The Obsessive Male Lead Caught Me While I Was Trying To Ditch My Ex-Husband - Chapter 8 – Marry Me

Kaien clenched his fist, filled with the desire to burn down those who ruined his future and killed his precious people. He clenched his teeth so hard his jaw cracked. Even if Gloria didn’t say it, Kaien knew.

She perished lying on the cold floor. Due to the greed and long term plotting of one person, Marquis Erun Lebossi.

Kaien felt his memories of Gloria, who used to smile innocently, shatter like glass. And another Gloria, with a heart full of hatred and rage, was standing before him.

Would His Majesty, the late Emperor, have seen such an expression? Kaien closed his eyes against the pain of his shattered heart as he remembered the late Emperor, smiling kindly in the fragments of his mind.

Meanwhile, dismayed at Gloria suddenly holding his hand, he tried to shake her off.

Every time he touched Gloria his heart ached as if it were set on fire.

“Duke.”

“What is it?”

“All I need is Diana alive.”

Gloria declared her desire without fanfare. If only Diana could live, she would relinquish the Emperor’s seat to anyone, the Ludenberg Princess was so precious to Gloria that she would give up her life if asked to.

Gloria’s sincerity left Kaien speechless. Nevertheless, he still coldly stared at her, without an ounce of trust or loyalty to his Emperor.

‘What’s the point?’

His lack of response and unchanged appearance left Gloria feeling helpless again, so she dropped her hand.

“I understand what the Duke means. I apologize for taking your time.”

Gloria stepped back with a faint smile.

‘As the Duke says, I’m a useless and incompetent person.’

Ha… a painful sigh escaped Gloria’s soft lips.

She had trusted Erun too much. In her defense or perhaps to make an excuse, his position and wisdom had been too beneficial for her regardless of any personal feelings, and there was no reason for her to doubt the fiancé who had approached her with a kind smile.

“Imperial Princess, I’m here.”

The young Erun in her memories smiled dazzlingly, with his bright blonde hair fluttering gently in the sunlight. The young boy who offered his hand to her and blushed sweetly under his fair skin looked so pure and innocent.

It was hard for Gloria to acknowledge that his betrayal still felt like a dream.

The same held for Kaien. In his memories, Erun’s green eyes were full of affection and kindness.

“Kaien, I’ll surely become a Sun’s knight.”

“What?”

“That way I’ll be able to protect His Majesty the Emperor, and Her Highness the Princess!”

From the side, his fist pointing to the vast sky, his emerald eyes filled with hope and determination, Erun shone brightly like the sun. Like the Sun’s knight from the founding legend of the Empire.

At such an appearance, Kaien replied with a smile.

“I’m sure you’ll be able to do it.

“Really?”

“There is no other person who trains and thinks about the Empire as much as you do.”

The Young Master of the Marquis family. Although his stamina wasn’t the best, Kaien knew better than anyone how much he worked; to the point his palms were callused.

“Uh?? It feels like I’m being teased by the swordsmanship’s genius if you say it like that!”

Erun pouted as if displeased by Kaien’s reply.

“…”

“…”

Kaien and Gloria were silent. In their memories, Erun was bright as the sun and pure as an angel.

And they were betrayed by such a person and returned in time to their past. Still, questions remained.

Why?

For what reason?

And, since when?

Kaien sighed as he wiped his face with his hands in agonized fatigue. Quickly, Gloria asked him in an irritated voice.

“I will marry Erun in two months. Do you think you can immigrate within that period? Even if you stay and send Diana abroad, how can you ensure her safety there?”

“There is a reliable person in the Kingdom of Rituana.”

“Are you… talking about the Duke of Bayern perhaps? Then, how safe will the trip be?”

“Enough games, Your Majesty!”

Annoyed by Gloria’s badgering, Kaien growled, showing his teeth as if to bite her, but she spoke desperately as if pledging her heart.

“I swear, I will kill Marquis Lebossi for sure!”

Gloria spoke firmly, her eyes shining like a sword’s blade. She knew the Rituana’s nobles that Kaien mentioned were quite capable. Even though it was a small Kingdom sandwiched between Empires, the Bayern family was famous.

However, no matter how capable they were, how could they guarantee Diana’s safety until she reached the Rituana Kingdom?

“To succeed, I need you, Duke Ludenberg.”

Kaien wondered if the Gloria before him, who announced her intention to kill her fiancé and husband Erun, was really the woman he once knew.

She had been a woman too shy to give an opinion, who hid like a fairy. He believed that even if she truly had returned, her mind wouldn’t change.

“…”

With a harsh, cold look, Gloria pursed her lips.

“Duke Ludenberg!”

Expressing her frustration, Gloria roughly pushed Kaien to the door.

“Uggh!”

No matter how well-trained Kaien was, the abrupt force made him lose his balance. His spine slammed against the door, and he glared fiercely at Gloria.

The man’s murderous scowl fell on her, asking what the hell was she doing, but Gloria didn’t care. She wasn’t idiot enough to miss her chance for revenge. She lifted her hand and,

Slap!

Kaien’s eyes widened at Gloria’s sudden action, as she slammed the door hard with her palm. His comfortable clothing allowed Gloria’s breath to touch him through the loose shirt.

Surprised or not, Gloria confined Kaien between both hands at the door and demanded again.

The same thing she demanded earlier that day,

The ‘word’ that left Kaien stupefied.

“Be my Empress, Kaien Ludenberg!”

That! Empress!!

Kaien felt dizzy from Gloria’s impromptu proposal, but this time he couldn’t divert her by saying, ‘It’s Gukseo, not Empress.’ Her eyes burned as red as her hair, and he felt that if he dared refuse, she would issue an Imperial edict.

She was as tyrannical as himself. Gloria spoke earnestly to the dumbstruck Kaien.

“Marry me, Duke! If you marry me, I’ll give you anything you want!”

“…Anything?”

Even if he refused, he could be bound by doctrine. Yet a thick curve began to form on Kaien’s lips as the Emperor said she would give him anything he wanted.

That smile was both so captivating and so deadly that Gloria caught herself almost averting her eyes but narrowly avoided it. With just three months left until the wedding, she had nowhere else to turn, so she prepared to accept whatever Kaien might do now.

Kaien, who had been quiet, suddenly narrowed his eyes while staring at her, prompting her to venture.

“Duke…?”

Gloria caught a sudden movement, that of his hand reaching to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, and she flinched. It wasn’t quite an answer, yet she bit her lip hard as Kaien looked into her glistening eyes and finally spoke.

“Then, will you give me both your body and heart?”

“I’ll give you as much as you want.”

Her white cheeks reddened with embarrassment at his unabashed request, but she didn’t back down. As he was about to continue, Gloria started to tremble and

Clank!

“…!”

At the end of the hallway, the sound of pottery breaking made the two of them look up in surprise. So focused on each other that they didn’t hear her footsteps, their faces turned blue as they saw Diana standing there.

“What’s the meaning…”

Diana had been carrying tea, and her face reflected her shock at the scene unfolding before her and the conversation she overheard. Gloria and Kaien pushed each other as if they never stood close before, but Diana was riveted.

They rushed to explain the situation, tumbling over each other’s account.

“Don’t misunderstand, Diana! This is just a deal! I have no ulterior motive. You know me, right? Right?”

“I have no intention of ever having a relationship with the Imperial family, Diana! So don’t worry…”

“Elder brother… Empress.. no, I mean, Gukseo…”

“Diana?”

“Diana.”

‘I’m nervous.’

‘I’m dying of anxiety!’

Kaien and Gloria felt cold sweat flowing down their backs as Diana lowered her head.

But suddenly she said in an excited voice, her amethyst eyes shining ecstatically.

“A female lead who proposes to another man even though she has a fiancé and a male lead who reveals his long unrequited love for her! My goodness! I’ve seen this in novels, but I never imagined that it would unfold before my eyes. Where can I say it without inspiring a rumor that I was a witness…! I must write this down and record it…!”

“…”

“…”

Gloria and Kaien silently caught Diana, who was excited by her role as audience to a romance-like scene. Once at odds like a spear and a shield until a while ago, the two were thinking the same this time.

“Please, stop!”

“Please, Diana, stop!”

Their faces were distorted for the same reason, yet with different meanings.

——

tl/n: Reminder – ‘Gukseo’ is the title granted to the Empress’ or Queen’s husband who doesn’t have the title nor the rights of a King or Emperor.