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Chapter 7
Locked in a deep kiss, Seamus pushed Media onto Aella’s bed and tore off her clothes as if ripping them.
Doing this in Aella’s bedroom made it feel as though he was embracing Aella herself. Instead of the broken doll, he was holding the one who came with that doll, but the feeling wasn’t bad.
A moment later, after their fierce exertions, the two lay on Aella’s bed, breathing heavily.
Media let out a small laugh.
Rolling around in Aella’s bedroom with Aella’s husband. The thrill of taking what belonged to Aella and holding it in her own hands was electrifying. Even more so than the intense lovemaking.
Media burrowed into Seamus’s arms.
“Shall I tell you a secret?”
“A secret?”
Seamus asked, stroking Media’s hair.
“Aella and I are half-sisters.”
Media gave a bitter smile from within Seamus’s arms.
“What?”
Startled, Seamus sat up.
Seeing his reaction, Media curled her lips and also sat up.
“I am the late Duke Petra’s daughter. My mother was a fallen noblewoman. She fell in love with the Duke, but they couldn’t be together due to opposition from his family. The Duke never acknowledged me as his daughter until the end, but Petra blood flows in my veins.”
“Astonishing.”
“Because I’m the Duke’s illegitimate daughter, Lady Petra and Aella always treated me like an insect. In front of others, they were kind to me, but when no one was watching, they would even beat me…”
Media trailed off with a sorrowful expression.
“Still, I loved them. But after meeting you, I truly understood what love is.”
“You understood love… Are you saying you love me?”
Seamus’s expression grew subtle.
Media looked into Seamus’s eyes and nodded.
“Yes. I love you, Your Highness. Just as a mother’s love for her child is instinct, loving you is my instinct.”
Seamus’s mother had died giving birth to him. As a result, Seamus had grown up never knowing a mother’s affection. Though raised by nannies, he had always wondered what a mother’s love truly felt like.
Media had gathered as much information as possible about Seamus while moving through the palace.
“Just as a mother loves her child, Seamus, I love you.”
Media met Seamus’s eyes and repeated in a clear tone.
Seamus gazed into Media’s eyes for a moment.
“There must not be a single shred of lies in those words. If you’re trying to use my feelings against me, I will kill you without mercy.”
“I stake my life on loving you, Your Highness.”
*He’s the only man who can change my life. Of course I love him.* Media’s eyes gleamed with desire.
—
**\*\*\***
“I don’t want to meet you secretly like a thief cat anymore. I’m thinking of making you my official mistress.”
After their second intense encounter, Seamus spoke while chewing on a cigar.
“Mistress?”
At the word “mistress” coming from Seamus’s lips, Media quickly calculated in her head. The calculation ended swiftly.
If she became the Crown Prince’s mistress now, she had too much to lose. Her connection to the Petra family would be completely severed, and she would be pointed at as someone who bit the hand that fed her, betraying the Petras.
Even if she later pushed Aella aside and became Crown Princess, neither the nobles nor the common people would look up to her.
So she needed to proceed step by step.
“Becoming Your Highness’s mistress makes me so happy I could cry. But if I become your mistress, everyone will point fingers at me. Call me an ungrateful woman. I’m also afraid of how Aella and Lady Petra will react. His Majesty the Emperor will be furious as well.”
Media continued with a worried expression.
“That’s true.”
Seamus nodded. In the already tense situation where he wasn’t sleeping with the Crown Princess, declaring Media as his mistress would be pouring oil on the fire.
“…It’s not entirely impossible.”
Media glanced at Seamus’s mood and spoke.
“A way?”
“Tarnish the Crown Princess’s morality. Make it so that the Crown Princess has an affair with another man first.”
Then Aella would be divorced for sullying the Imperial family’s honor. If that happened, she could become Crown Princess, not just a mistress. Seamus was completely smitten with her. Once she became Crown Princess, the Petra family would be nothing.
“Another man? That’s an interesting idea. But would that rigid woman have an affair?”
Seamus showed interest in Media’s words, but given Aella’s personality, it didn’t seem likely.
“Of course, you should use Grand Duke Motita.”
At the mention of Grand Duke Motita from Media’s lips, Seamus’s face turned savage.
Seamus, who had been lounging against the headboard, sat up straight and grabbed Media’s hair.
“How dare you speak his name?! Are you telling me to let that bastard Motita touch what’s mine?! If the world finds out that Motita and the Crown Princess are fooling around, how much do you think they’ll mock me! Huh!”
Seamus, clutching Media’s hair, was furious.
His enraged eyes were so fierce that Media’s knees trembled.
“I-I’m sorry. I was short-sighted.”
Media apologized immediately. She had known Seamus had considerable inferiority feelings toward Grand Duke Motita, but not to this extent.
“But why are you so worked up? You know how much I cherish you.”
When Media apologized, trembling, Seamus chuckled and spoke in a low voice.
“I know Your Highness’s heart well. Ah, then how about this?”
Media, who had been forcing a faint smile, suddenly brightened with a good idea.
With that method, even Aella would have no choice but to be deceived. One corner of Media’s mouth curled up.
—
**\*\*\***
Aella entered the dining room and stopped in her tracks. Seamus was sitting at the head of the table.
“Was there a dinner appointment with His Highness the Crown Prince?”
Aella asked Xenia beside her in a small voice.
“No. I received no such notice.”
“My hat, please.”
Aella spoke to Xenia with a nervous expression. Xenia placed the hat she was holding onto Aella’s head.
The veil covered her face, making Seamus’s figure appear blurry. With a relieved face, Aella bent her knee and greeted Seamus.
“I greet His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Seamus, who had been watching Aella with a crooked expression, finally spoke.
“Is there a need to hide such a beautiful face behind a hat?”
“I wear this hat to spare you from disgust, Your Highness. Shall I take it off?”
Even at Seamus’s sarcastic words, Aella asked in a calm tone.
Seamus chuckled and shook his head.
“It seems the Crown Princess is right. There’s no need to see something disgusting during a meal.”
“Did you come to dine with me?”
“Then why else would I be sitting here?”
“You should have sent word in advance.”
“I didn’t want to show that much consideration. Won’t you sit down?”
Seamus nodded toward a chair.
Aella sat across from Seamus. The long dining table meant there was considerable distance between them.
It was fortunate that she couldn’t see Seamus’s face clearly. Aella also had no desire to dine while looking at Seamus.
A quiet meal began. Neither Aella nor Seamus spoke to each other.
Just as the meal was nearly finished, Seamus set down his wine glass and brought up the reason for his visit.
“The day after tomorrow, I will come to the Crown Princess’s bedroom.”
“…What did you say?”
Not understanding Seamus’s words properly, Aella asked back a beat late.
“Conjugal relations. I’ve decided to embrace you now. After all, I am your only husband, and I’ve neglected you too much.”
“…”
At Seamus’s following words, Aella couldn’t hide her fluster.
Aella had been grateful that Seamus ignored and abandoned her. She had hoped he would never come to her.
“I can’t tell what expression you’re making.”
Seamus suddenly grew curious about Aella’s expression hidden behind the veil. He rose from his seat and approached Aella.
Aella looked up at him with wary eyes.
Seamus placed his hands on the back of Aella’s chair and leaned down. Through the veil, his eyes met Aella’s green ones.
Then he grabbed Aella’s hat and slowly tried to remove it. Instinctively, Aella caught his hand.
“What are you doing?”
Aella’s voice trembled slightly.
Seamus curled one side of his mouth and answered.
“I’m terribly curious what expression the Crown Princess is making beneath that veil.”
In the end, Seamus removed Aella’s hat.
Left defenseless, her hat taken, Aella met Seamus’s eyes without flinching.
“Your eyes are still bearable, at least.”
Confirming that Aella’s green eyes held hostility, Seamus’s lips twisted. *With an expression like that, it makes me want to embrace you despite it all.*
“You don’t need to force yourself to do something disgusting. If this is because of His Majesty the Emperor—”
“No. I’ve decided to embrace you now. So be aware of that.”
Seamus left the dining room just like that.
The sound of the door closing reached her, and Aella exhaled. *Haa.* Aella’s body trembled faintly.
“Your Highness the Crown Princess.”
Xenia approached Aella. Wrapping her arms around Aella’s trembling body, Xenia soothed her.
“What do I do? I…”
Aella couldn’t continue and bowed her head deeply.
It was a natural duty for a married woman, but Aella didn’t want it. She was already terrified of how Seamus would humiliate her in bed.
“If you’re afraid, refuse.”
“But this is my duty.”
Aella lifted her gaze to look at Xenia.
Xenia couldn’t give her a wise answer. What Aella said was true. It was a married woman’s natural duty.
And Aella was the Crown Princess. She had to bear the child who would continue the imperial line.
“Ha.”
Aella sighed and rose from her seat.
Returning to her bedroom, Aella stood by the window and looked out at the distant bell tower of the lake castle. A quiet, peaceful scene, as always.
Aella’s eyes grew moist.
“Today again, Ther, I resent you.”
Whenever life in the palace became difficult, Aella would look at the bell tower and heap her resentment upon Ther. But Aella knew.
That her resentment toward Ther was actually longing.
—
**\*\*\***
“Perfect.”
Media looked at Seamus and smiled.
Seamus, standing before her, gave an awkward smile.
“Remember, Your Highness. Only a kiss. Nothing more.”
At Media’s words, Seamus nodded.
“Now go to the Crown Princess’s residence. The Crown Princess will be waiting.”
Media said, checking her watch.
Seamus nodded and left the room.
Exiting the Crown Prince’s residence, Seamus walked through the corridor swallowed by darkness. The quiet palace, with no one around, felt somewhat dreary.
Feeling strangely creeped out, he glanced behind him and saw a dark figure standing there.
Startled, Seamus turned around to examine the dark figure. It was clearly human-shaped, yet his body trembled oddly.
“Wh-Who…”
Just as he tried to ask who it was, Seamus remembered Media’s warning not to open his mouth, and he fell silent.
The dark figure slowly approached Seamus. The black silhouette exuded such an aura of intimidation that Seamus instinctively shrank back.
Before he knew it, the dark figure stood before Seamus. Seamus stared at the figure with a frightened expression.
Under the moonlight, the figure’s face was slowly revealed.
The person standing before Seamus was none other than Ther Motita.
“Huh?”
Seamus let out a foolish sound before he could stop himself.
It didn’t take long for that foolish sound to turn into a scream.
Because Ther had drawn his sword.
“Ah!”
Seamus began to run away, screaming.
But Ther’s sword did not lose him. Ther’s sword, catching up to Seamus in an instant, slashed his back.
“Huk!”
The searing pain spreading across his back made him turn toward Ther involuntarily. The moment his eyes met Ther’s, the sword severed his head.
Blood spurted from his neck, and Seamus’s severed head fell to the floor with a horrifying sound.
Seamus’s head rolled across the corridor.
