What Became of the Tyrant After the Pregnant Empress Left - Chapter 11
“Do you like him? Admire him?”
For a moment, Ysaris pondered whether the meanings of those words had changed without her realizing. Wasn’t what she saw in Runellia’s attitude the exact opposite?
Haughtiness. Deception. Superiority. Arrogance.
Perhaps jealousy or inferiority had mixed in as well. Runellia was always restless because she couldn’t display her relationship with Kazhan.
By now, Ysaris was curious. What exactly did this woman believe in, and what did she hope to achieve by such actions?
“What is your purpose?”
“Do you think I have ulterior motives? That’s really hurtful. I simply wanted to befriend Your Majesty the Empress,”
“I have no intention of exchanging jokes with you. I’ll ask again. What do you want?”
“We’ll soon be sharing the same surname, so why can’t we get along? What’s so difficult about that?”
Communication was futile. Ysaris slowly realized the fact and lowered her head. Instead of responding to Runellia, who seemed more interested in arguing with unfounded accusations than improving their relationship, Ysaris turned away.
“I see no willingness to converse, so I shall take my leave…”
“Your Majesty!”
Runellia grabbed her arm. Just as Ysaris was about to shake her off, overwhelmed by exhaustion, Runellia made her move.
“Are you jealous because of my relationship with Kazhan?”
“What?”
Ysaris’s mouth fell open. Before she could recover from her astonishment.
“I knew it. No matter how much you pretend to dislike him, you actually have feelings for Kazhan, don’t you? You must dislike me suddenly intervening. But how can a man only have eyes for one woman? Your Majesty, shouldn’t you understand that too?”
It took Ysaris a little time to fully comprehend Runellia’s words. The nonsensical nature of the accusations left her dumbfounded, resulting in a delayed reaction.
Ysaris, having feelings for Kazhan? Being jealous of Runellia?
Was that how she saw Ysaris, merely through such a lens? A woman stripped of everything by the Emperor.
Ysaris was momentarily taken aback before gradually regaining her composure. After mulling over Runellia’s words several times, something akin to boiling lava began to bubble up from deep within her.
“Hmm…”
She thought of calming down. There’s no need to succumb to such provocations.
Ysaris, with a twitching corner of her mouth, took a deep breath. With a cooler demeanor, she looked squarely at Runellia.
“My dear, it seems you’re mistaken about something.”
“Mistaken? Well, it’s all clear to me already, so you don’t have to bother denying it.”
“Miss Logiten.”
“Shall we keep it as our little secret? The fact that Your Majesty secretly loves Kazhan.”
“Runellia Logiten!”
“In fact, Her Majesty preferred the embrace of the Emperor of the great empire over petty marquises of small kingdoms…!”
Slap!
Runellia’s head snapped to the side. With that recoil, her body stumbled and collapsed miserably.
“A-Ah…”
“If you’re done barking, then I’ll take my leave,”
Ysaris stated with a clear disdain in her eyes as she looked down at Runellia. The sight of her with a hand on her cheek, tears welling up, evoked not sympathy but rather discomfort.
“How dare you lay hand on me…! The Emperor won’t let this slide!!”
“And if he doesn’t? What do you think he’ll do to me?”
“He’ll do something. You dared to strike me!”
“Then what?”
“Dare? Who dares to mention my name in this situation? In front of me.”
“…!”
With the sound of the door closing, a man’s voice interjected.
Lost in the emotional conversation, Ysaris, unaware of the intrusion, was startled as she turned to face Kazhan.
“When?!”
While Ysaris was caught off guard, unlike her, Runellia, as if she had been waiting, rose with tears sprinkling and embraced Kazhan.
“Your Majesty, the Empress… Ah, Her Majesty, she—”
“You were slapped.”
Kazhan’s gaze briefly grazed Runellia’s cheek before turning towards Ysaris’s hand. With her fist clenched, he couldn’t confirm if her delicate palm was stained red.
“I merely wanted to get along…”
“Don’t cry, Runellia. The Empress will receive appropriate punishment.”
“As always, I have no one but His Majesty,”
Ysaris stood silently, watching over them with a stoic expression.
As Runellia wept in Kazhan’s comforting embrace, and even he seemed like a distant figure offering solace, Ysaris felt as though she was observing a scene from a faraway world.
Nausea, anger, and a sense of disillusionment washed over her.
Ysaris hated it. She simply found the whole situation irritating, yet it seemed as if she was genuinely jealous.
Just like Runellia’s words.
“So, do you have any excuses, Empress?”
Ysaris clenched her teeth at Kazhan’s probing. Normally, she would step back and bow her head, but the boiling turmoil within her didn’t easily subside. Her anger simmered and overflowed, erupting into defiant words.
“I have done nothing wrong, so why must I make excuses?”
“You have boldly slapped the face of the future Consort.”
“I only did as Miss Logiten wished for punishment.”
“When have I ever…!”
“Runellia.”
After interrupting her rebuttal, Kazhan paused for a moment before gently brushing away the redness on her cheek. Only Runellia could perceive the coldness in his face as he leaned in with a worried expression.
