Verkley showed no reaction to Eliana’s bright smile.

He merely sat there, pretending to be blind, as if she were invisible.

“I told you I’d bring you someone who can help you last time. Do you like her?” Hera said to Verkley in a soft voice.

Verkley smiled as he moved his eyes in the direction of her voice.

His slow voice echoed softly. “You must have chosen her well, mother.”

“I am grateful to you for believing in me.”

“I’ll do my best to take care of you, Your Majesty.” Eliana bowed.

As expected, he did not acknowledge her.

‘Looking at him up close, Verkley really isn’t human… How can a person look like this?’

For some reason, she was mesmerized.

Now, Hera introduced Eliana to Verkley.

“She is a girl with powers, but they decided to show up late. Marquis Demeter is showing his support for this girl.”

“Marquis Demeter?” Verkley responded to the name.

‘Isn’t Demeter the one who volunteered to support me in place of Hera?’

Eliana didn’t know exactly who “Demeter” was, so she just listened.

He was a character who didn’t make an appearance in the original novel, so it felt strange listening to him being mentioned repeatedly.

“I’d heard that Eliana was being abused by the count, so he wanted to support her. He has a lot of compassion. After all, he is a man of God.”

“Abused…” Verkley trailed off.

Eliana’s expression hardened as Hera suddenly revealed her family’s history.

She was never abused, but she wasn’t very happy with the situation being exposed to others.

As Eliana sat silent, Verkley offered her his heartfelt consolation. 

“You must have been very exhausted.”

“It’s all in the past,” Eliana replied with a bitter smile.

She could have been the target of that abuse if she hadn’t left the Mussieux estate as fast as she did.

Verkley whispered to her with a gentle smile. “You will be in my care now, so make yourself comfortable.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Your Majesty must have taken a liking to Eliana. As a mother, I’m so happy.”

Hera smiled contentedly at Verkley’s reaction.

The two were smiling but held no trust for one another.

Eliana was afraid that the sharp blades behind their smiles would turn to threaten her at any time.

Verkley nor Hera made her feel at peace.

Eliana Mussieux spent that day in an adjoined room next to the emperor’s bedroom.

The distance made it so that she could run to the emperor whenever he called.

And that was how Eliana riskily started to live with a man who could very easily kill her.

3. The fake golden path and the real golden path.

The royal life was quite decent.

Perhaps because Eliana had a higher rank than Verkley’s exclusive maid and her job was easier than doing chores.

The maid was not assigned a separate job, but there were no complaints since Verkley had never been cared for by someone.

There was only one thing that Eliana had to do.

Take care of the emperor and stand by his side.

It was her role to be his eyes and help him with every move.

To call her, Verkley would ring the bell connecting their rooms when necessary.

But that didn’t happen often. To put it bluntly, it felt like Eliana was a secretary who was on call 24/7.

10 years after ascending to the throne at the age of 18, Verkley still could not erase Hera’s shadow.

It was normal to only proceed when Hera’s permission was given, rather than Verkley’s.

‘You fell again? At this rate, all your clothes will be torn.’

Admonishing Verkley for no apparent reason.

‘Your Majesty is so fragile that I’ve become deeply concerned for the future of this empire. A man who trips over a stone simply because he cannot see what’s in front of him.’

Making sarcastic remarks, criticizing Verkley for being blind.

And each time, Verkley repeated the same answer like a parrot.

‘I’m sorry.’

As Eliana observed from the sidelines, she felt that Verkley was amazing for being kind to people despite being mistreated and ignored.

He was completely hiding his powers.

Occasionally, she’d hear him groan in discomfort, but she couldn’t get close unless he rang the bell.

Maybe he was in pain all night because he couldn’t control his strength.

Verkley would clench his teeth just to not be heard by Eliana, but unfortunately, she could hear too well in the next room, separated by a thin wall.

On the other hand, she felt sorry for him.

Maybe it was easy to sympathize with him because he had not yet threatened her.

* * *

“It’s a beautiful day. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, thank you.” Verkley smiled, fatigue evident on his face.

Although he was the mastermind in this story, the demon’s power seemed to overthrow him.

Even in the novel, Verkley suffered more and more as he used his powers.

‘Eventually, to reduce the strain on your body, you created a clone of yourself to separate you from the demon’s powers, didn’t you?’

It was a bit pitiful to think that this pain followed behind this ruthless mastermind.

Then, Verkley reached out to Eliana without hesitation.

And Eliana naturally held his hand.

Verkley would frequently ask for her hand, most likely because he had to pretend to be blind.

And when she held his hand, it was as if he craved human affection because he’d stroke her hand with his thumb.

But recently, his pain has seemed to ease a bit.

While thinking of him, Eliana suddenly blurted,  “Aren’t you frustrated?”

“What do you mean?”

“Ah… with being ignored by others.”

“I assume I appear frustrated.”

“I don’t mean to be rude. I was just wondering what it felt like.…”

Eliana felt like she’d slipped up, and she wanted to bite her tongue.

What was she doing, speaking without thinking first? 

She didn’t mean to say that when she asked if he was frustrated.

Her words could be interpreted a different way. Asking him if he was sharpening his sword, waiting for the right time to strike and reveal his secret.

Of course, he didn’t know what she meant.

Honestly, Eliana did not agree with his way of revenge in the novel.

The blade of his revenge seemed excessive not only to Hera, the enemy, but to her daughter as well.

An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.

Even though that law has been around for a long time, the reason why it was created was completely different from now.

Just as adultery is not tolerated and holds a law against it, that old law was used as a means of controlling a time when reckless revenge prevailed.

One tragedy can lead to revenge, but it can create something seven times worse, possibly even seventy times worse.

In that sense, Verkely in the original novel was just as cruel as a man who lived for revenge.

It forced Mary to wither even though she did nothing wrong.

Verkley wished Hera would feel more pain than the wounds he carried.

Maybe his revenge was seventy times worse.

Eliana felt uneasy not knowing the ending of [ The Princess Who’s Blind to the Emperor ].

Would the man in front of her be able to laugh after he successfully gained his revenge?

If he were to laugh, would he be classified as mad or joyful?

She didn’t know enough about Verkley yet, so it was hard to read his intentions.

Verkley answered Eliana in a rather timid voice as if it weren’t a big deal.

“It’s not that it’s not frustrating, but it’s a bit peaceful.”

“Peaceful?”

“Yes, because although I can’t physically see, I’m still one step ahead.”

“…” 

Does that mean he is waiting for the right time to take his revenge?

When Eliana made no response, Verkley changed the subject. 

“I feel less lonely. It’s nice having you next to me.”

“There are many other nice ladies who care for Your Majesty besides me.”

“But few people speak to me without hesitation like you.”

“Do I talk too much?”

“It was a compliment.” 

Following his words, Verkley fumbled with his other hand until he found Eliana’s head, then stroked it.

Eliana felt weird when his large hand gently swept over her hair.

It was likely because his words made her heart pound.

The fact that nobody talked to him without hesitation meant that Verkley was never approached by anyone.

Come to think of it, even at the age of 28, Verkley had no empress.

It was because of Hera. She did not allow an empress for the weak emperor, who would most likely die at any moment.

Mary could no longer ascend to the throne the day he receives a son before he dies.

“Were you lonely?”

“It’s a feeling I’ve gotten used to,” Verkley said softly with a mournful face.

Eliana had no idea whether he was acting or not, but she responded with determination.

“I’ll stay by your side, Your Majesty. I’ll hold your hand like this whenever you need it!”

“Yes, thank you.”

Verkley pulled his hand away.

But he slowly swept down her hair before letting go.

* * *

It was a similar routine to all the other days.

Attending a morning meeting alongside Verkley.

Returning to their chambers after a quick walk.

It was something that Eliana always felt, but their previous meeting was not much different from the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea.

Just listening to how these nobles fight between themselves was enough to give her a headache.

Although the outside world knew Verkley was blind, the nobles’ behaviors were absurd. They protested by shoving papers in his face.

He was even condemned for asking one of them to explain the contents of the documents they ordered him to stamp.