Chapter 5. News of Death

In the early dawn, when the sky was turning a bluish light, a beam of light that crept into the bedroom, which had barely quieted down after countless passions, tickled Iella’s eyes.

“Ugh…”

However, it was not enough to wake her. Iella couldn’t escape from her dreams. She felt hazy and languid, as if she were walking on clouds.

She turned over to avoid the intruder disturbing her sleep. Something hard brushed against the back of her hand.

‘Hmm…?’

Still with her eyes closed, Iella moved her hand, groping. The large, hard, hot, and smooth feeling wrapped around her palm.

Finally, giving up on guessing, she half-opened her eyes. Her blurry vision filled with a flesh-colored spectacle, which soon became clear.

“…Ah!”

Exactly three seconds later, she screamed and jerked upright.

‘What, why, why is that person lying here?’

Her vision spun dizzily. Iella clutched her head, then, noticing her naked body, hastily pulled the fallen blanket back up to cover her chest. Looking ahead again, she saw him frown slightly.

Fearing he might wake up, Iella quickly covered her mouth with one hand. She didn’t even want to think about what would happen if he woke up in this situation.

Fortunately, seeing him quickly relax his frown, Iella breathed a small sigh of relief and quickly tried to understand the situation.

‘Did I… sleep with him? I must have. Otherwise, why would I be naked?’

Her first thought was whether she had slept with him.

Of course, there was undeniable evidence, so the answer came quickly. He was also completely naked from the waist up, and she didn’t need to lift the blanket to know he was likely no different from her.

The problem was why this situation had occurred.

‘He suddenly kissed me, undressed me, and, uh, touched my chest. I felt breathless and strange, so I raised my hand to push him away… What happened next?’

As she retraced the events of last night step by step, Iella tilted her head. She closed her eyes and concentrated, but the situation after that remained unclear. It wasn’t as if that part had been neatly cut out but rather blurred as if blocked by something.

Like a foggy haze.

Perhaps this was why she wasn’t more shocked by the fact that they had been intimate. With no memories, it didn’t feel very real.

‘Come to think of it, I think I heard a voice…’

The memory gap started from there. From the moment an unknown voice took control of her body right after she raised her hand.

‘What is this, scary.’

Feeling a chill as if she had been possessed by a ghost, Iella shivered. Then she saw him again. Iella decided to move away from him and think more.

‘Is he still sleeping?’

Watching him breathe evenly without moving, Iella cautiously reached out her hand and gently waved it side to side in front of his face. Her body ached as if she had been beaten, and her waist throbbed, making it difficult to move quickly, so she planned to check if he was asleep before moving.

If he was awake, she would pretend to be asleep to avoid trouble.

‘Yes, he’s sleeping, ah!’

Confirming no movement after several attempts, Iella relaxed and withdrew her hand. But in a moment of distraction, her wrist was grabbed roughly and she was pulled back onto the bed. Clear purple eyes looked down at her.

“Where are you going?”

“Weren’t you asleep…?”

“With all that commotion in front of me, how could I not wake up?”

Too flustered, Iella didn’t even realize she was talking politely. She was more shocked by his tone. Although his words were still mocking, as usual, they sounded oddly calm and gentle.

‘Because we were intimate?’

At that thought, her eyes were drawn to the expanse of flesh under his neck, and her face flared up. Unlike Ailexia, who might have taken this in stride, Iella, who had never dated in both her past and present lives, found this too stimulating.

She turned her head to avoid his gaze.

Allen watched her quietly. Her deep pink eyes avoiding his and her neck flushing red were very unfamiliar. Ailexia had never shown him such a look.

The strange sense of incongruity that had bothered him all night resurfaced. But remembering it was all an act, he dismissed it with self-mockery.

“Is that a signal for me to please you again?”

“What? What do you mean.”

“Like last night. But you have been acting very strangely since yesterday.”

Startled, Iella turned back to him. Allen lowered his eyes lazily and drew his face closer.

“Aren’t you behaving like a virgin who’s having her first time?”

“…!”

His suspicion left her speechless. At the same time, she felt an impulsive conflict about whether to confess she wasn’t Ailexia.

But then, how would she explain last night? Moreover, there was no guarantee he would believe her. He had dismissed her rejection as an act last night, so there was no reason he wouldn’t do the same now.

It was a situation Iella couldn’t resolve. It was Ailexia’s actions and their consequences.

‘There’s no choice. For now…’

After a brief contemplation, Iella pushed him away, creating distance.

“Just go back.”

She commanded haughtily, looking down at him. Since her credibility was already low and whatever she did would be seen as an act, she might as well do as she pleased. Besides, he had called her ‘capricious’ last night.

That meant Ailexia was usually capricious. So this could easily be seen as one of her whims. Although it was the complete opposite of her usual personality, she kept apologizing inwardly.

Iella met his piercing purple eyes without backing down. She couldn’t afford to look away now. She needed to be brazen, as if she had a steel plate over her face, to overpower him.

“…You enjoyed everything and now you want me to leave? Ha. I must have failed to meet your expectations. I should have just shut up and fucked you for pleasure. Like last night.”

His low, eerie voice muttered to himself. Iella saw contempt fill his purple eyes in real-time. His tone and gaze, which she thought had softened a bit, returned to how they were last night. No, it was even more frightening, making her want to deny it immediately.

Swallowing her tears, Iella inwardly screamed, ‘No, no…’. She didn’t dare say it out loud.

Meanwhile, Allen got up from the bed. If he had stayed a bit longer, she would have trembled like a small animal facing a predator. She let out a small sigh of relief. But seeing him turn his back to find his clothes, she quickly looked away.

As she expected, he was completely naked below.

‘Don’t think about it!’

The image of the large, sturdy rod between those muscular thighs that she had glimpsed for a brief moment was too vivid to forget. Surprisingly, it didn’t seem disgusting despite its beautiful color. Instead, thinking about how that had entered her body made her understand the pain that had struck her whole body.

In the meantime, the rustling sounds of him dressing stopped. Just as Iella was quickly clearing her mind out of embarrassment, a voice, even more subdued than before, reached her ears.

“As expected, you are always selfish and cold-hearted. The moment your purpose is fulfilled, you turn away without any hesitation. Even though I was the one who warmed your bed.”

He interpreted her silence as something else, not knowing that this was the first time Iella had seen a man’s naked body. As she stood there frozen, unable to react, a low murmur echoed.

“To you, Lady Ailexia, I am nothing more than a living toy.”

Then, with a loud bang, he slammed the door and left the room. Only then did Iella turn to look at where he had been. Suddenly, a memory of his voice from a hazy recollection came to mind.

[““Since it’s all equally miserable, enjoy it as you wish. …Until I lose my mind completely.”]

His words and voice had sounded sorrowful and pitiful, just like now.

* * *

At the same time, at the main gate of the imperial palace.

A group of people, having finished their preparations to depart somewhere, were waiting for someone. Soon, the enormous gate opened, and a man with a red cloak billowing behind him walked out.

It was Helios von Behart, the Emperor of the Behart Empire.

From his measured steps, it was clear that this most noble man exuded an innate elegance and an overwhelming presence that no one could easily imitate. His crimson eyes, reminiscent of blood, earned him the title of a tyrant.

He stopped in front of a dark mage with a similarly imposing aura. A valet standing by handed him a pair of white gloves. As he accepted and donned the gloves, a man dressed in knight’s attire approached him. Unlike the other knights, this man, with a badge on his chest, was Vilt Cahel, the Captain of the Imperial Guard and the Emperor’s right-hand man.

“A report from the shadow of the secondary palace. It says that last night, the hostage slept with Bledin.”

“Trivial.”

Vilt, who had bowed his head close to him, lowered his voice and then straightened his posture. Helios, finishing putting on his gloves, dismissed the valet with a wave of his hand.

“What is the reason for reporting something so insignificant?”

“The day before, the hostage was driven out shortly after entering the bedroom. So…”

“Disgusting love play, I suppose.”

With a short sneer, he mounted his majestic horse in one swift motion. Vilt followed suit, mounting his horse prepared next to him. The palace servants who had assisted with the preparations all retreated and lined up in an orderly manner.

“It will be quite a sight if it turns into a love affair someday. A situation opposite to that of his mother.”

“…”

“More importantly, must you spoil my mood right before a hunt?”

“No, Your Majesty. I will correct myself.”

“I was joking. But I will take that word.”

Helios, playfully raising the corners of his mouth, adjusted the reins and signaled the chief valet standing to the side. The chief valet then signaled the knights who had formed a formation behind Helios.

Just before departure, Helios spoke to Vilt with a tone of lament.

“I thought this time it would be news of that wretched woman’s death.”