Chapter 16

Tok, tok.

There was the sound of somebody tapping the timber around the edge of the sofa with his fingers. Marianne came to her senses at the man’s carefree voice. She just opened her mouth to ask what she just heard, but she couldn’t move her lips or tongue freely.

“So, what you just said was that His Majesty asked me to marry him, right?”

When she asked back hesitantly, that man who sat on the opposite sofa and snapped his fingers nodded slowly. Wearing a hooded robe almost upside down, he looked like a black demon from head to toe. As a messenger that the emperor sent, he looked very weird and unusual.

“I’m sorry to say this, but I wonder if Sir Colin conveyed my message to the emperor incorrectly.”

She told him what she really thought in spite of herself. Though it was a rude question, she had to ask because she really wanted to know if the emperor got her message right.

“Did what I asked Sir Colin to convey to the emperor sound more like a love letter?”

“You bet. I think the emperor thought that way too.”

Colin, sitting next to that man, nodded without showing any displeasure as if he agreed.

“But why? I respect the emperor as a citizen of this empire of course, but I never told him I loved him or fell in love with him enough to go into the imperial palace.”

Even before she was done talking, the hooded man sneered at her.

Although she couldn’t see his face properly because it was almost completely covered by the hood, it was obvious that he laughed at her.

She stared at him, lifting her eyebrows sharply.

“The emperor knows that well, too. So, he probably won’t ask too much,” said Colin, laughing softly to change the mood.

She grumbled to the hooded man, “Sir, please tell me directly. What is the criterion of his unreasonable demand?”

At that moment, she was using honorific language for that hooded man. Although he did not reveal his identity, he would certainly be a nobleman because he was a representative of the emperor. Even if he were not, she thought she would need to treat him properly as he came her on the emperor’s behalf.

He replied, “Well, as you argued, that might be the nonsensical stuff you wanted him to believe.”

When he said that, she felt like she wanted to beat him with a teapot cap, regardless of his position.

“Don’t you think you are being too harsh now?” she said, holding back her anger.

“Don’t you think you overstated it when you argued that a competent minister of this empire was the instigator of treason? Compared to your argument, it is quite normal that the emperor proposed to you. For hundreds of years, it has been tradition for an emperor to strengthen his power through marriage to a daughter of an influential family.”

“I’m not overstating it, but it’s a fact that Marquis Chester is plotting treason. If he thought I made a false argument, the emperor would not have sent you here. I have already made it clear to the emperor that I don’t want anything else in return except for my and my father’s safety. And I’ll do my best to cooperate with him even if he doesn’t marry me,” she spoke out clearly. Since she didn’t want to lose the initiative, she emphasized her every word.

The man replied, “The emperor doesn’t enjoy uncertain gambling. All your words and promises are nothing but lipservice. If you want a deal instead of gambling, why don’t you show him a surefire card? Even if you are gambling, you have to show something secure as a collateral.”

There was a lot of weight in his firm tone that she could not reject outright. Despite his weird appearance, his voice was clean and refined.

“So, does he want to take me as his wife? Taking me hostage?”

“I don’t think you have to use such a violent expression, but yes. He sees eye to eye with you when it comes to the purpose.”

He didn’t bat an eye when she made winning move by deliberately using such a violent expression. Obviously, he didn’t care about her personal feelings — they were not important. To him, only the power was valid, and he clearly indicated that he would use her for the purpose.

When he made such cruel remarks, he did not feel sorry for her at all.

She could understand it from the position of the emperor. Although she informed the emperor of the alleged treason and offered a deal, she found her life in danger because she failed to present any specific evidence. In some respects, the emperor, not she, had the upper hand in the possible deal.

So, it was important that she needed to unite with the emperor.

She needed to have the emperor use her as a useful card as long as she could beat Ober.

She knew it, but she felt unusually sad at the moment.

Understandably she felt that way because she had been used to receiving unconditional trust and love from others in her life. Fortunately, she knew that she should not be affected by any emotional outbursts here.

“What if I don’t want to get married to the emperor?”

“Well, that means you want to break the deal.”

“You don’t want to give me a chance to convince you otherwise, right?”

“Well, you said you would use all kinds of means and methods to crush the traitors, right?”

‘I wish I hadn’t gone overboard back then,’ she thought to herself.

With some regrets, she raised the mug on the table. The tea became lukewarm while she was talking, but it was enough to wet her dry throat. The gentle scent of marigold calmed her troubled mind and bought her some time to think it over.

When she thought about his remarks carefully, she felt the emperor’s proposal was evidence that he accepted more than half of her deal. If he hadn’t believed in her, or if he hadn’t needed her help, he could not have made such a radical counteroffer. If she agreed, the emperor would be her best ally.

But if she accepted the proposal, she should be the empress of Aslan.

She never thought about it even in her dreams. Thanks to her father’s deep love for her, she grew up thinking that the political marriage regarded by the sons and daughters of noble families as their fates going against the grain.

How could she be the emperor’s wife when she didn’t love him at all?

Since the emperor’s proposal was so ridiculous, she didn’t even think about the glory or honor as his wife. She just wanted to run to him right away after overturning the tea table and declaring that the ongoing deal was invalid.

“Then, please arrange for me to see the emperor in person. Even though this is a deal, it is something about having a woman as his wife. I don’t like this kind of proposal through a third party.”

Thinking of the villain who made her second life as devastated as her first, she sighed.

‘My life was ruined because of that bad bastard Ober,’ she thought to herself.

“Is that the condition of the deal you want?”

“Yes. So convey my message to the emperor clearly. If he wants to strike this deal, just show up in front of me and make that obvious proposal. Wouldn’t it be fair for the emperor to give me a surefire card, too?”

Having heard that, the hooded man laughed. She didn’t like the way he laughed from the beginning.

“Sir, do you think I am funny?”

“No, I just thought you made an unexpected demand.”

“It’s the emperor who made an unexpected demand to me. And I would like to point out that you’re rude in terms of etiquette.”

When she frowned, that man stood up. Colin, who was watching the situation, grabbed the end of his robe urgently, but he quickly removed the hood.

The black hood was slowly swept behind his neck.

The man had platinum hair shining like the Milky Way with blue eyes resembling the water of Lake Ronen.

“…Emperor?”

When she uttered an exclamation like a sigh, Eckart walked over to her side.

Then he took her hand, bowed at his waist, and kissed the back of her hand.

She perceived his action as a series of interrupted famous movie scenes.

She was so embarrassed that she couldn’t even think about pulling her hand away.

“Lady Marianne. Would you please be my wife?”

Speaking shamelessly, he made eye contact with her. His blue eyes were reflected in her green eyes.

“…”

She glanced between at her hand held by him and his blue eyes.

Was this a dream?

She thought about it for a moment, but the warmth she felt in her hand was not fake.

It was as real as what she felt when she returned to this life and hugged her father again.

“What is you answer to my proposal?”

His platinum hair and blue eyes got closer to her.

She stepped back before she knew it and retracted her hand.