The Abandoned Empress Will Not Return

Rodelia opened her eyes, frowned at the blazing sun, then closed them again.
She tried to go back to sleep, however she caught sight of something unusual that made her widen her eyes.

 

Someone was reading a book by her bed.

 

She thought of it as nothing….
But her eyes, which had yet to adapt to the light, did not follow her will.

 

It wasn’t long before she realized it was Cerdian.
Startled, Rodelia quickly raised her upper body.

 

“You must have been tired?”

 

Cerdian raised the ends of his lips and asked how she was in a low voice.

 

“What brought you here without sending notice? Were the urgent matters resolved?”

 

When her voice cracked and she panicked, Cerdian burst out a light chuckle and handed her some water.

 

After taking several sips of the water, Rodelia smiled brightly and hugged him.

 

‘How long has it been since we saw each other?’

 

It was almost an impulsive action.
She was surprised by her own behavior but she closed her eyes softly, thinking, ‘I must still be half asleep’.

 

Cerdian also seemed a little surprised but then smiled and patted her on the back.

 

“I missed you too.”

 

Faint fatigue was mixed in his voice.

 

Rodelia quickly pushed Cerdian’s body away, asking anxiously.

 

“Why do you look so exhausted? Did you have to work a lot?”

 

“I’m fine now that the urgent matters are almost done.”

 

“I can help.
Despite everything that happened, I was quite the competent empress….”

 

Rodelia stopped mid-sentence and quickly closed her mouth.
It was because Cerdian was not very willing to do anything related to Kane.

 

Anyway, she still craved to prove her abilities.
Having lived her life like that, it was inevitable.

 

“In any case, I want to be your strength, too.”

 

“It’s alright.”

 

Cerdian was firm.
She smiled awkwardly and continued.

 

“After all, we’re married now.
So….”

 

“It’s really alright.”

 

His voice was sweet but he was drawing a clear line.

 

Rodelia closed her mouth because she couldn’t say anything more when he refused.

 

Was she being too forward for someone in a fake marriage? But didn’t they have feelings for each other?

 

Rodelia’s expression hardened.
Since she said nothing else, Cerdian slowly spoke—as if he had just remembered something.

 

“By the way, I heard that you were looking into the Kirkel clan… Do you have a particular reason?”

 

Of course she had every intention of telling Cerdian the truth about the hidden space along with the facts about him.
But not right now.

 

It was partly because she was ashamed of her greed for the position of the real grand duchess, and also because she was disappointed by him who drew the line.

 

Rodelia answered with a bitter smile.

 

“Ah…… it’s nothing much.
When I went to the square not too long ago, I heard about them here and there so I got curious.”

 

 *

 

“You seem to be overdoing it.”

 

Bruce, the butler, asked Cerdian, who was attending to his duties, with concern.

 

No matter how hard the work was, Cerdian did not show he was having a hard time.
He rarely showed he was struggling at all.

 

But at this moment his face was full of sorrow.

 

After a while, Cerdian murmured.

 

“Have I done something wrong?”

 

“Pardon?”

 

As Bruce raised his eyebrows, the man who was crookedly resting his chin lifted his gaze.

 

“I mean, to Rodelia.
Is she angry because I went to visit her without prior notice?”

 

“What’s that….”

 

Bruce took a step forward.
Glancing at his desk, he saw a mess of scribbles all over the documents he thought he was working on.

 

 

Rodelia’s name was plastered all over.

 

Bruce narrowed his brows.
He figured that Cerdian was not in his right mind, exhausted from overdue work.

 

Or that he wants to get rid of the pain by making Rodelia as his companion as soon as possible.

 

Bruce, who quickly abandoned those thoughts, carefully expressed his opinion.

 

“Well… Oh, speaking of that, I think we need another office assistant.”

 

“Yes, I guess I’ll have to find the right person.”

 

Cerdian somehow readily agreed with Bruce’s opinion.
It was because he thought they needed to come up with a contingency plan as Kane wasn’t the type who would back down easily.

 

“Do you have a suitable person you can recommend?”

 

“Isn’t Lady Rodelia here? I heard that Thebes’ internal stability was all thanks to her.”

 

The more time they spend together, the closer the two of them will become.

 

So Bruce threw in the suggestion.
However, Cerdian’s reaction was unexpected.

 

“Rodelia?”

 

Bruce broke into a cold sweat at his question, as if he hadn’t thought of it at all.

 

“Well….
I don’t like that idea very much.”

 

“What?”

 

Bruce asked with a questioning look, but Cerdian didn’t answer.
He just frowned as if he were thinking about something.

 

Were the two not getting along well?

 

However, Cerdian’s mind was in a completely different place.

 

‘She’s very skinny, I guess I should tell them to pay more attention to her diet.’

 

She was faced with quite a lot of trouble lately, so it would be good for her if she could rest for a while.

 

Although she expressed her intention to help, it would not be too late to start her full-fledged work after they announce that Rodelia has become the grand duchess.
So in the meantime, it was only right to let her rest.

 

Remembering Rodelia’s smiling face, Cerdian smiled.

 

“First of all, find the right person to take over the tasks for the time being.”

 

 *

 

Rodelia, who left her room quite excitedly, quickly returned.
Gloom was deeply entrenched in her face.

 

The maids who were making her bed noticed this and quickly left.

 

Rodelia sat on her bed and ruminated about the situation from a moment ago.

 

She was on her way to Cerdian’s room to apologize, thinking that she had expressed her feelings too much.  

 

But there, she heard an unexpected conversation.

 

[Rodelia?]

 

[“Well….
I don’t like that idea very much.]

 

She returned to her room without delay.

 

‘I wonder if Cerdian doesn’t want me to touch the Grand Duchy’s internal affairs.’

 

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand.
She was once the empress of Thebes—it was a little awkward to trust her.

 

Still, the dejection she felt did not subside.

 

‘Looks like my feelings for him are a little more than I thought.’

 

Smiling bitterly, Rodelia let out a sigh.

 

 *

 

After that day, her relationship with Cerdian was no different.
He was still kind and he made Rodelia feel loved.

 

But the conversations that occasionally came to her mind made her emotional.

 

Was it because of that? She didn’t yet have the courage to tell him about the hidden space in the grand duchy.
She felt that she had done something st*p*d in the grand duke’s mansion.

 

But it was something she couldn’t hide forever.
However, in order to go back into the study, she had to wait until the next full moon.
She had plenty of time.

 

“Is something bothering you?”

 

With Rodelia lost in her thoughts, Cerdian, who was eating across from her, asked anxiously.

 

“No..
I just don’t have much of an appetite.”

 

She struggled to answer with a smile but Cerdian didn’t seem to believe it right away.
Nonetheless he didn’t show it and changed the subject.

 

“Then, since it has been so long, how about riding a horse today? I heard that you’ve been practicing shooting regularly lately, so I’m curious how much you’ve improved.”

 

“Horseback riding?”

 

“I think it would be nice to get some fresh air.”

 

Cerdian smiled.
Rodelia said, as she stared at him and blinked agonizingly.

 

“Yes.
It has been a while and I want to feel the wind.”

 

While thinking that she should bring up the matter to him.

 

 *

 

Walking side by side with Cerdian was something she had gotten used to by now.

 

In a sense, they had become so close that everything about him had become familiar.

 

But there were some things that she couldn’t get used to, like Cerdian’s red eyes staring straight at her and his big hands running through her hair.

 

“What sorts of thoughts were you having about me? Sadly.”

 

Or kissing without warning like this.

 

Come to think of it, he had been sending her this kind of gaze all this time.
It may be possessiveness, one of men’s deepest desires.

 

Rodelia, whose eyes were on Cerdian’s hand, looked up at him.

 

“Just, I wasn’t thinking much.”

 

“It’s making me jealous.”

 

He lightly kissed Rodelia on the back of her hand.
Then he smiled, and there she realized that this was what had captivated people.

 

As her face flushed red, Rodelia quickly withdrew her hand.

 

“It’s just, Sally is really nice.
That’s what I’ve been thinking for a while.”

 

If she didn’t say it like this, she felt like she’d eventually reveal it to him, so she quickly looked around, finding a suitable excuse.

 

And it was Sally, Cerdian’s horse, who caught her eye.

 

“Why?”

 

Fortunately, Cerdian was unsuspecting.  He asked mischievously.

 

“What answer do you want?”

 

“Well, that we spend a lot of time together.
Or our frequent skinship.
Something like these?”

 

His sly words were truly second to none.
As Rodelia quietly rolled her eyes, Cerdian smiled and leaned over to kiss her.

 

The kiss was short, then it deepened, and then repeated.
The seemingly unstoppable Cerdian finally pulled away.

 

Rodelia slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him.

 

His red eyes darkened even more, and he stared at her as if he wanted to devour her.
Finally, his beautiful lips opened.

 

“I don’t want to let you go today.”