The Woman Who Hated Her (2)

At first, Lerian didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, so she didn’t show any signs of her suffering. If she were to bring up the few incidents that had happened, it would only embarrass Leonard. The person he loved was kind and compassionate. She couldn’t do something that contradicted the gentle image she had created for herself.

Of course, that wasn’t all there was to it. Even though she didn’t marry out of pure love, Lerian loved Leonard.

That’s why she wanted to spend more time with him. However, he was the Emperor, and he had responsibilities that came with it, so they couldn’t spend much time together. As a result, time was always running out. Lerian even thought it was a waste of time for him to confront Kilianerisa.

She hid her injuries even more, thinking that it might be her intention all along.

Lerian had been hiding her injuries while trying to conform to Leonard’s expectations, but she wasn’t as good-hearted as he believed. She could pretend to be kind to the man she loved, but she couldn’t easily give away what was rightfully hers like a true benevolent fool.

In fact, Lerian had never made a desperate effort to conceal her injuries. She secretly hoped that he would notice and ask, so she even asked Mary to deliberately apply light makeup and exaggerated her pain with the slightest touch.

Perhaps it was due to being tired from working on state affairs all day long. Leonard had not noticed her injuries. Maybe he simply didn’t care about her to that extent.

Lerian thought it was the former, but even so, she couldn’t help but find him heartless.

In the midst of such days, when Kilianerisa came to see her for the fifth time, Lerian decided to stop enduring it.

As Lerian remained silent, it was clear that Kilianerisa was becoming more audacious. It was already the fifth time. But if things continued this way, it could go beyond ten, maybe even twenty times. Lerian thought of this as some kind of breaking point.

With her determination set, Lerian decided to take action on the day Kilianerisa misbehaved.

Usually, Kilianerisa would come to see her in the evening, and Leonard would visit her an hour or two later. So, there was a considerable gap of time between the two visits.

Normally, Lerian would have been busy trying to hide her injuries, but today was different. She didn’t bother to tidy up the mess in the room or her own appearance. She wanted Leonard to see the state she was in.

‘But this alone won’t be enough.’

Having spent time with Leonard, Lerian knew that he was quite oblivious. So, a little exaggeration was necessary.

Before Leonard arrived, Lerian had asked Mary for help and made sure the door was slightly ajar so that Leonard, who was walking from a distance, could hear her voice.

Time passed, and it was finally time for Leonard to arrive.

Everything was quiet. It was natural for soldiers to be stationed near the residence of someone as important as the Queen, but Lerian had always kept them out of sight, finding their presence burdensome. This made her flimsy plan even more convenient.

Lerian had been waiting for him to arrive, and finally, she heard the approaching footsteps. She signaled to Mary, who nodded silently in response.

As a few more seconds passed, and the footsteps grew louder, Lerian squeezed out tears and began to sob softly.

“Ugh, h-huhu….”

Mary, who had been waiting, recited the lines she had prepared in advance to match Lerian’s performance.

“Mama, just tell His Majesty. It’s been several days already!”

Mary had considerable acting skills. Lerian became fully immersed in the emotions as she watched Mary’s even more emotionally charged performance.

“No, if His Majesty finds out, he will be sad. Oh, come to think of it, His Majesty will be here soon. I’m sorry, but could you help me freshen up again?”

Wiping her teary eyes with the back of her hand and delivering a pitiful performance, Lerian suddenly heard the door swung open. Beyond it, she saw the shocked face of Leonard. It was a face that proved she had completely deceived him.

Fortunately.

It was undoubtedly a relief, but Lerian couldn’t help feeling a sudden pang in her heart. Perhaps it was the guilt of deceiving her lover, even if it was unavoidable. For a moment, seeing Leonard, who was worried about her, with that expression, made Lerian somewhat touched.

But her performance was not over yet. She wiped away the subtle emotions that had crossed her face for a moment and displayed a look of surprise, as if she had no idea he would be coming.

“Who did that?”

This was the response she had somewhat anticipated. The conversation flowed smoothly, with enough ease to make her breathless. Yet, even as she spoke, she couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes properly, fearing he would sense her deceit. Fortunately, whenever she hesitated, Mary was there to provide a fitting response without making it awkward. It was truly fortunate. If it weren’t for her, Lerian’s shoddy acting might have been exposed.

It was clear that her sloppy performance act had worked for him, judging by the anger etched on his face. Lerian approached him discreetly and, with an expression that was far from okay, faintly smiled at him.

“I… I’m fine. Please, don’t confront Her Majesty because of me.”

As she said this, Lerian discreetly casted a sidelong glance at Leonard’s expression. He was clearly angry. A smile involuntarily appeared on her lips at his straightforward reaction. She soon realized it was not the right time to smile and tried to erase it belatedly, but he seemed too consumed by rage to notice her true state.

Since that incident, Lerian underwent a subtle change. While Kilianerisa continued to cause trouble for her, Leonard started visiting her more often. So, Lerian was more than willing to tolerate Kilianerisa’s provocations.

Then, occasionally, when things went too far, Lerian would subtly drop hints to Leonard in a manner similar to what she had done before. Their already strained relationship deteriorated further due to her meddling, and Leonard stopped visiting Kilianerisa. Instead, Kilianerisa redirected her anger toward Lerian again.

Such a near-miss battle of nerves, akin to crossing a swaying bridge over a steep cliff that seemed it could break at any moment, continued for several years. Before they knew it, it became an everyday occurrence, firmly establishing itself in their lives.

Then, just like any other day, when she was adapting to such routine.

Kilianerisa came looking for Lerian. It was a familiar scenario. Lerian, thinking that Kilianerisa would create a scene once again, deliberately avoided showing any interest in her. Ignoring her was often the better option.

However, Lerian’s expectations of Kilianerisa behaving as usual were completely off the mark.

“Would you like to have a cup of tea with me?”

She calmly invited her. She wasn’t smiling, nor was she angry like usual. With a completely emotionless face, she simply stared at Lerian absentmindedly. Lerian felt uneasy about her strange behavior, but she had no reason to refuse her. Lerian had no choice but to have a teatime with her.