Chapter 324 (1/2)

So, I was embarrassed when Duke Jena furtively asked me about her. I had never thought of any other woman than Lady Monique because her status as my fiance was decided when

she was born. I took it for granted, no matter how much I hated her. In other words, any other woman than Lady Monique was not an option I could take.

Was it because of that? Given how much I hated her, it would be natural that I kick her out of the palace right away, I couldn’t do so because I was concerned about the forces that supported her, but also I felt a strong rejection of my toying with the idea of accepting another woman.

So, I could not imagine myself attending an official event with a woman other than her, let alone another man standing next to her.

So, when Duke Jena asked me that question, I cut him off, saying that I would give it a thought.

I blankly looked at Jiun, who came running to me recklessly, complaining about her learning. Her behavior was so ridiculous, but I decided to put up with it, thinking to myself that she acted like that because she felt comfortable with me. I had a lot of work to do at the moment, but as she kept begging me to get out, on the one hand, and I was troubled because of my father’s critical condition, I put down the pen silently.

While letting her endless stories in one ear and out the other, I walked through the garden with her. When I breathed in the fresh air, I felt like I got some of my heavy load off my chest a bit.

When I was walking along with a lighter heart, I suddenly saw something silvery moving among the trees. I stopped walking on the spot. As if she also heard Jiun babbling on, Lady Monique turned to me while walking near the tree.

“I’m honored to see you, the little sun of the empire.”

While staring at me politely, she showed due manners to me.

I made a hollow smile when I found her not swayed at all even if she saw me taking a walk with someone who was not my fiancee. Confirming her indifferent attitude, I felt like my lingering affection for her was gone for good.

What did I expect from such a woman? To her, I might be only a political partner that she wanted to use me for the political interests of her faction.

She remained indifferent to me when I prohibited her from meeting the emperor, when I notified her that I would attend a party with another woman, when I announced the breakoff of my engagement with her, and when I got married to another woman and decided to take her as my concubine, not empress.

Her face with no expression, her empty eyes and her flat voice. I almost got goosebumps, watching her treating even her father coldly. She was no longer a human. She was only a doll working for the political interests of her faction.

However, Jiun was different. She laughed, cried, got angry and threw tantrums. She was like a real person who showed a clear change in mood. I was annoyed when she made outrageous or childish remarks, but I could laugh it away without any difficulty.

I thought I loved her. I believed it was certainly love, even if I could not know it exactly because I had never been loved. Unlike the doll-like woman made only for the emperor, I thought Jiun only looked at me, so it was natural that she loved me.