Chapter 42 – It’s Not Time

Hunted and swallowed whole. Gloria pushed Kaien out of fear that he might really swallow her soul. At her action of pushing his chest away with her small two hands, he parted his lips from her for a moment.

“Haa.” Being able to finally breathe properly, Gloria inhaled deeply and peered at the handsome man on top of her stomach. His white skin was reddish as if his emotions had intensified. Kaien locked Gloria in his arms, preventing her from escaping. She spoke to Kaien, whose lips were as swollen as hers,

“Satisfied now?”

He pondered for a moment at her question, which sounded as if she was already fed up. But for him, it was just the start. The main event was about to begin. Kaien gently stroked Gloria’s red cheek with the back of his hand.

Gasp! Gloria inhaled sharply and squeezed her eyes shut at the ticklish sensation on her cheek. The kiss made her senses quite sensitive. Kaien smiled, happy to see Gloria responding in such a way to even the slightest touch. She glared at him as he smiled contentedly and looked down at her. Swollen lips tingling and untidy hair. His blue eyes, filled with emotion, drew closer to her face once more.

“Duke!”

“At least three times.”

Kaien frowned as she tried to hold him back. Gloria was bewildered. The handsome man on top of her pouted like a child.

‘At least three times.’ She knew very well what he was talking about. Kaien wouldn’t let Gloria, who had dug her own grave, off the hook. She couldn’t escape, even if that meant putting herself as an object.

As his eyes were darkening with an unknown urge, Gloria couldn’t think of anything. She had never tasted such a sensation before returning. It was strange and aching.

‘But why? Why do I respond to every touch of yours?’ She couldn’t understand. Kaien and herself were just each other’s tool and shield to eliminate Erun, and they would get divorced later. They were partners whose only result was to break up in any way. There was no need to involve feelings. Nevertheless, contrary to the reasons for her refusals — thump thump thump! Her heart was running wild. At the sound of her heart beating loudly, Gloria turned her head away, not having the confidence to face Kaien. The man’s heart ached at the sight of her turning away. He wondered if she hated him that much.

‘I should have been better.’ Kaien frowned and bit his lip. ‘I should have always been nicer to you. Even if I couldn’t smile, I shouldn’t have left you alone in the palace at least.’ He shouldn’t have avoided her with different excuses.

‘Would the result have been different then?’ A bitter regret gripped his heart. Would the result have been different if he had run to His Majesty, the late Emperor, and shouted without letting go of her hand? As Kaien’s expression contorted with regret, Gloria was stunned.

‘Why the heck? Are you regretting kissing me?’ She looked at him as he raised his upper body with a gloomy expression as if it was ridiculous.

‘After changing the contract to your liking. You were smiling just now!’

‘If I could know this man’s heart, I wouldn’t live like this.’ Haaaa. Gloria sighed heavily and stopped wondering what Kaien’s feelings were. Whatever he thought of such a sigh, Kaien freed her.

The emperor had lost all her strength from the rough kiss she had received for the first time in her life and struggled to get up.

What a kiss. If she had to experience such a kiss three times a day, her soul would surely end up swallowed by the duke. Gloria sighed again, imagining herself being sucked out of her soul while kissing him. Feeling something hitting her forehead, she looked up. What she saw in front of her was Kaien’s upper body, visible through his loose shirt.

“Hiiik!”

The dark collarbone line was visible first, and when she lowered her gaze, she saw a body honed by daily training.

Gulp! Without realizing it, Gloria swallowed hard and, realizing that she had made such a loud sound, hurriedly grabbed Kaien’s shirt.

“Your Majesty?” Kaien’s eyes widened at her strange behavior. He did not understand why his shirt was grabbed and closed up so abruptly.

Even as her name was called, she stayed still with her head bowed, not letting go of the shirt. All Kaien saw was Gloria’s red neck.

Recognizing she was feeling shy about the current situation, he chuckled. His smile, with one corner of his mouth raised, was very mischievous. He leaned down and whispered to Gloria, whose expression was covered because her head was still down.

“I must have already told you. My body is already yours…uup!”

“I don’t need that!”

When he openly admitted that he belonged to her, Gloria hurriedly covered his mouth.

‘This damn snout! Such a cunning mouth! How can you spit out lines that only an incubus would say?!’ The hand moved from holding his shirt to covering Kaien’s mouth. The brief smile was hidden, but his smiling eyes made Gloria shout with a bright red face.

“I mean, this isn’t the time to be kissing like this. Catching the slave trader or whatever it takes to bring down Erun’s image– nngh.”

Gloria was suddenly laying in bed again, her eyes wide open as her lips were abruptly swallowed. She had barely recovered her reasoning, but Kaien blocked her mouth with a kiss and knocked her back into bed. She flinched at the sensation that rose from her toes. She couldn’t stop Kaien from kissing her strongly yet softly. Fortunately, he let her go quickly this time. As his lips fell from hers, Gloria exhaled heavily. Her breath was hot and sweet, Kaien instinctively hugged Gloria’s waist more tightly.

“Kaien, stop it now.”

At this rate, it seemed they would end up in big trouble even before marriage. Gloria struggled with her desire for more and yet told Kaien, who had fallen on top of her again, to stop and get off.

She thought it would be nice to remove him as soon as possible but–the answer in return was absurd.

“Wait a moment.”

“. . .”

“It’s hard for me to get up right now. Stay still for a moment.”

“Oh, gosh.”

At Kaien’s request with his face buried next to her, Gloria was stunned.

‘What? Wait a moment? It’s hard to get up? How dare you speak so impolitely to the emperor of the great empire!’ Rather than being upset because he ignored her order, Gloria was more surprised by his informal speech and muttered to herself. It was difficult to breathe due to the weight of the man pressing on her body.

But why was it? Regardless of the situation, Gloria felt no sense of rejection, rather, she was overcome with the urge to hug him even more. As evidence of her feelings, her arms were already hugging Kaien before she realized it.

“Your Majesty.”

Feeling her, Kaien called her softly and tightened his arms. As if he never wanted to let go of her, he embraced Gloria as if he was afraid she would disappear. Gloria couldn’t understand Kaien, who acted as if he didn’t want to let her go.

‘You pushed me away again and again.’ Even though they had returned in time, the Kaien that remained in Gloria’’s mind was the old Kaien. The cold-hearted Kaien, who frowned and turned away coldly. The Kaien who did not even look at her when she was escorted by another man remained in her heart.

However, she didn’t say anything. It didn’t matter how she saw him. Because the most important thing right now was getting rid of Erun.

‘Right now is not the time. We need to get rid of Erun as soon as possible.’ Gloria closed her eyes in pain and made up her mind. Every time she thought about it, her heart throbbed, and felt like she was about to burst into tears. Nevertheless, she didn’t shed a single tear. She just closed her eyes, feeling Kaien’s heartrending embrace.

* * *

At that same time.

“The emperor is changing too much.” Erun frowned and said impatiently.

Due to the young Marquis’ annoyance, those in front began to look at each other. He was the man who would soon marry and ascend to the rank of Grand Duke. And he was the one who would get rid of the stupid woman and become emperor. But before the wedding, all plans began to go awry.

‘When the hell did it go wrong?’ The good-looking face was completely crumpled. How bloody it was, the nobles present swallowed hard. Erun shifted his gaze to those who couldn’t say anything. The nobles who received the Marquis’ wrathful gaze reflexively turned their heads.

Erun said, looking into each of their faces as if not to miss the slightest movement.

“If I don’t marry the emperor, you also will be swept away, so, will you stay still?”

“Ehem!” At his words, the nobles coughed and avoided replying. He would do the same…

‘Why did you leave your fiancée behind and let rumors about the duke spread!’ They were going crazy, too.

Not so long ago, only cold wind flew between the emperor and the duke. Even if the emperor tried to approach him, the duke pretended not to notice and passed by. On those days, Erun was just smiling awkwardly and comforting her!

Erun glared murderously at the newspapers on the desk.

[The Emperor’s love was not her fiancé, but the Duke of Ludenberg]

[An engagement was decided when she was young! But her heart is already with someone else!]

It was these and other articles that took a big place on the front pages of various newspapers.

“These filthy newspaper bastards–!”

Bang! Erun slammed the desk roughly with his fist, grinding his teeth. Even the most famous newspapers in the Empire were adorning their front pages with provocative titles like third-rate magazines.

‘It’s what annoys me the most!’ Erun pressed into the Paulownia wood desk with so much strength that it creaked. His eyes darted elsewhere. What he saw was the front page of a newspaper. The figure of a man and a woman painted in black. The two were facing each other and holding hands in what looked like a wedding hall.

[A new era where marriage is because of love. Until when will you be entangled in this nasty engagement custom?]

The title written in large letters stood out under the two people that were close as if they were kissing at any moment. You could tell just by looking at the picture. To whom was that phrase scrawled?