I Left my Cheating Husband and Married a Beast

Chapter 35

I wanted to pinch my cheek to check if this was real or not.

Shanur glanced between me and the Emperor before leaning in to whisper,
“I’ll be right outside. If anything happens, don’t hesitate to call me. I’ll come immediately.”

I nodded, but Shanur still looked uneasy as he kept glancing at me before finally stepping outside.

As soon as the door closed, the Emperor straightened his posture as if he had been waiting for this moment. Instinctively, I sat up straighter and clasped my hands together.

His gaze changed slightly, making my throat dry up.

“The Jerem Marquis… it’s struggling, isn’t it?”

“Yes, very much.”

“Do you have any money?”

Since I hadn’t received any from the Crown Prince yet, I had none.

“No, I don’t.”

“Hmm…”

The Emperor reached into his robe and pulled out something—a paper envelope.

‘Wait… could this be…?’

My eyes widened in surprise.

“Your Majesty, I can’t accept this.”

“Can’t accept it? Why not?”

“Well…”

I hadn’t approached Shanur for money. I had my own reasons, but the Emperor didn’t know them.

That meant Shanur had been keeping it a secret. And I couldn’t be the one to reveal the truth.

“I just can’t accept it!”

Of course, I was curious about how much money he was offering!

And I was also curious how much Shanur would give me if we ever broke up!

“I don’t understand.”

The Emperor tilted his head, and for a moment, his gentle gaze turned sharp.

I shivered slightly, but my decision remained firm.

“I would never betray Shanur—”

“Don’t you need emergency funds?”

“…Huh?”

Emergency funds?

I blinked at him, confused. The Emperor sighed as if he found my reaction odd.

“You’re still young, so you might not understand, but even married couples need emergency funds. Especially since the Jerem family has no money to give you, I have no choice but to prepare some for you. No matter how much we say, ‘What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours,’ having your own money is important.”

He then pressed the thick envelope into my hands, completely ignoring my protests.

The weight of the envelope snapped me back to reality.

‘So… this is just… pocket money?’

I was so stunned that I couldn’t speak for a moment.

“…Don’t you think I’m lacking?”

The Emperor and Shanur were incredibly close.

So, it made sense that he wouldn’t like someone with my background being with Shanur.

Yet instead of telling me to leave, he was giving me money?

“Wait… did you think I gave this money so you’d break up with him?”

The Emperor’s eyes widened, and then he burst into laughter.

His laughter echoed through the room, and by the time it subsided, his eyes were teary.

‘Have I read too many dramatic novels?’

My face flushed with embarrassment.

In a novel, the Emperor threatening me to leave Shanur would have made sense. But reality was more unexpected than fiction.

“Well, I can see why you’d think that. Not many people know the truth about my relationship with Shanur.”

That statement caught my interest.

Now that I thought about it, I’d only ever heard rumors that they didn’t get along.

But there had never been rumors saying they were this close.

If the Emperor hadn’t denied those bad rumors, it meant there was another reason behind it.

“…Is it because of the Third Prince?”

I asked directly.

The Emperor already supported the Crown Prince, so he had to be aware of what the Third Prince was up to.

“Yes.”

Thankfully, he didn’t seem offended. Instead, he let out a sigh.

“More precisely, it’s because of the Third Prince and the Empress. If they saw me talking to Shanur in public, they’d assume I planned to give him the throne.”

The Emperor looked exhausted.

“Honestly, I did want to make Shanur the next Emperor, but that child rejected it so fiercely.”

I felt like I had just stumbled upon a huge secret.

From his words, I could guess that Shanur had personally given up his claim to the throne.

“I worried about him a lot growing up since he never let people get close to him. To be honest, I paid more attention to him than the Crown Prince.”

So, Shanur’s sharp personality wasn’t just because of the curse—he was born that way.

“You know about his curse, right?”

It seemed like the Emperor was referring to that.

I quickly nodded.

I knew what kind of curse Shanur had and the pain he was going through.

Seeing me nod, the Emperor looked relieved.

“I meant what I said earlier. I really am grateful. I have a lot of regrets when it comes to Shanur.”

There was a hint of sadness in his eyes.

“I’ve been so worried that after helping the Crown Prince take the throne, Shanur would disappear. But now that you’re here, I don’t have to worry anymore.”

His trust in me was overwhelming, and I didn’t know how to respond.

But he didn’t seem to expect an answer, so I quietly listened.

“Oops, am I putting too much pressure on you?”

“To be honest… Shanur and I haven’t known each other for long.”

The Emperor raised an eyebrow.

“So, I can’t exactly say we’re deeply in love…”

“Can’t say that, but?”

“…But I’ll do my best. I don’t want him to suddenly disappear either.”

Even if our relationship only had a year left, I didn’t want him to leave.

The Emperor stared at me for a moment before smiling.

“Thank you.”

That was the most sincere thing he had said so far.

“It’s getting late. If I keep you any longer, Shanur might barge in here.”

After tucking the envelope into my clothes, I bowed to him.

“Oh, I told Shanur to wait elsewhere, so he’s not outside. Just follow the chamberlain.”

With that, he waved me off, and I left the room, finally letting out a relieved sigh.

I hadn’t realized how tense I had been, but now that I was out, my body felt sore.

“Let’s go, my lady.”

As the Emperor said, Shanur wasn’t waiting outside. Instead, a chamberlain stood there.

I followed him, rubbing my stiff shoulders.

I would need a massage later if I wanted to avoid muscle pain tomorrow.

After walking for a while, I started feeling uneasy.

Something was off—we weren’t headed to my room.

“Chamberlain.”

Before I could ask, a voice interrupted us.

We stopped and looked in the direction of the voice.

“…Third Prince.”

The chamberlain greeted him politely.

“What a coincidence.”

“It’s not a coincidence. I waited here on purpose.”

His words made me flinch.

Even though he was speaking to the chamberlain, his gaze was fixed on me.

“So, how was your meeting with His Majesty?”

“…It was fine.”

“Then since you’re already here, you should meet my mother too.”

“…That’s…”

I hesitated, and he sighed.

“You should just come. My mother has even less patience than I do.”

Great. So they were both impatient.

I glanced at the chamberlain.

He looked troubled, as if he couldn’t stop this.

If he had any sense, he’d run straight to Shanur and tell him what was happening.

So at least I wasn’t completely defenseless.

But that didn’t mean I could follow the Third Prince so easily.

“Chamberlain, can you tell His Majesty that I love the gift he gave me?”

“Yes, my lady. I will.”

“And… oh no, I was going to mention a small flaw in it… Oh well. I’ll just tell him next time.”

“Yes, I’m sure His Majesty will make time for you.”

After that, I turned to the Third Prince.

He was now looking at me with a different expression.

“…You’re smarter than you look.”

Yes, I had just played a simple trick.

I made it seem like the Emperor cared about me enough to give me a personal gift.

By pretending to notice a minor flaw in it, I implied that he was comfortable enough around me to let me criticize him.

And the chamberlain added that the Emperor would make time for me, showing that I had his favor.

With that armor, I smiled at the Third Prince.