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ORIGINAL AUTHOR/S: Orange Juice & 오렌지과즙

“Ahhh!”

It was a sound that came naturally even when she tried to hold her lips closed.

It was the pain that felt so raw from the invisible underside. It was as if someone was tearing at her raw flesh with both hands.

As the Empress of the Empire of Emporium, this was a more sacred time than ever before, even if she had exposed herself to so many people as a woman.

That initial feeling of embarrassment and unfamiliarity seemed to have been forgotten somehow, and she just accepted the process nonchalantly.

There was no time to worry about anyone’s gaze, because the pain was much greater.

The stranger’s blade was pointed downward at her, but the pain coming from her stomach was so severe that even the blade only felt cooler.

Blood slowly oozed out of her mouth from the strong force she bit her lips.

The suffering that had lasted for more than a day had exhausted not only her, but also the doctors and attendants who had been by her side, as well as her precious child who was still in her belly.

“Empress, please try a little harder! It’s almost done.”

The maidservant beside her squeezed her sweaty hands and comforted her.

How much better it would have been if her husband had been the one who had held her anxious hand, soothed her worries, and told her to hang in there.

But her husband, the one she was looking for now, Emperor Edgar, was not present. No, not wanting to be with her would be a more accurate description.

“Ahhhh!”

With a scream, her upper body lifted, and the doctors and attendants next to her forced her belly to drop the fetus.

“Hair, I see hair! Your Majesty! Keep up the good work!”

It was he who had enjoyed all the pleasures while devouring her body, so why should she suffer like this? Much resentment has been poured on the emperor, but she could not afford to think of it now.

The pain of tearing raw flesh intensified, and all she needed now was her tenacity.

“It’s the last one!”

She squeezed her chapped lips and squeezed the last of her strength. With the feeling that something was coming off from underneath, she let go of her upper body that she had raised to the fullest at once.

“Your Majesty, it’s the prince! Congratulations!”

In response, the Empress Liv breathed a sigh of relief. The maidservant next to her was pressing her stomach to remove the clots of blood that were still in her belly………….

Somehow she couldn’t hear the baby’s clear and cheerful sound.

“The Prince is not breathing!”

At the sound of the midwife’s voice, the maids rushed over to the baby.

‘What does this mean? My baby is not breathing?’

Liv, forgetting her pain, turned her head to the right and tried to see the face of the child in the bed next to her.

Her baby, lying there with his eyes still closed.

“Breathe, breathe!”

With a word from the maid, the doctor next to her began to press on the heart of the tiny baby, no bigger than two hands.

But the baby’s heart didn’t beat.

“No! You have to put more pressure on it!”

The more the doctor tried to save the child by squeezing it, the more they sweated…

Even with repeated attempts, the baby seemed to have no intention of waking up. The doctor, the midwife, and the maidservants who were patting down her belly next to her all remained silent in unison.

Liv, who was staring only at the baby lying immovable in the distance to her right, gathered her strength and sat up, blood flowing from below.

“One more time. Please save him one more time.”

Liv looked at the doctor turning his back and shouted. But the doctor brutally covered the child with a white cloth.

“Your Majesty, I’m sorry to inform you that the Prince is dead…”

‘Dead……? Who died? My baby, who was alive until yesterday, how dare………’

Liv stood in front of the baby, forcing her wobbly body down from the bed barefoot.

“Your Majesty, no! You need to rest!”

Liv shook off the hands around her and stood in front of the white cloth. She hugged her baby, who was lying there with his eyes closed, not moving.

The baby she had missed and loved so much. She grasped his small, plump hand.

“Why, why are your hands so cold……….”

Liv gave the name Edmund for the baby that would be born in two months. However, the baby was born prematurely at 8 months…

When her water broke and blood flowed, she had to give birth in a hurry. She was reassured by the doctor’s words that this kind of thing happens a lot in the Imperial Family and that she would be fine. She was but not the baby….

Liv took a slow look at the child’s face. The child she had always drawn in her mind.

She wondered who he would look like most, but when she looked at him like this, his eyes, nose, and mouth all looked exactly like the Emperor’s.

In the eyes of Liv, who was looking down on the cold and frozen baby, the tears that she had struggled to bear flowed incessantly, wetting the baby’s cheeks.

“I’m sorry, this wicked mother gave birth to you. My beautiful angel, Edmund…”

She cried heavily, unable to put the baby’s cloth back. She grabbed only the baby’s tiny, ice-cold body and collapsed unconscious on the spot.

***

The empire and the imperial family didn’t allow Liv any time to grieve. She was the Empress of Emporium before she had a single child.

Before the baby’s simple funeral, Liv had greeted the guests in a black dress, unable to move.

The wives of the noblemen covered their mouths with fans when they saw what a cripple she was to their faces.

According to Her Highness the Empress Dowager, this was another stunt of Liv’s own making.

“Indeed, the Empress who got that post through numerous schemes would still remain.”

“Oh I suppose so! How dare she sacrifice her own child! How long have people been waiting for a baby in the Imperial Family!”

“Don’t worry. His Majesty will soon have a baby who will take over the royal family. If an imperial child comes out from under that creepy Empress………… Imagine how horrible it would be.”

The wives were whispering so much that the people gathered at the funeral listened to their gossip while the Empress was in agony.

The wind made their voices audible from time to time to Liv, who was sitting across from them.

Liv bit her lip at their words, but many people here must have believed that gossip more than her words.

If her husband had been in this seat, the situation would have been different nonetheless. He wasn’t present at the birth, the baby’s funeral, and still nowhere to be seen.

Liv’s father, Duke Dennis Edinburgh, who had been by Liv’s side, said with a worried look in his eyes,

“Your Majesty, please rest a little longer. I’m afraid that this will make your health worse.”

In response, Liv gave a painstakingly emaciated smile.

“I’m fine. I have to protect myself. Who will protect this place? Even thus, I must atone for my sins.”

With that to Liv, she reflected on why the happy future in the arms of the man she dreamed of had fallen apart.

It was two years ago, when she had loved only one man, pure and innocent.

The first time she met Edgar Del Quantil at a social party, he was a remarkable being.

He had emerald blue-green eyes and golden hair that shone as if it contained sunlight. He seemed to have dealt with a great many women, soft and sometimes rough.

At first she also adored him in her heart like any other woman. What woman would not have fallen in love with him, riding a white horse with a refined, cold, beautiful man’s face?

She was the Duke’s daughter, only a man that even the beautiful and haughty Liv could not dare to gaze upon. So when he made eye contact with her, she would only greet him lightly and pass him by.

One day, he saw her acting differently from normal women and seemed interested in her. Liv believed so. He discovered her hidden charms.

She believed it too when he suddenly called her to his secluded space with a letter after months of no contact. He eventually came back to her.

Liv made great contributions to persuading the nobles using her family to expel the existing emperor. So much love and nerve she was willing to do anything for him.

Finally, he became emperor, and Liv took a seat next to him. Even if rumors spread among the peasants that she was an evil woman who spent all her time scheming, she didn’t care.

Liv dreamed of a happy royal life with her beloved Edgar and her future baby.

Unfortunately, his demeanor, which was always pretentious and cold, had not changed much since their marriage. In fact, he had only made her more difficult within the framework of the imperial family.

Between the outbursts of the Empress Dowager, her mother-in-law and her husband who would only stand by and watch, Liv has lived a harsh life, relying only on the baby in her belly.

She thought that she could endure this harsh time with her precious angel.

Was it because of the excessive stress? Or was it the lemon cake she had for lunch that day? Numerous thoughts went through her mind.

Just then, as if to wake her from her pensive state, she heard someone walking towards her from a distance.

Startled by the sound of the footsteps, Duke Dennis jumped up from his seat.

He slowly turned his head to Liv. Her mother-in-law, the Dowager Empress Patricia Del Quantil, stood there in a rich black dress and veil.

The Empress Dowager stared coldly at Liv with less than a bug in her eyes, then said,

“How long do you intend to remain like this, Empress? The position of the Empress of the Emporium Empire is not so laid back, is it?”

With those disappointing words, tears came to Liv’s eyes again. Eventually, Liv said the words angrily.

“This is the Emperor’s and my first baby. How can you be so cold-hearted? It’s also the imperial baby we’ve been waiting for…………”

“More and more, I don’t see any education! How dare you be so brazenly angry in front of me, who is now the emperor’s own mother!”

Liv quickly hung her head at the cold gaze of the Empress Dowager, who looked at her and her father alternately.

“Forgive me if you heard that from me…”

Neither Liv nor her father were sinners here.

Immediately, the Empress Dowager looked around with cold eyes.

“That’s enough for the funeral. What are you bragging about? I told you to bury the baby’s grave. It’s an unlucky baby. Just let it flow into the sea.”

Liv could only stare at those brutal lips with an expression of disgust at the outrageous order.

No matter how much she struggled, the Imperial Administration had left only a ridiculous notice for Liv. In order to eliminate the ill fortune of the prematurely born baby, the child’s remains must be dumped in the ocean farthest from the Imperial Family.

Liv was the Empress of Emporium Empire in name and in reality, but the laws and norms of the imperial family were enough to strangle her.

They had no adoration, no pity. Pleading and hanging on to the Empress Dowager was futile.

So Liv ran to her husband, Edgar, who was in the imperial office as soon as she left the funeral and hung on for the first time.

“Your Majesty, I beg you to retract the words of the Administration that the baby should be thrown into the sea! I beg you!”

She grabbed his legs and pleaded earnestly with tears in her eyes.

But Emperor Edgar gave her a quick, cold look and shook her hand off. It was as if he was brushing away something dirty.

“You wish for bad luck to befall this royal family, don’t you, Empress? Are you planning to put a curse on the newly enthroned Emperor?”

“I can’t believe people say my child is unlucky.………, you’re the only father of the child. Did you even hold his hands or say a word?”

Liv just stared at him, no more than a few times, congestion spilling from her heart.

“The Empress may still have some bad luck left in her, so please don’t come to the Office for the time being until I order.”

Liv’s red bloodshot eyes only followed him coldly as he walked away.

Who said that parents are buried in their graves and children are buried in their hearts?

Only the cold wind was blowing in her empty chest.

***

In the end, with the Empress Dowager’s instructions to handle matters quietly and alone, Liv boarded the carriage without anyone knowing and headed to an unknown island at the end of the coast.

She was alone in the empty carriage, holding only the cold corpse of her baby to her chest, her tears soaking the cloth that covered it.

Liv was suddenly reminded of the first time she greeted the Empress Dowager after she became Empress.

It was the time when everything was strange, when she was not exactly familiar with the etiquette of the court.

How could she forget the way she looked at her belly, protruding like a tadpole, with disdain, and turned away as if to tell her to get out.

At first she said she needed Liv’s family, but as soon as her son ascended to the throne, the Empress Dowager let her son marry the Princess of the Delta Kingdom to become his concubine.

Then, the concubine’s innocent face fooled everyone, and from a certain moment on, everyone, including the Emperor, turned Liv into a woman who despised and envied the concubine.

Liv made up her mind firmly, grabbing the baby’s corpse tightly with both hands in my heart. She was leaving this disgusting imperial family.

‘That’s right, I’m going to give you the divorce you want. No. Can’t I even do that as I wish? Because I can’t do that if I lose the support of the nobles?’

Liv was fed up with everything.

Soon the carriage arrived at the end of the coast. She arrived in a prearranged boat on a deserted island, not a soul in sight. Liv laughed bitterly.

‘I have to leave my child in a place like this where no one knows.’

On an island with no people and surrounded by blue waters on all sides, she followed the imperial secretary’s instructions and climbed up the cliff.

A chilly wind ruffled her hair as she stood at the top of the precipice, towering dangerously high.

She was walking to the end of the cliff. At that moment, she heard someone’s voice from behind.

“Liv.”

It was a cold, calm voice, her husband Edgar.

She didn’t know where he came from, but he must have followed her carriage here.

All the while, the contempt-filled heart that had been frozen in place towards her husband slowly unraveled when she saw his face. Without pride.

Edgar stood beside her with a very sad expression on his face, contrary to the one he had shown yesterday in the office.

“I’m sorry I’m late.”

Why were the tears that she had been holding back coming out at his words? She shouldn’t have cried, but the tears flowed down her eyes, as if she had no self-respect.

“Why have you come now? Shouldn’t you have at least taken a proper look at our baby’s face once…………”

Edgar held Liv tightly in his arms as if to comfort her. She nuzzled her face into his wide, cold chest and cried incessantly as if she let out the breath she had been holding in.

How much did she cry? When she raised her head, she found that she was alone with him on this precipice. He was holding the baby covered with cloth. Edgar stood on the precipice and let the child go. Liv could watch the baby heading for the sea in pain.

Still she was comforted.

Because her cold baby had held his father’s hand even now. The baby at least was held by his father once.

“My baby, your father’s hands are really warm too, aren’t they?”

Liv consoled herself in that way.

Soon he beckoned to her, a signal that she should say a final goodbye to the child.

Liv approached the precipice with a single white flower, but she couldn’t bring herself to let the flower drift into the sea.

The moment she sent this, Edmund and her would part.

‘No, it’s okay, Edmund is in my heart.’

‘We are not parting. Because I will remember you forever.’

At that moment.

“I should have sent him with you long ago.” (Edgar)

From behind her, she heard a voice that sent shivers down her spine, different from before.

As she hurriedly turned back, she saw Edgar’s face staring at her as ruthlessly as looking at a bug, and the hunting knife in his right hand.

Edgar’s mouth curled up when Liv was too flustered to say anything.

“Is it only over when it comes this far? If you had died with the baby, I wouldn’t have blood in my hands again.” (Edgar)

“What, what do you mean………..” (Liv)

“Why didn’t you eat all the lemon cake that day? If you had eaten it, you wouldn’t have tired each other out.” (Edgar)

It took Liv a moment to remember the cake she’d eaten that day. It was the first sweet gift he had given her since she was pregnant.

She couldn’t even bring herself to eat that bite.

It only took a moment for the happy memory of that day to be positioned as the worst moment of her life.

‘The cake that day………………… No way. …… I don’t think so…’

Liv deliberately shook her head, letting the flowing tears run down her face again and again… Sadly, God did not allow all the time to look back on the past and take revenge.

Ah!

Two stabs and her whole body stiffened. As it was, red blood spurted out and wet her black dress.

She was confused, lost her center of gravity, and fell off the cliff.

Both of her eyes were fixed on him who had plunged the knife into her heart and she had loved him all her life.

‘God, if I could, let me go back to that day when I didn’t choose him.’

Deep in the ocean, along Edmund whom she missed so much, she was thus swept away.

***

“Liv! Liv!”

She could faintly hear her father’s voice calling her.

‘How can I hear my father’s voice in heaven? No, I don’t think so.’

“How long is the girl who says she has to go be an assistant teacher at the academy going to sleep?”

‘Is there an assistant teacher of the education institute in heaven? I can watch Edmund grow up here.’

“What on earth did this child do yesterday that she can’t even wake up now? Evan! You come and try to wake her up.”

Soon she heard more and more footsteps.

“Liv!” Aren’t you going to get up? Are you dead?”

‘Wait a minute, how can I hear the two in heaven…?’

Liv, opening her eyes in surprise, was suddenly hit on the head with a flying pillow.

When she opened her vision, which was hidden by the pillow, she really saw her father and brother standing by her bed. They were dressed in their uniforms, as if they had just finished their imperial duties meeting in the morning.

Liv hurriedly jumped up from her bed.

“Where am I?”

“This is your room. What are you talking about?”

“Did father and brother save me?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

The puzzled look in their eyes made Liv flinch.

Soon her brother, Evan, threatened her with pathetic eyes.

“If you don’t wake up now, you’ll do terrible harm to our family. The Edinburg family, who have been in charge of education in the Emporium Empire for generations, is not much to look at. “

‘I think I heard this quote from my brother before I became Empress……..’

Liv was startled and began to scan her surroundings.

She knew for sure she was hit by Edgar’s knife and fell into the cold ocean…. but why…

She ran her hands over her healthy body. Then she ran her hands over her stomach.

However, her stomach was flat. It was as if Edmund wasn’t there from the beginning.

Liv urgently asked her father.

“Father, what year are we now?”

“I don’t know. What year is it in the imperial calendar…?

“It’s the year 851.”

Evan said instead, looking at his father as he searched for a calendar.

Year 851……….The year she fell into the sea was 853. It was in 853 that Edgar ousted Carius and ascended the throne as Emperor…………

Liv asked, keeping her voice calm.

“Does that mean that Emperor Carius is still on the throne?”

The two men’s expressions became serious as Liv’s repeatedly said the strangest things.

At her sudden behavior that they had never seen before, Evan hurried to answer.

“You say that someone else has ascended the throne? Liv, did you have a dream?”

She felt a stronger shock hit her on the head than Edgar’s betrayal.

She couldn’t believe she went back two years from the time she died.

At that moment, her previous life was running through her mind like a flash of light.

The man who loved her, and the man she loved.

Without an ounce of hesitation, Liv chose Edgar, the man she loved, and he killed her.

‘If I had held the hand of the man who loved me instead, would it change anything?’

And so she was back to the moment of choice again, facing the two men.

And so the day flew by. The next morning, Liv sat up in bed and collected her thoughts.

‘If I remember correctly, today would be the day…………’

Sure enough, Duke Dennis came up from downstairs with Edgar’s letter in a golden envelope.

“It seems the Grand Duke sent you a letter, Liv. Don’t tell me…………….”

Despite her father’s excitement, she only slowly lowered her gaze at the letter. It was because she already knew exactly what was inside.

“Why are you talking so little, Liv? It seems He’s going to formally propose to you. I’m sure of it!”

“Maybe. ………”

Liv received the letter with a cold look on her face.

[I’ll visit Edinburgh this evening.]

The memory of this day was brilliant and happy. The very day that Edgar came to visit and formally proposed. It was the moment when Liv felt like she had the whole world to herself.

“Dear Liv, please accept my proposal.”

Liv smiled bitterly recalling the past.

Edgar had come to see Liv after spending the night with a woman he had met at a social party. Who would have guessed?

It was a foolish time to believe that his heart had finally gone to her, not even dreaming that Edgar would use her family and raise a force to oust the emperor.

“Liv, what do you mean ‘maybe’? Isn’t this the marriage to the Grand Duke you’ve always wanted?”

Duke Dennis looked concerned at his daughter’s changed expression.

“Father, why didn’t you tell me about the Emperor is selecting a new Empress.”

“How do you know……”

This should have come up at the imperial duties meeting, but Duke Dennis didn’t talk about it. It was just like that time in the past.

Of course, he was well aware that Liv did not choose Emperor Carius.

“Is there a Young Lady who volunteered this time?”

“There can’t be. The emperor kept rejecting …We have to get an empress somehow, but why is he still like that?”

The emperor did not want to choose the empress any longer, knowing how much it would jeopardize his position if the Empress’s position remained vacant for too long.

Liv knew exactly why. And for the rest of the day, she would carry out the tasks she had planned. Not one omission.

“Father, I’d like to see His Majesty today.”

“His Majesty?”

“I have something to say to the Emperor. If I go in a hurry, he’ll be happy to see me.”

“Liv……”

Knowing well how coldly Liv had rejected emperor Carius in the past, Duke Dennis did not stop her any longer.

Having decided calmly, Liv quickly went into her dressing room.

“I like this dress.”

It was the most elegant and classy, though inconspicuous, dress chosen out of the many.

It was a modest white silk dress. Then, she ordered the maid to tie her long, rich ivory hair with a pearled ribbon, letting it hang long down her back.

Soon after finishing her preparations, she wore one carat ruby necklace that Emperor Carius had given her for her last birthday.

Liv looked at her reflection in the mirror and touched her slender stomach.

The fragments of her forgotten memory were once again being put together like a puzzle. Remember it clearly, as fast as crazy.

The dew that was lodged in the corners of her eyes immediately flowed down her cheeks as she thought of her unforgettable angel, her tiny, beautiful baby.

‘Edmund, mother will surely avenge you, so please watch over me from heaven.’

Liv tried to swallow the tears that flowed. No, she had to swallow them.

***

The busiest place of the imperial family, Emperor Carius Del Quintil’s office.

Jet-black hair that fit the word “tyrant” well, and a nose and jawline that towered high enough to poke through the blue snowy sky. His tall stature and broad shoulders made the Golden Metal shine even brighter.

Carius was already tired from his busy schedule today. He would work all night and it still wouldn’t be enough. It was only natural that he was not interested in choosing an empress.

Moreover, after the first empress he welcomed passed away suddenly five years ago, he did not care for any women.

There was only one woman that Carius had ever wanted…because he had loved only that woman in his entire life.

He knew that she loved someone else, but he couldn’t let go of his heart. But since she could never be his, he decided to give it all up and live as a perfect bachelor man.

He didn’t want to be unhappy in an emotionless marriage any longer.

At that moment, someone opened the door and walked into the office.

“Your Majesty.”

Carius’s face twisted at the sudden appearance of his aide.

“I thought I told you not to let anyone in while I’m working. What kind of words did you hear?”

The emperor’s aide opened his mouth cautiously, his legs trembling.

“Forgive me, Your Majesty! It’s nothing else but ………….”

“You’re not afraid of losing your life, are you?”

“I told her you’re not available and that she had to wait, but she said she had to see you, so I had no choice…”

Carius tilted his head as if he was contemplating for a moment. The aide kept his head down and waited for his permission.

“First, I wonder if I should dismiss you and accept the person outside.”

“Your Majesty, please forgive me this once!”

Carius said to another secretary who was standing next to him, the aide turned pale and began to tremble all over.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

As if trying to change the atmosphere in the room, the sound of shoes coming from somewhere. Then a woman emerged from the open door.

“Your Majesty! Since I asked so much of him, please calm your anger.”

Instantly, everyone’s eyes were on her, and Carius, who had been furrowing his brow, stood up hurriedly as if he had discovered a mirage.

The figure of a woman in a white silk dress with long, rich ivory-colored hair hanging down.

She was Liv whom he had always wanted to see.

“Liv…?”

“Your Majesty, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen you.”

Carius’s head was white as if time had stopped due to Liv’s greeting that gently permeated his ears.

“Your Majesty, I have something to tell you. Can you spare some time for me?”

He hesitated for a moment, then nodded and Liv made eye contact with his aide, who was kneeling on the floor.

“It was not the aide’s fault, so I will clear up the misunderstanding with His Majesty.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you, Miss Edinburgh!”

And with that, he and she, alone, sat down in the audience chamber.

Carius’s gaze fell incessantly on his present, which was the necklace on Liv’s neck. He was curious about her intentions as to why she wore that ruby necklace, which she had never worn before.

“I heard about it through my father about you are going to pick a new Empress.”

“Yes.”

“Are you really going to choose this time?”

“That’s for me to figure out…. ……”

“The longer the position of Empress is left vacant, the greater the threat it could pose to the throne.”

“I know this without saying it.”

“…Is it perhaps my fault?”

Carius looked up and quickly averted his gaze at Liv’s clear, shining eyes.

“No, I’m busy with work.”

It’s a lie.

“Your Majesty, do you still have feelings for me?”

“…”

Liv studied him carefully, watching his gaze closely.

Not a drop of blood came out of Carius when he was pressed, but the only reaction he would show when he was hiding his heart.

He avoided her eyes like that now.

Liv slowly lifted her eyes to meet his.

“Your Majesty, if you still want me, can I sit next to you?”

Unexpected words flowed anew from her red lips, and a wave fluttered in Carius’s blue eyes.

This drove a wedge in her heart. Staring at Carius without changing her expression, Liv spoke.

“I want to marry you, Your Majesty.”

“…Marry?”

Carius must be astonished. Of course he knew exactly who Liv had given her heart to.

Therefore, Liv had to convince him even more.

“Yes, I will marry you, Your Majesty.”

“But you. …”

“I don’t love him anymore. No, I’ll be honest with you… I need you, Your Majesty.”

“…You want to use me?”

“I need you because you are the only one who can lead the Grand Duke to ruin………….”

“You chose me, not because you love me, but because you want revenge………”

Carius smiled bitterly. He was chosen because she needed him, not because she loved him.

He looked at Liv  as if he was unconcerned, hiding his true feelings deep inside.

“If I were to accept your request here, this promise will not be fulfilled.”

“Yes, I know. I will push the Grand Duke to the edge of the cliff and leave your side without any regrets. So you don’t have to pay attention to me, and you can have your own mistresses.”

The word “mistresses” made Carius doubt his ears for a moment. Because It was a confirmation that she had no feelings for him whatsoever.

Carius only frowned, and his eyes on Liv soon fell.

“I know it’s a rude request. If you don’t want to……”

“One moment.”

Carius interrupted her. He knew what she would say next.

‘If you don’t like it, let’s pretend it didn’t happen.’

He suppressed the irritation rising inside him and adjusted his expression.

“Give me some time. I will make a decision this evening.”

“Thank you for your deep consideration, Your Majesty.”

After finishing her greeting, Liv walked out of the office. When she closed the door and came out, she saw her father, Duke Dennis. He seemed to be waiting for her and approached her hurriedly.

“What did you say to His Majesty, Liv? You don’t know how worried I was outside!”

Duke Dennis kept his gaze focused on Liv as he spoke. Her appearance was so calm that it was strange. Even more so than usual.

“Father, whatever happens at home tonight, you must respect my decision. Do you understand?”

At the mysterious words of his daughter, Duke Dennis was overwhelmed with strange anxiety.