Forensic Imperial Concubine

Because of what Harper had said, Rolando was so surprised that he was unable to speak or react for a few moments. He hadn't expected that she would want to leave the Imperial Palace so soon. He was flustered for a while but he managed to calm down in an instant. Even Rolando himself thought that it was inconceivable for him to do so.

"We can talk about it later. For now, it would be better if you can go back to the Harmony Palace, take a bath, and get changed," Rolando said. Then he reached out, in an attempt to hold Harper in his arms. But she stopped him right away.

"Are you sure you want to go out dressed like this?" Rolando helplessly asked. The weather in the Great Jade Kingdom was relatively warm, so they didn't usually wear thick clothes. After Harper was being soaked in water for so long, her clothes clung to her body. It made her exquisite figure even more attractive.

Harper looked down at herself and quickly felt embarrassed. But soon, she got rid of the awkwardness by using her own internal force to dry her clothes.

Complex emotions surged in Rolando's eyes. Once again, he stretched his hands, wanting to support Harper in standing up. But like it had been earlier, Harper subconsciously dodged his touch. Although someone had planned something malicious for both of them, she could no longer interact with Rolando as naturally as before, especially, after knowing what he was thinking. At the same time, she regretted that she had been so careless that she didn't even realize his intentions earlier.

Rolando looked at his failing hands, and then at Harper who had turned her back on him, already about to leave. He instantly felt that it was hard to breathe. He reached out to hold Harper's arm and asked, "Harper, are you thinking that I've planned all of this?"

Harper didn't look back at him. She avoided him not because of what happened to them but because of Rolando's affection towards her. She couldn't accept him. Her heart only had Matthew in it. And this time, she almost made a huge mistake. But because of this, she finally understood why Lilian had been acting so unusually. It turned out that even Lilian had noticed Rolando's feelings towards her, but she didn't notice it until now.

"No, I'm not."

you distancing yourself from me? Didn't you just say that we're friends?" Rolando

couldn't give him anything

"Rolando, I... I want you to be happy, but I know in myself that I can't

"You don't even want to be my friend now because you finally found out my

not it. It's

have affections for you and I've been loving you since a long time ago. But before what happened today, had I caused you any trouble? Had I ever told you my true feelings? If it weren't for this obnoxious plot that somebody

misunderstanding me. That's

silently. I'm not asking you to respond to me or even to love me in return. I just love you on my own. Can't I do this? Harper, why are you so cruel? After knowing my affections towards you, you just draw a line from

not what I'm doing. I just don't know how to face you at this moment. Please give me some time to process, so I can think how I really feel about all of this,"

grip on Harper's hand. "Harper! In that case, I would just like to make one thing clear. Everyone else would have been driven mad by that poison. If I really wanted to take advantage of the situation and do something

that what he said was true. If Rolando had any malicious intention, things would have gotten out of hand. But