Medea looked around in earnest. She held her breath and quietly squeezed herself to the corner.

At that moment.

The door opened, and the dresses hanging in the chest were pushed aside.

"Medea ..."

Lyle growled. Medea looked up at Lyle with an awkward expression.

She knew someone would be looking for her, but she didn't expect Lyle, the Emperor, would search and find her himself again.

"Y-your M-majesty, how could you—yourself.... Ahh!"

Lyle bent down into the chest, grabbed Medea's waist, and plucked her out as if lifting a child. Medea struggled in fright, and in response, Lyle slapped her ass.

"Ek! What are you doing!"

"That's what I'd like to ask."

Lyle, who held Medea, glared at her, suppressing his anger.

"Why are you hiding in the closet when you should be waiting for me in the bedroom?"

"H-hiding?"

"Or were you trying to play hide-and-seek?"

asked Lyle with a frigid laugh.

He looked furious, so Medea avoided his glare, glancing at the floor.

"I-I didn't like the clothes I was wearing... .... While choosing clothes, I fell asleep."

"After closing the dresser door."

"If the maids found me... It would take three or four hours to try on this suit and that suit.."

"You're still trying to talk your way out of this."

Lyle snorted and laughed as he left the dressing room, hugging Medea.

Behind Lyle, the handmaids and attendants watched with them with anxiety. When the Emperor came out of the dressing room and enter the bedroom, he did not head towards the bed but instead towards the door.

'Huh?'

He walked out of Medea's bedroom.

"Uh... . Wh... ... Uh, where are we going......?"

'You're not gonna put me in jail, are you?'

For a moment, Medea panicked and nervously asked Lyle, but Lyle didn't even glance at Medea.

"The Empress will be living with me at the main palace as of today."

"We hear and obey your Maj—"

"Ack— why?"

Before the couriers could reply with their affirmation, Medea, who was still in Lyle's arms, shook, furious. Lyle looked at Medea with a fierce look.

"Why?"

Medea felt his bloody gaze.

"Is that the voice of the Empress, who fled from sharing the Emperor's bed twice?"

"I-I never ran away."

"Ho—Really?"

Lyle hurriedly walked down the hallway that led to the main palace ignoring his train of escorts, guards, and attendants urgently following him.

"Let's see if that's true or not—in my bed."

There was a considerable distance from the Empress's Palace to the Main Palace where the Emperor lived. In the meanwhile, Lyle never put Medea down.

Rather than letting her down, the arms that held her were firm, not coloured by fatigue or tremors.

The addition of the weight of her dress meant she should have exceeded the weight of an adult man. Medea was in awe of Lyle's strength.

While the Empress's Palace focused on the splendor and elegance, the Main Palace seemed to focus on highlighting the Imperial family's dignity with grandeur and spirit.

The high ceilings were filled with arts related to the empire's past emperors, with their statues and portraits all around.

In the lavishly marbled hall, precious gems and gold were used to illustrate the wealth of the empire generously.

Lyle stridingly walked past it all with indifference.

The Emperor's residence was located at the Main Palace's innermost part and was the largest complex in the Main Palace.

At every juncture, the guards, servants, and knights were surprised to see the Emperor carrying the Empress in his arms.

Medea protested and pleaded her case, having to pull the hem of her clothes down each time, but Lyle didn't pay her any mind.

At the eighth enormous, spacious corridor reminiscent of a hall, they finally reached the Emperor's quarter.

The main palace was kept strictly.

It was common for the Imperial family to return on a whim, so when the Emperor who was expected to spend the night at the Empress's Palace returned, the servants hid their surprise and showed professional courtesy to the Imperial couple.

Lyle's bedroom had already been perfectly prepared.

The door to the bedroom opened, and Lyle with Medea in one arm entered. As Lyle strode toward the bed, an attendant who followed them quietly shut the door without a sign.

Medea stole a glance while being held to Lyle's chest.

'You're not going to throw me onto the bed like in the movies, are you? It's fun to watch it in movies or read about it in novels, but it actually hurts...'

They arrive at the huge bed (which seemed to be bigger than the bed in Medea's bedroom); Lyle was also the novel's main character.

Contrary to her stiff face, Medea inadvertently exhaled a sigh of relief when Lyle's hard arm lowered her on to the bed.

"...It's too early to be relieved."

said Lyle crookedly, looking into Medea's face with cold eyes.

Medea glanced at Lyle, clasped his face, and kissed him.

"!"

Instantly, Lyle's face turned red.

His anger didn't cool down with this, but the reason quickly crumbled on Medea's lips, which he had not touched in a long time.

'Damn!'

Medea's lips were so sweet and fragrant. Lyle indulged in Medea's lips in a frenzy, pushing her down on the bed.

'Why does it feel softer and sweeter than I remember? I felt like I was choking in dizziness.'

"Cheeky... with just one kiss... Um... Avoid punishment... There will be, ha.... Is that right?"

He wasn't intimidating at all when he said this while kissing. Rather, Lyle only confirmed how weak he was to Medea's body.

Lyle was embarrassed by himself.

What's that kiss? His soaring outrage had reached the sky and in an instant was captured, and instead, the vacuum it left in its wake was filled with fervor for Medea.

If this situation was repeated, it would be undeniable that he wrapped around her finger and skirt and would listen to whatever she wanted.

"Hmmm......."