Side Story 2: Charte’s Story. That Man’s Light (1)

The world was completely dark.

No, it was blood-red.

For some time now, he had always smelled of blood.

He couldn’t even remember why things had become this way.

Addicted to the smell of blood, he couldn’t think of anything else.

And it was a time of despair when he couldn’t trust anyone.

He immediately became hostile and suspicious of anyone who tried to approach him.

He was disgusted by the hypocritical people, convinced they wouldn’t come without a purpose.

Before long, there were more corpses leaving the imperial palace than people living there.

Thus, he became the Blood Emperor, a tyrant.

Paradoxically, once he became the tyrant everyone feared, the empire became more peaceful.

Political strife disappeared, and the ministers quietly did their work to survive, which wasn’t so bad.

Even the noble faction that had always hindered him grew quiet.

He thought it natural and unremarkable that subjects should fear their emperor.

And so, he spent three years addicted to this bloody peace.

It was a boring day, too quiet.

The three duke families with the highest power in the empire—Whyman, Pahorder, and Neiyard—came together.

Whyman and Pahorder were of the imperial faction, while Neiyard was of the noble faction, so it was rare for the three families to unite with one purpose.

It was a strange combination that aroused curiosity.

On the other hand, this disharmony was amusing.

The tyrant knew that even water and oil could be mixed.

Whyman opened his mouth carefully with an imploring expression.

“Your Majesty the Emperor, we have something to say.”

He gestured for them to continue.

“It is time for Your Majesty to take an empress. The empire needs an empress.”

It was surprising that they still hadn’t given up, even after so many noble daughters had died.

Was this loyalty?

He twisted up one corner of his mouth and sneered at them.

“Who wants to die this time?”

“My daughter, Your Majesty.”

Whyman answered with a grave face.

His eyes looked firm, showing no intention of backing down.

Loyalty…… is it?

There was no doubt about Nathan Whyman’s heart.

His family had been loyal to the empire for generations, and the previous emperor had always regarded Nathan Whyman as special and cherished him.

“I understand she’s your only child. Are you fine with losing her?”

“If it’s for the empire.”

His determination to never back down was evident.

“An empress……? You may leave.”

He dismissed them that day, but for more than three months afterward, they visited him daily, becoming a nuisance.

After more than a hundred days, tired and annoyed, he gave a slight nod.

If he didn’t like her, he could just k*ll her anyway.

Time flew quickly from the moment of permission until the wedding.

He properly saw Leila Whyman for the first time at the celebration ball, after conducting the wedding ceremony with her face covered by a veil.

As Nathan Whyman’s daughter, she had a strong, upright gaze.

But that was all there was to it; he didn’t pay any further attention.

Until then, she had been little more than an insect to him.

After the tedious time ended, he headed to the empress’s palace.

Everyone would have thought it was the wedding night, but for him, it was a night of judgment.

Nathan Whyman’s daughter—to k*ll or to spare?

He was deeply contemplating this as he opened the door.

Someone rushed out from inside the room and collided with him, and he felt something strange.

Clothes wet with moisture, an inexplicable peculiar scent—the unfamiliar smell was enough to give him a headache.

He could sense that something unpleasant had happened.

He was shocked at the sight he had never seen before in his life.

He had never even seen his own vomit, let alone someone else’s.

It was a thousand regrets that he didn’t have a knife with him.

Suppressing his rising anger, he barely parted his lips.

“What is the meaning of this? Lady Leila Whyman.”

As she tried to answer, her face looked unusual.

Seeing her cover her mouth, he tightly closed his eyes.

Not wanting to see any more foreign substances from someone else’s body, he pointed to the bathroom.

The maids turned pale at the sight of vomit on his clothes.

Even after showering and changing clothes, he still felt like the smell lingered, giving him a headache.

A clear reason to k*ll her had been established, and with a lightened heart, he entered the room and waited for her.

‘When would be a good time for the execution?’

Thinking about this improved his mood considerably.

After some time, Leila Whyman appeared before him.

At least she had her wits about her, as she immediately apologized with a sorry face.

But why did he find the conversation increasingly absurd the more they talked?

She apologized, then got angry, then suddenly confronted him, then cried and begged—it was impossible to make sense of her.

How did such a mutant emerge from the Whyman ducal family, considered the empire’s finest?

He couldn’t understand it at all, and was so dumbfounded that he momentarily forgot his intention to k*ll her.

What particularly stood out about this special lady was her servility and her obsession with life.

A typical noble lady would have proudly and tragically offered her neck to preserve her honor.

But Leila Whyman’s actions were completely unpredictable.

That aspect was so unusual that it captured his interest.

Whether it was excessive boldness or excessive ignorance, the boundary was blurry, but she had succeeded in catching his attention.

Healing his wounds and pain?

The wounds were already so deep that he didn’t even know what kind they were—was healing even possible?

Just dealing with her seemed like a waste of time.

To the point where he felt pathetic.

Was he being mocked by a lady who had grown up like a flower, never having been hurt?

But was it his imagination that she felt more like a weed than a flower?

He tried to get up, but Leila Whyman’s desperate gaze held him back.

Just as he was thinking he might listen a bit more to what she had to say for Prime Minister Whyman’s sake, she made a very bold proposal.

It was a contract marriage.

It was a proposal he had never heard before in his life.

It wasn’t the kind of conversation one would expect on a typical wedding night, so he didn’t feel bad about it.

Moreover, it felt good that she wasn’t approaching him as a woman just because they were married, but as a partner in state affairs, approaching it as work.

And what followed provoked him in a different way.

It was absurd that she would tell interesting stories to him, who had read the most books in the empire, but he couldn’t help but take the bait.

He had to show her how futile her proposal was.

Since she was willing to bet the life she had been so preciously guarding, he accepted the contract.

He had nothing to lose.

Our strange nights began from that moment.

When I first heard the premise of “The Seduction of the Marked Wife,” I wondered if she was laughing at me or mocking me.

And I recalled Yasrin, who had been hiding behind the bloody curtain.

I couldn’t help but suspect Leila’s intentions.

I observed her closely, but her eyes were unnecessarily clear.

Rather, she seemed like someone who would lose out by revealing too much of herself.

She definitely wasn’t the type to hide other intentions or plot behind the scenes.

‘In that respect, she resembles her father.’

Her story was so shocking that I wanted to ban it by law.

Betrayal, murder, adultery, kidnapping—it contained all sorts of dirty elements.

It was the most outrageous story I had ever heard in my life.

But strangely, I was curious about what would happen next.

I was angry and cursed while listening, but I kept looking forward to the next week.

Just the story, of course.

After being splashed with water like that, I couldn’t concentrate on work the next day.

“Catano, have you ever heard of a water slap?”

“What? What do you mean? How can one do that with water? Your Majesty has quite an imagination.”

Instinctively, one corner of my mouth rose wickedly.

A moment later, Catano, wet like a drowned mouse, gritted his teeth and said,

“Then if you hit with bread, it’s a bread slap; with gloves, a glove slap; with alcohol, an alcohol slap; with meat, a meat slap?”

“Very creative, Viscount Catano. Shall we try something else?”

“No, no. It doesn’t seem worth going that far.”

Catano hurried out, and left alone, I found myself smiling.

I was surprised to realize that the smile had appeared without my knowledge.

Some time later, I discovered the empress spinning around frighteningly like someone casting a spell.

I should have ignored her.

But if someone saw her like that, it was bizarre enough that rumors of a witch entering the imperial palace might spread.

Moreover, there were currently many foreign guests in the imperial palace.

Unable to pretend not to see the dishonor to the imperial family, I taught her how to dance.

It was strange that she couldn’t even perform the basic dance that a lady should naturally know, but I wasn’t interested in the reasons.

However, I didn’t dislike the way she tried hard and put in effort on her own.

An incident occurred while an unusually peaceful daily life continued.

Yasrin’s name was heard again, which irritated me.

Yasrin remained like an undying evil spirit, tormenting me terribly.

The biggest problem was that the empress had fallen into Hyrelia’s scheme.

I was angry at her foolishness, but I didn’t doubt her at all.

I was only concerned about how to extract her from this chaotic situation.

Of course, killing would have been simple, but the empress seemed unable to bear the smell of blood.

That made me hesitate.

Perhaps due to the passage of time, a bit of trust had developed.

I clearly thought we were just in a human relationship, not a male-female one.

But from some point, I didn’t feel particularly good seeing her with Minister Pahorder.

Though I couldn’t understand why.

After experiencing quite a lot in a short period, we went to the Kingdom of Harua.

I didn’t mind sharing a room since I could continue hearing her stories.

But here, I was able to rest for the first time in years.

Free from sleepless nights, my nerves, which had always been sharp, settled more than usual.

So unlike usual, my mind was at ease.

I had forgotten, but the Kingdom of Harua was where I first met Yasrin.

I belatedly realized how much attention would be focused on the new empress coming to such a place.

But she was bright as usual.

She didn’t seem to care at all.

A broad mind—perhaps with just that, she might be someone who fit the position of empress quite well.

As time passed, I thought she was fine as an empress.

Even when the Strange Garden began and the peanut allergy incident occurred, I took my feelings for her lightly.

I thought I just liked the stories she told me.

Because I never thought I could hold someone in my heart again.

So I didn’t even guess that I was not only immersed in the stories she told, but also in her very existence.

I was foolish.

There was one thing I realized after she left for the west.

With the empress gone from the palace, I had nowhere to rest.

I don’t know since when, but the time I spent with her had become my respite.

So without time to think rationally, I left for the west to meet her.

Seeing her at the place I had rushed to reach, I felt relieved and could sleep soundly for once.

It was also fun to play mischievous pranks on her, as she reacted well to teasing.

Spending time with her was always enjoyable, as she would grumble but eventually do everything I wanted.

And I was also curious about what was going on in her head when she occasionally asked strange questions.

Now it seemed she was no longer afraid of me either.

I thought that if a little more time passed, we might become good friends.

I never thought I could love someone again.

Especially regarding humans, particularly the opposite s*x.

I had closed the door to my heart long ago.

But it was around the time we were talking about the Crazy Couple.

When Heinz appeared because of the hunting competition, I started to care a lot about her.

Her actions, her words, the people she met—everything concerned me.

And when she went to the bathroom and didn’t return, my heart sank.

Worried and anxious that something might have happened, I frantically searched for her.

When I found her in the lodging, I first felt relief, then anger.

Finally, seeing her tears made my heart ache.

At that moment, I realized as if struck by lightning.

That my feelings were different from before.