Chapter 118
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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Chapter 118
* * *
I couldn't escape the raging avalanche.
"Ahhhhh-! Ahhh! Ahhh! Someone save me-!"
"Woof! Woof! Woof!"
"Nooo! Puppy! Alert me faster!"
I clutched Puppy to my chest and ran like a madman—faster than I'd ever run in my past life, present life, or any future life to come.
But right now, I had to run.
If I didn't escape that avalanche, my life was over.
"I dodged The Emperor, and now nature itself wants me dead-!"
At this point, wasn't I destined to die either way?
I was so frustrated that I couldn't even cry.
Behind me, massive chunks of snow poured down relentlessly.
"Where, where do I go?! Where?!"
Damn it!
Only one thought crystallized in my mind.
'The Mountain Lodge!'
But The Emperor was there....
"Just survive first!"
I pivoted sharply toward the Mountain Lodge. A place to hide! A place to survive!
"Ahhhhhhhhh!"
Just then, I spotted The Emperor emerging from the Mountain Lodge.
"Move!"
I screamed at the bewildered Emperor in rapid succession.
"Open the door! Get away from the entrance! It's dangerous-!"
What was wrong with him?
He stared at me blankly as if entranced. At this rate, he'd be swept away by the snow and crushed to death!
"Aren't you listening to me?! Move-!"
Unless The Emperor could melt snow with his power, he would die.
"Damn it-!"
I squeezed out every ounce of strength and ran, throwing my arms around The Emperor's neck.
Then, by the narrowest margin, I slammed the door shut and escaped the avalanche.
Crrrrrunch.
Crack.
A tremendous roar echoed around the Mountain Lodge.
The Mountain Lodge trembled as though it might collapse, but after a few seconds, thankfully, the structure withstood the blizzard intact.
"Ugh...!"
I tumbled across the floor shielding The Emperor, then dropped my head with a thud. The tension drained from my body, leaving me utterly limp.
"Ah... we made it."
It felt like I'd walked to the very threshold of death itself.
Puppy! Where's Puppy?
"Woof!"
I don't know when Puppy became so quick, but the creature had already slipped from my arms and was curled up in front of the fireplace.
Confirming that Puppy was safe brought me another wave of relief.
"Phew... if we'd been even a moment slower, we would've been buried in snow and died screaming..."
"Enya."
Then I heard The Emperor's voice.
Wait? Where am I right now?
'...Damn!'
I had knocked The Emperor down hard and was now sprawled across him like he was a bed.
"Enya."
Just as I was about to get up, The Emperor pulled me into his embrace.
He wrapped me up completely—warm and expansive like a massive quilt, cradling me as though rolling me up in a mat.
'...What is this?'
My thoughts froze in confusion.
"Enya, did you come to save me?"
His tender tone—one that could melt even snow—made me flinch.
"Our contract marriage is over! Everything is over! Do you understand what I'm saying? Don't even think about holding onto me. We're nothing to each other!"
"If you follow me, I'll hate you forever, so don't you dare come after me."
"..."
I had resolved never to come back.
I swore I would never see him again.
I told him never to appear before my eyes for the rest of my life.
'Damn it, I came anyway.'
A chill ran down my spine as I passed by Enya and caught sight of my own reflection.
'I told him not to come, and yet here I am!!!'
Moreover, I seemed to have kindled hope in The Emperor.
And rightfully so.
The person who said not to come had returned.
'No, I mean, I'm sorry, but I have to survive too. But, no, but this is...'
What do I do?
I pushed myself up using The Emperor like a wall.
"Thank you for helping me!"
"..."
"I-I'm grateful, so I'm grateful!"
I turned my head away and shouted boldly.
I was too embarrassed to look at The Emperor properly, but when I glanced sideways, I could see him rising slowly.
Just a little more from the corner of my eye...!
The Emperor's expression, glimpsed from that angle, was filled with bitterness.
'Why...why does he look at me like that? After he deceived me?'
I was bewildered, but my head turned toward him of its own accord.
His expression, seen head-on, looked even more pitiful.
"So that's how it is..."
His voice, as if despairing and sinking deeply, trailed off weakly without finishing his thought.
I was truly taken aback.
He looked like someone abandoned without fault, despite having spent months planning and deceiving me.
Yet the part of my heart that sympathized with him felt even stranger.
'...Get a grip.'
I slapped my eyelids that kept drawing my gaze toward him.
"...! Enya."
The Emperor grasped my wrist—I hadn't even noticed when he'd approached.
"You shouldn't hit yourself."
"...What, what does it matter to you? It's my own eye I'm hitting."
"But it hurts."
"What does that have to do with you, Your Majesty?"
"..."
The Emperor fell silent and gazed at me with a sorrowful expression.
His black hair was damp with moisture from his eyes, his cheeks flushed, and his gaze glistened as if tears were gathering...no, I wasn't mistaken.
"Were you crying?"
I ran my fingers through The Emperor's hair and looked into his eyes again.
It was absurd, but The Emperor appeared to be crying.
"...Why... why are you crying?"
"..."
Whether from sorrow or melancholy, tears continued to fall from his eyes in small droplets.
From the circumstances, it seemed I was the one who had made him cry.
"Is it... me? Am I the culprit?"
Absurdly enough, he nodded obediently.
A man with such a massive frame finally leaned his heavy body against me and buried his face.
His hands embracing my back were cold, yet his body burned with heat.
Since meeting The Emperor, this had been a continuous string of the most bewildering moments.
He pulled me into his arms with both hands, rendering me completely immobile, and trembled as though afraid.
Without words, his emotions were transmitted to me.
"I'm sorry."
A voice, gravelly and scraping like metal, reached my ears.
Because of his hot breath accompanying his words, I could only listen intently.
Before I knew it, I was wholly focused on him.
"Forgive me."
"..."
"Why don't I become The Emperor instead? Then I could stay by your side, couldn't I?"
"...What are you asking me to do?"
I felt as though I had just heard something very strange.
When I moved my body slightly, his arms—like a snare—tightened around me even more forcefully.
His body, burning with suffocating heat, pressed against me.
"Don't leave me. If you become The Emperor, then Enya could kill me or let me live."
"...What?"
"Meanwhile, I won't be able to destroy the Lockhart Family. Take my power and keep it for yourself. Then it works, doesn't it?"
"?"
"You won't have to abandon me."
"...Your Majesty?"
My head spun with uncertainty as to whether I had heard correctly.
I squirmed, trying to see The Emperor's face and speak, but he held me as though I were oxygen itself—something he would die without—and refused to let go.
"No, let me see your face first and then speak."
"I refuse."
"Why?"
"...Because it's hideous."
"...? Hideous? What do you mean?"
He fell silent, his lips sealed. It seemed he was referring to his own face.
"Even when Your Majesty deceived me, your face was never hideous. I need to see it before I speak, so please lift your head."
"You'll hate me anyway..."
"I don't dislike you."
"That's a lie. You said you wouldn't abandon me."
He murmured in a voice as hollow as a cave.
"And then you left to marry another man."
"No, that's not... ugh!"
The moment he mentioned another man, his grip around my waist tightened fiercely.
I thought the Abandoned Building would collapse.
"I... I can't breathe. Please, let me see your face."
"...!"
Only then did he seem to regain his senses, loosening his grip. I cupped his face in my hands.
Was this Dale, or The Emperor?
In his expression, which felt like Dale's right now, there was so much sorrow.
Those brilliant golden eyes had tarnished today. The redness around them suggested he had wept for a long time.
"...I'm suddenly wondering—are your tears part of the plan too?"
"No."
He covered his eyes with his large hands. His ears flushed red, whether from shame or something else.
"Your Majesty."
"I wish you wouldn't call me that."
"I hate it."
"..."
"Your Majesty, are you in your right mind, suggesting treason?"
"In my right mind..."
He gazed at me quietly before exhaling a long sigh.
"I don't think so."
Then he tilted his head slightly.
"And it's not treason—it's abdication."
"Just like that?"
"From the beginning..."
The Emperor wrapped his arms around me and gazed out the window.
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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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