Chapter 88

“I love you.”  

At his sudden confession, Meia beamed brightly.  

Theodore truly couldn’t stop kissing and hugging her.  

It was hard to believe that this was the same shy, gentle Theodore she had initially known.  

“Mei.”  

Theodore’s black eyes, calling her by her nickname, seemed to say, ‘You are the only thing in my world.’ However, as soon as they entered the study, his gentlemanly escorting demeanor completely changed.  

Thud!  

He lightly pushed Meia against the wall, breathing heavily. Once she met his alluringly wet black eyes, it became as difficult to escape from between his arms as a fish caught in a net.  

Trapped between his arms so she couldn’t move, he devoured her lips, pouring sweet, intoxicating breaths into her, and ravaged the inside of her mouth.  

‘Where has the Theodore I knew gone?!’  

The tearful, gentle black retriever was gone. The shy Theodore had cast aside his timidity and become passionate—too passionate. When she told him to stop kissing her, to stop licking her, Theodore would lower his eyebrows and give her a pitiful expression with sad eyes.  

<I’m sorry, Mei.>  

His apology came with a sorrowful, pitiful face as he approached her. Seeing that expression, her heart softened.  

Then, when she gave him the tiniest bit of leeway, feeling sorry for his hesitant and cautious behavior, he would smile bashfully and cling to her, refusing to let go.  

Wherever she went, he followed her like a chick trailing behind a mother hen.  

Having a handsome man like Theodore following her around like this didn’t feel unpleasant or burdensome; instead, it strangely felt cute. Her heart and mind tingled, and her lips kept curling upward uncontrollably.  

***

“I’m worried you might struggle with the increased responsibilities of managing the household. If it becomes too much, please let me know anytime.”  

“When will Aethon return?”  

“He’s much healthier now. You don’t need to worry. After this embezzlement case, Aethon expressed his desire to return quickly.”  

Through designer Clairira’s ledger, they discovered to whom Lady Nordic had given expensive dresses as bribes. The vassals who accepted these bribes were punished accordingly.  

“The biggest problem is probably Baron Lakia and the secrets he holds, isn’t it?”  

“That’s correct. The scale of his human trafficking operation is far beyond what one would expect from a mere baron.”  

Thanks to Rebecca’s ledger, they raided a human trafficking den and saved many people.  

Puring personally intervened, breaking the spatial magic and rescuing the captives.  

The place was filled with people of various races, ages, and genders who had been captured.  

Puring explained that all the captured members of the trafficking group had a “Curse of the Sentence” placed on their tongues and ears.  

The moment they exchanged forbidden words, they would die.  

That was the “Curse of the Sentence,” a form of black magic.  

***

“I have a bad feeling about this.”  

At Theodore’s concern, Meia nodded and said,  

“Black mages are beings abandoned by mana.”  

Mana is a miracle that can be used by embracing the power of nature.  

A mage who accepts darkness becomes a black mage and can no longer use natural mana ever again.  

Puring had strongly warned her to flee if she ever encountered a black mage. 

<Are black mages terrifying beings, Master?>  

<The darkness of black mages is dangerous. Their mana is like poison to regular mages.>  

No matter how dangerous they might be, running away hurt her pride.  

<Please teach me how to counter black magic, Master.>  

Puring hesitated but eventually agreed to Meia’s request.  

<Understood. I’ll visit the Mage Tower for a few days.>  

“If Baron Lakia won’t open his mouth, inflict a pain on him beyond imagination. Make him think, ‘If only this pain would stop, how wonderful that would be.’”  

Hearing Meia’s words, Theodore nodded.  

“Understood.”  

***

While Meia was spending peaceful days at Grand Duke Florence’s estate, things were far from peaceful at the Hatzbellua Ducal residence with Luman.  

Luman frowned, his expression clearly annoyed.  

Not long ago, Prince Demian had visited the Hatzbellua Ducal residence and expressed his desire to marry Meia. While it was a great honor for one family to produce both an empress and a concubine, that was only the case when the cousins got along.  

In the Carpen Empire’s social circles, it was well known that Meia and Meryl did not get along.  

In reality, Meryl’s desire to marry Crown Prince Patzraelli wasn’t because she had fallen for him.  

<If I become Empress, Meia will have to bow her head to me, won’t she?>  

<It’s only natural to bow to the empress, Meryl.>  

<Father, I want to become the Empress!>  

Meryl’s ambition to become Empress was irresistible.  

So, they tested the waters with the now Empress and the Crown Prince. As expected, they easily accepted Meryl.  

Meia quietly stepped back from her position as fiancée, presenting the “Free Marriage Contract” without complaint. Moreover, she left for the Mage Tower with a relieved expression, making it all the better. After Meia left, although the endless letters, gifts, and marriage proposals became tiresome, it was still manageable.  

That was until Demian came to the Hatzbellua Ducal residence.  

‘Why on earth did Concubine Luruna invite Meryl to a tea party?’  

This was the issue.  

Luman was aware that Meryl, who lived freely, didn’t get along well with the young ladies of the capital. So why would Luruna go out of her way to invite Meryl, who had a bad reputation among the noblewomen?  

His head throbbed. He couldn’t understand Demian’s demand to marry Meia or Luruna’s intention in inviting Meryl to the tea party. Luman let out a heavy sigh.  

He recalled his last conversation with Demian.  

<If Meia finds a man she likes, as her uncle, I won’t oppose the marriage.>  

<If she marries another man, I’ll dismember her husband, grind him up, and throw him to the fish in the sea.>  

<That’s an excessive joke.>  

<Does it sound like a joke? I may look like this, but I’m quite impatient. I always get what I want. If by any chance someone else were to take her, I’d destroy everything with my own hands.>  

Despite his beautiful face, his cruel words, spoken with a smile, sent chills down Luman’s spine.  

The Free Marriage Contract, signed as a condition of breaking off Meia’s engagement, had even been notarized by the temple.  

In other words, if Meia wanted to marry Demian, there would be no choice but to allow it after five years. When Meia returned for her coming-of-age ceremony, Demian might propose to her immediately.  

If the two were to get married…  

‘This is driving me insane! Absolutely insane!’  

If he had known things would turn out this way, he wouldn’t have allowed the Free Marriage Contract.  

If the contract were used to marry Demian, it could lead to unimaginable disaster. Meia might even laugh while taking revenge on Meryl, who had taken her place as fiancée, and on him.  

Demian’s marriage had to be stopped at all costs. Luman’s face turned pale and haggard.  

Taking up his pen, Luman wrote to Empress Ellermin, informing her that Demian was strongly insisting on marrying Meia. No matter what, this marriage had to be prevented.  

Naturally, Empress Ellermin, upon receiving the letter, relayed its contents to Crown Prince Patzraelli.  

“I want to end my engagement with Lady Meryl. I want to be engaged to Lady Meia again—or rather, I want to marry her.”  

Through this incident, Patzraelli had realized many things.  

“I have absolutely no intention of marrying Lady Meryl.”  

“Rary! To maintain your position as Crown Prince, you need the support of the Hatzbellua Ducal family. Think more carefully.”  

Patzraelli shook his head and coldly replied,  

“Lady Meryl is not fit to be an Empress.”  

“But Rary, you shouldn’t make such a hasty decision.”  

“I understand. If breaking off the engagement with Lady Meryl is difficult, how about this?”  

“What is it? Tell me.”  

“It’s not uncommon for one family to produce both a concubine and an empress.”  

“Of course.”  

“I think it would be fine to take Lady Meia as a concubine first, and then later raise her to the position of Empress.”  

If only Meia would enter the imperial palace, she could once again host tea parties that earned the admiration of others, just like before. The thought brought a natural smile to Ellermin’s lips.  

“That’s right. Producing both an empress and a concubine from one family is an honor. Lady Meia would also consider becoming a concubine an honor.”  

“I’ll try to convince Lady Meia myself, but Lady Meryl might object.”  

“Even if she objects, a mere lady has no say in imperial matters. This is a matter between the imperial family and the Hatzbellua Ducal family. Once decided, Lady Meryl will have no choice but to accept it. As Crown Prince, you should focus solely on maintaining your position and becoming emperor.”  

“I understand.”  

***

At that moment, there was a loud, urgent knock, and Head Maid Grace burst in, shouting,  

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!”  

“Grace, what is it?”  

“Well, well…”  

Grace took a deep breath, her face pale, and spoke.  

“Lady Meryl…”  

Ellermin also knew that Meryl had been invited to Luruna’s tea party today.  

But seeing Grace’s panicked voice and demeanor made Ellermin uneasy.  

“Lady Meryl?”  

“She poured tea on Lady Cesar!”  

Ellermin doubted her ears for a moment. She asked again.  

“What did you say?”  

“They’re pulling each other’s hair and fighting right now!”  

Ellermin was so shocked by the absurd news that her lips trembled.  

And Patzraelli stood up from his seat. Naturally, the place he headed to was Luruna’s palace, where Meryl was.