cure chapter 2

“Wait! Don’t come any closer!” The candlelight revealed a rather… startling sight. His bare chest… and gloves. Gloves? Before the blanket concealing his lower half could disappear too, I quickly covered my eyes.

“I’m… I’m not ready! Please, don’t come any closer!”

“What are you talking about…? Wait! Don’t move!”

“Huh…?” As soon as he said that, I felt myself tipping.

“Whoa!”

“Liana!”

Crash! I’d grabbed something – I wasn’t sure what – and it clattered to the floor. Then his voice, calling a name I didn’t recognize. Finally, a thud, and a sharp pain in my head. Tears sprang to my eyes.

“Ow…” I blinked up at an ornate ceiling. As I lay there, a pair of long legs clad in dark trousers came into view.

“Are you alright?”

“You’re… wearing trousers?”

“…Yes…?”

Oh. If I’d known he was decently covered, I wouldn’t have made such a fuss. I swallowed my embarrassment, my head throbbing.

“Your Majesty! What happened?!” People rushed into the room, their clothes unfamiliar. And that title… Your Majesty?

“What the…? Where am I? Did I get on a plane or something?”

***

I glanced up. The man, now fully dressed, was looking down at me.

“So, my name is…?”

“Liana Daphne.”

“And yours?”

“Enoch Philip Dihart. And I’m the Emperor, not ‘yours’.” He tilted his head, a languid air about him.

“So, what just happened…?”

“You came into my room while I was changing and climbed on top of me. You also took your own clothes off, complaining that they were too hot.”

“Ahaha. Right.”

“Oh, and just so you know, nothing… untoward happened. Anything else you’d like to ask?”

I shook my head, trying to process everything he’d said.

“So, I’m Liana, you’re… Your Majesty, Enoch, and I basically assaulted you?”

“Yes. Honestly, how many times…” Enoch’s grey eyes narrowed. He watched me tugging at my hair and muttered, “You said you enjoyed drinking… has it affected your memory? Liana, you need to cut back.”

“Ahaha. Yes. I’ll try.” I avoided his sharp gaze, my platinum blonde hair dangling in front of my face. This can’t be happening. After the fifth explanation, reality finally sank in. My legs started to tremble. If I understood correctly, I was inside a steamy, R-rated romance novel. The infamously titled, Why Did the Duchess Roll Around in the Rose Garden? And it wasn’t just R-rated, it was practically X-rated! And the worst part? I’d started reading it less than 24 hours ago.

My friends wouldn’t stop talking about it! I’d only read a bit, too embarrassed to continue. And now I was in it. I should have finished it! I stopped trembling and started chewing on my hair, thinking about the character Liana.

Liana Daphne. Platinum blonde hair, green eyes, the female lead’s cousin. A typical villainess, there to spice things up in the early chapters. Loved money, loved power. And, oh yeah, loved alcohol. She was constantly trying to seduce the Emperor, hoping to become Empress.

“But why now?!”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Just talking to myself.”

“Liana.” Enoch’s voice was serious. He stared intently at my hand.

“Just so you know, hair isn’t food.”

“…What?”

He shook his head, then leaned forward and plucked a strand of hair from my lips before settling back in his chair. “If you’re hungry, I’ll have something brought up. You’ll get sick eating… that.”

“I’m not hungry! …I mean, yes, you’re right. Hair isn’t food. Haha. I won’t do it again.” I’d started to get defensive, but quickly backed down. After all, the Emperor, lounging there with a predatory smirk…

“Good girl.”

…was the insane tyrant of this messed-up story.