She quickly approached the high priest like a mouse and whispered, and then the ghostly pale face of the old man whirled around.
“How dare a slave who hasn’t received Igrito’s blessing step into sacred grounds. Catch the intruder!”
The priest’s eyes flashed wildly as he charged with his sword drawn. Startled, Hari slipped from the ladder. Her ankle, which she had misstepped on, throbbed and felt like it was being stabbed with needles, but there was no time to complain about the pain. Hari ran, limping.
“Lord Egoto. The thief is running away toward the west where the bell tower is.”
That woman had deceived me.
The belated realization that it was all Selina Karnos’s trap chilled her body. She must have tricked her, who was unfamiliar with temple regulations. Even personally showing her the back path where security was less strict.
She felt dizzy at her own foolishness.
‘What should I…’
Just then, her wrist was grabbed and her body spun around. Startled out of her wits, Hari instinctively swung her fist but was subdued with disappointing ease. The man who caught her pushed back his robe’s hood with the back of his hand, revealing his face.
“…Achilleon?”
Light filtering through green leaves cast a net-like pattern on the man’s face. Achilleon’s brow furrowed after pushing back his hood with the back of his hand.
“What are you doing here? Margharita. Don’t you know you can’t enter the temple as you please? The sacred grounds are off-limits to anyone except royalty and first-class nobles.”
Achilleon looked down at the ripe plum in Hari’s hand with disbelief. His thoughts were easy to read. What were the chances of things working out if she told the truth here? Either being branded a liar or acknowledging the truth and being quietly assassinated by the Karnos daughter. After careful consideration, Hari cautiously opened her mouth.
“I heard His Highness likes plums… I made an unforgivable mistake by not being aware of the regulations.”
“You seem to know well that it’s unforgivable? Tell me who made you do this.”
Hari firmly shook her head.
“I don’t want to cause trouble for you, Lord Achilleon. Is there a way to sneak out? If not, I’ll hide by myself and find a way out, so please create a distraction.”
The pursuers’ footsteps were now approaching close enough to hear. Realizing the meaning of the commotion, Achilleon looked down at Hari with his arms crossed. While he watched her shocking behavior of tearing her cumbersome skirt up to her knees and spitting into her palm, Hari didn’t even glance at him.
Then she urgently pushed Achilleon aside and started climbing the tree. Though it was quite tall, it wasn’t difficult as she used to climb high vines to see the first sun of Lagonia desert when she was young.
However, the attempt failed. Before she could grab a branch, Achilleon reached out and pulled her down in an instant.
Her wrist was caught first, then Hari’s unsteady body crashed into his rigid embrace. Hari’s scream and Achilleon covering her mouth happened almost simultaneously. His large hand gripped her struggling wrist. Holding her slender wrist that trembled as it was bent back, Achilleon lowered his head and bit into the plum she was holding.
“Seize that insolent-“
The priests who were charging stopped in their tracks when they saw the two people entwined under the tree shade. Their eyes wavered with bewilderment.
Achilleon, undisturbed, moved his lips. His tongue, coated with sweet juice, licked Hari’s wrist. As if tasting the sweetness there, his lips traveled up her slender fingers and took them into his mouth. With moist, slow movements. When his soft tongue made contact, Hari’s entire body froze like brick. She nearly dug her nails into Achilleon’s cheek in shock. Even as she barely swallowed her scream, Achilleon was clearly conveying a warning through his eyes.
‘Act properly.’
That must have been the meaning of his murderous gaze. By the time Hari’s cheeks had turned redder than the plum, he finally withdrew. He didn’t forget to leave a light kiss on her cheek with his lips still sweet from the plum. Achilleon brushed back his disheveled hair and exhaled languidly, as if this act had been thoroughly satisfying. The priests who had inadvertently interrupted the prince’s tryst turned pale.
“Ah, we see you, Third Prince. About that thief who snuck in…”
“Are you referring to this woman?”
The smile that pulled at his lips was far from gentle. Under the pressure that seemed about to unleash a thunderous reprimand, no priest was bold enough to say yes.
“Our eyes must have been on our feet. We showed disgraceful behavior, not knowing it was an honored person. Please forgive us.”
However, there are always exceptions among the crowd. While everyone was bowing their heads and retreating, someone raised an objection.
“Even if you are Your Highness, you cannot use the sacred grounds for personal purposes. There are proper protocols that must be observed here.”
It was Doris, the holy official with gold-rimmed glasses.
“The temple strictly forbids impure acts such as drinking, gambling, trysts, and sorcery. Your Highness, please set an example for your subjects with behavior befitting your status.”
“What an excellent example the temple priests set, taking bribes during ceremonial afterparties and buying cartloads of molasses wine.”
Doris frowned deeply.
“Brothers, is this true? Didn’t you say that drinking during rituals was absolutely forbidden and that if caught, both hands would be cut off and priestly duties revoked?”
“What nonsense! How dare you speak so carelessly in front of whom? Your Highness, this one is still a novice who doesn’t know better… He has caused offense by not knowing his place. We will ensure he is especially mindful of his words and actions.”
The priests babbled apologies before withdrawing.
A deep silence filled the space where the noise had ebbed like a tide. Unlike Hari, who had relaxed, Achilleon was still watching the far side of the forest. He could see leaves rustling in a different direction from the wind in the distance. The owner of those pale blue eyes crouching in the darkness. The moment he recognized High Priest Egoto, Achilleon pulled Hari close and pressed his lips against hers.
The woman, robbed of her bodily freedom once again, resisted more fiercely than before. Even though it was just a handful of resistance, any behavior that could raise suspicion while the High Priest was watching wasn’t good. Achilleon grabbed the back of Hari’s head and tightly gripped her waist as she tried to create distance between them.
“Stay still, Margharita.”
When he bit her tightly closed lips, she let out a low gasp and opened her mouth. As his thick tongue invaded, Hari grabbed his forearm in panic. Though rapid breaths burst forth one after another, the tongue occupying her mouth showed no sign of retreating. It pushed in more forcefully, parting the tender flesh. She felt like a piece of meat. Something that could be grabbed and tasted however one pleased when desired.
What was happening to her right now, how much she had to endure, whether she as a slave had even been stripped of the right to think and decide where the line should be drawn. When her thoughts reached that point, something surged up inside her. Hari bared her teeth and bit Achilleon’s lip. A low groan flowed into her mouth along with the metallic taste from the flesh.
Hari’s body, instantly shoved onto the grass, trembled.
“Tsk.”
Achilleon wiped his roughly bitten lip with the back of his hand. Hari was looking up at him with a frightened deer-like expression while curled up. Didn’t think about the consequences before acting? Making such a surprised face after tearing his lip. Looking down with displeasure at the woman full of fear, Achilleon said after a silence.
“Egoto suspects your identity.”
“What do you m-mean…”
“He’s a cunning one. He’ll be watching like a hawk, not wanting to miss any chance that could become leverage either way. He’ll be busy thinking about why I brought you here. He should stay quiet for a while after seeing such an indecent display.”
Hari, who had been staring blankly at the ground, nodded almost imperceptibly. She needs to act like a proper consort to root out suspicion. She must never be discovered as a prophet. Though she knows she should wrap her arms around his neck and press close instead of struggling and resisting, she couldn’t help the sadness and humiliation that washed over her.
“There are many watching eyes, so act naturally wherever and whenever.”
Achilleon commanded coldly. He had thought she was quite perceptive, but perhaps she was just pretentiously clever. The woman seemed unaware as she was trying to adapt to her new environment, but countless eyes were watching her.
The glory of Galate, once thought eternal, had set, and Hitais had seized Rodos’s hegemony. Margharita was like a symbol showing Hitais’s power. How about this reality where a priestess of noble rank comparable to royalty has fallen to become a slave, being rolled around in a prince’s bedroom?
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lavender
The fl is so stupid. Said she wanted to help the ml but just ignored about anything around her. She knew she is a slave (and never treated as a princess too) but act so clueless. She trusted that selina words easily despite the warning of her status as a concubine. She can be killed anytime. It’s strange she still wants to live but being so reckless ckckckck