The Evil Empress Adores Me - Chapter 89

The next day. 

Damian headed to the Empress dowager’s palace. 

Her Majesty greeted him with teary eyes. 

“Damian!”

Damian though greeted the Empress dowager with a startled expression. 

“Why are you outside? It’s cold. You should be inside…”

“I wanted to be out here…especially when it’s possible for me to see your face sooner.”

The Empress dowager, having said that, curled her lips, refraining herself from more crying. 

But its effects were temporary. 

The Empress dowager tugged Damian, holding him tightly before bursting into tears. 

“Damian, I….I can’t believe I get to see your face again….”

“….didn’t I promise to come back safely?”

As he gently stroked the back of the Empress dowager who clung to him, Damian whispered so with tenderness. 

The Empress dowager’s handmaiden watched the scene unfold from a distance, wiping away her tears as well. 

Really, he can’t imagine how happy she is. 

‘It wasn’t too long ago where she would not have dreamed of ever seeing her grandson, the crown prince at her palace like this, in her embrace once more….’

As he led the northern frontier to victory in subjugating the beasts, Damian became recognized by the people of the empire and its nobles as the rightful crown prince. 

In particular, the Northern frontier has officially stated its support of the crown prince. 

Eight years had now passed. Damian was now emerging as the next ruler of the empire in both name and reality. 

Even more so at this point in time when the Emperor and the Empress had not produced any children. 

After a while, the Empress dowager stopped crying. 

The two sat facing each other with hot steaming teacups in front of them. 

“I haven’t seen you in a long time, and the first thing I do is make a fool out of myself with all my crying,” said the Empress dowager, upset at herself. 

“I never imagined you would grow up so soundly…”

Damian shook his head with a smile. 

“No. More than that, I’m glad my grandma is healthy.”

“It’s all thanks to her Majesty, the Empress for taking care of me.”

After saying that, the Empress dowager smiled with a mischievous glint in her eyes. 

“The same goes for Charlize.”

“…Charlize?”

“Yes. You don’t know how clever she is.”

The Empress dowager closely examined her grandson’s expression upon mentioning that. 

Just as she expected, as soon as he heard ‘Charlize’, her grandson’s eyes lit up vibrantly. 

“That girl kept me company while you were away, making me forget my sorrows and loneliness.”

“I see,” said Damian in a relaxed manner. 

It was clear as day that Damian was pretending not to be interested in Charlize. 

The Empress dowager asked a question as her smile faded. 

“Tell me, how was life in the North?”

“It was fine.”

“Fine, you say? Surely, you had a rough time…”

The Empress dowager’s wrinkled hand reached out to Damian, patting his back. 

“I heard you owe a lot to Antes.”

The eyes looking at Damian expressed regret. 

“Especially that lady. She cares a lot for you, doesn’t she?”

“By that lady you mean…Sienna Antes?”

Almost instantly, Damian’s visage expressed disgust. 

The Empress dowager tilted his head. 

“Why, am I mistaken?”

“What, there’s no way that would-!”

Damian choked up for a moment. 

That obnoxious girl, help me? 

There wasn’t help in the slightest bit!

Considering how she bullied me all the time!

Damian, who was going to vent, let out a long sigh. 

“…..no, but let’s leave it at that.”

He had much to say but decided against it. 

It was true that he was indebted to the Antes household though.  

The Empress dowager eloquently interjected and continued. 

“Maybe you don’t remember.”

“Mmm?”

“There was a time when you were young, you two were married.”

“….Why would I marry Sienna?!”

Damian looked at the Empress dowager with a flabbergasted expression. 

He couldn’t stand this. 

He shook his head resolutely. 

“I absolutely hate that.”

“Oh my, why?”

“I just dislike it. Anyway, I’m probably not the only one, Sienna would hate it too.”

“Hmm, really?”

At her grandson’s reaction, the Empress dowager smiled awkwardly. 

As a matter of fact, it was bizarre to see such a disgusted look on his face, perhaps there’s a reason…

The Empress dowager spoke calmly. 

“You know, Damian.”

“What?”

“I think I might have a slight idea why you dislike her so much.”

“….what do you mean?”

“Fufu, no.”

This is why youngsters are cute. Gullible and a joy to tease. 

Thinking so, the Empress dowager shook her head with a broad smile. 

Then she posed a question to her grandson. 

“Have you met with that girl, Charlize?”

As soon as he heard her question, his eyes glistened again. 

The Empress dowager clicked her tongue. 

‘You can read his expressions like an open book. Haha.’

Damian meanwhile, with no clue of what the Empress dowager was thinking, gave his answer.

“Yes, we met yesterday.”

At that moment, the Empress dowager seized the opportunity to tease her grandson. 

“Oh my God, you went to see Charlize before this old lady of yours?”

When faced with that question, Damian was caught off guard as his expression became glum and then dismayed. 

“Oh, grandma. It’s not…”

“Even when it’s been ages since we’ve seen each other, Charlize comes before your own grandma…”

The Empress dowager’s voice became muffled in sadness. Damian looked at her, unsure of what to do. 

But then. 

The Empress dowager smiled with glee. 

“Gotcha! It was a joke.”

“Grandma mama! You tricked me!”

Damian now glared resentfully at his grandmother. 

Regardless, the Empress dowager didn’t even bother to hide the fact she was dying of laughter. 

“So how did it feel meeting Charlize again after so long?”

“It…it felt terrific to see her again.”

“Wait a minute, that’s all?” said the Empress dowager, expecting more. 

She blinked her eyes and added. 

“If I were you, I’d be pretty nervous right now.”

“….why?”

“Didn’t it ever occur to you? How many beauties are there in the palace?”

The Empress dowager held her chin as she spoke frankly, her voice a bit serious. 

“However, Charlize is the most beautiful among them all.”

“Well, that’s true but…”

“That alone is enough to win the hearts of men. Wouldn’t you say so?” 

After saying that, the Empress dowager examined Damian’s expression. 

Damian’s face became slightly hardened without him realizing it. 

Noticing that, the Empress dowager’s lips twitched as she barely held back her laughter. 

“So that’s it? Nothing more to say? She does well you know and she’s favored by the Empress. I like her a lot too.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“Then how can you know that and be so laid-back?”

The Empress dowager explained with a calm voice. 

“Think of it from the perspective of the knights and servants.”

“From their position…”

“Yes. Put yourself in their shoes. In their point of view, what would it be like to have a maid as their wife, someone as beautiful if not more so than her superiors?”

Damian clenched both hands that were resting on his knees. 

If he hadn’t done that his calm and collected expression would have fallen apart. 

Apart from Damian’s often loud reactions, the Empress dowager remained composed. 

“If marrying her helps you, then she won’t be a bad influence on you, right?”

“However…Charlize is too young to get married. Hasn’t she just come of age?”

“That’s just your take on it. At least, I’m quite sure many men are attracted to her.”

The Empress dowager shrugged her shoulders. 

“Because she’s already received date offers from many knights and servants.”

“I-Is that true?!”

Damian inadvertently raised his voice. 

The Empress dowager nodded with a smile. 

“Come on. Why would I lie to you?”

“Charlize….was asked to go out with others….”

Damian had a defeated expression as if he had lost the empire. 

With a playful look on her face, the Empress dowager added fire to the already burning house that is Damian’s psyche. 

“Among some of those offers were marriage offers if I remember correctly.”

“Wait, she’s getting married?!”

Damian stared at his grandmother with a startled look. 

“Calm down. No. I said she received offers, not accepted.”

“Ah…”

“Still, if you make a mistake, you might not see her again.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I’m saying by the time you return, Charlize may have already married and left the palace.”

Damian’s face hardened. 

The Empress dowager shook her head. 

“You’re fortunate that the Empress loves her so much, every man ends up rejecting her or giving up in frustration due to the Empress.”

“….I’m glad to h-hear that.”

Damian replied with a suppressed voice. 

The Empress dowager silently observed her grandson’s expressions. 

He was usually a child who could deftly hide his emotions even when in front of the Emperor…

‘But when the topic of Charlize came up, all that was thrown out the window. His expressions were too visible.’

She could only wonder how deep his emotions ran for Charlize. 

After all…..eight years is a long time. 

If his heart hasn’t gotten over her despite that….

The Empress dowager became a bit emotional. 

Damian, who drank all his lukewarm tea, suddenly got up from his seat. 

“Then I’ll be taking my leave.”

“Why? Are you going to see Charlize?”

“That’s right.”

Damian answered firmly. 

Despite the Empress dowager’s playful gaze, underneath that, she was filled with affection for her grandson. 

When did he grow up to be like that? Becoming a young man who could have a woman in his heart. 

Now that she thought about it, it was the first time she had a long conversation with Damian. 

‘From the time Damian was imprisoned…it’s been eighteen years in total.’

The moment she recalled that her eyes became watery again. 

The number of years Damian lost because of the Emperor.

The Empress dowager, who managed to contain her emotions, found it hard to speak.