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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: The Emperor's Warning
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“Gasp!”
Along with someone’s urgent gasp, the stiffened air felt starkly palpable.
My parents, pale as if they might collapse, and Luciano, frozen in place.
Even Imperial Consort Isabel stared at me in horror.
Everyone in this space was tense, all eyes fixed on me.
The emperor’s lips, which had been staring straight at me, curled up on one side.
“Are you pointing out my behavior right now?”
It was a signal that his mood was starting to sour.
“Your Majesty. Did it come across that way? No, how could I ever presume to speak of safety to you?”
I put on a flustered expression.
Of course, my true intent was,
‘If it felt like criticism, then you must have a guilty conscience, right?’
The emperor’s lip slowly drooped back down into a blank expression.
And then he stared at me sharply.
If before it had been a casual glance, now it felt like he was obsessively dissecting me.
Yet amid that, I sensed a strange incongruity.
“Then what’s your intention?”
“What intention? I just thought Your Majesty might have overlooked this joyous occasion, so I spoke out of turn.”
First, I spoke with feigned distress.
“And a wise and benevolent sovereign like Your Majesty surely cherishes family just as you rule the empire.”
This time, I beamed brightly.
Sending him a gaze full of genuine admiration.
Of course, unlike my sunny face, my insides were quivering.
Even as the protagonist, I worried I might have been too reckless.
As if reading my mind exactly,
The emperor chuckled.
“What an amusing child.”
Unlike before, it was a laugh with a layer of ease.
‘Yes, that’s it!’
In romance fantasies, even nonsense from the protagonist was treated like prophecy.
The emperor wasn’t showing outright favor, but the atmosphere wasn’t hostile either.
I bowed deeply at the waist.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
At my cheekiness, the emperor let out a low chuckle and muttered to himself.
“Amusing. Truly, amusing.”
His prolonged laughter brought a mix of bewilderment and shock to the nobles’ faces.
Was it really going to pass just like this?
Their incredulity was plain to see.
The emperor wiped the smile from his face and strode toward Luciano.
He placed his hand firmly on Luciano’s flinching shoulder.
“Happy birthday.”
The congratulatory words were surprising enough.
But the familiar gesture set the nobles murmuring.
For the emperor to lay hands on someone himself meant that much interest.
The nobles’ mood shifted, and Imperial Consort Isabel bit her lower lip hard.
Luciano glanced briefly at me after staring at the hand on his shoulder for a moment.
‘Please! Luciano, please!’
I sent him a desperate look begging him not to waste my efforts.
As if reading my wish,
Luciano bowed his head slowly, his face expressionless.
“Thank you for the well-wishes.”
It was polite behavior without a trace of resentment.
“Is there anything you want?”
My heart pounded at the emperor’s follow-up.
It sounded like he was offering a gift—and perhaps signaling he wouldn’t cold-shoulder him anymore.
Sure enough, Imperial Consort Isabel glared at Luciano.
“No, Your Majesty’s attention is more than enough.”
‘You fool! Take something at least! Huh?’
The emperor’s gifts carried immense symbolism on their own.
I was shocked by Luciano’s refusal, but in that instant, the emperor’s mouth twitched up slightly before dropping.
It was so quick I wasn’t sure if I’d seen it right.
“Still, I can’t just let it slide. I’ll have something suitable sent over.”
“……Thank you.”
No one was fooled into thinking it wasn’t mere whim on the emperor’s part.
If he’d planned to give a gift from the start, he would have brought it prepared.
But the nobles hesitated, unsure how the emperor’s attitude might shift going forward.
They wouldn’t dare treat Luciano the same way now.
Imperial Consort Isabel’s eyes sparked with fury, having grasped the entire situation.
Her glare was so fierce it seemed she might grab Luciano by the hair once the emperor left.
“Well now. It seems I’ve kept everyone from enjoying the party. I’ll take my leave, so have your fun.”
The emperor clearly recognized himself as the intruder in this space.
“No, Your Majesty, who would ever find you an inconvenience?”
Marquis Nox stepped forward with flattery pleasing to the emperor’s ears.
“Don’t say what you don’t mean. Highborn folk like me are meant to excuse themselves from such gatherings anyway.”
The emperor spoke lightly and acted as if he’d turn right around.
But instead of moving, he fixed his gaze on Imperial Consort Isabel.
Busy glaring at Luciano, she noticed his stare late.
“Your Majesty, is there something you wish to say?”
“Didn’t you hear me?”
“Pardon? What…….”
Imperial Consort Isabel asked in confusion.
“Highborn folk like me are meant to excuse themselves from such gatherings.”
No one could miss the icy implication.
Her face drained of color as she replied.
“Your Majesty, I shall attend you.”
The emperor nodded as if it were a nuisance.
I hadn’t even hoped for this much.
I wanted to cheer at the emperor’s move to take Imperial Consort Isabel away.
His appearance had turned into a blessing.
That’s when I was inwardly rejoicing alone.
“Ah, right.”
The emperor halted and spoke loudly enough for all to hear.
Naturally, everyone’s attention snapped to him.
I was looking at the emperor too when his eyes locked precisely on me.
“No matter how you dress it up as praise, overstepping shows through. Remember that.”
His tone was casual, but the words cut deep.
A chill ran down my nape.
“Even the young must learn to distinguish courage from recklessness.”
It was a warning aimed at me.
He’d laughed it off this time as amusing, but he was telling me not to butt in rashly again.
His indifferent eyes made it all the more terrifying.
Only then did my heart start thundering like it might burst.
The emperor left me frozen and strode out rigidly.
It wasn’t until he vanished from sight that I could exhale.
This was a situation I hadn’t anticipated at all.
* * *
Afterward, I was dragged home by my horrified parents’ hands.
The whole way back, their faces were gravely set, and I was too flustered to speak.
My mind was blank.
How could this happen?
Normally, when the protagonist acts like this, isn’t it all ‘How cute and bold’ and brushed off?
Shouldn’t it build subtle favor?
I never expected a warning.
The emperor’s warning was real.
His eyes had said he could crush someone like me without a second thought.
I realized I’d been too complacent.
‘Just because most romance fantasies resolve smoothly doesn’t guarantee my life will.’
The thought that I’d nearly died made my heart race wildly.
Upon arriving home, Father and Mother looked on the verge of tears instead of anger.
My heart sank.
It would’ve been better if they’d yelled.
“Espin.”
Father’s calm call weighed even heavier on my heart.
“Yes.”
“You know what you did today was dangerous, right?”
“Yes…….”
“Really?”
His expression asked if I truly grasped how dangerous it had been. I bowed my head.
Stepping forward fearlessly before the emperor had indeed been reckless.
If his mood soured even slightly, it wouldn’t have ended with just me—the harm could’ve spread to the family.
I couldn’t let my guard down thinking I was the protagonist.
I should’ve been more cautious.
“I’m sorry.”
Father stroked my head as I apologized sincerely.
“I know what drove you to speak up. You were worried about Crown Prince Luciano.”
“…….”
“But you need to think of yourself too.”
I held back the tears welling up.
“The world doesn’t unfold as easily as you imagine. Highborn people are frightening.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Not everyone’s like Crown Prince Luciano.”
He seemed to think my familiarity with Luciano had led to this mistake.
It might’ve been half-true.
He’d accepted my every cheeky ‘Hey, you,’ so my fear of royals had dulled a bit.
Since she wasn’t an open enemy like Imperial Consort Isabel, I’d felt there was room.
I’d naively assumed the bold sunshine heroine’s charm could even tame a tyrant.
‘Reality isn’t as easy as I thought.’
“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”
Instead of lecturing further, my parents pulled me into an embrace.
In their silence—mingled understanding and desire to restrain me—I fell quiet too.
We clung to each other like that for a long while.
Thus, my parents’ admonishment ended briefly.
The lack of a long scolding only made me feel worse.
Back in my room, I whined a little to Nanny and lay on the bed.
‘If it were another transmigrator, wouldn’t they have handled the incident more wisely?’
I might be a bit lacking to be the protagonist.
With a sigh laced with self-pity, I replayed the party events in my mind.
Then it hit me—what that strange incongruity from earlier had been.
The emperor’s gaze!
It had been sharp, but not piercing.
Somehow murky and clouded.
That nagged at me.
I Thought I Was the Protagonist
