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Chapter : 81
Shackles
It was a warning.
Those words were not light in the slightest.
“Pull them down.”
“Even if you have to seize them by force.”
“If you don’t bind those feet, you will lose them.”
The astrologers of the Southern Continent left behind those words and departed.
“They say the subjugation force has boarded the warships.”
Benjamin explained as he unfastened the cufflinks at his sleeves. The button came undone with a soft click.
“Everything happened all at once—I barely had time to think.”
“Did they leave safely?”
“With the subjugation force accompanying them, they should be fine.”
Because the warships at the subjugation front had to be mobilized and operational procedures carried out,
Benjamin and the intelligence officer had been busy all evening.
“Even now, monsters are running rampant along the front lines, so it’s chaotic. They say they won’t reach the Southern Continent until daybreak tomorrow, so it’ll take some time.”
“They’re lucky they even made it back alive.”
That they were alive at all was remarkable.
“Before…”
“Hm?”
“There’s something Countess Brontë told me before she died.”
Shackles.
The shackles that dragged the gravekeeper down.
Before her death, the countess had said this:
“She said shackles passed beneath my feet.”
“……”
“And that the one holding them was you.”
Charlophe swept her dark red hair back over her shoulder.
“If you keep me seated, then I’ll stay.”
She reached out and grabbed the hem of his clothes.
“Pull me down to your side.”
She didn’t know what exactly was being pulled down.
But everyone had their instincts.
“I guess I still haven’t fully blended into this place.”
“You say things like that far too casually.”
Benjamin removed his cufflinks and placed them on the table.
“…Are you okay?”
“I’m fine now.”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt. Even so, I…”
Benjamin trailed off.
“I feel like I might ruin you.”
Like I might destroy you.
“Completely.”
Even when surrounded by silence, the imperial palace was full of watching eyes.
The maids, too, had begun to whisper.
“They share a bed, but the bedroom atmosphere isn’t disordered.”
“It’s been a year, yet there’s still something strangely delicate between them.”
Benjamin knew those rumors had spread.
He reached out and lightly tapped Charlophe’s wrist.
“…Do you dislike it?”
“I don’t.”
Benjamin flinched at the answer, yet still laced their fingers together tightly.
“I’ve never felt this distant, not even when facing death.”
“Mmm. You’ve always been a comfort to me.”
So—
“There’s no way I’d dislike it.”
“Back then, you looked like you might die any moment. I found myself checking if you were breathing. But now… things should be different.”
He was still cautious. If she turned away because she disliked it, he would let her go. His eyes said as much.
This isn’t coercion. I want us to hold each other together.
And yet, as she looked into his eyes—eyes filled with a wish for her not to run—
“What am I, to go this far?”
Charlophe murmured with a small smile.
“Like an ordinary married couple.”
“Yes. Just like that.”
It was time to face each other. Her body tingled.
“I might act a little… awkward.”
Across both her past and present lives, she had never shown herself this bare.
“Is it strange?”
“Not at all.”
Benjamin slid an arm behind her knees and lifted her up.
“Even if I behave badly, try to understand a little.”
Charlophe leaned back against the headboard.
Mm—
She smiled awkwardly as she brushed at her neck—
And Benjamin kissed her lower abdomen. Warmth spread.
The heat pooling near her navel gently stoked her insides.
Even with a layer of nightclothes on, the fabric was thin enough that every sensation came through clearly.
“Are you crying?”
“……”
“I haven’t done anything to make you cry yet. It makes me sound like I’m threatening you.”
Well, since he planned to make her cry anyway—was it fine?
“Mmm.”
He buried himself against her lower abdomen and set his teeth.
The ties at her back loosened, her clothes slackening.
“Mmm…”
Charlophe startled at the sound escaping her own throat.
She pressed her hand over her mouth, and Benjamin entwined his fingers around her wrist.
“Don’t stop it.”
“My throat feels itchy.”
“Yeah? Itchy?”
Benjamin bit into her palm. The tender inner flesh burned as if brushed by fire.
There was nothing left to hold back.
Showing herself completely like this—this small, insignificant version of herself—worried her, just a little.
“Beautiful.”
“Mmm.”
“Why?”
“It feels like you’re soothing me.”
“Oh dear. Guess I didn’t inspire enough trust.”
Charlophe arched her neck, her waist bending like a drawn bow.
His hand wandered lower along her waist.
His fingers traced her abdomen.
They lingered near her navel, then slid along her slender side.
This was different.
It was deeper, denser. The intimacy itself felt unfamiliar, and that unfamiliar stimulation pierced and clawed at her mind.
Her thoughts were torn to shreds.
Like paper ripped apart and scattered into the air, her chaotic thoughts went blank.
“When people said they felt empty… I never really understood it. But now, I think I do.”
“Why?”
“If filling yourself is like this, then I really must have been empty all this time.”
The pressure built, aching.
Every gap was filled.
His presence filled her body. Tears welled up in her throat.
“Will you kiss me?”
“Mmm.”
“You could stroke my hair gently, too.”
Charlophe rested her head against the bed and looked up at him.
Her red hair spilled across the sheets.
He ran his hand through it.
“Like this.”
“……”
“Do I just steal your breath away?”
Benjamin lowered his head and captured her lips.
Their breathing intertwined. They hungrily sought each other.
Her throat fluttered.
Ng—
Charlophe clenched her fist, and his hand threaded into hers.
His scent seeped into her mouth—it felt like she’d swallowed him whole.
Her chest tightened painfully.
Benjamin tapped the bridge of her nose.
“I don’t know if you swallowed me…”
“…or if I swallowed you.”
“At this point, I can’t tell.”
Charlophe’s eyes glistened as she closed them, then opened them again.
“Ah…”
Still—someone had definitely swallowed someone.
“It’s hot.”
Charlophe whispered, her voice melting.
“Is it?”
“Please… just a little…”
“I like this warmth right now.”
Benjamin wrapped her in the blanket and pulled her close.
Held in his arms, Charlophe absentmindedly wriggled her fingers. Their tips were pale.
She leaned back against his solid chest.
He supported her like a pillar.
“So warm.”
Benjamin brushed her hair over her shoulder.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
“Mmm.”
“If you don’t tell me honestly, I won’t know. We’re figuring this out together.”
He erased her emptiness, engraving his presence in its place.
“My body feels heavy.”
“I noticed before—you really lack stamina.”
You and I are different.
Charlophe blinked in protest.
Benjamin held her hands and urged her to face the lingering sensations.
When she turned away, overwhelmed, he became even more persistent.
He coaxed her eyes back to his, awakening her senses again.
“You said you’d stop.”
“…I’ll just hold you.”
“You said that earlier, too.”
Benjamin whispered into her ear.
“You like me like this.”
He wrapped an arm around her narrow waist and patted her lower abdomen.
Her sweat-dampened body was filled with traces of him.
Her throat stung.
“Did I make you cry too much?”
When he brushed her eyelids with his hand, tears spilled over.
Benjamin had fought monsters across the subjugation front. His stamina was nothing like hers.
Compared to Charlophe—whose hands split open just from holding a sword—the difference in strength, build, and endurance was stark.
She couldn’t handle all of him with her body alone.
Benjamin knew it too. If he pushed further now, she’d grow afraid next time.
“Ah… I really don’t want to let you go.”
Their bodies tipped sideways, sinking into the soft bed.
He peppered her chin with small kisses, pressing down gently with only half his weight.
That sense of fulfillment—
Heat rose up her neck, sweat beading.
He licked away the tears at the corners of her eyes.
“Sweet.”
The overwhelming heat made tears well up again.
“This medicine is good for muscle pain.”
Her muscles throbbed dully.
“Even with tonics, your constitution is weak. Your muscle strength is significantly below average.”
“Has my body been damaged?”
“No. Compared to before, you’ve improved. With more time, you’ll recover further.”
The herbs for muscle pain were especially bitter.
“With resolve in your eyes, your vitality seems to be returning as well.”
Charlophe felt it too—things were different now.
“Before, when you asked me to look into Luperitic Disease. I heard you’d stayed in the Southern Continent—when you were there years ago, were monsters that severe then too?”
“…They were.”
“Why didn’t you say so?”
“I survived, didn’t I? You already had enough to worry about—I couldn’t burden you with more.”
Thanks to the medicine Aaron prepared, her shoulders loosened.
“Have you stopped investigating Luperitic Disease now?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask why?”
“Because my injustice has been resolved.”
I know I won’t die like that.
I won’t meet the same death as in my past life.
“Then that’s enough.”
“Why did you order the investigation in the first place?”
“At the time, I needed to plan for the future.”
If I were to die—why.
Why I had suffered from Luperitic Disease.
Even if it was far in the future, I had to know.
“Anything else you’re curious about?”
“Even if there is, it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Why?”
“I’m an apothecary and a physician of the imperial palace. My role is simply to safeguard Your Majesty’s well-being. As long as I fulfill that role, it’s enough.”
Charlophe smiled faintly.
“Then why ask now? You never questioned me when investigating the disease before.”
“Because back then, you had no intention of answering.”
“That’s true.”
“I feared it would disturb Your Majesty’s heart.”
Perhaps that was why she could treat Aaron so comfortably.
“There are things words can’t fully explain.”
Charlophe added softly.
“And you have things you haven’t told me, too.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“So—when it feels easier, we’ll talk then.”
Silence flowed between them.
“You’ve steadied the instability you showed in childhood. It seems you’re truly becoming well now.”
Aaron set down his medical bag.
“Then there’s no need for me to pry further.”
He packed away the bandages.
“The examination’s over?”
“Yes. It’s just muscle soreness—rest well. And eat properly.”
Charlophe smiled faintly.
Aaron, carrying the scent of medicine, brought her peace of mind.
“So it is.”
Even if astrologers said she would die young.
“At least, if I die… it won’t be from illness.”
