Chapter 96
Translator: uly
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: What Else Can We Do?
The Pindus Prince dragged the struggling Daphne along. The more she thrashed, the greater his ecstasy. He preferred breaking those who fought back over those who meekly surrendered. The thrill of domination only grew stronger that way.
The harder she struggled, the tighter he gripped her arm. There was a vast difference between Daphne's slender frame and his bulky one. The delicate Daphne couldn't withstand the strength of the corpulent prince.
After their scuffle, the place Daphne was brought to was a guest room for foreigners.
The knights of the Pindus Kingdom sighed upon seeing the prince. His chronic affliction had flared up again. His hobby was abducting frail women and raping them. Causing trouble in a foreign land once more... But since it happened so often, the knights merely sighed.
They were the sort who valued preserving their positions over protecting women. They opened the door, and the prince dragged her inside, tossing her onto the bed. The knights closed the door as if witnessing a familiar routine.
“Kyaaak— No! Let me go!”
Daphne tried to flee, but her ankle was seized, and she was yanked back. Tears streamed from her eyes.
Why did this have to happen to me?
She had simply woken from a nightmare and stepped outside. At first, the knights who guarded her like a fortress had vanished at some point, so Daphne had felt free and wandered out. She was curious about the imperial palace at dawn. Then she spotted a familiar path and followed it. That was all...
Why had this man suddenly grabbed her by force? Who even was he? Her heart pounded wildly. Daphne burst into sobs.
The prince spun her around and pinned her down beneath him. Why was this man laying his heavy body on top of her? Daphne writhed desperately, but he overpowered her.
“Stay still.”
“Let— Let me go!”
As Daphne shook her head frantically, the Pindus Prince swung his hand. She flinched from the stinging slap on her cheek. It hurt so much. Tears poured down her face. The Pindus Prince spoke.
“Get a grip.”
“......”
“You think anyone will notice one missing nobody?”
“......”
“A lowly maidservant thrashing about? Don’t you remember me?”
Daphne stared at the plump man. Where had she seen this ugly brute drooling and grinning? It must have been in the memories of her adult self, long forgotten. In any case, Daphne feared the man pinning her down.
“I don’t know you. Let me go... Please let me go.”
She pushed at his chest, but he didn’t budge. He reached out and stroked her hair. The filthy touch made her shudder in revulsion. His hand forced her head forward.
“Why else would you come out dressed like that if not to seduce a man?”
“......”
“Parading around in that getup—even a patrolling knight at night would take the bait, right? So I took it.”
He placed his hand on her negligee. As it groped her body, she gritted her teeth in humiliation. She didn’t know exactly what he intended, but she knew it was something terrible.
“Don’t! Get away! No, no!”
She shoved at his chest again, but he let out ragged breaths. He pressed his lips to her neck. Her skin grew slick with his slimy saliva. Now she knew what true disgust felt like.
Asherad, Asherad, please help me!
I’m scared, please.
Daphne pleaded desperately in her mind, over and over. As he leaned in to kiss her, she screamed.
“Kyaaah!”
“Argh!”
He screamed too. Daphne’s nails, neatly trimmed but sharp, had raked across his face, tearing through flesh.
“You bitch! Aaaagh!”
Daphne dodged the charge of the man bleeding from his face and tumbled off the bed. She scrambled to the door and grabbed the handle. But it wouldn’t open.
“Help! Somebody help!”
Daphne screamed. This man would devour her. Kill her. There were people outside—why wouldn’t they open the door? Trembling at the injustice, Daphne shook uncontrollably.
“Asherad! Asherad— Kyaaah!”
Grabbed by the hair, Daphne was slammed to the floor. Then the kicks began.
“You filthy slut! You trash!”
Thud, thud—he kicked her with all his might. It hurt so much. She couldn’t bear the pain. Then the door burst open.
“Stop this at once!”
The kicks halted at that voice. Daphne huddled, trembling.
“Prince, what is the meaning of this?”
She heard Asherad’s voice. Daphne lifted her battered body and looked at him. Asherad stared coldly at the prince, not sparing her a glance.
Blood stench wafted through the open door. Daphne was startled to recognize it as the smell of blood. Then she was shocked by Asherad’s expression as he regarded the prince—an expression she’d never seen before.
Could a person become ice like that? Just the furrow in his brow felt ominous. The emotion etched around his eyes froze even Daphne. Under that gaze, the man—no, the “prince”—ground his teeth and said.
“I was merely disciplining a wench.”
“Disciplining?”
“Your Majesty. You know full well. That slut came at me in her nightclothes, seducing me, so I obliged!”
“Seducing you...”
“And then she suddenly claws my face like this!”
Asherad’s eyes narrowed at the scar crossing the prince’s face.
Seeing that, Daphne’s heart sank. Why? She had a sad premonition that Asherad wouldn’t believe her. For some inexplicable reason. As if a deep-buried sorrow was overtaking her. Daphne lowered her eyes, unable to cry out that it wasn’t true.
‘Take her as you please.’
For some reason, she imagined Asherad saying that and closing the door behind him.
A familiar despair settled in her heart. Then came the sound of steady footsteps. As they drew near, Daphne opened her closed eyes. Two legs stood before her.
“Daphne.”
“......”
“At times like this, you need to say honestly that it’s not true.”
Asherad extended his hand. Daphne grasped it with trembling fingers. He gently stroked her risen cheek. His hand lingered slowly on the swollen spot.
“Your Imperial Majesty!”
The enraged Pindus Prince called out to Asherad. As Asherad turned, Daphne’s eyes widened. But whether he noticed her surprise or not, Asherad asked her kindly.
“Did you seduce him?”
Daphne squeezed her eyes shut and replied.
“No. I didn’t.”
“......”
“I had a nightmare... so I stepped out for a bit. Then he dragged me here.”
“......”
“I said no, so he slapped me and slobbered on my neck...”
Fresh tears fell from Daphne. It wasn’t just fear of the situation—it stemmed from anxiety that Asherad might leave again right away.
Her heart felt a strange disconnect.
This isn’t right? He wouldn’t do this—why is he? An inexplicable certainty of misfortune gripped her, filling her with dread.
“Are you believing this maidservant now?”
The prince fumed. Asherad looked at him with a raised corner of his mouth.
“If it were you, would you believe the word of a man who drags a woman into his room in a foreign land to rape her?”
Asherad smiled thinly. Daphne suppressed the anxiety bubbling up. She had to trust her lover. Why did it feel so unfamiliar? Why was she still so anxious?
“Even if I bedded a woman, making a fuss over one maidservant...! Are you picking a fight with the Pindus Kingdom now?”
Asherad paused.
“No matter how much of a kingdom it is, we’re allies. I’ll report this insult to my father.”
“......”
“Hand over that one woman, and I might show mercy—pretend it never happened.”
“Pretend it never happened...”
“It’s only proper.”
Daphne looked at his face anxiously, but it showed no disturbance. He turned to her tenderly.
“Daphne. Would you step out for a moment? Ah, better yet, get treated in another room.”
Relief washed over her, yet she feared what they might do. Surely Asherad wouldn’t kneel? Or hand her over...?
“Good girl?”
With no choice, Daphne nodded. Supported by a knight, she exited the room. Then she saw the fallen knights. The floor was drenched in blood.
Startled, Daphne clung to the knight. Once on a path free of blood pools, her fear eased somewhat, and she lifted her head from his embrace. She naturally turned back.
She saw the bloodied corpses of the Pindus Kingdom’s knights.
Cowardly bystanders who had aided in her peril.
Before she knew it, Daphne’s fear-stricken face turned expressionless.
* * *
“What do you intend to do?”
The prince smirked at Asherad. No matter what, Asherad couldn’t afford to make an enemy of him. An ambassador was the face of his nation. But that wench had scarred his face.
The emperor couldn’t possibly protect her. True, the prince had suffered losses in trade, but this was different.
“You’ll side with a mere woman over Pindus?”
Asherad let out a low sigh. As he lowered his eyes, the prince sneered coldly at the emperor. Look at him—he was just a greenhorn after all. Unlike himself, backed by his father, this fool had been abandoned by his emperor.
Ignorant of diplomacy, he’d dare such folly. Asherad, head bowed, said quietly.
“To dare call her ‘that woman.’”
“......”
“She is a noblewoman, granted a title above baroness.”
“Ha, noblewoman? That maidservant? Don’t tell me...”
The prince, staring at the bowed Asherad, burst into boisterous laughter.
“Don’t tell me she’s Your Majesty’s concubine? My apologies, then.”
He kept cackling until suddenly stopping.
“So what?”
Tilting his head, the prince addressed Asherad’s lowered face.
“It’s not as if I touched the empress. A deranged concubine merely scarred my face.”
“......”
“Who’d believe I dragged her here first? At least no one from Pindus would.”
“......”
“What will Your Majesty do?”
Asherad didn’t lift his head. He seemed lost in thought. The prince expected him to say Daphne was his to do with as he pleased. He didn’t even notice the man smiling.
“You won’t be satisfied with imperial compensation...”
“Would I? Give me that wench! I’ll discipline her— Aaaargh!”
The Pindus Prince’s eyes bulged in agony from his groin. A hole gaped in his pants... and below his legs lay a chunk of flesh. Clutching himself, he screamed in torment, clueless to what had happened.
“Sacrifice a woman to preserve peace with a nation?”
Asherad raised his head, glaring down at the man with a murderous face. Tilting his head, he said.
“What else is there to do?”
In a flat tone, Asherad continued.
“Kill him, of course.”
The prince’s bloodshot eyes fixed on the sword in Asherad’s hand. Blood dripped from the blade.