirt with her head down and looked up. Her already big, round eyes looked even more significant as she looked up from that close distance.

“Me? As I said earlier, such things are for the Empress…“

“I don’t have an Empress. You’re my only wife.“

‘Wife.’

That word had an oddly embarrassing ring to it. Liliana’s ears slowly turned red, though she didn’t notice. She spoke in a more aloof tone than usual.

“If you get engaged to Lady Gabriel, you could leave it to her.”

It was a logical statement by law. But Helio replied without hesitation.

“I don’t want to.”

Liliana looked up, pausing as she straightened Helio’s shoulder line. Her eyes blinked continuously, unsure how to take his words.

Helio shrugged as he tidied up her disheveled bangs with his index finger.

“Why are you looking at me like that, like you don’t know what to say?“

“Yes. What if I spread rumors after you say things like that?“

“You? Spread rumors? Hardly.”

Helio waved his hand dismissively as if it were absurd and went to sit on the sofa. Though Liliana brought his coat, he showed no intention of putting it on.

The earlier conversation about the Empress’s position seemed to unsettle him. Hence, Liliana sighed with his coat draped over one arm.

“Since Her Majesty the Dowager Empress has been kind to me, I’ll prepare the birthday banquet.“

“What are you so dissatisfied with to sigh like that?“

“I can only imagine how much Lady Gabriel will hate me again. She’ll probably think, ‘That sly fox is fluttering around His Majesty, delaying my engagement.‘”

As Liliana spoke with quite a vivid venom, Helio burst into laughter. However, he soon returned to his cold demeanor, seemingly deep in thought. Liliana hung his coat back on the hanger and returned.

“Do you want me to listen?”

Helio leaned back comfortably on the sofa, looking at Liliana.

“You? To my worries?”

His gaze was arrogant but also filled with curiosity. Helio was the Emperor of this Empire, and no one dared to hear his personal worries.

But Liliana nodded as if it were nothing, sitting a step away from him.

“I have no ambition and no one to spread rumors to. Is there anyone more suitable than me? Besides, even if I hear Your Majesty’s worries, it’s not like I can do anything about them.”

Her words made sense. Liliana was a powerless princess sent as a hostage from another country with no ties to this Empire.

The maids in the Emerald Palace were mostly commoners, and even the head maid was a baroness, making it impossible for Liliana to conspire with them.

“Since Your Majesty has been so considerate of me, I’ll be your secret keeper.”

The Emperor’s worries were of immense value, yet the woman in front of Helio said she would ‘listen to them.‘ What was more surprising was that hearing this made Helio actually want to talk.

Helio beckoned Liliana with his index finger. Liliana shook her head with a face full of discontent.

“Who sits so far away when talking about secrets?“

“Oh, really. Your Majesty, you are so mischievous.”

Despite her grumbling, Liliana moved a seat closer to the sofa. This brought her to sit right beside Helio.

Helio leaned back comfortably against the sofa with a satisfied expression. Though infuriating, the problem was that his expression also looked quite handsome.

“The Gabriel Duchy’s patriarch three generations ago made great contributions in a war. For this merit, he was granted the dukedom; since then, they have been loyal to the Empire. The Empire, in turn, respected the Gabriel family, maintaining a good relationship.“

“It’s a younger family than I thought.“

“Indeed. Nevertheless, the patriarch’s contributions three generations ago were truly outstanding. He saved the Empire from a crisis. However, the current Duke Gabriel is unworthy of his ancestor’s legacy. His daughter, Beatty Gabriel, is also far from fit to be the mistress of this Empire.”

Liliana recalled Beatty. She was beautiful but arrogant enough to slap the Empress Consort in the palace, envious and inconsiderate sufficient to mock a foreign princess.

Considering these points, imagining her becoming a wise empress was hard.

As Liliana listened earnestly, nodding, Helio let out a sigh of admiration and turned his body towards her. With a playful expression, he said,

“If she becomes the empress, it wouldn’t be comfortable for you either, would it?”