The Evil Empress Adores Me - Chapter 151

“Because I’m really going to get mad.”

“….but.” 

“What will the empire and the people say about a prince who can’t even protect his fiancée?”

“I’m still going.”

“If you’re not coming with me, you can’t go either,” Damian declared. 

You’re so stubborn!

I tried protesting against Damian once more, but I ended up closing my eyes and my mouth. 

To be honest, Damian wasn’t wrong. 

But…

‘….the dream.’

The dream I’ve had so many times.

A youth resembling Damian and a pale woman. 

Why did this dream come to mind now of all times?

A land drenched in blood and beasts swarming all over. 

The two figures were the ‘salvation of mankind.’ 

But was that it? Nothing more? 

In saving the great masses of humanity, did they pay no price?

Come to think of it…

‘I’ve never seen the end of that dream.’

My whole body trembled with fear as my heart tightened.

I felt a strong conviction.

The conviction I felt in my current situation and the kind I had countless times in my dreams were exclusively related. 

While I was silent, Damian quickly addressed the Empress, and Her Majesty, the Empress dowager.

“We’ll go to the shrine, so Your Majesties, please evacuate as many people as possible.”

“But Damian…”

“Grandma mama, am I not the Crown Prince?”

At the fearful Empress Dowager, Damian smiled. 

“If I turned my back on something so important, wouldn’t I be just the same as His Majesty, the Emperor?”

The Empress Dowager, who stared blankly at Damian, eventually nodded, albeit slowly.

“….Okay. I understand.” 

“Then, Your Majesty, please come with me.”

Just in time, the Empress intervened in the conversation. 

Gently taking hold of Her Majesty’s arm to reassure her, the Empress looked back at Charlize. 

Those characteristically dark green eyes radiated trust. 

“Leave the outside work to us, Charlize.”

“…Your Majesty, the Empress.”

“As soon as I leave the imperial palace, I’ll request my brother’s help so that this ordeal can be sorted out. But..” 

The Empress took a deep breath.

Her sharp expression, which had remained consistent throughout, softened for the first time. 

“Can you promise me one thing?”

“…a promise, what is it?”

“…it’s a request.” 

The Empress pulled her lip and bit it until it bled. 

“If you’re in a dangerous situation, please think of your safety first.” 

The Empress’s hushed voice trembled. 

“….Don’t get a single strand of hair hurt, and return safely.” 

“Will you promise me that?”

The Empress insisted I do so. 

Instead of answering, I could only give an awkward smile. 

There was an intense desire within me to promise that, but…

‘I can’t.’

Taking a step back, I strengthen my resolve, speaking firmly. 

“Your Majesty, you must be careful.”

“Charlize!”

“I’ll be all right.” 

I hastily turned around.

“Charlize, Charlize!”

I heard the Empress call me over and over again, but I deliberately didn’t turn around. 

Looking back…

‘If I did, I wouldn’t be able to leave the Empress’s side.’ 

Damian called me. 

“Charlize.” 

“I’m fine.”

I gave a stern reply.

Damian, who had his mouth open like he was going to say something, shook his head.

“….okay.” 

In my mind, I reflected on the words I couldn’t say to the Empress. 

I don’t know if she knows…

Before meeting the Empress, I felt like I was in darkness. 

She was the one who rescued me and taught me how warm, the warmth of others could be. 

For saving me, for being by my side—-all that. 

For being able to experience firsthand what ‘happiness’ is…

Thank you so much.

Those were the thoughts I had as we crossed the imperial palace in the pitch-black darkness. 

 

****

 

“….Charlize.” 

The Empress stood frozen in place, watching Charlize’s figure walk further away. 

She still vividly remembered the first time Charlize appeared at her side. 

Unable to deal with the frustrating stuffiness unique to the imperial palace, she entered a separate area of the palace, the desire to run away present in her. 

Yet under the shade of red roses, at that very moment when Charlize lifted up her tear-stained face…

‘From that moment on, I was saved by you.’

She knew it without a doubt. 

Slowly, the empress’s pupils lit up.

The Empress raised her head and looked back at Her Majesty. 

“Let’s go, Your Majesty.”

“However, it seems those two are faced with a perilous situation…”

“No, Charlize entrusted us with this. And I trust her.” 

Reminding the hesitant Empress Dowager, the Empress spoke with a resolute tone. 

“Please, let’s leave this place immediately and evacuate the people.” 

“….Empress.” 

“So, let’s do what they wanted.” 

The Empress continued her words unwaveringly. 

“When Charlize and the Crown Prince return safe and sound, I don’t want them coming back to a chaotic scene.” 

Upon hearing those words, the Empress Dowager stared blankly at the Empress. 

Slowly, her wrinkled face began to show signs of determination on her previously fraught face. 

“….you’re right.” 

“We’re losing time. We have to move as soon as possible.” 

The Empress Dowager nodded.

And like that, the Empress and the Empress Dowager began moving, relying on each other. 

The maids hurriedly followed suit. 

Between the Empress’s lips, a strained word came out.

“….Charlize.”

Because I believe in you, I’ll wait for you. 

What you ask me to do now, I’ll do it….in fact, I’ll do my absolute best to complete what you’ve entrusted to me. 

But after all this, you’ll come back to me, won’t you? Smiling radiantly like nothing ever happened. 

…Right, Charlize?

The Empress stifled the questions that would go unheard by Charlize, deep in her heart. 

 

****

 

As we approached the shine, its atmosphere weighed down on both of us. 

“That’s…”

Damian muttered in a choked voice as if his windpipe was constricted. 

It was the first time I saw Damian with such an incredibly bewildered expression. 

But I understood Damian’s reaction. 

Because…

– Welcome.

Before us, stood the divine beast, her three pairs of white wings beating gently, and yet the whole situation was overwhelming. 

The divine beast, Aurelia. 

The one who passed on great power to the Winsor family.

However, the divine beast’s presence felt more ominous than empyrean. 

Not to mention, the divine beast was likely to be…

I bit my lip till it bled.

“….you.”

The question ‘Who am I?’ that had popped up in my mind before resurfaced. 

However, the question I had was immediately resolved on its own as soon as I saw the divine beast. 

Instinct whispered to me.

It dawned on me that the divine beast and I were once one entity, but somehow we diverged. 

And that our once shared existence…

– Oh, are you not happy with me?

The divine beast raised the tip of her lips. 

– I for one, am very glad.

“Aurelia, I…”

– It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, ‘other me’.

The moment I heard that greeting, scattered memories struck my mind sharply, like a blade. 

Goddess Aurelia.

She was once a goddess but fell in love with humans and was downgraded to a divine beast.

Separating her body and soul for her lover, she eventually lost her divinity. 

‘Sometimes, I wished ‘humanity’ wasn’t first….I wanted you to put ‘me’ first.’

A woman whose complexion was as white as snow and countenance as noble as pure silver whispered that line with a saddened face. 

That very moment, a voice resounded in my mind. 

“Ugh!”

“Charlize!”

Intense pain engulfed me, causing me to bend my knees and clutch my head. 

Damian hastily wrapped his arms around me, but it provided no alleviation. 

The divine beast took a step forward with elegant movement. 

– Why did you love humans?

Sorrow pervaded her voice. 

I faced the divine beast, trying to stay as sane as possible. 

“….Lia.”

– The human you love has forgotten everything. 

The divine beast shook her head slightly. 

– So you struggled alone?

An icy silence fell upon us.

After a while, Damian slowly turned to me. 

“….Charlize, what was that supposed to mean?”

“Damian, it’s-.”

“What does she mean by the person you loved having forgotten everything…”

– My, my, my.

But then the divine beast intervened in our conversation, chortling. 

– It seems this young man has had his past erased completely, and only the ‘other me’ bears the past alone. 

The divine beast shook her head at the pathetic circumstances. 

– That’s unfair. 

I was a bundle of nerves at what that meant. 

“What on earth are you doing?”

– It’s nothing. Just…

The divine beast responded softly as she widely stretched her wings. 

– Just bringing back the memories that this human being arbitrarily forgot. 

In an instant, my heart sank.

If Damian has forgotten his memories…

“D-Don’t do that.”

I gasped and begged the ‘other me.’

Whenever those numerous memories surged arbitrarily, they were unruly to the point where it felt like being strangled. 

I didn’t want Damian to go through what I went through, the feeling of despair from those supposed dreams—memories. 

If possible, I wanted to endure that pain alone.