“Why?!”

Was he just playing with me this whole time? Was this man really that twisted?

He must have read my mind because he warned me.

“If you are thinking that I am being cruel on purpose, you’re wrong.”

“Pardon?”

“I know we haven’t had an official wedding, but the priestess married us. You should be honored that the priestess personally acknowledged you; that doesn’t happen often even for an empress. So you are officially my wife. Many people already know your face. I can’t let you leave even if you ask me.”

“But there must be a way. You can perhaps fake my death and give me another identity!”

I was sure it was possible. He had absolute power over this kingdom, so it should have been easy for him. Thy wouldn’t he then?

He grinned at me as if to goad me. “Why would I go that far for you?”

Oh, I knew it! He was a twisted bastard! I was 100% sure!

“The first thing you need to do is to convince me that you are indeed not crazy or lying.”

I gritted my teeth quietly.

How could a man be this petty!? He was an emperor to boot! I couldn’t believe it.

I pushed down my anger and put a bright smile on my face. It was time for flattery tactic.

“Um, your highness…”

“…”

Silence.

“Um, hey handsome…?”

“…”

Still no answer.

“Um, your highness, the generous?”

Nothing. He remained silent. He was done with his breakfast and wasn’t even looking at me.

I finally lost my patience. I stood up and yelled.

“I’m trying to compliment you! You should have the decency to at least hear me out!”

He had been playing with his fork. He finally looked up.

“Hmm? What? I wasn’t listening.”

“Pardon? What did you say?”

He was trying to get me riled up. I put on the most condescending smile I could muster.

He added, “I heard you out, remember? I’m not going to grant your wish, but I did listen to you.”

“…”

This man was so twisted!

He continued, “And you call that flattery? Handsome and generous? That’s just stating facts.”

I wanted to hit him.

At that moment, I would have done anything to get a chance to slap his handsome face.

Of course, my common sense wouldn’t let me be impulsive.

What to do… What to do…

I had to convince him, which meant I couldn’t make him any angrier.

It took me a while to ease my ever-growing rage. Meanwhile, the breakfast trays were removed, and the table was set for tea time.

Gosh, what a long breakfast.

It must have been already late morning.

“For an emperor, you aren’t very busy, are you?”

The maids were on standby far away, so he poured the tea himself. He also poured one for me and handed me the cup. I nodded in thanks.

“But of course. It’s a special day today, right?”

“Special?”

“The morning after our sweet wedding night!”

“…”

I see.

That’s right. I kept forgetting that I married this man last night. The day before, I married his father. I was a married woman. Twice married at that!

What a life I had. This all happened in less than four days.

I sighed deeply.

He looked at me and asked, “You said you wanted to return to your homeland?”

“Of course.”

“And you want to leave this place?”

“I already told you.”

He suddenly wore his “nice guy” mask.

What was he planning to do now?

“Perhaps if you work for it, you may get a chance to change my mind.”

“What are you talking about?”

He swirled his teacup slowly. It was a funny habit of his.

He continued, “I will be frank. Would you be interested in a deal?”

“D, deal?”

He stared at his teacup before setting it down on the table. It made a sharp sound as it hit the saucer.

My lips were dry from nervousness. I picked up my teacup with both bands. As I got the cup to my lips, he raised his hand. He then pointed at his own cup and drew an “X” in the air.

He clearly meant that I shouldn’t drink my tea.

I set my cup down slowly.

Why?

He smiled smoothly as if to relieve the tension and continued the conversation.

“I’m 27 years old.”

“I’m 20.”

“And I have been the only heir to the throne for all my years.”

“As for me, I am an average [Korean] [high school student] and I was about to write my [SAT] when…” He glared at me to stop, so I did. “Alright, I’ll stop.” For now.

He continued, “And I have remained unmarried until yesterday. Don’t you think that’s strange?”

“Oh…!”

It was indeed very strange. Why didn’t I notice it?

In this world, men often got married in their late teens and women in their mid-teens. This meant the emperor should have had a few wives by now. He should have also had an heir for the stability of this empire.

“It’s not that I have never married before. In fact, I have been engaged many times too, but strange things kept happening before they progressed to marriage. One of my fiancés died suddenly, while another one apparently ran away with another man. My last fiancé became a nun.”

“Oh my… then how about your wife…?”

“The only woman that succeeded in marrying me was killed the same way the former emperor died.”

I started to sweat heavily.

The former emperor was killed by this man. Was he saying he killed his wife too?

He sighed and continued, “It’s not that I killed because I am a psycho serial killer. I had to do it to survive.”

“To survive?”

“The empress, I guess the dowager empress now, tried her best to make sure that none of my fiancés marry me. She usually got me to get engaged to women from the families she controlled. When I somehow succeeded in getting married, I almost got murdered in my own bed a few times. Whenever there were talks of me getting a new wife, the dowager empress arranged it so that the girls ended up becoming the emperor’s concubine instead. It was the same in your case too.”

I couldn’t speak. The Bonafit family pushed me into this hellish situation. They used me to save themselves.

In some way, I could understand why. Lisbeth was beautiful but not very bright. If she was sent, she would have been used and possibly murdered by now.

However, I was still angry with them.

They knew how dangerous this would be, yet they still sent me here.

My hands trembled in anger.

He asked curiously, “Are you in shock?”

“No. I’m furious.”

He looked at me with great interest. I didn’t like the idea of amusing him, but I couldn’t help blurting out my thoughts.

“He called me his daughter with such a kind face. Then he sent me here instead of his own daughter. That Duke Aeal is a scumbag.”

He studied me quietly.

He did that a lot, watching me like I was a lab rat.

“Let me ask you one question.”

“What is it?”

“What would you do to those who harmed you? Would you forgive them, or do you prefer revenge?”

I answered without hesitation, “I am no saint. I will never forgive them for betraying me.”

He smiled in satisfaction. “Excellent. I feel the same way.”

Were we meant to be? A twisted man and a vengeful woman…

I shook my head harshly. What was I thinking! I blushed.

He looked at me curiously as he continued, “As I said, the reason I am still unmarried is because of the dowager empress. It was strange for the prince to be unmarried; it would be absolutely unacceptable for an emperor to be single. However, the dowager empress would continue to try to do something to any woman who is to marry me.”

“Is that even possible?”

“She has done it before. The dowager empress’s power here is great. I wouldn’t be surprised if she tries to fill my harem with female assassins. Another problem is the role of my future empress. An empress isn’t just my wife, but also my partner. She would have equal power as me. If she placed her own woman in that position, it would be very troublesome for me.”

“That is indeed a big problem for you.”

When I replied indifferently, he frowned at me.

“You should be worried. This is your problem too.”

“Pardon?”

“You are my only wife. Without an empress, you wield great power. I know one thing for sure. You are not on the dowager empress’s side.”

I suddenly realized what he meant. I shuttered.

This man!

Anger flooded me.

I asked in a trembling voice, “You! Did you marry me to use me as a shield against the empress?”

He admitted it without hesitation.

“Yes.”