THE MC'S PARENTS ARE USUALLY DEAD

[THEY have the same face but different vibes.]

Zoe, while fixing her dress to bring back the puff sleeves, thought to herself while discreetly peeking at Sir Slater Parker. Only she and the knight were in the hallway that led to Emperor Rino's private tearoom.

Apparently, it was the emperor's order to make the servants (except for his most trusted knight) leave while she was in his palace.

[Anyway…]

Sawyer and Slater both had chestnut brown hair and amber eyes.

But Sawyer had messy hair and his outfits (as described in the novel) were always black. Plus, he was the silent and the brooding type.

[Just like Isaak Viotto, LOL.]

On the other hand, Slater was the "nice" twin. His hair was cleanly cut, he had a bright expression on his face, and his white and blue knight's uniform made him look holy.

"Is something the matter, Lady Rochester?" Slater asked with an awkward smile on his face. "Can I help you?"

"Ah, it's nothing, Sir Parker," Zoe said, then she pulled the ribbon that she used to tie her hair earlier. As a result, her slightly wavy hair fell down her back freely. She fixed her clothes and her hair because she had no intention of seducing Emperor Rino. She only acted like she would do so to annoy Empress Veronica. "You just remind me of Sir Sawyer– Grand Duke Viotto's knight."

"I don't know that person," the knight said and smiled brightly at her. "Not at all."

She just laughed softly while shaking her head.

Since she knew why Sawyer and Slater had a terrible relationship, she didn't ask anymore. Plus, they arrived at their destination.

Slater gently knocked on the door. "Your Majesty, I've brought Lady Rochester here, as you ordered."

"Let her in, Slater."

The knight bowed at the emperor's command.

Then Slater opened the door for her. It seemed like he was ordered in advance to leave as soon as she entered the room because, before she knew it, the knight had already disappeared when the door closed.

And now, she was alone with the emperor in the tearoom.

[Ah, his beauty is so blinding.]

Emperor Rino looked so majestic while standing in his fancy outfit. His blond hair was shiny, and his violet eyes reminded her of purple grapes. But despite his handsome and regal appearance, he couldn't hide the anxiety on his face.

[This is probably the reason why he asked his servants to leave.]

She was about to bow and greet the emperor when he stopped her.

"Lady Rochester, let's skip the formalities," Emperor Rino said in an anxious voice. Ah, the emperor was a nervous wreck, huh? Understandable. "Is it true that it's you who helped Isaak find my daughter?" he asked while approaching her. Then he stopped right in front of her. "Is it also true that you've met my Liane in another world?"

She wasn't surprised that Isaak Viotto shared her secret with the emperor. It was she who allowed him to do so. She knew that her secret was safe with the two brothers, anyway.

"It's true that I met Empress Liane in a different world, Your Majesty," Zoe said, then she offered her hand to the emperor. It was something that Liane told her to do once she met Emperor Rino. "I don't know why, but Empress Liane told me to ask you to touch my hand with your Mana…"

She trailed off when she noticed that the emperor was looking at the back of her hand with teary eyes.

It was her turn to panic.

[Is it okay for the emperor to cry in front of a stranger?!]

"It's Liane's mark," Emperor Rino said while looking at her hand even though she couldn't see anything. Then he gently traced an invisible mark on the back of her hand with his index finger. "It's a mark that can only be activated with my Mana."

As soon as the emperor was done tracing the unseen mark, a pretty sunflower materialized on top of her hand.

[Ohh… I'm really in a fantasy world!]

Her thoughts were interrupted by what happened next.

Emperor Rino took the magical sunflower in his shaking hands. Then he hugged it close to his chest before he shut his eyes tight.

Then the emperor cried.

Yes, he was sobbing so hard that she had to avert her gaze from the emperor.

Zoe looked up and sighed quietly.

[Why do heroines usually lose their parents early?]

It was scary to be a parent in a fantasy world where your child was the protagonist, huh?

***

"LADY ROCHESTER, I apologize for showing you my shameful side."

"You don't have to apologize for that, Your Majesty," Zoe, who was now sitting on the couch across from His Majesty, said. She was tired of drinking tea, so she just munched on a cookie. "Crying isn't shameful."

"Even though I'm a man?"

"Of course," she said with a firm nod. "There's no shame in crying, Your Majesty."

The emperor smiled brightly.

[He looks like an innocent puppy.]

"Thank you, Lady Rochester," the emperor said. "And thank you for helping us find my daughter."

She smiled as a response. "It's all thanks to Grand Duke Viotto for believing me."

The emperor smiled proudly. "My baby brother is an excellent judge of character."

Hmm?

Did the emperor just call the tall and strong Isaak Viotto his "baby" brother?

[Pfft.]

"I apologize for laughing, Your Majesty," she said when she finally calmed down. "I just find it cute that you're still treating your brother like a baby."

His Majesty smiled while scratching his cheek as if he was shy. "I can't help it. I guess an older sibling would always see their younger sibling as a child."

She just faked a smile because she suddenly remembered her own brother. But since she didn't want to relive such awful memories, she swiftly changed the topic. "Your Majesty, are you not going to ask me about the Empress Liane that I met in another world?"

His smile turned warm and his pretty, grape-colored eyes sparkled. She prepared herself to be bombarded with questions. But in the end, the emperor shook his head gently.

"The mark that Liane left to you contains a message," Emperor Rino said. Although he was smiling, she could see the sadness in his eyes. "I will read it later. I'm sure that the letter will answer the questions I have in mind. After all, Liane knows me more than I know myself."

"I see," she said while nodding. Then she hesitantly added. "Empress Liane is a face genius, Your Majesty. Her beauty is god-tier." She gave the emperor double thumbs up. "Most of all, she's very nice. Her legendary visual matches her wonderful personality." The emperor looked confused by the terms that she used, so she explained. "Empress Liane is beautiful and kind."

The emperor smiled kindly at her. "It's nice to hear someone talk about Liane using the present tense."

Oh.

She couldn't help it since she met Liane "alive." Using past tense to talk about someone she met recently felt awkward, even though the woman in question was a dead book character.

"Thank you, Lady Rochester," Emperor Rino said sincerely. "Thank you for listening to Liane's request. Most of all, I would like to thank you for your help in finding my daughter.

The emperor paused while looking at her expectantly.

"'Zoe,'" she said, because she had a feeling that the emperor wanted to know her real name. "My real name is Zoe Kim, Your Majesty."

"Can I call you 'Lady Zoe' from now on?"

"Please feel free to do so, Your Majesty."

He smiled and nodded. "I owe you a lot, Lady Zoe."

"It's okay, Your Majesty," she said. Then she waited for the emperor to ask her questions about… well, about her and the world that she came from. But it looked like His Majesty had no intention of "interviewing" her. "Are you not going to ask me about who I am or what kind of world I came from, Your Majesty?"

The emperor sipped his tea before speaking again. "I don't mean to be rude, but I'm not really interested in knowing more about you and your world, Lady Zoe. The fact that Liane and Isaak both trusted you is enough for me to trust you as well."

Ohh.

[He's the type of character who only cares about his lover, huh?]

"It doesn't matter to me who you are, or what happened to the real Lady Zoanne Rochester," Emperor Rino continued. "As the emperor who lost his daughter because he doesn't have enough power as a ruler, I don't have the luxury to care about anything else right now other than to protect my daughter properly this time." His Majesty offered her an apologetic smile. "However, once my daughter is safe and settled, I'd love to listen to your story, Lady Zoe."

Emperor Rino was really like how he was described in the book.

According to the 'Raised as a Tyrant Empress' novel, the emperor was only interested in people that he loved and cared about. Of course, he was a good ruler (or better than the previous emperors, at least). But he was lacking as a person since he had the tendency to only care about 'his' people.

[No wonder Empress Veronica didn't succeed in seducing Emperor Rino.]

His Majesty was an 'iron wall' even though he looked friendly, huh?

"I hope I didn't offend you, Lady Zoe."

"Not at all, Your Majesty," she said while shaking her head. "In fact, I appreciate that you and Grand Duke Viotto didn't make a fuss, despite knowing that I came from another world and possessed Lady Zoanne's body."

Now she realized that both the emperor and Isaak Viotto had too much on their plates to care about her problem.

[But of course, Marquis Hendrix Rochester will have a different reaction if he finds out that I'm not his real daughter. That's probably why it's easier for me to reveal my secret to the main characters of this novel– they don't care about the real Lady Zoanne and the marquis family.]

"To be honest, I can tell that Isaak is interested in you, Lady Zoe," the emperor said. "But he doesn't have the luxury to pay attention to you as of the moment because I gave him an order."

She almost clicked her tongue.

[Your Majesty, how dare you divert Isaak Viotto's attention away from me?!]

Her internal complaints were interrupted when she noticed that the smiley emperor suddenly turned serious. Even the air around him had changed. He looked friendly earlier, as if he was just some average dude. But right now, the aura that he gave off was majestic and dominating.

She found herself sitting properly, her back straightened and her hands clasped together on her lap politely.

[But why does the emperor look pissed?]

She wasn't scared because she knew that his anger wasn't directed at her. But she was a little nervous because the emperor's aura felt like it was crushing her down unintentionally.

[Ah, my shoulders feel heavy!]

"Lady Zoe, I heard everything from Isaak," Emperor Rino said seriously. "Apparently, my daughter's appearance was altered and the physical traits that she inherited from Liane and I were stolen. And worse…" His jaw clenched hard and his pretty grape-colored eyes glowed menacingly. "Runa received half the curse that turned Isaak into a ghoul."

Oh.

[Now I know why His Majesty is angry.]

"That's true, Your Majesty," she confirmed while nodding her head. "Unfortunately, Empress Liane didn't have the chance to know who cursed Princess Runa. The vision that she saw didn't tell her who."

Yes, that was the excuse that she came up with when she told Isaak Viotto that she knew where Princess Runa was. She said that Liane had a vision. To be honest, she was yet to give Isaak a clear explanation, but he prioritized saving the Crown Princess first.

[I need to come up with a solid story before Isaak Viotto returns. Emperor Rino doesn't care as long as he saves Princess Runa. But I'm sure the ghoul duke is still suspicious of me.]

"Both you and Liane have already done enough by informing us where to find my daughter," the emperor said. It seemed like he was less angry now because the crushing aura in the air started to disappear. His violet eyes also stopped glowing. "It's my job to find out who cursed my brother and my poor daughter." He paused, then he laughed bitterly. "But even though I said that it's my job, it seems like I'm pushing all the arduous tasks to Isaak again."

The novel mentioned that as well.

Since Emperor Rino couldn't move freely in the palace because of Empress Veronica, he would often order Isaak Viotto to do his bidding.

"I'm sure His Grace doesn't mind, Your Majesty," she consoled the emperor. "Plus, Princess Runa is Grand Duke Viotto's niece. I'm sure he'll do everything to save her, even if you didn't ask him to."

His Majesty smiled as if he was comforted by her words. "I'm just worried because the thing that I asked Isaak this time isn't an easy thing to do."

"May I know what it is, Your Majesty?"

The emperor turned serious once again.

"Because of Runa's unfortunate circumstances, we can't just bring her to the palace without the method of proving her identity. Moreover, we need to hide the fact that she's "half-ghoul." Otherwise, the nobles and the citizens of the empire won't accept her as the Crown Princess."

She already expected that.

It was also the reason why it took so long before Princess Runa could return to the palace. In the novel, Emperor Rino died before Isaak Viotto could prove that Princess Runa was the rightful Crown Princess.

"But I need to protect Runa even if I can't give her the crown yet," Emperor Rino continued in a serious voice. "Thus, I asked Isaak to adopt Runa."

She gasped when she heard that.

In the novel, Isaak Viotto AND Eunice Harper adopted Runa together when the two made a deal.

Zoe bit her lower lip while thinking.

[How can Isaak Viotto adopt Runa when Eunice Harper is yet to show up?]

***

"I CAN'T adopt Princess Runa?" Isaak asked Tori, his secretary, in an annoyed voice. He was currently sitting behind his desk in his office while Tori stood in front of him with documents in her hands. "Why?"

Tori, a viscountess in her own right, remained poker-faced. Out of all the people that served him, she was one of those who were used to his bad temper already. After all, they practically grew up together. "Your Grace, the law of our empire dictates that only married couples are allowed to adopt children," she explained in a bored voice. "If you're mad about it, please blame your ancestors who created the laws of the empire then."

He glared at Tori. [She's not wrong, but her sarcasm is pissing me off.]

His maternal cousin pretended to read the documents in her hands to avoid his glare. "Your Grace, there's a way to adopt Princess Runa in accordance with the law."

He knew what Tori was thinking, so he shook his head. "No."

"Just get married," Tori said, completely ignoring his opinion. Then she raised her head and smirked at him. "Your Grace, aren't you currently flirting with Lady Zoanne Rochester?"

Isaak closed his eyes and sighed. "Not Lady Zoe."

How could he have a marriage of convenience with a lady from another world that might disappear at any moment?

***

NOTE: Hi! Please consider ADDING 'I Won't Let The Ghoul Duke Go Hungry!' to your LIBRARY. Thank you! <3