The Sub Male Lead is Burning with Jealousy - Chapter 4 Part 13
As Anais absentmindedly looked at it, a gentle flame spread across the glass, forming elegant blue fire letters in the air.
[Why are you crying?]
She recoiled and looked out the window. The building opposite was lower than the hotel she was in. Seeing someone waving from the top floor of the 5-story building, Anais panicked. It seemed impossible for anyone from that position to see her properly, yet she closed the window and drew the curtains.
However, the blue flame had followed her into the room.
[I’m sorry if I startled you.]
The letters were clearly magic. Thinking of Emilio as the only mage she knew, Anais began to feel annoyed. Are only the sub male leads left in the world?
Of course, it could be another mage. The distance between the buildings was too great to identify anyone, especially since it was night, and Anais hadn’t turned on the lights in her room.
But it seemed only Emilio would have the audacity to send such magic to the empress. It can’t be anyone else.
As no mage brought by the emperor would use such magic on the empress, and the mages contracted with the city’s nobility would know that the imperial couple was staying at this hotel.
[Did Rahil trouble you?]
“Lord Tower Master. Can you hear my voice?”
Worried that Rahil might overhear, Anais’s voice was soft and thin. Yet the light formed words again.
[Yes. I hear you very well.]
“I didn’t marry by choice. I don’t harbor any feelings for His Majesty… I won’t compete with or harm the Duchess of Calix. So please….”
Her voice trailed off into tears again.
“I wish you would leave me alone.”
* * *
Emilio knew he wasn’t the most conscientious person. If one was too honest and couldn’t lie, they likely lacked the qualities to be a mage.
Ironically, the most scholarly magic was a discipline for those good at lying. Mages were a breed that deceived nature and the gods, twisting laws to produce results.
Yet, Anais’s voice pierced straight through Emilio’s conscience. He knew she couldn’t be a happy bride. Because no woman married to a man in love with another could find happiness, even in a political marriage.
‘To think it wasn’t a marriage by choice.’
Moreover, she was crying. It seemed that Emilio’s action might have been the reason for her last tears, as if he had inadvertently stepped on and pressed down on someone already fallen.
‘I didn’t mean for that.’
It appeared she knew about Emilio’s affection for Angelica. It wasn’t public knowledge, but she might have heard it from Rahil or his close associates.
‘Why cry? What did Rahil say to her…’
The way Anais interacted with Rahil that day wasn’t bad. The scene suggested their relationship was quite good, which even made him feel jealous.
If it was going to cause tears, they shouldn’t have married.
That night, when he encountered her in the corridor leading to the mansion’s garden, she looked radiant. She was such a beauty that he regretted not learning her name then.
‘It didn’t have to be her. You loved someone else… At least, you could have married a lady who liked you.’
A lady like her would have had many suitors. His mind became cluttered with the thought that, had he not met Angelica and become entangled with her, he might have proposed to Anais himself.
He couldn’t understand Rahil. Why Anais? She said she didn’t want this marriage and didn’t love him.
‘Did he need the Ruol family?’
If it wasn’t for emotional reasons, it had to be for political ones. Theodore might know more, but asking him about it seemed odd.
‘Didn’t he say he treasured her, that he felt sorry in many ways? Since the Empress said she didn’t like Rahil, it seemed there shouldn’t be anything to cry about.’
Yet, Rahil seemed to care for her. It was their honeymoon, and causing tears didn’t seem right. Rahil must have done something seriously wrong.
“I wish you would leave me alone.”
Her tearful voice, those last words, pricked Emilio’s conscience. With a face full of regret, he dispelled his magic. Listening in on her any further seemed like a wrongdoing.
* * *
‘Who is she talking to?’
While everyone else had been turned away from their bedroom door, Rahil sat crouched with his back against it, keeping track of Anais’s presence.
She seemed to be sitting by the window, her breathing steady.
Suddenly, he felt something was off. It seemed like Anais was moving quickly, and Rahil was about to rise and break into the room.
But she was merely murmuring something. It sounded like she was talking to someone, but even with his keen senses, he couldn’t eavesdrop.
‘Huh? Is she talking to herself…doesn’t seem like…’
The conversation didn’t last long. Anais stood in the middle of the room for a moment before seemingly returning to the bed and lying down.
‘Is she going to sleep?’
He wanted to enter the room, but forcibly breaking in would be outrageous. Rahil, having already lost enough points, couldn’t bring himself to commit such an act.
Rahil sat down again in front of the door. Despite knowing it was something he shouldn’t do considering his position as the emperor, he couldn’t help it. He leaned against the door, unable to even call out Anais’s name aloud.
How much must she hate me? He thought she must despise him as a man of shallow and false actions.
‘Why did I say that then?’
I made a mistake. I was foolish, cowardly, and stupid. But now, no matter how many excuses I make, Anais wouldn’t believe them.
…Why was she so angry?
Rahil pondered the sudden thought. Of course, if he had stolen her first kiss with a lie, it was right for her to be angry, but the anger seemed different.
‘Could it be that she also…’ He shook his head, dismissing the thought.
