Chapter 116
Translator: penny
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: First Wedding Night(?) (10)
Zekiel wasn't completely drunk.
His acceptance wasn't just a slip from the alcohol. He'd simply realized there was no other way to take the Sunweed.
Born with a terminal condition, he had to consume Sunweed to survive, and the only method was through intimacy. The 1st Princess had agreed, so what was the problem?
"I thought you were just a teetotaler, Teacher, but you're full of surprises."
The 1st Princess, Ether, wore a subtle smile.
"Still, embracing me solely to take the Sunweed feels a bit lacking. It would be truly moving if you did it because you're utterly smitten with me."
"It's not just because of the Sunweed."
Zekiel shook his head.
Was it the alcohol? His feelings and words were unusually frank.
"Ether, who in the world could hate you? If anything, the time spent with you is..."
"Haha, to hear such words straight from you, Teacher."
Ether laughed heartily, cutting him off—actually, because it was too hard to hear his praise to the end.
She had no resistance to compliments from Zekiel.
Once they were sitting side by side, Ether refilled their glasses.
"A true warrior should face matters of the heart with full commitment as well, don't you think? How about we finish this bottle together and then retire to the bedroom?"
"..."
Zekiel didn't reply.
He simply gazed at Ether intently.
He'd sensed a slight tremble in her voice. Her face was faintly flushed—not entirely from the drink, it seemed.
It was a look worlds away from her usual stern demeanor on the battlefield. An expression no one else had ever witnessed.
Clink. It was right then, as their glasses touched.
Rumble...
It began with a faint vibration.
At first, the ground trembled lightly beneath their feet, but soon it spread widely, shaking the table and bottles.
The epicenter seemed quite deep. As it gradually drew closer, massive vibrations began to resound.
"Hmm?"
Ether furrowed her brow.
Zekiel sensed it too. The flow of energy in the air was far from normal.
Right at that moment.
Boom!Kwang!
The sounds echoing from afar were anything but ordinary. The clash of weapons and shouts mingled chaotically.
"Corpses! The corpses are coming alive!"
"Necromancy...! It's not just Brogar—these bastards all sold their souls for power!"
"Don't fall back! Smash them all!"
Desperate cries from the northern warriors rang out. This, while Ether was chugging straight from the bottle.
"...Even death is so trivial and rowdy. Annoying."
Zekiel's mutter was the trigger. A messenger swiftly approached and took a seat beside the 1st Princess and Zekiel.
He first offered a polite bow before speaking.
"Brogar and his followers sold their souls, falling victim to necromancy—the corpses are rampaging. The warriors are holding their own for now, but..."
Kwang!
Before the messenger could finish, an explosion roared.
"...As you just heard, the corpses exploding is a real headache. Judging by the scale, the Goddess's power is no trifling matter."
It was utter chaos. The entirety of the 1st Princess's vast domain had transformed into a battlefield, noisy beyond measure.
Boom!Boom!
As the corpses self-destructed, a single eerie yet clear voice emanated from every one.
—Bring the 1st Princess!
—The 1st Princess is weak—you're all being fooled!
The messenger muttered in disbelief.
"...The corpses are talking?"
"Not their own words. It's that Demon Realm Goddess speaking through their bodies."
Zekiel dismissed it as no big deal.
"One appearance from the 1st Princess should end it. Her aura even incinerates demonic energy."
"Ah, well..."
The messenger trailed off.
To Zekiel, it was baffling. Wasn't this the simplest solution? No reason to hesitate.
Yet for some reason...
The 1st Princess's condition was off.
It wasn't just the alcohol. Her movements were sluggish, as if in pain somewhere. For someone as strong as Ether, it was truly hard to believe—but she didn't look normal at all.
Zekiel could feel it with his own body.
Ether's aura flow was abnormal. What should have been impeccably precise and clean was now a tangled mess, scattering wildly like knotted threads.
"Cough!"
It was then that the 1st Princess spat out a mouthful of blood. Zekiel and the messenger's eyes widened in unison.
"...Ether?"
"P-Pr-Princess!"
Ether waved it off as if she were fine, but the reality was far from it.
"Cough! Cough!"
Her forehead was scorching hot to the touch, like a lump of fire. The messenger and Zekiel exchanged a nod and immediately carried her inside the mansion.
And upon examining her condition, it was utterly shocking.
"...!"
They'd only removed her outer top garment temporarily to cool her down, but the sight of bandages wrapped tightly around her was grave. Stranger still were the bizarre wounds peeking through, unhidden by the wrappings.
Sizzle!
Ether's flesh burned in real time like a fresh burn, only for new skin to sprout and heal it instantly. This cycle repeated endlessly in mere moments.
'No human could endure that pain.'
The sensation of freshly grown flesh immediately cooking again—the agony was beyond imagination. Certainly nothing one could withstand in a clear state of mind.
"What in the world..."
As Zekiel faltered, the messenger spoke up.
"Truth is, this happens every time she takes Sunweed. Her body can't handle it, but she never lets it show."
Even Zekiel hadn't known.
He recalled the imperial past. Hadn't the Emperor once thrown her alive into Sunweed?
How many deaths had she overcome since? How much pain had she endured each time she received it— all for the "weight" of being the 1st Princess?
He truly felt the gravity of her titles now.
War God. Invincible Ruler of All Diseases. The Strongest...
She could never show it. Even a hint of pain would breed doubt, and challengers would swarm.
"Princess, we're deeply concerned. Are you alright?"
The messenger asked, voice thick with worry.
Zekiel, too, keenly felt his responsibility. The Sunweed granted to him by the Emperor was the cause of Ether's suffering.
"Ether, you shouldn't have taken the Sunweed."
"How could I not? It was for you, my teacher."
Ether managed a weak smile despite her labored breathing.
She'd known the full extent of this agony yet pressed on to deliver him neutralized Sunweed. He felt profoundly grateful—and guilty.
Meanwhile, the corpses kept shouting.
—Behold the 1st Princess's frailty!
—Face the truth!
—Kuhuhu... You're all being deceived!
—Return my man!
The 'Goddess' possessing Brogar's soul seemed to have noticed Ether's state, as the corpses spewed doubts about her condition indiscriminately.
Unsurprisingly, unease rippled across the warriors' faces. Proof lay in how they glanced toward the mansion amid the fighting.
Doubt was beginning to take root.
"...Guess I have to step in after all."
Ether muttered hoarsely.
"I'll handle it quickly. Wait here."
But she staggered weakly the moment she tried to stand. Her will held firm, but her body could not.
Now her actions made sense.
Chugging the bottle straight—hadn't that been her way of self-medicating the pain? It was simply too immense.
"Even as the 1st Princess, Sunweed doesn't suit her constitution. She forces through it every time. But today, the symptoms are unusually severe..."
The messenger's expression was graver than ever.
"...If only someone could cool the Sunweed."
He bit his lip as he said it, knowing full well it was impossible.
Ether let out a feeble chuckle.
"Cool the Sunweed? You know that's impossible."
A trace of loneliness tinged her voice.
"As a child, every physician who touched me burned pitch-black and died. It's a pain only I can comprehend and endure. No helping it."
But then, a low murmur cut through.
"I'll do it."
The 1st Princess and the messenger's heads snapped toward the voice. There stood Zekiel, demonstratively drawing forth an intense chill.
"No. It's too dangerous for you, Teacher. Your flesh will burn."
Ether refused outright and firmly.
But Zekiel quietly turned one hand a vivid blue.
"You spoke of my safety."
He muttered that.
And before a reply could come, he pressed his palm to Ether's back.
"Ether, but it's not as important as yours."
Siiiizzle!
Inside the mansion, an enormous plume of steam billowed up.
Immense cold and heat began to clash head-on.