The Impact Of The Villainess’ Fake Marriage On The Ending - Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Two days passed in an instant, and the day of the grand party announced by the emperor dawned.

The entire capital, not to mention the imperial palace, was buzzing. It was natural because the emperor, Adeline, and Kael were involved.

Everyone was keeping quiet about it, but anyone could see that the emperor had decorated today’s event to please Kael and Adeline.

Everyone was busy talking about how the emperor and the north would be reconciled and what the emperor would reward the north with.

Whatever the case, Kael and Adeline were preparing for the party with a much calmer attitude.

“Will His Majesty yield his pride?”

“Even if he doesn’t like it, he will have to. He’s someone who knows how to play politics even if it’s just a little.”

It was a very dangerous thing to say, but Kael spat it out casually.

His feelings towards the emperor were not that good. He could see Adeline’s arms full of bruises in front of him, so he couldn’t say anything more gentle.

“People will whisper a lot, and there will be many unpleasant gazes.”

“I’ve already made up my mind. It’s not even that important. I’ll be fine, so don’t worry.”

“How are you feeling? Don’t you feel dizzy?”

“I’m really all better now. You heard what Sir Lewis said this morning.”

Adeline smiled as if he couldn’t stop her and shook her head.

The imperial palace was right around the corner. Since Adeline was the protagonist, she and Kael were supposed to be the last ones entering.

After getting off the carriage, the knight and attendant guided the two to the entrance of the corridor.

“Are you ready?”

Yes. I am.”

Standing in front of the door, Kael checked Adeline and nodded his head at the gatekeeper. A loud voice announced the arrival of the grand duke and duchess.

“Grand Duke and Grand Duchess Inver are entering!”

As the thick golden door opened, the emperor was seen standing at the center of the red-carpeted corridor.

Adeline slowly moved forward, crossing her arms with Kael.

As she stepped forward, the nobles standing on either side of the aisle began whispering. It was because of Adeline’s bruises, which they could see as she came closer.

There was no aristocrat in the capital who hadn’t heard of the rumor about Adeline not being tortured. But when Adeline showed it to them in person and made it clear, lamentations leaked from everywhere.

The emperor also confirmed Adeline’s bruises as the distance narrowed.

As everyone expected, it was the emperor who had started the rumor that the harm Adeline suffered was exaggerated.

It was the result of him using his head to divert the negative opinions from him.

But Adeline made his efforts be in vain. The emperor’s face grew red. He had never imagined that she would openly show her wounds in front of so many people.

“Greetings, Your Majesty.”

“Haha, welcome.”

The emperor greeted Kael and Adeline with a forced smile that anyone could see he was barely able to make.

His eyes were indefinitely sharp, but the corners of his mouth were raised, making him look ridiculous.

“It’s nice to see both of you, like today’s main characters. You are worthy of such a grand party. Isn’t that right?”

The emperor deliberately acted more exaggerated and tried to emphasize that this party was not one that he had surrendered to abjectly, but one that he had held to show his mercy as the emperor.

“This is a late wedding present that I am giving you. Come to think of it, isn’t there a grand duchess in the north for the first time in nearly 20 years?”

“…”

“There is no happier event than this, so we should celebrate. I was short-sighted. I should have arranged an event on the day of the wedding, haha.”

“…”

“It’s late, but please accept my sincere feelings. Now, what is everyone doing? Let’s all celebrate with applause the happy event that has come to the North after a very long time.”

As the emperor clapped, the sound of several people applauding echoed in the huge corridor.

“Now! Now that we have welcomed the main characters, let us start the party in earnest. Let’s all dance to our hearts’ content today.”

Adeline tried very hard to swallow fake laughter. She had expected it to some extent, but she didn’t think it would be such a lousy event.

Kael, who was standing next to Adeline, also hardened his expression quickly. Feeling the cold energy emanating from him, Adeline interrupted before the emperor could start the dance in earnest.

It would be better if Adeline acted instead of Kael, whose hostility towards the emperor was unusual.

It was her business in the first place, so Adeline wanted to resolve it herself and receive an apology.

“Kael. Concede the Grand Duchess’ first dance to me today. I have to stand my ground. Even the Grand Duchess would understand…”

“Your Majesty. Was the purpose of this party a ball?”

Adeline stopped the emperor who was about to move to the ball without giving an apology.

She was smiling brightly, but everyone in the corridor knew that Adeline’s smile was not real.

“Haha, what do you mean?”

“I know you have something to say to me, Your Majesty.”

Adeline had no intention of backing down at all. The emperor’s face as he smiled begrudgingly and gave orders for her to be tortured as he wished was vivid in her mind.

She was upset at how cowardly he didn’t even want to give her an apology, which was nothing compared to what she had suffered.

“Ahem, haha.”

The emperor smiled awkwardly and moved his eyes around.

He seemed to think that Kael or Adeline would let it go since he threw a party for her.

It was a great miscalculation. It only showed how foolish the emperor was and how he lacked judgement.

When the emperor didn’t say anything, Kael’s gaze on him grew sharper and sharper.

If he could cut people with his gaze, the emperor would already have cuts all over his body and lose his shape.

In addition, Enoch and Leo were also here today.

The emperor begged again and again not to lose the military power of the east, which was the second most influential after the north, so they were also delaying it, saying they would decide after seeing the emperor’s attitude today.

“Ahem, Grand Duchess Inver.”

The emperor finally came to his senses and called out to Adeline, perhaps because he felt the stinging gaze of the Tien family.

“You were wronged for a mistake I made. Please forgive me. The North is a place of generous mercy. I just tried my best to rectify the security of the capital in my own way, so I’m sorry that it had this result.”

The emperor brought his right hand to his chest and bowed slightly.

It was an angle that was embarrassing to even say that he was bowing, but by the emperor’s own standards, there was no more polite apology.

The emperor, bowing his head this much; it was a tremendous thing for him.

Adeline, on the other hand, was despondent. Though his apology was ridiculous at best, his overall attitude was disgraceful.

With Kael holding back, the balance was barely maintained, as the current difference in power between the capital and the north was enormous.

Kael could throw down the capital as much as he wanted if he so decided.

However, the emperor’s idiocy, in which he was only building a useless ego without thinking about the situation at all, made him force a laughter.

What the emperor did could not be described as a ‘mistake’. He seemed to have no idea what it meant to kidnap and torture the lady of the north, which was in charge of the empire’s defenses.

“Of course, you shouldn’t have made that choice back then. Then everyone would be comfortable. Not only in the North, but also in the East.”

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, the sound of the glass breaking echoed.

The emperor preyed on Leo’s incident that happened when Adeline chose Kael over him, and Enoch, who knew this, clenched his hand tightly to suppress the boiling anger and ended up breaking the glass.

The explosive sound wasn’t everything. Kael, who was staying by Adeline’s side, also stiffened his expression frighteningly.

An uncontrollably cold murderous intent emanated towards the emperor.

Feeling this, the emperor trembled slightly, and there was a tension in the huge corridor that made it hard to breathe.

“Ahem, now then…”

Realizing just how serious the situation was, the emperor rolled his eyes belatedly and tried to correct it, but the atmosphere was unusual.

At that moment, Adeline held out her right hand to the emperor.

“Didn’t you say you were sorry, Your Majesty?”

Everyone looked at Adeline with surprise. It was the same for not only the emperor, but also Kael and her brothers.

The sound of the many nobles who were watching them holding their breaths could be heard from everywhere.

“Grand Duchess. What are you doing?”

The emperor asked Adeline with a face that turned all sorts of colors. His voice wrapped in anger, asking if she knew what she was doing, reached her.

To the emperor of the empire, no woman could hold out the back of her hand first. When the emperor expressed his intention to be polite, it was only then that the woman had to politely extend her hand, expressing her gratitude.

Adeline broke that rule. As if dealing with an aristocrat with a lower title, she was telling him to apologize politely first.

“Did you not ask for the mercy of the North? That’s why I’m showing it to you.”

“…”

“A single bow will bring back the northern and eastern forces that you almost lost. Is there a greater mercy than this?”

She was serious.

Adeline spent a few days bound to the vines, unable to get even a sip of water or a wink of sleep, and the emperor could replace his apology with a single bow.

There was no mercy like this to endure a terrible imbalance.

“Didn’t you say you were sorry, Your Majesty?”

Once Adeline had driven a wedge, the emperor approached her with clenched fists.

Their eyes filled with anger towards each other met for a moment, and then, the emperor bowed slightly and kissed the back of Adeline’s hand.

“I apologize for my carelessness.”

The emperor left an apology with burning eyes and turned around.

But before this tension could be resolved, something unexpected happened.

“Vanessa!”

Vanessa, who was among the nobles, popped into the path and kneeled in front of Kael.

“If even His Majesty confesses and bows down, I, a mere lady, could not just stay back and do nothing, Your Grace.”