“What is it?”

“This means that her highness’ origin is now questionable. Traditionally, all of the emperors’ wives have been of noble families or royal families from foreign lands. As the first wife, her highness needs to be…”

The Bonafits looked triumphant, but the emperor interrupted the scribe.

“No need to worry. She is fully qualified to be the first wife.”

“Pardon?”

“What do you mean?”

“The truth is, my first wife is actually of noble family from a very faraway kingdom.”

What the heck was he talking about?

Ignoring my stunned expression, the emperor explained dreamily, “Bina told me that she came from the land so far away that it took months to get here by ship. That is why she has unusual hair and skin colors. She told me that her father’s family served two generations of the royal family in her country, and her mother is distantly related to the royal family. Therefore, she is fully qualified to be my wife.”

“Wha…!”

“That’s ridiculous!”

Many protested, which was understandable. Even I thought his claim was absurd. I knew for a fact that it was false because I was the one who fed him these lies!

My face became pale, but the emperor continued firmly.

“As the ruler of this kingdom, I have heard her story and recognized it to be true.”

As preposterous as it was, he was right. He was the emperor, which meant everyone had no choice but to accept his words as the truth. Questioning him could be considered treason.

This was why monarchy couldn’t compare to democracy. Having someone so crazy as Lucretius as the ruler could ruin the entire kingdom.

How frightening.

I was about to say something, but the emperor beat me to it. He stood up suddenly and lifted me, who was sitting on his lap. He then gently sat me down on the throne.

“There you go.”

He then offered me his hand. I hesitated, but I knew I had to take it. I placed my hand gently on his.

He raised me up to my feet and kissed the back of my hand exaggeratedly. He then made a shocking announcement.

“But Sa Bina’s maiden name can’t be used in our kingdom. She is already my wife, so…”

Um, what are you talking about? You are already using my maiden name, which is Sa. My first name is Bina and my last name is Sa. You already said it right!

He continued nonetheless.

“I gift her with my own name ‘le Cransia.'”

…what?

If I understood correctly, the only female who could use the surname le Cransia in this castle was the dowager empress.

Katleyanira.

This man was crazy!

Le Cransia.

In the entire kingdom of Cransia, there were only about 10 people who had the honor of using this royal family name. The emperor, the empress, the heir, and the handful of immediate family members.

Still, Lucretius gave this name to me without a second thought. They most probably thought the emperor planned to have me become his empress.

One of those people were probably the dowager empress.

If she had a son, he would be the biggest rival to Lucretius for the throne. If the dowager empress thought I would be the next empress, she would now see me as her biggest enemy.

This was exactly what that man wanted. To have me be the dowager empress’s target.

I was the idiot who let him do it. I was blinded by my anger against the Duke of Aeal.

I now realized why the emperor laughed so loudly when the Duke said he would redact my adoption.

By giving me his name, the emperor had me now. He had trapped me with no possibility of escape.

“…”

There wasn’t much time left. Tonight was the eve of the coronation ceremony. The entire Rombrook would be partying all night. Tomorrow at the first light, Lucretius would be officially crowned as Emperor Lucretius the First of Cransia.

This was undeniably important. He had been acting as the emperor, but this would make it permanent and official.

I needed to talk to him now. If I didn’t, I knew I wouldn’t get a chance to talk to him privately until after the coronation tomorrow.

I didn’t have much time, but I had no intention of becoming the one who talks first.

So far, I had always been the one who made the first move and broke the silence. This allowed Lucretius to get time to plan and act against me to his advantage. No matter how hard I tried, he always ended up getting what he wanted.

I learned my lesson. I couldn’t be impulsive. I was sure the emperor had a detailed plan for everything, and I had to make sure I didn’t become part of his plan. I had to do my best not to be used by him.

I also knew I didn’t have the skills to be as strategic as him yet. This meant all I could do now was to remain quiet and wait.

“…”

This was all I could do at this point. This was the best move I had.

It was always smart to not make sudden moves in front of a predator.

I stared at him right in the eyes. He was smiling at me, giving away nothing. I couldn’t tell at all what he was thinking or feeling.

What should I do? What could I do to escape this complicated man?

Suddenly, the bell rang. Time was up. Unlike Cinderella who had to return to being a mere girl after midnight, I had to turn into Sa Bina le Cransia, the first wife of the emperor. I was no longer an average girl named Sa Bina.

Ding, dong.

The final ring.

For some reason, it felt different between us.

Lucretius offered me his hand.

“Let’s go.”

I silently gave my hand to him. He grabbed it tightly like a spider capturing its prey. I felt terrified.

He pulled me strongly towards him and guided me to the party.

He whispered to me, “I like that about you.”

The words could be interpreted as a romantic declaration, but when one looked at his cold expression, it would be enough to make them realize otherwise.

He was looking at me as if I was a helpful tool or a weapon.

I felt a sudden anger at being treated like an object, so I whispered back to him bitterly, “And I really hate that about you.”

He laughed as if I said something amusing.

We finally entered the brightly lit banquet hall.

We entered as the emperor and his beloved wife.