It was a force strong enough to make her lose her balance. A rough grip dragged her straight into a nearby room. Startled by the sudden situation, Odelia froze.
As the door closed, the commotion of the banquet was completely cut off. Only the soft glow of the fireplace and the sound of two people's breathing remained in the room.
What came into Odelia's sight was a face she could instantly recognize even from deep within the shadows.
Calix.
The Emperor was looking at her with a cold, subdued gaze, far removed from the revelry of the banquet.
Odelia caught her breath for a moment and composed her expression.
"To think Your Majesty was out here like this... Was the banquet boring?"
"You seemed more intimate than necessary."
It was a voice that made no attempt to hide its emotions. However, rather than the Emperor's usual intimidating tone, it sounded like a jealous tantrum.
Odelia blinked, staring briefly at her wrist still being held by Calix. She looked up at him.
"Are you referring to Philip? Is that how Your Majesty interprets the aide's report? Philip is merely..."
"Merely?"
Calix took a step closer.
"Just an aide? Then what was that I just saw? Fixing your hair, laughing and exchanging jokes... Don't let that man get too close."
"Are you perhaps jealous, Your Majesty?"
Calix's gaze wavered for a moment. However, he did not answer. Instead, he held her wrist just as it was and moved a little closer.
Odelia felt her heart beating fast. The more she tried to distance herself from her mind, the more her body's memory reacted first.
Perhaps that was why, although contact had become more natural than before, a longing and hesitation that could not be put into words coexisted within it.
"Your Majesty... you must be very comfortable."
Odelia caught her breath and spoke in a low voice.
"Because you can smile at me as if nothing is wrong."
"So, do you resent me?"
Odelia was silent for a moment. Gazing into his deepened eyes, she seemed to be choosing an answer in her heart.
"...That was the case, but seeing you again like this, I cannot bring myself to say that I resent you."
The tangled emotions were clearly embedded in the calm voice.
Calix, who had been standing still for a moment watching Odelia, slowly leaned forward as if he had finally made up his mind. His eyes gazed earnestly only at Odelia.
He approached close enough for their breaths to mingle, and in a single word, he poured out the longing and suppressed desires he had accumulated.
"That's enough."
With those words, Calix slowly brought his face close to her.
His lips lightly pressed against Odelia's lips at a distance where their breaths mingled.
Odelia was so surprised she seemed to hold her breath, but she did not reject him.
The moment his lips touched hers, the longing she had suppressed until now surged in. Odelia crumbled helplessly, as if this moment were the answer both of them had longed for.
However, the thought that this shouldn't be happening barely crossed her mind. Odelia tried to distance herself by pushing his chest with her trembling fingertips.
But the hot warmth and breath still remaining between the two held her captive.
Noticing that Odelia was trying to distance herself, Calix grabbed the back of her hand and pulled her back toward him.
"Don't push me away, Odelia."
Odelia swallowed her trembling breath. The seductive words and the approaching breath shook her. However, she soon shook her head and made her intentions clear.
"You... you shouldn't do this."
Seeing Odelia's face turn bright red, Calix smiled slightly and whispered.
"If you tease me two more times, my face is going to explode."
"Are you making fun of me, Your Majesty?"
"No, I'm saying I missed you."
Calix lightly kissed the back of her hand, then smiled broadly as he looked at Odelia.
Odelia struggled to keep her composure and answered curtly for no reason.
"If you are away for too long, everyone will notice."
"Don't worry about that. If not now, we won't have another chance to meet privately like this."
Calix looked at her for a moment, then wiped the playful smile off his face and let out a low sigh. Odelia instinctively felt that he was about to say something important.
The alluring face from a moment ago had vanished, replaced by a much colder gaze.
"In tomorrow's discussion, we have no choice but to suppress Talamand, if only for the sake of the nobles. But I hope you know that isn't the whole story."
Calix paused for a moment and stroked her hand.
"On the surface, it might look like it's binding you. But there's no guarantee it will be to your disadvantage."
Odelia blinked and looked at him.
"...What does it mean?”
Calix paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to the window and spoke calmly.
"Do you know why the previous Emperor cherished the Rubis family so much? It wasn't simply because of land or trade."
Odelia looked at his profile.
"It is because the minerals found here were extremely important. Used for both weapon crafting and luxury goods... rare ores that cannot be obtained anywhere else in the Empire."
At those words, an old memory suddenly came to mind, and Odelia paused for a moment.
A long time ago, the conversation her parents had at the dining table—a story she, as a child, could not understand, but now it was so vivid.
"...Adamant."
Odelia muttered softly. Calix smiled as he looked at her.
"That's right, Adamant ore."
He took a step closer and added.
"To appease the nobles at tomorrow's meeting, we will set conditions on Talamand. It is inevitable. The reason the nobles fear your trade network is not simply because you have gathered a caravan. They are afraid that the 'Ancient Heart' residing in your land will beat again."
Odelia, who had been deep in thought, answered.
"Then... I will accept that condition, but I will set a condition in return. That the Imperial Family support the mining of Adamant Ore."
A satisfied smile spread across Calix's lips, as if he had been waiting for Odelia to say those words.
Adamant is the core of weapon development and a luxury item fanatically coveted by the nobility. If it returns to the market, its power will become entirely Odelia's.
"Do not deny that in the conversation. Instead, declare that you will share that power with the Imperial Family. If you do so, the nobles' anxiety will subside, and Talamand will establish itself as another heart of the Empire."
Odelia mulled over his words for a moment. Outwardly, it was a pretext of oppression, but in reality, it was a strategy to establish Talamand as an officially recognized center under the protection of the imperial court.
It is not just about protecting it, but an opportunity to grow Talamand by leveraging the power of the Imperial Family.
She lowered her eyes, then nodded.
"...All right."
Calix was always one step ahead like this.
He seems to try to suppress her, yet at the same time, he opens a way for jer to survive. That is why she cannot hate him.
She should hate him, but she just can't bring herself to do it.
If you don't hate, you have no choice but to love, do you?
Even though she knows she shouldn't love.
Even though she knows it is a position where she cannot love.
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