She couldn’t let herself be caught like this. Ir used all her strength to elbow Nergal in the stomach.

“Ugh!”

Though Nergal groaned, the strength of his hands holding her remained unchanged. It was a grip that conveyed his absolute determination not to let go. Ir twisted her body again, trying to break free from his hands. In the process, their bodies became entangled as they fell and rolled across the floor.

When she came to her senses, Nergal was already straddling her, pinning both her wrists to the floor.

“Hah… hah…”

Though they had only struggled briefly, she could no longer muster any strength in her body. Realizing her surprise attack had failed, Ir swallowed her resignation and spoke to him.

“Are you going to kill me now?”

Even without succession rights, royal blood is royal blood. Moreover, she was branded a traitor, so there would be no issue even if Nergal were to cut her throat right now.

Just as she gritted her teeth, thinking how pathetic it was that even she, the sole survivor, would die so meaninglessly, Nergal spoke.

“What will you do now?”

“I’ve been caught, so I’ll die.”

“What if I let you go?”

“…?”

“No one else knows about your current appearance except me. If I pretend I didn’t see you here, you could run far away and live without worrying about the past.”

He was right. Who would think she was Ir of the 9th Knight Order looking like this? If she ran away now, she could live a peaceful life.

Long ago, she had once expressed such a wish. That if she could, she wanted to go somewhere no one knew her, never pick up a sword again, and just live quietly and peacefully. And the person who had listened to Ir’s mumbled words back then was Nergal.

‘Does he still remember that?’

Perhaps this was an opportunity. A chance to fulfill a dream she had forgotten about after so long.

Just as Nergal said, if he pretended not to see her and let her go now, she could escape the danger of dying as a traitor and live freely with a new body and a new name.

‘And then what?’

What would remain for her if she lived like that? Though her body had changed, her mind remained the same. Even if it had been unsightly, Ir didn’t want to deny her strong former body and all the time she had lived with it in the face of death.

“If I let you go, will you leave far away?”

“Are you really going to let me go?”

“If you promise to leave far away and never return, I might.”

It was a perplexing answer.

Nergal had said he was the only one still visiting this place to search for the Holy Sword. As Chancellor, he couldn’t possibly release someone considered guilty of treason, even without the Holy Sword. Yet Nergal was speaking as if he would truly let her go if that’s what she wanted.

“So I’ll ask again. Will you leave?”

But from the beginning, Ir had only one answer.

“No, I’m going back to the Imperial Palace.”

“…And then?”

“I will find the one who killed my comrades and cut off their heads without fail.”

That was the answer of Ir who had lived as a knight.

After declaring her resolve regardless of death, she felt relieved.

‘What will happen now?’

Ir recalled everything she knew about Nergal. No matter what, he was the Empire’s Chancellor. He couldn’t possibly just release the only surviving witness who knew about the Holy Sword and was suspected of treason. Moreover, hadn’t she just declared with her own mouth that she would return to the Imperial Palace and behead someone unknown?

What Nergal hated most was unpredictable chaos. Someone dedicated to the Empire’s stability would never release an uncontrollable threat like her.

“How foolish. You could have agreed and then sneaked into the capital after escaping from here.”

“I know. But as long as I am still the Vice Commander of the 9th Knight Order, and you are still in charge of the unfinished mission, I cannot tell lies.”

This answer was sincere. Choosing to be foolish rather than becoming a liar was the path she had lived by.

“Therefore, even if you must punish me, I hope you will at least believe my testimony, Your Highness.”

Even if he didn’t believe her, there was nothing she could do. But she hoped there would be at least one person who knew the testimony of someone who chose truth over their life.

Seeing Ir’s fearless gaze, Nergal’s lips curved into a brief smile. At first, she thought he was mocking her. But looking at his face again, there was no trace of derision.

Nergal slowly lowered his head.

“I believe you.”

Ir’s body stiffened at his brief response.

Without demanding further explanation or pressing for more details, he simply said he believed her.

While Ir was still stunned, his face drew even closer.

Too close. And not just his face. He who had been straddling her, caging her beneath him, slowly leaned forward, pressing lightly against her body. When their bare skin touched, Ir realized that the blanket she had been wrapped in while trying to escape earlier had fallen to the floor.

Their bodies, tense and warm, pressed sticky against each other. Her voluptuous br*asts, which she herself hadn’t known about, were crushed beneath Nergal’s muscles.

“Hah…”

Though she was confident she could withstand torture, the dizzying sensation of another’s chest rubbing against her n*pples was something Ir had never trained for. As much as she was feeling it, Nergal must have been feeling it too, yet he didn’t move away. Instead, he leaned in even more, caging her body as if embracing her.

“Your Highness?”

What little reason remained called out to Nergal. But instead of answering, he slowly lowered his hands that had been holding Ir’s wrists. His fingers trailing down her slender arms made Ir twitch violently again beneath him.

This body, free of all scars, was both weak and sensitive.

“Ah, nnh…”

It was just a light scratch, but it sent shivers down her spine and made her vision flash. Though these arms had felt nothing special even when cut by sword blades before, now they were more sensitive than any intimate place, feeling every touch he gave.

Nergal’s hands stroked her arms again and again. It was as if he was searching for something that should have been there. Usually, Ir would have immediately noticed such behavior from him, but not now.

This was the first time since reaching maturity that she had been this close to someone. Especially in this state of undress.

Nergal chuckled and said, “How can you behead anyone when you’re this weak? In this state, you’ll die before even reaching the capital, let alone the Imperial Palace.”

“…”

Though irritation welled up at those words, Ir kept her mouth shut. Because his words were true.

Besides, right now she was more concerned about other things. Like his thumb that had once again grabbed her wrist and was now stroking her palm.

Though she might lack experience in these matters, she wasn’t so ignorant as to not understand what Nergal was doing to her now. That’s why Ir was even more flustered. Never had anyone shown such primal desire for her before.

Sweat beaded on her skin from the tension. The shortened breaths and the sensation of slick, sliding skin made Ir even more confused.

“You said you want revenge.”

“Yes.”

“But you know it’s impossible in your current state. So…”

Nergal tightened his grip on her as he spoke.

“I’ll help you with that revenge.”

“What?”

It was something she hadn’t expected at all. Help with her revenge? The Chancellor would help her take the head of someone in the Imperial Knights?

“But I want something from you in return.”

Before Ir could properly gather her thoughts, Nergal met her eyes and spoke.

“What is it?”

Ir tried to think of what Nergal might want from her. But no matter how much she wracked her brain, nothing came to mind.

“Your body.”

“…What?”

At his brief answer, Ir had to doubt her ears again. He was truly demanding something that no one, not even she herself, had ever considered valuable throughout her life.

As Ir looked at him in confusion, Nergal spoke again.

“I want to possess your body.”

It was a shameless demand.

Wanting her body? That was the kind of talk you’d expect from lowlifes in back alleys. Yet now Nergal was demanding her body without any hesitation. As if he had wanted only this one thing his entire life, he spoke without reserve, with absolute certainty.

He stated it so confidently that she almost thought he was demanding the return of something he had lost.

Only then did Ir remember things she had momentarily forgotten. Nergal had bought her at the auction house. Since he couldn’t have known she was Ir, he must have simply bought a woman who aroused his desire, who caught his fancy.

And even now in this situation.

Below where their chests touched, she had been feeling something for a while now. She didn’t need to look to know what was growing larger each time their sweat-dampened skin pressed together.

Ir truly realized that he was lusting after her.

She closed her eyes for a moment.

Her body? It was nothing special. She knew that intercourse involved pain. But no matter how painful it might be, it couldn’t be as painful as when she had burned. If it were that agonizing, the sounds of pleasure wouldn’t be heard throughout the Imperial Palace every day.

Shame? Of course it would be terrible. She had seen several times how those who were forcibly violated couldn’t overcome their shame and anger, leading them to make unfortunate choices. But for Ir, having someone invade her body a few times was less shameful than being unable to avenge her comrades.

So this was too good an offer. She could give something that held no particular meaning for her in exchange for what she wanted most.

But Ir had to be honest.

“That would be to Your Highness’s disadvantage.”