My Villain Husband - Chapter 119

Tiana pulled Lucius upstairs to their bedroom. It was much more comfortable for them to talk here alone than in the living room. After the servants left, she sat Lucius down on the sofa. Sitting next to her and holding both hands, he asked in a distraught voice,

“Tiana, calm down. What on earth is going on with you?”

“Lucius. You’re on your way back from Cinadelli, right?”

“Huh? That’s right. Did something happen?”

“By chance have you heard the rumor regarding Emperor Rael and Angelica del Vernes?”

“Rumors? You mean the one about them being in a relationship?”

He replied as he blinked. So he didn’t know about the engagement. Well, that’s because he had left Cinadelli right before the rumor started. And he hadn’t heard the updated version because he’d been so busy with work there.

Looking at him cluelessly, she shook her head and said,

“No. There is a new one. This time they’re saying that Rael and Angelica are getting engaged.”

“What? Engaged? How did that… It hasn’t been long since the rumor about their relationship started…”

“I guess someone saw Rael giving her a necklace.”

“Necklace…?”

“Yeah. It wasn’t enough to just give it to her, so he actually put it around her neck; that isn’t something normal people in a relationship do. So that’s how the engagement rumor got started.”

“I see. Given the situation, it happened as soon as I went on my business trip; of all days to happen.”

He sighed briefly with his forehead narrowed. Tiana felt sorry for him because he must have been tired as soon as he returned from the business trip, but he looked at her while holding her hands and said,

“Seeing how worried you are, there has to be another issue.”

“It has already been one week since the engagement rumor came out. But Rael isn’t saying anything, and Angelica hasn’t been out at all. And there was no response when I sent a letter to the Vernes’ mansion.”

“…really?”

Lucius paused for a moment at what Tiana said. He closed his mouth as if thinking about something before slowly speaking again.

“Emperor Rael is normally the type to never pay attention to rumors, but if such rumors have spread, he would have taken action. Because it is a sensitive topic. However, him not making a move must mean that he is thinking about something…”

“Thinking about something?”

“If it were a different woman, he would have addressed the rumor from the beginning before the part about the engagement came out. But when the rumor first came out, he didn’t say much. Angelica denied it, but Rael didn’t really acknowledge nor deny it.”

“That’s right. It’s because of that I wondered whether he really had strong feelings for her.”

Angelica had denied their relationship status, but Rael hadn’t said a word. That’s why the rumor of them being in a relationship had spread even more at the time instead of fading away. Even Tiana had denied the relationship between the two because of rumors of their engagement, but unless one of them directly said it, the effects were minimal.

“With Emperor Rael remaining quiet despite the rumors about him spreading further and further, either he is thinking about his next move or he really is in a relationship with Angelica. It seems like it’s one of those two.”

“So Angelica lied to me? She didn’t seem like the type to…”

“Something might have happened between them from when she told you no. Seeing that there are people who witnessed them, they may have met more times than that.”

“You think so?”

There was about a week in between when Tiana had visited Angelica and when she had first heard the rumors of the engagement. If there really was something going on between the two, one week was enough time for Rael and Angelica to meet a few times and discuss it themselves. But no matter what, something had happened during that one week.

Even thinking about it now made Tiana’s head hurt because nothing had been resolved for sure and only suspicion was left to linger in the air. Sighing deeply, Lucius said, patting her head,

“Don’t worry too much. Tomorrow I will go to the royal palace to discuss it with Emperor Rael. I have something about Sinadelli to report to him anyway.”

“Me too! Can we go together? I’m curious about what he’s thinking, and there is something I want to ask him.”

“All right. Let’s go together.”

“Thank you, Lucius.”

Feeling ecstatic, she kissed him on the cheek, and his face reddened as he hugged her tightly. It was said that Rael didn’t even meet with Alexandra, so would he be willing to me Lucius?

If Tiana went with him together, he might even meet her, too. She was eager to see what he was thinking; to see what the male lead was cooking up. Tiana was already looking forward to it at the mere thought of it.

***

After breakfast the next day, Tiana met up with Lucius at the time he normally left, and the two went to Rael’s palace together. She asked him, who was sitting in the seat opposite her,

“By the way, is it okay for us to suddenly go see him like this? Should we contact him first?”

“I contacted him while departing from Sinadelli yesterday because of the business trip report. It will be okay since he hasn’t sent me a decline.”

“Is that so? Speaking of Sinadelli, has everything been resolved? You said there was a problem at the restoration site, didn’t you?”

“Right. There was a minor accident there, but it’s been resolved.”

“That’s a relief.”

Had a worker injured himself at the site? Still, it was fortunate that things were resolved. Staring worriedly at her tired and slightly pale face, he smiled at her gently.

It wasn’t too long before they reached the royal palace. After they passed the main gate and inched closer to the Emperor’s Palace, the grand chamberlain came out to greet them. He carefully blocked their way as they were about to enter.

“I am terribly sorry. Grand Duke Lucius and Grand Duchess Tiana. But there was an imperial order to not let anyone inside the palace today.”

“What did you say?”