50. Strange, desperate
Smile? Smile?
Asherad touched Daphne's lips. There was regret in his touch. Daphne laughed.
Smile? Hasn't she smiled often? When she saw the object he held out in front of her, she smiled gratefully. Isn't that a smile?
Asherad touched Daphne's face. It was strange. He didn't say anything, but it felt like sadness.
She doesn't know, she really doesn't know Asherad.
But she couldn't be shaken by it.
Daphne smiled brightly. Then the hand that had been caressing her face flinched. She looked at Asherad and said.
"All right."
Daphne placed her hand over Asherad's large hand that was caressing her face. She felt a disgusting warmth.
“I know you did that for me, but I don’t want others to die because of me.”
Daphne rubbed her face against his hand like a puppy, with a kind face. Asherad looked at his hand and Daphne.
For a moment, his gaze changed. Before Daphne could say anything, the hand covering her face tightened, and he kissed her.
Her lips were suddenly blocked, and it was difficult to breathe. It was as if she were submerged in water.
A soft lump of flesh brushed her lips and dug into them. Daphne accepted it with difficulty. He pressed his body against her. With that momentum, the body she had managed to raise fell onto the bed.
“Ah, ugh, euuh!”
Daphne couldn't come to her senses from the kiss that dug deep as if it was going to stab her throat. As she looked at Asherad with a hazy expression, with slightly tearful eyes, his breathing quickened.
He pulled away, put his hands on Daphne's waist, and hugged her tightly. It felt like her body was going to break apart.
In another sense, it was suffocating. The rock-hard body was so hot, she felt like she was suffocating from the heat.
“Huh! Your Majesty.”
When Daphne blushed and tried to pull away, he tightened his arms around her and held her tighter, as if he was trying to hold onto her in vain.
It was desperate, but it took Daphne's breath away. Daphne really thought she was going to lose her mind.
"Your Majesty."
As Daphne spoke, Asherad finally released the strength in his arms. Daphne gasped for breath. Asherad was blankly staring at Daphne like that.
He stood up and looked at Daphne. His eyes were looking at something terribly unfamiliar. Finally, the corners of his mouth went up.
“I’m crazy.”
“...”
“I'm crazy.”
Asherad whispered as he looked at Daphne lying under his two arms. He looked at Daphne's hair and kissed it. It was so pious that even Daphne found it strange.
Weird.
Asherad was unpredictable. Looking at her wavering eyes, Asherad raised the corners of his mouth.
“Yeah, I was already crazy.”
Daphne thought Asherad would hug her. As she stared blankly with a face of no resistance, Asherad lowered Daphne's skirt, which had been lifted up.
He spoke while caressing Daphne's hard lips that had been constantly stimulating her while kissing her.
“Take your medicine properly.”
Askeraad just got up from his seat and left.
Duke Turbol looked at Kalista in front of him. Kalista's hair was disheveled. It was a reaction he had often seen in the past, when Asherad went to war, and they were leading the government. Kalista would act like that when things didn't go her way.
“Kill her!”
Kalista shouted. He looked dumbfounded at the sudden call to kill her.
“Let’s kill that girl!”
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
He heard she was being a bit of a harasser. Was she really that stupid to be so openly hostile to that girl?
Despite Duke Turbol's thoughts, Kalista's thin eyes were streaming with tears.
“Just because of that woman, His Majesty is angry with me. His Majesty!”
“Are you talking about the last time he told you to shut up?”
“No! Strictly speaking, he wasn’t angry at me!”
Kalista said, sounding frustrated. What a clueless man! She was angry at Duke Turbol, not herself. He didn't seem to understand that either.
“He's saying that I got mad because I pushed her a little bit? How could he do that!”
“Well, you insulted His Majesty’s lover. Understandably, His Majesty would be angry.”
“That’s the problem. Just because I insulted a lowly lover, how dare you insult me! What have I done!”
Duke Turbol's eyes narrowed as the secret came out of Kalista's mouth. The Kalista he saw was a human figure he could not understand.
She was generally an arrogant noble. However, she showed excessive loyalty to Asherad. In addition, she had an excessive sense of compensation for Asherad.
Power within the palace, a huge budget. It was all given to her by Asherad. But as if that wasn't enough, she was demanding affection from Asherad.
'It' was based on a conflict of interest. It was a risky undertaking, but it was Kalista who accepted. Still, it was incomprehensible why she kept whining to Asherad to look after her.
“It is not advisable to have sex with such a lowly woman.”
If he looks at it that way, it was not desirable for Kalista, the mother, and Asherad, the son, to mix tongues.
“I object, Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager.”
"Why!"
“Well, isn’t she the woman that His Majesty cherishes and keeps by his side? Just by pretending to kill her, he took all the dishonor and officially announced her as his lover.”
“...”
“Have you heard the story about how one maid was executed and everyone else was kicked out just because they were rude to that woman?”
“...”
“Your Majesty, whom he loves now...”
Crunch! The porcelain doll next to Kalista flew away and shattered into a horrible shatter. Kalista opened her eyes wide and laughed.
“What the hell are you talking about!”
“...”
“I am the one that Askera loves!”
Duke Turbol stared at Kalista's face with furrowed brows. Kalista was panting with anger.
“It’s me, it’s me!”
He knew that there were many crazy people in the palace. And it seemed that Kalista had already gone mad. The Duke clicked his tongue as he watched Kalista screaming in her delusions.
As soon as he opened the door, a peculiar, pungent smell came out. It was the scent of strong alcohol. Ioannis entered the room. The room was dark, and the only light was a lamp that was barely on. The man was pouring alcohol on the side table.
“You didn’t enjoy drinking.”
The man drank his drink even as Ioannis appeared. Ioannis furrowed his eyebrows slightly. The red light illuminated the man’s face. His flushed face and red lips from drinking looked erotic even to the man.
Ioannis was glad that Kalista didn't have to see this, because the crazy woman would happily whine about getting Asherad under her thumb.
“Asherad.”
"Shut up."
It was a precarious situation. Asherad said, looking into the golden goblet.
“Ioan.”
"Why?"
“It’s strange.”
"What?"
“Even though I hold her in my arms, it doesn’t feel like I’m holding her.”
Asherad reached out and squeezed. Was this what it would be like to hold sand in one’s hand? No, it was as if he had just held the intangible wind in his hand.
“You mean that girl?”
“...”
Asherad didn't answer and looked at his palm. Ioannis looked at Asherad and spoke in his usual flat voice.
“She has definitely changed.”
A thin ice-like danger, a sharp expression like a cold blade. Asherad always looked relaxed and kind to people.
Not only that. In the exhibition, he had courage and was not afraid of anything. This kind of danger was the most unfamiliar thing he had ever seen.
“Is that girl that nice?”
Asherad did not respond to Ioannis's words. Instead, he looked back and forth between the chair he was sitting on and the armrests, and muttered.
“It’s strange.”
“...”
“The most worthless thing in the world is those eyes that flirt and beg for you to like them.”
“...”
Asherad clenched his fist. It was strange. He had twisted it with his own hands. It was regrettable that he had clearly felt joy in that relationship.
His throat was burning, and he felt thirsty. He had a feeling that this was not it. Looking at Asherad's face, Ioannis brought a chair and sat down next to him.
“Asherad.”
“...”
“I told you, if you try, you’ll be fine. If you’re going to lock her up, put her in a fancy prison.”
Asherad's dark, sunken green eyes looked at Ioannis. It was cold-blooded advice to capture the woman and imprison her. Asherad raised his head.
“So what if I put her in that prison?”
“...”
“What if I lock her in jail and she doesn’t see me?”
“Do you love that woman?”
Asherad's face distorted at Ioannis' words.
“How could that be?”
Asherad gritted his teeth as he spoke, as if it were shameful.
Ioannis was no expert on the mind either. Even Asherad's feelings for Daphne were too complicated.
He didn't want to blame Asherad, saying it was all his fault. Ioannis simply reached out and stroked Asherad's head.
When Daphne fell for killing her maid, Ioannis saw the unmistakable fear on Asherad's face.
It was strange when he thought about it.
'That damn girl. I told her I liked her, but maybe I treated her like a dog.'
Asherad, who had been alive with dead eyes on the battlefield, had bright eyes only then. He smiled brightly like a child who had received a gift.
The cracks may have been expected from then on.
A man who lived his life repeating only hatred, not knowing if love was love, in a relationship where he didn't know where it went wrong, fell into even more misery the moment he realized he was in love.
Who said love is self-torture? It was clear that he was abusing himself terribly by being aware of his feelings.
Smile? Smile?
Asherad touched Daphne's lips. There was regret in his touch. Daphne laughed.
Smile? Hasn't she smiled often? When she saw the object he held out in front of her, she smiled gratefully. Isn't that a smile?
Asherad touched Daphne's face. It was strange. He didn't say anything, but it felt like sadness.
She doesn't know, she really doesn't know Asherad.
But she couldn't be shaken by it.
Daphne smiled brightly. Then the hand that had been caressing her face flinched. She looked at Asherad and said.
"All right."
Daphne placed her hand over Asherad's large hand that was caressing her face. She felt a disgusting warmth.
“I know you did that for me, but I don’t want others to die because of me.”
Daphne rubbed her face against his hand like a puppy, with a kind face. Asherad looked at his hand and Daphne.
For a moment, his gaze changed. Before Daphne could say anything, the hand covering her face tightened, and he kissed her.
Her lips were suddenly blocked, and it was difficult to breathe. It was as if she were submerged in water.
A soft lump of flesh brushed her lips and dug into them. Daphne accepted it with difficulty. He pressed his body against her. With that momentum, the body she had managed to raise fell onto the bed.
“Ah, ugh, euuh!”
Daphne couldn't come to her senses from the kiss that dug deep as if it was going to stab her throat. As she looked at Asherad with a hazy expression, with slightly tearful eyes, his breathing quickened.
He pulled away, put his hands on Daphne's waist, and hugged her tightly. It felt like her body was going to break apart.
In another sense, it was suffocating. The rock-hard body was so hot, she felt like she was suffocating from the heat.
“Huh! Your Majesty.”
When Daphne blushed and tried to pull away, he tightened his arms around her and held her tighter, as if he was trying to hold onto her in vain.
It was desperate, but it took Daphne's breath away. Daphne really thought she was going to lose her mind.
"Your Majesty."
As Daphne spoke, Asherad finally released the strength in his arms. Daphne gasped for breath. Asherad was blankly staring at Daphne like that.
He stood up and looked at Daphne. His eyes were looking at something terribly unfamiliar. Finally, the corners of his mouth went up.
“I’m crazy.”
“...”
“I'm crazy.”
Asherad whispered as he looked at Daphne lying under his two arms. He looked at Daphne's hair and kissed it. It was so pious that even Daphne found it strange.
Weird.
Asherad was unpredictable. Looking at her wavering eyes, Asherad raised the corners of his mouth.
“Yeah, I was already crazy.”
Daphne thought Asherad would hug her. As she stared blankly with a face of no resistance, Asherad lowered Daphne's skirt, which had been lifted up.
He spoke while caressing Daphne's hard lips that had been constantly stimulating her while kissing her.
“Take your medicine properly.”
Askeraad just got up from his seat and left.
***
Duke Turbol looked at Kalista in front of him. Kalista's hair was disheveled. It was a reaction he had often seen in the past, when Asherad went to war, and they were leading the government. Kalista would act like that when things didn't go her way.
“Kill her!”
Kalista shouted. He looked dumbfounded at the sudden call to kill her.
“Let’s kill that girl!”
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
He heard she was being a bit of a harasser. Was she really that stupid to be so openly hostile to that girl?
Despite Duke Turbol's thoughts, Kalista's thin eyes were streaming with tears.
“Just because of that woman, His Majesty is angry with me. His Majesty!”
“Are you talking about the last time he told you to shut up?”
“No! Strictly speaking, he wasn’t angry at me!”
Kalista said, sounding frustrated. What a clueless man! She was angry at Duke Turbol, not herself. He didn't seem to understand that either.
“He's saying that I got mad because I pushed her a little bit? How could he do that!”
“Well, you insulted His Majesty’s lover. Understandably, His Majesty would be angry.”
“That’s the problem. Just because I insulted a lowly lover, how dare you insult me! What have I done!”
Duke Turbol's eyes narrowed as the secret came out of Kalista's mouth. The Kalista he saw was a human figure he could not understand.
She was generally an arrogant noble. However, she showed excessive loyalty to Asherad. In addition, she had an excessive sense of compensation for Asherad.
Power within the palace, a huge budget. It was all given to her by Asherad. But as if that wasn't enough, she was demanding affection from Asherad.
'It' was based on a conflict of interest. It was a risky undertaking, but it was Kalista who accepted. Still, it was incomprehensible why she kept whining to Asherad to look after her.
“It is not advisable to have sex with such a lowly woman.”
If he looks at it that way, it was not desirable for Kalista, the mother, and Asherad, the son, to mix tongues.
“I object, Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager.”
"Why!"
“Well, isn’t she the woman that His Majesty cherishes and keeps by his side? Just by pretending to kill her, he took all the dishonor and officially announced her as his lover.”
“...”
“Have you heard the story about how one maid was executed and everyone else was kicked out just because they were rude to that woman?”
“...”
“Your Majesty, whom he loves now...”
Crunch! The porcelain doll next to Kalista flew away and shattered into a horrible shatter. Kalista opened her eyes wide and laughed.
“What the hell are you talking about!”
“...”
“I am the one that Askera loves!”
Duke Turbol stared at Kalista's face with furrowed brows. Kalista was panting with anger.
“It’s me, it’s me!”
He knew that there were many crazy people in the palace. And it seemed that Kalista had already gone mad. The Duke clicked his tongue as he watched Kalista screaming in her delusions.
***
As soon as he opened the door, a peculiar, pungent smell came out. It was the scent of strong alcohol. Ioannis entered the room. The room was dark, and the only light was a lamp that was barely on. The man was pouring alcohol on the side table.
“You didn’t enjoy drinking.”
The man drank his drink even as Ioannis appeared. Ioannis furrowed his eyebrows slightly. The red light illuminated the man’s face. His flushed face and red lips from drinking looked erotic even to the man.
Ioannis was glad that Kalista didn't have to see this, because the crazy woman would happily whine about getting Asherad under her thumb.
“Asherad.”
"Shut up."
It was a precarious situation. Asherad said, looking into the golden goblet.
“Ioan.”
"Why?"
“It’s strange.”
"What?"
“Even though I hold her in my arms, it doesn’t feel like I’m holding her.”
Asherad reached out and squeezed. Was this what it would be like to hold sand in one’s hand? No, it was as if he had just held the intangible wind in his hand.
“You mean that girl?”
“...”
Asherad didn't answer and looked at his palm. Ioannis looked at Asherad and spoke in his usual flat voice.
“She has definitely changed.”
A thin ice-like danger, a sharp expression like a cold blade. Asherad always looked relaxed and kind to people.
Not only that. In the exhibition, he had courage and was not afraid of anything. This kind of danger was the most unfamiliar thing he had ever seen.
“Is that girl that nice?”
Asherad did not respond to Ioannis's words. Instead, he looked back and forth between the chair he was sitting on and the armrests, and muttered.
“It’s strange.”
“...”
“The most worthless thing in the world is those eyes that flirt and beg for you to like them.”
“...”
“It was those eyes, and now I crave them.”
His throat was burning, and he felt thirsty. He had a feeling that this was not it. Looking at Asherad's face, Ioannis brought a chair and sat down next to him.
“Asherad.”
“...”
“I told you, if you try, you’ll be fine. If you’re going to lock her up, put her in a fancy prison.”
Asherad's dark, sunken green eyes looked at Ioannis. It was cold-blooded advice to capture the woman and imprison her. Asherad raised his head.
“So what if I put her in that prison?”
“...”
“What if I lock her in jail and she doesn’t see me?”
“Do you love that woman?”
Asherad's face distorted at Ioannis' words.
“How could that be?”
Asherad gritted his teeth as he spoke, as if it were shameful.
Ioannis was no expert on the mind either. Even Asherad's feelings for Daphne were too complicated.
He didn't want to blame Asherad, saying it was all his fault. Ioannis simply reached out and stroked Asherad's head.
When Daphne fell for killing her maid, Ioannis saw the unmistakable fear on Asherad's face.
It was strange when he thought about it.
'That damn girl. I told her I liked her, but maybe I treated her like a dog.'
Asherad, who had been alive with dead eyes on the battlefield, had bright eyes only then. He smiled brightly like a child who had received a gift.
The cracks may have been expected from then on.
A man who lived his life repeating only hatred, not knowing if love was love, in a relationship where he didn't know where it went wrong, fell into even more misery the moment he realized he was in love.
Who said love is self-torture? It was clear that he was abusing himself terribly by being aware of his feelings.
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