The Tyrant Empress is Obsessed with Me

51 – Royal Scandal (下)

“Darling. Ah~”

Ascal reflexively chewed on the strawberry that had entered his mouth.

Sweet flesh spread inside his mouth.

As strawberries supplied to the royal family, only the best breeds selected from fertile lands were planted, carefully grown and even had songs sung to them. These were the highest quality strawberries.

“You don’t have to feed me directly.”

“Don’t we have to look like lovers so the other ladies won’t approach you?”

Serena didn’t even consider his words and instead pushed another strawberry into Ascal’s mouth. She was determined not to waste this opportunity.

From the day she found out that Ascal was the Prince of the Night.

Serena stole Ascal’s lips.

That was fine up to that point.

But since then, Serena had been out of touch.

There was a very simple reason for this.

On a cold night, wandering outside, Serena caught the worst cold of her lifetime. It was a flu that even healing magic couldn’t cure.

For a full week.

Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, Serena finally regained the strength to move. The doctor said she needed to rest for a while, but Serena got up immediately upon hearing that Ascal had come to the palace.

Moreover, she heard that the thief cats had begun to flock to Ascal.

At first, when Serena heard this story, she felt as if her blood was boiling. But upon reflection, she realized that it was also an opportunity.

And the plan went exactly as expected.

“Actually, we’ve already had our first kiss, haven’t we?”

“……You stole it.”

“Heh. I tried it. It was indeed your first kiss, right? You haven’t gone that far with Yulia yet?”

“With her……”

I almost got caught up in the moment.

Ascal spoke coldly.

“Access to more information requires authorization of the Evaluation Department Director or higher.”

“What a shame.”

Serena smacked her lips.

Anyway, judging by his reaction, it seemed that Ascal and Yulia’s relationship was not very deep yet.

‘You’ve been by his side for so long, and that’s all you’ve got, Yulia? If I were there, I would have even had a child by now.’

Serena scoffed at Yulia.

Just then,

“Miss Serena! This is urgent!”

“What happened?”

Her maid and confidant, Roza, rushed over.

In front of her loved one, Serena elegantly lifted the teacup and replied.

“Princess Yulia is coming this way, fuming with anger! She’s even carrying a sword!”

Phoop!

The sound of tea being spat out.

Serena had spat out the tea.

‘Darn it. How embarrassing.’

First, Serena wiped the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief and looked up to see if Ascal had been splashed with tea.

“You’re always so messy.”

And what she saw was Yulia, who had already arrived at the royal garden, wiping the spilled tea on Ascal with a handkerchief.

“I heard you were busy with official duties, but it seems like there’s something urgent that you abandoned the task your superior asked you to do?”

“It’s all because of someone.”

Yulia sat down in a chair.

And so, at the table, Ascal sat, with Serena and Yulia facing each other on the other side.

An uncomfortable atmosphere flowed.

“Did you hear? Yulia? That we decided to date each other.”

Of course she would know.

She must have hurried to the palace after hearing the news.

Serena smiled like a winner.

However, Yulia said,

“Who do you think you’re fooling? It’s obviously a fake relationship.”

“Hmm. Fake relationship, you say? We’re in a real relationship, though.”

“I heard that the two of you were excessively flirting with Ascal. And Serena, after declaring your relationship with Ascal, the flirting stopped completely. Isn’t it obvious? He must have gone along with it reluctantly.”

“That’s a plausible guess.”

“And Ascal, he doesn’t like women of your type.”

Snap.

It sounded like a crack formed on Serena’s forehead.

Ascal secretly tried to get up from his seat and flee.

However, Yulia didn’t let Ascal go.

“Ascal.”

“Yes?”

“If you’re going to have a fake relationship, do it with me.”

Serena interjected in between.

“If that happens, your partner will be a playboy, won’t he? Isn’t it more stable to do it with me since we’re already doing it?”

“I cannot trust you.”

“Heh. Only you can do it.”

Then Serena turned her head and looked at Ascal.

“Are we going to continue this fake relationship with me?”

“Ascal, please trust me. It’s better to have a fake relationship with me.”

As if to each tell him to choose them, both women’s gazes met, and Ascal coughed awkwardly.

“I myself…”

◆ The Empire’s hidden dragon, or rather, the Empire’s playboy! This time, a secret rendezvous with the third princess!

The recent revealed lover of the second princess, Count Ascal Erindale, was seen having an informal conversation with the third princess on a quiet evening…

“What is this nonsense?”

Reading the newspaper, Ascal spoke as if he couldn’t believe it.

Last night, having said that he would think about his concerns a bit, he returned to his room, only to find this article this morning.

It was a huge disappointment that the Imperial Newspaper, which he thought had cultured journalists and high-level commentators, reported such false information.

‘I must formally protest.’

With that thought in mind, Aescal stepped outside.

The ladies were in the middle of enjoying an early brunch.

Aescal tried to avoid the ladies reflexively, but his eyes met theirs unintentionally.

“My! Lord Aescal! Who are you planning to date today?”

“The coldly charming Second Princess! Or perhaps the mysterious Third Princess?”

However, the ladies’ reactions were a bit different this time.

It was like the reaction that women watching the recent popular daily drama would have upon seeing the male lead.

Without a word, Aescal passed by the ladies.

“I wonder how he can be so haughty… No wonder he can woo both princesses at once…”

“Even his back looks cold, like he’s about to freeze…”

It was driving him mad.

Even Count Saynan spoke up, seeing Aescal.

“Wouldn’t you share your secret with me? How on earth can I woo both princesses at once… Count! Count!”

Aescal immediately turned to Serena.

“It seems like we have a big problem.”

Aescal showed Serena the newspaper article.

Serena laughed.

“Why is this a big problem? We should be thankful for this.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Here, look.”

Serena kissed Aescal’s cheek.

The passing ladies screamed in delight.

“Congratulations on becoming the empire’s most popular man.”

◆The empire’s playboy receives a kiss from the Second Princess this time…

“…Is this really a newspaper?”

Aescal thought he understood what Serena meant when she said yesterday that he had become popular.

He protested to the Imperial Newspaper, but only got a response saying that they would review the issue from the upper management. In other words, it didn’t make a difference.

In the empire, there were no TVs or dramas. In other words, the only media available were newspapers or a limited number of magic stone receivers that only the wealthy could afford.

Practically all citizens read the empire’s newspapers. As a result, the authority of the empire’s newspaper was quite powerful.

And in that empire newspaper, Ascal’s love affairs always appeared on the front page.

“Kyaaak!!! It’s Ascal!!! Please sign this for me!”

The reactions of the ladies became even more intense.

Their gazes were as if they were looking at a celebrity.

“We shouldn’t approach someone like Ascal. We should quietly watch from behind.”

“Ascal and the second princess really go well together.”

“What are you saying? Did you support the second princess?”

“Huh?”

The ladies’ quarrels grew more serious, to the point that even a small altercation might break out. So Ascal had to stop their fights.

Ascal sighed.

How did things come to this?

“Oh, Ascal. I hardly see your face these days.”

“Crown Prince! You shouldn’t approach me!”

“What are you talking about? The weather is great today. Why don’t we go hunting together?”

“……I’ve warned you.”

“?”

◆The Empire’s playboy, Ascal. Was his pursuit not limited to women only? Was he pursuing forbidden love?

“What… what is this?”

Crown Prince Cain lost his words as he looked at the newspaper’s content. The empire’s newspaper was enjoying its heyday. The popularity of royal scandals was significant.

And that reached even the Crown Prince.

“No matter how much freedom is guaranteed in the empire-level newspaper… We must request a correction immediately……”

Ascal calmly responded to the fuming Crown Prince.

“It’s already too late.”

“Kyaaak! Crown Prince! Please look over here!”

The Crown Prince was already part of the royal scandal.

Cast: Ascal Erindale. Serena Varva. Yulia Varva. And Cain Varva.

Subscription rate: 80%

“It’s easier to give up. It’s not so bad enjoying this.”

Fortunately, just as people’s interest peaked easily, it subsided quickly. A few months passed, and the royal scandal fortunately faded away. Some rumors even circulated that it was deliberately fabricated by the royal family.

However, during that time, the royal family, which was thought to be strict and rigid, began to feel more familiar, and citizens started to reevaluate their perception of the royals.

“Who do you think Ascal ended up dating?”

Sushia asked with a chuckle.

Amid the chaos of the past few months, Ascal, having abandoned his high-ranking position, had returned to the lonely appraisal department office and stood up from his chair.

Thump!

“Ah, ah! Minister?”

Ascal immediately pushed Sushia to her feet.

Sushia’s heart raced.

“You should’ve picked someone else to tease, Sushia.”

Ascal laughed and sat back down.

Sushia’s legs gave out, and she collapsed onto a chair.

“Indeed, the empire’s greatest playboy. His name will forever be synonymous with womanizer…”

To calm her startled heart, Sushia, under the pretext of soothing her nerves, devoured five cups of cocoa and ten cookies while in the office.

Ascal regretted it.

In a dark chamber.

The leader of the spiders let out a deep sigh.

“Ascal… what a terrifying man he is. Not only did he destroy two of our legs, but he came up with such a scheme as well…”

Throughout this time, they had spread rumors about the empire’s royal family through various operations, but the public opinion had completely flipped.

“To think that he could turn around the fallen reputation of the royal family with a single scandal…we’re completely defeated.”

The forger admitted their defeat.

Ascal Debrur, no, Ascal Eryndale.

He had become the biggest threat to the spiders.