When the Female Lead Went Off-Script, the Main Male Lead Became the Tyrant's Empress - Chapter 23.2
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“She told me to do as I please?”
Clary’s reply was unexpected.
Haster narrowed his eyes at the sentence stating that she trusted her uncle completely and wanted him to handle the matter as he saw fit.
The added remark that she would be satisfied no matter whom he chose somehow felt like a refusal to meet him.
“Did Clary truly write this?”
Arden felt a stab of guilt at the piercing question that struck directly at the truth, but pretended otherwise.
“Then who else would have written it? Some passing cat? It looks like she can’t spare the time because she’s studying.”
The Clary he knew would never have responded like this.
Even if she couldn’t attend the interviews, she was the sort of person who would have written out a long list describing exactly what kind of person she wanted.
And she wouldn’t have forgotten to insert personal chatter between every few points.
However, this message was far too impersonal, and reason seeped from every word.
It wasn’t like Clary at all.
“Something’s off. I should meet her myself after all.”
“Ah, what do you need to meet her for? If you’re this suspicious, it’s practically a disease.”
Haster crumpled the message card and rose from his seat just as Arden stepped in front of him.
Tap. Thump.
With the faint sounds, a strange shadow appeared on the floor.
Haster, who had his back to the window, turned toward the shadow that had appeared without warning.
At first, he saw a rope made from knotted bedsheets.
Not long afterward, a pair of small feet wearing silk stockings came into view.
When he raised his gaze, he saw the hem of a skirt decorated with lace and frills.
The two feet beneath the dress were firmly gripping the rope.
Soon, the owner of the dress began climbing down briskly.
The hem, the skirt, the bodice, wavy blond hair, and a large ruby necklace appeared before his eyes in that order.
“What in the world……?”
That was when it happened.
“Hiyah!”
With a peculiar battle cry, Clary jumped the remaining distance and landed on the ground.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
The eyes of the niece and her two guardians shook violently.
“How did you get out?!”
Arden was the first to recover and shouted.
Only then did Clary, who had frozen in her landing pose, make a face as though she had just realized her mistake.
“Damn it!”
She seized the sides of her dress with both hands and began running toward the main building of the main palace with all her strength.
“Stop right there!”
Haster was rendered speechless as he watched Arden vault through the window in pursuit.
He couldn’t understand why Clary had suddenly popped out from there or why Arden was desperately chasing her while shouting.
The sight of the niece and uncle chasing each other filled him with intense déjà vu.
Haster squeezed his eyes shut.
What were these fully grown fools doing in the imperial palace?
The Crown Prince had thrown aside all dignity, leaped through a window, and started chasing his niece!
Clary, who hadn’t received a proper education, could behave that way.
However, the Crown Prince, who had received the finest education, including instruction in etiquette, from a very young age, couldn’t.
That bastard hadn’t grown an inch since childhood.
Having a niece should have made him mature, but instead, he was moving in the opposite direction.
……For some reason, it felt as though he had become even worse since Clary appeared.
Should I follow them?
After briefly considering it, Haster decided against it.
He had no desire to add fuel to the rumors that would soon spread, no, that were already spreading.
‘The knots are remarkably well tied, though.’
Ignoring the present situation, Haster evaluated the knots Clary had tied in the bedsheets.
A servant approached shortly afterward and bowed respectfully.
“Your Highness, His Majesty wishes to see you.”
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A pair of blonds stood in the audience chamber with the Emperor between them.
The two glared at each other as though they wanted to devour one another.
As though the Emperor, whose face was filled with anguish, wasn’t even there.
Their gazes clashed so fiercely in midair that sparks seemed ready to fly.
Their behavior resembled mortal enemies facing one another rather than relatives.
“You summoned me, Your Majesty.”
The Emperor, who had been rubbing his temples with a haggard expression, raised his head.
“Did you know about this? No, if you had known, this would never have happened.”
After questioning and answering himself, the Emperor let out a sigh heavy enough to sink the ground.
“Would you explain what has happened?”
At Haster’s words, Clary’s and Arden’s heads snapped toward him.
Neither willing to let the other speak first, they began rapidly throwing out their own arguments.
“My maternal uncle told the guards to block the door and imprisoned me because he wanted me to study!”
“Is it normal to lock your teacher inside a closet and escape through a window just because you don’t want to study?”
“Look at this schedule! It’s downright murderous!”
“You know how appalling her level of education is! She needs at least this much to catch up to everyone else. She’ll be lucky if she doesn’t humiliate herself in front of the nobles.”
“Look at this reading list. I’m telling you, there’s an encyclopedia on it!”
As the two voices rose higher, the Emperor’s complexion gradually turned ashen.
Only then did Haster understand why the Emperor had summoned him.
They’ve already put him through hell, so he wants me to stop them in his place.
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