Chapter 102. The Master of the Command Tower

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“!!”

This was truly unexpected.

I was taken aback by the emperor’s straightforward command to become the overseer. Surely, he had an ulterior motive.

“Why are you surprised? Didn’t you consider this when you proposed it to me?”

“No. I intended to leave the selection of the overseer to the nobles’ council.”

“Hmph! If the overseer of an imperial command tower is decided by the nobles’ council, what kind of command tower would that be? It would just be another tower.”

The emperor leaned back in his chair, lifting his chin.

“The appointment will be made directly by the imperial family. That is my answer to your proposal.”

It seemed he planned to firmly bind the command tower to imperial authority. The reason for placing me there was obvious.

He intended for me to complete what I had proposed.

If this went wrong, it meant Francis would be held accountable.

“I accept your command.”

I bowed and accepted the emperor’s order. Just when I thought everything was settled, I found myself with an additional burden.

As the overseer, I would have to mediate between the nobles and the imperial family. The key was whether the nobles would listen to me. The thought of persuading and appeasing them was already exhausting.

At that moment, the emperor gestured for me to come closer. As I took another step forward, he frowned and commanded.

“Come closer.”

The emperor indicated a very close distance, one reserved only for trusted subjects. I hesitantly approached and knelt right in front of him. Just as I wondered what he intended to do, the emperor personally placed a bracelet on my wrist. It was no ordinary bracelet.

“This will serve as a token of the authority delegated to you.”

“!!”

I widened my eyes at the bracelet the emperor had placed on me. It contained the sacred power of the first emperor, a bracelet that could nullify abilities with the imperial family’s power.

Just possessing this bracelet would make it impossible for the nobles to defy me. This position might be less exhausting than I had thought.

It was indeed a power befitting the master of the imperial command tower. I trembled slightly, trying to hide my rising smile.

“H-how could I…”

I hadn’t expected him to grant me such power, but it was a good thing for me. As I repeatedly bowed my head in humility, the emperor chuckled.

“Why? Is it too much for you to handle?”

“No, Your Majesty.”

“Consider it an honor. I can’t just whip the two people who prevented the rebellion.”

The emperor seemed to be someone who believed in giving credit where it was due. He took the Blanche mansion from Aster and gave me the bracelet. Since we were a couple, it was ultimately beneficial for us.

The emperor gestured lazily for me to return to my place. As I stepped back and stood next to Aster, the emperor spoke.

“I hope that as my representative, you will not bring shame to that position.”

It was a warning that he would be watching. I smiled brightly and replied,

“I will take my responsibility seriously and do my best, Your Majesty.”

* * *

It had been an audience like a storm.

I couldn’t relax the entire time I was in the imperial palace. As soon as I returned to the castle, I washed up and collapsed onto the bed, feeling limp.

“Ughhh.”

A groan escaped me. The audience with the emperor had lasted longer than I had anticipated, and it was already night.

The emperor had ordered me to take responsibility for this matter and see it through to the end. At the same time, he had given me tremendous authority to commend my efforts. But he hadn’t given me this authority without reason. The task of uniting the scattered nobles was a monumental one.

In the end, it meant that while I did the work, the emperor would take the credit. Of course, if I managed to complete this task successfully, the status of Francis would rise higher than before.

It was the outcome I had envisioned. It had come back to me more abundantly than expected.

“Camilla.”

Just then, Aster, having washed up, approached me. Water droplets occasionally fell from his damp hair.

He lifted my head and placed it on his thigh. His firm thigh provided a sense of stability.

I turned my body to meet his gaze. He gently brushed aside my pink hair. His touch was tender, yet somehow mischievous. I had a sense of what he wanted.

A droplet of water fell on my cheek.

“Oh, it’s cold.”

“Ah.”

Aster kissed the spot where the droplet had fallen and smiled. He could have had someone dry his hair properly, but he had come like this on purpose.

“Come here.”

At my words, Aster lowered his head. I reached out and ran my fingers through his damp hair. Soon, his hair became soft and dry.

It was the ability he helped me regain. It had originally been mine, but I temporarily lost it. Ultimately, it was a precious power restored by my loved ones.

I smiled and asked,

“Did you come just to have me dry your hair?”

“Who knows? Maybe not just that.”

Aster chuckled and played with my hair. His red eyes gazed at me intently. Whether wet or dry, Aster’s eyes were always warm.

He lowered his head and kissed me. Then he offered the sweetest comfort in the world.

“You did well today, Camilla.”

His kiss was unusually gentle, making me tilt my head in curiosity. The Aster Blanche I knew wouldn’t stop here.

“Is this a reward for my hard work?”

As I had anticipated, Aster had another plan.

“No.”

Aster smiled slyly. Just as I wondered what he was planning, he whispered while playing with my lips.

“This is just the appetizer. The main course is…”

His hand moved from my lips, past my jaw and collarbone, circling around my navel. I felt a pleasant tension and accepted his comfort with delight.

“The main course?”

Knowing full well, I asked anyway. He chuckled and lifted me up. Then he laid me back down on the bed.

“I was just about to give it to you.”

With that, Aster lay down next to me, propping himself up on one arm. His free hand roamed over my body.

Very gently, but thoroughly, he touched every place I could feel. With both his lips and his hands.

“Savor it slowly.”

Aster whispered sweetly as he nibbled on my earlobe. At that moment, his mana began to flow through my body.

The mana that warmed my entire body gradually increased in temperature, as if searching for the boiling point.

A body gently heated, a caressing touch, breaths mingling through joined lips, and eyes that looked only at me.

This was a development that completely shattered my earlier expectations. It seemed I still had a long way to go to fully understand Aster Blanche.

While I enjoyed his intense and passionate embrace, this slow and savoring touch created an even more profound s*xual tension.

I couldn’t help but plead.

“Aster…”

I called out to him desperately. The tantalizing touch left me wanting more. As I pressed closer to him, he kissed my chin and said,

“Are you begging?”

His silver eyelashes, reminiscent of the soft moonlight, stirred my heart. Like a mythical being who jumped into a lake because he loved the moon, I felt as if I might dive into Aster’s gaze.

Even knowing there was a burning flame within. I wanted to boil until I evaporated into the air. I looked up at him and answered honestly, unable to hold back any longer.

“Yes, I’m begging.”

“……”

“So, please, hurry.”

As I blinked my eyes, burying my face in his palm, his gaze changed.

“As much as you want.”

Aster’s movements became more urgent. The skin he gripped turned red, and our bodies grew wetter as they pressed together.

The teasing was over, and now it was time to begin. Aster started to push in strongly, as if he would consume me with his burning flame.

“Ah!”

A moan escaped me, and my hands clung to his back. Every place his mana touched sent shivers down my spine.

It was a heat I would never get used to. I began to pour my mana into his body. As the cool sensation spread, his eyes flushed with excitement.

I loved it so much that I kissed his eyes and whispered.

“I love you.”

Aster responded strongly to my confession. The tightness inside me grew more intense. His c*ck felt like it was growing endlessly.

He relentlessly targeted the places I could feel, thrusting deeply. I gasped and wrapped my legs tightly around his waist.

As our hearts pounded against each other, hot mana surged through us.

“Ah! You’re, you’re so… hot!”

“Camilla, you’re just too cold.”

“Ah!”

“I like it cold.”

Aster grinned lasciviously and began to thrust harder. The intense sensation made me unknowingly dig my nails into his back.

“Oh. Sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

Aster grabbed my wrist and deeply kissed my palm.

“I’ll soon be the one apologizing.”

“W-what…”

“Sorry. I don’t think I can control myself today.”

Aster warned me in advance and then plunged his c*ck deep inside.

“Ah!”

Thrust, thrust!

The impact was so strong that my skin turned red. Even biting his shoulder in frustration didn’t stop him.

The more I did, the more Aster held me tightly, not letting go. The bed shook violently as our different mana surged.

Ironically, it was clear that neither of us could stand being apart. I chased his lips even as he tried to pull away to check on me. As if I couldn’t bear even a moment of separation.

That action made Aster completely lose his rationality.

“So lovely.”

He turned me over on the bed and entered me from behind. Eventually, he even bound my hands behind my back and started thrusting like a beast, leaving me to let out desperate moans.

“Aster…!”

“Why? Do you want it harder?”

“Ah!”

Aster interpreted my words in his own way and continued to torment me relentlessly. I bent my back like a bow and was penetrated countless times.

His c*ck hit the target inside me repeatedly, and I made sounds I didn’t even know I could make. His rough breathing and low curses filled the air as we indulged in each other, deep into the night.

* * *

The night before Samuel Blanche’s execution.

Camilla, with the emperor’s permission, visited the prison where Samuel was held. Samuel, now with white hair, looked disheveled, having not washed properly.

Camilla approached him closely and began to speak.

“It suits you well.”

“Did you come to mock me?”

Samuel sneered with a voice that was already cracked. He had given up on everything, knowing he would be beheaded the next day. Rumor had it that the executioner would be Duke Francis.

Upon hearing that, he could guess where things had gone wrong. It had all started to unravel the moment he brought Camilla Francis into his family as his daughter-in-law. The duke muttered to himself in self-pity.

“…I should have been more careful about the women I brought into the family.”

“Get your facts straight. You didn’t bring me in, I walked into your family on my own.”

“Was this your plan from the start? To enchant my son and swallow Blanche?”

“Blanche only matters to you. I just wanted to uncover the truth behind my mother’s death.”

“What a touching filial piety.”

Samuel chuckled mockingly, but Camilla remained unfazed. Instead, she sent him a chilling gaze.

Laugh all you want.

He wouldn’t be laughing once he knew why I came. With an elegant smile, I spoke.

“I came to tell you something before you die.”

“??”

“The fragment of the Maved Stone you lost, I had it. During that accident, a piece got lodged into my mana core.”

“…What?”

As Samuel’s face began to crack, Camilla’s face brightened even more.

“That’s not all. I also swapped the Maved Stone in Marco’s body without your knowledge. The one you implanted in your heart was a fake from the start.”

“Then my Maved Stone is…”

“Why are you asking? I’ve already destroyed it completely.”

Samuel’s eyes widened at Camilla’s revelation. Realizing he had lost his lifelong ambition right in front of him, he could no longer laugh. He trembled and growled.

“How dare you, you little…! …Ugh!”

Samuel raised his voice but then collapsed forward. His heart hurt too much for him to continue speaking.

Camilla looked down coldly at his pitiful state. It angered her that her mother had to die because of such a man.

She was relieved that she could finally set things right. Seeing the fallen duke with her own eyes lightened the burden on her heart a little.

“That means I was above you from the start, Samuel Blanche.”

“Ugh…”

“I’ll take your remaining life too, so clean your neck and wait.”

With that, Camilla left the prison. Her face was now filled with a sense of relief.

* * *

The next day. Samuel Blanche was dragged like a dog to the square and beheaded by Duke Francis in front of everyone.

It was the end of a traitor who had plotted rebellion.

* * *