Chapter 31
Chapter 31
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Ruthless Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Daphne, freshly bathed, was immediately laid down on the bed. Asherad savored the sweet fragrance emanating from her body.
Soft flesh barely forming on her gaunt frame. Loose, damp golden hair. Even that alone made her as beautiful as a painting. Since she wasn’t wearing anything to begin with, everything flowed as naturally as water.
It had once felt unfamiliar, but Daphne was now accustomed to it—to him, or more precisely, to the act of joining flesh.
Being held in Asherad’s arms didn’t improve her life in the slightest. Asherad was busy acting as the Emperor’s proxy, and whenever he had time, he summoned Daphne to entwine their bodies.
“Ah, aaah!”
The nights with him weren’t physically tormenting because he insisted on seeing her driven mad with arousal.
Asherad was relentless, and pinned beneath him, all she could do was let out sweet moans.
It was exactly as she had declared: overcoming the infertility drug.
Asherad poured his seed into her. When tears welled in her eyes and she pushed him away, unable to bear the stimulation, he only grew rougher.
Only when pleasure bordering on agony boiled her mind and left her senseless did he finally release her and lie down beside her.
She stared blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought.
What was this existence called herself? What could it be that made this exalted man crave her so desperately he couldn’t stand it?
Why did he hold her back from fleeing?
Whenever he distorted his face in excitement over her body, she felt a strange sense of dominance. Daphne knew Asherad didn’t touch other women.
What was the reason he sought only her?
Did it mean he hated her that much?
Or was it truly love, just as he claimed?
Asherad was an enigma.
With his impeccably refined and beautiful face, he seduced her. The soft shadows of the candlelight and the jewel-like eyes nestled beneath his long lashes were breathtaking.
They were so mesmerizingly beautiful that Daphne kept gazing at them. There had been a time when his touch filled her with uncontainable happiness.
Back then, when he had chased after her as she fled, she had been happier than ever. Her life as a sinner, where she couldn’t even lift her head, had been denied. From the start, Asherad had told her she was no sinner.
And so, though guilt lingered in his presence, she hadn’t lived as one. That was why she had come to like Asherad and could breathe at his side.
Asherad called that feeling love. But if it were love, he wouldn’t do this. If it were love...
‘Daphne, I wish you could be free.’
He would have acted like Fabian. He would have released her from this hellish yoke.
Daphne gazed at the man beside her, who was crushing her lips with his thumb before stroking them softly.
“What are you thinking?”
A wry laugh escaped Daphne at Asherad’s question. Had he ever wondered about her thoughts before?
“I was wondering why you do this to me.”
Asherad seemed pleased by her words. The thumb pressing her lips moved to her cheek. He rolled onto his side, turning her head to meet his eyes once more.
“Of course.”
“...”
“Because I love you.”
Asherad took Daphne’s hand and pressed his lips to her wrist. It felt suffocating to her. His embrace, this bed—it was all so stifling she could hardly bear it.
She wanted to run.
From all of this.
From him.
Love?
Asherad wasn’t the type for that. Daphne knew it well. He kissed every inch of her wrist, then trailed up her arm.
“Hn!”
He bit into the soft flesh of her shoulder like savoring ripe fruit, then rose to press his lips along her collarbone.
“Aren’t you happy?”
“...”
“You loved it so much. Me calling for you, stroking your hair. All of it.”
“...”
“Why make that face? I’ve given you every satisfaction.”
“...”
Asherad stared intently at Daphne’s face. It was blankly expressionless, as if asking what the problem was. The desperate longing that had once brimmed in her eyes, threatening to overflow, was long gone.
“Daphne.”
“...”
“Look at me properly.”
Asherad gripped her wrist tightly. Daphne met his gaze squarely and spoke quietly.
“Now...”
“...”
“It’s not anymore.”
She lowered her eyes, avoiding his. She feared Asherad. His cruelty, his ferocity terrified her.
“Not happy at all.”
“...”
“Only despair now.”
Asherad’s face darkened at her words. Despair? Despair?! He bit down on her impudent lips until she screamed in pain, then thrust his tongue inside.
The metallic tang of blood seeped out. Asherad licked it greedily.
Daphne writhed. As she looked up at him with tear-streaked cheeks, he smiled all the more deeply, his expression tinged with madness. Facing that deranged visage, Daphne cried out in her own frenzy.
“I don’t want to live.”
It was the betrayal of the pet he had once found so endearing. Asherad stared at her with a hardened expression.
“Try dying.”
“...”
“If you do, just think how entertaining it’ll be for the families of that bastard who tried to run off with you...”
Daphne bit her lip, glaring at him. It was just as Fabian had said. He was ruthless, with no qualms about ruining her life.
Fabian’s family.
Merveille and his mother.
The family Fabian had spoken of with such a bright smile.
She couldn’t let them die because of her, not after what she’d already done to him. Daphne still had that much conscience.
She remembered how precious family was. Just as her mother was to her, his mother must be to Fabian.
And this man threatened not just to kill one, but innocents as well. Daphne ground her teeth.
“Get lost.”
“...”
“I hate you! I hate you!”
Daphne shoved Asherad away. He was the most horrific being in the world.
“Go on, hate me.”
Asherad gave her a venomous smile.
“I won’t let you go.”
“...”
“If you die, you’ll have company. If you run, I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth and punish you.”
“...”
“Promises... are meant to be kept, aren’t they, Daphne?”
Daphne looked at him with utter revulsion. He kissed her cheek and tenderly stroked her hair.
“Please, just get lost! Please!”
Daphne muttered through gritted teeth like a scream. Everything about Asherad repulsed her. It was loathsome, repulsive beyond endurance.
So she rebelled in the only way she could: flinching away every time his hand drew near. As expected, Asherad didn’t touch her again.
From that day on, he stopped summoning her.
“His Highness has gone to war with Asala.”
Daphne’s expression froze at Sara’s words. Sara stared straight at her face. Her dark brown eyes bore into Daphne, as if probing for something, but Daphne was too rigid to meet her gaze.
“What will you do?”
“...”
“About His Highness, the Crown Prince.”
“...”
“He’s abandoned you.”
The shock of Sara knowing about her and the Crown Prince paled against the impact of her words. Abandoned. Asherad hadn’t said a thing. Had she deluded herself into thinking they were close enough for explanations?
Or had he truly left because she told him to get lost? Asala was a nation locked in territorial disputes with them for nearly a century. A fierce battleground where ceasefires from pointless attrition wars shattered into intense combat at any moment.
She knew it from books.
Asherad had gone there? Tears streamed from Daphne’s eyes.
“Ah, poor Daphne!”
Sara pulled her into an embrace around the neck. Leaning into it, Daphne wore a dazed expression.
It was strange. She thought how nice it would be if he fell in battle there. If he truly died, it would feel refreshing. Perhaps she could even be free.
Yet after telling him to get lost in disgust, sending him to the front lines felt off.
She wished for his death.
But also that he wouldn’t die.
Caught in that bizarre whirlwind of emotions, Daphne clutched her aching chest.
At twenty, he had left for the battlefield without a word.
He professed love, yet left only questions behind. Daphne concluded she could never understand him.
Unable to fully wish for either his safety or his death, the ruthless time began.