Chapter 2 Part 2

 

“I can give you time if you want. So that you can pretend to be worried, pretend to ponder, pretend to be burdened by the overwhelming joy of being the Empress.”

“No, you don’t have to. I can tell you the answer right now. I don’t want to be the Empress.”

Irina was fed up with the Emperor’s benevolent attitude. He was really arrogant and self-indulgent. She had never liked him for a moment, but now she didn’t even want to interact with him.

Therefore, Irina didn’t turn around and drew a line firmly.

“I understand the Lady’s feelings. But I’m not going to give up either.  So who will win in the end? The daughter of a humble Baron family? Or the emperor who holds all power in the empire? It’s self evident.”

Irina felt a surge of anger. How dare he speak to her like that? She refused to be treated like a mere object.

“Why are you doing that? Aren’t there so many women who want the position of Empress? It doesn’t have to be me……” 

Irina couldn’t stand it anymore and raised her voice. However, her words were interrupted by Emperor Knezh, who stepped closer. He lightly brushed Irina’s cheek, which Rumpel had touched several times the night before, with his fingertips. It was as if a bug had passed through the spot where his hand had grazed.

Irina reflexively took a step back from him, not even thinking about managing her expression.

“Haha, this is amusing.”

“…?”

Emperor Knezh muttered to himself, then leaned towards Irina and whispered in a low voice.

“You’ve been my goal from the beginning, Irina.”

Irina’s eyes widened in shock. She stared at him, doubting her own ears. Overwhelmed by surprise, she momentarily forgot her anger and stared at him blankly.

“From the beginning, my goal was you. I liked you, that’s all. So no matter how alluringly other women smiled and shook their hips, none of them caught my eye.” 

Her mind raced as his words ‘You’ve been my goal from the beginning’ echoed in her ears. 

It wasn’t the gold mine that the greedy Emperor was aiming for. Irina’s shining hair looked more desirable to him than gold.

She finally understood. And it was confusing. She couldn’t comprehend why someone would want to make her miserable simply because he desired her.

It was far more terrifying to Irina that he hadn’t simply been after her family’s wealth and planned such a thing.

Irina didn’t know much about love, but she knew that if you truly loved someone, you would want to make them happy. How could someone want to destroy the person they loved? 

Irina, who had only heard about love through fairy tales as a child, could not understand it at all.

In fact, she didn’t even want to understand. She didn’t want to call his feelings love, and even if she did, it would only give her goosebumps.

“… … Are you saying you tried to kill my father because you wanted me?” 

Irina tried to calm her trembling voice.

At least she hoped the Emperor would feel some embarrassment at her question. He regretted his actions and wanted him to admit that it was contradictory to try to kill her father while liking her.

But her hope was misplaced. 

“Because obstacles had to be removed.” 

“Obstacles…What?” 

Rage surged through her. She had never felt such anger before.

The idea of a self-centered, selfish, and horrifying Emperor Knezh who didn’t feel any remorse was enough to make Irina feel choked in her chest. 

“….Let me be clear again. I have no intention of becoming the Empress.”

Instead of doing the dangerous and foolish thing of slapping Emperor Knezh on the cheek, Irina suppressed her anger as much as she could and firmly conveyed her intention.

She would no longer be swayed by the Emperor who was so uninhibited. No matter what answer she got, she would never waver. Irina, who had made up her mind, glared at the Emperor with fierce eyes.

Then, Emperor Knezh, who had always seemed relaxed and amused, turned his face for the first time. He did not hide his displeasure.

“I don’t want the woman who will be my wife to be this stupid. You don’t understand what I said. Irina, you don’t have a choice. As long as I’m the Emperor.”

“No, I understand. Nevertheless, I am telling you that I will not become the wife of His Majesty the Emperor.”

Irina did not waver despite the sarcasm that was clearly intimidating. Emperor Knezh frowned, perhaps because Irina’s attitude was unexpected.

“Are you going to disobey the Emperor’s order? Are you going to lose your family this time? Think about it carefully. There is nothing you can do.”

“…….”

Irina was angry at Emperor Knezh’s words that included her family, but she had nothing to refute. She glared at him, holding back tears welling up in frustration.

‘Rumpel… … .’

She didn’t know why Rumpel came to mind at that moment. He was a heartless man and she had a strange contract with him, but she had no relationship with him.

But now, Irina remembered his face like a lie. In addition, the cool body temperature that touched her body. Everything felt like a dream.

“I want to be a loving husband, so I will keep my word. I’ll give you time. Pretend you’re thinking about it. The answer is already decided.”

Now it was time to wake up from the dream. Finally, Irina was driven to the edge of the cliff again.

* * *

“Irina! You’re back. Oh, Thank God!”

“My poor daughter, you’ve been through so much. You’ve suffered so hard!”

“Miss, I’m so glad you came back safely. Thank goodness!”

Irina returned to the Baron Lehman estate, where she was met with tears of joy from her parents and her maid, Olga.

Tears that had been welling up in Irina’s eyes for so long threatened to spill over at the sight of her loved ones. However, knowing that her tears would only deepen the sorrow of those who had worried about her, Irina held them back.

“My daughter, are you hurt anywhere? You’ve become so emaciated. Olga, tell them to prepare a meal right away.”

“Yes! I’ll go and tell them to hurry! And I will tell them to prepare Lady’s favorite cream soup and dessert!”

Irina’s mother, Helian Lehman, urged Olga. With tears welling up in her eyes, Olga replied cheerfully and hurried away.

Irina watched Olga’s retreating figure with a sorrowful gaze, but then felt her mother’s worried eyes on her and forced a bright smile.

“Irina, are you alright? Did you get any sleep? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Yes, I’m fine, Mother. How about you? Are you okay?”

“Of course. How could I not be okay when you’ve returned safely like this? Don’t worry about me.”

Helian hugged Irina tightly. Irina fought back the urge to cry in her mother’s comforting embrace.

Then, over her mother’s shoulder, she saw her father, Thomas Lehman, looking at her with a troubled expression. Irina slowly disengaged from her mother’s embrace and approached her father.

“Father, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, it’s nothing. However, I can’t imagine that His Majesty would simply let you go. How did you manage to return? I’m glad and grateful that you’re back, but I’m worried about what might happen next.”

“I’ll explain it to you slowly. First of all, I’m so hungry. And I’m also very tired.”

Irina couldn’t tell the truth and avoided giving a direct answer.

When she heard the Emperor Knezh referred to her father as an ‘obstacle’, and seeing her father’s unusually worried expression, she had a feeling that he knew something. However, worried about her delicate mother who was present there, Irina decided not to speak about what had happened in the tower.

Irina forced a bright smile. Thomas Lehman’s expression darkened as he looked at her.

Seeing her father’s expression, Irina was certain that he knew something.

* * *

A large dining table was laden with food. Starting with a fresh salad made with only freshly picked young leaves, sea bass steak, roast duck, beef stew, cream soup, and several types of warm bread were also prepared.

Irina had no appetite due to the uncertainty of her future, but she forced herself to eat food she didn’t even like so as not to worry her family.

“Oh dear, you must have been very hungry. Eat up. They must haven’t even given you proper meals.”

“It’s not like that. I just missed home cooked meals.”

Half of it was true, and half of it was a lie.

In fact, the meal at the Imperial Palace was quite good. But she had hardly eaten anything during her two days there because she had no appetite. So her mother’s remark about her looking emaciated wasn’t entirely wrong.

Irina took a large spoonful of soup and put it in her mouth, looking at her mother’s worried gaze.

Olga, on the other hand, seemed delighted to see Irina trying to eat. For the first time in a while, Olga seemed to be in a really good mood.

And no wonder. After Thomas Lehman was imprisoned, the Lehman family had been in a state of near despair, on the verge of collapse. Then, just as the head of the family seemed to have finally been released, the young lady was almost immediately taken to the Imperial Palace.

The past two days had been terrible. Olga felt like she was going to be crushed by the atmosphere. And then Irina had returned safely. She couldn’t be happier.

Olga continued to refill up the food before she even showed the empty dishes. Irina, knowing why Olga was doing this, tried her best to pretend to enjoy the food to please her.

“Shall we have some dessert now?”

“Yes! I’ll prepare it right away!”

Irina, distressed by her swollen stomach, forced a smile and brought up the topic of dessert. Olga, excited, went to the maid in charge of the kitchen.

Soon, a cream brûlée and vanilla ice cream with a sweet aroma were brought out. Of course, Irina’s favorite fragrant jasmine tea was also served. 

Irina forced down the dessert, trying to suppress her urge to vomit. Olga’s eyes sparkled.

“Miss, Shall I get you more dessert?”

“No, no. I’m full now. Actually, I’d like to take a bath. Could you prepare some bath water?”

“Yes! I will!” 

Olga replied cheerfully, seemingly delighted to have something else to do. Irina looked at her parents and gave a light greeting.

“I’m so tired, I’m going to take a bath and rest. I’m sorry for leaving early.”

“Don’t be sorry, you must be tired. So get some rest.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Helian and Thomas spoke up one after the other. Irina gave her parents a faint smile as she turned away.

As soon as Irina turned away, the forced smile on her lips disappeared. She hurried away as if escaping. 

***