🔊 TTS Settings
~Chapter 27~
Open Wider
After experiencing magic exhaustion, Regina realized just how important it was to exchange magic. Without it, she could die—and then she could never get her revenge.
‘I can’t let that happen.’
She had survived for this long just so she could return to the Permang Empire and get revenge on those who abandoned her. If she broke the magic barrier and paid them back, her contract with Conrad would be over.
‘Then I can break this seal too.’
The seal Heraeis placed could be removed by breaking his magic circle. To do that, she first had to cross back into the Permang Empire.
“Conrad.”
Regina reached out and touched Conrad’s cheek. As she gently stroked his face, she could feel their aura and magic exchange.
Her hand slid down and touched his long neck. Feeling the movement of his throat, she wrapped her hand around his neck and pulled him closer.
“Kiss me.”
Regina’s eyelashes trembled with nervous excitement.
Conrad didn’t refuse her soft, sweet request.
He curved his lips in a smile, lowered his head, and covered her red lips with his.
When their soft lips touched, Regina gasped and opened her mouth. His tongue slipped inside, filling her mouth.
“Hah!”
“Open wider.”
Conrad’s tongue pressed in deeply, wrapping around Regina’s and drinking in her taste.
The wet sound of their lips meeting echoed in Regina’s ears, making her blush all the way to the tips of her ears.
“Hnn!”
A quiet moan escaped Regina’s lips.
Conrad slowly licked her plump, swollen lips, making her heart race.
“I won’t rush you.”
The way his lips moved against hers made Regina grip the bedsheets tightly. Conrad lowered his gaze to her hands and whispered again.
“I can wait. Until you’re ready.”
His warm breath circled her ear, and the heat from his lips seemed to spread through her body.
Regina curled her toes and clenched her fingers, not knowing what to do. Conrad softly whispered,
“But these lips are mine right now.”
Morning After
Golden sunlight poured into the bedroom, and Conrad’s eyelids fluttered.
He reached out, but there was nothing there.
Sitting up, he looked around. Regina’s clothes, which he had taken off the night before, were still on the floor.
“Hmm, I doubt she ran away…”
He felt a bit annoyed.
Waking up in the morning without the woman he’d spent the night with beside him didn’t feel good.
He didn’t know why, but the feeling bothered him.
When he saw Regina coming out of the bathroom, Conrad finally got up from bed.
“Didn’t you call the maids?”
“No need for that.”
Regina added that it was still early, then sat at the dressing table and started drying her hair with a towel as if nothing had happened.
Because she had always traveled the borders, hunting monsters, Regina was used to doing things on her own.
In the past, she let royal servants help her so the Permang royals wouldn’t look down on her, but she stopped once she learned Heraeis was getting reports about her every move.
“My empress doesn’t realize how important she is.”
Conrad came close and took the towel from her hand.
He gently dried her hair, and Regina stared at him through the mirror.
“If you walk around with your hair wet, you’ll catch a cold.”
His deep voice made Regina blush.
Although they hadn’t done more than kiss the night before, they had exchanged magic many times.
They touched each other deeply, and at the end, Regina clung to him, asking to be held, her body burning up.
But Conrad just held her and fell asleep, leaving Regina a bit disappointed.
As he slowly ran his hand through her hair, Regina enjoyed the peaceful morning.
They spent time looking at each other until the chief attendant announced the start of the morning council.
Starting the Day
News that Conrad had stayed with Regina until just before the morning council quickly spread through the palace thanks to the emperor’s maids.
Conrad took his time leaving the bedroom, and after he was gone, Regina asked a maid for a book.
As she read on the sofa, attendants came in.
“Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress.”
After a light greeting, they busily set up a desk and screen in her room, just as Conrad had ordered before going to the meeting.
“His Majesty says this desk will stay here until the empress’s palace is fully ready.”
“Alright.”
Regina accepted the small gesture with a smile and took her book to the new desk.
The attendants watched proudly as she sat down, then left after a bow.
“She must like it.”
Regina heard a whisper but kept reading. The breeze moved the curtains, and the only sound in the room was the turning of book pages.
Even the maids left in the room held their breath, trying not to disturb her. Regina enjoyed the peaceful silence.
Just as her lips turned up in a small smile, the bedroom door opened and an attendant walked in.
“His Majesty sent someone to see you.”
“Let them in.”
She closed her book and looked at the door. It was someone she recognized.
“Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress.”
Regina welcomed Rimutan with a smile.
“Come in.”
After the maids left, Regina asked,
“What brings you here?”
“I brought a letter from His Majesty.”
“Over here.”
Rimutan set several documents on her desk.
Regina looked through the first page.
“List of the palace’s property?”
“For now, it’s just what’s in the emperor’s and empress’s palaces.”
Regina understood—Conrad wanted her to take back her rights as empress.
“And the rest?”
The palace was large, with many parts to manage, and more royals besides Conrad. She didn’t see any lists for the other royal family members.
Rimutan hesitated, then answered,
“The Grand Empress hasn’t given those yet.”
“Hmm.”
Regina’s slender, pale fingers tapped the desk rhythmically, the sound clear in the quiet room.
If she made a magic sign with those hands, she could destroy even a troll.
“Rimutan.”
Rimutan, who had been watching her fingers, missed her call.
Finally, he turned his head and blinked at Regina’s gaze.
“I called you, but you didn’t hear.”
“S-sorry.”
He needed to stay focused. After witnessing Regina’s incredible magic, Rimutan’s attitude had changed completely.
He wasn’t the type to open up easily, but anyone with real power could win his respect—especially as a Fredericks knight who worshipped strength.
“It seems the Grand Empress isn’t ready to give up her control yet.”
“I expected as much.”
Still, Regina was the empress.
No matter how long Chloe had held the imperial finances, in the end, she would have to hand them over to Regina.
