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Judith’s voice rang out sharply from below like a cymbal struck offbeat. It was time to go back.
Anyone’s legs would tremble if they looked down from such a height. Trying not to glance below, Fria carefully stretched his foot toward the branch. The massive tree trunk, thick enough that several people could barely wrap their arms around it, felt as sturdy as Gir’s embrace.
As the ground drew closer, Fria gauged the distance with his eyes and lightly jumped down.
“Kyah! Lord Fria!”
“Lord Fria, are you hurt anywhere?”
“Why do you always make us worry like this? My heart nearly stopped!”
Looks like my skills haven’t rusted yet.
Despite their scolding, Fria only smiled mischievously, eyes curving into crescents. The maids burst into louder protests.
“You’re too much!”
“What if you’d gotten hurt?!”
“I thought my heart stopped beating!”
“Sorry. Did I scare you that much?”
Smiling, Fria reached out and patted Judith’s head.
“It feels really nice up there, you know? You can see the whole lake at on-”
Smack.
Before he could finish, Fria’s face snapped sideways from the sharp impact across his cheek. Stunned, he slowly lifted his gaze toward the emperor standing before him.
“…Your Majesty?”
‘Was this anger? Or…’
Owen could still feel his palm trembling after striking his concubine’s cheek. The moment he saw the man perched atop the dizzyingly tall tree, irritation at such reckless behavior had tightened his brow.
He had approached intending to order him down immediately. Then green leaves rustled noisily above his head. Long legs swung overhead. The instant Owen looked up, his eyes were captured by pale calves and slender ankles revealed beneath trousers rolled to the knees.
Unable to look away from the concubine descending the tree, Owen unconsciously held his breath.
The moment Fria leapt from above to the ground.
A vision of a red fox flashed before Owen’s eyes.
Fria staggered slightly before straightening himself and breaking into a bright grin.
‘It feels really nice up there? You can see the whole lake at on-’
He wasn’t dead.
The next moment, uncontrollable fury surged through Owen. How could he behave so dangerously?
By the time he came to his senses, he had already struck Fria hard across the face.
“…Your Majesty?”
Fria stared up at him blankly.
That irritating face. Those long legs. That pale neck and arms, those cheeks, those lips.
An urge to pull him into his arms, crashed over Owen like a wave.
‘What is this…?’
The ground beneath him seemed to vanish.
His fingertips trembling, Owen stood there silently for a long while.
****
“Reflect on your actions.”
Coldly tossing out the order, the emperor turned and walked away from Fria.
When had he even arrived without a sound?
Not in a private bedroom, but in front of all the attending maids, Fria had been struck by the emperor himself. Biting his lip to maintain composure, he forced an awkward smile.
“He must’ve been really angry, huh?”
“Lord Fria, are you alright?”
Judith’s eyes welled with tears as she blamed herself for not noticing the emperor watching nearby while she worried over Fria in the tree. It was too cruel. No matter that he was the emperor, how could he strike someone in front of so many people?
“We need to put something cold on it quickly.”
“I’ll go ask the kitchen for ice.”
Faces stiff with shock, Isabel and Livron hurried away under the excuse of fetching ice. They had admired the emperor deeply, making the scene even more upsetting for them.
Fria wasn’t some delicate lady. A single slap was nothing if he simply waited for the stinging heat to fade. Still, he couldn’t understand why the emperor had become so furious over this.
Then again, when had the emperor ever bothered explaining himself?
He came whenever he pleased, disappeared whenever he pleased, dragged Fria all the way here only to treat him like forgotten baggage.
Ever since the night they shared together, a night the emperor himself probably didn’t even remember, Fria found himself constantly wondering about him.
What kind of person was he?
How had he lived?
Why had he cried that night?
Did he still remember Fria’s name?
And why did this single slap hurt more than all the violence Fria had endured before?
Only then did Fria realize the truth.
Even though he knew the emperor had not brought him here out of affection, he had still been waiting for him.
You think this chapter was thrilling? Wait until you read Can Love Be Styled Too?! Click here to discover the next big twist!
Read : Can Love Be Styled Too?
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