TPIHLMD - Chapter 18






The door opened before the Empress could even reply to come in. Immediately, a young man with golden hair and dark eyes who looked exactly like the Empress entered the room.

His gaze moved from the stern-faced Empress to the back of Seliya's head, who was sitting across from her. As soon as Jeremy saw the long silver hair showing her back, his face scrunched up.

“Mother, why did you call her a mere sinner? If you look at it, it will only stain your eyes.”

The Crown Prince, Jeremy, looked down at Seliya with his piercing eyes. The Empress's face, looking at Jeremy like that, became stiff and showed no signs of loosening.

The Empress screamed at Jeremy, who was striding towards me.

“Jeremy, this mother will call you again in a moment, so get out now!”

She was a mother who always welcomed him with a smile no matter when he came to visit her. Jeremy paused for a moment at his mother's unusual reaction.

“What’s going on? Could it be that that girl was harassing my mother?”

“...It’s not like that.”

The Empress sensed that if she let Jeremy and Seliya meet now, something bad would happen. Seliya had not yet drunk the poisoned tea, and she was very beautiful, even for a woman like her.

So, they shouldn't be confronted. The rumors about that woman died down until she slowly rotted and died in prison.

Not knowing how fast his mother was going, Jeremy made his snort and moved his legs. Slender legs resembling a jaguar moved gliding.

“Your Highness, Your Majesty has issued an order to celebrate guests...”

The Empress's maids called out to Jeremy in trembling voices. But Jeremy completely ignored their words.

Because he was the only heir to the next throne and was unstoppable.

“Even if my mother’s reaction is strange, I can’t leave like this.”

“!”

Jeremy had already arrived near Seliya. He touched the back of Seliya's head with his index finger.

“Are you the sinner of the rumors?”

“..."

Seliya didn't even look at the owner of the hand, who was pressing the back of her head. Then, perhaps because he was upset, Jeremy pressed the back of Seliya's head with even stronger force.

“Answer me.”

He pressed so hard that the water in the teacup she was holding sloshed around and drenched Seliya's collar. The Empress's eyes sank when she saw this.

In the first case, the tea was spilled due to Seliya's mistake, but in the second case, the tea was spilled due to his son's mistake. The Empress suppressed her anger and called her only son in a soft voice.

“Jeremy.”

At the sound of the Empress's voice, Jeremy turned his gaze to her empress.

“Mother, are you taking the side of this sinner in front of me?”

“How could that be! I just...”

The Empress barely swallowed her words, saying, 

“I was afraid that you would fall for that criminal.”

At that very moment, Jeremy lifted Seliya's head and forced her to look at him.

“Hey, look at that unlucky face...”

Jeremy, who checked Seliya's face, trailed off his words. Jeremy looked at Seliya with a blank expression on his face.

Her skin was as clear and white as her eyes. Her eyes, raised between dense eyelashes, resembled a fresh forest, and the sharp bridge of her nose falling from her smooth forehead and her red lips, as if she had bitten into a rose, were in perfect harmony.

“...”

Jeremy's neck twitched as he looked at Seliya. In his life, he had never seen such a beautiful woman.

Jeremy had previously thought that the man who had spent all his money to see this one woman was an asshole, and that his father had generously given away the wealth of the imperial palace to take this woman into his bed. Jeremy also thought his father was a fool.

He felt like he could understand his father's feelings a little now.

His dead father left behind something truly good. The corners of Jeremy's mouth rose above hers. He rolled his eyes at Seliya, as if asking her when he was angry, and removed his hand that was clutching her head.

“If you saw me as the Crown Prince, shouldn’t you say hello?”

“....”

Seliya looked troubled and put down her teacup, which had very little left in it. And then she greeted Jeremy politely.

“A sinner sends greetings to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

The soft and gentle voice matched her appearance very well. Before he knew it, Jeremy was looking down at Seliya with his body half draped on the sofa with a satisfied look on his face.

The Empress, seeing this, clenched her fists.

Jeremy's gaze never left Seliya. His eyes fell from Seliya's face to Seliya's collar, stained by the spilled tea.

The tea fell exactly on the sleeve of her dress that was covering Seliya's wrist, clearly exposing her delicate wrist.

Jeremy rolled up the sleeve of Seliya's dress and caressed her wrist.

“Oh my, you got hurt because of me.”

“...”

Her skin was red, but she wasn't hurt or burned. Jeremy couldn't have known this, but he didn't stop caressing Seliya's wrist.

“Even considering the fact, it makes no sense to kill my father with these delicate arms. Don’t you think so too?”

In the end, the Empress, who could not see this, opened her mouth.

“Jeremy, what are you doing in front of your mother right now?”

"Sorry, mother."

Contrary to what he said, Jeremy didn't look sorry at all.

Jeremy, who inherited the Empress's personality, could clearly understand why his mother did not want to show Seliya to him.

Just as the Empress was picky about men, so was Jeremy.

Jeremy, who thought he was asexual because no woman had ever caught his fancy before, became convinced that he was not asexual after seeing Seliya.

“That’s really too much. How could it be so funny that my mother was the only one to see this?”

Unlike the seemingly delighted Jeremy, the Empress held on to the arm of the sofa with a feeling of great despair.

Jeremy even took his handkerchief from his arms and tied it around Seliya's wrist.

“You got hurt because of me, so keep this for yourself.”

Seliya was laughing inside at Jeremy, who was now treating her so kindly whenever he pressed her head.

'...Well, it's a good thing for me.'

It is much easier for her to deal with someone who likes her than to deal with someone who dislikes her.

Even if the reason was a bit impure, it was easier to deal with than not liking her from the beginning.

The Empress is trying to harm her, and the Crown Prince, Jeremy, has taken her interest into his own hands. Seliya weighed the pros and cons this situation would bring to her.

The conclusion came quickly.

“Thank you, Your Highness. I will cherish it.”

After finishing her sentence, Seliya smiled brightly at Jeremy. Jeremy looked at her blankly as her green eyes were bent and her red lips that tasted like sweet juice were drawn in an arc.

Jeremy is completely in love with Seliya. 

***

Dietrich was waiting for Seliya outside the Empress' palace, not knowing when she would come out. The light breeze passed by his smooth forehead.

The knights kept watching Dietrich.

“...You look in a bad mood, don’t you?”

“Look straight ahead. If you don’t want to die.”

The imperial knights both respected and feared Dietrich. Not only was Dietrich, not a man who showed his emotions easily, but he was merciless towards those who violated his orders.

Almost all knights did not know that a knight who had assisted Dietrich for four years had recently been beheaded for disobeying orders.

Dietrich didn't care what the knights said about him. What was important to him now was that even though a long time had passed, there was no sign of Seliya coming out.

Dietrich's eyes narrowed.

It was on his mind that Jeremy entered the palace about four hours ago. Before he entered the Empress' palace, Jeremy once again argued with Dietrich as usual.

- What business does this hybrid bird have in my mother’s palace?

-I came because Her Majesty the Empress called me. She was commanded to bring Seliya Brillion with me.

- Hmph, sinner, and bitch. Aren’t you a truly well-matched pair?


When Dietrich didn't show any reaction, Jeremy clicked his tongue as if he didn't like him and he went into the palace.

Dietrich looked up at the sky. The sun had completely set and the red sunset was coloring the sky.

“...”

Dietrich, with his keen senses, felt someone coming out of the palace. The sound coming from afar was exactly from two people.

Dietrich slowly looked away.

“I thought you were gone, but are you still there?”

It was Jeremy's arrogant voice. And, the woman who was being escorted by him was none other than Seliya.

When Dietrich looked at Seliya, Jeremy stepped in front of her as if on guard, blocking Dietrich from seeing her.

“I guess you’re a son of a bitch. Aren’t you looking at my woman too much?”

My woman? 

Just a moment ago, you said she was a sinner, but are you my woman?

'What on earth happened in there?'

Dietrich was extremely embarrassed, but he did not show it outwardly.

And, absurdly, the same thing happened to Seliya.

Jeremy ignored the Empress' words and he took Seliya to another room, where she sat her down on the sofa and told her all sorts of things.

What he said was almost like boasting about himself.

He said how great he was, that he would protect her when he became Emperor, that he had never seen a woman as beautiful as her, and that she would never murder the Emperor.

Instead of staying at Dietrich's mansion or something like that, why doesn't she stay in his own palace?

If the Empress bursts into the room, move her to another room, and then to another room.

Seliya moved between rooms like that several times. The Empress, exhausted, no longer entered the room, and Seliya continued to listen to Jeremy brag about himself.

It was Seliya's first time seeing a man so reckless and talkative.

“...I appreciate the offer, but I don’t want the relationship between Her Majesty the Empress to become distant.”

As she said something that was not even in her heart, Jeremy felt regretful and asked her to let him know if she changed her mind at any time. He even said that he would be holding a birthday banquet soon and that she must attend.

Even though he tried hard to say that he was okay, the current situation was that he was even personally sending her off.

‘When did you see me as your girl? That's not even funny.'

Seliya found it funny that Jeremy had no intention of letting go of his hand.

Jeremy's recklessness did not end there.

“It won’t work either. Shelly, from today onwards you must stay in my castle.”



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