How to Get a Stolen Husband Back - Chapter 36
Khalid nodded to see off the High Priest. Once the High Priest had left, Estelle smiled with eyes curved like a crescent moon.
“Khalid, I’ve missed you.”
Estelle called the name of her prey and approached closer.
No, she tried to approach.
But before she could, Khalid came forward, tapped her shoulder, and repeatedly offered his congratulations.
“I really didn’t expect you to become a saintess. Anyway, congratulations.”
Because the distance had closed, Khalid’s scent suddenly overwhelmed her. The sensual fragrance momentarily clouded Estelle’s mind.
Her stomach felt warm. She had worked with many top male actors in her current life, but she had never felt like this before.
A man who could make her desire him by capturing her senses in an instant.
She desperately wished he would hold her tightly, but Khalid’s congratulations were short and insincere, like a common formal greeting.
“Let’s go outside.”
Saying so, Khalid was already moving towards the door.
“Aren’t we going to talk here?”
Estelle asked, slightly flustered.
“The weather is nice. Otherwise, I don’t have much chance to get sunlight these days.”
Khalid made an excuse, but the truth was he didn’t want to stay alone in the room with Estelle, fearing unnecessary rumors. The imperial palace had eyes and ears everywhere.
He didn’t want to cause even a slight blemish on the future Empress because of his behavior. Moreover, not only Aristie but also Zephyros seemed unwilling for him to be with Estelle.
As expected, Zephyros, who was standing guard outside the door, showed his displeasure to his lord with a masked expression.
“Zeph, I’m going to walk in the garden with the saintess for a bit, so you go and rest.”
“That’s difficult, Your Majesty. If any remnants of the fallen kingdom remain…!”
“If they do?”
Khalid pressed the question.
Even that was enough for Zephyros to guess the unspoken words of his lord.
‘Tell them immediately where I am. I was annoyed because I didn’t have fun last time.’
If Estelle hadn’t been there, he would have surely said so.
But Estelle was glued to the Emperor’s side, casting a strange look at Zephyros.
Neither smiling nor glaring… a look that seemed both seductive and wary.
The dull lord wouldn’t know. But Zephyros had felt it all along.
Estelle subtly tried to stir his male instincts to make him follow her. But when it didn’t work, she was secretly irritated.
Ah, such a delicate psychological battle couldn’t be confessed to the lord…!
“Then I’ll step back for a while.”
Zephyros reluctantly stepped aside.
“Call me when you return.”
“Sure. I can’t stand to see you rest for long either.”
With a joke, Khalid distanced Zephyros and strolled through the imperial garden with Estelle. Estelle was puzzled as to why he insisted on being outside, but her doubts vanished the moment she saw the garden before her.
It was a breathtakingly beautiful scene, as if only the most beautiful aspects of nature had been gathered together.
It was her first time seeing the imperial garden in the midday, and she whimsically accepted that he wanted to show her this view.
“It’s true you can see the future.”
At Khalid’s words, Estelle glanced at the flowers and elegantly looked at him.
“So you didn’t believe it?”
“No, I believed it, but… it’s not a common thing.”
“Oh? That sounds like you doubted it no matter how you look at it.”
When Estelle raised her voice while looking into his face, Khalid chuckled and turned his head.
His expression, which had brightened for a moment, soon darkened, making it hard to understand his intentions.
“There’s something I want to ask…”
When Khalid cautiously spoke, Estelle welcomed it with a bright smile.
“Ask me. If it’s your interest, I like anything.”
Does she know that saying so makes it harder to ask?
Khalid was troubled but pretended not to know and asked the question.
“When you met Lady Aristie before, did you say anything strange?”
Estelle, with a puzzled expression, asked back.
“Strange things?”
“So, like…”
Ah, how should he say this? It was hard to speak. It was absurd when he heard it from Aristie, and it was even harder to say it himself.
But to understand the truth, he had to hear Estelle’s story.
If there were other ways, he would gladly do them, but there was no evidence, so he had to judge through Estelle’s explanation and reaction.
That was the best sincerity and effort he could show regarding Aristie’s revelation.
“For example, saying this is the world of a novel… or announcing you would do something to the Empress in the future…”
Khalid spoke awkwardly, as if a thorn was stuck in his throat. In truth, Aristie had spoken more bluntly.
She said Estelle claimed she would cut her throat and rise above the Empress.
But he couldn’t say that directly, so he paraphrased it.
“What!? No way!”
Even so, Estelle seemed greatly surprised. Her light pink eyes widened like grapes.
Then, her eyes started to tremble slightly, and suddenly she burst out laughing.
“Hahaha, Khalid. Thanks to you, I had a good laugh after a long time. I thought delusions were my specialty, but to hear such words from you.”
Estelle laughed so hard that tears hung from the corners of her eyes. She wiped her eyes with her fingers and continued speaking.
“But no matter how delusional I am, I wouldn’t go that far. Surely, the lady didn’t really say that, did she? You made it up to tease me, right?”
“No, I know it doesn’t make sense, but…”
Khalid’s golden eyes darkened like the sun just before sunset.
“The lady was confident you’d become a saintess, and it happened as she said.”
Yes, at least that part could be seen as a shred of credibility in Aristie’s claim.
“Oh, yes… We did talk about the saintess.”
When Estelle readily admitted it, Khalid’s eyebrows sharpened.
At that moment, Estelle added.
“But it was the lady who brought up the saintess.”
“Aristie did?”
“Yes. When I said I sometimes get inspiration for novels from glimpses of the future, she asked if I intended to become a saintess…”
Estelle hesitated for a moment and then gave a bitter smile.
“She wasn’t angry. It was just a bit of a scolding, but I guess she remembered it.”
“I see.”
“But it wasn’t all bad, because while I was pondering why I could see the future, the lady’s words were a big trigger for me to become a saintess.”
Estelle skillfully twisted the situation in her favor.
Subtly painting Aristie as the ‘bad’ and herself as the innocent ‘good.’
“So I am grateful to the lady. If she holds any ill feelings towards me, I hope she lets them go. I want to get along with her for your sake.”
Emphasizing ‘you,’ Estelle smiled softly. Khalid’s eyes darkened further.
Aristie and Estelle. Their statements seemed to fit, yet were completely different.
Honestly, just based on the statements, Estelle’s was far more rational. Her explanation was logical and didn’t feel awkward at all.
Then why did Aristie say such things to him?
Did she misunderstand Estelle? Did she have ill feelings? That was the most puzzling part.
The Aristie he knew would never slander someone without reason…
“Khalid, I have a confession to make to you too.”
Estelle’s sweet voice pulled Khalid from his thoughts.
“A confession?”
“Yes. Actually, I’ve also glimpsed a future with you before.”
At the unexpected words, Khalid’s eyebrows twitched. Estelle’s eyes curved sweetly.
Estelle lovingly spoke, filling her eyes with Khalid.
“A happy future where I stay by your side for life. As a saintess, as a friend. Becoming much closer than we are now.”
“……”
“No matter what, I will achieve that future. So watch over me, Khalid. If you believe in me and support me, I will do my best to protect the empire.”
Khalid looked at Estelle with a stern face.
As if he might get angry soon.
Then slowly, he relaxed his expression. He turned his head uncomfortably and moved towards where his gaze landed.
That was his answer. He couldn’t express it in words.
For unknown reasons, he felt extremely uncomfortable and unpleasant, and that was all he felt at that moment.
* * *
“Invite? Me?”
Aristie frowned as she looked down at the letter in her hand. Among the letters mixed with official and personal matters, the one she picked up was an invitation from Estelle.
Inviting her to a tea party she was hosting.
“Incredible…”
It was so absurd that she couldn’t even get angry. She was just curious.
What kind of brain structure does one need to boldly invite someone who they declared they would kill? They were more suited to challenging each other to a duel.
Of course, she had no desire to accept Estelle’s invitation.
She had no idea who the attendees were, how many would be there, and most importantly, the true purpose of the gathering. Accepting the invitation would be like jumping into enemy territory.
However, reality is always harsh. It was also true that rejecting the invitation wasn’t easy.
