SEM 13

SEM

Posted by Hoor, Released on July 8, 2025

#013

“Getting so worked up isn’t good for your health, Your Majesty.”

He was an emperor whom Duke Lloyd had raised with his own hands, even down to the smallest details, since he was a child. Though he had parents, it was Duke Lloyd who had truly raised him.

“I didn’t know the Duke cared so much about my health.”

Matteo, annoyed at the thought of not being able to have Eliana, spoke pettily. Duke Lloyd looked at him with gentle eyes.

“This empire belongs to Your Majesty. Everything within it is yours—what could there possibly be to worry about?”

“If you’re just trying to comfort me with words like that, you can stop.”

Watching Matteo act childishly like a sulking boy, Lloyd smiled sincerely. It was a scene only Lloyd, who had served and cared for the emperor for so long, could witness.

“When have I ever said empty words?”

“Are you scheming something?”

Matteo was the type who had to get what he wanted no matter what. Even if it meant taking his half-brother’s wife.

“But you didn’t truly desire her, did you? You were just curious after hearing the rumors about the Marchioness.”

“…At the time, yes.”

Matteo’s voice softened as he sank back into the sofa.

Eliana was like a mirage.

She never participated in social events, so very few people had actually seen her. But those who had all praised her beauty.

Rumors spread that even the Marquis avoided social events so no one else would see her. The truth was something else entirely, but people always loved exaggerated tales.

“Do you not feel the same now?”

“I had something taken from me right before my eyes—of course I’m not happy.”

Lloyd nodded as he watched Matteo casually claim Eliana as his own. Pleased with the arrogant and self-centered emperor, who was so easy to control, Lloyd smiled kindly.

“So, Duke—you saw the famed Marchioness with your own eyes. What did you think?”

Matteo’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Despite all threats, the Marquis had never brought his wife to the palace while he was alive. Instead of showing her face, he’d often share stories enticing enough to intrigue men.

“Hm…”

Duke Lloyd narrowed his eyes and fell into thought.

She was very different from the image he’d heard described by the Marquis. His assumptions that she was weak and delicate were shattered instantly.

“…”

“She was like a black cat.”

“What?”

Matteo frowned at the unexpected answer after waiting so long for Lloyd to speak.

“A black cat caught in the rain, growling with its claws out. That’s exactly what the Marchioness reminded me of.”

Lloyd stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Obedience was nice, but the way she glared like a wildcat ready to attack at any moment was also quite appealing.

“That’s very different from what the Marquis described.”

Matteo tilted his head.

“She’s a woman who knows men, isn’t she?”

“What?”

Catching the dark gleam in Lloyd’s eye, Matteo smirked.

“So, you’re saying the Duke was just raising her value?”

Lloyd nodded in satisfaction. Matteo understood without needing everything spelled out—it was proof that all the years spent mentoring him had paid off.

“She’s the woman who engraved the name ‘Hoffman’ into the minds of the capital’s nobility in an instant. And who else in the empire has earned a noble title as quickly as Baron Hoffman?”

The two men exchanged knowing smiles.

They weren’t foolish enough to voice their vile thoughts aloud. But their eyes spoke volumes.

“So I just need to offer something bigger than Gredi Cryber, then.”

“As expected, Your Majesty is brilliant.”

Duke Lloyd clapped his hands in delight, like watching a clever grandchild. The emperor, not content to sit still, stood up.

“Well then, I should get started right away. What would be best…?”

Humming happily, Matteo stepped through the shattered remnants at his feet, genuinely pleased.

At that very moment, Rosella visited Gredi, who had just finished stopping his bleeding.

“Leave us. I have something to discuss with the Grand Duke Cryber.”

At the empress’s command, the doctor quietly left after completing the treatment.

Rosella moved and carefully shut the curtains she had opened herself. Though not a single ant roamed the darkened garden, her movements were meticulous.

“You’ll only stir up unnecessary suspicion.”

“I just don’t want to be interrupted while spending time with you, Gredi.”

Rosella approached and stroked the bandage over his wound. Gredi’s brow furrowed each time her hand touched the blood-stained spot on his forehead.

“It’s not serious enough to worry the Empress. The doctor just wrapped the bandage too thickly.”

“You moved faster than I expected.”

The imperial palace had ears everywhere, yet Rosella expressed her affection far too openly—as if she didn’t care.

She did it intentionally, knowing it made Gredi uncomfortable. Rosella ran her hand down his cheek and lifted his chin.

“…”

“Still, I didn’t expect you to decide on marriage so soon, Gredi.”

Gredi clamped his jaw shut.

She had once pressured him to marry, but now acted like a petulant child once he announced his wedding to Eliana. He couldn’t understand her. Then again, Gredi had never understood anything about Rosella.

Her voice softened with regret, but Gredi removed her hand from his face.

“Wasn’t it Your Majesty who ordered me to marry?”

Gredi ran a large hand over his face. The skin under the bandage stung.

“Yes. You’re marrying because I commanded it, isn’t that right, Gredi?”

Rosella’s red-tipped nails pressed against his jaw.

Gredi looked away first.

He nodded with a sigh, not even trying to hide it.

“Even my dog listens well. Thanks to you, I’ve bought some time.”

Rosella casually rubbed her lower abdomen.

She had tried countless times to conceive after marriage, but no child came. And lately, the emperor rarely visited her chamber.

‘It’s all that wretched woman’s fault.’

As time passed, Rosella’s anxiety grew unbearable. Pressures from the outside and her own family, who kept sending fertility tonics, only added to it.

“If you’ve said what you needed to, I’ll take my leave.”

“How did you seduce her?”

Rosella’s tone turned urgent as Gredi tried to leave. She had pushed for the marriage, but the reality of it left her irritated.

“Seduce?”

“So she charmed you, then?”

Wiping a blood-spattered cravat with the back of her hand, Rosella stared into his dark eyes.

“She’s beautiful, as Your Majesty said.”

At his reply, Rosella grabbed his cravat tightly.

But Gredi’s expression didn’t change. He was used to Rosella’s whims and rudeness.

“Don’t be mistaken, Gredi. Nothing has changed.”

“I’m marrying according to Your Majesty’s wishes.”

At his softened voice, Rosella bit her lip.