TAPGB - Chapter 105
The Abandoned Prince's Ghost Bride
'Not a lover...?'
When Lilith heard those words, what did she think?
'What kind of trick is this?"
It was a denial of Leah's words.
That's because it was clear that the two loved each other, based on the rumors that had been floating around so far and Lucian's behavior that she had personally seen.
But, if what Leah said is true...
"Then why are you here?"
"Well. How would I know His Majesty's intentions? I don't mind leaving the palace right now."
It's not a lie. At least it seemed that way in Lilith's eyes. That made her even more confused.
"If what you say is true, then all the rumors going around the palace are lies."
"..."
Leah chose silence instead of answering. After wondering about that for a moment, Lilith frowned.
This is because Leah was smiling meaningfully.
"You might think so."
For some reason, discomfort and anger rose up. Lilith felt her patience growing thin and barely managed to silence the quivering corners of her mouth.
"Still. I'm glad the rumors aren't true. Isn't that good for you too? It would be difficult to carry the majestic sun of the empire alone."
"Hmm, well. I guess that's true."
Lilith obviously responded by saying His Majesty is not suited to be around you, but Leah didn't take any offense.
'This is why I couldn't learn it.'
Lilith sneered at the sight of Leah not being able to understand even such a simple way of speaking.
"Yes, I said it wouldn't matter if I left the palace. If there are circumstances that prevent you from leaving here. I will help you."
"Princess?"
Her eyebrows twitched for a moment at the look in her eyes that asked, 'Why you?', but Lilith continued acting with a benevolent expression.
"No matter how untrue the rumor is, if someone else sees you, it will no longer be just a rumor. No matter how much I explain, people won't believe me. It looks like it would be a difficult task for you to handle alone. Am I wrong?"
"It's definitely something I can't do anything about when people join. It's annoying to have unnecessary misunderstandings."
Lilith knew it. Although there were some annoying parts here and there.. She felt like she could kick Leah out of the palace without much effort in this way.
To be honest, before she came here, Lilith thought that when she met Leah, Leah would take the Emperor's favor on her back and go on a rampage or act arrogantly.
'Of course, that direction wouldn't be bad, but this is okay too.'
"After all this, I am still Princess Sevans. Although not as powerful as Her Majesty, my influence within the empire is great. It's as easy as getting a woman out of the palace."
"Do you want me to get out of here?"
"I'm just offering you one option. Honestly, isn't it too much for you? It must be full of unfamiliar things while staying here."
Lilith held out her hand as if she were benevolent, and Leah stared at it
'She's so frustrated that she can't kick me out.'
Although I pretended not to notice, it wasn't to the point where I couldn't figure out the hidden blade in Lilith's words.
She says she can help me get out of the palace safely now. Is she going to kill me as soon as she takes me out of the palace?
'How will we do it?'
For now, I responded in hopes of seeing how the other person would react, but now I had to stop messing around.
"I appreciate the favor, but I decline."
As expected Lilith's eyes trembled.
"Why do you do that? Is it because you feel burdened? Or am I still untrustworthy? I am His Majesty's fiancée..."
"I don't care that the Princess is His Majesty's fiancee."
It may have been said with the intention of offending me, but I countered.
"Isn't this an engagement made up of multiple interests to begin with? Moreover, I heard that you got engaged when you were very young. I'm not sure if the Princess and His Majesty will agree to that engagement."
"Do you know what you are talking about?"
I sneered when she saw Lilith finally taking off her abominable mask.
"More than anything. I am now declining the offer for the Princess's sake. Please understand my feelings."
"How rude! You insulted someone and now you're asking me to believe that!"
In the end, unable to overcome her anger, Lilith slammed the desk and stood up. The librarians, who finally noticed her presence, were startled.
After confirming that the librarians had gone outside and called someone, I looked straight ahead again with a relaxed expression.
"But it's true. From the moment I hold the hand of the Princess and leave the imperial palace, the princess will be in charge of His Majesty and your family."
"What does that mean now? You clearly said with your own mouth that there was no relationship."
"It's true that we have no relationship whatsoever. However, I did not say that His Majesty's feelings for me were a lie."
"What....?"
"I received a confession, from His Majesty."
I completely prevented myself from denying it. Lilith stumbled, her eyes wide.
"Now. Are you asking me to believe that now? What is so regrettable about His Majesty confessing to someone like you!"
"I know, right. I don't know why the Emperor who rules the Empire has such feelings for me, but I know very well the feelings that a man who is not the Emperor has for me."
"Ha! So, are you trying to brag about being His Majesty's favorite in front of me, her fiancee?!"
"I probably said it before. I don't care that you are His Majesty's fiancée."
"It's okay to play with words no..."
"That's what I want to say."
Before Lilith's voice could get higher, I interrupted her.
Lilith trembled at the sudden change in atmosphere. Because before she knew it. I was glaring at her with my purple eyes shining menacingly.
"You are the Emperor's fiancée. not Lucian's."
Lilith's eyes widened and her hands trembled. But after a moment of panic, she opened her mouth.
"Ha, I don't know what you're talking about. Who on earth is Lucian?"
"You know everything. Who is His Majesty's current Emperor, and that you are carrying out such a scandal even after knowing His Majesty's true identity? I heard this directly from Lucian."
There was no longer any excuse. Lilith could vaguely understand my continued relaxed attitude along with her shame.
But that didn't mean she wanted to understand me for stepping on her pride.
"If you know all that, why are you revealing it here? It's not like there are no listening ears around you, right? Are you planning to put Lucian in danger?"
"Oh, I'll take care of that, so you don't have to worry about it."
From the moment I spoke casually, I had already spread barrier magic around me to prevent the words from leaking out.
"But I understand that you already received a warning from Lucian earlier. What kind of guts did you have to come to see me? Do you really think Lucian will stay still when he sees you and me in the same room?"
Lilith, who had hit the nail on the head, clenched her fists.
The reason she approached Leah and tried to get her out of the imperial palace somehow was because there was no way to get her away from Lucian other than by leaving the imperial palace herself.
Lilith had already bribed one of the employees who looked after Leah a few days ago to report on her every move.
Listening to her daily routine, Lilith had a hunch. That Lucian cares for Leah so much.
Leah's only surroundings were the Emperor's palace, and she had no contact or meetings with anyone except the Emperor and his close associates.
At first, she stayed in the Empress's room.
Moreover, this is what the informant said. From the moment Lilith heard that, she was engulfed in a whirlwind of jealousy and wanted to erase Leah from this world.
But there was no way the future Empress could do such a mean thing.
Lilith hates leaving a stain on her life and footsteps. Whether it's reputation or other people's opinions. Externally, she must not lose her dignity as the Emperor's fiancee and Empress-to-be. So hasn't she been building up her good image ever since she was young?
She was trying to use her image to embarrass the other person and create an advantageous situation for herself.
'Why can't I do what I want!'
Leah was the type of person Lilith had never met before.
Lucian was also the type of person she had never experienced before, so she felt attracted to him and fell in love with him, but Leah was the complete opposite.
Only her intense rejection enveloped her entire body.
After a brief whirlwind swirled in her mind, Lilith came to one conclusion.
'I have to kill her.'
Other than that, she couldn't think of any way to get this woman away from Lucian.
Lilith erased her expression and looked down at Leah with cold eyes. Her gaze fell on the thin, white neck.
The moment she automatically reached for that neck-
Bang-!
The library door opened and people came in.
Of course, he is.
"What are you doing now!"
Lucian was angry to the core. Standing behind Lucian were Dio, Harry, James, and Caesar.
Lilith thought for a moment that it was a mistake. She was so consumed with rage that she failed to stop the librarian from leaving the library.
Lucian's eyes widened when he saw Lilith, who was standing hesitantly, extending her hand to Leah, who was sitting across from her.
Soon, he approached the two people with great strides, pushed Lilith back, and took Leah in his arms.
"... I'm sure I told no one to stay away from the library, Dio!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Let's thoroughly investigate how this happened."
"I will follow your orders."
The sharp golden eyes were focused on the knights standing in front of the library. Dio bowed his head and obeyed Lucian.
Soon, Dio's face turned cold and he glared at the knights standing guard.
The knight who had been bribed showed a look of despair, and the innocent knight who had suddenly become entangled with him turned pale.
The two people's affairs were something that Dio would investigate later, and the most important thing right now was something else.
"Princess Sevans."
The life that was revealed without any addition or subtraction was overflowing. Lilith couldn't bear to look him in the eyes because his hands and feet were shaking so hard.
"Did you think my warning last time was funny?"
"..."
"I would have said it clearly. If you offend me one more time, I will break off our engagement."
Lilith was instantly aggrieved by the voice, which was filled with only hostility, without the slightest mercy or kindness.
And on the other hand, she was very angry at him for holding Leah dearly while being hostile towards her.
"I don't know what I did so wrong."
".... What?"
"I am Your Majesty's fiancée. Can't your fiancée even meet Your Majesty's lover, whom the public is talking about? What did I do now? Did I hit that woman in the face? Did I insult her? Or did I grab her by the hair?"
"Lilith Sevans!"
"Your Highness, instead of scolding me, you should comfort me for being helplessly insulted even with my fiancé's lover in front of me."
"Ha! Is that what you would say now when you try to meet in secret, avoiding people's eyes?"
"What are you saying? Your Majesty, that your lover is more important than your fiancee of 13 years?"
With no one backing down, the atmosphere became even more tense.
However, Lilith was subtly controlling the flow of the atmosphere.
The only people who noticed it were Harry and Leah.
'This is dangerous.'
There are too many eyes watching.
If people knew Lucian's situation, they would know that this incident was Lilith's fault.
However, externally, the Emperor is Leopold, not Lucian. In short, the words Lilith is saying now are aimed at the Emperor, not Lucian. Sure enough, the librarians and the employees snooping through the hallways started whispering as they saw Lucian taking care of Leah.
In the end, Harry, who was worse off, came forward.
"Your Majesty, calm down. The Princess is not wrong."
"Harry..."
While Lucian frowned, Lilith smiled.
"But that doesn't mean the Princess is right."
However, the atmosphere changed again in the following words.
"Currently. His Majesty has prohibited outsiders from entering the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Library. They even set up guards to prevent unauthorized people from entering. But where is the Princess now? You're not an outsider, but you're not allowed to be either. Are you planning to say that you came into this heavily guarded place by chance?"
Harry basically pinpointed the situation in which Lilith came here. Just as he said, Lilith is someone who shouldn't be here right now.
It may not be possible to remove the entire image that Lilith tried to put on Lucian, but at least Lucian's image will not be ruined alone.
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