The Evil Empress Adores Me - Chapter 87

“Just a while longer…”

Damian let out a long sigh. 

I somehow….I felt very sorry for Damian. 

How much trouble he had to go through, stuck in a repeating nightmare. 

Does he still have to be afraid of whether I’m real or not when I’m right in front of him….

“….Your Highness, I’m here.”

After some hesitation, I slowly raised my hand. 

As I gently swept his tense back, the force with which Damian held me soon lessened and he relaxed. 

Whoa. 

Damian let out another long sigh. 

It was a sigh of relief. 

“Yes, you really are here.”

It was then Damian let me go. 

But as far as his gaze was concerned, he continued to stare at me with tenaciousness. 

As if he was waiting for me to say something. 

…..it’s just, what should I say? 

I became slightly embarrassed. 

At the same time, Damian spoke, expecting something from me. 

“Do I have to ask this myself?”

Huh? Ask what?

Seeing I was puzzled, Damian promptly asked. 

“You know, didn’t you miss me?”

“What?”

Why this all of a sudden? 

I was amazed as I looked at Damian. 

Damian meanwhile spoke with a wistful expression. 

“I’ve had this feeling for some time, thinking I was the only one who wanted to see each other again.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you get it? You’re always so calm, whereas I’m the one who’s anxious…”

No, you seriously think that? I can’t believe what he’s saying!

Snapping at him, I raised my voice unintentionally. 

“Of course, I missed you too!”

“You do?”

Damian’s expression softened the moment I said that. 

I’m at a loss for words. 

Even if it did feel good to say that, should I say more?

…..but, I truly did miss Damian. 

Now that I’ve said that, I decided to be a little more considerate by being more open with him. 

“I missed His Highness every day, so much so that I wet my pillows with tears.”

“….really?”

“Sure I do. You don’t believe me?”

I straightened my chest and looked Damian directly in the eyes. 

Damian was skeptical on the surface but his eyes and lips were more candid, revealing inwardly that he was convinced. 

Hey, Damian. 

Are you grinning like an idiot right now?!

“….your Highness, I think you should be grateful for your incredibly handsome appearance,” I murmured in a brooding voice. 

This was a first for me. I realized that even being drop-dead gorgeous could be offset by silly expressions. 

Damian smiled broadly. 

“Does that mean I’m good-looking in your eyes?”

“Well, you are…” I said as I nodded slightly. 

Well, anyone with normal eyesight would agree. 

After hearing my answer, Damian had the most satisfied grin on his face as if he had just won the whole world. 

“Then it was worthwhile to not get hit in the face.”

“What? Worthwhile?”

“Yeah, you like gorgeous people.”

Ah, there’s no need to be that spot on, okay? 

I wore a frown on my face. 

Just then. 

Damian blurted out a question. 

“What do you think? Am I more to your liking now than the Duke of Rochester?”

He’s joking, right? 

I looked at Damian, a bit annoyed. 

But Damian had a serious expression. 

“Answer me quickly.”

“Your Highness, I really…”

“Am I better than the Duke of Rochester? Yes or no?”

Ugh, doesn’t he recognize the age difference between him and the Duke!

But Damian wasn’t going to back down till he heard my answer. 

I nodded repeatedly. 

“Yes, your Highness is better.”

“Yeah, I knew it all along.”

Damian raised the tip of his nose upwards, unaware he was pushing it.  

I narrowed my eyes. 

….I haven’t seen him in so long, but I swear Damian’s gotten a lot more childish than before. 

Or am I just delusional?

 

 

***

 

 

Damian and I sat together beneath the shade of blooming lilacs. 

He held my hand tightly. The gesture reminded me of a chick following its mother. 

Look, I’m fine with this but….

I glanced sideways at Damian. 

What will you do when other people see us? 

You and I are both adults now, to be holding hands so freely as we did when we were younger is a bit weird! We could be giving people the wrong idea!

Maybe dropping a hint about how this isn’t acceptable can work.

“Isn’t it uncomfortable to be holding hands all the time?” I said as I expected Damian to let go.

However…

“No, it’s comforting.”

….more attempts followed as I tried to free my hand but they were relentlessly blocked by Damian’s ironclad defense. 

Oh, dear. 

Damian…. 

I gave up on trying to dissuade him in the end. 

Well, there’s no one watching anyway. 

Perhaps because of the eight-year gap, our conversation kept going without ever seeming to run out of topics to discuss.  

“That’s not all. I recently changed the curtains at the Empress’s palace….”

I talked about the smallest of things. 

It wasn’t anything special but Damian always listened to me. 

“By the way, your Highness.”

“Yes?”

Damian, who had been listening closely to my story for some time now lifted his head. 

I gently narrowed my brow. 

“I’ve been the only one talking for a while.”

“Really? Don’t worry, I wanted to hear from you.”

“The same goes for me.”

I glanced at Damian. 

“I want to hear your story.”

“….my story?”

“Yes. How was it in the North?”

 As I asked him, I strengthened the hand Damian was holding. 

Damian answered casually. 

“Hmm, every day was pretty much mundane. Nothing out of the ordinary.”

“How was everyday mundane?”

“Well….I cleansed any beasts that came invading and occasionally inspected the village.”

….it seems like there were plenty of extraordinary things happening on those ‘mundane’ days.

I can’t be the only one thinking this, am I?

“Actually, wild animals also caused considerable damage besides beasts. There were times I had to quell the wild animals…”

Damian, who seemed to be reflecting deeply on this, eventually mentioned more of his activities with a lively expression. 

“Oh, I’ve even helped supervise the reconstruction of the walls.”

Oh my. 

Without realizing it, I had a disgusted look on my face. 

Apparently, Margrave Antes had really put Damian to work. 

But then. 

Damian continued, this time laughing to himself. 

“Ah, yes. I also had a bet with Sienna to catch a wild boar. Long story short, I won.”

….Sienna?

Did Damian just call Viscountess Antes, ‘Sienna’?

Are they that close?

My heart grew cold as if I had swallowed a large piece of ice. 

Damian shrugged his shoulders. 

“I did good, didn’t I?”

“Um, yes. Well done.”

I hurriedly corrected my expression, putting on an awkward smile.

Yeah, I already expected this to happen. 

Sienna is the heroine of this world and Damian….

‘She’s someone I’ll be with for the rest of my life.’

Even though I already knew it, my heart was still pounding for some reason. 

No, I shouldn’t be thinking like this.

I tried hard to set my mind straight. 

As a friend, it’s only natural to support the relationship between them. 

“I’m so glad Viscountess Antes is with your Highness,” I said. 

“….huh?”

“You have someone of the same age to rely on, she also seems to be in great shape just as your Highness is.”

I smiled and asked a question. 

“So anyways, how did it go cleansing the beasts?”

“Well….it was all right.”

“….just all right?”

“Humans are adaptable animals, everyone has to adapt somehow.”

Damian gave a slight shrug, dismissing my concern. 

I can only guess how much hardship and pain Damian had to go through to say that nonchalantly.

While I was safe and comfortable with the Empress….

‘Damian must have crossed the line a number of times.’ 

Feeling sympathy for him, I held his hand tightly, trying to comfort him. 

Damian smiled subtly. 

“But there was only one thing I couldn’t adapt to.”

“What was it?”

“That you weren’t with me.”

I looked at Damian. 

That’s strange.

If anyone else were to say something like that, I’m sure they would be thinking, ‘What’s gotten into him?’

Hold on….

Is my-

‘My heart’s thumping.’

I quickly raised my other hand and pressed it against my chest. 

My heart was beating so fast that I was worried Damian might hear it.

Damian, fortunately, moved on to the next topic. 

“I’ve been meaning to ask you, ever since my arrival earlier.”

…..unfortunately, the topic chosen wasn’t exactly pleasant. 

I shrugged and stiffened my shoulders, bracing myself for what he would ask.  

“Why did you avoid me?”

“Ah, that….” I blurted nervously. 

No, no, not just the Empress but Damian too. 

Why do they keep asking questions that are difficult to answer?

I’d like to retain some of my pride, you know. 

Never mind, I can’t tell him it concerns Viscountess Antes!

“Hmm….maybe your Highness was mistaken?”

“I was mistaken?”

“Well, you could have. There’s no way I can avoid his Highness, right?”

Ahaha.

I tried my best to smile. 

But Damian still looked at me with suspicion. 

I felt cold sweat running down my spine. 

Oh, I can’t do this. 

Let’s change the subject!