🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 10
The cup that had been set on the bed fell to the floor. The two, focused entirely on each other, didn’t even notice the spilled milk.
Ther slowly took Aella’s lips. At the sensation of Ther’s touch, Aella closed her eyes.
Ther’s cautious and gentle kisses continued. Parting Aella’s lips, Ther moved slowly. His movements—touching her tender flesh, intertwining their tongues—seemed as if he were handling something infinitely precious.
While kissing, Ther slowly removed Aella’s clothes. At the sensation of her clothes being removed by his hands, Aella tensed and shrank back.
“It’s alright, Ell.”
Ther spoke in a gentle voice and kissed her cheek.
Seeing Ther kiss her scarred cheek, Aella asked once more.
“Really, I’m not disgusting to you?”
“Beautiful. Truly beautiful.”
Ther’s heart ached because Aella kept asking if she wasn’t disgusting. In Ther’s eyes, Aella was still the most beautiful woman in the world.
“Mm.”
Aella, reassured, made her eyes into half-moons.
Ther briefly kissed Aella’s lips, then buried his face in her neck.
“Ah!”
At Ther’s lips nibbling her neck, Aella’s face tightened slightly. Her body stiffened with tension.
Ther’s lips slowly moved down. While his lips touched her chest, her stomach, her thighs, Aella didn’t know what to do with the unfamiliar sensations.
Though she was ashamed of herself for moaning at Ther’s lips and touch, she liked the sensations he gave her. So much so that she wished it would last forever.
His body delved deep into Aella. The sharp pain soon transformed into a dizzying pleasure, and the two accepted each other at the same temperature.
Throughout, Ther whispered in Aella’s ear.
“Pretty, Aella. Pretty.”
It was a night full of Ther’s love.
—
**\*\*\***
Ther’s face, looking down at the sleeping Aella, was full of affection. Stroking Aella’s lemon-colored hair, Ther recalled a certain day.
The terrible day when he had to have his beloved taken from him, helpless to stop it.
—
“If it comes to this, I have no choice but to use it.”
When the Emperor ordered the breaking of the engagement with Aella and spoke those words, Ther was overcome with both rage and fear.
He had told the Emperor not to do anything foolish, but his anxiety did not fade. If the Emperor truly played that card, the engagement would be broken, and Aella would have to be sent to Seamus.
On the day he returned from his audience with the Emperor, Aella came to him. He wanted to keep his promise to her—”I will let you live as Aella Motita”—no matter what.
He sent Aella back, and the next morning, he went straight to the Petra mansion. He agreed with the Duke Petra to hasten the marriage and asked him to hand over the letter of proposal sent from the Imperial Palace.
Ther took that letter and went to find Seamus. To warn him not to touch Aella.
Finding Seamus, Ther tore the Imperial proposal letter to shreds before his eyes. The torn pieces fluttered in the air like dancing confetti.
“This kind of nonsense is enough once.”
Ther spoke to Seamus with an expressionless face.
Watching the Imperial proposal letter torn to pieces before his eyes, Seamus could not contain his rage and sprang from his chair.
“Motita!”
The enraged Seamus’s voice shook the audience chamber of the Crown Prince’s residence.
“There will not be a second time.”
Unlike the agitated Seamus, Ther’s expression was calm. But his resolute tone was as cold as ice.
“How dare you insult the Crown Prince!”
Seamus, trembling, strode toward Ther.
In that moment, flames erupted from the torn pieces of the proposal letter lying on the floor, rising high as if to block Seamus’s path.
“Huk.”
Seamus, who had been approaching to grab Ther by the collar, was startled by the sudden flames blocking his way and stepped back.
When Ther snapped his thumb and forefinger together, the flames went out instantly, leaving no trace.
“Let’s end these games here.”
“Th-This…!”
Seamus trembled with the thought that he had been humiliated by Ther.
“Grand Duke Motita, that is too much.”
Just then, the Emperor’s voice was heard.
The Emperor had seen everything—from the burning proposal letter to Ther’s warning to Seamus.
The Emperor’s face was furious at the sight of the kingdom’s only Crown Prince being humiliated by a Grand Duke.
“Have you forgotten that Seamus is the Crown Prince?”
The Emperor approached Ther and continued.
“How could I forget, Your Majesty?”
Ther, without a trace of surprise at the Emperor’s sudden appearance, maintained his courtesy.
Seeing Ther like that, the Emperor seemed even more enraged.
“Grand Duke Motita, do you want me to finally use the authority granted to me?”
“I do not believe Your Majesty is a foolish person.”
“One never knows. A man can become foolish when it comes to his children.”
The Emperor gave a bitter smile.
This matter could no longer be dismissed as the immature behavior of the Crown Prince. It had deteriorated into a power struggle between the Imperial family and the House of Motita.
“I’m beginning to think I should make you realize clearly what duty the House of Motita owes to the Imperial family.”
“Your Majesty.”
Ther’s reddish-brown eyes trembled unsteadily.
“Grand Duke Motita, I will use the Orb of Iphe.”
At last, the words Ther had dreaded flowed from the Emperor’s lips.
Instantly, the color drained from Ther’s face.
The Emperor had the authority to make the House of Motita obey him three times. The House of Motita was bound to obey any command given by the Emperor using the “Orb of Iphe.” Because the Motita family were slaves dedicated to the Imperial House of Miden.
Ther looked at the Emperor with cold, contemptuous eyes and spoke firmly.
“I refuse.”
“The Motitas have no right to refuse.”
The Emperor spoke in a clear tone.
The tip of Ther’s chin trembled faintly. The Emperor’s words were not wrong. If the Imperial House used the Orb of Iphe, the House of Motita had no choice but to obey. It was the law set by the supreme god, Idor.
“Hahahaha! Do you see? Ther Motita. No matter how much you put on airs, you and your family are nothing but slaves to the Imperial House. Know your place!”
Seamus, who had been listening to the exchange between the Emperor and Ther, burst into laughter. Seamus’s face looked as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest.
Even at Seamus’s mockery, Ther did not so much as blink, keeping his eyes fixed on the Emperor.
“Please reconsider.”
“My decision stands.”
“Your Majesty.”
“Grand Duke Motita, I will send the Orb of Iphe contract to the lake castle. Return there now.”
Leaving those words, the Emperor exited the audience chamber.
The next day, a parchment contract from the Imperial House lay on Ther’s desk.
The contract, demanding the dissolution of the engagement with Aella Petra, bore the Emperor’s signature.
Ther stared fixedly at the space where his own signature was required. He had received the contract the previous afternoon but had not yet signed it.
His father had taught him that a contract from the Orb of Iphe must be signed within a day. When Ther had asked what happened if one did not sign, his father had laughed and said:
*”No one knows that. Because no one has ever failed to sign.”*
*It wouldn’t be so bad to find out what happens this time. Who knows. Maybe nothing will happen.*
Ther let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
Ther, who had been glaring at the contract, lifted his head and looked at the clock. Exactly one day had passed since the contract was drawn up.
Just then, howling sounds began to be heard from outside. They sounded exactly like beasts wailing.
“Kyaaah!”
“Waaaah!”
Interspersed between the howls were people’s screams.
Ther frowned and rose from his seat. As he turned toward the window to check the situation, Callas ran into the office and stopped.
“Grand Duke, something terrible has happened.”
Callas’s face, gasping for breath, was full of terror.
“What is it?”
“Everything in the castle is burning. The buildings, the livestock, the people.”
Callas’s voice, speaking rapidly, trembled.
“Burning?”
Ther asked back with an expression of disbelief.
Everything in the lake castle was enchanted to be safe from fire. Moreover, most of the people in the lake castle could protect their own bodies from fire. And yet they were burning.
Just then, the beast-like howling came again. Ther’s trembling eyes stared out the window.
“The sound is coming from the bell tower.”
“The bell tower.”
As Ther muttered lowly, he turned to look at Callas. Flames were rising from various parts of Callas’s body.
“Callas.”
A voice like a groan escaped from Ther’s shocked lips.
“Grand Duke.”
“What are you doing! Defend against the fire immediately!”
Unable to understand why Callas was just standing there burning, Ther raised his voice.
“It’s no use. I cannot create fire, nor can I block it. It seems my abilities… have disappeared.”
Callas’s face twisted from the pain of the fire burning his body.
Again, people’s screams came from outside. Ther hurriedly approached the window and looked out.
As Callas had said, everything in the castle was burning. People whose bodies had caught fire were climbing the castle walls and throwing themselves into the lake.
Outside the window was a sea of flames. It was hell.
*”Follower of Iphe. Fulfill your duty.”**
As Ther gazed at the hell unfolding before him, a voice pierced his ears. The voice, striking like lightning, shook Ther’s head with a clamor like thunder.
He felt an intense headache. Ther let out a pained groan and fell to his knees.
