The Beast Bit The Throat of the Late Empress - Chapter 6

Should I have had to say it like this to make her follow quickly? Eva felt as if her heart had stopped. Trembling at the unexpected situation, Eva barely managed to speak, reaching out with shaking hands to find Eileen.

“Eileen… Eileen!”

“There’s no need to be so surprised. Somehow both of you seemed to have your ears blocked and couldn’t hear me properly, so I just cut off the tip of her ear. If the sword had gone further, she might have died.”

After Divlik’s mocking words, Eileen’s sobbing breath could be heard through her pain. Eva exhaled the breath she had been holding when she finally touched Eileen’s warmth as she groped the floor. She had thought Eileen’s neck had been cut off.

“If only one person’s ear had been opened… Now both of you should hear me well.”

“I hear you very well, Lord Divlik. Very… very well.”

Eva forcefully answered, choking back her tears. If she didn’t respond this time, Eileen’s other ear might not be safe. This action was a kind of warning. Get into bed obediently, if you continue to be stubborn like this, you may not see your own blood, but you will certainly see someone else’s.

This happened because she had been too careless, taking Divlik’s words that he would spare her life too kindly. Even though she had heard countless stories about what kind of person Divlik was…

They said he was a beast. Like a beast hungry for blood pouncing mercilessly on its prey, he cut throats indiscriminately. They said he was someone who deliberately enjoyed blood. They said he didn’t even blink when dozens of heads fell before him, and some even called him a demon beyond a beast.

Although the rumor wasn’t false since he had spared my life, only now did that rumor sink deep into my skin.

“Eil… Eileen…? Come, come here. It’s… alright now.”

Eva held Eileen’s face to her bosom while still clutching her trembling heart. This is what she should have done from the beginning to protect Eileen. Divlik seemed to have no intention of touching Eva, at least until he achieved his goal. So if she had done this from the start, he would have left Eileen alone, if only to avoid cutting into Eva’s body.

“Shall we go then?”

At Divlik’s voice, which had suddenly softened as if nothing had happened, Eva raised her head.

Eva felt Divlik’s hand approaching her and tried to stand up by taking his hand. Divlik seemed satisfied with Eva’s attitude of reaching out to him without hesitation and withdrew his attention from Eileen, but it was Eileen who ruined the atmosphere that had just calmed down.

“You mustn’t! Your Majesty! You don’t need to do this!”

“Eileen!”

Eileen snatched Eva’s hand away from Divlik’s grasp and stood in front of Eva with her arms spread wide. Divlik’s hand, which had lost Eva’s, clenched tightly in the air.

“Conqueror! Please kill me for disobeying your order! Rather than inflicting such humiliation on Her Majesty the Empress, I will die here!”

“Eileen! Don’t do this! I’m fine. Step back!”

Eva shouted while embracing Eileen’s body again.

“Forgive me! Lord Divlik! I will educate her thoroughly. She’s doing this because she’s not used to the sudden change of master. Eileen, there’s no need for this. Please step back. It’s my will to wash my dirty body. It has nothing to do with you, Eileen.”

“How can this have nothing to do with me, Your Majesty! If Your Majesty refuses, that man will make you weigh my life against it! To show your body to such a man–!”

“Such a man? Such a man, you say?”

As Eileen burst into tears of indignation, Finn became enraged.

Eva looked up at Divlik with eyes that couldn’t see anything, wary that a sword might fly towards Eileen at any moment due to Finn’s angry tone.

“Was that… was that your intention?”

Divlik furrowed his brow deeply.

Was that my intention? What kind of answer does she want by asking me this? Of course, it would be a lie to say I hadn’t considered that aspect at all…

It was almost as if there was no need to rack his brains to try to break Eva in the previous situation. Someone who didn’t even flinch for their own life was now visibly trembling for a maid’s life. Using this as leverage, he could immediately demand Eva’s body.

But his pride wouldn’t allow him to obtain so easily what he couldn’t achieve by starving her.

What Divlik wanted to see from Eva wasn’t the image of a noble empress sacrificing herself for someone else’s life, but the ugly sight of her crawling on the ground to save her own life.

That’s why he was going to let it slide. Regardless of Divlik’s thoughts, Eileen’s intervention ended up adding another ribbon to Eva’s pride as an ’empress’, and a ‘good empress’ at that.

“If I say I had no such intention, does that mean our trip to the hot spring is cancelled?”

Divlik returned Eva’s question with a question, hiding his displeasure, and Eva stepped in front of Eileen.

“No. I will follow as you wish.”

“Your Majesty!”

“Eileen. That title no longer suits me, so please call me Eva. Unnamed knight. The servants’ titles will change with time. Please show mercy.”

As Eva preemptively addressed the issue of her title, fearing arrows might fly from somewhere else, Finn snorted and sheathed his sword.

“My name is Finn, and I’m the commander-in-chief of the Blue Wolf. Knight? Who do you think wants to hear a name used by you nobles?”

“Then what should I call you?”

This time, before Finn could answer, Divlik intervened directly in the conversation.

“You could call him by name, but would there even be an occasion to call him? A former empress who can’t even control one of her maids as she wishes.”

As if he didn’t want to waste any more time, Divlik ended the conversation with sarcasm and then pulled Eva’s hand.

“If you don’t intend to keep standing there covered in blood, let’s go.”

* * *

“With Lord Divlik’s honor at stake, I cannot follow behind in this state. Would you give me time to change clothes and prepare?”

Although the dirty and blood-stained clothes didn’t matter much, she couldn’t go out with Eileen like this. However, it wasn’t the right thing to say in this situation.

“What’s the point of putting on new clothes that you’ll take off anyway? But if you want to give me the pleasure of undressing you, I have no reason to refuse.”

Eva had worried that Divlik might get angry again, but he seemed to be smiling for some reason, revealing his intentions for this hot spring trip without reservation. Even if there were unwanted things happening there, Eva thought it was unavoidable. Even if he tried to use Eileen’s life as a card to the end, there was nothing she could do about it.

“This won’t do. It seems this won’t be enough. Please put on another layer of chemise, Your Majesty.”

Eileen, with a bandage wrapped around her severed left earlobe, struggled to put one more layer on Eva in the Empress’s bedroom they had briefly stopped by. She had Eva wear all the undergarments that could be put on, and deliberately brought out a dress with a design that had multiple lace strings wrapping around the body.

“Eileen…”

Her intention was probably to make it as difficult as possible for Divlik to undress her, hoping he would give up, but Eva knew. Even if she wore twice as many undergarments under clothes that were even more difficult to remove than this, in a moment, not a single piece of cloth would remain on her body to cover it.

“This should be enough.”

“No, just one more thing…”

If it’s hard to take off, he’ll just tear it apart. If that’s inconvenient, he’ll pick up Finn’s sword that will be by his side even then. A man who doesn’t hesitate to cut off an ear to make someone listen well wouldn’t hesitate in front of mere clothes blocking his will.

“That’s enough, Eileen. There’s no need to waste time and provoke Lord Divlik’s anger.”

“Your Majesty…”

Although Eileen was choked with regret and could barely speak, Eva hurriedly stuffed her feet into her shoes, despite her vision being obscured by the blindfold.

“Who’s left to attend to the bath?”

“All the maids who served Your Majesty are still in the castle.”

“Please call Hannah and Sophie. I’ll go to the hot spring with them.”

“I’ll go.”

“Are you going to step forward again? Don’t you know that even being allowed to live like this is an act of mercy?”

Although having an ear cut off was a terrible thing for the one experiencing it, it was clearly Divlik’s mercy that Eileen’s neck wasn’t cut off on the spot. When even the life of Eva, who was once an empress, was so light, the life of an unnamed maid could disappear with just one breath from Divlik.

“If you don’t intend to make me someone who couldn’t protect even one life of my people for my sake… listen to me, Eileen.”

At Eva’s uncharacteristically firm tone, Eileen closed her mouth and left the bedroom. While Eileen went to fetch Hannah and Sophie, Eva swallowed an unnoticed sigh and grasped the hem of her dress.

Will Divlik try to embrace me there, or will he stop at just undressing me?

In the face of waiting for death, the shame of being undressed was nothing. Only, the anxiety of whether someone else would be hurt like this again because of my stubbornness was unbearable, making me wish he would just kill me quickly… to somehow withdraw the mercy he had shown me.

* * *

“I heard it was a small pool of hot spring water, but it’s a more proper bathing spot than I expected.”

As Finn said, it would be wrong to simply call this place a puddle. The pool of hot spring water formed halfway up the mountain was larger in scale than the pond seen while climbing the mountain. The quite spacious pool functioned as a bathtub on its own, and around it, several hundred-year-old tall and thick-bodied trees stood, naturally forming a wall that blocked the view from the castle adjoining the mountain.

“Looks like they’ve worked on this place too.”

The space, which would have been excellent as it was, had been carefully arranged with large stones to create seating areas, and pillars had been erected to cover even the sky with what looked like expensive fabric.

“Do you think so? Well, it’s natural since there were traces of human hands on the way up here too, right? When I think about how they might have dragged people from somewhere to overwork them without proper payment just to enjoy a hot spring, it makes me want to curse.”

Finn clenched his fist as if angered, saying it must have been so.

“To make such a nice place and then only allow the imperial family to use it. The actions of those so-called royals are endlessly petty. By the way, from this year on, no one will be able to set foot here. Serves them right.”

Finn was genuinely happy that this wonderful place had become entirely Divlik’s possession, regardless of someone’s hard work that went into it. Indeed, it was a hot spring that seemed like it would relax the body just by looking at the steam rising profusely. But Divlik didn’t care about the hot spring at all.

That wasn’t his purpose of coming here.

“You can use it as you like if you want.”

“No, thank you. When you welcome the new empress later, use it with her. Even if there are visitors, the master of this castle is still the emperor… Wasn’t this place frequently used by the imperial couple originally?”

Serves them right. Divlik laughed silently, borrowing Finn’s words. Just a few days ago, the empress might have visited this place with the emperor, but now she has to show her body to the conqueror… Isn’t it quite a dramatic situation? The thought that suddenly came to mind upon seeing Eva’s soiled dress became quite meaningful.

“Empress… Miss Eva. Please hold on a little longer.”

After Divlik and Finn had been looking around the hot spring for quite some time, sharing their impressions, Eva finally appeared on the mountain path.

“Being so slow like that. I wonder if the emperor used to carry her up here.”

“You’ve finally arrived, Former Empress. We thought you might have run away on the way here since you took so long.”

Divlik turned towards Eva, hiding his excitement for what was about to unfold.