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Chapter 14
Before he had even finished speaking—
Splash.
With the sound of water spraying everywhere, Lahik fell backward into the spring while still holding her in his arms, keeping Legria on top of him. The mouth that had been chattering away snapped shut immediately, much to his satisfaction.
He had ordered enough Mormala powder to be poured into the spring to last ten years. According to Eos, Legria seemed to have fallen into a state of helplessness after the shock. Spending a night here would ease her tension considerably.
And perhaps her legs as well.
The stiffened muscles would finally relax.
“You startled me! Let me go!”
“I don’t want to.”
“Hah. Fine. Then tell me properly. Did you kidnap me? Or… or were you acting under my mother’s orders? Why didn’t you tell me anything all this time…?”
She had expected her voice to grow louder, but by the end, it instead grew quieter.
As though she were afraid of hearing the answer.
Ah.
Having guessed a fair amount about Legria’s original life, Lahik raised an eyebrow and wrapped his arm around her slender waist, pulling her firmly against him.
Her body, held again after several days, was as soft as ever.
After spending days arguing face-to-face with Duke Roermel, he felt as though he were finally being rewarded.
A sweet scent rose from her elegant neck.
The moment he breathed it in, it felt as though a fire had been lit beneath him.
“Well. Does it look that way?”
“I don’t know anything about this place. Please… tell me something.”
Please.
The lips that seemed on the verge of pleading pressed shut tightly instead, as though they would never open again.
Seeing that, Lahik clicked his tongue softly.
Stupid woman.
How impudent.
She should have clung to him in his arms, trembling pitifully as she begged. She truly lacked tact and had no idea how to act cute.
Although she was completely different from the madwoman who had originally owned this body, moments like this made them overlap in his mind, much to his displeasure.
And yet, for her sake, he had spent Mormala powder worth a thousand chests of gold without hesitation.
“Everyone must have treated you well. If anyone behaved disrespectfully, tell me. I’ll replace them.”
Because their clothes were so thin, he could feel her wet bare skin directly beneath his hand.
Finding himself unconsciously swallowing at the sensation, Lahik sneered at himself.
Look at yourself.
You swore you’d never be controlled by your mate, and yet you’re obviously in heat.
They hadn’t even become mates yet.
They hadn’t even shared a bed.
And yet he already found her foolishness adorable.
It was ridiculous.
And not ridiculous at all.
Because he could already imagine how much more he’d be affected once they truly became mates.
As Lahik considered the changes their relationship would undergo beginning tomorrow, his eyes quickly cooled.
This was merely a relationship born of necessity.
He had to be the one who enslaved.
Never the one who was enslaved.
“Replace them? That’s absurd! Don’t talk about people like that. Besides, everyone treated me kindly. Everyone except you. So if anyone needs replacing, it’s you.”
“That would be difficult. I happen to be an irreplaceable and precious existence.”
“…Did you really say that seriously?”
The cheeks puffing angrily beneath his gaze were flushed with heat unlike usual.
Perhaps because the spring water wasn’t hot, but certainly warm enough.
Or perhaps because she was just as worked up as he was.
Lahik only half-listened to the rest of her complaints while casually thinking that he should order a spring like this built immediately within one of the imperial villas.
After all, his contemptible father possessed neither real authority nor power anymore.
All that man did was create chaos and host banquets.
The Imperial Palace was already in Lahik’s grasp.
That much was certain.
No one would dare oppose him even if he suddenly ordered the earth dug up to create a spring.
“It’s beautiful. Your red hair.”
“Then hurry up and explain! Where is this place, and I—… huh?”
Straightening his posture, Lahik cradled her waist with one arm while using his free hand to gather something resembling flower petals soaked in water.
His touch was gentle and careful, like handling a newborn beast cub.
As it should be.
She deserved to be treated that way.
Legria flinched beneath his touch, as though being cherished felt strange and unfamiliar.
Yes.
It showed.
She looked like a woman who had never once been loved by a man who embraced her.
“Calm down. Even if you don’t rush me, I’ll tell you everything slowly.”
“Red… hair isn’t mine. I originally had black hair. That’s another thing I wanted to ask. What did you do to my hair?”
“Nothing.”
It was time.
Time for her to face reality.
Further games would only waste time.
Steam filled the chamber containing the Sacred Spring.
By tradition, herbs, medicinal plants, flower petals, and glittering golden powder floated upon the surface.
Because that way—
Before a divine being immersed their face into the spring—
They would be unable to see their reflection.
But now she had already entered the water.
Everything was over.
Lahik gently wiped away a golden droplet running down her cheek with his thumb.
The woman who usually wore an expression close to indifference.
This was the first time she had exposed her emotions so openly.
When you learn the truth—
What kind of eyes will you make as you fall apart?
His cruel streak quietly stirred.
No.
Truthfully, it had always been there.
Ever since he realized he was the only one in heat.
Pressing a kiss to her trembling rose-petal hair, Lahik briefly imagined what might have happened had he never used the Mormala powder.
Would her vigilance, left fully intact, have caused her to depend on him even faster?
His duties and responsibilities as Crown Prince.
Everything awaiting him.
Those obligations acted as chains restraining him, leaving many things undone and turning them into regrets.
Of course, without such restraints—
He might have become the greatest madman in the world.
[The mirror you seek lies at the bottom of this spring.]
“I told you to speak in words I can understand.”
“You really must learn the language soon. I said that if you wish to see the mirror, descend to the bottom of the spring.”
“What?”
“Must I go through the trouble of pushing you underwater myself before you’ll believe me?”
Though he spoke so, what Lahik truly desired was not for her to move on her own.
After all, her legs still couldn’t move.
He wanted her to ask him.
Not necessarily to beg—
But at least to lower herself and rely on him.
Yet Legria…
Completely betrayed his expectations.
“Just let there not be one.”
Meeting Lahik’s stern expression, Legria stubbornly bit her full lower lip.
Sometimes, Lahik looked at people with those eyes.
Eyes so terrifying it felt as though he could crush someone whenever he wished.
That was precisely why she refused to be deceived by him.
His kindness was nothing more than a mirage that could disappear at any moment.
I can’t cling to him.
Look at him even now.
He knew perfectly well that she couldn’t walk, yet he told her to go beneath the spring.
And he even used the thing she wanted most as bait.
Perhaps Lahik might suddenly release the arm wrapped around her waist.
Then she would lose her balance and fall in an instant.
Honestly…
He looked like he wanted to.
At times, the expression he revealed was cruel.
Not as though he wanted to hold her lovingly—
But as though he wanted to shove her head underwater and torment her until bubbles rose.
Not as though he wanted to kiss her hair tenderly—
But as though he wanted to seize her by the hair and steal her lips by force.
Yet—
He didn’t.
As long as she didn’t provoke him first, he always tried to maintain proper manners.
They say upbringing shapes a person.
She silently offered her respect to Lahik’s mother.
For somehow turning this terrible man—who knew Korean all along and hadn’t responded once—into something resembling a human being.
“Whew…”
Legria repeatedly clenched and unclenched her fists.
There might really be a mirror down there.
Down there…
But there might not be.
Perhaps Lahik had only said it to mock her.
The worst thing about him was that he knew, no matter how much she hesitated, she would eventually have no choice but to plunge her head underwater herself.
What if he never showed her a mirror again?
More than anything—
She wanted to see her face.
She wanted proof that her absurd suspicions were nothing but nonsense.
Glaring fiercely at Lahik’s shameless face, Legria reluctantly used his shoulder as support and slowly rose.
Beneath her soft fingers, she felt solid muscle.
The body of someone who had trained for years.
Completely unlike her own.
If I’ve really entered someone else’s body…
If something that ridiculous is actually true…
Then why couldn’t they have put me into this bastard’s body instead?
For a moment, Legria cursed the heavens.
And then—
She slipped.
The sound of splashing water echoed loudly.
The spring was deep, and beneath where Lahik sat, three more steps descended into the water.
For just a brief moment, something resembling anger flashed across Lahik’s eyes as he watched her being pulled beneath the surface.
Whatever his reasons—
He was still the man who had deceived her all this time.
If he was angry because she wasn’t behaving according to his wishes—
Then good.
Serves you right.
Knowing she didn’t have much time, Legria reached the bottom and pushed herself forward with all her strength.
At least Lahik hadn’t lied.
In the center of the spring, something glittered.
A mirror, perhaps.
A mermaid at least had a tail.
She had perfectly normal legs and yet couldn’t use them, so naturally she moved slowly.
It was only from here to there.
And yet—
Even now, Lahik was closer than the mirror.
If she grabbed him and shook him and asked him to carry her there—
He might do it.
But…
No.
I don’t want to.
I’m not going to depend on that awful man.
Just a little—
She had started to think…
That maybe…
He might actually be a good person.
