154. The Secret She Had Been Hiding (1)

Edward hesitated and stopped. Seeing that Edward had stopped, the Empress Dowager hurriedly ran to him. The imperial dignity she had been so vocal about was now nowhere to be seen.

“Edward, I was wrong.”

The Empress Dowager grabbed Edward’s legs, clinging to him while sobbing. Edward looked down at her with a furrowed brow. Her face was tearful, but her eyes contained contempt and hatred toward Edward. It was clearly not Edward’s imagination. Her mouth, which was pleading that she had done wrong, was trembling as she watched Edward’s reaction, looking as if it might spew venom at any moment.

“Didn’t I give you a chance earlier? It’s already too late. Let go.”

Edward spoke coldly to her. The Empress Dowager’s tearful face twisted grotesquely. Not surprised by her appearance, Edward snorted. It was as he had expected.

“Edward!! After all I’ve done to raise you!! To be swayed by one woman…”

“…”

In the end, it was Larael’s fault again.

“Why do you keep blaming Larael? Do you think this way because you believe you could have controlled me if Larael weren’t around?”

“No… that’s not it…”

Edward’s gaze turned to the imperial knights who had brought her. Those who were waiting for Edward’s orders immediately understood the meaning in his eyes. They quickly approached the Empress Dowager, grabbed her arms, and pulled her away from Edward.

“Let go of me!!!”

Edward watched the Empress Dowager struggling and thrashing with a frown, then sighed and left the reception room.

“Your Majesty, are you alright?”

Marquis Argen asked Edward. Edward nodded and boarded the waiting carriage.

“I’ll personally take charge of investigating the Empress Dowager.”

***

The next day, after interrogating the former Commander of the Knights, Edward ordered the confiscation of all his property, the revocation of his family’s noble status, and sentenced the Commander to hanging.

What angered Edward was that the Commander had acted solely on his own judgment, not under anyone’s direction. It revealed how the Commander had viewed Larael all along. Larael had saved Edward by putting the bracelet on him. It should have been natural to save the woman who had saved the Emperor’s life, but the Commander himself had undervalued her and ignored her.

Edward wanted to behead the Commander right away, but he restrained himself, thinking of his lunch appointment with Larael. He didn’t want her to smell blood.

When Edward returned to his office after the interrogation, his hardened face brightened upon seeing Larael sitting in his office, having arrived earlier than their appointed time.

“Larael, you came earlier than our lunch appointment?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I hurried because I had something to tell you.”

“Should I ask everyone to leave?”

“No. If that were the case, I wouldn’t have come to your office.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about the investigation of Duke Anderman that Your Majesty mentioned. I will do it.”

“You’ve made a good decision!! Thank you, Larael.”

An awkward silence flowed between the delighted Edward and Larael. Larael smiled awkwardly and stood up. She didn’t want to stay in the office too long and disturb Edward’s work. The gazes directed at them were just beginning to feel burdensome.

“I’ll prepare a schedule for Duke Anderman’s investigation and submit it. And I’ll wait for you in Your Majesty’s bedroom.”

“Alright, Larael. I’ll be there on time.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Larael bowed slightly and then went to Edward’s bedroom to spend time until their appointed hour. She had been there so often that it now felt as comfortable as her own bedroom.

“Joy, could you tell Kali and Count Winters to come to Abella Palace by 10 o’clock tomorrow?”

“Yes, I’ll deliver the message quickly and return.”

Larael spoke to Joy, who was following behind her, before entering Edward’s bedroom.

When the appointed time came, Edward stopped what he was doing and hurried to the dining hall. Larael, who was already seated in the dining hall, welcomed Edward. As soon as Edward arrived, the food began to be served in order, starting with the appetizers.

“Have you lost your appetite?”

Edward put down his fork and asked with concern, seeing that Larael wasn’t eating much.

“Ah… actually, I had quite a few desserts with tea this morning, so I’m finding it difficult to eat. I’m sorry.”

“No, there’s nothing to be sorry about. Shall we stop eating?”

“No. Your Majesty should eat more.”

Edward wiped his mouth with a napkin, stood up, and extended his hand to Larael.

“Let’s end the meal here and go for a walk.”

Larael looked up at Edward with a troubled expression. She felt like she had unnecessarily disrupted Edward’s meal. Lately, she felt full after eating just a little, so she had been constantly eating small amounts frequently. Fortunately, she didn’t have symptoms like nausea.

“Your Majesty, because of me…”

“I told you it’s not.”

Larael took Edward’s arm and came outside to walk in the garden in front of the main palace. Due to the still cold weather, Sasha, who was following behind, quickly draped a cloak over her.

“I wanted to return this to you.”

Edward stopped walking, took Larael’s arm, and fastened a bracelet around her wrist.

“Ah…”

Larael let out a m*an as she looked at the bracelet. It was her bracelet that she had put on Edward when he was losing consciousness after being attacked. The memory of that day quickly flashed through her mind. The hand she extended to Edward began to tremble. Edward wrapped her hand with his own. Despite the cold wind, warmth was transmitted through his hand.

“I was debating whether to return this or not.”

“…”

“But if something like that happens again, don’t act the same way. Promise me.”

“…I don’t even want to think about such a thing happening again, but even if it does, I will put the bracelet on Your Majesty. Preferably before you get hurt.”

“If you do that, I will never see you again.”

Edward said to Larael with an angry expression. His voice was as cold as the wind brushing against her face. Larael didn’t respond to his words, but she firmly resolved to follow through with her determination.

Thinking that Larael had understood, Edward’s expression melted like snow. Edward took Larael’s hand firmly again and began to walk slowly.

“Larael, you said before that you had something to tell me? You know, when I told you about my dream.”

“What?”

Larael stopped walking. She hadn’t expected him to remember that since he hadn’t brought it up separately. Larael’s heart began to beat rapidly. Her stomach started to ache with sharp pains. But before she could talk about the baby, there was something else she needed to confess first. Larael’s mouth felt as heavy as if it had a weight attached to it. It wasn’t easy to speak.

Larael lowered her eyes, exhaled deeply, and then looked directly at Edward. A gentle breeze blew between them, ruffling both Edward’s and Larael’s hair. Edward reached out and gently brushed back the strands of hair that had fallen across Larael’s face.

“If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. I just suddenly remembered and asked without any particular meaning.”

“No. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to tell you anyway. It will probably be a long story, would you listen?”

Larael turned her body and started walking again. She simply couldn’t talk while looking directly into Edward’s eyes.

“There’s something Your Majesty should know first.”

The words she needed to say became jumbled in Larael’s mind. Despite having practiced them in her head many times, she couldn’t organize what to say first.

“Shall we go inside?”

As Larael struggled to speak, Edward tilted his head to look at her face. Seeing her reddened eyes that seemed about to cry, Edward sensed that this was not a simple matter.

Larael bit her lip tightly. She really didn’t have the confidence to talk while facing him. But Edward pulled the unresponsive Larael along.

They ended their brief walk, and Edward took her to his private reception room in the main palace. Throughout the journey, Larael kept her mouth shut and said nothing. Yet she wasn’t organizing her thoughts either. No thoughts came to mind. She simply let her body be led. Only her heart was beating rapidly.

After ordering everyone to leave, Edward sat facing Larael, who was sitting motionless on the sofa. Larael briefly met his gaze but soon turned away.

“What is it that I need to know first that makes you hesitate so much?”

Edward asked playfully, hiding his somehow anxious feelings.