In a night filled with the sound of insects in the silence, Aslan stood up from his desk, rubbing his sore neck.
Even with a simple movement, he felt the pressure of a beast warming up before a hunt.
“Whew, you’re sticking to me so persistently.”
“Wouldn’t it be better for you to go up north?”
The secretary who had been assisting him with official duties until late at night cautiously suggested.
The problem began when the lord of the Alvaro region near Blackford filed a complaint against Aslan.
The subjects of the territory had fled en masse, unable to bear the excessive labor, and their destination was Blackford.
The lord of Alvaro claimed that this was the result of Aslan’s deliberate manipulation and a clear infringement of private property rights.
“We can’t leave the capital right now. We don’t have time to engage in nonsense.”
Aslan had great influence over Blackford and the surrounding regions, to the point where he was called the King of the North. The reason a lord dared to raise a complaint against him was probably because he had a support group that could handle the aftermath.
The aide continued, perhaps thinking the same thing.
“It seems His Highness the Crown Prince has made all sorts of preparations.”
“That’s right. Once he gets there, he’ll make all sorts of excuses to keep me in Blackford.”
He could sense that Johannes’s attitude toward Vivian was not normal.
He was the type of person who would only get what he wanted if he could get his hands on it. If he couldn’t get it, he wouldn’t hesitate to ruin it.
‘I wish I could go north with Vivian, but in my current state…’
He couldn’t leave her here alone. Besides, Vivian’s coming of age ceremony was next month. This was the only day in her life, and he wanted to be by her side as her fiancé.
For a long time, he had left her alone in that hellish dukedom.
“Let’s stop here for today.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Aslan sent the secretary away and sat back down in his chair. However, no matter how much he looked at the documents, he couldn’t concentrate.
A burning thirst. A thirsty desire.
The self-control he had tried to hold back collapsed helplessly as he thought of her sleeping face.
She didn’t have to do anything. He just wanted to see her.
“The curse hasn’t manifested since the Hunting Festival. So it won’t be long before…”
A terrible time that could come at any moment.
So that he could be the only salvation that could endure the time when he was robbed of his body and lost himself, stuck in the depths of hell.
He couldn’t remember how he had left his office and gotten to his bedroom.
When he came to, he was standing in front of the curtain that separated the two bedrooms.
A sweet breath echoed through the narrow gap. Aslan grabbed the velvet and pulled it away eagerly, and went inside.
“…”
As he breathed in, the alluring scent of roses filled his lungs. It was a scent that came only from the owner of this bedroom, without any impurities.
Aslan’s tension eased, and his taut muscles and tendons relaxed.
He walked without making a sound.
At the edge of the huge bed that could fit several adults, a small shadow slowly rose and fell.
“Ugh…”
However, her eyelashes, reflected in the moonlight, were pitifully wet. Aslan, who discovered this, sat down on the mattress without making a sound.
Then he carefully stroked her eyes with his fingers.
‘Why?’
Aslan recalled the report from the maid Emma.
Vivian had said that she had no strength at all since she visited the Marquis of Bastian.
She said that she would not get out of bed and would just sit there blankly mumbling things like, ‘I’m crazy,’ or ‘Why can’t I stand it?’
‘It must be because of the rumors going around the capital recently.’
Vivian felt sorry for all the rumors that were going around even when she was still. He had been through something similar himself, but he didn’t care. However Vivian was different. She was already weak and sick.
‘If she keeps being this skinny, if she loses her appetite again, it’ll be a big deal.’
She had a short palate to begin with, but when her condition got worse, she couldn’t even finish the small meals she used to eat.
Aslan clicked his tongue and carefully stroked Vivian’s forehead as she slept.
As soon as he heard the rumors that had spread throughout the capital, he immediately dug into the source.
However, those who had spread malicious rumors about Vivian had disappeared from the capital as if they had never existed in the first place.
Aslan could easily guess that Johannes had made the first move.
However…
“…She can never be taken away.”
Vivian was now lying on the bed of the Grand Duchess in his mansion. She was his only fiancée, and her fiancée had to be her only fiancée.
“Once a beast bites, it never lets go.”
A delicate and lovely fiancée who had fallen into the hands of something that was not human.
Aslan supported his arm on Vivian’s bedside and slowly lowered his body. His dry lips silently touched her small, round forehead.
“I will stop here for today, but someday…”
When he kissed her soft, white skin and engraved himself deep inside her, they would become one.
A voice that seemed to suppress his impulse echoed through the quiet bedroom.
* * *
Today was her second visit to the hospital.
Vivian started her day a little earlier than usual. The maids served her wholeheartedly as she came out of the bathtub after her bath.
Her chest reflected in the mirror still had a silver pentacle shining on it.
‘But no one noticed.’
Vivian glanced down.
It had been quite some time since she had given the maids eye nutrients. It was time to test the effects of the nutrients.
Emma happened to be wiping the moisture off the front of her body.
“Emma, have I changed?”
“No way. You are still beautiful, Madam.”
How did she interpret the intention of the question?
Emma answered flatly that nothing had changed. Even though her complexion was getting worse, Vivian’s beauty was so beautiful that no one in the empire could dare to follow her.
‘No, your hand is in front of me, and there’s really nothing wrong with it?’
Vivian decided to add a hint for the middle-aged maid who had come to her senses.
‘Some physical changes, maybe…?’
‘Ah.’
Only then did Emma stop her actions as if she realized something. Vivian waited for her answer, internally shouting, ‘Yes, sir.’
‘Now that I think about it, the master is worried that you’ve lost too much weight. He told me several times last night to pay attention to your meals.’
Wasn’t that right?
Vivian secretly glanced at the other maids, but their reactions were not much different from Emma’s.
With this, she was able to be certain.
‘You really can’t see it in other people’s eyes.’
Vivian stared at the pentagram in the mirror.
Even the great wizard Jesus said that he didn’t even feel the fragment of magic until it was thrust before his eyes, so it would be right to think that only he could see it.
She was worried that Aslan might find out about the existence of the imprint, but she was relieved.
“Madam, the master wants us to have dinner in the bedroom today.”
The maid who was drying her wet hair spoke.
Vivian tilted her head.
“Aslan is coming? He seemed to be busy with official business these days. Didn’t he go to the palace today?”
“Yes, he’s at the mansion.”
“What’s going on?”
It had been difficult to even see each other for the past few days, so she was enjoying it.
She let out a sigh of regret, but then a thought crossed her mind.
‘Could it be that he was going to reprimand me for the commotion at the Marquis’ house…?’
Rumors spread throughout the capital that the great villainess Vivian Eleonora had forced her ladies to kneel at a tea party.
She had to endure it at all costs, but the moment she met their sarcastic gazes, a familiar discomfort rose up. It was an emotion that even she could not understand.
Celia Bastian’s eyes widened in surprise, and she pretended not to be feeling well because the gaze was burdensome, so she quickly left the place.
‘Damn it, I have to be as quiet as possible today! I’m a stone. I have no ears or mouth!’
She would just bow her head no matter what Aslan said while lying flat on her stomach.
While the petit bourgeois Vivian was struggling to survive, the bedroom door opened silently. The maid standing at the entrance immediately lowered her head.
“Vivian?”
“She’s getting ready for the morning.”
Aslan turned his gaze to the dressing table, trying to stop the maid who was trying to tell Vivian.
She had just finished bathing, and she was so beautiful that it was almost blinding. Her eyelashes were fluttering lazily, her cheeks and lips were flushed, and her long, moist blonde hair hung down to one side.
Aslan, who had been staring at her as if he was possessed, hardened his expression for a moment.
Vivian sighed while looking at the mirror. Her eyes seemed to be deep in thought.
He immediately called Emma over and asked her.
“What happened?”
“Yes, master. Actually, I think the lady is a little depressed.”
Emma added that she often stood blankly in front of the mirror right after finishing bathing, and asked her several times if anything had changed today.
“She’s a little thin because of her illness, so I think she’s concerned about that.”
Aslan continued to stare at Vivian while listening to Emma’s answer.
he just wrapped her cheek with her palm and let out a small sigh.
He nodded and gestured that it was enough. The maids, including Emma, retreated without making a sound.
Meanwhile, Vivian, who was diligently immersing herself in the rocks, didn’t notice the servants disappearing like the tide.
No matter what Aslan asks, you should first apologize. You should look as pitiful as possible. So much so that even a cold-blooded person would feel compassion…’
Coughed a few times and shed a few tears.
Come to think of it, it might be better to just shake your head silently rather than apologize. If your brain goes into a strike in the middle, you might end up in a situation where you can’t say anything.
While Vivian was making her resolutions again, a large shadow loomed behind her.
“What are you thinking?”
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Translator Note:
There was a mistake in the text. This is real chapter 41 😉
Hello there! This is RJR. I hope you liked it <3
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