Villainous Husband, the One You’re Obsessed With Is Over There - Chapter 21

Chapter 11

After glancing down at Sylvia and contemplating for a while, I came to two conclusions.

First, I’m not good at using my head.

And second, I have power.

This means I have to proceed firmly. As I thought so, I finally opened my mouth.

“Do you understand that I’m in a position where I can’t accept your request purely?”

I raised my chin slightly and spoke as calmly as possible. As she heard my words, Sylvia began to tremble like a drowning rabbit. Hey, if she keeps doing that, my heart would be really weak…

Looking at her like that, I shut my eyes tightly and made up my mind.

‘Don’t be fooled by that face. Our Emperor also has a great face, but isn’t he actually the world’s crazy person?’

“Oh, I understand. However…”

Her expression was as if she would burst into tears at any second. At the same time, I slowly started to feel a sense of crisis. What if she, who starved for five days, fainted on the spot because of this? Then, would I have to wait until she wakes up with only this gloomy feeling inside eating me up…?

Eventually, I waved my hand.

“Oh, don’t cry. I’m not pushing you.”

At the soothing words, she lifted her head. The moment I saw that expression, I flinched. Sylvia was trembling with her lips as though she had received her salvation. Naturally, she had a face that was difficult to think of it as acting.

“Your Majesty, please save me.”

Her voice, which seemed to be speaking rationally until a moment ago, was mixed with pleading.

“What’s the use of hiding it from Your Majesty? I…I was raised only for the purpose of becoming a companion if the Emperor was a man, and a most suitable handmaiden and friend if they were a woman. Most of the time, I was confined inside the home to avoid rumors, so I, Sylvia Jacques, had no personal endowments at all.”

After hearing Sylvia’s words, I turned towards Cisen with a bewildered face. She looked at me and quietly nodded her head as if to say what Sylvia said was right. It seemed that they had conducted a background check on her in advance.

…No, she was so sensitive about her daughter’s flaws that Sylvia had been locked up in the house to avoid making her a defective product?

Today has been a feast of surprises, so much so that I have lost count.

“Now that those two have been deprived of their positions as the Vice Minister and the lady’s maid, and have fallen into lowly prey… there’s no place for me to stand.”

That was why she desperately needed the maid’s seat.

A woman from a family that fell due to her mother attempting to frame the Empress and disturbing the Emperor’s mood… No one would take a girl from such a family if they had any common sense. To borrow their words, it was because their lives may end if they were mistakenly caught by the ‘cold and hot’ Empress.

‘Ha, this is so…’

I knew very well what would happen to a beautiful fallen nobleman who has nowhere to go, even more so if it was in this weak being devoured by a strong worldview. Therefore, there were only two people in this Empire who certainly wouldn’t take disadvantage her and even might take in with compassion…

The Emperor, Raniero Actilus, with unconditional power.

…And I, the party involved in the case, Empress Angelica Unro Actilus.

It was clear that it would be useless to go to Raniero, so she came to me with the intention of grasping at straws.*
[ T/N: To depend on something that is useless; to make a futile attempt at something. ]

“As I said, I was raised to be an empress or maid. I assure you that I can do my job better than anyone else if you would allow me to… Family? Of course, my heart aches. Even if they treated me like that, we still share the same blood. Though Your Majesty, before that…”

Sylvia slowly clenched her fists as if scratching the carpet.

The next moment, thick tears fell on the red carpet. As it began to get wet, the color changed to dark red.

“…I want to live.”

I gazed down at her, pale and tired.

Yes, Sylvia.

…I want to live, too.

ﾟ· : * ✧ * :· ﾟ

I couldn’t sleep until late.

Sylvia, whom I met in the audience room, was crying so sadly and desperately. There would only be Raniero Actilus, whose heart wouldn’t move, seeing her like that. Still, it wasn’t something I could just decide with compassion. No matter how tragic her story was, there was a good chance she may have resentment against me. If I took her in because she was pitiful, there might be a situation where my throat would be slit as well.

When I withheld the reply and said I would decide as soon as possible, Sylvia drooped her shoulders and stepped out of the audience room as tears dripped down her devastated face.

‘Oh, really. It’s bothering me…’

Seeing me like that, Cisen decided to open a bottle of good wine for me.

As I leaned against the railing of the terrace, I sipped my drink while glancing at the scenery. Gradually, as the alcohol intake increased, my body became warmer and my cheeks heated up as the disturbing mood seemed to subside a little.

“…What should I do?”

However, the worries didn’t go away completely.

Ha…

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