1-5

The usurpation of the throne was successful.

The circumstances were as follows: The First Prince exposed the king’s assassination plot, thus disqualifying him as a prominent heir to the throne, and in revenge, the First and Second Princesses, with the queen as their leader, branded and subdued the organized military as rebels. Thus, all direct descendants born from the queen’s womb crumbled. The men of the Third Princess played a significant role in disqualifying the First Princess, and the private army of the Duke of Fernando and the dispatched knights from the Grand Temple played a major part in suppressing the queen’s forces. Amidst this chaos, the prince regent, who had established himself as a great lord in the provinces, also raised a rebellion but was soon suppressed.

Shocked that his legitimate children had targeted him, the king abdicated in favor of the only innocent bloodline left.

Thus, on a spring day a year and a half after Lionella fell into Mishael’s hands, Daniella I’s coronation ceremony was held at the Grand Temple of the Lycius royal palace.

Mishael attended as an envoy of the holy kingdom and a benefactor who played a significant role in supporting Daniella I. The former king’s daughter, holding the royal scepter and orb, declared herself as the new ruler while also honoring those who would lead the royal authority with her. The successor of the dukedom to become the first national secretary, her first knight who secured the position of royal knight commander through this reversal, the chief advisor to the prime minister to become the second national secretary, and the youngest professor of the academy who will build an academic research institute to become a sturdy consulting partner for the new king…

“O mighty staff of God and my dear friend. I am grateful for the blood and sweat you shed for me, Lycius, and the justice of the holy kingdom.”

Although it was somewhat improper to call him a meritorious retainer since he still belonged to the holy kingdom, Mishael was honored just like her men.

It all started with a transaction for him to obtain Lionella, but isn’t it a rather pleasant outcome? Just like his relationship with Lionella, which he now began to envision a future like the others.

‘Can’t I also attend? It’s the day you receive your medal.’

Receiving a medal from the king he personally supported, he thought of his woman who would be watching him from somewhere in this place. A woman who seemed no longer harming herself, or thought of running away, would quietly stay there without needing a fake p*nis or being chained with handcuffs or shackles. Though they had to dress her in a novitiate’s robes to avoid drawing attention…

He tried to calm his surging heart, feeling Lionella’s vitality somewhere in the chapel.

After the coronation ceremony, he planned to return directly to his residence without attending the banquet. And then he would hold Lionella again and again, pouring out this overflowing heart until dawn breaks, prioritizing her pleasure over his desires. Perhaps it was time to unlock her handcuffs when he leaves her alone in the room. Maybe it was time to slowly release the hypnotic barrier. Perhaps it was okay to let her walk alone, at least in the garden in front of the mansion.

After observing the stabilization of royal authority for several months, he would apply for secularization to the holy kingdom. An agreement had already been reached with the king. The order greatly regretted it, but since he said he would devote himself to politics as a secular saint, they encouraged him to become a bridge between the holy kingdom and various countries.

Then he would settle his decade-long life as a priest and return to that damned old townhouse of Parma to perfectly repaint those memories.

The study where he was punished by Lionella’s whims, her salon where he was humiliated in front of her guests, the dining hall where he was whipped in front of Marquis Parma’s friends, her bedroom where she shamelessly read erotic novels in front of him…

In all those places, Mishael would become Lionella’s master. He would push her into the heights of pleasure within her obedience, branding her quivering self into his arms.

Lily. My lady.

I will become the owner of your mansion, your master.

It will truly become your home.

Without needing to hide your brilliant sunset-colored hair anymore, wearing your most beautiful form as I remember, you can scream, moan, laugh, and talk freely…

‘…Huh?’

While he was mulling over his blueprint, the coronation ceremony ended, and it was time to exchange greetings and pleasantries with people from all walks of life in front of the Grand Temple.

Trying habitually to sense her location, something felt off. Somehow, Lionella’s presence felt from somewhere else than where she should have been inside the chapel. The place where holy power resonated was…

The sky?

Turning reflexively in that direction, what came into view was a distant high bell tower piercing through low-lying clouds. Below its soaring roof, glimpses of swirling ginger hair fluttered in the wind.

“Your Eminence…?”

He immediately ran towards it.

“Lionella!”

“I knew you’d come.”

“What are you doing?”

“Saying goodbye.”

Lionella was on top of the bell tower, standing on the railing, seemingly waiting for him as she looked towards the stairs.

The moment Mishael took a big step forward.

“Don’t come.”

“Lily…!”

Lionella lifted one foot as if she was about to fall at any moment.

Mishael couldn’t come any closer and just rolled his red eyes around in dismay. Whooosh, the wind blew and his ceremonial hat flew away. It seemed like it was going to rain soon as a damp wind blew strongly.

“Lily. Why, why… Why are you doing this?”

“Why? Because we’re unhappy.”

“No, that’s not…”

We were going to be happy. I was, my plan was… According to that plan, we were going to be happy soon. Lionella gave a faint smile as if she read what his distorted face was appealing for.

“It’s true, it’s unfortunate. You, you’re not normal, right?”

“……”

“Me neither.”

“No. Normal… Normal. Where does such a thing exist?”

Mishael grimaced, murmuring in confusion.

Yes. There was a time when I blurted out such things. Back then, I was only filled with self-loathing, thinking I was not normal. All I remembered was being despised by Lionella, and all that remained for her was a desire for revenge and a sense of humiliation, but seeing her made me feel as if I was sick with lust.

So I took Lionella. I dragged her to sit beside me in my misery. Just as when I was by your side, I hoped you too would consider my side to be filled with unhappiness.

And he thought that was successful…

But it wasn’t pleasant at all.

“Lily, no. So…”

So…

In response to her words, he fumbled through his cluttered mind. Their history together. The humiliation and awkward desire he felt towards her. The sharp vengeance that was honed in his gut because of it. He tried to unravel the tangled thread of emotions that he had named abnormal lust and had deliberately not looked into properly, but then…

“I love you.”

“……”

“I love you. Because in love, where is normal in love?”

Yes.

I was in love.

He couldn’t tell since when. Maybe it had been from the beginning. He had a fondness for the lady who would act out and get herself hit, but it seems he found it hard to admit even unconsciously. He was enchanted by her doll-like beautiful face and fierce nature, but since he was originally a nobleman and a slave in Lycius, he couldn’t get close, so it seems he resented her with a feeling of injustice. His suppressed feelings turned into anger as he tried to tame her, but she resisted his every attempt, fueling his sense of injustice. As his anger grew, it turned into a desire for revenge. Even as he became a priest who should renounce all desires, his desire for her remained, leading him to involve himself in the power struggles of Lycius under the pretext of seeking stability in the realm.

All to have Lionella in his hands.

“If you were me… how could… how could I accept my feelings? Huh? F*ck, because of you, my childhood was miserably wretched. And yet, I still like you. No one else catches my eye, and I don’t know how not to desire you. I love you, Lily. So, please…”

“I love you too.”

As if she knew all along, Lionella simply smiled brightly in response to Mishael’s disjointed plea.

Mishael was momentarily stunned. During the year and a half he lived in his bedroom, had she ever smiled like that? No, had her smile ever been meant for him?

“It’s all for you. You need to be careful now.”

“If it’s for me…!”

“Princess Daniella has just ascended to the throne. The royal authority hasn’t even stabilized yet, everyone is just waiting to chop off your right arm because they can’t acknowledge the new king, and you’re going to take me back? The daughter of the Marquis of Parma who was erased and expelled from Lycius? Everyone will be eager to find faults in you.”

“The princess, the king, will block it all.”

“It’s easy to say anything. Even if they say they’ll block it, can they really protect me too? You directly exterminated Parma yourself, so you know better.”

“……”

“A daughter of a banished family and a slave… you, who became infatuated with a woman you brought to ruin with your own hands, and took her back.”

“What does it matter what other people think!”

“It matters to you. You promised to enter politics if you took me back.”

“That, breaking such a promise is no big deal. What else do you dislike? Should we sell the royal townhouse and move down? All Lycius nobles are sh*t anyway, right? Want to go to Chesed?”