The Beast Bit The Throat of the Late Empress - Chapter 11

Anyway, you won’t suddenly decide to kill Eileen now, right?

Unlike his always cold words, Eva relaxed a little in Divlik’s warmth, which felt several times warmer than ordinary people. There was no point in keeping her body stiff; it would only tire both the person being held and the one holding.

“If not for that, what reason would I have to listen to you?”

As Eva leaned slightly on his shoulder, Divlik finally gave an answer to what she had asked.

“I am the conqueror who swallowed this empire, and you are just one of the many spoils I’ve taken.”

Divlik’s voice was hoarse, and because of that, it was so cracked that it was difficult to hear. Eva couldn’t understand some words in between, but she could clearly hear the word, ‘spoil’. Eva, who had been holding her breath in Divlik’s arms, answered in a more spirited voice than ever, as if agreeing with Divlik’s words.

“I know.”

“Are you saying you don’t misunderstand this action of mine?”

“That’s right. Even without you saying so, I already know my situation all too well, so there’s no need to worry.”

Knew her situation. Divlik couldn’t agree with Eva’s words.

If she truly knew her situation, it would have been right for her to wrap her arms around his neck even now and try to flatter him. Having realized that not only food and clothing, but even her thoughts and every breath were no longer her own, she should have been saying that she would follow his wishes, begging to be allowed to eat something, anything, and opening her lips, now flushed from the hot spring bath, to cling to his lips, fearing if his heart might have changed.

The saying that hunger is most painful after the third day wasn’t something he knew from hearsay. It was something Divlik himself had experienced. Whether it’s because any kind of reserve left in the body disappears right at that moment, he didn’t know. Anyway, from that point on, one is usually overwhelmed by the feeling of imminent death…

“I’ll say it one more time. After we go down like this and finish our meal, come to my bedroom.”

“I will follow all other orders, but I cannot follow that one.”

Eva still didn’t break her will.

What does she claim to know? Even now, she won’t even bow her head properly except for the sake of courtesy, unless it’s for someone else’s life.

“Is that so? You understand well that this is my order, don’t you? Knowing that and still defying… Unless you’re crazy enough to want to die, you’ve chosen the wrong opponent to show your pride to.”

Do you really want to die? For the mere pretext of loyalty to your lord?

“Alright. Let’s see. Whether your will can truly stand above mine.”

Divlik’s blue eyes shone as he looked at the setting sun. He was extremely curious to see how much longer this great love could last.

* * *

Another three days passed from then. By now, one might think she would have gotten used to it, but the hunger she faced when she opened her eyes shook Eva’s heart anew every day.

―I will follow all other orders, but I cannot follow that one.

Even when she answered that she couldn’t do it until the end, she thought he might kill her, but Divlik didn’t change his mind. He said he would see Eva finally burrowing into his arms.

―That’s the only way I can put an end to this tedious and cruel war.

He said that’s how he could end it. Is a night with a woman from the conquered land so meaningful to a conqueror? While thinking that this might be why there are sayings about not holding conquerors responsible for a night spent with them, as it happens so often it’s almost customary, Eva wished that Divlik would abandon her rather than give up on her.

“It shouldn’t have any value.”

Why would embracing the empress of an already conquered empire be such a big deal, and why would he want not just one night, but multiple nights?

Eva, who had gotten out of bed early in the morning, raised her head and looked up at the sky with weak eyes under the sunlight seeping through the small window.

The sky was the same everywhere. Although the air surrounding her body had a chill that couldn’t be felt in Florin, whenever Eva missed the comfort given by Florin’s sunlight, which was always as warm and cozy as her mother’s embrace, she would stand like this, looking up at the sky.

At least when she recalled Florin while facing the sun like this, her blocked breath became somewhat bearable.

“By now, that hill must be full of blooming begonias.”

Even after 5 years, Eva could still recall the scenery of Florin as if she had seen it yesterday when she closed her eyes. The endless green meadows, the flowers blooming profusely on every low hill, and…

―Over here! Eva. Over here!

Leon, smiling brightly among those flowers. When Leon waved from the top of the hill, his glossy black hair would dance in the wind, as if transferring the lightness felt in the breeze.

Eva opened her eyes wide, taking a deep breath. It wasn’t right for her, of all people, to seek comfort by recalling Leon’s image.

Because she opened her eyes too suddenly, Eva felt dizzy and collapsed onto the floor. Now she didn’t even have the strength to get up again. It was a moment when she even missed the piece of dry bread that Charlotte had once handed her, calling it a miserable meal.

“Seeing that there’s no news, I guess she’s safely on her way back home?”

Suddenly missing Charlotte, who had always stayed by her side with a bright smile, Eva’s eyes reddened a little. Seeing how past events and people kept coming to mind and her heart was weakening, it seemed wrong to hold out here any longer.

“It would be nice if they could at least bury my body in my hometown…”

Eva laughed weakly at the fact that even such a wish, not even asking to be saved, had become a luxury. The empress of a conquered empire was a being who needed permission even to collapse.

Knock knock.

Hearing the sound of knocking on the door, Eva forced herself to get up from the floor.

“Hannah? Sophie?”

Startled at the thought that it might be Eileen visiting again when there was no one else who would come, she opened the door to find Hannah and Sophie, terrified by the gazes of the soldiers guarding the door, clinging to each other as they delivered the message to Eva.

“Miss… Eva. Lord Divlik ordered to get ready and come to the sky garden.”

Eva’s hands, which had been hanging limply, tensed slightly. What is he planning to do now? There couldn’t be anything worse than undressing and touching her body without intending to take her by force.

After doing all that and still not succeeding, is he thinking of killing her now?

* * *

An hour before summoning Eva, Divlik was standing in the lobby of the east wing annex of the castle, which bordered the Hael River. Those must surely be jewels. Divlik could only laugh at the splendor of the chandelier that sparkled in the light seeping through the windows even without the lights on.

Did Fabian think he would never lose this castle?

It wasn’t just here. Although there had been a war for 3 years, and one might think there wouldn’t have been time to repair anything that was old or broken, everywhere in the castle was like this. From the high-quality carpets with every fiber alive to each light fixture, it was evident that care had been taken to decorate until just before the fall.

“So this is where you were.”

“I was just looking around to see if there was anything that needed fixing.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? I would have accompanied you.”

“It’s fine. There wasn’t much to look at in detail. It seems there’s nothing to fix here either.”

“Of course not. He was an emperor who indulged in luxury without even knowing if his people outside were starving to death.”

He might have thought this place at least was safe. In the Bern continent, the Frentz Castle was famous for being difficult to conquer, to the extent that the outcome of the war could be determined by who took it.

Not only was it backed by the rugged Frentz Mountains to the north, but to the east, the Hael River at the bottom of steep cliffs served as a natural shield. So the areas that needed careful defense were the west and south of the castle, but even those were surrounded by deep moats, making it difficult for anyone to easily enter the castle if the footings were removed.

If Fabian hadn’t fled in premature fear, even the great Divlik would have had to put in more effort to take this castle. Of course, even if they had held out, the tide of war wouldn’t have turned.

“Any news on the search for Fabian?”

“We’ve searched the entire Karhen region, but not even a single person has come forward saying they’ve seen him. It seems he left not only Hael but this entire region well in advance on that day.”

Still, to retreat so easily without even a hint of resistance… Including leaving behind his empress when there was no urgency, Fabian was a man Divlik couldn’t understand in any aspect.

“Is that so?”

“We’ll continue searching, expanding the range to the Misihen region bordering Karhen. It’s not just anyone, but a former emperor, so we need to end his life to be at ease.”

“Do that.”

While listening to Finn’s report and looking around the area near the stairs in front, Divlik’s eyes stopped on the portraits of Fabian and Eva that filled both walls. Following Divlik’s gaze to the portraits, Finn cautiously asked.

“Are you planning to starve the former empress to death like this?”

A meaningful smile appeared on Divlik’s lips as he looked at Eva in the portrait.