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“…What do you wish to do?”
 
“Yes, I’m going to give you a birthday present.”
 
‘Mar’ came to her mind naturally whenever she was asked about what she wanted.
 
“Then Mar….”
 
“I can’t grant you that.”
 
The voice was really firm. Even the answer came out in less than a second.
 
Helen’s bright expression was crumpled greatly.
 
“Anything else?”
 
“Then, I would like to get books….”
 
“I thought you already bought as many books as you wanted? Is the provided budget insufficient for you?”
 
If it wasn’t enough, he seemed to want to increase it at once.
 
However, there was still a lot left because she couldn’t spend the whole budget.
 
Ellie suddenly had an abundant budget, so it was unnecessary to increase the number of dishes on top of the loaded table every time she prepared a meal for her master.
 
“…No. It’s not that, but….”
 
She wanted to see the banned books. She was done with the books which have been published on the market.
 
She already had read the newly delivered books and even the books she wanted to read more than 10 or 100 times.
 
She was interested in different books now because she had seen and read as much as she could get her hands on due to her addiction.
 
“Now that I see it, you wanted the book that has been banned.”
 
The emperor quickly figured it out and smiled wickedly.
 
She had confessed to the emperor that she wanted to commit a crime in the first place.
 
Helen’s face heated up in embarrassment, and Carmun said, “It’s not a big deal” as if to put her at ease.
 
‘Was that the reason why nothing happened at night?’
 
She remembered some kind of banned books tucked in his study. She thought he saw it.
 
Carmun’s lips drawn into a meaningful smile.
 
‘It seems that I need to get more banned books. A lot of them.’
 
“I’m glad to hear that. A concubine who likes books deserves a reward. I will put them in my study. You should try to enjoy reading them more, especially during the night.”
 
“Yes….”
 
Helen thought she just passed the crisis and exhaled a brief sigh of relief.
 
However, the emperor suddenly stopped muttering and made his eyebrows askew.
 
“But is that really all you want from me?”
 
What, what’s with him? She thought it all went well just now, or it wasn’t?
 
“You don’t know this is such a great opportunity for yourself…. There’s nothing I can’t obtain in this world. I can guarantee it.”
 
Such a haughty remark. There’s nothing he can’t get, he says?
 
But that was something he could rightfully say since he was the Emperor of Idelberg.
 
Idelberg literally ruled over the largest continent in the world, so the emperor wasn’t having a hard time getting anything he wished for.
 
Helen nodded in agreement to the emperor.
 
When she tried to recall it, she remembered something she wanted to see.
 
It was ‘hydrangea’ that she stumbled upon in a book.
 
The hydrangeas were said to bloom like clouds.
 
In Cordelia, a country with cold-climate, she had never discovered it because this was the place where such flowers couldn’t bloom.
 
“Then there is one thing I want to have.”
 
“What is it?”
 
The emperor pushed himself as if to speak quickly with a warm voice.
 
It’s the gift she would receive, but the emperor seemed to be looking forward to it more than her.
 
“Hydrangea.”
 
“…Hydrangea?”
 
Carmun’s face, which was full of anticipation, dropped at the mention of hydrangea.
 
Hydrangea were common flowers in Idelberg.
 
But when he saw Helen’s eyes sparkled while speaking about hydrangea, he felt like simply worrying over nothing.
 
If she wanted hydrangeas, he should fill the palace with hydrangeas.
 
“One bouquet of it is fine.”
 
Helen hurriedly added, perhaps reading into his thought.
 
“…You seem pretty astute.”
 
Helen laughed at her joke for the very first time. Carmun’s heart skipped a beat upon hearing the sound of her laughter.
 
Oh, I was just trying to see you laughing like that.
 
The belatedly fluttering heart began to beat uncontrollably.
 
It’s hydrangea.
 
Carmen had a grin around her mouth. Carmun had a pouty smile around his lips.
 
It’s surprising that the thing she wanted was just hydrangea, because hydrangea in flower language meant just like her heart.
 
The flower languages of hydrangea were ‘sincere’ and ‘fickle’. Hydrangea would wither if it gets dry even just a little bit, but it could be restored after soaking it in water.
 
It meant ‘fickle’ because it withers just like that, not because it can be restored again.
 
It has the meaning of ‘sincerity’ because its appearance was asking for him to like it.
 
Since she looked like a hydrangea, Carmun decided to find a particularly pretty hydrangea.
 
***
 
“His… Majesty……?”
 
Ersa couldn’t believe what she just saw. The one who came out from the path leading to the backyard of Concubine Edith was His Majesty the Emperor.
 
Ersa’s face was a mess. She hasn’t gotten much sleep recently so her face was haggard and her eyelids were black.
 
She was afraid that what she had done would be revealed.
 
The emperor went back to his palace without batting an eye to Ersa.
 
‘That’s Concubine Edith’s abode….’
 
He was never the type to pay attention to his concubine, let alone batting an eye at them.
 
But recently, the concubines were suddenly summoned to attend the hunting festival and the budget was increased.
 
The lower it got, the larger amount they got despite their words saying budget distribution was equal. She had just learned that information.
 
After she found out about it, no words could describe how upset she was.
 
It was obvious to everyone that he was setting it up for Concubine Edith’s sake.
 
She became even more annoyed at Concubine Edith.
 
When did she seduce the Emperor with such an innocent face?
 
Crack-!
 
Ersa’s nails, which she had bitten since earlier, were coming apart and torn out painfully. She grabbed her bloody hand, which was a mess, and frowned.
 
Her thought was wrong this whole time.
 
The situation has already turned, and the one whom she should have made an alliance with was Concubine Edith, not the empress!
 
She was stupid.
 
She had to admit her wrongdoings.
 
They might find out that she did it if she remained like this. The emperor was never the kind of person who would take this lightly.
 
The emperor was very strict about crime and the punishment that followed.
 
‘Let’s make a confession.’
 
Let’s plead guilty and step back on my own.
 
She regretted knowing this was the most possible way, but it was better than being expelled.
 
Ersa changed her mind and returned to her abode; she wanted to write a letter before having an audience with the emperor.
 
***
 
However, Ersa was summoned by the empress before she could request an audience with the emperor.
 
Josephine grabbed the letter from Ersa with a cold, stiff face and shook it in front of her.
 
“Do you think this will change your situation?”
 
“….”
 
She didn’t expect the empress to snatch her letter.
 
Ersa’s jaw trembled in shock.
 
“What are you going to do about…me?”
 
“Ha! What do you think I’m going to do? You’re thinking of selling me out if anyone hears us, aren’t you?”
 
Are you saying no?
She even made an alibi about the usage of the poisonous weeds.
 
She felt like the empress was thinking of covering it all up with her.
 
“Do you think I’m going alone to my grave?”
 
Ersa’s eyes were seething with rage.
 
Josephine, on the other hand, only looked at her in a poised manner.
 
“So, do you think it will reduce your crime if you go to the emperor and tell him what I told you to do?”
 
Josephine sneered at her with cold eyes.
 
“That won’t do. You will be punished equally. Your crime won’t be reduced, and you will be deposed and returned to your homeland for abetting against Concubine Edith and attempt of killing. The emperor might execute you if he gets tougher.”
 
Execution….!
 
Ersa got goosebumps all over her body when thinking of losing her head.
 
***
 
[t/n: hi, this is rae. So this chapter had to be cut off here due to my stupidity for losing the rest of the raws for this chapter and because the whole raws for this novel has been deleted by the author on the naver series for the serialization purposes (except for the first 4 chapters). Due to that, I unfortunately have to say that I’m unable to translate this chapter properly and the rest of the novel as well. 
 
For those who have been wondering why the raws are deleted, the author said on their announcement that it’s going to be serialized someday (they hadn’t given the exact date yet). And the title has changed, too. I will get you updated once I get the updates for this series from the author. Thank you for the support and love, have a nice day!]
 
Anyway, this novel will be on hiatus until the author decides to continue writing and publishing her work. This also means that this novel might never continue again.