The Obsession of the Tyrant Sub-Male Lead is Unnecessary

Episode 10

“Why do you keep trying to run away from me?”

Verona was pulled tightly into Carlos’s embrace, as if he were suppressing his anger. His jade-green eyes, seen up close, seemed to flicker like flames.

“Are you thinking something else?”

The once tender man disappeared, revealing the face of the iron-blooded Emperor.

“Tell me, Verona.”

He lowered his face and whispered near Verona’s lips. It was too close. In the narrow gap as if their lips were about to touch, Verona felt a strange tension.

But Carlos didn’t kiss her. As he opened his lips, instead of warm breath, a cold voice flowed out.

“Were you trying to make yourself the successor of that petty kingdom by stealing my seed?”

“N-No, that’s not it…”

“I can’t stand to see such a sight.”

Carlos declared with a relentless, obsessive tone.

“Neither the princess nor the child can leave me.”

Verona was shocked.

It went beyond a simple misunderstanding. This was too severe.

It seemed that Carlos now regarded himself as nothing more than a thief who stole the ‘successor’. The sub-male was in a much crazier state than she thought.

‘He’s not just obsessing over a mere misunderstanding; he might even go as far as confinement…?’

The thought sent shivers down her spine.

She had wondered if the sub-male had simply developed a crush on an extra like herself, but now she was certain. That wasn’t it at all. That man considered himself nothing more than a thief who stole a child.

Falling in love with someone like herself, an extra, was simply unthinkable.

Verona quickly pushed away from Carlos’s chest.

“I didn’t mean that. My father was very worried about his only daughter, so I was planning to go to Waterfall to reassure him.”

“But why did you try to sneak away?”

“I thought you wouldn’t let me go.”

Verona replied calmly.

If I had just asked you to let me go, you would have caused a scene, wouldn’t you?

“Wouldn’t You?”

“Right. I wouldn’t have let you go.”

Carlos replied firmly.

“I have a duty to protect the princess. Especially in the early stages of pregnancy, stability is a priority. But you even took sleeping pills. Instead of showing you to the palace immediately and calming your mind, should I have let you swim alone in the sea?”

Oh, here we go again.

Swimming in the sea is something I’ve been doing since I was 10 years old, and it’s not particularly difficult instinctively.

If she knew that the royalty of Waterfall were descendants of merfolk, she would know what abilities they have. What’s with all the fuss? And most importantly, the delusion about pregnancy is perfectly executed.

Verona cautiously spoke up.

“So, um… the child is probably going to be extremely, extremely small. Maybe a million times smaller than a speck of dust? Perhaps so small that they don’t exist in this world. Maybe they might not actually exist at all…”

“Right. They’re usually very small and delicate in the early stages.”

“…”

“Even though you know you have to be careful like that?”

Verona was puzzled by the Emperor’s behavior, who was fantasizing about a nonexistent child. Communication just wasn’t happening.

‘Even though the Emperor claims to cherish his children, he’s deluding himself so much.’

That must be it. The former Emperor reportedly had little interest in his own son, so he probably didn’t provide detailed education on such matters.

If so, he should have learned even as an adult… But judging from what he’s been doing so far, he seemed to only understand instinctive things properly and didn’t know anything academically.

‘Hmm. Is it fortunate that he knows instinctive things properly?’

The former Empress died when he was very young, and he had no other male siblings, so there would have been no one to give him proper advice. In any case, it could be considered fortunate that at least one of them knows properly.

Verona looked up at the Emperor with a serious expression, contemplating.

‘How can I tell him that the chances of having a child after just one night are not high?’

More accurately, should I tell him that the chances of having a child are even slimmer?

But if I did that, and he went crazy and did something unimaginable…

Thinking of the scene in the novel where he enjoyed torturing himself by removing the soles of his feet made her shudder.

‘…I have to find a way to get out of here no matter what.’

It felt like she had barged in between the heroine and the sub-male, but she had no choice.

‘For now, I need to survive.’

When Verona suddenly fell silent, Carlos grabbed her arm.

“It’s better to go back. You shouldn’t catch a cold.”

“Carlos.”

“Yeah?”

“Is that what you want, for me to catch a cold?”

She asked out of curiosity. She couldn’t understand why he would cling to having a child to the extent of clinging to an extra like herself.

In reality, Verona had a reasonably pretty face, but she was not a renowned beauty on the continent.

Being a princess of Waterfall was the same. There were many women in the empire who were much nobler than her.

The honor of having merfolk lineage was not significant in front of Clarence’s Emperor.

If being a “princess of Waterfall” had been valuable from the beginning, the Emperor wouldn’t have ruthlessly annihilated it in the novel.

In such a situation, there was only one reason for the sub-male’s behavior of clinging to Verona more than the heroine.

Carlos Grunwaldt Clarence was a child who had not been loved by his father. The former Emperor had never cherished his own son during his lifetime.

Although it wasn’t detailed in the novel, it could be speculated what thoughts Carlos had during such a childhood.

“Yeah.”

And Carlos gave Verona an answer that didn’t deviate one bit from her thoughts.

“I’m ready to love my child. More than anything else in this world.”

The moment she heard his answer, Verona’s mood became subtle.

Carlos’s peculiar attachment to the child seemed as if he wanted to pour out the love he never received from his father onto his child.

Realizing that his actions stemmed from paternal love, Verona couldn’t bring herself to scold him to come to his senses.

“Well then, I have something to suggest.”

“What is it?”

“It’s about our relationship.”

Before her transmigration, her life was insignificant. She became a swimmer because she liked moving forward against the currents from a young age. But she wasn’t exceptional. Not being good at what she loved was painful.

But after transmigrating into the novel, it was different. She inherited the bloodline of merfolk and could help others while swimming. Waterfall granted her what she had desperately wished for.

And unlike her father in Korea, who would hit her for persisting in a talentless subject, her father in this world appreciated her existence and showered her with affection.

But how could she choose a man swayed by mere sympathy?

Verona had to be a princess of Waterfall. She absolutely could not abandon her country.

No one knew if she had his child in her womb. Even if she was truly pregnant, Verona had no intention of giving him the child.

That was why she hid her status and found a suitable person to spend the night with.

Of course, she had ended up entangled with someone who far exceeded her standards by mistake, but her decision would not change.

The successor to Clarence didn’t have to be her child, but the successor to Waterfall had to be her child.

“I want to postpone the marriage.”

“Postpone the marriage?”

“I need time to prepare mentally. Getting married suddenly like this is unreasonable.”

“You don’t have to worry about the princess. I’ll take care of all the preparations…”

“It’s not about material things.”

Verona cut him off.

It was no longer valid to say she wasn’t pregnant. Whatever she said, Carlos would stubbornly persist.

Could a powerful Emperor accept that he had wrong notions due to not receiving proper sex education in his childhood?

Verona decided to slightly change the direction of convincing him.

“We need emotional connection between us.”

“Emotional connection?”

“It’s called love.”

Carlos’s face twisted strangely at her words. It was an expression of something he had never even thought of.

“We’ve only known each other for ten days. But it’s absurd to get married all of a sudden.”

“Why is it absurd? There are plenty of people who see each other’s faces for the first time at the wedding venue. Compared to that, we’ve known each other for a long time and spent a night together.”

“I’m different from other people.”

Verona crossed her arms and calmly looked up at the Emperor. For the first time, his deep green eyes seemed perplexed.

“I don’t want to choose someone to spend my life with just because there might be a child in my womb, or, oh, rather, just because there is a child in my womb.”

“So, you’re suggesting we date? Because we haven’t known each other for long, and you’re not sure about marriage even though you might be pregnant?”

“Yes.”

“Is that even a reasonable thing to say?”

To the bewildered Carlos, Verona spoke boldly.

“We won’t drag this out for long. Let’s date for exactly three months.”

“Why three months? Will something be resolved in that time?”

“If our hearts are drawn to each other, that time will be enough. Before 100 days, we’ll know. Whether I’m attracted to you and whether you truly love me.”

“Love…”

Carlos mused over the word. Verona felt a twinge of conscience.

Love is nothing but a convenient excuse. It’s just a way to buy time to escape from this man’s side.

Anyway, this man, who was merely a supporting character in the novel, has flipped the longstanding stigma for the heroine throughout history.

If it’s that kind of love, she could easily forget the momentary glance she cast at the extra.

With that thought in mind, Verona erased the faint sense of regret that had emerged in her heart.

“I think it’s best for the child too. How can a child feel loved if the mother and father don’t share true feelings with each other?”

“Okay.”

Carlos paused for a moment as if thinking of something, then asked.

“So, after three months, will you agree to marry me without any fuss?”

“Yes.”

Of course, it’s a lie. Whether there’s a child or not, this fact won’t change. But Verona naturally nodded her head.

“In that case, let’s try the dating thing the princess mentioned. But…”

He reached out and took her hand, placing it over his heart.

“Carlos Gruenwaldt Clarence. I Swear on this name.”

“Swear? What do you mean?”

“Verona, I will love you.”