The Evil Empress Adores Me

The Empress, who returned from the palace, was unable to hide her glum look.

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The Empress’s shoulders had dropped so low that one of the handmaidens asked me a question.

“Charlize, did something happen in the Empress dowager’s palace?”

“No, nothing happened.”

“Really? Strange, why is the Empress feeling so down?”

Hmm.

Actually as to why the Empress was like this, it wasn’t because I didn’t know the reason…

……Maybe it’s not?

I’m worrying for no reason.
So, I fidgeted in front of the living room where the Empress was sitting.

And… … .

“Oh.”

I made eye contact with the Empress.

Spreading her arms wide open, the Empress called to me.

“Come here, Lize.”

‘Yay!”

I ran to her and I nuzzled myself in the arms of the Empress.

The Empress didn’t gently sweep down my hair with her hand as she normally would but muttered in a weak voice.

“Ha, I wanted to keep Charlize all to myself……”

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I knew it.

My assumption wasn’t wrong.

I barely swallowed a sigh that was about to come out.

The Empress began to complain to me, with a heavy-hearted look.

“My Charlize is so popular that I can’t help but get upset at times.”

Not knowing what to say, I just smiled vaguely.

“The Crown Prince takes my Charlize, now the Empress dowager also wants her too….”

“However, it would create an amicable relationship with many people, not to mention the good influence it would have on my Charlize… …”

The Empress, who kept on talking to herself, abruptly stopped and looked into my eyes.

She spontaneously asked me a question.

“But Lize still likes me the most, right?”

“Of course!” 

I nodded with sincerity.

Only then did the Empress look a little relieved and embrace me tightly.

Ehehe, is my Empress sometimes worried too much?

Who else can I like if it’s not the Empress?

I clicked my tongue inside and hugged the Empress tightly, my arms around her neck.

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That afternoon, I went to see Damian.

“… Are you sure? You met Grandma?”

Damian asked me with a spark in his eyes.

I nodded.

“Yes.
I also think I’ll be visiting the Empress’s dowager’s palace regularly in the future.”

“Really? So how’s Grandma doing? Is she okay?”

“Yes, she looked healthy to me.”

The Empress dowager and Damian were exactly alike in asking about the other person’s well-being.

They still are grandma and grandchild even after all the time separated from one another.

I had a beaming smile on my face.

“Furthermore, your Highness, do you remember your Majesty, the Empress dowager?”

“Well… … the last time we saw each other was when I was three years old so I can’t remember the details clearly.”

Damian scratched his cheek awkwardly.

Damian’s eyes, reminiscent of his grandmother, soften in front of me.

“…… She’s a very sweet person.”

“How so?” I inquired.

“When father passed away, she was the only one who hugged me and cried with me.”

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At those words, my heart sank.

After Emperor Seon’s passing, massacres took place both inside and outside of the empire.

Damian was left all alone and in order to stay alive, someone’s help was essential.
That help came from Her Majesty, the Empress dowager.

Damian lowered his eyes as he recalled the events.

“Everyone was terrified of His Majesty but grandma, she risked her life to save mine.”

“..…Your Highness.”

“Oh, right.
Do you know this?”

Damian added, intent on telling Charlize what he had just remembered.

“Among the nobles, only Margrave Antes stood defiant, expressing his opposition to Emperor Vincent.”

“Oh, really?”

Margrave Antes.

The father of the heroine who will appear someday.

That name found itself into our conversation so naturally, I felt an indescribable feeling.

Damian on the other hand, had no idea what I was thinking and proceeded to shrug his shoulders slightly.

“Yes.
In fact, that’s why I’ve been trying to help Margrave Antes this time in any way I could think of.”

“I see.”

“Whether it’s Margrave Antes or grandma…..these are people whom I’m very grateful for.”

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As he tried to get rid of the heavy atmosphere in our conversation, Damian wore a pained smile. 

“More than anything else, Grandma has suffered a lot of hardships because of me.”

“If it was something bad, what do you think the Emperor did to her Majesty?” I asked.

“Just think of everything you can think of.”

I silently listened to Damian as he spoke.

Damian’s voice was emotionally strained, he was trying so hard to pretend to be cheerful. 

Calming down, he answered me.

“Intimidation, assault, or anything like that.”

What?

I’m at a loss for words.

I was aware of some of the atrocious rumors about the relation between the Emperor and the Empress dowager.

Of how Damian was forcefully taken from the Empress dowager while a knife was held to the Empress dowager’s throat…..

Something like that.

But seeing Damian’s reaction firsthand… … .

‘… … Those rumors must have never been exaggerated.’

And Damian…..he had to go through what no one should have gone through at the age of three. 

The very thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.

It made me feel angry but also determined.