I Slept with the Villain Holding My Hand

There were two princes in the present Tristan Empire.

Altheon, the first prince of the late deceased Empress Christine.

And Dominique, the second prince of Empress Helena, who was the emperor’s lover before marriage.

Empress Christine was a princess of a foreign country before her marriage.

Since her motherland was a pass point, she always wanted to establish close relations with the surrounding countries.

And among those countries was the Tristan Empire.

After failing to give up the trade negotiations, the emperor ordered Aprion, then the crown prince, to marry princess Christine politically.

(N:Aprion- Altheon’s father, the current emperor.)

The future of the empire that would be his own and the future of his loved ones.

Aprion had to choose one of the two, and in the end made the decision not as a lover but as the next emperor.

However, even after the marriage, Aprion could not give up his love.

When the Emperor’s health deteriorated, Aprion became emperor, and he immediately made his lover, Helena, his queen.

It was not long after Empress Christine’s coronation.

Afterwards, Empress Helena also had a child, and the two women in turn gave birth to a son.

Unfortunately, Aprion did not have the intelligence to treat his two successive sons fairly.

He favored the child of his beloved woman, and the nobles who saw it began to weigh who would become the next emperor.

In the process, Empress Christine died.

The Emperor said it was due to the aftermath of her childbirth, but no one did not know that it was the result of the aftermath of the political conflict.

After Empress Christine’s death, the first prince was left alone, and was on the verge of endangering his life.

While the momentum of the Second Prince faction was increasing day by day, the battle for the throne began in earnest when Grand Duke Frederick, the most powerful, sided with Altheon, the first prince.

“Your Majesty, please appoint his highness the First Prince as Crown Prince.”

When Grand Duke Frederick and the nobles who supported him protested against the excessive discrimination, the Emperor could not resist them and promised the throne to Altheon, Empress Christine’s heir.

But the Emperor decided on it impulsively.

One night, the Grand Duke and his wife, who were the biggest pillar of the First Prince faction, died.

At first, it seemed that there was no damage, but the momentum of the Crown Prince faction, whose leader disappeared, waned day by day.

(N: Grand Duke Frederick here was Reukis father and the original supporter of Altheon.)

When Altheon finally left as if he had been driven to war at an early age, the number of the first prince faction within the capital aristocracy dropped sharply.

This was the background of the male lead.

For Altheon, flowers were a reminder of her mother, who died in vain.

Empress Christine originally liked flowers, but she said that she had worked hard to raise one type of flower after Altheon was born.

The flower language of the purple tulip, which was also the birth flower of Altheon, was ‘eternal love‘.

It was also the flower that Altheon offered along with a pink diamond ring that resembled Shannon’s pink eyes when he confessed his heart in the original.

‘I couldn’t believe I forgot such a good part.’

It was an obvious result that Altheon’s heart would be shaken by giving that flower as a gift.

Karina already had a crush on him more than a political marriage partner.

‘There’s a shortcut to win his heart, so as a friend, shouldn’t I help her this much?’

Merria raised Karina with a twinkling eyes.

“Let’s go to the shopping street.”

“Would you like to pick up a present together? It’s fine with me.”

At Karina’s naive answer, Merria nodded her head roughly.

After leaving the cafe, Merria and Karina headed straight to the flower shop.

Although she was suddenly dragged to an unexpected place, Karina fortunately followed me without saying a word.

“Welcome. Are you looking for a flower as a gift or are you here to buy seedlings to grow?”, As I entered the store, a woman with dark green bobbed hair kindly asked.

“Karina.”

“Huh?”

“Al-, when are you having dinner with him?”, Merria stopped while trying to say Altheon’s name, and whispered into Karina’s ear.

“He said he would take care of urgent matters and send a message on the exact date. Probably next week.”

Karina also answered in a low voice that only Merria could hear.

“Next week. That’s perfect.”

Four days was enough for the flowers to bloom by magic.

I’m not going to say that and ask you to meet me the day after tomorrow, so I’m still relaxed.

“Oh, Karina. Do you know when his highness’ birthday?”

Merria decided to recommend tulips to Karina.

It was not common for her age group to find birth flowers, so I couldn’t help it even if it was a little annoying.

“March 20th.”

It was an answer without an inch of hesitation.

Merria looked a little tired and said innocently, as if she had just remembered.

“Have you ever heard of a birth flower?”

“Oh! Do you girls know the story?”

The answer came from the right, not the left, where Karina was.

Merria and Karina looked at her at the same time.

The woman with bobbed hair, presumed to be the owner of the flower shop, was holding her hands together with her eyes glistening.

“A long time ago, it was known that a man who returned from the war confessed to his lover when he gave her birth flower, and it was very popular.”

“You look young, but you know quite well.”

Merria responded happily to the unexpected appearance of the woman.

Of course it didn’t matter if there was such a trend or not.

It was a bold attitude that it didn’t matter if it was just a selling tactic.

Karina began to show her interest when the owner laid out romantic descriptions of each birth flower’s confession anecdotes.

“My parents loved flowers. So my name was Daisy, after my birth flower.”

Daisy answered with a smile.

I didn’t know there was such a trend, so I said it, but I couldn’t believe the result was in front of me.

Merria asked Karina, amazed by the coincidence that overlapped with the story she had brought up.

“Why don’t you bring flowers to decorate the dinner table?”

“Really… that’s perfect!”

Karina responded with a warm compliment to Merria’s subtle recommendation.

“That’s a great idea! Did you know the birthday of the person who would receive the gift?”

“It’s March 20th.”

As Karina responded positively, Daisy narrowed her brow as if in trouble.

“It’s a purple tulip that day, hmm. This wasn’t the time for flowers to bloom.”

“You could plant it in a magic pot.”

I replied in a tone that Karina had no problem at all about raising the flower.

Of course, Daisy answered positively because it was already expected.

“Oh, that’s right! It’s different from each kind of plant, but it’ll bloom in a week. I have the remaining seeds, so I’ll give them to you right away.”

Karina wrote her name in beautiful handwriting on the order list.

“Thank you- ahh! De-Delphi…”

Daisy’s eyes grew as she naturally wrote down the marquis’ name.

It seemed quite shocking that she stuttered so hard.

A satisfied smile bloomed on Merria’s, who achieved her goal easily thanks to Daisy.

✧✧✧

Karina paced around the door, slightly nervous.

She bit her lower lip thinking about what happened that day.

Karina enjoyed a luncheon with Altheon at a recently famous restaurant in the capital as previously promised.

We talked a lot, and Altheon didn’t seem to be in a bad mood.

The only problem was that I couldn’t give the flowers until I finished eating.

‘What should I do if I stutter in front of him?’

Phew… I tried to shake off the tension by breathing, but it was not enough.

When Karina finished her meal and returned to her room with her shoulders drooping, Katie, Karina’s faithful maid, began to move in a hurry.

Katie put the cuffs she had previously failed to send to Altheon and the flowers she was going to present today in a small box and handed it to Karina.

“There’s nothing like a gift to win the heart, miss.”, Katie said as she handed the box to Karina.

“I know that. So, do you want to give it to him?”

“How dare I do that! Don’t you have to deliver it yourself? It would feel great to see the happy expression on his highness’ face when he receives the gift!”

That’s how I was pushed out of the room like that and now I’m here.

Altheon, who took Karina to her mansion, went into the office for a moment, saying that he had something to talk to Bradley about.

(N: Bradley- Karina’s grandfather the marquis.)

It was a sudden meeting, so the story would be over soon.

Karina’s feet were tied there, hoping to see him off at least.

With the cherished box in her hand, muttered something and buried her head in it as she walked down the hall.

“Your Grace, this was a gift in return for your invitation to have a meal together. Candles, in return for the invitation. Your Grace, and this was in return for…”

Karina, who soon stopped, grabbed the box and noded resolutely.

“As expected, it’s better to ask Katie to give it to him.”

“Lady?”

Karina’s body trembled as she suddenly heard a soft voice from behind.

She slowly turned her head and looked behind her like a robot.

Without denying the reality, she made eye contact with Altheon’s amethyst-like eyes.

Karina, whose eyes grew as big as a rabbit, hurriedly turned and stepped out of the seat, and Bradley, who was coming from behind Altheon, found her.

“Karina? Why are you here… Oh, you came to see His Majesty?”

“No. Oh, I was about to go to the garden.”

Everyone except Altheon knew that going to the garden was a forced excuse, but Karina made up her expression as if nothing was wrong.

Suppressing the desire to run away at any moment, she greeted him with her perfect posture in etiquette.

I didn’t forget to hide my hand carrying the box behind the hem of my dress.

“I greet His Majesty the Crown Prince. Did you have a good conversation?”

Karina was desperately staring down at the hem of her slightly clasped dress, waiting for Altheon’s answer.

However, there was no distant answer, such as “Then see you again next time,” which would have come out naturally.

I was a little puzzled, but I didn’t show any embarrassing expression because I was raised from 10 years old and was told that I was a model of a noble young lady.

Soon after knowing Karina’s difficulties, Bradley told the butler to wait for Altheon’s carriage.

“Then, Your Majesty, let’s talk again as soon as I get a reply. Karina, would you like to have a cup of tea with your grandfather after a long time?”

“Wait.”

Before Karina’s reply came, Altheon cut her off first.

Karina, who was running away to the room, smiled awkwardly, raising the corners of her mouth.

“Oh, I guess you still have something to say to grandfather. Then I’ll leave the two of you alone.”

Karina greeted with a soft smile and immediately turned away.

I made it up earlier to say I’m going to the garden, but I really wanted to get some fresh air, maybe because I suddenly felt tired.

Karina turned to the garden without hesitation.

As I entered the garden, a cool breeze carried the sweet scent of flowers.

Karina took a deep breath and soon found the box, which she had not given to Altheon.

The sullen Karina looked around and beckoned to the maid passing by.

As she felt the maid approaching, she pushed the small box back, fixing her gaze on the fountain in front of her.

“This, tell His Highness. He’s still talking to grandpa, so I’ll wait a little while before I go straight to the market.”

“Yes, miss.”

“No need to bother, I’ll take it myself.”

A low-pitched voice echoed through the garden.