Chapter 75

Listening to his words, Azela muttered a little and lifted the tableware Zagnac gazed at her silently as she muttered As she was embarrassed by the gaze, she bowed her head and poked the food in front of her with the fork

“I know

”

Zagnac gave a brief reply, Azela lifted her head up and looked at him However, he suddenly turned his gaze away from her and glanced at the food

“What?”

Azela, who wanted to hear the answer one more time, wetted her dry lips with saliva and asked At that, Zagnac replied with a nod as if she knew how she felt

“I know that you are different from other humans”

“…”

“That’s why you’re so clueless, that’s why it’s fun”

With his words, Azela pursed her lips and bowed her head

She said she would empty her mind… She promised herself that she would let go of these feelings just yesterday and early this morning, looking at the rising sun Still, she found herself crying and laughing at every word he said

“Secondly, let’s go get your sword”

“My sword…?”

“Yes You decided to become my escort knight, so you will need a sword”

…A sword

Azela, who had deeply engraved the word in her heart, gazed down at her She wanted her very own sword

This time, she did not refuse

Raising her gaze, she nodded her head vigorously with a bright smile With that dazzling smile on her face, Zagnac looked at Azela for a long time Her face was blushing in front of him, who had a blank face

The sweetness began to fill his mouth as if he had drunk hot chocolate Perhaps he was lacking human energy, Zagnac tilted the ends of his lips, which had become sweet

* * *

The first time she visited the Imperial Palace after she got married had not changed It couldn’t change As she and Zagnac walked to the parlor of the Imperial Palace, Azela looked around She once dreamed of working here as the Imperial Knights, and then the Knights Commander

She eventually came to the imperial palace like this

It felt rather strange

When she reached the front of the parlor, the knight standing in front of her prepared to open the door While she stood next to the parlor, she looked at Zagnac He swept his chin, leaned his upper body toward her and whispered softly

“Let’s go in together”

“…Me, too?”

“Yeah, you too”

At his words, Azela turned her gaze and looked to the side Next to the door of the parlor, the commander of the Imperial Knights, who was in charge of the Emperor’s escort, stood firmly He was standing like this, so she couldn’t go in with Zagnac

Shaking her head with a puzzled face, she opened her mouth

“I’ll be guarding you right here in front”

“Will you know what’s going to happen in the parlor?”

“Nothing happens inside the Imperial Palace How strict is the security?”

“But, it’s the Emperor in there who wants to kill me?”

With his light voice, Azela hurriedly covered his mouth with her palm and glanced around

Fortunately, there was no change in Zihat’s expression or the knights standing around as if they had not heard Zagnac Azela frowned and glared at him though he was looking at her with an amused smile

As she carefully lifted her hand from his lips, she shouted softly at him

“Don’t you know that if you say something like that here, you will die right away?”

“Then, you must protect me That’s what you came here for”

“What?”

“It’s for these things that I asked you for help”

While Zagnac was speaking, the door to the parlor opened At that, he raised his bent upper body and cleaned up his disheveled clothes before he grabbed Azela’s wrist, and they entered the parlor together

As the two of them entered the parlor, the door that had been opened from behind closed

From the inside of the parlor, the Emperor’s voice could be heard as he was having a conversation with someone Azela, who entered the parlor with her wrists caught by Zagnac, glanced at him with a terrified expression

However, Zagnac was still smiling calmly

“Azela”

He called her name Even though he was just calling her name, she felt her heart pounding strangely

“You will be by my side all day, at any time”

“…”

“Never go away”

She did not respond to the soft curves around Zagnac’s eyes Meanwhile, he, who was looking at her, took her eyes off her and moved his steps toward the inside

Reluctantly, Azela followed cautiously after him

“Oh, Duke Ferial”

As they entered, the Emperor’s voice reached Azela’s ears As she lifted her bowed gaze upward, she could see the emperor, Crown Prince Chises, and Princess Livia sitting on the soft sofa at a glance

It was awkward After Zagnac sat down, the four did not talk to each other

The Emperor simply enjoyed his tea with a smile that seemed benevolent, while Crown Prince Chises stared intently at Azela, who was standing behind Zagnac’s sofa, staring into the air

Princess Livia pretended to enjoy tea after her father, the Emperor, but her squinted gaze remained on Zagnac

Zagnac peered out the window and did not touch the cup of tea even though he had always enjoyed tea, and he looked at Emperor Alberto and then spoke

“I came to see you as soon as I arrived in the Capital”

“I am the first person Duke Ferial came to see… I’m glad”

Azela, who was listening to the Emperor’s sarcastic tone that anyone could hear, twitched her eyebrows unknowingly

What Zagnac said was true… He was afraid that Zagnac would overtake his power, and he wanted him to that extent No matter how ignorant she was, Azalea could clearly see it even if she pretended not to

She glanced into the Emperor’s serpent-like gaze and felt her hair rising as she turned her gaze back into the air

…He had the same terrible eyes as Crown Prince Chises, fearing both father and son

“I have heard some fascinating rumors”

The Emperor’s gaze turned to Azela, who stood firmly behind Zagnac He leaned back on the sofa, gazing at Azela with his hands clasped as he drew a wrinkled, gentle smile It was a completely different look from when he was looking at Zagnac a while ago

“Miss Vellista, long time no see”

“Greetings, Your Majesty”

“I am sorry for Count Todd”

He was talking about her divorce from Daniel Should she say it was okay, or should she say thank you for the comfort? Azela, unable to find a proper answer, glanced side to side for a moment, and then she answered

“No need to worry, because I agree with you as well”

The Emperor’s eyes widened as if he was quite surprised by Azela’s upright response Perhaps, he was thinking of seeing a feeble woman’s tears of gratitude However, he soon realized he liked Azela’s answer

Hahaha, he grabbed his stomach and laughed out loud

“You haven’t changed in the slightest”

“…I will take it as a compliment Thank you”

“That’s why I wanted you so much I really liked this aspect of you, so I wanted to pair you with the Crown Prince”

The Emperor smiled as he lightly grabbed the shoulder of Crown Prince Chises, who was sitting to his right Hearing the emperor’s words, Chises, who had been looking at Azela alone, opened his mouth as if he had gained courage

“It’s still not too late”

Azela turned her head away at Chises’ obsessive gaze

The actions he had committed in the past came to her mind again She wondered if he would have grown up now though those eyes were still the same as back then The last time he visited Todd mansion, he was just hiding it for a while…

At the thought, she furrowed her eyebrows

“No, it’s too late now”

It was the Emperor, not anyone else, who cut off Crown Prince Chises’ obsession When he had said that it was not too late, the Emperor shook his head and said firmly that it was already too late Although he was smiling, Chises was embarrassed by that sword-like tone, while Azela was relieved

“Chises, you are the one who will become the future Emperor of this empire”

“I-I know”

“Your partner will become the Empress”

”…”

“A woman who has been divorced is not worthy of being Empress”

The Emperor turned his head to look at Azela and uttered firmly

It was as if he would not look over it

When he said that, Azela felt her breathing open after it had been choked again As she nodded her head very slightly, holding back what she wanted to say, the Emperor continued speaking again

“Of course, if it’s as a concubine, not the Empress, it’s a different story”

“…!”

Hearing his following words, Crown Prince Chises’ darkened face became noticeably brighter He looked at Azela again with a bright face as though he had found a way out

On the other hand, Azela’s face grimaced unknowingly