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Chapter 67
“Don’t tease me.”
When had it started?
When pleasure became stronger than magic.
Regina tried to think through her foggy mind, but it was impossible. Conrad had opened his mouth wide and explored her skin, leaving her mind blank.
“Ah! Too…”
Pressed by Conrad, she sank into the chair and grabbed his hair with her hands. She couldn’t take her eyes off his darkened gaze.
Her head tilted back.
“I’m happy you like it.”
Conrad whispered in her ear.
Overwhelmed by the sensations, Regina arched her body as his low voice continued:
“Don’t tease me. You’ll get hurt.”
“Who… who’s teasing!”
Looking down at her, Conrad’s throat moved with excitement.
His eyes glowed red with passion, and a small bead at the corner caught his attention. He couldn’t resist and pressed his lips to it.
“This is why I don’t want anyone else seeing you, Regina.”
The voice that came from his throat was dangerous. Regina squeezed her eyes shut, unable to think. She just let the waves of magic and pleasure consume her.
“Just the thought of someone else touching you… I can’t stand it.”
He slowly claimed her, his growling breath brushing her ears.
“Don’t reach out to anyone else.”
Regina barely understood his whispered words; her nerves were on fire, and her head spun.
“Don’t try to run from me either.”
Conrad’s low voice urged her to stay close. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he leaned over her, and his sudden pause was the first sign of restraint.
Then he smiled faintly.
“Yes, hold me like that.”
Suddenly, Conrad lifted her effortlessly. The light floating sensation made her tense her body.
“Ah, Co… Conrad!”
It was dizzying and frightening. The strange sensation left her trembling as she called his name again and again.
Conrad licked her cheek, leaving a mark of possessiveness that Regina didn’t resist. Reflexively, she parted her lips.
Feeling his tongue slide inside, she gave herself fully to the heat and pleasure.
When Regina opened her eyes again, she was in the Empress’ bedroom. Her body felt soft and clean, and her hair was slightly damp.
It seemed Conrad had washed her while she was unconscious. Their encounter, which had begun in the early evening, had lasted until dawn, leaving her body heavy.
“Haa…”
Even though she had slept, she was tired. The lingering magic energized her mind but couldn’t erase physical exhaustion.
Trying to steady her sensitive body, she looked around. The day had dawned, and the sun was near noon.
“Oh, right.”
Remembering the dress she had worn yesterday, Regina sprang up.
A dull ache from below nearly made her collapse, but she strengthened her legs and stood.
She needed to check the note Martain had given her. Though called a “note,” it contained magic.
‘The dress should have been sent to the laundry by the maids.’
Still, the note shouldn’t be lost; the maids would have emptied the dress pocket first. Regina often kept small notes in her pockets anyway.
Even if the maids touched it, without magic, they couldn’t read it. Martain wouldn’t risk sending important information without protection.
Sure enough, Regina soon found the note neatly placed on the bedside table. She immediately pulled it toward her.
“Did someone call for me, Your Majesty?”
A maid appeared. Regina asked:
“Do you know who put this note here?”
“I found it in Your Majesty’s dress and placed it here.”
“Ah, I see.”
She wanted to ask the most important question but couldn’t speak freely. The maid could report everything to Conrad.
What Regina wanted to know: had Conrad seen this note too? Even if he had, she could lie—but it felt wrong.
“…Your Majesty?”
“He went to the Imperial Office early this morning.”
“Right.”
Regina estimated the timing. Since her dress was removed for washing, the note had probably been there since last night.
Which meant Conrad knew about it too.
‘He can sense magic, after all.’
He likely noticed the magic in the note. Regina sighed, thinking about how many things she could no longer hide from him.
‘How will I ever explain this?’
With time, lies only grew. A relationship built on lies could shatter over the smallest friction.
He was the Emperor of Fredericks, she a princess of Permang—they could never fully align. They had only joined hands for a common purpose, yet why did her heart feel so heavy?
She bit her lip and gestured to the maid. As the maid went to prepare clothes, Regina closed her eyes briefly and opened them again.
“Someday, I’ll have to tell him everything.”
That she was finding a way to cross the barrier with the Madarin Baron’s subordinates.
‘And separately researching how to break the seal for him…’
She opened the note and infused it with magic. Words appeared, making it impossible to stop thinking:
-
“We saw Count Wallace from the Permang Empire cross over. They were searching for something and returned carrying a blood-stained robe.
There seems to be a way to cross the barrier at the end of the Fredericks monster zone.
Since they went through, it seems we can as well, Commander.” –
The magic barrier had been perfect.
At least, as Regina had designed it, no one should have crossed it.
But there was a gap. A gap that seemed like Herace’s doing.
‘To think someone who claimed to build a flawless barrier left a hole…’
Herace must have had another purpose.
“Then building the barrier was meaningless.”
Why had so many Magic Corps members been sacrificed for it?
The barrier’s magic constantly drained them, leaving many unconscious or exhausted. Yet they endured, hoping to earn redemption at the end.
“Herace, you bastard!”
The note crumpled in her hand. Everything had been a trap.
From planning the barrier to framing her, Regina had been manipulated. Building the barrier was just an excuse to reduce the Magic Corps’ numbers.
Once the monsters were driven past the barrier, Herace would eliminate the unnecessary corps members—and perhaps even threaten the Fredericks Empire itself.
“You mocked me… and us?”
Herace had never intended to release the Magic Corps. Like killing hunting dogs when the prey disappears, he had planned to wipe them all out.
Creating such a gap in the barrier required new magic, which twisted the original circuits, consuming more magic and leaving the Magic Corps exhausted.
