I Grabbed the Tyrant’s Heart - Chapter 198

My father is the most competent and wise Minister than anyone else in political affairs, but in this situation, he found no way out.

“I need to meet someone briefly, so please go ahead.”

“To see that person?”

“I should wear some jewelry first.”

It was only when I mentioned this that my father seemed to realize something as he looked at my ears and neck, and he was surprised to see them bare.

“Euel is so beautiful that I hadn’t noticed until now.”

No matter how pretty, a father couldn’t stand to let his daughter enter the ballroom without any adornments, but he didn’t stop me.

As the chief attendant approached, my father’s eyes widened, and both my mother and Gael had significant reactions.

“See you later.”

It might seem suspicious, but it was too late now.

I couldn’t move far in the flowing dress.

As if anticipating this, Tess was waiting for me in the nearest outbuilding to the central hall of Sentre Palace.

“Welcome, Euseniel.”

His black long coat hugged his tall, slender figure, and the silver buttons shimmered in the red sunset light. A sword of the same color as his coat hung at his waist, and his hands were covered in neat white gloves.

His snow-white skin was also glowing faintly pink, complemented by his jet-black hair fluttering in the breeze.

“Tess.”

“Hmm?”

I took Tess’s outstretched hand as he smiled mischievously.

“I think I fell for you just like this.”

Tess pulled me close and started to mark my upper body in a way that left me too stunned to resist.

Wow, I didn’t realize I was so weak for looks.

“Good. It’s worth the change.”

The kissing noises went on for a while, and the cold soaking into my shoulders snapped me back to reality.

Before I knew it, my shawl had fallen to the ground, and the chief attendant was standing at a distance, with his head bowed.

“Stop, stop!”

With a sly smile, Tess picked up the shawl and wrapped it around my upper body. He held my waist as we walked.

In the main reception room of the outbuilding, there was a sofa comfortable enough for even someone in a dress to sit, though we didn’t sit down.

“Did you bring it?”

“Yes.”

In response to Tess’s question, I held out his heart to him, but he did not take it.

“Just fit it here.”

He extended a golden plate designed to hold something, and when I placed the heart on it, it snapped into place perfectly.

“Can you put it on for me?”

Tes put the necklace on me, and it felt heavier than usual.

It was his heart, after all, but Tess looked at it on my neck with a strange expression.

“Do you not like your own heart?”

“That’s no longer mine, it belongs to Euseniel now.”

Tess was now staring at the dark red jewel.

“Just imagining it falling off Euseniel, even for a moment, is terrifying.”

“Why?”

“It feels like Euseniel is abandoning me.”

Since the day I discovered Tess had opened my desk drawer, I’ve never allowed his heart to be away from me, not even for a moment.

What if someone else could open the drawer?

“I never drop it. You know I even sleep with it.”

“I know.”

“You really make people suffer.”

Despite my grumbling, Tess just smiled.

“But isn’t it dangerous to wear your heart around my neck?”

“It’s fine. Who would dare to rob the Hardland estate?”

“Not that, but what if someone who realizes it’s your heart tries to destroy it? What if it’s a spy from the Southern Empire?”

“You’ve noticed the spies from the Southern Empire? Always sharp, Euseniel.”

My heart thumped anxiously, unlike the carefree Tess. I had suspected it, but was it true?

“Tess, I really can’t go like this.”

“Why?”

“It’s your heart, heart! Imagine if that damnable dragon we met before harbors ill intentions.”

Tess looked puzzled, as if he didn’t see the problem.

“Just imagine, because of your heart being carelessly exposed, something happens to you. Do you think I could stay sane?”

I grabbed his meticulously adjusted lapel and shook it slightly, and Tess smiled warmly.

“I can’t help it, my Euseniel always worries too much.”

Without distancing himself, Tess clapped his hands lightly, and something appeared in the air. Sparkling items descended onto a cloth laid out long across the table.

“Shall we pick one from these?”

As if anticipating such a situation, Tess redirected my attention to the jewels without a hint of disturbance. He seemed unaffected by the beauty of the finely crafted gemstones.

So, I chose it instead.

“I’ll take this one.”

Seeing my choice, Tess chuckled.

“Euseniel can be quite mischievous too.”

He smiled warmly as he placed the necklace around my neck.

“Let’s go.”

On Tess’s offered hand, I placed my own, clad in a thin lace glove, despite the winter chill.

* * *

The Emperor’s late arrival created a significant stir, especially since he was escorting someone.

The waves of gaze made it difficult to breathe, but my back remained straight.

Walking up to the platform where Tess and the throne was located, I hesitated before the final steps. It was the weight of the title ‘Emperor’ that I felt.

As if my worries were nothing to him, Tess pulled on the hand he was holding and swiftly ascended the three steps.

“Before we begin the New Year’s ball, I would like to introduce someone special.”

It was only three steps, but I felt as though I was standing incredibly high up. At the same time, I felt an invisible weight.

This was the pressure of the position I had always tried to escape.

Seeing Tess stand and bear it all made me view him in a new light again.

“My fiance, Euseniel Hardland.”

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