"Kyakh!"
Edellis couldn't even scream loudly, then she hurriedly closed her mouth with her hand to hold the scream.
"Lehan! What are you doing! Are you okay?"
She quickly approached Lehan and looked at his hand, but the blood that had already flowed out from his palm was dripping on the white sheet.
"What can I do!!"
The bleeding didn't stop as if it was cut quite deep.
Edellis hurriedly took her handkerchief and tied his hands to stop the bleeding.
Unlike Edellis, who was terrified, Lehan looked calm as if nothing had happened.
"My lady, stay in bed until tomorrow morning, 'till the others come."
Only then did Edellis know what he meant. Edellis took off the thin sleeves she was wearing and threw them over the side of the bed
"My lady, what are you doing now!"
Lehan turned his head hurriedly because he was embarrassed.
"Do you think that I don't understand what you mean? You mean to disguise myself with virgin blood."
"Obviously, yes…"
"You thought that I was a noble young lady so I know nothing and innocent?"
'I am the one who has seen my death in the future!'
Thinking so, I went to bed and covered myself with the blanket. Then I tapped on the bed with my hand and looked at Lehan. However, Lehan simply stood firmly.
Edellis urged him, wondering why the boy who suggested this method was doing that.
"Come quickly."
"My lady, please… It's true that you know nothing."
Lehan covered his red-hot face with his hands.
'If I don't cover my face with my hands, my eyes will likely keep on staring at her.'
For Lehan, who was still growing in puberty, Edellis's actions were too stimulating. But Edellis, not knowing what was in his heart, only urged him.
"No matter how embarrassed you are, I would be more embarrassed than you. I'm all grown up, and you're not old enough!"
"Aren't you worried about what other people will think? Should we sleep together now?"
Edellis said she would risk her honor.
'I've anticipated what I have to say. When I thought I wasn't going out of the house, there would be a commotion that I touched a 14 year old who wasn't yet an adult, or that I touched an ordinary person once they became adults.'
'Perhaps, it could be said that this was the wicked young lady who forced the poor commoners onto her bed …. '
Or Is it possible to secretly make a scar on the face? It was much better to be buried after suffering from all kinds of talk in the social world, than to be stabbed to death after becoming Empress while living with that perverted Emperor.
"No?! It's okay if it's this much."
Still, if I think about it now, it seemed better than making my father sad by hurting my face. Besides, if the rumors were that much, none of the family members would be confused about what happened, so I could continue to live comfortably at home. I feel a little sorry for my father.
"By the way… If this happens, will I marry you?"
In fact, Edellis doesn't mean that she didn't think about marrying Lehan.
If she escaped from the mansion, Lehan would go with her to be her escort. And after an incident like this, she thought maybe her father would allow her to marry Lehan.
'I thought it wasn't bad because if I married Lehan, I wouldn't have married the Emperor.'
However, at her words, Lehan's expression hardened.
"Now you are thinking of marrying a commoner or something?"
"Didn't my father ask you to become a knight?"
"… Me, who was just a gladiator? Why?"
"Because I'm always thinking about it."
In fact, if Edellis were an ordinary woman, she won't do this, but even if she had an accident with another man, it wouldn't be an 'ordinary person'.
Those who value family, pedigree, and titles would have met someone with a good family in the first place rather than giving the commoners the title of knight. On the contrary, Edellis's expression became lighter.
"Are you thinking of taking the Count's daughter's first night and leaving her?"
"Of course not!"
Lehan quickly denied it.
He was so vehemently denied that even himself was startled and hastily closed his mouth. After a while, Lehan, calming his mind, and let out a sighed.
Edellis spoke her thoughts to him.
"I thought, after I ran away with you, we would marry under the disguise of a camouflage marriage."
"Camouflage… Marriage?"
"I asked you if you want to run away with me. So while I was waiting for you, I thought what if I ran away before becoming the Empress."
Edellis spoke lightly, but Lehan gave a blank expression with his mouth wide opened.
"Think about it, wouldn't you be suspicious if a grown man and woman living in the same house after running away together?"
Lehan looked at Edellis with trembling eyes and lowered his head.
With a sigh, he looked up again, stared into Edellis's clear green eyes, stretched out his hand and stroked her cheek.
"My lady, there is something I have been thinking about since before."
"Yes, tell me."
Edellis was a little relieved, thinking she had come out of an awkward atmosphere. However, the words that came out of his mouth, greatly shocked her.
"I'm thinking of leaving this place."
"… What!?"
"I have made a firm decision on this."
Edellis grabbed his hand that was on her cheek. She was so shocked that her hand trembled.
Whether he was the main character in the novel or not, it no longer mattered to her. Lehan was Lehan. A precious person who has been with her for a long time.
"Why? Why? Because you hate doing camouflage marriages with me? If you don't want to do it, you don't have to. That, yes! You can disguise yourself as my brother. I said everything, right?"
Embarrassed, Edellis spoke longer to him. However, Lehan shook his head even at her desperate excuses. He wrapped Edellis's hand.
"No, my lady. But I will come back."
"I'm just afraid that even if we get older later, if the brother and sister live together, people will get sick of it…"
Edellis didn't say anything else, and Lehan just looked at her. Eventually, her green eyes shed tears.
"You were supposed to be with me! You said you"ll always be with me! You are… You are mine!"
"I'm sorry, I will definitely come back."
"Where… Have I done anything wrong? I apologize, I'm sorry… "
"No! It's not like that."
Edellis was eager to prevent him from leaving, but there was nothing that could be done. Lehan also seemed to reject her father's offer to give him the title of knight.
She was contemplating what she had previously done to get Lehan out of the arena, she had already paid more than that. Sometimes she saw Lehan as her own brother, sometimes as a friend, and many times as an escort.
"Tomorrow, if someone finds the blood stains, even if you don't say anything, I will be suspected. So don't deny it."
It was Lehan who was closest to Edellis. And that Lehan will disappear. Many would assume that Lehan had done something he couldn't handle and ran away.
"This will disqualify you from the Empress Candidate, and you will be able to stay at home."
"Even now, if I said you didn't do it… would you stay?"
"… no."
Lehan said firmly as if he had already made up his mind.
'Since when have you been thinking like this?'
It seemed that it was too late to change Lehan's mind. It was Lehan who promised to protect her from now on. He said that he would here and live the same life as usual.
'But how can it be the same without you?'
I couldn't even tell Lehan about that. I wanted to hold him back, no matter what he said, but then it would hurt his feelings. If so, I'll make up an excuse for him to return.
"Later, if I am in danger… Then don't forget to come to save me."
"…."
"You have to come to pick me up as promised. You have to come to save me. Got it?"
Lehan, who couldn't speak for a while, barely pulled out his voice.
"When I come back… will you accept me again?"
"You have to come back. Otherwise, I won't do that."
Lehan said sternly in a barely audible voice
"At that time, I'll protect you from anything, whatever it takes."
"Are you promise?"
"I will definitely come back. I promise."
Edellis was relieved a little when she heard his 'promise'. There were several promises Lehan made to Edellis. He never broke his promise. Even the smallest thing. So he will keep his promise this time.
"Yes, Lehan. Okay, you're free now. I'll let you go. You're not a gladiator, You're just Lehan."
Edellis voice began to cry. At first, she only wanted to help him, so it was just the relationship that started out of pity for Lehan. But it turned out to be more than a pity.
"No, I will refuse. My master is always you. No matter what, I will come to find you."
"What is it…"
If you say that, I just want to tell you not to go. However, instead of holding him back, who has made up his mind, I wanted to let him go while laughing.
"Edellis."
Lehan called her name.
Even so, he only called her 'Miss Edellis' once.
After that, even if she asked for it again, it was Lehan who refused.
When Lehan called her name, Edellis was amazed and looked at him with her eyes wide opened.
"Edellis, Edellis. I will definitely come back, Edellis."
Lehan, who had called her name desperately many times, kissed her forehead. And he put her figure in his golden eyes.
Her face, her green eyes, and her golden hair sparkling in the moonlight. Lehan laughed at Edellis, then opened the window and jumped down.
"Lehan!"
Edellis ran to the window and called his name, but she couldn't reach him.
Suddenly, he disappeared and she couldn't even see his shadow.
It was a sad night for her.
The next day, the mansion naturally ran into a riot, and Edellis was smoothly disqualified from the Empress Candidate. After that, Edellis went to the garden, and looked at the book every day, hoping the future might have changed.
'… Nothing has changed today.'
However, during these seven years, the contents of the book haven't changed as before, nor have new contents appeared.
'Is Lehan doing well?'
I was still preparing to run away, in case I didn't know the situation would be, but thanks to Lehan, I was living comfortably without entering the Imperial Palace.
'Since it seems that my father's anger has subsided, I hope he can come back.'
I went to the library and remembered my childhood, and when I heard that my father was looking for me, I headed to his office.
But suddenly, my father announced that he had become a Marquis.
"I beg your pardon? I think I've heard something wrong now… ?"
"Now I said it was Marquis of Brill."
Looking around with an unbelievable face, the butler nodded.
'A marquis? Who? In the novel I've been watching, it was Count Brill? Obviously, the Emperor is also called Count Brill and Countess.'
The contents and reality of the book Edellis saw have changed.
In the book, it was the Count and the Countess, but now her father is the Marquis.
I don't know where it came from, but I realized the future was starting to change.
'Perhaps… Has the future changed? Could I not die?'
I hope that the day of life in unstable peace will end. But her father spoke to Edellis with a stern face.
"And a formal courtship letter has arrived for you."
"From whom… ?"
Now Edellis is already 25 years old. It wasn't a small age for someone to apply for marriage.
In addition, Edellis was a candidate for the Empress, but was canceled for disgraceful reasons.
That said, Edellis was the only daughter of Brillga, who is now a Marquis. It meant marrying her so that her future husband could become the Marquis of Brill.
So, I thought that a courtship letter might come for the purpose of raising their status.
"The Emperor has decided you are an Empress."
"Yes, as for the Emperor, his status has risen… it has nothing to do?!"
My head stopped immediately.
'Ah, isn't it? No matter how much I think about it, it makes no sense! Why is the Emperor coming out of here?'
More than a year ago, the current Emperor had launched a rebellion. I was nervous when I heard the news, but I thought it had nothing to do with me, who had stepped down from a candidate for the Empress and moved away from the marriage! Now, the Empress …
"How does he know me… as an Empress…"
"I helped when raising the military. That's why your father became the Marquis."
Now my father, Count Brill, no, Marquis Brill. What did Marquis Brill say?
'How sorry I was for my father who died as a traitor in a book! But you are saying that my father helped bring about the rebellion himself?! '
Edellis couldn't help but feel betrayed by her father.
'I had a feeling of guilt for the treason that I hadn't done yet, but my father was the one who committed treason even though I was alive with my eyes open!'
However, because I couldn't turn away from reality, I soon woke up.
Edellis couldn't give up and asked her father as calmly as possible.
"Empress… Candidate?"
But her father gently ignored her wishes.
"There is no candidate. Only you."
"Nonsense….! I, I can't be the Empress!"
Her father made a subtle look.
'This time I am really dying! Even if I become Empress, it would be the same, but this time I will be stabbed by a real sword! The young Emperor, and the Empress is me! This is the same as what I saw in the book!'
Far from changing the contents of the book, it was following the story very steadily.
For Edellis, it didn't matter whether her father was Marquis of Brill or Count. Because it was after she died.
She said all the important things, so she wanted to return to her room. But her father's worried voice caught her.
"Ethel, I don't want to marry you off. If possible, I want to spend my whole life with you."
"… "
"But Ethel, what if I die? How can you go through this tough world alone."
She seemed to know what her father was worried about. Because it was common for unmarried women usually look pathetic in the eyes of others.
"So… I want you to live while being loved. Even after I die."
My father gave a very touching speech, but it didn't touch me. If I get married, I will die earlier than my father, rather than live while being loved.
So Edellis decided to run away.
'Anyway, father committed treason, and unlike before, he became a Marquis rather than a Count, right?'
Besides, since her father was a conscientious person, he wouldn't want to say she had run away.
It seemed like the Emperor thought that it would be good for each other because it was a matter of accepting someone else as his wife and having an organized marriage.
The Emperor had strong relations with other families, her father became a Marquis, and she would live a long and peaceful life.
'It would be better to run away as soon as possible. The more you postpone it, the worse it will be.'
The next night, while Edellis was making her final preparations just before she ran away, she was able to meet Lehan, who had been visiting her after a really long time.
"Lehan, I want to be with you, not the Emperor."
"You want to be with me…"
"Huh."
She answered with confidence to Lehan, who asked back as if he couldn't believe it.
I want to be with you. It's wasn't a person with a high status as an Emperor, but just an ordinary Lehan.
"I will come to pick you up no matter what happens tomorrow."
Since Edellis had to go a long way, she agreed to Lehan's words, and soon fell asleep.
And Lehan was able to relax only after confirming that Edellis was sleeping. He wasn't far from Edellis. However, he couldn't get close to her because the clothes he was wearing now.
"Ethel, my dear Edellis. Sweet dreams. I will come to pick you up later."
He kissed her forehead. Just like kissing her before he left.
'I'm back, Ethel.'
As if his heart had passed on, she smiled. In order to come to see her earlier, Lehan had to come out before she got up. He forced himself to take a step away and turn back.
And by dawn, he was ready to go to meet Edellis. Someone asked him why he needed to hurry, but he was even more in a hurry, remembering that he missed Edellis.
In anxious mind, he drove a horse much faster than the Knights and headed to the castle of the Marquis.
As he approached the castle, fortunately Edellis was visible.
"Lehan!"
Edellis didn't care about the gaze around her, and wrapped her arm around Lehan's neck.
"My wife, Edellis. I came to keep my promise. In the future, I will protect you."
Edellis heard an unbelievable voice and pushed Lehan away. However, as if Lehan had no intention of letting her go, there was only a small gap between the two, and Edellis was still in his arms.
"Wife?"
Then Lehan nodded with a shy smile on his face, as if he liked the words 'wife' from Edellis's mouth.
There was only one person who could called Edellis his wife, who was supposed to marry the Emperor, unless he wanted to waste his life.
And it was clear what it meant that those in the uniforms of the Imperial Knights were secretly guarding.
'So Lehan is the Emperor! Then, will Lehan kills me?'
Lehan, whom Edellis knew, would protect her from the Emperor.
Edellis, who couldn't believe the reality she was facing, asked Lehan.
"… I'm asking just in case."
"Yes."
Lehan smiled brightly and held her in his arms.
Looking at Lehan, who doesn't know how complicated her head was right now, it seemed like she could have a sigh, but she had to ask for sure.
"Lehan. You, maybe… Are you the Emperor?"
Some people seemed startled, but Edellis didn't care about that.
'No, no, it can't be. It can't be that Lehan is the Emperor!?'
However, the words from Lehan's mouth were the exact opposite of Edellis's hopes.
"That's right, my Edellis. Can I call you Ethel?"
"It's not that important now! You are the real Emperor?"
Lehan nodded with a shy smile to show what he was really proud of.
As she looked at Lehan's freshly smiling face, she felt the blood draining from her body.
'Nonsense. Lehan is the Emperor? It was Lehan who stabbed me and killed my father?'
She couldn't believe it. The most reliable and trusted person … Emperor!?
"You… You're a commoner."
"Not now. I've only been in the right position for you."
Even so, I couldn't understand how an ordinary person came to be the Emperor.
"… Isn't it too high?"
"But the only thing that could reach you is to become an Emperor."
Edellis recalled the only thing that confused her was that she would become Empress.
No, is it normal to think, 'I have to be the Emperor!'
It was enough to remain as an ordinary person, but why did you become Emperor! Besides, a child who always looks like a cute and kind-hearted younger sibling becomes her own husband when he returns after 7 years.
Even so, it was unfamiliar to see what had happened in the meantime and comes back with a handsome face.
As Edellis hesitated, Lehan's expression darkened.
"Do you hate marrying me?"