Thank You For The Confinement, Grand Duke! - Chapter 80.2

Did he not get along with the Emperor that badly? No, that wasn’t it. He had talked about the Emperor several times before, and every time, Enfrise’s expression wasn’t as fierce as it was now.

So, did he not want me to meet the Emperor?

“Are you scared the Emperor might fall for me?”

I intended to joke.

I smiled and was about to poke him in the side, though his golden eyes were so coldly fixed on me that I couldn’t move.

“Chaperil.”

“Yes, yes?”

“The Emperor… Barca is in love with you.”

Huh? What was this about? Wasn’t this a one-on-one romance between Enfrise and Chaperil?! Was this supposed to be a reverse harem or a love triangle?

No, I didn’t think I’d seen any reviews like that.

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“…I’m not sure. But Barca has shown affection for you since he was engaged. After his fiancée died, he refused to take a new empress for various reasons. Everyone knows that Barca intends to make you his Empress.”

…Huh? Me?

In the past, maybe, but now I have no value. The Count’s family was ruined, and I had no power. The only thing I had was this troublesome condition.

“Is it because I’m too beautiful?”

“…What?”

No, I misspoke. I meant to think it but said it out loud by mistake….

It must be because Chaperil was beautiful.

Given that he couldn’t even become a good character, he must be a villain in this story. And the reason villains fell for the female lead was obvious. It was because she was beautiful.

Chaperil should have been just a bit less beautiful. Why did she have to be so excessively beautiful, catching the villain’s interest? It was the fate of being the female lead, I suppose. Still, if she weren’t this beautiful, she wouldn’t even have this connection with Enfrise…

“Forget I said that. Don’t mind it.”

Still, this was troubling.

If the Emperor had feelings for Chaperil, then this situation just got more complicated, didn’t it?

The person who was supposed to be the Empress was now with Enfrise. There was nothing inappropriate between us, but if unmarried men and women are under the same roof, people might start to think, well, you know, that kind of thing.

That was the kind of thing adults would think, right?

‘Ah, I’m rambling. Ahem.’

Anyway…

“Then, meeting the Emperor would backfire.”

“Backfire?”

Enfrise tilted his head. He was sitting at his desk, and now, wanting to focus on the conversation, he put down his quill and came to sit next to me.

I instinctively turned my body and leaned into his embrace. His warm back felt nice.

“What do you mean? Why did you want to meet Barca in the first place?”

“…Enfrise is the owner of this mansion, right?”

“Yes… well, for now, yes.”

“But the maids, servants, and attendants… they’re all so rude.”

“Rude…?”

It seemed Enfrise didn’t expect me to say something like that. His eyes widened in surprise.

To be honest, if I weren’t in Chaperil’s body, I would have cursed out loud. ‘Bast*rds!’, ‘What the hell?!’ Those kinds of words. However, I couldn’t bring myself to swear with these pretty lips, so I tried to keep it as mild as possible.

“Surprised?”

“A bit… I thought Chaperil was a person who was kind and friendly to others.”

That was a ridiculous misunderstanding. Not an understanding but a misunderstanding!

“I just don’t show it, but I do have likes and dislikes.”

“You don’t show it… do you?”

“Yes?”

“When you look at Elmare, your expression is a bit strange.”

…Did I?

It wasn’t that I hated him…I didn’t think I showed it on the outside. Was it that obvious?

“Ahem. Anyway. I don’t like people who talk badly about Enfrise.”

“Talk badly about me?”

“When I first came to the mansion, they openly said all sorts of things.”

“Ah… I’m used to it…I didn’t really pay much attention. What exactly did they say?”

Hey, hey.

People who were in the midst of misfortune, people who had never known happiness, wouldn’t even realize they were in it because they didn’t know what happiness or misfortune really was. Just like how someone who had never experienced companionship wouldn’t realize they’d been lonely. They didn’t even know what loneliness was.

Why did this hurt so much?

“I… want to protect Enfrise.”

I turned around and hugged him.

At first, being in his arms was enough. But every time he seemed pitiful, every time I found him lovable, every time I realized that I loved him…

I remember when I first came here.

I was so exhausted, so miserable, thinking I wanted to escape, not even knowing I was in the middle of hell. I thought that even if I left, it would be the same. I thought I could never escape. And then, in the paradise Enfrise gave me, I realized, for the first time, how unhappy I had been.

How powerless I was. How much I wanted to get out of that place.

I remembered how miserable I was.

“I hope you can be happy because of me, Enfrise.”

I whispered that and hugged him tightly.

Enfrise… simply held me close.