Chapter 76

There was no reason to be discussing this with Chises

In the first place, she never promised him any future, she never misled him, nor had she ever spread strange rumors about him Azela’s head felt like they were pounding when the surroundings were talking in front of the said person while ignoring her opinions

“Oh, dear

”

Just as she was about to open her mouth to say something, Zagnac, who had been listening to all this, opened his mouth first He closed his eyes and listened for a while before opening them and flicking his fingers

“My escort knight is perplexed Please, stop joking about the people in front of you She came here as my escort, after all”

“…Joke?”

Chises frowned at Zagnac’s voice

His voice had become so cold as if he was giving an order to catch and kill Zagnac at any moment He was definitely someone to do that

In fact, there were rumors circulating that there were people who died at the hands of Crown Prince Chises, who was blinded by jealousy of people who hovered over Azela while she was learning swordsmanship

Azela glanced at the Emperor asking him to stop this situation with an anxious gaze However, he was just casually enjoying the tea Seeing Chises as if he was waiting to kill Zagnac, she swallowed her saliva as it looked like she would need to pull out the sword she was wearing on her waist

“…He is going to be my husband”

It was none other than Princess Livia who summed up the situation in one word She put down her teacup roughly and turned her body to face Chises as she spoke sharply

“Please refrain from looking at him with such a harsh face, brother”

“…Livia”

Chises looked at Livia with narrowed eyes The grim expression was asking why she was meddling in his business though Livia was not discouraged As if familiar with this, she proudly opened her small shoulders and protected Zagnac

“Stop It’s disgraceful for the family to be like this in front of guests”

“…”

Hearing that Livia referred to Zagnac as her husband, the Emperor nodded his head vehemently and stopped the fight between the two He stepped forward, and both Chises and Livia had no choice but to look down and say nothing more

The Emperor turned his gaze back to Zagnac and Azela

“On the other hand, it seems that we have made the two people whom we haven’t seen in a long time uncomfortable because we were too happy to meet them that we talked about you… Forgive me, Miss Vellista”

“…It’s okay”

“Thank you for your forgiveness… Now, since I even apologized to Miss Vellista myself, is it okay, Duke Ferial?”

The next moment, he smiled and asked Zagnac, who also smiled and nodded his head lightly The atmosphere hardened as if they were in a tight tug of war

“By the way, is there any special reason for hiring Miss Vellista as an escort? Everyone was surprised that you suddenly hired an escort knight”

The Emperor stared at the teacup in his hand and closed his lips for a moment A still silence lingered in the parlor After staring at the tea in the teacup for a while, he continued speaking with a smile on his lips

“…There was talk of whether Duke Ferial’s life was in danger”

“Oh, is that so?”

“It would not be possible, right”

As if the Emperor asked for his consent, he glanced at Zagnac and smiled Although his lips were smiling brightly, the corners of his eyes were hardened, not smiling at all

Goosebumps appeared on Azela’s body as if she was looking at a grotesque doll

“I thought so, too, but…”

Zagnac seemed familiar with the Emperor If an ordinary person had met him, he would have been so scared that they would have said nothing, but he just smiled calmly… No, she didn’t even know it was because he was the ’devil’ and not a human

“There really was… someone who wants to kill me”

Finishing his words, Zagnac smiled and tapped his finger

Azela swallowed a gulp and turned her gaze back to the Emperor The person who was going to kill him was sitting right in front The Emperor was not at all surprised at the words Zagnac used to call him

Rather, he replied with a smile on his face that remained unchanged as his gaze was not disturbed

“Oh, dear Duke Ferial, did you mistake me because you were tired lately?”

“Yes, because I am so tired that I mistakenly think there’s a wound on my body”

Silence reigned in the living room again

The Emperor and Zagnaclooked at each other for a long time without averting their gaze However, in the end, it was the human Duke Ferial that turned his attention first It was because the other person was the Emperor

Turning his gaze away, he lifted his body up lightly from the sofa he was sitting on

“I had greeted His Majesty the Emperor, so I’ll get going”

“Let’s stay a little longer I think I have a lot to talk about with Miss Vellista, whom I haven’t seen in a long time”

“No”

The Emperor, who followed Zagnac, raised his body and tried to reach out towards Azela However, Zagnac, who was faster than him, grabbed her shoulder since she had been standing behind him, and pulled her to his side

“Coming back to the capital after a long time, I have a mountain of work to do These are the things that His Majesty has given me, so I have to deal with them quickly”

Because he hurriedly pulled Azela to his side, the Emperor’s hand hovered in the air in embarrassment, and he hardened his face at Zagnac’s resolute refusal For a moment, Azela was startled by the murderous look, and she unknowingly shrunk her shoulders and lowered her gaze

Knowing her reaction, Zagnac gave strength to his gripping hand

As if reassuring her that he was by her side, Azela woke up with a flash of strength as his clasped hands tightened

‘Why am I here?’

She was his escort knight And, the other person—the reason—was right in front of her

…The Emperor Alberto

She was not in the position to be protected

At the thought, Azela lifted her bowed head, and she gently lifted Zagnac’s hand that was holding her She placed her hand on the sword that was hung from her waist

Whenever something happened, she would always be ready to draw her sword

Zagnac smiled contentedly as he looked at her, who was using her life against the Emperor’s behind him At the same time, the Emperor also had an interested look as he stared at Azela who seemed to accept her death

“…I can’t help it if you say so”

In the end, the Emperor removed his hand that was hovering in the air and sat down on the sofa again

His gaze was on Azela, who was staring straight at him past Zagnac It was the gaze of a beast looking for its prey Next to him, Chinese was grinding his teeth and glaring at Zagnac, and Livia also frowned while staring blankly at Zagnac’s hand that wrapped around Azela

Zagnac politely bowed to the three people who were staring at him, then nodded towards Azela and moved away

As he was about to leave the parlor, the Emperor, who was looking at his back, spoke softly

“Duke Ferial”

“…Yes, Your Majesty”

“I’m worried that someone is threatening your life, so I’ll say something”

Zagnac turned his head back and looked at the Emperor He was still sitting on the sofa though because of his emotionless face, the murderous energy was perched close to his back

“Please take care of yourself”

Hearing it from someone who didn’t know the circumstances, it sounded like the Emperor was really worried Hearing his words, Zagnac smiled and nodded his head Then, he turned his head again and took Azela out of the parlor

* * *

“Are you okay?”

Azela was stiff from tension until she left the palace and got into the carriage She didn’t even know how to remove her hand from her sword As the carriage departed and moved away from the Imperial Palace, her face, which had turned white, found its color

A man with no mercy at all, who devoured other empires in many wars… She was face to face with such a person

She sighed deeply, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand before nodding her head in reply

“I’m okay”

“Well done It was reassuring”

“…What did I do? I was scared”

“For the first time against the Emperor, that was great Besides, when you waged your life against the Emperor to protect me, I was so moved that I almost cried”

Despite Zagnac’s praise, Azela did not show a happy face

She recalled what had just happened The emperor who wanted to kill him, and Chises, who had not yet given up on her—even to be his concubine

In addition…

“…He is going to be my husband”