Chapter 29. Since When

 “Since when?”

 Edmund was in a difficult position.

 He was properly caught in the bomb that Odin had dropped and left behind.

 He wanted to fan his heated face while turning his head away.

 But it was hard to move as if his body was frozen by the scent of the person right beside him.

 At the moment, neither Odin nor Oberon was present.

 Odin, who had dropped the bomb, had fled saying he would come back later.

 Oberon had followed, perhaps unable to handle the atmosphere.

 In the room where only the two of them remained, Clea steadily gazed at Edmund.

 At Edmund who turned his head away and wouldn’t give her a single glance.

 “Have you come to hate me?”

 “Clea.”

 “You won’t look me in the eyes.”

 Contrary to her words, there wasn’t a trace of sadness on Clea’s face.

 She was filled only with the desire to tease the man beside her right now.

 She felt both dumbfounded and delighted to have been recognized as a daughter-in-law by the emperor without even knowing it.

 At the same time, thinking about how Edmund had prepared something on his own, Clea could hardly contain her laughter.

 Her chest tingled. She felt the happiest she had ever been in this life.

 ‘What a truly lovable man.’

 To the extent that she somewhat understood why Aria had caused such a scene before leaving.

 She continued to focus her gaze on Edmund.

 Edmund, sensing Clea’s gaze, didn’t know what to do.

 His mind seemed to creak as if dyed completely white.

 He felt embarrassed about conveying his feelings through someone else, while simultaneously fearing how she would react.

 He worried about what to do if she didn’t accept his feelings.

 “Edmund.”

 As no one else remained, Clea approached more actively.

 Calling the name he wouldn’t let her use unless they were alone, she leaned against his body.

 His body, which had been burning hot, slowly cooled down by her coldness.

 Only then did Edmund turn his head to look at her.

 Clea smiled happily at meeting Edmund’s gaze and burrowed further into his embrace.

 He accepted her as she drew closer and closer, without pushing her away.

 “Until you tell me, I won’t know anything.”

 “Clea?”

 “So I’ll wait until that moment when you tell me.”

 At those words, Edmund’s stiff body began to move.

 The woman reflected in his eyes didn’t have the cold expression she usually wore.

 Rather, he could see her smiling brightly as if happy, not wanting to separate from him.

 Edmund momentarily doubted his own eyes.

 He had never once thought his eyesight was poor, but he doubted it now.

 Wondering if everything he saw was really real.

 “You’re a respectable person now, Clea.”

 He opened his mouth with difficulty.

 He raised the corners of his lips, resolving to no longer fear meeting her gaze.

 “Neither Odoi nor Lloyd can trouble you anymore.”

 “Edmund.”

 “So now it’s my turn to be respectable.”

 Clea understood what Edmund was talking about.

 “While attending the academy, it seems many people have already decided who I should marry.”

 “But the imperial family hasn’t expressed any position on this.”

 And she didn’t want her precious person to suffer because of that person, so she just wanted to ignore it.

 Edmund stroked Clea’s hair and spoke in a gentle voice.

 It was in stark contrast to how fiercely he had treated Grit.

 “Still, I want to be respectable by your side. I’ve never considered marriage with Aria Hersher for even a moment.”

 Edmund worried about Clea.

 He didn’t mind if he himself was criticized.

 Those weren’t the kind of people he cared about anyway, and unless someone had their liver outside their body¹meaning reckless/fearless, very few would openly insult the future emperor.

 Clea’s situation was different.

 She had always received people’s mockery and criticism.

 Like Edmund, she didn’t care about others’ actions, but Edmund still worried.

 Especially when he thought that she might be hurt because of them.

 Even if he tried to silence people, rumors would inevitably flow from somewhere.

 He thought it was right to eliminate the potential sources.

 So Edmund thought it was time to deal with what he had been ignoring all along.

 ‘Otherwise, she’ll be criticized again as someone who stole another woman’s man despite having a fiancé.’

 Just imagining it made his irritation surge.

 Her fiancé was busy fooling around with other women while neglecting her.

 Yet public opinion about Lloyd was mainly that he was pitiful for being engaged to someone like Clea.

 He wanted to visit the grand ducal family again and tell them to keep their son in check, but he too was a kind of bystander.

 A bystander who knew Lloyd had been like that for a long time but said nothing, avoiding the trouble.

 “Clea, can you wait a little longer?”

 “Didn’t you hear what I said? I can wait for you.”

 How long it would be possible, she didn’t know.

 Clea swallowed the words that were about to come out.

 Whether her thoughts had thorns or not, they created a small wound in her heart, but she didn’t mind.

 ‘I already have plenty of wounds anyway.’

She briefly recalled the future she had momentarily forgotten, but forgot it again.

 There was no point in remembering something she couldn’t avoid, and it would only disturb this happy moment.

 Clea met Edmund’s gaze and moved closer to him.

 “But I don’t think I can wait for this.”

 “Clea, wait.”

 “Oh my, do you intend to make me wait for this too?”

 She unbuttoned his clean, white shirt one by one and bit near his neck.

 Edmund stiffened again, surprised by the sudden turn of events.

 But Clea completely pushed him down onto the sofa.

 Looking sharply at his neck, she placed her hand on the spot she had bitten and said.

 “I don’t think I can wait.”

 * * *

 “Your Majesty, do you intend to acknowledge her?”

 “What will you do if I don’t?”

 Oberon, who had hurriedly followed Odin as he left, asked him.

 He asked if he really intended to recognize her as the Crown Prince’s consort.

 He had asked with a rather serious expression, but Odin frowned as if wondering why he would ask such a question.

 Odin showed his displeasure, but Oberon didn’t back down at all.

 Normally, he would have praised such boldness that didn’t retreat even before the emperor, but now Odin was displeased.

 “You still seem to hate my daughter-in-law.”

 “……That’s not it.”

 “I wonder why someone who claims it’s not would ask such a question.”

 Oberon was slightly puzzled that after Edmund, now even Odin liked Clea.

 But more importantly, he wondered if she would really become the Crown Prince’s consort.

 He looked around briefly and said.

 “If she leaves the Odoi ducal family, she’ll be nothing more than a commoner.”

 “If you haven’t escaped the old-fashioned idea that nobles and commoners shouldn’t marry, I can’t help but be disappointed in you.”

 “Isn’t the imperial family different from ordinary nobles?”

 Different.

 Hearing those words, Odin stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Oberon.

 Oberon appeared visibly confused in Odin’s eyes.

 Normally he would have scolded him, but Odin spoke differently to Oberon, who was showing an unusual side.

 “How is it different?”

 “The imperial family must represent the people of the Empire.”

 “Boasting only of noble bloodlines is not the way to be a representative. And as you said, the people of the Empire refers to both nobles and what you call commoners.”

 Odin appeared relaxed.

 Even if Clea wasn’t a noble, that wasn’t a reason for her to be unsuitable as the Crown Prince’s consort.

 The man she once loved and was engaged to had abandoned her first.

 No matter how devoted Clea was to him, Lloyd had lived a dissolute life chasing after other women.

 The social circles had turned a blind eye to Lloyd’s behavior for various reasons, including his connection to the imperial family.

 But the biggest reason was that the emperor and empress had not made an issue of it, considering their relationship with the grand ducal family.

 “There will be an uproar when the empress returns.”

 “I’m not sure if Her Majesty the Empress will accept this marriage.”

 “The empress would be even more satisfied. Seeing her son, whom she thought had built a wall against marriage, suddenly hiding a woman he loves in the Crown Prince’s palace.”

 Odin said with a laugh, but Oberon held his forehead, thinking that things might really unfold as he said.

 He no longer hated Clea.

 However, there were several aspects that bothered him.

 Among them, the most concerning was her health.

 If she was coughing up blood, there was a high possibility she had some chronic illness. She had also said she was facing death.

 ‘Should I tell him?’

 Clea had made him promise not to tell anyone else.

 But he had no particular reason to keep her words.

 He briefly wondered if it was right to keep a private promise in a matter that concerned the future of the Empire.

 All he had to do was tell Odin, who was right beside him, the truth.

 But Oberon ultimately couldn’t make a decision.

 In his mind, he kept thinking he should tell others about this fact, but he couldn’t forget the blood that had spread before his eyes.

 He could only hope that others would discover her physical condition before more time passed.