RETURN OF THE FEMALE KNIGHT

80. The name of the Emotion

Silence hung over Jungkook and Lalisa after they left the palace. It was only when they reached a fork in the path did Lalisa shatter the quiet.

"I'll go this way. "

She turned away, when—

A hand captured her wrist. She looked questioningly back at Jungkook, who responded in a firmer voice than usual.

"I don't know what she gave you, but whatever it is, dispose of it now."

"If I dispose a gift from the Empress, there will be gossip. Don't worry, I have a plan in mind."

"...You make me worry about you."

"You needn't be concerned about me."

Jungkook's eyebrows lifted at her over-confident answer, but she refused to retreat. She knew he was worried, but he didn't understand her position right now.

"I am not a little girl hovering at the water's edge. Are you going to be angry simply because I hadn't yet told you about the Empress' gift?"

His jaw clenched, but he had nothing to say about it.

"Don't forget our contract, Kookie."

It wasn't as if she had made the decision so easily. After receiving the plant from the Empress, her first course was action was to come up with a solution, not to go running to Jungkook at the first sign of danger. She didn't come to the Imperial Palace to depend on him, but to ultimately make him emperor and save her father, brother, and Roseanne. She couldn't bear to lose them again in this lifetime. As her heart became more desperate, so did the burden on Lalisa's shoulders become heavier.

"...Are you telling me to leave you alone, no matter what you do?"

"I'm not saying that. I just want you to trust me."

In less than a year, Namgil would attempt to seize the throne. When Lalisa had returned to the past, it was as if her blood dried up when she realized that she had so little time left. She threw herself into doing everything she could for Jungkook—sword fighting, power games, living in the palace. Sometimes, however, Jungkook's overprotectiveness threatened to obstruct her path.

"...You're mistaken. It's not that I don't believe in your ability. In truth, I've admired everything you've done so far."

Lalisa's ruby eyes shimmered at the unexpected answer. She thought he didn't believe in her decisions, as he always tried to stop her every time she tried to do something.

Jungkook continued, his voice soft.

"Trusting you and feeling worried about you are different. The Empress is known to be vicious and clever, both at home and abroad. I can't leave you vulnerable to her."

"But if you're going to be emperor—"

"Why the hell are you so obsessed with me becoming emperor?"

"...!"

Lalisa was struck dumb. Jungkook may be ignorant, but it was because she couldn't confess her motivations. She wasn't sure how much he would believe in a situation that couldn't be explained logically.

'...I would be lucky if he didn't see me as a madwoman.'

Lalisa didn't answer, and Jungkook continued on in a suspicious tone.

"I thought you wanted to be empress because you desired wealth, but you have no care for it at all... I don't understand why you want me to become emperor."

To her amazement, Jungkook seemed to have gleaned Lalisa's thoughts in all the time they were together. In fact, all of what he said was true. She wasn't greedy for wealth or power. What she wanted was to protect what she had. No one knew how horrendous her past life was, how she shivered in the biting winters surviving for days on a piece of bread, with only one thought in her mind.