Episode 44

Hildebrandt laughed playfully as he touched Yvonne’s ear with his fingertip. He seemed quite satisfied with the blood that was soaking it.

“How many should I pierce?”

“Pierce as much as you love me.”

“Then your ears will be full of holes.”

At her words, he definitely laughed. Then, smiling contentedly, he smeared Yvonne’s blood on her lips.

“Then just a few.”

“…Okay.”

His fingers playing on her lips tickled her, making her want to bite them. It felt as if he was deliberately trying to provoke her.

She thought that he might actually enjoy it more if she got angry. As he smeared blood on her lips, she gently bit his finger.

As Yvonne expected, he seemed pleased. So, out of spite for her throbbing ears, she bit his index and middle fingers hard.

Though it must have hurt, Hildebrandt didn’t seem to feel much pain and just watched her.

“My daughter, you’re doing a lot of cute things.”

“Sorry. I wanted to try biting.”

She immediately let go of his hand and looked into Hildebrandt’s eyes. Wondering if he really liked being glared at, she stared at him. The emperor was smiling brighter than she had ever seen.

“Do you like it when I look at you like this?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“So I don’t forget that I want to kill you.”

“Oh…”

Yvonne quickly withdrew her glare and hugged his neck. The firm muscles of his chest were hard against her. She sighed and patted the back of his head, while he started drinking again.

“I like you the most, Dad.”

“….”

“I like you the most in the world.”

Her voice, as if pleading not to be killed, made him happy, and he replied,

“When are you going to pierce my ears?”

“Oh… Okay.”

She tried to read Hildebrandt’s expression, but it wasn’t easy. He had been smiling just now but had secretly wanted to kill her.

His unpredictable behavior made it even harder to guess what he was thinking.

But if he was leaving on his tour soon.

Then she wouldn’t have to worry about Hildebrandt’s moods anymore.

Strangely, thinking about that made her feel like she might miss his unpredictable ways.

“Dad, can I touch your ear?”

“How are you going to pierce it without touching?”

“That’s right.”

She laughed softly as she touched his ear. While touching his ear, she gently bit her lip, tasting the dark blood.

At her gesture, the attendant brought another cotton ball soaked in alcohol.

“Can I really pierce as much as I want?”

“Yes.”

“As much as I love you?”

“Yes.”

Yvonne said that, but in reality, she had never done anything like this before. Seeing him pleasantly drunk, she felt he might forgive some mistakes.

However, the emperor was a capricious person. He was unpredictable.

Even if he seemed to be in a good mood now, it could turn bad at any moment.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen your eyes this close.”

“And?”

“They’re beautiful, so I want to keep looking.”

At that, he brushed her hand away and continued drinking silently.

When the bottle was empty, he laughed. Yvonne wiped the alcohol off his lips with her thumb and said,

“It’s going to be cold.”

“I know.”

Hearing his response, she carefully wiped his ear and earlobe with the alcohol-soaked cotton. The cold alcohol and her fingers touching his ear, along with her breath on his cheek, made him feel good.

Seeing Yvonne completely focused on him made the alcohol’s effect stronger.

He was satisfied seeing her lips turn bright red from the blood he had smeared on them, and even more so seeing the holes he had pierced in her ears.

He held her waist with his hand. Because of the thin dress, he could feel the warmth of her body beneath it.

“Why are you trembling?”

“I’m afraid I might do it wrong.”

Yvonne had never harmed anyone like this, so she was scared. Healing was much easier for her.

She swallowed hard and looked at Hildebrandt’s ear, then tried to steady her breathing and brought the awl closer.

She pressed the awl firmly.

“It’s not working.”

“You’re doing it too softly. You need to press harder.”

“But if I press harder, it will hurt you. I don’t want that.”

“Then are we going to stay like this forever?”

“Oh…”

Yvonne bit her lip and grabbed his ear again. Half-standing on her knees, she firmly pressed the awl into his ear.

With a cracking sound, the awl went in. Seeing the awl turn red with blood, she pulled it out again. The strong scent of blood wafted up, and drops of blood fell on his shoulder.

Hildebrandt looked at Yvonne with sleepy eyes.

“Finish it.”

“Oh…”

“Do it as much as you love me.”

Embarrassed by his words, Yvonne grabbed his ear again and pierced it above the first hole. Her hand trembled, but once it was pierced, blood started flowing cleanly.

“More, should I do more?”

“As much as you love me.”

She felt strange, thinking his way of tormenting her had become odd. So, she pierced one at the top of his ear and then two more above that, making five holes in one ear.

“I don’t want to do the other side.”

“Why?”

“Because my love is one-sided.”

“Haha.”

He laughed at her and grabbed her chin.

“Do you know what it means to pierce ears?”

“Isn’t it something you do when you love someone?”

Hildebrandt laughed twistedly at her naive words and looked into Yvonne’s eyes.

“You said you wanted to make a bonding vow.”

“What?”

“Do you know how to make an ability vow?”

“Kiss on the heart.”

“That’s right.”

He only answered that and said nothing more. When she glanced at Francis nervously, he grabbed her chin again to make her look at him, then spoke.

“A bonding vow leaves a mark on each other’s bodies.”

“Oh…”

“This is just the beginning. The next part is the problem.”

“W-what is the next part?”

Yvonne trembled as she spoke. Hildebrandt, quick-witted as he was, found it amusing that Yvonne seemed to know what a bonding vow entailed but pretended not to.

“You make love.”

“I already love you, Dad.”

“That’s not what it means.”

Seeing her feign ignorance, he felt an urge to torment her further.

“You always lie.”

“…What?”

“Just like this time. And before, too.”

He frowned, recalling how Yvonne had previously promised to pierce his ears, feeling unpleasant. Seeing the emperor’s mood worsen, Yvonne was flustered. A bonding vow meant joining bodies, accepting each other as partners and being bound by a vow.

She thought that was all there was to it, but she didn’t know it involved leaving marks like this.

She had scolded Yurian for not knowing anything, but it seemed she was just as ignorant, which embarrassed her.

“Dad.”

“Yes.”

“I…”

Yvonne did not avoid his piercing blue eyes. However, her trembling pupils were evident. Hildebrandt, watching her struggle to suppress her fear, found her behavior reminiscent of when she first captivated him.

The rising intoxication blurred his rationality.

“I like everything about you, Dad.”

“Then I won’t be your dad anymore.”

“Then what should I call you?”

“What do you want to call me?”

He continued to test Yvonne. The fiancée who had abandoned him.

On a rainy day, she had trampled on him and left.

The fiancée who wasn’t worthy of his heart.

Yvonne Le Meredin.

She had become his everything, but when he offered his heart, she left for his uncle.

“I don’t know.”

“You must have some idea.”

Hildebrandt felt her concern for the blood from his ear was insincere.

“Can I dare…”

“…”

“Can I dare call you by your name?”

She blushed with embarrassment as she spoke. Her behavior reminded him of the Yvonne who had abandoned him, and his heart ached again.

“Go ahead.”

She hesitated, bit her lip, and then looked up at him, exhaling.

“H-Hildebrandt.”

“Yes.”

“Hildebrandt.”

She was relieved that he didn’t seem too upset. Moreover, Yvonne thought Hildebrandt, who seemed indifferent and as if testing her, wouldn’t really want to make a bonding vow with her. The emperor was a noble man. Such a person wouldn’t genuinely engage in such acts with someone posing as his daughter.

She wanted to believe that.

“Now that you’ve called my name, shall we begin?”

“Ugh…”

Hildebrandt lifted Yvonne and laid her on the bed. Francis stood frozen, unsure whether to leave or intervene with the emperor.