Chapter 74: My Empire
A sudden chill ran down Yun Jiao’s spine. She rubbed the goosebumps on her arm before raising the marriage contract in her hand again and said calmly, “Your Majesty, please take this marriage contract back.”
The Demon King blinked in confusion. “Why?”
“Perhaps what I said earlier made you misunderstand, but I truly never intended to marry you.” Yun Jiao spoke frankly, her tone firm. “Marriage should be about mutual affection. You and I have only met twice. There are no feelings between us—jumping straight to marriage is entirely inappropriate.”
The Demon King didn’t seem bothered. He looked at her again, then coughed lightly, turning his head aside as if to conceal his embarrassment. “It’s fine. I… am very satisfied with you.”
But I’m not satisfied with you! And why the hell was he blushing?!
“Your Majesty,” Yun Jiao took a deep breath. Clearly, polite refusal wasn’t getting through. “Let me be honest with you—I don’t like you. That’s why I don’t want to marry you.”
“What?” The Demon King froze, disbelief flashing across his face. She wasn’t the one who demanded to be queen? How could she suddenly reject him? An inexplicable emptiness filled his chest. “Why not? If you marry me, you’ll be the queen of the entire demon realm!”
“I don’t need that!” Yun Jiao replied firmly. “I’m twenty-eight years old, not some naive little girl who’s never seen the world. I’ve had countless people pursue me.”
As a woman who had breezed through every level of education from elementary school to a PhD, she had no shortage of suitors. “But no matter what they offered me—money, wealth, status, or power—I never accepted, because I believe that anything worth having, I can earn myself. I don’t need anyone’s charity. If one day I choose to marry, it’ll be because I like that person. For no other reason.”