Chapter 27
What Flavor Are You?
Yuan quickly hid her expression, worried someone might have seen it.
She glanced around to see if there had been any commotion and hurriedly returned to Klaud's side.
"A beautiful couple."
"Isn't it? They make such a lovely pair, don't they?"
First Prince Bolonico answered eagerly.
Emperor Igor, with chicken grease still on his hands, stroked his beard and grinned.
He smiled, revealing all his yellow teeth, and nodded, gulping down wine like moonshine.
Indeed.
His nephew, hiding half his rotten face, was a strikingly handsome and statuesque man.
Beside him, the petite woman was as beautiful as a watercolor painting by a famous artist.
A beautiful couple.
"Pellieresse. Pellieresse..."
First Prince Bolonico peered intently at his father's face, which seemed lost in thought.
There's something about Pellieresse.
There's definitely some secret about Pellieresse.
Bolonico tried to read the Emperor's expression, hoping to glean something, but to no avail.
The fleeting glint in the Emperor's blue eyes was momentary, and the more he looked, the more he seemed like nothing more than a drunken brute, as always.
"It was quite tasty, though,"
The Emperor replied in a gravelly voice.
Bolonico momentarily expressed his rising annoyance with a twitch of his eyebrows but quickly plastered on a doll-like smile.
"Then enjoy it, eat heartily."
There's plenty of time anyway.
Even if he didn't get the reaction he wanted, he could still enjoy the spectacle.
The rather rough and unrestrained party, befitting hunters, was in full swing.
Even though it was a bizarre party without dancing or music.
As the Emperor's close aides, drunk, disappeared one by one into the guest rooms, Emperor Igor announced he was going to empty his bowels—which meant he was going to the bathroom, and Yuan was horrified to see the Emperor shout such a thing loud enough for the hall to hear before leaving.
She kept making eye contact with her uncle.
It was suffocating, and the glare from her aunt, who sat beside him, was equally unbearable. And what about the cousins sitting in a row next to her aunt?
Frederick still didn't even nod, as if Yuan was beneath him, and Regina, seemingly quite pleased with the words she had just poured out on Yuan, sipped her non-alcoholic drink with an alluring smile.
Yuan no longer had any reason to be abused or to tolerate them, but she thought it best to avoid them if possible.
This was the Emperor's domain.
Even Klaud, the owner of the Mansion, was staying still, and if Yuan caused a commotion, she would be in serious trouble.
Yuan, suffering from a headache due to extreme stress, decided it would be better to pretend to be drunk and go to bed like the other nobles.
She asked the butler, who said that the welcoming party was over, so it wouldn't be impolite to leave early.
With the Emperor and even Klaud absent for a while, her uncle might slyly sit next to her, suggesting they share a drink.
She had already dealt with Regina, and Frederick was a fool, so even if she ran into him, it would only ruin her mood.
The subtle gaze of the Emperor that she had felt throughout the party.
The suspicious curve of First Prince Bolonico's lips as he smiled for no reason.
Trying to read Klaud's expression, who sat like a doll without saying a word, and avoiding her uncle's gaze, which desperately tried to meet hers, made her head spin, and she had no choice but to leave.
Yuan smiled weakly at the butler, who noticed her complexion and offered to call Hille, and then stepped out into the hallway.
She felt a little better only after entering the familiar hallway leading to the main building.
Too much had happened in one day.
The Emperor, the Prince, high-ranking nobles... But the only fortunate thing was that her uncle, Count Pellieresse, couldn't easily approach her.
'If I can just endure one more day like this by Klaud's side...'
At that moment.
In the darkened hallway, a huge hand wrapped around Yuan's waist and pulled her in.
Yuan, startled to the point of breathlessness, looked up at the source of the force, and blue eyes were staring down at her as if to crush her.
"Where are you going, smelling so delicious?"
It was Emperor Igor Euphris.
In the dim hallway.
Trapped in his snare in a damp corner far from the noise, Yuan had to endure his glistening gaze without saying a word.
"Y-Your Majesty?"
"Hmm?"
"Why, why are you doing this—"
Yuan knew that Emperor Igor was a brute, even if she hadn't seen it today.
There were countless people who had suffered from his tyranny, and her uncle had vividly lamented that even Pellieresse, which had maintained neutrality, had no choice but to side with his son, Bolonico.
But this, this...
"I, I am Lord Klaud's..."
"Dare you claim ownership before the Emperor?"
The Emperor's power was overwhelming.
He was about five times Yuan's size, but he wasn't just fat like her uncle; he was solid and full of strength.
A large, hairy hand boldly groped Yuan's waist.
His reddened nose rubbed against Yuan's neck.
The Emperor's hot breath poured out, and the smell of alcohol stung her nose.
Yuan held her breath and glanced around the hallway, where no one was passing by.
"Hmm? Don't you like it here?"
'Is it okay to scream that I don't like it?'
Yuan, trembling, recalled the articles she had seen in faded newspapers about people who had fallen out of favor with Emperor Igor and had their heads cut off, and nodded.
"I-I don't like it..."
"I like it here, though? It's beautiful. My black and massive spoils of war. Hideous ornaments and..."
The Emperor smiled, looking straight into Yuan's confused eyes.
"There's also delicious food."
"I'll, I'll guide you to the party hall..."
At the words 'delicious food,' Yuan recalled the Emperor voraciously eating food and struggled to escape his embrace.
Emperor Igor smiled, widening the corners of his mouth as if seeing her struggles as the antics of a cute animal. It was the smile of a madman.
"What flavor are you?"
Blue eyes roamed over her tearful eyes, slender jawline, and disheveled black hair.
"How will you cry?"
What would happen if she screamed?
Would she be swallowed whole, her mouth gagged?
Or would she be dragged away as she was?
Was there anyone who could save her from this man, whom even Marquis Compagni, Marquis Lev, and even Klaud, the owner of this Mansion, couldn't handle?
Yuan bit her lip tightly and tried to escape, pretending to support the drunken Emperor.
The sorrow that had been building up since the first time the Emperor had bitten her hand as if to swallow it began to seep out as tears.
And as if he had been waiting for those tears, the Emperor's face tilted toward her.
"Your Majesty."
As if by a lie, Klaud's voice cut through the darkness.
It was the same as always. A terribly calm and low voice.
How welcome that voice was, which she had always thought was indifferent!
"Ah, you've come, Klaud."
The Emperor smiled, burying his nose in Yuan's hair.
He showed no signs of embarrassment, even after being caught in such a sordid act.
Yuan looked up desperately at Klaud, who was standing nearby, with a mixture of despair and a glimmer of hope.
She was hugging herself, trying to stop the Emperor's hand, which kept creeping up.
And as she felt the hatred for herself, who was both resenting Klaud and needing his help, fill her heart, she called out to him.
"Your Highness."
Emperor Igor was not normal. He was a brute and a tyrant who didn't understand reason.
Yuan struggled like a small animal caught in a pit.
"Your Highness..."
Yuan called out to her husband once more, desperately, in a tearful voice.
For a moment, Klaud's eyes captured Yuan's desperate face, and then it was gone.
That was all.
Klaud simply passed them by and headed towards the bright and noisy party hall.
As if it were none of his business.
As she watched his long, trailing shadow, Yuan felt like the world had ended.
She knew better than anyone that she had no right to shout at him and demand why he wasn't saving his wife right now.
As Yuan despaired, the Emperor smiled contentedly and hugged Yuan's shoulders tightly.
And then.
"Your Majesty."
A large hand strongly grabbed Emperor Igor's shoulder and pulled him away.
The Emperor's face, which had been smiling softly, instantly stiffened.
Yuan strained her trembling jaw and looked up over the Emperor's massive shoulder.
It was Klaud.
Klaud had returned.
He spoke to Emperor Igor with an extremely indifferent expression.
"Did you know."
"Klaud. Are you trying to save this woman?"
The Emperor's face soon lit up with a bright smile.
His eyes were bloodshot.
"Hmm? Are you trying to save your beloved wife?"
Yuan felt an incredibly strong force gather in the Emperor's hand, which was holding her.
Klaud, with a shadowed face, watched the scene without missing a detail and chuckled without answering.
As if there was no way that could be true. Again, without even glancing at Yuan.
Yuan felt a strange chill as she watched the Emperor scrutinize his nephew's face.
"What could be more fun than this?"
Igor's thick, massive hand grabbed Yuan's waist and lifted her up, burying his nose in her neck right in front of Klaud.
Yuan shuddered.
Thick tears continued to fall on her already wet face.
Purple eyes, backlit by the party lights, glistened like fake jewels for a moment.
An even faker smile briefly appeared on Klaud's face.
"Yes. There is."
And the half-mask that Klaud had been wearing since greeting the Emperor was removed by Klaud himself.
The wretched face beneath it was turned directly towards the Emperor, and the force that had seemed like it would never let Yuan go suddenly loosened.
The night was deep.
Although the time it took for it to manifest had been gradually decreasing.
It was only a matter of time before those writhing masses of pain in his throat covered Klaud's entire body and dominated him.
Yuan wiped her wet face and shook her head.
No. No.
Before she could stop him, Klaud led the Emperor towards the end of the hallway.
