1. Valentine de le Blumir – Lacrimosa¹Lacrimosa is a Latin word meaning “weeping” or “tearful.” of the Black Rose

The notorious tyrant Astaire truly loved Valentine, his royal concubine. Day and night, he held her and whispered words of love.

“My beloved Tina. I can’t believe how radiant you are right now.”

Whenever Valentine heard these affectionate words, she would respond with her most beautiful smile. Her smiles made Astaire hold her even more preciously.

“The moments when I can proudly call you mine are my happiest.”

At his possessive whispers, Valentine would habitually embrace Astaire. Though Astaire was crueler than anyone else in the world, ironically, he was purely devoted to Valentine alone.

However, Valentine did not love Astaire.

It wasn’t just because Astaire was objectively evil. Valentine had someone she loved even before meeting Astaire.

Trapped in the imperial palace, Valentine secretly spent her time in tears and sighs, waiting for her beloved.

At the monthly imperial banquet — the time when Astaire would always proudly declare Valentine as his —

Valentine looked down at the man who took her hand and carefully kissed her beige silk glove. Her inevitably trembling voice softly echoed.

“Welcome, Grand Duke Pendragon.”

Astaire’s uncle. The youngest son of the previous emperor. Grand Duke Cassian Pendragon.

In response to Valentine’s greeting, Cassian curved his red lips into a proper smile. It was a picture-perfect smile that could steal anyone’s heart.

“Madame Marguerite.”

“……”

Cassian was the one Valentine truly loved.

Once a month, the two who barely reunited at official banquet occasions enjoyed a secret meeting in the darkness-shrouded garden. Valentine gasped at the warmth of Cassian’s lips on her nape. She ran her fingers through his hair.

“Ah, Cassian.”

“I’ve missed you, Valentine.”

A voice thick with carnal desire flowed. The young uncle of the emperor and the official concubine of his nephew of similar age. The time allowed for this man and woman to share their forbidden, sinful love was painfully short. Thus, their touches were hasty.

Lips slid down Valentine’s fair nape. Trembling lips with excitement buried between her br*asts. Her scent vaguely spread through his nose. The sweet fragrance numbed his reason.

The lips biting into the white, soft skin were somewhat thirsty. Licking up the softly undulating flesh, the man urgently lifted the hem of her dress with his hands.

“Every time Astaire opens his mouth…”

Valentine’s sobs covered the night garden.

“I imagine it’s your voice. Cassian, Cassian…”

Valentine threw her head back, intoxicated by the sensations Cassian gave her. His warmth, the feeling of being loved, the moment of loving — she had missed it all so much. All the sensations that filled this moment dominated her.

Hot breaths colored the night sky. Her sorrowful purple eyes shimmered clearly.

“I wished so desperately that those hands were yours, that breath, those eyes… That the person embracing me was, please, please you. You don’t know how earnestly I wished for it.”

“My Belle…”

Cassian whispered in a deep voice. His passionate hands firmly grasped her thighs. The sensation of soft skin filling his hot hands. This touch he had imagined every day for the past month.

The moon hidden behind clouds watched over the two. Impatient fingertips touched the split flesh inside her thighs. Fingers slid over the wet, red flesh. As he skillfully rubbed the swollen red peak, a moan forcibly swallowed behind closed lips left an afterimage in the night sky.

“Ruin me. So that I can’t think of anything else…”

Intimate words spread to the man’s ear. The driven body hit against a tree. The man’s enraged member, firmly binding the delicate body with his whole being, took its place between her thighs.

The sound of an unbuckling belt was heard. His once-neat clothes became disheveled unlike him, and his robust member sprang out. The hot, wet tip rubbed against her soft thighs, prodding at her moist flesh. Soon, he pushed his blood-filled, dark red self into the split crevice.

The delicate flesh inside the narrow space accepted him softly and hotly. The wet, wrinkled inner walls chewed on the intruding object. An indescribable ecstasy dominated him at the strongly squeezing sensation.

The lovers’ lips, hidden in darkness, overlapped. As they hid their voices in each other’s mouths lest they spill out, her legs wrapped around his waist. He thrust his hips towards her clinging to him.

The hard, hot flesh parted the narrow flesh crevice without hesitation. It pushed in straight, rubbing wet flesh against flesh. This ecstasy felt when parting the closed inner walls and thrusting deep inside. This longed-for sensation that hotly ravaged her body and gently soothed her heart.

It felt as if a hot pillar of fire was burning the inner mucous membrane. She clung to him even more at the overwhelming moment that completely ravaged her entire being.

Her hot breath, writhing in painful pleasure, colored the night sky. Tears welled up in her clear eyes. He greedily drank the tears rolling down her white cheeks. It seemed to taste sweet.

Her small gasps hiding in his mouth, her delicate body clinging to him — he loved it all. Her face drenched in pleasure, her flushed cheeks drove him mad in this moment. To the point where he wished this briefly permitted time would become eternity.

While hotly exploring Valentine, there was something Cassian never forgot to say.

“For us to be together, Astaire must disappear.”

Valentine knew this well too. Only if Astaire vanished could the two have a future.

The hot pillar slid inside. For a moment, the emptied space writhed, craving him. With a creaking, squelching noise, he split her flesh again. The lewd friction sound that rang out when he pushed himself to the end of her wrinkled inner walls.

Meanwhile, Cassian whispered in a deep voice.

“Drive Astaire into his own hell.”

“…Hic, yes.”

“Astaire will listen to your words, Belle.”

Cassian’s lips slid down her neck. Valentine, beautifully sobbing, nodded.

“No matter how terrible and strange Astaire’s actions are, you must unconditionally say that he is right. That’s how you can survive.”

That was precisely why Valentine had survived by Astaire’s side until now, and why she was loved.

Valentine was Cassian’s faithful dog, who listened to whatever he said.

* * *

Valentine would never forget the moment she first met Cassian until the day she died.

A quiet countryside estate. Leaves singing their own songs, rustling against each other in the blowing wind. Flower petals hazily blooming, more brilliant than sunlight.

In that dazzling spring light stood an unfamiliar man.

Pale golden hair fluttering gently. Warm sunlight reflecting off transparent skin. Eyes as blue as the high autumn sky.

They say you can see a halo around people you’re destined to meet. The unfamiliar man walking from across the familiar estate looked so pure, like an angel, that Valentine stared at him entranced from afar.

The man moved with elegant steps. One step, then another, he came closer to Valentine.

The hem of his white uniform fluttered. Uniforms tailored to fit the body perfectly were originally uncomfortable and stuffy things. Yet his gait, moving without any sign of discomfort, was disciplined and full of dignity.

Finally, the man stood fully before Valentine. He took Valentine’s hand, tanned by the sunlight. His soft lips touched the back of her hand, which felt embarrassing.

“Belle.”

A pleasing voice settled gently. Warm breath tickled the back of her hand.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mademoiselle. I am Cassian Pendragon.”

There was no one who wouldn’t recognize the name of Grand Duke Pendragon, the emperor’s uncle. However, Valentine, momentarily enchanted by Cassian, could only move her lips for a while.

Cassian waited calmly and patiently for Valentine’s response. Valentine, who finally came to her senses, barely mumbled. Her face was flushed red.

“…Valentine de le Blumir presents her greetings to Your Highness the Grand Duke.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, Mademoiselle Blumir.”

His tone was as fluid as if he were singing. Cassian met her gaze and curved his sapphire-blue eyes into a smile.

“Please, call me Cassian.”

Valentine’s heart sank to the floor at Cassian’s eye-smile.

* * *

T/N: the entire chapter 1 is a flashback. I’m gonna say this now: this doesn’t have a lot of romance, it’s mainly revenge and regret.