Chapter 46

Chapter 46

However, thinking that he had shown such feelings to the Crown Princess, Romain was extremely embarrassed.

<Yes, and I said I would do so.>

<……Without my consent?>

<Because there was no time given to get your consent.>

<……>

Romain stared at his fiancée. He suspected that she might be lying, but there was no way to confirm the truth here.

Furthermore, the fact that it was something that his father would have done struck his heart.

<So Your Highness, if you don’t hug me tonight, His Majesty will know that you don’t like the person you’re taking as your wife.>

<…….>

<But after we get married, we have to act like a happy couple in front of all the people of the empire, right? Don’t we?>

<……So you want me to hug you today? But whether you have a child now or after marriage, there won’t be much of a difference in timing.>

At Romain’s point, the fiancée shook her head left and right. And then, as if doing her a favor, she made a suggestion.

<If you keep my promise to His Majesty the Emperor, I won’t care what you do after we get married.>

<What do you mean?>

<I won’t care if you take a concubine, a mistress, or a lover. I don’t have any feelings for you anyway. Even if you do that, I’ll act as the perfect couple.>

<……>

Since it was a loveless marriage anyway, if she fulfilled her duties today, she would be freed from them.

To Romain, who had no feelings for her at all, it sounded like a pretty good suggestion.

It was a political marriage anyway, and their marriage was like a deal.

There was no end date for the deal.

If he endured just today, he could live as if the deal was over.

As long as he closed his eyes and made her pregnant today, that would be it.

In fact, rather than waiting anxiously for the day when he has to fulfill his duty, it might be better to deal with the pain quickly when the opportunity comes.

Of course, that doesn’t mean he’ll bring home the person he has a crush on like she said.

On the contrary, it seemed like he’d be able to give up on that person if he held her. 

Since he’d already held another, he thought he wouldn’t be able to approach her anymore because of the guilt.

In fact, he was wondering how long he’d have to wander between marriage and unrequited love. He needed something to keep his head simple.

That could be s*x with her.

<Isn’t that a good proposal where we both understand each other? Just do it today and you can gain freedom.>

Like she said, it was quite a mutually beneficial thing for Romain.

<Wouldn’t you regret that?>

<Of course not. I have no reason to cling to a man who doesn’t like me.>

And in Romain’s eyes, it seemed like she really didn’t like him. If she had shown even a little bit of emotion, Romain wouldn’t have hugged her right then and there.

Never, never.

Rather, after they got married, he would have tried harder to love her and hug her every day.

Romain was that kind of person.

But at that time, he made a wrong judgment because of a problem that was bothering him.

That day, she got pregnant. Then, after the marriage, Romain completely neglected her.

His fiancee couldn’t end that promise until she died because of her pride. Foolish Romain only found out that his empress had loved him after she died.

However, even after hearing that story, Romain didn’t miss her. He didn’t have any love for her to begin with.

***

“……Does this sound too harsh to you, Lady Idina?” 

Idina moved her lips a few times, not knowing what to say. She didn’t know what kind of cruel fairy tale this was. However, she couldn’t express her feelings as they were, so she thought about it and finally came up with an answer.

“I think you could have come up with a better answer if you had talked to each other…….”

“But a relationship that has ended cannot be restored.”

Killian’s mother, the empress, had already passed away a long time ago. Even if the emperor missed her belatedly, nothing would change.

That’s reality.

However, Idina couldn’t help but think about what Killian must have felt like between them.

A couple who were neither on good terms nor bad terms, living like strangers. A child they had between them…….

Idina vaguely knew why he ‘hated’ guys like Lilles, but in fact, the puzzle hadn’t been completely put together yet. The emperor didn’t seem to be the type to be as debauched as Lilles.

Idina stared at the emperor as if trying to find the answer. Then the emperor narrowed his eyes and recited his guess.

“That’s why he doesn’t have a pre-arranged fiancée. It seems that he had a lot of resentment. Even after his mother died, he didn’t go out of the palace to protest against it.”

“Ah….”

“I thought the protest would end in a few days, but months and years passed by in an instant.”

“Did the crown prince have a set fiancé?”

“I tried to make him a playmate with the child of the Lilles family, but it failed. Even if I tried to force him.”

Idina recalled a story she had vaguely heard from Lilles before. It seemed to be related to this. However, Killian had not accepted it.

“And the thing he said after a few years was to hold a masquerade show. He said he would find his crown princess there. The process is as Lady Idina knows.”

“…….”