When the Female Lead Went Off-Script, the Main Male Lead Became the Tyrant's Empress - Chapter 2.1
Haster left the chaotic banquet hall without bothering to hide his displeasure.
The honored guests gathered there would all assume it had been a mischievous prank by the new Emperor.
They would say that he had always been famous for his freewheeling love life, even when he was still an Imperial Prince, and that he had fended off the subtle pressure to marry in this manner because he hated being tied down.
But the Grand Duke didn’t think so.
The Crown Prince—no, the Emperor—had been serious.
And it was a sincerity steeped in deep-seated malice.
Gritting his teeth, Haster strode as swiftly as the wind.
He had to leave this damned place at once.
He shouldn’t have been here in the first place.
Under normal circumstances, he should have returned to his territory long ago and been attending to his duties.
Sending a congratulatory gift and a letter for the coronation would have been enough.
When Haster was halfway across the loggia, the sound of another person’s footsteps joined his from behind.
He had no desire to associate with the person, so he ignored them and kept walking, but whoever was following him apparently had no intention of cooperating.
“Haster.”
“…….”
“Haster.”
“…….”
“Empress.”
At the mocking voice, Haster fiercely seized Arden by the collar.
An eerie ferocity gathered in his eyes, which had sharpened like a blade honed to a brilliant blue edge.
“Have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea what kind of occasion that was? How could you make a joke like that there?”
“It wasn’t a joke.”
Rather than trying to remove the man’s hand from his collar, Arden merely grinned as if he were enjoying the situation.
“To become the Emperor’s consort, one must be a member of royalty or, at the very least, a highly renowned great noble. You meet those conditions, don’t you? You’re also young and capable. Doesn’t that make you perfect Empress material?”
“You’d use me for your little games…”
“And I like what you can do in bed, too.”
The instant the words left his mouth, Haster slammed his fist into Arden’s face.
Blood flowed from his split lip.
With his head still turned to the side from the blow, Arden moved only his eyes to look at Haster.
His cold, gleaming eyes resembled those of a reptile, sending chills down Haster’s spine.
When Haster’s pallid face turned even whiter, Arden stretched his lips into a long, wide grin.
“Darling. You clearly know how to fight back, so why didn’t you that night?”
“Shut up!”
“I knew you were just playing coy.”
“I told you to shut up!”
Haster swung his fist again, but apparently Arden had no intention of allowing himself to be struck this time, because he caught the incoming fist.
Then, clenching his remaining hand into a fist, he struck Haster in the side and shoved him against the wall when his body folded for a moment.
“All you had to do was pay as much attention to me as you did to Clary.”
Clary, Clary.
Always Clary.
Haster’s gaze always ended upon her, and his mind was filled with nothing but concern and affection for her.
Despite being the lord who governed the North, the reason he had stayed away from his territory for so long was entirely because of Clary.
Among all the emotions and attention Haster possessed, there wasn’t so much as a single drop meant for Arden Fairtrach.
Arden had been whispering with his lips beside Haster’s ear when he suddenly bit it.
The subdued man thrashed as if having a seizure, but Arden didn’t budge in the slightest.
Arden stared coldly at Haster as he swallowed a groan and ground his teeth in fury.
It’s your fault.
It’s your fault for not doing that.
READ ONLY AT VANISHINTOFICTION.COM
* * *
READ ONLY AT VANISHINTOFICTION.COM
‘What a strange girl.’
That was Arden Fairtrach’s first impression of Clary Lurie, the niece whose existence he had only just learned of.
Their first meeting had been far from ordinary.
What were the chances of encountering a woman in a white wedding dress being chased by a group of suspicious men while walking along a quiet forest road?
And what were the chances that the woman would be his secret niece?
The Emperor’s tour of the provincial territories was an annual event.
During the tour, the Emperor traveled through the provinces with his attendants, inspected the territories, and met the commoners and lords in person to understand the true state of affairs.
The Crown Prince was also included among the Emperor’s attendants.
It was so he could assist the Emperor and learn the work expected of him as the heir.
“That’s just an excuse. We all got kicked out of the palace together so they could give it a thorough cleaning. Right?”
Arden made the joke in an infinitely carefree tone.
However, the man walking beside him still seemed displeased about having been dragged along against his will, and he didn’t even spare Arden a glance.
Haster Valtor was the Grand Duke who ruled the grand duchy in the northern region of the Ampherion Empire.
Its high and rugged mountains made the land poor for farming, and because of its low average temperature, it was sometimes jokingly called a remote mountain backwater.
However, thanks to its exceptionally high-quality dairy products and wool, along with its abundant mineral resources, it was counted among the wealthier regions.
As it was situated on the front lines, it also possessed outstanding military strength.
It was also a region that had been kept in check by the imperial family for generations.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
