The Hated Empress Tames the Tyrant

In the midst of despair,

“No, there’s one more way.”

Hills, who seemed too weary to stand, appeared, catching his breath.

Bruises were all over Hills’ body, and part of his top was burnt and torn.

Bianca, seeing him, made a surprised face.

“You are…!”

Despite the stranger’s appearance, Zion approached as if he didn’t care who he was.

“If there’s a way, tell me now.”

“Let me catch my breath. You little brat.”

He had run over in a hurry after seeing Arundel fall from a distance.

Hills hadn’t forgotten what Baphura had said.

[There is one more way…]

[Inject the energy of a strong person to kill the heartworm.]

[Injecting energy only into the heart requires tremendous control. If the energy deviates slightly and splashes elsewhere, not only the recipient but also the giver is likely to be in danger.]

His body still hurt as if it was burning because of that bastard Zion, but he had no time to feel the pain.

He was the only one who knew another way to save the frail empress.

To be honest, he had hesitated for about a second.

If he left it as it was, Arundel’s mission would fail,

‘I wouldn’t have to see that annoying guy anymore.’

He looked at Arundel lying down.

If you want it.

After catching his breath sufficiently, Hills opened his mouth again.

“We can kill the heartworm by injecting your energy into the heart.”

“Injecting energy?”

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s divine power or magic power. As long as the energy is strong enough to kill the worm. But!”

“What?”

“If the energy deviates even a little, everyone dies. You and the Empress.”

Hills spoke firmly, as if testing.

“Will you still do it?”

Zion, who was slumped over Arundel, spoke as he held her close.

“I don’t care.”

Upon arriving in the bedroom, Zion carefully laid Arundel down on the bed.

Bianca was the first to speak in the silent bedroom, filled only with the sound of Arundel’s panting breath.

“We need to hurry. Her breathing is getting thinner.”

“I’ll explain the method.”

Hills spoke, looking straight at Zion.

“Place your hand on the heart and locate the worm. Then, inject energy into that spot only, enough to kill the worm.”

As Hills instructed, Zion placed his hand near Arundel’s heart.

“As I said earlier, you absolutely cannot let the magic power flow elsewhere. It’s dangerous for both the recipient and you.”

As Hills finished speaking, Zion closed his eyes.

How many seconds had passed?

A blue light began to glow beneath Zion’s hand. The blue light flickered more and more intensely.

“Ugh…”

A groan slipped from Arundel’s lips. She was in pain, her brows furrowed as she kept her eyes closed.

Zion seemed to be struggling as well. He had to exert a high level of concentration to prevent the magic power from deviating, and he looked quite strained.

His hair was soaked with sweat.

“Cough!”

Then, Zion spat out blood.

Bianca, startled, checked Zion’s complexion. His face was pale.

Clearly, the act of eliminating the heartworm was putting a significant strain on Zion.

Zion, whose eyes were turning red, seemed to be reaching his limit.

“…At this rate, His Majesty the Emperor will die too!”

Zion raised his hand to stop Bianca, who was rushing towards him in a panic. His trembling hand showed a firm determination not to stop.

Soon, Arundel’s eyes twitched.

Hills, who had confirmed the path of the injected magic power, excitedly reported the situation.

“Good. Just a little more.”

After some time had passed,

“Cough-!”

Arundel finally vomited up dark red blood. A considerable amount of blood soaked Arundel’s mouth and neck.

It wasn’t just blood that came out.

A plump worm, shaped like a larva, also popped out.

Hills picked up the worm with narrowed eyes.

“It’s out, this guy.”

And with a merciless hand, he crushed the worm.

Zion, his face covered in sweat, murmured quietly.

“Is it over?”

“Thanks to you.”

At Hills’ words of conclusion, Zion cautiously reached out and touched Arundel’s cheek.

Unlike before, Arundel was now breathing evenly. Bianca staggered over.

“I’m so relieved, sob sob.”

Bianca collapsed onto the bed near Arundel, bursting into tears.

****

‘I’m thirsty…’

Arundel, with her eyes closed, reached out and fumbled around. She felt a familiar, warm touch.

‘I…didn’t die.’

Arundel slowly opened her eyes.

Perhaps because it had been a while since she had seen light, an unbearable brightness poured into her pupils.

It took time for Arundel to adjust to the light, and it was quite a while before she could open her eyes.

Only then did a familiar landscape come into view.

As expected, the place she was lying down was her bedroom. The chirping of birds echoed from outside the window.

“Belle…”

She tried to call for Belle, but her voice was hoarse and she couldn’t speak properly.

‘How long have I been asleep?’

Judging by the state of her body, it seemed she had been asleep for quite a long time.

Not knowing when someone might come, Arundel eventually got up from her spot.

Staggering, she managed to find her balance and slowly approached the door.

Arundel hesitated as she reached for the doorknob.

‘Could it be…’

Before he escaped, the Empress’s Palace was locked tight with Zion’s magic, becoming a perfect prison.

Could it still be in that state…?

With a trembling heart, Arundel grabbed the doorknob. Her hand, with her eyes tightly closed, exerted force.

And the doorknob slowly turned.

Creak-

The door obediently opened.

The magic had been lifted. The Empress’s Palace was no longer a prison.

With a sigh of relief, she opened her eyes and looked ahead. The lobby was completely empty.

Arundel left the bedroom to look for people.

“Belle! Head maid!”

Only Arundel’s voice echoed faintly in the lobby. When no sound was heard, Arundel slowly walked to the center of the lobby.

“There’s no one…”

Clang-!

The person in the center of the lobby dropped the tray in surprise at the sight of Arundel.

“Your…Your Majesty!!”

The person who dropped the tray was the head maid. She ran to Arundel without even picking up the broken teacup.

“You’ve finally woken up…!”

The head maid spoke with an ecstatic face. Arundel was just as glad. Having overcome life and death, she was grateful for the existence of everyday things.

She didn’t remember much because she had fainted in the middle of tremendous pain, but since the worm must have been removed from her heart, she was able to stand here now.

“How long have I been asleep?”

“For a full week. You were lying in bed for a week.”

No wonder. She had known since her body started to creak.

She had been asleep for longer than she thought.

The act of removing the heartworm itself seemed to have put quite a strain on her body.

“Oh dear, this is not the time. I must quickly inform His Majesty of this.”

“Hold on, can you bring me a glass of water first?”

“Of course! You haven’t eaten properly for a week, so I’ll bring you some light food as well.”

The head maid hurriedly urged her to return to bed, and Arundel obediently returned to the bed.

‘It’s been a week…’

Arundel recalled the day of the execution.

Although shocking events had swept over her, the most dizzying moment for Arundel was when Duke Hellen mentioned the mark.

And he even brought a witness.

She had no idea that Count Montreal had seen the mark.

‘He must have seen it when she was helping the injured.’

The person who appeared at the lakeside where she was alone on the day of the hunting contest was Count Montreal.

She never thought she had been caught then.

What was more shocking was that Zion already knew about it. And to cover up the story of the mark, he even imprisoned the innocent Count Montreal.

‘Should I be thankful for this, or should I not?’

But selfishly, she felt grateful to Zion before she felt sorry for Count Montreal.

Still, as soon as the situation was sorted out, she had to compensate Count Montreal.

‘But it’s a relief.’

If that day, as Duke Hellen had led, the mark on her wrist had been revealed in front of people, she would have faced a truly horrific end.

Not only herself, but also Zion, who had protected her, would have been greatly affected.

‘Just thinking about the pain of removing the mark makes my teeth grind.’

Arundel thought of the pain she had experienced then and clenched the blanket.

The story of being able to remove the mark before the execution was like this.

[Stay here for a while today, and go back around dawn.]

Arundel, who had learned that she could move at once with warp, had a few hours left.

The mark hadn’t been a big problem yet, but Zion had found out, and there was no guarantee that it wouldn’t be discovered by someone else.

If she kept putting it off, nothing would be resolved. She wanted to make sure this mark was cleared before she went back.

She remembered the conversation she had with Hills. It was when she asked if there was no way to remove the mark at once.

[There is, but I don’t recommend it.]

[It hurts enough to kill.]

According to Hills, there were two ways to remove the mark.

First, slowly separate the mark from the soul. However, it takes more than a week.

Second, tear it off all at once. However, it’s painfully enough to kill. (Hills doesn’t recommend this)

Arundel called Hills to stay.

[I need you to remove this mark before we warp tomorrow morning.]

[…It’s going to hurt a lot?]

[I don’t care.]

She wanted to hit her past self who had said that.

The process of removing the mark was exactly, painfully enough to kill. As a result, the blood vessels in her eyes burst, and her lips, which she had bitten in pain, were swollen.

‘But… it was good to remove it then.’

Thanks to that, she was able to rebuke Duke Hellen.

While she was reminiscing about that day for a while,

The door opened with a bang.

“…!”

Zion was standing there.

Zion looked more haggard and powerless than ever. His skin was rough, and his eyes were deeply sunken.

“…You’re awake.”

Zion’s voice was low. It also sounded a bit muffled.

Zion’s eyes were fixed on Arundel. He stared at Arundel as if to pierce her, without blinking once.

She thought Zion would rush in, but when she actually faced him, her emotions welled up and it was hard to look at his face.

She hated him, but when she faced his haggard face, her heart softened and she felt like crying.

In the end, Arundel turned her head away.

A lot had happened in a short time.

During that process, Arundel had to experience complex emotions towards Zion.

She felt sorry for Zion’s childhood, which made him unable to feel emotions towards others, but she was angry when she saw his extremely cruel attitude towards others.

It was the same now. Her feelings towards him were confusion itself.

She felt sorry for Zion, who was staring at her, but she didn’t understand Zion, who didn’t trust her, turned the Empress’s Palace into a prison, and tried to mercilessly kill an innocent person.

Arundel just bit her lip and looked at the floor.

In the end, Zion, who couldn’t wait, lifted Arundel’s face.

“…Look at me.”

There was a hint of pity in Zion’s voice.

“I don’t want to.”

“…Do you hate me?”

Zion’s voice trembled finely. It was the first time she had heard Zion’s voice without confidence.

Only then did Arundel slowly raise her head and look at Zion.

“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”

When there was no answer from Zion, Arundel sighed briefly.

She wondered what to say first, but first she had to correct his wrong relationship with her.

Arundel, who had made up her mind, opened her mouth.

“First of all, I am not your possession.”

But Zion’s eyes, which had been blurry, suddenly flashed with madness.

“No, Irina. You have to be by my side for the rest of your life. No matter where you go, you’ll come back to me.”

He growled like a starving beast being robbed of its prey.

But if she backed down here, her relationship with Zion would be over.

“Don’t you feel anything from this incident?”

“…”

“I can run away from here at any time. Someone might be able to help me.”

“…”

“I could also choose death.”

“…!”

Zion, whose expression hardened for a moment, hugged Arundel tightly. At his fierce strength, Arundel’s breath was momentarily choked off.

“No… please don’t leave me.”

He was trembling slightly.

Arundel’s heart softened for a moment, but the more he was in this situation, the more determined she had to be. When she tried to push him away, Zion hugged her even tighter.

In the end, Arundel opened her mouth while being held.

“Let me say it again. I am not your possession. I am a person with thoughts and will.”

The strength gradually drained from Zion’s arms, which had been hugging her tightly. Arundel didn’t miss the opportunity and pushed him away.

He could see Zion’s expression. His pupils were trembling slightly.

“Look at me.”

Arundel reached out and pulled Zion’s chin to meet her eyes.

“I know all about the anger, sadness, and pain you’re suffering. But we need to let go of that, there will be a next for us.”

“…”

“Zion. Answer me.”

Her gentle voice and the determined look in her eyes did not back down.