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CHAPTER 33:
You Are My Mistress
From a distance, Dietrich sensed someone approaching and pulled his lips away.
He wiped the saliva-slicked lips of Celia with his index finger. After a moment of thought, he gently lifted her into his arms.
With one hand supporting her slender back and the other under her legs, he turned away from the stables and began walking deeper into the imperial palace.
Celia didn’t ask where he was taking her or what he intended to do.
Instead, she clung tightly to his neck.
Dietrich paused momentarily, then resumed his long strides.
A cool breeze swept by, tousling Celia’s glimmering silver hair.
From their intense and deep kiss, Celia had learned one undeniable truth.
Throughout the kiss, she had felt vitality surging back into her body.
As if gentle hands were soothing her broken insides, healing every part of her from within.
No medicine had ever worked for her terminal condition.
‘Is he some kind of panacea? He must have healing abilities.’
Celia glanced sideways at Dietrich.
Up close, his face was still unreadable, but his eyes seemed softer than before.
As he walked, perhaps curious about her silence, Dietrich asked in a calm voice:
“Why aren’t you asking me anything?”
Celia replied:
“Because I don’t need to.”
If he hadn’t rejected something so intimate, it meant she was more useful to him than he’d initially let on.
She finally felt certain that he wouldn’t hurt her without cause.
Even if it was purely for her ability, his protection hadn’t been overbearing.
‘He doesn’t even understand my ability fully.’
“If you need it, I’ll give it to you. My ability, I mean.”
Celia closed her eyes as she rested in his arms.
“My power can paralyze all five senses of those around me. It emits a hyacinth-like scent that immobilizes anyone in its range. But… it comes at the cost of my lifespan.”
For a brief moment, a ripple passed through Dietrich’s eyes—but Celia, eyes closed, didn’t notice.
“That’s why I’ve become terminally ill.”
She was telling him this because Dietrich had helped her more than once.
Yet, she left out the crucial detail: her power only worked on men—and also that she had realized Dietrich possessed a power of his own.
Even knowing that, she hadn’t spoken of it aloud.
Then came Dietrich’s low voice near her ear:
“You’ve been hiding it all this time. Why tell me now?”
“Why didn’t you reject my kiss?”
He was silent for a beat, then answered:
“You looked… fragile.”
He never clarified what exactly looked fragile.
As they neared the crown prince’s palace and saw knights nearby, Dietrich gently set Celia down.
“If anyone asks where you’ve been, say you don’t remember anything. Claim memory loss.”
Celia nodded.
Seeing her obedient nod, Dietrich narrowed his eyes slightly and said:
“Give me your robe.”
When Celia removed her robe, the white mermaid dress and a brand on her collarbone were revealed.
Dietrich’s brow furrowed deeply at the sight.
He roughly rolled up the robe and gave further instructions:
“Wander around pretending you know nothing. If the knights ask where you were, say someone struck your head and you don’t remember anything from last night.”
“Will they believe me?”
“If not, use my name.”
He paused, then added:
“Illeon is staying in the palace now. Something’s bound to happen soon. Keep your head down until then.”
Perhaps it was his way of repaying her for revealing her secret.
Dietrich had begun to reveal some of his own truths.
‘He’s only telling me because it’s useful.’
Celia told herself that, trying hard not to get her hopes up.
“Celia.”
As he turned away, Dietrich softly called her name.
“…See you later.”
And with that, Dietrich, clad in black armor, walked away.
At that moment, in Jeremy’s palace…
“Is it possible that no one saw where my mistress went? Are you all conspiring to deceive me?”
Jeremy glared at the knights standing by the door, his eyes wide with rage.
The knights who had served him for years were visibly flustered.
Compared to the former emperor, Jeremy wasn’t particularly incompetent.
He had a temper but was clever and charming enough to win people over.
Yet now, he couldn’t control his emotions and appeared deeply agitated.
Doubts began creeping into the knights’ minds.
‘Does this man truly deserve the throne, even as a royal?’
‘Honestly, one of the three dukes would make a better emperor.’
Even among the three dukes, Dietrich—the recently appointed Duke and captain of the imperial guard—would be a stronger choice.
If he truly led a rebellion, few in the palace could stop him.
But openly thinking such things while the royal family still stood was dangerous.
“Get out. I don’t want to see your faces.”
Jeremy waved his hand dismissively, issuing a cold dismissal.
Just then, hurried footsteps approached.
“Your Majesty, she’s been found!”
At the knight’s cry, Jeremy’s face lit up.
“Bring her to me. Now.”
He sprang from his bed, heading toward the door.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, he collapsed to the floor with a groan.
“Y-Your Majesty! Are you alright?”
The knights rushed to his side. Jeremy shoved them away and shouted:
“My face—it feels like I’ve been stabbed!”
The knights exchanged confused glances.
Jeremy’s face showed no injury. No cuts, no bruises—nothing.
Yet Jeremy appeared to be in unbearable pain.
His head spun, and it felt like a blade was carving into his face.
“Aaaaaaagh!”
His shrill scream sent the knights into a panic. Despite no visible wounds, his pain seemed all too real.
His lips turned pale, and his eyes lost focus. The knights began to realize the situation was serious.
“Summon the royal physician immediately!”
One knight bolted out of the room.
Jeremy slumped to the floor, writhing in agony.
Then, something bizarre happened—Jeremy’s facial skin began to melt like liquid.
“What…?”
The knights murmured in horror.
His skin peeled away and dripped to the floor.
Jeremy, too distracted by pain, didn’t see it.
But the knights did—and gasped.
His features, stripped of skin, had become grotesquely disfigured.
Where his eyes should be was a forehead, his nose was replaced by an eye, and his mouth, twisted to the side, was near his cheek.
He looked more like a monster than a man.
Panting heavily, Jeremy looked up at the shocked knights.
Oblivious to his state, he scowled at their reactions.
“Do you find my suffering so amusing?”
The knights were too stunned to answer.
“Your Majesty, Lady Celia Brillion has been brought.”
Just then, the knight who had left returned with Celia.
At the same moment, Jeremy felt the pain vanish as if it had melted away.
He stood and moved toward Celia.
“Why so late? Do you know how long I’ve waited for you?”
The knights averted their eyes, unable to look at the hideous figure before them.
Celia, in contrast, met Jeremy’s gaze calmly.
“Whose help did you use to escape my chamber?”
“I don’t understand what Your Majesty means. I don’t remember anything from last night.”
“Did that bastard tell you to say that? Dietrich, that son of a—!”
Jeremy, face grotesquely distorted, reached out toward her.
“I was struck in the head. I remember nothing.”
Celia stuck to Dietrich’s instructions.
“Don’t play dumb! So, did you roll around all night with that lowborn filth?”
Seeing Jeremy descend into hysteria, Celia paled.
“You need a special cage. Then you’ll never fly away from me again.”
Even hardened knights flinched at the sight of monstrous Jeremy trying to cling to the beautiful Celia.
She stepped back to avoid his touch.
Seeing her reject him, Jeremy’s eyes bulged with fury.
“You’re my mistress—how dare you reject me now? How long do you think that beauty will last?”
Celia stared straight into his eyes.
“I never asked to be your mistress.”
“I raised a lowborn like you to the position of mistress! You should be groveling with gratitude. Know your place.”
Jeremy stepped closer again.
“Do you really think that Dietrich bastard will protect you? He couldn’t even protect the emperor—my father. Don’t forget that.”
He laughed menacingly. The knights stood silent as statues.
Then came Celia’s calm voice:
“Your Majesty… perhaps you should take a look in the mirror.”
