Chapter 8.

‘Lloyd is definitely not someone to underestimate just because he smiles pleasantly on the surface.’

The Lloyd she had read about in the book was a sunshine male supporting character loved by everyone, and also the only person who could comfortably interact with the formidable Bellian.

But interacting comfortably didn’t mean crossing boundaries inappropriately.

He was a perfectionist who upheld principles for the sake of one person, and that was limited to serving Bellian.

That’s why Shuvien had used this point to manipulate Lloyd.

‘But he’s much more intense than I expected. That skill of pressing someone down while smiling, that’s a high-level smile technique.’

Shuvien smiled leisurely as she watched Count Mondri cower in fear, unable to make a sound.

‘I’m glad that was handled easily.’

“Your Majesty the Empress, shall we go?”

Lloyd showed a neat smile toward Shuvien again, and she deliberately looked at Count Mondri as she spoke.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be careful and do well.”

Count Mondri glanced at Lloyd and answered in a strange tone.

“Y-Yes. Your Majesty the Empress will do well. I will formally request an audience next time.”

“Yes.”

Shuvien barely restrained herself from laughing triumphantly in his face as she followed Lloyd out of the reception room.

But as soon as they left, Lloyd examined Shuvien’s body and said,

“From now on, you must always be careful. That body now belongs to His Majesty the Emperor as well.”

“Ah……”

“If anyone tries to touch Your Majesty the Empress’s body carelessly, you must resist. Of course, once you enter the palace, His Majesty will assign guards, but you must also be careful and protect yourself.”

“Ah, I understand.”

“Don’t raise your speech to me either. You must maintain dignity as the Empress. You mustn’t tarnish His Majesty’s reputation. Of course, I believe you’ll do well. I’ll provide much assistance to ensure you can.”

Every single word he uttered seemed to carry muscular weight.

Listening to him, it seemed Lloyd knew everything about this situation.

So his intervention earlier was not only because of Bellian but also…

‘He protected me in case something happened to the child in my womb.’

Indeed, Count Mondri kept grabbing her wrist and shaking it, causing her to stagger several times.

Though she roughly knew the novel’s content, variables kept arising because of the child in her womb, which didn’t appear in the novel.

The novel doesn’t properly describe Shuvien’s life after entering the imperial palace.

‘Since the genre begins with Shuvien’s death after being discovered as an illegitimate child.’

This meant she couldn’t guarantee what would happen in the imperial palace from now on, and the novel content she knew would change significantly.

‘No. It needs to change. If it doesn’t change, I’ll face the bad ending!’

She must survive, absolutely.

Somehow she must reach a happy ending with this child in her womb.

For that, she needed to stay sharp from now on.

As they left the count’s house, a moderately sized carriage waited for Shuvien.

Actually, for a prospective Empress entering the imperial palace, it should have been arranged on a massive scale, but given the huge secret surrounding this marriage, Shuvien needed to be protected discreetly until the formal wedding ceremony.

‘I prefer moving secretly like this rather than something flashy. The fewer people who know about me, the easier it will be to escape later.’

“Let’s hurry, Your Majesty the Empress.”

For some reason, Lloyd didn’t open the carriage door for her, and though Shuvien found it a bit strange, she opened the door herself without thinking much about it.

But there was a reason he hadn’t opened it.

“You’re later than I expected. If you had been any later, I was going to fetch you myself.”

“Y-Your Majesty?”

Bellian greeted Shuvien with a relaxed attitude from inside the carriage.

“Why are you here?”

“Naturally, I came to get you.”

“But it’s not yet a formal entry……”

“That’s how special you are to me. Come, hurry over here. I’ll only feel at ease when you’re within my reach.”

Shuvien took Bellian’s hand with an astonished expression and boarded the carriage.

Just listening, his words might sound incredibly sweet, but the hidden meaning was simply that he would monitor her in case she tried to escape.

‘Now I’m not blindly wearing rose-colored glasses anymore. But wait, is it okay for the Emperor to be this free?’

Eventually, Shuvien headed toward the imperial palace facing Bellian.

“Actually, I know why you were delayed. Count Felisa wanted to go with you.”

“He seemed to be worried about me. Please forgive his rudeness.”

“All matters concerning the imperial palace require my permission, but you’re fine. Do as you wish.”

“Pardon?”

“Should I bring Count Felisa here even now?”

At Bellian’s smiling words, Shuvien shook her head desperately.

“No! It’s fine. Such consideration is not necessary!”

I worked so hard to separate from him, what are you saying!

“Why? Wouldn’t you be more comfortable with your father? Shouldn’t your mind be at ease for the child in your womb to be comfortable too?”

“No. I don’t want others to misunderstand Your Majesty’s kindness and cause you harm.”

“What misunderstanding from others?”

“Since I’m not yet the official Empress, having family members coming and going to the imperial palace already wouldn’t look good.”

At those words, the corner of Bellian’s lips rose ominously.

“Who would dare question my orders? Don’t they value their lives?”

Shuvien felt a chilling shudder at Bellian’s cold voice.

“If there are such people, tell me. If they don’t value their lives, I can select those lives to take.”

“N-No. It’s fine. I’m really, really fine.”

Talking about killing someone as if choosing items in a store!

“From now on, do whatever you want. I’ll take care of the consequences.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Again, while it sounded like an incredible privilege, it also meant he would monitor her closely.

‘Don’t be fooled by those words full of sinister intentions. Not a single word is for my benefit.’

Making herself comfortable was ultimately for the child in her womb.

“I came to get you personally, but I also have something important to discuss.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere changed as Bellian’s gaze lowered.

Because of this, Shuvien’s spine also straightened.

“When you say discussion……”

“It seems that tonight, you and I need to take care of business together.”

He had such a solemn expression, but then,

“By taking care of business, you mean sleeping together?”

“Yes. Originally, I planned to have the wedding first and then officially have our first night together so no one would doubt the child. I wanted to crown it with the perfect legitimate royal bloodline, but it doesn’t match with when you’ll give birth. We need to proceed immediately.”

No, for him this was a solemn and important matter.

She too needed to actively participate in Bellian’s play and thoroughly deceive everyone to survive in the imperial palace for a while.

“But is it possible to share a bed with Your Majesty without having the wedding ceremony?”

Sleeping with the Emperor was connected to the next successor, so it couldn’t be done carelessly.

Especially in the Alcanta Empire, which revered noble bloodlines, it made absolutely no sense.

“That’s why I’ve created a pretext first.”

Bellian instantly reached out and cupped Shuvien’s face.

As his body temperature, slightly lower than others, touched her cheek, Shuvien swallowed a startled breath.

“Part of why I came to get you personally was to show the palace people how much I desire and want you.”

It seemed there were several hidden meanings in his actions this time.

“And if I say I’ll have you, then I’ll have you. Who would dare oppose or stop me?”

‘Well, he is the strongest character in this novel. From our one-night stand onwards, no one could stop this man.’

At that moment, his fingers that had touched her face gradually moved downward and reached her nape.

“You don’t need to worry about anything; just leave everything to me. The child in your womb is important to me too. I will definitely make it the noble legitimate successor of this imperial family.”

Shuvien felt the now somewhat familiar chill as she couldn’t take her eyes off him.

Every time he mentioned the child, he said it was precious with his mouth, but his eyes told a different story.

Especially whenever he spoke of a noble legitimate successor, his expression became infinitely distorted.

***

As soon as they arrived at the imperial palace, Bellian summoned all the maids already assigned to the Empress’s palace, ordering them to pay respects to Shuvien and prepare the bedroom.

The palace people, who had only received terrifying imperial orders until now, were confused by such an order for the first time, but an imperial order was an imperial order, so they hurried to move.

Lloyd opened his mouth while staring at Shuvien, who disappeared surrounded by maids, with a dumbfounded expression.

“You’re really devoted. Do you truly have feelings for that woman?”

“She’s just a vessel for the child.”

Bellian murmured in an icy tone without a hint of warmth.

“I’m treating her well so that vessel doesn’t break. This is a moment I’ve desired for a very long time, so I must protect it preciously and perfectly enough to fool everyone completely.”

As ecstasy gradually filled his eyes, an inexplicable smile spread across his face.

“They say it’s a child given by God. Everyone will wait for it with precious blessings. No one will know. That this child will eventually destroy this imperial family. And then they’ll all realize. That it was actually a curse, not a blessing.”

For a moment, his smile crumbled desolately, revealing painful emotions.

“Just like my existence.”