“Why, why are you like this, Zelda...”
Linel looked quite surprised by my provocation.
“Just stay still, I’m also very flustered.”
However, contrary to my words, my body was not flustered at all and was bold.
Before I knew it, I had laid him down on the bed and was looking down at him.
“The aura of evil... doesn’t seem to be such a bad thing.”
Linel willingly surrendered and placed his hands next to the pillow as he spoke.
“Judging by your expression, I guess I was really hungry?”
His voice was secretive for someone who was surrendering.
Seeing his generous eyes that seemed to allow me to eat him at any time, my heart became anxious.
I hurriedly grabbed his shirt and ripped it off in one go. After ripping it off, I sighed, “Ah.”
My initial intention was to gently unbutton it, but my reason and instincts clashed, and I ended up causing another accident.
Linel stared at me with wide eyes.
Only when the last button on his shirt, which was hanging precariously, fell to the floor did he laugh. He laughed even louder when he heard the button roll somewhere on the floor.
“You’ve been hiding this kind of nature? That’s good.”
Again, that expression.
Even though he was laughing, his eyes were somehow sad.
“I’ve been wondering something.”
“What is it?”
“What’s wrong...?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know?”
Linel replied, looking me up and down as I sat there with my thighs pressed against his.
I ignored him and asked again.
“Am I going to die soon?”
How could his eyes be so sad if he hadn’t?
The fallen demon didn’t say I was going to die? Then what?
It seemed like Linel was hiding something from me.
“Not at all. My wife will live a long life. You don’t have to worry about that.”
He said, tucking my hair behind my ear.
“But why is your expression like that? Are you worried that I’ve been infected by the devil and might catch it? I don’t think I can catch it?”
“I’d like anything you give me, even the devil.”
“But why do you keep making that face? It makes people feel dirty, no, weird.”
Linel looked quite surprised by my provocation.
“Just stay still, I’m also very flustered.”
However, contrary to my words, my body was not flustered at all and was bold.
Before I knew it, I had laid him down on the bed and was looking down at him.
“The aura of evil... doesn’t seem to be such a bad thing.”
Linel willingly surrendered and placed his hands next to the pillow as he spoke.
“Judging by your expression, I guess I was really hungry?”
His voice was secretive for someone who was surrendering.
Seeing his generous eyes that seemed to allow me to eat him at any time, my heart became anxious.
I hurriedly grabbed his shirt and ripped it off in one go. After ripping it off, I sighed, “Ah.”
My initial intention was to gently unbutton it, but my reason and instincts clashed, and I ended up causing another accident.
Linel stared at me with wide eyes.
Only when the last button on his shirt, which was hanging precariously, fell to the floor did he laugh. He laughed even louder when he heard the button roll somewhere on the floor.
“You’ve been hiding this kind of nature? That’s good.”
Again, that expression.
Even though he was laughing, his eyes were somehow sad.
“I’ve been wondering something.”
“What is it?”
“What’s wrong...?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know?”
Linel replied, looking me up and down as I sat there with my thighs pressed against his.
I ignored him and asked again.
“Am I going to die soon?”
How could his eyes be so sad if he hadn’t?
The fallen demon didn’t say I was going to die? Then what?
It seemed like Linel was hiding something from me.
“Not at all. My wife will live a long life. You don’t have to worry about that.”
He said, tucking my hair behind my ear.
“But why is your expression like that? Are you worried that I’ve been infected by the devil and might catch it? I don’t think I can catch it?”
“I’d like anything you give me, even the devil.”
“But why do you keep making that face? It makes people feel dirty, no, weird.”
“No? I’ve been showing affection for you all along.”
“No. There’s something. I feel it instinctively.”
I deliberately spoke more profoundly.
“No. And if you feel something strange about me, it’s probably the devil’s trick.”
Linel responded seriously and changed the subject.
“So what do you want to do with me?”
He asked, slightly lifting his head and checking his naked upper body.
My body continued to tremble even on Linel’s body. The vibrations seemed to be transmitted to him as well.
I bent down and dug between his lips.
No, I tried to dig in at once, but my trembling lips stuck to his chin.
Damn. It’s out of shape.
Then Linel cupped my face with both hands and made sure my lips could find their place.
His familiar softness swept over me as if it had been waiting.
He was more earnest and active than ever.
His movements seemed to be mixed with emotions different from usual.
His gestures and his heavy breathing that showed his love for me seemed to have changed subtly, but it was not he but I who had actually experienced changes.
I was worried that the evil energy that had seeped into me might have some effect on the love I was sharing with him.
Even while I was making love with him, inexplicable fear and dread continued to surge inside me.
Even though I was determined to shake it off in my head, my body felt helplessly controlled by the bad emotions.
However, even in this midst, human desire was just as strong.
Fear and dread could not overcome my desire to run towards him.
“When we make love... surely the evil energy won’t be transferred to Linel?”
“I wish it were so. That’s what I wish.”
Linel’s voice seeped into my skin.
“Don’t say that. I’m already shivering from the cold, and I shouldn’t be shivering from fear.”
He chuckled softly. The sound of his laughter was sad.
Why?
Oh, is it because I met that damned corrupted demon and feel negative about everything?
That could be true.
I barely saw his face today while we were making love.
He was always making eye contact with me and checking my expression... It was strange.
Only when I held his face with my trembling hands did he finally show me his face.
“Am I still warm?”
I asked after hesitating several times.
It was the only thing I could give him, so if that were to disappear, I would be so depressed.
“Yeah, I think you're warmer than usual...”
Linel said, hugging my body that was trembling slightly in fear.
I felt better, so I clung closer to his cold arms and wrapped my arms around his waist.
I hoped only my warmth would be conveyed, and not my fear.
“Zelda.”
“Yes.”
“I love you.”
“I know.”
“Heh, do you know how much I love you?”
“More than life?”
“Yes, more.”
“How can you be so sure?”
My tone was filled with doubt.
“I’m sure. I just know.”
He said with a soft expression, but his voice was filled with confidence.
“But don’t risk your life for me.”
“Then how much can I risk?”
“Anything but your life would be fine, right?”
I answered with a laugh, but he nodded with a serious expression.
“I will. I intend to do so...”
For a moment, we were silent.
Why did the words disappear? Just as I was wondering, he opened his mouth again.
“If we hadn’t met, how would we have lived now?”
I almost said, “I don’t know, but I wouldn’t have been infected with evil energy by blocking the demon fire with my hand because of someone.” But I barely managed to stop myself.
“I would have continued to be a bathhouse maid at the Shattonil royal family. Then, when I had some money, I would have built a blacksmith shop and made swords.”
“Blacksmith?”
“Yes, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a fire for fire! Strangely, the heat from the blacksmith shop was bearable. Maybe it’s because I like swords. How do you think Your Majesty would have lived?”
“I would have married one of the concubines or...”
“Oh my, if you had married the state, you would have married Princess Resilia?”
“It’s very likely. She ran away with Prince Norton.”
“Oh, I hate the thought of Princess Resilia. You’d rather marry a woman from another country.”
“...Really?”
“Yes, Princess Resilia is absolutely not.”
I said, gritting my teeth.
However, Linel muttered something irrelevant as if he were thinking of something else.
“I really only need you.”
Linel stared at my face as if admiring a painting.
“The Emperor has too many things connected to him.”
“Most of them are things you can’t give up, right?”
“No. There’s something. I feel it instinctively.”
I deliberately spoke more profoundly.
“No. And if you feel something strange about me, it’s probably the devil’s trick.”
Linel responded seriously and changed the subject.
“So what do you want to do with me?”
He asked, slightly lifting his head and checking his naked upper body.
My body continued to tremble even on Linel’s body. The vibrations seemed to be transmitted to him as well.
I bent down and dug between his lips.
No, I tried to dig in at once, but my trembling lips stuck to his chin.
Damn. It’s out of shape.
Then Linel cupped my face with both hands and made sure my lips could find their place.
His familiar softness swept over me as if it had been waiting.
He was more earnest and active than ever.
His movements seemed to be mixed with emotions different from usual.
His gestures and his heavy breathing that showed his love for me seemed to have changed subtly, but it was not he but I who had actually experienced changes.
I was worried that the evil energy that had seeped into me might have some effect on the love I was sharing with him.
Even while I was making love with him, inexplicable fear and dread continued to surge inside me.
Even though I was determined to shake it off in my head, my body felt helplessly controlled by the bad emotions.
However, even in this midst, human desire was just as strong.
Fear and dread could not overcome my desire to run towards him.
“When we make love... surely the evil energy won’t be transferred to Linel?”
“I wish it were so. That’s what I wish.”
Linel’s voice seeped into my skin.
“Don’t say that. I’m already shivering from the cold, and I shouldn’t be shivering from fear.”
He chuckled softly. The sound of his laughter was sad.
Why?
Oh, is it because I met that damned corrupted demon and feel negative about everything?
That could be true.
I barely saw his face today while we were making love.
He was always making eye contact with me and checking my expression... It was strange.
Only when I held his face with my trembling hands did he finally show me his face.
“Am I still warm?”
I asked after hesitating several times.
It was the only thing I could give him, so if that were to disappear, I would be so depressed.
“Yeah, I think you're warmer than usual...”
Linel said, hugging my body that was trembling slightly in fear.
I felt better, so I clung closer to his cold arms and wrapped my arms around his waist.
I hoped only my warmth would be conveyed, and not my fear.
“Zelda.”
“Yes.”
“I love you.”
“I know.”
“Heh, do you know how much I love you?”
“More than life?”
“Yes, more.”
“How can you be so sure?”
My tone was filled with doubt.
“I’m sure. I just know.”
He said with a soft expression, but his voice was filled with confidence.
“But don’t risk your life for me.”
“Then how much can I risk?”
“Anything but your life would be fine, right?”
I answered with a laugh, but he nodded with a serious expression.
“I will. I intend to do so...”
For a moment, we were silent.
Why did the words disappear? Just as I was wondering, he opened his mouth again.
“If we hadn’t met, how would we have lived now?”
I almost said, “I don’t know, but I wouldn’t have been infected with evil energy by blocking the demon fire with my hand because of someone.” But I barely managed to stop myself.
“I would have continued to be a bathhouse maid at the Shattonil royal family. Then, when I had some money, I would have built a blacksmith shop and made swords.”
“Blacksmith?”
“Yes, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a fire for fire! Strangely, the heat from the blacksmith shop was bearable. Maybe it’s because I like swords. How do you think Your Majesty would have lived?”
“I would have married one of the concubines or...”
“Oh my, if you had married the state, you would have married Princess Resilia?”
“It’s very likely. She ran away with Prince Norton.”
“Oh, I hate the thought of Princess Resilia. You’d rather marry a woman from another country.”
“...Really?”
“Yes, Princess Resilia is absolutely not.”
I said, gritting my teeth.
However, Linel muttered something irrelevant as if he were thinking of something else.
“I really only need you.”
Linel stared at my face as if admiring a painting.
“The Emperor has too many things connected to him.”
“Most of them are things you can’t give up, right?”
He nodded at my words and smiled faintly.
“They’re things you can’t give up even if you want to.”
“Just like us.”
“Huh?”
“We’re attracted to each other by our body temperature. Even if we didn’t know each other, if we had met somewhere, we would have eventually fallen in love.”
“Do you really think so?”
He raised his body slightly and asked with a serious look in his eyes.
“Yes, if we had only been close, even if we were enemies, I think we would have fallen in love later on?”
Because my body wouldn’t be able to reject his icy coolness. I was held in his arms again. Linel’s expression suddenly brightened for some reason. I don’t know why he was smiling, but it was much better than the way he had been chewing on something the whole time, so I felt good.
“I’m sleepy now. I guess my sexual desire has been satisfied, so my desire to sleep has increased.”
“Let’s go to bed. I liked sleeping with you the most...”
His voice came through my sleep. Not the best, but the most? It was past tense.
Why?
***
The next day, the Duke’s castle in the Principality of Aklatto.
“We were going to have a wedding and leave, but our schedule didn’t allow it.”
Hetor came into Roxana’s room for a moment after finishing preparing for the departure ceremony. Roxana looked up at his face quietly. Ironically, Hetor seemed really sorry that he couldn’t have a wedding and leave.
‘What kind of affection did they have for each other to make such an expression?’
‘If someone saw it, they would look like long-time lovers.’
She looked down at Hetor’s face and thought.
“I wanted to see you in a wedding dress.”
Roxana looked at his face again at Hetor’s careless words.
Hetor’s expression did not look like that of a man who had been close to many women on Tanya Island. He even looked like a pure young man, leaving his hometown behind and leaving his first love.
“You’ll see it soon, you know.”
‘You’ll see it at the wedding with Emperor Linel, of course.’
“I wanted to see you in a wedding dress.”
Roxana looked at his face again at Hetor’s careless words.
Hetor’s expression did not look like that of a man who had been close to many women on Tanya Island. He even looked like a pure young man, leaving his hometown behind and leaving his first love.
“You’ll see it soon, you know.”
‘You’ll see it at the wedding with Emperor Linel, of course.’
Hetor, completely unaware of Roxana’s true feelings, nodded at her answer.
“It will be beautiful, as you can see.”
Hetor’s awkward compliment continued.
‘Yes, and you’ll want to kill me. But that won’t happen. You’ll obey me like a dog.’
“Have a glass of this before you go. It’s juice I made myself.”
Roxana grabbed Hetor’s hand as he was about to leave the room and handed him a glass of juice.
“You... made it yourself?”
“Yes. I’ll be going to the continent soon, but I won’t be able to see you until then. I can’t feed you with my own hands, but I can do this much...”
She made her voice more gentle than usual.
Hetor looked surprised, but accepted the glass of juice she offered without any doubt.
Then he drank the juice in one gulp.
Hetor was a man who never stopped drinking, whether it was alcohol or water.
Thanks to that, she could leisurely watch him drink the obedience potion without feeling anxious.
The obedience potion was a potion that made the last person he saw before drinking it obey. She had received it when she met Bellos at the Magic Tower yesterday.
He said that the obedience potion could only be used on the person who spent the night with her.
The moment she heard that condition, Roxana felt comforted by the terrible nights she had spent with Hetor.
When Hetor fell asleep, his memories of Roxana would be erased, and he would only obey her.
Everything was going according to Roxana’s plan.
Originally, her father had planned to cross over to the continent, isolate the guests from each country participating in the hunting competition, and eliminate Hetor before handing over his last negotiating card, but her thoughts were different.
He was too precious to kill.
Anyway, since she was going to live in the Lapion Palace, she needed someone completely her own.
There was no one as loyal as Hetor to protect her.
She would never, ever become attached to him.
That’s what Roxana thought.
“See you on the continent.”
“Yes.”
Hetor opened the door and went out, then closed the door again and looked back at her.
“Roxana.”
“Yes?”
“If things go well on the continent and we get married, then... I’ll try to be a good husband.”
Was this something he had prepared in advance?
Roxana stared blankly at Hetor.
“I don’t lie. Well, you’ll know when you see.”
For the first time, Hetor smiled with real emotion rather than a sneer.
Roxana waved at Hetor and replied to him in her head,
‘I’m sorry, but being a good husband isn’t for you.’
“It will be beautiful, as you can see.”
Hetor’s awkward compliment continued.
‘Yes, and you’ll want to kill me. But that won’t happen. You’ll obey me like a dog.’
“Have a glass of this before you go. It’s juice I made myself.”
Roxana grabbed Hetor’s hand as he was about to leave the room and handed him a glass of juice.
“You... made it yourself?”
“Yes. I’ll be going to the continent soon, but I won’t be able to see you until then. I can’t feed you with my own hands, but I can do this much...”
She made her voice more gentle than usual.
Hetor looked surprised, but accepted the glass of juice she offered without any doubt.
Then he drank the juice in one gulp.
Hetor was a man who never stopped drinking, whether it was alcohol or water.
Thanks to that, she could leisurely watch him drink the obedience potion without feeling anxious.
The obedience potion was a potion that made the last person he saw before drinking it obey. She had received it when she met Bellos at the Magic Tower yesterday.
He said that the obedience potion could only be used on the person who spent the night with her.
The moment she heard that condition, Roxana felt comforted by the terrible nights she had spent with Hetor.
When Hetor fell asleep, his memories of Roxana would be erased, and he would only obey her.
Everything was going according to Roxana’s plan.
Originally, her father had planned to cross over to the continent, isolate the guests from each country participating in the hunting competition, and eliminate Hetor before handing over his last negotiating card, but her thoughts were different.
He was too precious to kill.
Anyway, since she was going to live in the Lapion Palace, she needed someone completely her own.
There was no one as loyal as Hetor to protect her.
She would never, ever become attached to him.
That’s what Roxana thought.
“See you on the continent.”
“Yes.”
Hetor opened the door and went out, then closed the door again and looked back at her.
“Roxana.”
“Yes?”
“If things go well on the continent and we get married, then... I’ll try to be a good husband.”
Was this something he had prepared in advance?
Roxana stared blankly at Hetor.
“I don’t lie. Well, you’ll know when you see.”
For the first time, Hetor smiled with real emotion rather than a sneer.
Roxana waved at Hetor and replied to him in her head,
‘I’m sorry, but being a good husband isn’t for you.’
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