Lady To Queen Chapter 51 - Don't Go

Chapter 51 – Don't Go

As expected, there were several maids in front of the room where the sound was emanating from—maybe three or four at most. They were all senior maids that served the Emperor.

Patrizia walked towards them with a determined expression set on her face. When the maids saw her presence, their eyes widened in shock and they hurriedly bowed.

“Your Majesty…this room…”

They were trembling. A storm of emotions swirled inside Patrizia. No way…really…

‘My guess was right?'

Patrizia took in a short breath, then asked the question that would open Pandora's box.

“Is His Majesty…here?”

“…”

They said nothing. Of course they didn't. What could they say here?

Patrizia stepped past them and slowly pushed the door open. The sound of crying intertwined with the creaking of the hinges.

Kkiiiig.

“Aaaaaugh!”

Patrizia's eyes fell on a terrible sight. The Emperor, in his pajamas, was sobbing in the room. No, that sobbing wasn't quite right. He was…wailing. Like a madman.

“…Close the door,” Patrizia ordered the maids outside.

“Your Majesty—”

“Now,” she said firmly, and the door shut a moment later. Patrizia felt a small sense of relief. This bizarre scene couldn't be allowed to leak out.

“…”

She looked at the man crying hysterically before her.

Lucio Carrick George de Mavinous. The man who was her husband. The Emperor of this nation and the Sun of the Empire, on the ground wailing like a lunatic.

“Your Majesty,” Patrizia called out. She tried to stop the quaver in her voice, but it didn't work.

What was this? Why on earth? Nowhere did she hear that the Emperor was afflicted with psychotic breakdowns. And judging by his mental state, it was pretty severe. How could this picture be explained?

“Your Majesty,” Patrizia said again. Tears formed at the corners of her eyes, and her lips trembled and her hands felt cold. Yes, she was feeling fear. Seeing Lucio like this for the first time in her life made her feel afraid. She stared at him with wide eyes. He was crying like a beast. It was terrifying.

Patrizia pressed her lips together, then called him once again. “Your Majesty.”

On the third try, Lucio looked at her, but he continued to cry. His eyes were blood-shot, and he breathed in deep, ragged breaths. Streaks of tears had dried on his cheeks.

“Why…” Patrizia's head spun. She experienced a similar shock from when Petronilla died. Patrizia's knees wobbled unsteadily beneath her; the sight was too intense for her fragile body to process. She managed to suck in a breath before speaking again.

“Your Majesty.”

Despite her calling him again, he continued to cry as if he were in great pain. What the hell was this? What was happening in front of her eyes?

“Aaah…Aaaagh!” His screaming was strange.

Patrizia tilted over, and her feet gave way under her. She involuntarily dropped to a sitting position on the ground. He was still crying. The sound hurt her head. She wanted it to stop.

“Your Majesty. Why on earth…” She was too stunned to complete her thought. The only thing she wanted was for this to stop.

She gave herself an order. Wake up. What good was it just sitting here like this? Otherwise, there would be no reason for her to come here. Didn't she want to get rid of this sound? Didn't she want to get rid of the thing that interfered with her sleep? Then…she should make it stop.

“Stop.”

But Lucio did not stop.

“Stop.”

The wailing continued.

“Stop it!” she screamed. When her shout faded away, the only thing left in the room was the sound of rough breathing.

When Patrizia opened her eyes, she saw that Lucio was looking at her with a stunned expression. It was unclear what was going through his head, but his expression was too fierce to be called friendly.

“You're…you're the Sun of the Empire. You must remain dignified, Your Majesty,” Patrizia managed.

“…”

“Why…”

“…”

“Why are you like this?”

“…”

She unsteadily got to her feet and walked over to the man looking at her with silent tears. Each footstep felt as heavy as if lead weights were attached to her. This situation, this reality around her, was difficult to believe, but she had to accept it. She could not escape it.

“All of a sudden—” Patrizia started, but she was suddenly pulled down into a tight embrace and could not finish her words. She gave a yelp and tried to pull away from Lucio's grip, but she stopped when he gave moan of pain.

“Haah…” He was still crying and suffering. Patrizia tensed; it was an uncomfortable and embarrassing situation for her. However, she was not so cruel as to tear away a crying man from her arms, especially when she had seen how frantic he looked just moments earlier.

Damn it. Inwardly she swore, but outwardly she held him with tender arms.

“…”

What was that in her heart? Love? No. Hatred? It wasn't that either. It was just compassion and pity that she felt for him. There were so many things that she was dying to know, but for now, she had pity.

A lot of it too. He looked so broken—this kind of trauma didn't happen overnight. She was curious about what happened to him, but first she had to stabilize his condition. He couldn't speak coherently in his mad state.

“Haaah…”

How many minutes had passed? No, perhaps it had been an hour? After all that time, he still didn't seem calm, let alone lucid. His skin felt hot to the touch, his eyes were still blood-shot, and there were red marks on his body everywhere, possibly self-inflicted.

When he finally seemed to sober up a bit, Patrizia spoke to him.

“Your Majesty.”

“…”

“…Are you alright now?”

Lucio didn't reply. Well, he was probably too ashamed to speak.

Patrizia sighed and pulled away her arms. Her body was weak with exhaustion and her eyelids were heavy. He had already disturbed her sleep once.

She raised her body up and spoke in a weary voice. “I know this is uncomfortable for you, so I'll be going. I'll keep this a secret, so don't worry.”

Patrizia then stopped talking. She lowered her head and saw Lucio gripping the skirt of her dress. He still had a wild look in his eyes.

“Don't go,” he whispered hoarsely.

“…”

If Patrizia had any interest in this man, those words would be enough to cause a thrill in her body. Unfortunately, she had no interest or affection for him, except for pity at his condition. Rosemond was a better match for him. Lucio's action didn't feel sweet to her—in all honesty, she thought it bothersome and annoying. She was extremely tired from the disturbance.

“Don't go,” he repeated.

“…”

Regretfully, Patrizia was truly compassionate at heart. Even for this man, she had an excess of sympathy for him.

She bit her lip. Damn it. She hated this.

“You don't like me very much,” she replied. She could only say that. When she tried to turn around, Lucio stopped her again.

“Don't go.”

“…You don't like me. So—”

“I like you. So don't go.”

“…”

“Please,” he begged.

Patrizia didn't believe Lucio's words. What he said were just lies meant to keep her in here. She was not stupid enough to be fooled.

“…Haah.” Patrizia let out a sigh. She had heard somewhere that people's hearts beat fast when they were scared, or if they were around someone they liked. Sometimes, however, people mixed those two emotions up. Perhaps Lucio was that kind of person. No matter what the situation, it wasn't a good conclusion.

In the end, Patrizia sat back down on the ground. She really would feel like an awful person if she just left him here.

“You don't have to say anything you don't want to. I'll just stay here.”

“…”

“It's not that you don't want me to go out, it's that you don't want to be left alone in this room.”

“….”

“Right?”

There was no reply. He just stared at her with eyes like a frightened animal. The contrast was so different from his usual self.

She bit her lip and muttered inwardly, What the hell is going on?

“I'm pretty tired. How long are you supposed to be here?”

“….”

“Please tell me. It's too cramped for comfort here.”

“….”

He still remained silent. Patrizia decided it would be good for her mental health to just give up on the conversation.

Her eyelids began to slide downward. Oh, sleeping with this man wasn't a good idea. She struggled to keep awake, but nothing was more futile than trying to fight against biology.

In less than a minute, she was out. Insomnia couldn't beat out fatigue.

The last thing she saw was Lucio looking at her with scared, reddened eyes.

Chapter end