I Sought Out the Tragedy's Scheming Mastermind

Chapter 40

“This is the girl who served me in the estate before. The Empress Dowager sent her.”

“You’ve brought a nuisance,” Verkley whispered back.

Still, there was a clear smile around his mouth.

His ventriloquism was also very good.

Eliana pouted at his pretentious appearance. Then, he smiled, and she whispered again.

“Don’t hurt Fin for no reason. She’s such a nice girl.”

“If anyone hears you, they’ll think I’m a scoundrel.”

“Aren’t you?”

“Ah, you want to die now?

“Gosh… Why did you sign a contract if you were going to be like this? Just kill me.”

“I’m regretting it now, too. I should’ve just killed you.” Verkley said, laughing.

He said such things, but his voice was sweet.

It was like this every time.

Making her heart shrivel up by threatening to kill her even though he doesn’t want to.

At first, she was nervous that he really would, but now it feels as light as a daily joke.

She wished he wouldn’t say such cruel jokes as if he were serious, but what power did she have to defend herself?

There was only one advantage to his mischief.

No longer being afraid of threats.

In fact, since entering the palace and staying with him, she had never considered him close for a second.

A terrifying thought would pop up on the other side of her mind because she didn’t know when he was going to strike.

But much changed after he found out her identity and they promised each other an alliance.

The most surprising thing was Verkley’s nature.

Contrary to what she thought was a madman who couldn’t compromise, he was quite rational, and there was a handful of kindness in his cold words.

He only threatened to kill her verbally, but in reality, he didn’t even try.

Which clearly made him different from Hera.

That part went well for Eliana.

Being so reckless, she sometimes forgot that he was the scheming mastermind and confronted him.

Nevertheless, he didn’t say anything, so there was a point where she poked him even more.

Let’s say she was experimenting to see how far she could go.

Eliana’s mouth twitched, and Verkley patted her head meaninglessly.

Then, he whispered softly.

“I won’t kill you.”

“You have a strange personality, Your Majesty.”

“I think you’re worse.”

Verkley laughed low at Eliana telling him off.

Fin stared at him with sparkling eyes.

Since before, Fin’s expressions have been diverse. She gleamed at the two of them affectionately touching each other.

Since she was so far away, she couldn’t hear their voices.

So Fin was nodding her head only after seeing what the two were doing.

Their friendly whispering seemed quite intimate.

In addition, when Verkley smiled beautifully and patted Eliana’s head, her eyes made her look like a surprised bunny.

How sensuous she looked.

Fin was proud that Eliana seemed to be liked by him.

The corners of her mouth lifted, thinking that the rumor she had heard was true.

There was a rumor that the emperor might get married soon and that the woman was a young daughter of an insignificant count.

It was a rumor that the nobles kept fussing about, keeping Hera in check, but Fin wouldn’t have known that.

Recently, Valkyrie, who was sharpening his sword to get revenge on Eliana, was also quiet, and the rumors were well-disposed.

When Fin tracked down the rumor and heard that the woman mentioned was Eliana, she was delighted.

When she saw the sweet scene with her own two eyes, it seemed that the two had a really special relationship.

Fin’s face flushed.

She was proud that the rumored future empress was the lady she served.

Since she was young, she’d suffered a lot, and her personality was a little twisted, but in reality, she wasn’t a bad person.

Fin looked at Eliana with a motherly smile.

As Eliana flinched at the look in her eyes, Fin smiled brightly and spoke loudly to Verkley.

“I’ll do my best not to bother you!”

Eliana looked at Fin curiously, who was suddenly full of spirit.

Verkley gestured at her with his chin, asking to explain why she was doing that.

‘I don’t know either.’

Eliana shrugged her shoulders, and Verkley grumbled.

“You’ve been around a girl who is exactly like you.”

“You have me by your side, Your Majesty, so it sounds like you’re disgracing your name.”

“If only you couldn’t talk.” Verkley let out a fake laugh.

But the way his mouth lifted gently looked comfortable.

It looked much better than a forced smile.

“You have a good smile.”

“I always smile. Whether you like it or not.” Verkley replied, still smiling.

Eliana mentioned the one person who came to mind when she saw him.

“You look just like the princess.”

“…So noisy.”

When she mentioned Mary, Verkley’s face hardened.

His overreaction made her uncomfortably touch the nape of her neck.

* * *

After Fin arrived, life at the palace got a little easier.

Fin was an experienced maid and had skillfully found things to do.

She was such a smart girl that she did her job well even when she switched places.

“It’s definitely convenient to have a personal maid around…”

While at the palace, Eliana was not assigned a separate maid.

Except for simple chores, she did everything by herself.

Meanwhile, it felt much more comfortable having received Fin’s assistance.

‘If it weren’t for Hera, it wouldn’t be this bad.’

However, apart from the convenience, she couldn’t help but feel sorry.

Fin was a commoner, but thanks to her quick wits, she got along quite well with other noble maids.

Of course, she was secretly discriminated against in the dark, but she didn’t seem to care.

She was more upset that the rumors about Eliana were bad among them.

‘It’s clear everyone is jealous of the young lady. Why can’t they just get enough of harassing you?’

‘What else did you hear today?’

‘Well… Ah, never mind. It’d be best if you didn’t know. They aren’t good things you should hear…’

‘Don’t worry too much. Anyway, people will talk, even if they know nothing. I’m fine.’

‘It’s even more upsetting that the young lady is used to this.’

Eliana could not be seen as kind to other noble ladies-in-waiting, as she was specially employed by Hera.

It was obvious what the ladies-in-waiting were talking about.

They were probably arguing about the emperor and her.

She already confirmed that dirty rumors were circulating through Marquis Valkyrie, so she didn’t want to hear the details.

‘Miss, isn’t the weather really nice today? It would be nice to have the laundry dry outside on a day like this. I’ll be right back!’

Eliana felt even more sorry, watching Fin trying to pretend nothing happened.

While Fin went to work, Eliana was getting ready to go out.

Mary finally contacted her first, and she was in a hurry to prepare.

When Eliana began to hum, Verkley burst out laughing as if full of energy.

Eliana’s gaze naturally flitted to him.

He was languidly leaning against the wall, his face showing discontent. He spoke curtly,

“People might think you’re going to go see your girlfriend.”

“Why are you acting up again?”

“You don’t know why?” Verkley tilted his head and responded with a bad attitude.

They were in the bedroom, so he looked very attractive in loose undergarments at the moment.

“No, I don’t.”

When Eliana really remained clueless, he furrowed his brows.

“I don’t think you realize that my revenge includes the princess. If you’re working to upset me on purpose, you are succeeding tremendously, Lili.”

“It’s not like that. Your Majesty ordered me to follow the Empress Dowager’s instructions, so why are you being like this?”

Eliana comforted him gently, and he approached.

Verkley came close, looking down at her with a chilling gaze, and firmly stated,

“Kiss me before you go.”

His demand was monotonic, like a person taking their nutritional supplements regularly.

Eliana slightly lifted to her feet and kissed him lightly on the mouth.

“Please be gentle with your words. It makes the person doing you a favor feel nice.”

“With the way you’re behaving, I don’t think I will.”

Verkley responded by softly rubbing her lips with his finger.

Eliana questioned him as if teasing him for his answer.

“Perhaps, you wouldn’t be annoyed by it, would you?”

“Stop talking nonsense, and come here. What kind of kiss was that?”

Verkley chided flatly, gently holding Eliana’s chin.

Contrary to his coercive words, he touched her chin with caution.

Somehow, his bitterness had gotten worse with Fin’s arrival at the palace.

‘Maybe… you haven’t been able to kiss me properly because you’ve been keeping an eye on her since then, haven’t you?’

Verkley’s senses were on high alert, as whenever he tried to do something, Fin would be in the way.

Eliana wrapped her arms around Verkley’s neck.

Since this had become a nutritional supplement, she thought she should properly take care of his body.

Verkley smiled cunningly at Eliana’s active response.

Then, Verkley placed his lips on Eliana’s.

This unfamiliar touch was something she’d never get used to.

This feeling of being caressed by something squishy and soft.

As usual, his moist and cool lips swept over Eliana’s.

Eliana made a bold move, opening her mouth and allowing Verkley’s tongue to slide inside.

His tongue swept past her teeth, persistently following Eliana’s tongue, which was hidden.

The sensation of their tongues brushing against each other felt strange.

Suddenly, she was out of breath.

After a long time, she didn’t know how to get him to stop, so Eliana lightly pushed Verkley.

He gently stepped back, wiping the corner of his mouth with his hand, flashing a wicked smile.

He looked very pleased.

T/N: Eliana & Verkley give me ‘Can’t Remember to Forget You’ / ‘One More Hour’ vibes.