Yes. He took it away. He planned to crush everything that did not suit this woman, leaving no trace. Then he planned to give her something noble that suited her. He imagined a woman who would smile like a flower next to him.
Which spring was it? It must have been the spring of her seventeenth year. Else smiled under a blossoming tree, holding a parasol. The dress that revealed her apricot-colored shoulders was pink and had puffed sleeves that puffed up like flower petals. The ribbons on the sleeves and chest were tacky but Else was beautiful. Long hair the color of flower petals fluttering in the wind. Eyes that contained the light of a light summer forest...
The clear smile that appeared as if drawn with a powerful pull of her elegant lips was also incomparably lovely. He wanted to make Else smile like that. He wanted her to be by his side, completely obedient to him. He wanted her to give birth to his child and live as that child's mother.
“I will reserve a place for you next to my throne. Else, I will make your child my successor.”
The woman did not answer. She was still lost in her dreams, though she occasionally let out uneven breaths. Sybil lay down next to her and wrapped her slender body around him. Then he pressed his lips to her round forehead.
“So obey me. Accept me as your only man.”
His breath touched her eyelids with a faint whisper. He pressed his lips against the trembling woman's eyelashes as if to smush them, then removed them again.
“Then I will give you everything.”
The exact charge against Milium was treason. He had tried to conspire with the Marquis of Dolan, who was a major supporter of the dead traitor Queen Nelais, by using Philip's runaway Princess as a conspiracy, and the evidence was found by the King's knights, Counts Loper and Icalant. However, Else had no idea. Even when questioned, Else remained white-faced, unable to understand the words.
When her family was on the verge of extinction, she did not admit anything. Even if she did not admit it, everything went according to the King's will, but Else did not believe anything. There was no way Millium would do something like that. It was not because she trusted him, but because she did not trust him. Doing something as bold as treason... What kind of courage and courage did he have?
Although Millium was a bad-tempered man, he was merely the son-in-law of a country lord, and in the eyes of the central government officials and magnates, he was a scoundrel who inherited a small estate and a meager title of Viscount. However, Millium was a traitor and was said to be locked up in a dungeon with the supporters of the Marquis of Dolan.
“There’s no way my husband would do that. He would...”
Else held her throbbing stomach and looked at the servant who was telling her the news about Millium. When she opened her eyes again, she was in a luxurious bedroom. The high ceiling was painted with blue dye, depicting the god of victory leading the King and a field with knights with swords running, and the icon on the side was also three angels guarding the kingdom, holding torches above the King’s head and wearing a shining crown.
The bedroom, made entirely of gold and marble, was located at the end of a long hallway. In fact, it was not a hallway, but a part of the bedroom, and the real hallway was accessible only by opening the door. The marble columns decorated with gold were Corinthian columns, and the long crystal chandelier hanging from the curves gave off a grand and noble feeling.
In the luxuriously Baroque bedroom, blue diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and pearls were common. Even one of the vases that caught the eye was set with an opal. The palace, where even the corners that could have been roughly finished were decorated with melted gold, was extremely splendid. Else looked down at the blue drapery embroidered with the royal family’s golden eagle and the knight’s three swords.
The servant bowed his head straight toward Else, who was quivering her dry lips and left the bedroom. The door closed with a squeak and a creaking sound. A faint chill ran down her spine. The door was completely locked. Else shivered as she walked to the door and pulled it open.
As expected, the door did not open at all. No matter how hard she pulled, the door did not budge, and her knees trembled. It felt like the baby was kicking and thumping inside her stomach. Else was scared and knocked on the door.
“Wait, wait! Why are you locking the door! Open this door! Let me go to Millium! I need to see my husband, so please open it!”
She burst into tears. Else swallowed her tears, trying not to sob. She couldn’t lose her family like this. How could she have protected her family? Even if she was only a Viscount, it was everything to her father and grandfather. Even if it was a desolate estate with nothing, nothing growing, it was Else’s world. In such a place...
Her stomach was rumbling. Else bit her lip as a deep, dull pain shot through her.
“Haa... haa...”
Else took a deep breath to calm her pain, her expression faltering. She wiped her wet cheek and came to her senses. She was a mother. Else was a mother. She was the mother of the child she had risked her life to protect. Even if the child was neglected by the father, he was precious to her. She had never hated the child, even though she had seen how cruel the father was.
“It’s okay. Mom will protect you. Mom will never abandon you... ever.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. She forced a groan back into her throat. The tears that flowed continuously felt like a dream. It had been a long time since she opened her eyes, but it was like she was dreaming... How could they be so cruel? She felt angry, but she couldn’t breathe because of fear.
The thought that Jules's old story would soon become her own made her stomach churn. What if she were to be beheaded while still full? What if that head became a ball for the cruel kids in the back alley? The child, the child...
'He said he would make me a slave.'
Even if her throat wasn't cut off, she was still a slave. She was a concubine and the King's mistress. Else trembled and hugged her throbbing belly. She sat down on the bare floor and thought of Ian... no, the King. She trembled not with fear of a cruel death, but with pure fear of him. It felt like the ground beneath her feet was crumbling.
She closed her wet eyes and took a deep breath. As she lay down on the floor, she felt drowsy. Strangely, the closer she got to the sandals, the more drowsy she became. Else lethargically closed her wet eyes and fell asleep.
“She didn’t eat breakfast?”
The hand moving on the parchment stopped. Oscar looked down at the ink drying on the parchment. The graceful curves of the letters were straight. The King who returned to the palace was as solemn as if he had lived as a King for the past 13 years. As if he had never lost his place. After checking the presence and location of the items he had used, he had the servants return them to their original places. Thus, the King was at peace as if he had never lived a single day as a King.
There was not even a trace of joy. The face on his back was pale with a deep wound, but that was all. There was no trace of anger toward the Viscount who had brought him revenge. He could not tell what he was thinking or what he had in mind.
The King looked up at him with his eyebrows narrowed. Oscar did not respond. The King began to move his hands over the onion paper again. When he finally finished writing the bibliography, the servant who had been waiting approached and took the parchment with his seal.
“When was the last time Else ate?”
The King asked his vassal who did not answer. In fact, he may not have wanted an answer but was asking himself. Oscar looked at the man walking with long legs and turned his gaze. The Roate family had fallen. It was a family that had achieved great feats but was given a meager title. A clan that thought that protecting a small territory and a title was their destiny... Those who could not avoid isolation from the aristocratic society with only the title given by the King...
Why did the King take their descendants as his concubines? He could not understand why he would take the woman he loved as his concubine. He did not even hesitate to go against his family because he could not take the lover who bore him children as his concubine... Oscar looked at the King’s sharp face and turned his gaze. He had arrived in front of the locked bedroom.
When the King arrived, the knight guarding the bedroom unlocked the door. Soon the door opened and a slender woman's figure was seen beyond it.
"Your Majesty."
“Call the palace doctor.”
Did she lose consciousness and collapse? Oscar quickly left to carry out the King's orders.
Which spring was it? It must have been the spring of her seventeenth year. Else smiled under a blossoming tree, holding a parasol. The dress that revealed her apricot-colored shoulders was pink and had puffed sleeves that puffed up like flower petals. The ribbons on the sleeves and chest were tacky but Else was beautiful. Long hair the color of flower petals fluttering in the wind. Eyes that contained the light of a light summer forest...
The clear smile that appeared as if drawn with a powerful pull of her elegant lips was also incomparably lovely. He wanted to make Else smile like that. He wanted her to be by his side, completely obedient to him. He wanted her to give birth to his child and live as that child's mother.
“I will reserve a place for you next to my throne. Else, I will make your child my successor.”
The woman did not answer. She was still lost in her dreams, though she occasionally let out uneven breaths. Sybil lay down next to her and wrapped her slender body around him. Then he pressed his lips to her round forehead.
“So obey me. Accept me as your only man.”
His breath touched her eyelids with a faint whisper. He pressed his lips against the trembling woman's eyelashes as if to smush them, then removed them again.
“Then I will give you everything.”
***
The exact charge against Milium was treason. He had tried to conspire with the Marquis of Dolan, who was a major supporter of the dead traitor Queen Nelais, by using Philip's runaway Princess as a conspiracy, and the evidence was found by the King's knights, Counts Loper and Icalant. However, Else had no idea. Even when questioned, Else remained white-faced, unable to understand the words.
When her family was on the verge of extinction, she did not admit anything. Even if she did not admit it, everything went according to the King's will, but Else did not believe anything. There was no way Millium would do something like that. It was not because she trusted him, but because she did not trust him. Doing something as bold as treason... What kind of courage and courage did he have?
Although Millium was a bad-tempered man, he was merely the son-in-law of a country lord, and in the eyes of the central government officials and magnates, he was a scoundrel who inherited a small estate and a meager title of Viscount. However, Millium was a traitor and was said to be locked up in a dungeon with the supporters of the Marquis of Dolan.
“There’s no way my husband would do that. He would...”
Else held her throbbing stomach and looked at the servant who was telling her the news about Millium. When she opened her eyes again, she was in a luxurious bedroom. The high ceiling was painted with blue dye, depicting the god of victory leading the King and a field with knights with swords running, and the icon on the side was also three angels guarding the kingdom, holding torches above the King’s head and wearing a shining crown.
The bedroom, made entirely of gold and marble, was located at the end of a long hallway. In fact, it was not a hallway, but a part of the bedroom, and the real hallway was accessible only by opening the door. The marble columns decorated with gold were Corinthian columns, and the long crystal chandelier hanging from the curves gave off a grand and noble feeling.
In the luxuriously Baroque bedroom, blue diamonds, emeralds, rubies, and pearls were common. Even one of the vases that caught the eye was set with an opal. The palace, where even the corners that could have been roughly finished were decorated with melted gold, was extremely splendid. Else looked down at the blue drapery embroidered with the royal family’s golden eagle and the knight’s three swords.
The servant bowed his head straight toward Else, who was quivering her dry lips and left the bedroom. The door closed with a squeak and a creaking sound. A faint chill ran down her spine. The door was completely locked. Else shivered as she walked to the door and pulled it open.
As expected, the door did not open at all. No matter how hard she pulled, the door did not budge, and her knees trembled. It felt like the baby was kicking and thumping inside her stomach. Else was scared and knocked on the door.
“Wait, wait! Why are you locking the door! Open this door! Let me go to Millium! I need to see my husband, so please open it!”
She burst into tears. Else swallowed her tears, trying not to sob. She couldn’t lose her family like this. How could she have protected her family? Even if she was only a Viscount, it was everything to her father and grandfather. Even if it was a desolate estate with nothing, nothing growing, it was Else’s world. In such a place...
She sat down in front of the door and hugged her stomach. The night when Millium brought his lover from the capital and humiliated her came back to her mind. She couldn’t tell how many days ago that night had been. However, what was clear was that everything her ancestors had tried so hard to protect had been lost in her generation.
“Ugh..."
“Ugh..."
Her stomach was rumbling. Else bit her lip as a deep, dull pain shot through her.
“Haa... haa...”
Else took a deep breath to calm her pain, her expression faltering. She wiped her wet cheek and came to her senses. She was a mother. Else was a mother. She was the mother of the child she had risked her life to protect. Even if the child was neglected by the father, he was precious to her. She had never hated the child, even though she had seen how cruel the father was.
“It’s okay. Mom will protect you. Mom will never abandon you... ever.”
Tears welled up in her eyes. She forced a groan back into her throat. The tears that flowed continuously felt like a dream. It had been a long time since she opened her eyes, but it was like she was dreaming... How could they be so cruel? She felt angry, but she couldn’t breathe because of fear.
The thought that Jules's old story would soon become her own made her stomach churn. What if she were to be beheaded while still full? What if that head became a ball for the cruel kids in the back alley? The child, the child...
'He said he would make me a slave.'
Even if her throat wasn't cut off, she was still a slave. She was a concubine and the King's mistress. Else trembled and hugged her throbbing belly. She sat down on the bare floor and thought of Ian... no, the King. She trembled not with fear of a cruel death, but with pure fear of him. It felt like the ground beneath her feet was crumbling.
She closed her wet eyes and took a deep breath. As she lay down on the floor, she felt drowsy. Strangely, the closer she got to the sandals, the more drowsy she became. Else lethargically closed her wet eyes and fell asleep.
“She didn’t eat breakfast?”
The hand moving on the parchment stopped. Oscar looked down at the ink drying on the parchment. The graceful curves of the letters were straight. The King who returned to the palace was as solemn as if he had lived as a King for the past 13 years. As if he had never lost his place. After checking the presence and location of the items he had used, he had the servants return them to their original places. Thus, the King was at peace as if he had never lived a single day as a King.
There was not even a trace of joy. The face on his back was pale with a deep wound, but that was all. There was no trace of anger toward the Viscount who had brought him revenge. He could not tell what he was thinking or what he had in mind.
The King looked up at him with his eyebrows narrowed. Oscar did not respond. The King began to move his hands over the onion paper again. When he finally finished writing the bibliography, the servant who had been waiting approached and took the parchment with his seal.
“When was the last time Else ate?”
The King asked his vassal who did not answer. In fact, he may not have wanted an answer but was asking himself. Oscar looked at the man walking with long legs and turned his gaze. The Roate family had fallen. It was a family that had achieved great feats but was given a meager title. A clan that thought that protecting a small territory and a title was their destiny... Those who could not avoid isolation from the aristocratic society with only the title given by the King...
Why did the King take their descendants as his concubines? He could not understand why he would take the woman he loved as his concubine. He did not even hesitate to go against his family because he could not take the lover who bore him children as his concubine... Oscar looked at the King’s sharp face and turned his gaze. He had arrived in front of the locked bedroom.
When the King arrived, the knight guarding the bedroom unlocked the door. Soon the door opened and a slender woman's figure was seen beyond it.
"Your Majesty."
“Call the palace doctor.”
Did she lose consciousness and collapse? Oscar quickly left to carry out the King's orders.
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