A Fake Concubine Was Caught by the Tyrant - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

***

Around that time, after the morning assembly, the ministers gathered at one of the nobleman’s mansions to discuss a few things.

In the drawing room, all the curtains were closed and it made the room appear to be dark, and then they gathered at the table in the middle of the room together.

One of the nobles gulped.

“Did you see it?”

What?

The ministers nodded at the ambiguous questions that didn’t indicate any concerned subject or object.

All of them saw it today. That scene.

“This morning…..”

The nobleman, who brought it up first, felt the heat on his cheeks and couldn’t bring himself to continue.

It was a bit… embarrassing to say.

“Do you mean Sir Viester?”

Another nobleman spoke on his behalf.

The man, whose cheeks blushed brightly, nodded after that.

The name of the blushing man was Sir Theo. He was a loyal person, but upright.

He was a person who had never suggested or opposed a big matter which was presented at the regular assembly, but it was difficult to let this one slide.

Your Majesty is gay!

“The two headed for the Lion Palace as soon as the assembly ended…. I heard that according to a maid, they went inside the room and he kicked out all of the servants. And then, they didn’t come out for a while ….”

Theo’s face turned red at the nobleman who passed the maid’s words to them.

Theo was the second oldest after Viester in terms of age, but he was still being treated like a rookie.

When Theo’s face turned red, he heard snickers around him.

Theo clenched his fist and tried to pretend nothing happened while relieving the heat on his cheeks.

“It’s not only that. They made it seem like something had happened this morning….”

“Right! His Majesty was late for today’s meeting, so I wondered if there was any reason for that, but when I saw them walk in together, I almost let out a slight gasp. Her cheeks were red… Like someone who had just done something….”

He shut his mouth in fear of someone hearing him actually insulting His Majesty if he spoke more.

Silence engulfed the entire drawing room at the same time as the man closed his mouth.

No one was able to apprehend this situation, and it made it even more awkward.

Is His Majesty really gay?

If that was the case, having the heir would be impossible even if they were to send their daughters to him.

Wouldn’t it be better to send their sons instead?!

[t/n: Lmao I lost it here]

At that time, a nobleman, who was thinking about whether to speak out or not, opened his mouth while reading his countenance furtively.

“… Didn’t you see Viester’s clothes today?”

“Clothes?”

It should be an attire…. The ministers, who didn’t think that far, tilted their heads.

“Sir Viester’s clothes were still the same as yesterday.”

“!”

“D-Do you mean he didn’t get to change his clothes!”

All the nobles seemed surprised and looked at the man who spoke for the first time with eyes that were similar to an astonished rabbit.

The same look was shown on Theo’s face as he looked at the man.

“It seems like…. Both of them are lovers.”

The eyes of the nobles were shaken by the man’s gaze that shone with confidence.

Silence lingered in the air for a while before the room filled with murmur almost immediately.

Your Majesty is gay! And his lover is Viester!

The nobles were in an uproar.

The nobles, who were thinking of sending their daughters to the Emperor, were greatly relieved and felt rather fortunate that their offer to send their daughters as concubines for the Emperor was turned down this morning.

Some even spoke out about bringing men who have similar appearance with Viester to seduce His Majesty.

Among them, Theo was the only one who tilted his head.

“I’m not sure what His Majesty’s preference is… but I think Sir Viester would prefer women.’

Theo used to work in the aide’s office. Technically, he was also the direct subordinate of Viester.

We spent a lot of time together and even talked a lot about personal things.

He had said many times that he would date and get married if it weren’t for the Emperor.

What did they mean by suddenly saying that he was the lover of the Emperor?

It was said that a human’s heart was capable of changing easily, but he didn’t believe it. Viester’s remark when saying that he liked women didn’t feel like a lie at all.

Theo quickly racked his brain and he suddenly came up with a ridiculous answer.

‘Perhaps… His Majesty the Emperor is the one who’s clinging to him?’

He thought that the one-sided love of His Majesty the Emperor was directed at Viester.

In Theo’s head, he imagined Viester was trapped in the Emperor’s arms and crying out loud.

Viester was weeping as he showed a frail and miserable look on his face.

His purple eyes added such a neutral impression as Viester also had a soft and delicate line.

[t/n: I guess the author means bodyline here.]

“What… am I thinking!”

He couldn’t believe that he was thinking such things about his immediate superior!

The nobles saw Theo suddenly jumped up from his seats and slapped his cheek hard, but soon lost interest in him and carried on with their conversation.

Theo didn’t matter to them at this moment.

Theo, who had lost the attention of the nobles, paced out of the drawing room quickly.

“What… What should I do about this….”

He might have to report it to his superior. Or he wondered if he should hold back from talking about it with his superior and pretend he didn’t know about the secret preference of his superior.

***

The heated discussion was still carried on inside the room.

“Do you really think Viester is his lover?”

“Don’t you think his delicate posture gives off a weird vibe!”

“People who give off that kind of vibe are all gays! It’s a prejudice! We are supposed to discuss seriously right now, yet you’re only arguing over that?”

The red-haired nobleman gave a response, as if the whole topic was ridiculous to him.

He was right. Now they were betting on life and death.

It was sort of a lottery.

People who gathered in this room today were those who debated about the matter regarding concubines to His Majesty at today’s regular assembly without even consulting Duke Torre in advance.

Perhaps soon, Duke Torre would exert his evil influence.

Soon, he might fall apart and break into pieces. Before that happens, they have to step up their games.

It’s not like they didn’t trust him.

What’s the use of an Empress if her Majesty was gay?

It was not unreasonable that she would have to be put away from the center* because she was an Empress who had been an empress for 10 years and still had no descendants.

[* it is the situation where someone has to be put aside because they lost their power/dignity within a group (the court, if based on this situation).]

Therefore, naturally they would have to deal with Duke Torre.

Today, they have to make the sleeping lion angry.

“For the past ten years, His Majesty has favored and cherished Sir Viester over the Empress….”

There was no place to run away already.

They tried to make their daughters become concubines, but the nobles changed their minds.

“Everyone should gather. Because our political lives are at stake.”

They exchanged brief glances with each other.

Due to the Emperor’s peculiar preference, they were allowed to dig a hole and have a chance to breathe.

The small hole might turn into a larger hole and increase their chances.

“Wish us good luck.”

The debate of the nobles was over with a huge misunderstanding. They thought they already found the right answer to His Majesty’s sexual preference, but it was just a huge misunderstanding.

The nobles just took a very long time to realize it.

[t/n: these fools-]

***

It was such a peaceful day. The cool wind, the approaching summer, and the shining sun. The bright sun rose above her head and the flowers in the garden seemed to be in joy.

However, Helen actually couldn’t concentrate on her favorite book.

She sat on the chair with her chin resting on her hands, and heaved a sigh while fiddling blankly with the candlestick.

Sometimes, she blankly looked at the Emperor’s library. When she looked through the window where the light came from, she could see the illusion of the man waving to her.

Yeah. It must have been her fantasy.

The man couldn’t even leave the library, and he would have been sleeping during the day.

What is this feeling? Her heart felt like it was pricked by a sharp nail.

Helen quietly placed her hand on her chest.

Thump thump

Her heart beat faster and louder when she thought of him.

She imagined the stars even rose during the day, like in the middle of the night when she met him.

“Am I drunk…?”

She’s not even drunk, but her mind was hazy.

It has already been a week since she started to feel this way.

She was just frustrated with the emotions that she couldn’t even resolve herself. She was so distracted by him that she couldn’t even read books peacefully.

Then the door opened and Ellie returned.

“I’ve returned!”

Ellie’s bright voice reminded her of his faint smile.

“You’ve come back?”

“Were you staying there again? You’ve been there for a few days now.”

Ellie tilted her head.

“Did you see anything?”

Ellie stuck her head out of the window. However, all she could see was dense trees, fences, and the corner of the middle part of Lion Palace in the distance.

“Nothing.”

Helen smiled awkwardly and covered up the situation.

“Did you eat the snack I gave you?”

“Eung.”

Helen’s eyes faltered. She tried to speak vaguely, but she was caught by Ellie.

“You didn’t eat again!”

Snacks?

It was her first time hearing it. It has always been like this lately. She wasn’t interested in anything else.

“Sorry, I’m going to eat it now.”

“You’ve been too skinny lately… You skipped your meals… What happened?”

Ellie shouted, she seemed to be almost on the verge of tears. Would it be too sad for me to starve? Did she feel so sad to see her starving like this?

Her cheeks had gotten a bit flushed for no absolute reason.

“Thank you for the food.”

“You must.”

Ellie received about two or three appointments. She looked at it and narrowed her eyes to see if it was reliable or not.

She could eat her snacks only after Helen promised to eat it.

‘I must have been thinking about him too much.’

Even she thought to herself that she was ridiculous. She didn’t know that she had been starving too much.

While looking at her arms, it seemed that she lost a bit of weight. She thought her clothes were originally loose, but that was because she lost weight.

Still… She felt guilty thinking that he might starve in the library, meanwhile she ate comfortably and slept well on her own.

She didn’t know the guilt of abandoning him was so great.

She reached out her hand into the snack basket and picked up a cookie.

It was a chocolate chip cookie which she had shared with him.

“Oh.”

Helen unconsciously spoke out a short exclamation.

He begged to hold it for him so he could eat the cookie in one bite.

What if he found out that she couldn’t see him because she abandoned him?

Will he get angry with her when they meet again next time? Next time? Is there even a next time for both of them?

Tears welled up in Helen’s eyes and dripped down her cheeks as she held the cookies.

“Y-Your Highness!”

When Helen suddenly bursted into tears, Ellie opened her eyes in surprise and walked to her side.

“T-the cookie….”

Helen couldn’t bring herself to speak. The cookie reminded her of him, but Ellie didn’t know that.

If she told her about him and the medicine tube, she would know the reason behind Velly’s death.

It lingered in her mind, she even lacked sleep and had a series of nightmares due to the sense of guilt, but she couldn’t let Ellie jump into the slough of guilt along with her.

Helen shut her mouth tightly.

“Why, why, what happened! What’s with the cookie…!”

“No….”

Ellie was heartbroken to see the thick drops of tears running down her face.

“If Your Highness cries, it would be hard for me too. Please don’t cry.”

Ellie wiped away the tears under Helen’s eyes with a handkerchief.

‘He also wiped away my tears. You told me not to cry alone. He was the one who tried to break the door while also telling her not to cry on her own….’

The feeling of guilt inside her grew like a snowball everyday.

He probably realized her excuse that she couldn’t go because of the knights.

He might be crying the moment he realized that she had abandoned him. Or did he get angry?

However….

‘I miss you….’