My Child's Father is The Emperor - Chapter 9.1
Her hand holding the watch was enveloped in his.
Adele was not unfamiliar with this situation.
‘Certainly…….’
The first time she’d met him.
It had been like this too.
The Emperor drew Adele’s hand closer and slowly kissed the back of it.
Thump.
Surprisingly, her heart raced.
She locked eyes with the Emperor, who had pressed his lips to the back of her hand.
The young man in a borrowed shirt from the inn instead of wet clothes, the man Adele had harbored in her heart for four years, overlapped with the Emperor before her.
“Adele.”
The Emperor called her name.
The sound of her name spoken in his pleasant voice was all too familiar.
Adele felt an involuntary shiver run down her spine.
She didn’t know what to fear or what was troubling her heart.
She just knew she was being held by the Emperor.
“Ah…”
Adele was overwhelmed.
As she attempted to withdraw her hand, the Emperor spoke in a low voice.
“Adele, you still don’t understand.”
It was a swift moment when the Emperor pulled her closer.
“Your… Your Majesty.”
Their lips met.
The gentle touch of his lips soon became a deep kiss.
Adele was overwhelmed.
‘…And I don’t dislike it?’
Albrecht, the ruthless Emperor, was a being to be feared at mere sight.
Moreover, he was the villain trying to take Leo, more precious than her own life.
Yet, why did her heart race?
His name, his origins, his identity.
She fell in love without knowing any of it, like that night years ago.
Now, even knowing he is the Emperor, as their lips met, her fear receded.
What filled the void left by the fear was the unforgettable memory of that day.
“…Adele.”
“Stop, please stop. Van.”
Four years ago, Adele trembled at his touch amidst their intense kisses.
“Do you dislike me?”
That face. Those eyes. Those words were cheating.
Not disliking it, Adele wilted in his embrace.
As Adele made a short, breathless sound, the Emperor withdrew from her.
The Emperor, whom she had hardly even met before.
Dressed neatly in his uniform and wearing his cap, his lips, usually impassive, were unusually red.
“Don’t hate me.”
Adele looked at the Emperor.
“If you dislike me, then do not smile in my presence.”
The Emperor left her there and walked away.
Left alone in the dining room, Adele felt as if her soul had left her.
She didn’t remember how she got back to her room, her mind numb.
“Oh, Miss Ernst.”
“Yes?”
“Didn’t you return the watch to His Majesty?”
At Yuria’s words, Adele looked at her hand.
The watch she intended to return to the Emperor was still in her grasp.
“Oh, right.”
The Emperor had left the watch but had taken her heart with him.
***
Indeed, the human heart is unpredictable.
Van realized the truth of this.
“I can no longer love you, Van.”
When Adele had said that, it felt as if the world was collapsing around him.
By morning, he was so anxious it was maddening. That’s why Van arranged a breakfast meeting that wasn’t originally planned. He wanted to feed Adele something, using Leo as an excuse if necessary.
And he wanted to see her by any means.
Van had experienced a thirst more severe than when he was out on the battlefield these past few days.
They say seeing someone often grows the affection.
He thought bringing her into his domain would ease the restlessness.
‘I thought everything would change once I met Adele.’
Like fate, like the natural intertwining of their lives, he thought the issues surrounding them would flow and resolve.
He was mistaken.
He had never gained anything without effort, yet for some reason, he had hoped this one matter would turn out as he wished.
Sitting with a face that clearly showed she’d been brought there against her will, Adele only gave her attention to Leo.
Van subtly pushed grapes, her favorite, towards her.
As he watched a grape enter Adele’s mouth and saw her swallow a sip of water, Van sighed inwardly.
But then Adele laughed.
For the first time, she smiled in front of him, the Emperor.
‘There might not be another moment like this.’
He felt this keenly.
It was pleasing to see Adele smile, yet Van felt as if a knife twisted in his heart.
He had dreamt of happiness with Adele, yet there they were, unable to speak honestly about anything.
When she tried to return the watch, all he could see was her hand.
He felt he had to grab it, as if doing so would prevent him from losing Adele forever. Driven by impulse, he kissed her.
“Don’t hate me.”
And now he understood.
Adele didn’t really hate him.
Like him, unsure of how to approach, Adele might feel the same.
It wasn’t a delusion but a conviction.
The thought that he hadn’t irretrievably lost Adele’s heart made his head swim.
“Adele. Don’t change.”
