TER𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓

LVlll

.𖥔 ݁ ˖₊˚✩.𖥔 ݁ ˖๋ ࣭ᰔᩚ.ᰔᩚ ⭑. ݁ ˖₊˚✩.𖥔 ݁ ˖๋ ࣭ ⭑
The Empress (2)

However, the question was blocked out of her mind by his sudden k!ss. Her chin was grabbed and a deep k!ss fell onto her lips. His tongue was so hot and strong that it drained the power from her legs. He k!ssed her so hard she tasted the fishy taste of iron. He gently and frantically rubbed his tongue along the inner walls of her mouth. Lune’s s@liv@ dripped out from her m0uth. It was hard to stand due to his breathtaking k!ss that seemed to spread throughout her body.

Lune’s stout forearm grasped her by the waist and he inserted his t0ngu3 deeper. He k!ssed her like crazy. He kissed her no differently than he did in the bedchamber under the gazes of all the maids waiting upon her. He persistently chased after her l!ps when she tried to turn her head away in embarrassment.

Why was he suddenly…

She tried to push him away but he wouldn’t fall off her lips. He then suddenly grabbed her by the waist and sat her on top of the dining table. She let out a squeak of surprise. She had never seen or heard of these kinds of table manners before!

The dress he had just gifted to her was now dirtied by the food but it didn’t stop his kissing. The wild k!ss shook the table, she heard the plates fall down and crack. His k!ss, however, just intensified making it hard for her to breathe. Her eyes widened, unable to handle his invading tongue, all she could do was open wide and receive his kiss. A warm feeling spread inside her heart.

‘Ah… don’t do this. These kinds of things… I don’t like it.’

♛

Viola raised her hand and looked at the ring on her finger. How did it find its way back to his hands?

Lune hadn’t said anything about it, just put the ring on her finger and went off to work.

“How did this happen?” a puzzled Rosha said.

“I’m wondering too— ”

“Did the empress give the ring to the crown prince who in turn gave it back to Lord Lune?”

“That’s all we can assume happened unless he stole it from the empress,” Viola stated.

It wasn’t that important to her that the ring was back on her finger. She was currently waiting for information from Paul. He should have taken a day off and gone to the capital’s guild to buy information. He should be able to buy a lot of information with the money she had given him the previous night…

Viola had been waiting for Paul all day when a maid came looking for Rosha. This meant that Paul had returned. She stood up and anxiously walked around the room.

The first thing she did when Rosha came back was to hold out her hand. Rosha extended the parchment from Paul.

[…the Duke of Armiond has no son named Lune. Also, I found out during the investigation that the duke’s daughter entered as an imperial concubine decades ago. She is the reigning Empress of the Arpen.]

There wasn’t anyone named Lune? And, what? The empress was the duke’s daughter?! What’s going on? This…

Her heart was fluttering, racing so fast it felt like it would burst. Viola trembled as she tightly clutched the parchment.

She felt an unspeakable shock as she felt her doubts moved closer to certainty. Lune, who had just called her name and kissed her passionately only moments ago, wasn’t a real name but a fake one.

Viola’s face paled. Her limbs ceaselessly trembled and her resentment for him who betrayed her trust grew.

“Princess….”

“There’s nobody called Lune. The name is fake. So, who is he?”

Viola bit her lips. “I need to meet Paul.”

“What?”

“Right now.”

“Ho-how? It’s going to be hard to meet with him secretly during the day.”

“Rosha, give this map. I’m going to draw to Paul.”

Viola took out an empty parchment and drew a map of the imperial villa. She marked on the map the stream flowing from the Lake of God, the secret passage, this was the route Lune had taken to the imperial villa previously. She then passed it to Rosha.

Viola pursued lips, her whole being was solemn. She had to find out who he really was.

“Tell him to find out the face and name of the Commander of the Imperial Knights. Tonight. Whatever happens, tell him to sneak into the imperial villa tonight.”

“Yes, I’ll tell him.”

Rosha gulped. It was dangerous to sneak a man into the imperial villa.

Viola collapsed onto the sofa after she finished instructing her little maid. Her body felt petrified. Her teeth shook at the unbearable sense of betrayal.

Why? Why did he lie? What did he want to hide?

Viola clenched her fist. It hurt when her nails pierced into her palm.

She suddenly jumped up and took out the things inside the closet that was set up on one side of the bedroom. The dress and precious ornaments that Lune had gifted her were scattered on the floor. She stuffed all the things under her bed. She then hung only a few dresses in there leaving it empty on one side to hide Paul inside.

Viola’s eyes shot open, she awaited tonight.

…Today, I need to know who he really is.

♛

Ivan came yet again to the crown prince’s office today. This wasn’t something he could ignore now that his source of enjoyment had started shifting. Lustian’s beautiful face frowned.

“It’s you?”

“No. How could dare I interfere with you?”

“Just leave Viola alone.”

“You’re so frustrating in times like this. It would have been easy to just send her to the Concubines’ Palace, but isn’t it because you so stubbornly refused to do that Mother found out?”

“I made sure that nobody talked.”

“That’s why you’ve been able to hide it until now. Otherwise, she would have already been kicked out to the Concubines’ Palace and a new candidate would have come in.”

What he said was true. It was customary to send the candidate to the Concubines’ Palace once she passed the last hurdle if she wasn’t the Companion of God. It wasn’t known what sign would appear when the Companion of God appeared but this was how the former generations of emperors did it. They took the princesses from the other countries and locked them up in the Concubines’ Palace.