What Became of the Tyrant After the Pregnant Empress Left - Chapter 95
Ysaris opened her mouth several times, but no sound came out. Her mind was filled with chaos, unable to form coherent sentences.
‘Kazhan being Cain—this was absurd. It made more sense to assume he had used some kind of magical artifact, created under the Emperor’s authority, to imitate Cain’s appearance.’
If Kazhan, who had recently been trying so hard to win her over, was capable of anything, wouldn’t it be logical to at least put on a different face? She had once jokingly suggested as much. Perhaps he had actually considered it and prepared such a method.
‘Yes, that had to be it. That had to be the explanation.’
…But as if mocking her desperate denial, Kazhan’s voice continued.
“We share so many secrets, don’t we? Where should I start? How about the first kiss we stole under an umbrella on a rainy day?”
“…!”
“I even brought you kiwi juice whenever you were feeling unwell. Later on, I went through quite the ordeal sneaking in shaved ice—it became too conspicuous.”
“Stop…”
“Do you remember the night we first made love? When I carried you to your room while you were drunk…”
“Stop it!!”
Ysaris screamed, clutching her ears as if trying to block out his words. Her eyes, unfocused from the shock, wandered aimlessly through the air.
The past, once a source of happiness, had been dragged through the mud in an instant. Memories of Cain and Kazhan alternated in her mind, colliding and tangling with one another.
“You… how… How could you do this to me…”
Her entire body trembled with betrayal. Overwhelmed by the surge of emotions, she couldn’t even speak properly.
Kazhan, unable to meet her devastated gaze, looked up at the ceiling. The past, marred by pain, wasn’t just tormenting her—it was eating away at him as well.
“I thought you betrayed me. I returned to Uzephia prepared to die for you. I kept my promise, becoming the Emperor and securing the foundation I needed, only to find you engaged to Bariteon Kelloden.”
“What are you… That promise, I never… Cain was dead…”
Her fragmented words spilled out. Kazhan, though equally confused about certain details, tried to relay the facts as objectively as possible.
“You rejected every other proposal while secretly being with me, leaving yourself in a precarious position. A fallen noble like Cain Jenut could never marry a princess of the realm. As time went on, the royal family’s pressure grew, and you faced the risk of being forced into marriage with a high-ranking noble.”
“…”
“So, I decided to reclaim my status as an Imperial Prince. I left Pyrein to become the Emperor of Uzephia and take you as my bride. I fabricated a corpse, claiming it as my own, and disguised my absence as a distant mission.”
“And you did all that without a word!”
Ysaris, who had been about to burst into anger, was cut off by Kazhan’s chilling voice.
“And yet, all of this had been discussed with you. I revealed my identity and my goals. As Kazhan, I had your full support when I left.”
But when they reunited, Ysaris hadn’t recognized him. Instead, she’d found a fiancé and gone through with an engagement, leaving Kazhan with no other choice but to feel betrayed.
Only now, beginning to understand what had happened, Ysaris looked at Kazhan with a stunned expression. She was so deeply shaken that her heart seemed to pause for a moment, her body strangely calm.
Her rapid breathing slowed as she regained her composure. She tried to piece her thoughts together and spoke in a low, hesitant voice.
“…I have no memory of having that conversation with you.”
“It seems so. Judging by how little you know.”
“What I remember is you telling me you’d be away for a long mission… and then… dying.”
Cain, Cain Jenut, the man she had loved, had died. She’d sobbed uncontrollably over his mangled, unrecognizable corpse.
Ysaris still couldn’t forget the day she buried him. The temperature of the air, the wind, and the rain that eventually fell—all of it remained unnervingly vivid in her mind. She had clung to his grave, weeping until she collapsed, and suffered from a high fever for days afterward.
Of course, if she’d known it was a fake corpse, none of that would have happened.
“…That may be, but Bariteon was my ally,” she said finally. “He’s been my childhood friend—you know that. When the Crown Prince kept pressuring me to renounce my claim to the throne or enter into an unwanted marriage… I couldn’t forget Cain. So, to buy time, I partnered with Bariteon. The fake engagement was my way of escaping their threats.”
Her breath hitched intermittently. Ysaris tried to speak calmly, but she couldn’t completely suppress the tremor in her voice.
