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~Chapter 33~
Why Do You Keep Trying to Run Away
“Ugh!”
The sensation was so intense that Regina leaned back, but her back hit the wall—there was nowhere to escape.
“Regina.”
Regina clung to Conrad’s shoulder, her whole body going weak.
As she kept trying to get away, Conrad held her firmly.
“You like it, but you keep trying to run away.”
Breathing hard, Conrad leaned back a little and licked his dry lips.
Regina’s eyes opened wide when she met his burning gaze.
“Ugh!”
“Why do you keep trying to run away?”
When he touched her sensitive spot without mercy, Regina let out a moan.
Her breathing grew rapid, and their movements became more intense.
What started while the sun was high finally ended only after sunset.
Conrad came out of the bathroom holding a completely exhausted Regina in his arms.
He wrapped her sleeping body in a towel and carefully brought her to the bed.
When the maids waiting outside saw him, they started to bow, but he whispered,
“Anyone who disturbs Lena’s sleep will not be forgiven.”
Conrad’s cold expression made the maids back away quickly.
He laid Regina on the bed, gently unwrapped the towel so she could be more comfortable, and covered her with a soft blanket. Then he sat down beside her.
He opened and closed his hand, feeling the energy inside his body, and the corner of his mouth lifted.
‘It increased again.’
Every time they exchanged magic, not only did Regina’s magic recover, but Conrad’s aura also grew stronger. He didn’t know exactly why.
‘I guess I’ll have to look through those old records again.’
When he clenched his fist, a blue light shimmered in his hand. The light wasn’t big, but the power inside it was enormous.
‘This contract is a lot more beneficial for me than for her.’
If Regina hadn’t been so desperate, she never would have agreed to such an unfair deal.
Conrad watched her sleeping face for a while, then noticed a drop of water falling from his hair.
He reached out, caught it, and used his aura to evaporate it with a bit of heat.
“Hmm.”
He actually liked this more than he expected. Without drawing back his aura, Conrad got up.
‘Aura and magic are drawn to each other.’
That was why there were so many stories of knights and mages being drawn together—why they instinctively felt a pull.
Conrad thought of the magic tools Regina mentioned from the Madeline baron’s house, and the spies from the Permang Empire who visited today.
‘Here.’
So, it was only natural for him to find the magic tool Regina had hidden.
Using the flow of his aura, he found a magic tool hidden in Regina’s dress—a pair of fancy earrings. He was surprised to see them.
“Something like this…”
He hadn’t expected her to use something like that.
But imagining Regina wearing those earrings, he thought they would suit her well.
“I’ll have to get a matching dress made.”
He could guess what the magic earrings were for.
‘It must be one of two things—protection or communication.’
But the Madeline people probably didn’t know Regina’s magic was sealed, so they would have given her a tool for communication.
Conrad’s eyes curved as he figured out exactly what the earrings were for.
‘What are you planning to do?’
Was she trying to contact her followers outside?
Of course, he’d let her keep it for that reason, but it still felt irritating that she might plot something openly.
‘Who would have thought not having mages would be such a problem?’
Every time someone tried to raise a group of mages, the Permang Empire would interfere, seeking out those with magic and bringing them into their own mage corps.
“Now that I think about it, it’s all your fault.”
Conrad glanced at sleeping Regina and muttered, a tiny smile on his lips showing how his mood had improved.
“You’re the one who became my empress.”
He wondered if the Permang Empire realized what a talented person they’d lost.
“Even if they know, it’s too late.”
Conrad approached Regina, gently took her hair, and kissed the end of it.
“You’re mine now.”
The next day, after breakfast, Regina was alone in the bedroom and opened her wardrobe.
‘Someone opened it.’
The position of her magic tool had changed. She always put the jewel in the center of the dress, but now it had moved slightly.
It was a tiny difference, almost unnoticeable, but Regina noticed it immediately.
She had picked up the habit while living in the Permang Empire, where palace staff often snooped through her things whenever she was away.
“It must have been the emperor.”
If anyone else had opened the drawer, someone would have reported it by now.
Not only attendants, but even maids and knights could only enter the emperor’s bedroom in pairs to keep watch on each other.
The only exception was the room’s owner, Conrad—so Regina was sure he had touched her magic tool.
When her finger touched it, a small spark jumped—her magic reacting to the tool.
[Are you there?]
Someone reached out before she missed her chance.
It was Shiren.
“Yes, I’m here.”
[May I ask what happened, Captain?]
They had long ago stopped with formal titles—they trusted each other enough for that.
Regina truly trusted them, and that trust had lasted through all the years since the barrier went up.
If not, they never would have stayed in the Fredericks Empire this long.
“It might be a long story.”
Regina hesitated.
Should she tell them about being framed? Should she reveal her magic was sealed?
Would they still follow her if she did?
All these thoughts rushed through her mind.
‘Should I tell them about the sealed magic?’
But worry kept her mouth shut. If Martan were here, it would be easier to talk, but he was gone, so she said nothing.
So, Regina only told them she had been falsely accused of killing the Permang Empress and was forced to flee.
There was a gasp from the other side, but Regina kept talking.
“So I was chased by monsters and then met the Fredericks Emperor.”
[Couldn’t you escape using magic?]
“By the time I met the emperor, my magic was almost gone.”
She mixed a little lie into her explanation, then asked Shiren,
“Were you able to contact Martan?”
[He’s near the barrier, so the magic tool isn’t working properly.]
A huge amount of magic flowed through the area around the magic barrier.
That made magic tools unreliable, and mages with little experience couldn’t use magic at all.
The barrier was a monster that swallowed magic. Many mages had died trying to build it.
“So we have to wait longer.”
[Yes. But…]
“Is there something else?”
[Recently, more people have been watching the Madeline baron’s house.]
Shiren said they’d be bringing the magic tool ledger back to the palace soon, but there were a lot of eyes on them, so it might take longer. Then he called Theodore over.
[Hey, if you have any questions, ask now.]
Shiren didn’t even seem to realize he was pouring magic into the tool, and his chatter made Regina smile.
“Theodore?”
[Yes, Your Highness.]
Theodore was the only one in the mage corps who kept his distance from Regina.
She didn’t know why, but there were lots of strange people among mages, so she didn’t worry.
“Has anything happened?”
[No, nothing.]
Theodore didn’t talk much or reveal his feelings, so Regina didn’t ask more.
Shiren made an annoyed sound next to him, but Regina pretended not to notice.
“It’s good that nothing happened.”
[But Your Highness, are you all right?]
“Me?”
