Your Majesty, I’m Not that Man - Chapter 2: Not the Second Wife, but the Mistress? (2)

Supported by the servants and attendants brought from the duke’s estate, Maxim barely managed to descend to the carriage. Once inside, he was half-conscious, practically passed out, as he was transported back to the ducal residence.

Levinia, fully aware of how events would unfold, knew exactly why Maxim was reacting this way.

‘Father was always written as someone utterly terrified of the emperor.’

Though a morally questionable person, he was neither bold nor brave. In the emperor’s presence, he would shrink like a wilting flower. Was it simply a matter of differing capacities?

Having no expectations of Maxim, Levinia waited patiently for him to regain his composure. The duchess, meanwhile, had left the estate early that morning and hadn’t been heard from since.

“Two…”

The place Levinia instructed for Maxim’s recovery was the parlor. Stretched out on the sofa, Maxim, even in his current state, looked large and imposing.

“Two?”

Seated diagonally across in a single armchair, Levinia calmly picked up on the word he muttered. Maxim took a deep breath and, with a trembling voice, finally managed to speak.

“In… in two months… he’s asking for you! You! He says… he wants to take you as his empress! As his consort!”

Levinia’s only reaction was the faint raising of an eyebrow. The ones who truly lost their composure were the maids and attendants standing nearby. Maggie, her nursemaid, turned pale as a sheet and looked helplessly at Levinia.

‘Two months… Was it two months in the original story as well?’

The events were progressing faster than expected. However, there was some relief—Albert was no longer in the estate. She’d already arranged for him to escape.

“When will the formal announcement be made?” she asked calmly.

“I-I didn’t ask about that… What are we to do?”

Though she had asked the question, it wasn’t really directed at him for an answer. Maxim had already resolved himself to send Levinia to the emperor, not out of concern or regret for his only daughter, but out of sheer terror at the prospect of becoming the emperor’s father-in-law. The thought of being addressed directly by the emperor at court, even casually, was enough to make him shudder.

“Did he mention who should handle the wedding preparations?” Levinia inquired further.

Maxim could only shake his head with a dazed expression. Simply hearing the emperor’s demand had drained him of all strength.

‘The original story never described Levinia’s wedding, so of course, he wouldn’t know,’ she mused.

“I’ll need to contact Mother,” Levinia said, rising from her seat.

Maxim turned to look at her, his expression filled with desperation. He hurriedly sat upright and grabbed her sleeve.

“You… You’re seriously thinking of going through with this marriage?”

“No Way Out”

“Is there any way to refuse His Majesty’s command and still walk away unscathed?”

At Levinia’s question, the strength drained from Maxim’s hand, which had been gripping her sleeve.

“There isn’t… No, there isn’t. So, I’ll be the emperor’s father-in-law, huh. Ha… ha…”

Maxim let out a hollow laugh, his tone a mixture of resignation and bitterness. Ignoring him, Levinia turned and left the parlor.

While two months was far too short a time to prepare for a wedding arranged by the emperor, it was more than enough for Levinia to make certain preparations of her own.

It’s fine. Cassion is written as someone who’s terrifyingly good at what he does, regardless of whether his target is a man or a woman. It won’t be unbearable.

And, she reassured herself, once we spend a single night together, he’ll lose interest in me completely.

That was the plan. Once Cassion’s interest faded, she would escape. After that, she’d focus on building a proper life—exactly as she’d planned from the beginning.

The only remaining task was to ensure that anyone she cared about would be safely out of the duke’s estate before Cassion’s wrath could turn toward them. Levinia had enough funds to set them up without touching the ducal family’s wealth.

Though Maxim had always been indifferent to Levinia, he ensured she had all the luxuries befitting a duke’s daughter. Her annual allowance had only ever grown, and never diminished, and she had long since been handling many of the estate’s affairs on her own.

First, I’ll make sure Maggie can return to her hometown and live peacefully with her children…

Levinia planned to send away the people she cherished—those who had been by her side since she was a child. She wasn’t completely unconcerned about Maxim or Zelenka, her mother, but staying near Cassion was far too dangerous.

Cassion was tolerant of only one person: Albert.

As for her parents, who had always prioritized their own lives and happiness over hers? Levinia wasn’t about to risk her life for their sake. She had too much ambition, too much longing to live her own life, to sacrifice herself for them.

This time, she was determined to live properly. The memory of her past life—a life that had ended with nothing accomplished—drove her resolve even further.

As for my parents… I’ll leave them a telegraph message while I’m on the run. Once they receive it, they’ll flee the empire on their own.

If Levinia gave them advance notice, they’d likely offer her up to the emperor themselves without hesitation. A telegraph during her escape was the only option. What happened after that would be their responsibility.

＊ ＊ ＊

Even Zelenka, who usually reacted indifferently to everything, seemed mildly surprised when she learned that Levinia was to marry the emperor.

“Well… You’re the last remaining daughter of a duke’s household within the empire, so I suppose this was bound to happen.”

Though her expression indicated acceptance, there was still a detached look in her eyes, as if she were listening to someone else’s story rather than her own daughter’s. Levinia thought to herself that perhaps this was all the reaction she could expect from her mother.

‘There’s no helping it.’

“Has a detailed decree about the wedding schedule been issued yet?”

“Not yet,” Levinia replied evenly. “So far, all that’s happened is His Majesty summoning my father and informing him of the matter. The official announcement likely won’t come for a few more days.”

Zelenka scrutinized Levinia closely after hearing her calm response.

“You don’t seem particularly worried.”

“His Majesty won’t have any real interest in me… As long as I get through the first night, I should be able to manage somehow.”

The emperor’s rumored preferences weren’t an open secret, like the duke’s proclivities, but Levinia knew Cassion had no shame in being with men. Unlike her father, Maxim, Cassion didn’t hide it or feel embarrassed.

Levinia didn’t think there was anything inherently wrong with homosexuality. What she couldn’t abide, however, was the idea of having a spouse and still keeping other lovers on the side. To her, that was plain dishonesty.

“Your fate truly is unfortunate,” Zelenka remarked, her tone sharp. “First, the man who doted on you and followed you everywhere turned out to be a commoner in disguise.”

Zelenka clicked her tongue in annoyance. Perhaps Levinia’s current predicament reminded her too much of her own similarly political marriage.

“Don’t tell me you think that becoming part of the imperial family gives you the right to start criticizing my behavior?” Zelenka scoffed, her tone laced with irritation.

“I doubt he’d concern himself with trivial matters,” Levinia replied, her voice neutral. “But then again, I don’t know him well enough to say for sure.”

Zelenka shot a pointed look at her daughter, her gaze sharp.

“Even now, you’re as cold as ever. Just days ago, your con artist fiancé was exposed as a commoner and fled, and here you are, completely unfazed. Is it because you were born a duke’s daughter, with icy blood running through your veins?”

That comment almost made Levinia laugh. Of course Zelenka, who had just agreed to send her daughter to marry a tyrant, would accuse her of being cold. But Levinia swallowed her words. Her mother’s aloofness wasn’t new; she had seen it all her life.

“This is my first wedding,” Levinia said instead, changing the subject. “I came to ask your advice, but if you’re too busy, please let me know now.”

“There’s no one in the imperial family to help you, with only the young emperor left alive. But really, you don’t act like someone who’s asking for a favor, do you?”

Zelenka’s reprimanding tone made Levinia feel utterly fed up. She didn’t even want this wedding. As long as the ceremony followed basic protocol, Cassion wouldn’t care about the details.

“You seem busy, so I’ll take my leave,” Levinia said abruptly, rising from her seat.

She quickly exited the second-floor terrace of the café without looking back. Zelenka glared after her rebellious daughter before turning her head away with a sigh of exasperation.

＊ ＊ ＊

Two days later, the official announcement of the emperor’s wedding was made.

Levinia felt a whirlwind of confusion. Ever since the sudden return of her past life’s memories, things had spiraled out of control—Albert’s escape, the breaking of her engagement, and now, one chaotic event after another.

“As soon as I clean up one mess, another one comes along.”

The whole debacle with Albert had been part of her preparations for the emperor’s marriage proposal, though she hadn’t expected it to come this quickly.

The moment the decree was issued, a royal attendant arrived to provide details about the wedding schedule and arrangements. Maxim, holding the imperial gifts, looked as though he might collapse at any moment while the royal steward outlined the plans.

The wedding would take place in the temple within the imperial palace, and Levinia’s wedding dress was to be tailored in the royal atelier, exclusively reserved for members of the imperial family.

All expenses for the wedding would be covered by the imperial family, leaving the ducal household with only a small responsibility: to prepare a few personal items Levinia would need while living in the palace.

Though Cassion had essentially forced this marriage upon her, he didn’t seem intent on skimping when it came to spending. According to the steward, the budget allocated for the wedding was comparable to other grand imperial events.

“Why does the emperor want to marry me?”

Was it, as the ministers claimed, to ensure an heir? That seemed unlikely. Based on the original novel, Cassion had always come across as someone who lived recklessly in the present, without much thought for the future. He only began planning ahead after meeting Albert and falling in love with him.

In fact, Cassion was so devoted to Albert that he went so far as to commission a wizard to create a potion allowing men to conceive—just so he could make Albert his empress.

“Maybe it’s just because the last remaining duke’s household annoys him.”

Cassion’s life as a slave to his uncle, the former emperor Kylon, had been marked by humiliation and degradation. Those years of torment left deep scars, and Cassion exacted revenge by ensuring every noble who had ever insulted or mocked him was buried in the ground.

Although most of those who’d scorned him were now gone, Cassion still harbored a deep disdain for the high-ranking nobility.

The one saving grace in this situation was that Cassion hadn’t specified whether Levinia would become his empress or a concubine. Though his silence on the matter seemed like a ploy to unnerve Levinia and torment Maxim, it worked in her favor.

When the time came to visit the palace for wedding preparations, Levinia planned to meet Cassion and plead with him to take her as a concubine, not an empress.

“…Assuming he doesn’t kill me on the spot, that is.”

Levinia swallowed hard, her fingers brushing nervously over her neck.

＊ ＊ ＊