RETURN OF THE FEMALE KNIGHT

13. Call Me Kookie

"I want us to share a bed."

She responded before she even realized it.

"I don't like it."

"Why?"

"Because..."

Lalisa bit her lip. It wasn't something she didn't think about. Just because it was a political marriage, it didn't mean that they wouldn't share a bed. To solidify her power, it was best to give birth to a prince who would inherit the throne in the future.

She knew it well. The problem was that Lalisa's ambitions didn't necessarily lie in solidifying her power as empress in and of itself. Her goal was to prevent the destruction of her family with Jungkook by her side. It just so happened that becoming empress was the best way to do so.

In aristocratic society, where scandals often turned out to be true, Lalisa had grown up with a rare innocence. After her family died, she never had time to be with men as she spent her whole life trying to get revenge, and inadvertently never had any experience. Not even that of a common love affair, and she had instinctively rejected the idea of sleeping with anyone.

Lalisa tried to force herself to think rationally by clenching her first hard under the table. She was the one who proposed a political marriage first, and Jungkook only raised a related issue that had to be dealt with.

Now it was time to make a calm judgment rather than an emotional one.

"...This is not an opinion. Thinking objectively, I don't think now is the right time."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It...it means I can't live only as your woman. I don't know why you agreed to marry me, but I made this proposal because I wanted to be the empress. Until then, I don't want to give up my sword fighting abilities."

Jungkook listened in silence to Lalisa. She couldn't read any emotion from his expressionless face, so she tried further persuade him.

"Until I become empress, I would rather act as your secret weapon rather than your wife. I will not resent this decision, even if a child born to another woman later becomes the crown prince. I'll write it in the contract if you want."

She trained every day after returning to the past. Lalisa would become Jungkook's sharpest sword. It would be Lalisa herself who would stand at the vanguard of every war and cut down the enemies that stood in his way.

The ordinary life of dressing up for him and waiting for him to return to bed at night was not suitable for Lalisa. She wasn't intended to be an empress. Jungkook, who had been listening quietly until then, was the first to speak.

"...Do you really want to become empress?"

At that question, she suddenly wondered what she looked like in Jungkook's eyes. She must seem like a puerile aristocrat. However, she didn't care if she risked her life for power or appeared as a crazy woman, so long as she kept her family safe.

"Yes, I want to be empress."

Jungkook listened to her answer and remained silent again. Lalisa swallowed dryly. Any contract required mutual concession, and though Lalisa was bargaining from a relatively weak position, she was still firm on her conditions. From Jungkook's point of view, it couldn't have been pleasant. Then he said something entirely unexpected.

"Because of you, there's one more reason I should be emperor."

"That means..."

"If that's what you want, I'll accept the offer. We won't sleep together."

"Oh, thank you, Your Highness."

Her face brightened. She had been worried what she would do if Jungkook refused.