The Blackened Second Male Lead’s Wife

At his unexpected remark, Pernia blinked and asked. 

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“….How long will it be?” 

“I’m not sure.
It takes a few days to get there and back, so it’ll take at least a month even if I work with great speed.” 

A month… is a long time.

Pernia asked with a worried face. 

“Is it dangerous work?” 

“No.
I just have to be there to look over some things for a bit.” 

Only then did Pernia sigh. 

“That’s a relief.” 

He could feel that she was genuinely relieved. 

With that, Lucian’s stiff face loosened a little.
Then Lucian looked at Pernia. 

She loves me. 

He had no doubt about it. 

So… 

‘If she tells me not to go, I will not go.
Even if it was His Majesty’s order.’

Pernia faced Lucian.
Her green eyes sparkled.

The eyes which he loved so much.

“Okay.
Have a safe trip.” 

His jaw tightened instinctively from her response. 

After interpreting Lucian’s hardened expression, Pernia quickly added.

“You said it was His Majesty’s order, which means it must be really important.
Don’t worry about me.
I can wait.” 

How should I define this feeling? 

He felt calm for a moment.
Then he felt something hot boil in his chest. 

Lucian felt confused. 

Because this feeling he’s having felt really strange to him. 

Lucian tried to pull himself together. 

Wake up, Lucian. 

What are you so shocked by what she said?

She is a brave and caring person.
That’s why she responded like so…

Not because she never loved me. 

‘Ah.
He’s looking at me with that face.’

Pernia’s face looking at Lucian was full of worries. 

“What’s wrong, Lucian? Your face is pale.
Are you sick?” 

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Pernia looked over his body to see if Lucian was injured.
After putting her hand on Lucian’s forehead, she confirmed that there was nothing particularly wrong with his body.

Pernia held Lucian’s hand and said, anxiously looking into his eyes. 

“Is there anything you want to say to me?” 

“If you do, tell me right away.
We had agreed to say everything we wanted to say to each other and to never hide anything.” 

Lucian bit his lips. 

It was as if she had grabbed his hand, which was hanging precariously on the edge of a cliff.

His face was reflected on her clear green eyes. 

Lucian squeezed out the courage and opened his mouth. 

“Nia, actually…” 

“Yes?” 

Pernia nodded vigorously.
Lucian continued in a trembling voice. 

“Your Majesty said that it’ll be okay for you to come with me if you want.” 

“You want me to come with you.” 

He knew it was a selfish request.
He also knew that he was acting like a baby.

But if it’s her… 

But her answer that followed was enough to make Lucian’s heart sink. 

“…I’m afraid it’ll be difficult to do that, Lucian.” 

“……” 

“I have so many things I have to do because I just opened the shop.
I ought to prepare for the customers who made reservations, and that takes some time.
I’m sorry.”

Pernia’s gaze at Lucian held different emotions from before. 

Her sparkling green eyes were apologetic and regretful. 

There is no reason for her to apologize.
He suddenly asked her to go to a place she had never been to before.
He was in the wrong. 

In addition, she was just starting to run toward her dream.
It was too much to ask of her to drop her plans for him. 

So I shouldn’t be angry. 

I can’t blame her either. 

I shouldn’t be greedy. 

Lucian gulped down his saliva, thinking to himself. 

He felt something terribly hot deep inside his body. 

Lucian said, suppressing the feeling. 

“Don’t apologize, Nia.
I’m sorry for saying something strange.” 

Pernia shook her head.

“First, this isn’t something we both need to apologize to one another for.
Lucian and I just have things to do.
I’m sad you’ll have to be away for a long time, but we’re bound to have problems like this once in a while, right?” 

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Pernia let out a smile to brighten the mood.

“The greater the distance, the more we will shine.
Be confident!” 

Lucian laughed. 

His smile looked the same as usual. 

So Pernia didn’t notice it at all.

That there was something silently swirling in his ruby red eyes. 

* * * 

I was out of my mind for a week after the store opened. 

This is because, unlike other aristocrats who only funded and did not directly run the business, I was directly involved in serving customers.

My body felt exhausted, but I wasn’t tired at all. 

“I really like it, Lady Pernia!” 

Her customers who giggled in delight at their new look was her source of motivation. 

“This was exactly what I was aiming for.
Please use this next time, too.” 

In addition, it felt really rewarding. 

‘It’s really the best to be able to do what I like and make money from it.’

It was really fun. 

The store was closed at sunset. 

I was sitting alone in an empty store with no customers or staff. 

Is it because I’m more attached to my store? 

This place is more comfortable than my room, so I hang around here for a bit before going home. 

Now, I’m making a tassel to hang on the holt of a sword.
It was a gift for Lucian. 

‘There is nothing more romantic than a lady giving her handmade tassel to a departing knight.’

I moved my fingers and wove red and green silk threads that resemble the color of our eyes. 

Then I heard a knock on the door.

Not many came to the store after closing time.
I stood in front of the door with a welcoming face. 

“Lucian?” 

In the past few days, he has visited the store every single day.
He said he didn’t want to disturb me at work, so he would come just as all the customers left. 

However, the voice heard was not Lucian. 

“It’s me.” 

Who’s me? 

It was a familiar voice as I heard it before, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly who it was. 

Feeling wary, I held up the high heels I had in the corner. 

Exceptionally pointy and long, these heels made for a great murder weapon. 

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‘If they do anything suspicious, I’ll cut a hole in their skull.’ 

Violently determined, I asked in a cold voice. 

“How can I know who you are? Please state your name.” 

The voice gave a quick reply. 

“Atanacio Alexis Narsha Franz.” 

Only one voice but so many names.
Are those the names of the many souls possessing their body? Or do they have multiple personalities? 

I thought of all sorts of things, but eventually I covered my mouth in laughter as I realized. 

That’s the emperor’s name.

* * * 

Until a while ago, my secret and cozy hideout had become a suffocating space. 

Thanks to the sudden appearance of the emperor. 

Unlike me who is sweating profusely on my back, the emperor was relaxed.
He looked around the store and said.

“It’s not as big, but you decorated it well.
The noble women would like it.” 

“I’m flattered.” 

Awkwardly responding to the emperor’s praise, I thought inside my head about what he could have possibly come here for.

I heard that when he recovered his health, he also began visiting random places, but why this place? 

After much consideration, I came to one conclusion. 

‘Did he come to get his makeup done?’

It was plausible. 

Although he had been a commander on the battlefield for numerous years, the emperor had a very soft face. 

He may be trying to transform himself into a charismatic emperor to commemorate his return. 

If I raise his eyebrows and apply eyeliner for that tyrant makeup look…!

I was sadly brought back to reality from my daydream.

The emperor asked in a gentle voice. 

“You must have been surprised to see me all of a sudden.
I came here to talk about Lucian.”

I tilted my head because I didn’t understand. 

If he had something for me to do, he should’ve just summoned me to the palace as he’d always done. 

As if reading my thoughts, the emperor smiled softly. 

“I’m here today to request a personal favor, not an order as an emperor.
So I thought it would be more fitting to visit your shop.” 

A personal favor? 

I became more confused. 

What does the emperor, who has recovered his health and has all the powers of the world in his hands, ask of me?

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I just couldn’t figure it out. 

“Did Lucian tell you about my order?” 

“Yes.”

“What did Lucian say to you?”

“Your Majesty ordered Lucian to go to the war zone for a while.
But there weren’t any serious issues, so I don’t have to worry.”

A low sigh came out through the emperor’s lips, who was looking at me silently. 

“Yeah, it wasn’t anything serious a few days ago.
But something happened.” 

I looked at the emperor with wide eyes.
The emperor spoke with a serious face. 

“Two days ago, a rebellion broke out in the war zone.” 

“….!” 

“The local people there who surrendered to the empire and the defeated soldiers who had been dispersed were united.
It’s not a big problem if it only involved them, but foreign countries have started providing soldiers and weapons to them.
The imperial troops currently residing in our bases there won’t be able to handle their forces.” 

I don’t know much about the political situation or foreign affairs. 

However, I could see how serious the current situation was.
Because the emperor’s face became very gloomy. 

“They say the rebels are killing the imperial army and its people at random.
It’s become hell in that area.” 

“T-then, our knights ought to come to aid as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, he ought to go as soon as possible.
He’s the best knight we have.” 

I knew who he was referring to. 

He was talking about Lucian.

My heart pounded. 

Lucian didn’t bring up any of this until yesterday.
We just laughed and had normal conversations. 

This means..
Lucian has to go to war again? 

Did he not tell me because he thought I’d be worried? 

Is that why the emperor came to tell me this instead? 

I looked at the emperor with a confused face. 

The emperor said. 

“Lucian said he wanted to quit his job as a knight.” 

“…Huh? What….?!” 

“A week ago, he came to me, knelt down, and said, ‘I’ll return everything I’ve received from Your Majesty, so please dismiss me from my position.’” 

It felt like I was hit on the back of my head with a huge hammer. 

I looked at the emperor with a shocked face.
The emperor saw my face and clicked his tongue. 

“He didn’t tell you anything.” 

Soon, the emperor’s eyes changed. 

A new emotion appeared on his previously soft face- anger.