Chapter 133

As Rezette quietly gathered his senses, two overlapping heartbeats thudded in his ears, their rhythms out of sync. The sound was sharper now, more vivid than it had been just a few days ago.

The fetuses of the gifted possessed extraordinary vitality. The weaker the mother’s condition, the more voraciously the fetus absorbed nutrients, accelerating its growth and hastening its arrival into the world.

“The woman I observed was only four or five months into her pregnancy, yet she appeared close to full term. Such rapid physical changes are never a good sign for either the mother or the child. Compared to her, Your Highness is in relatively good condition, but… if her recovery continues to stagnate, the child may sense the danger and accelerate its growth further, creating a vicious cycle.”

The implications were chilling. It would be better to end this now.

Rezette clenched his fists, nails digging into his palms as he fought the surge of impulses—an almost primal urge to act against the life within her. Swallowing hard, he suppressed the revulsion that rose in his throat, redirecting his thoughts with immense effort.

It might be different this time, he reasoned. Half of it carries her blood.

Even with this fragile hope, it took him a long time to form the words he’d intended to say.

“If I promise not to harm the child,” he said at last, his voice quieter, rougher, “will you still go to Rotiara?”

The silence stretched between them, heavy and charged.

In the past few days, Rezette had come to understand the price he would need to pay to keep her near. Right now, the most urgent task was ensuring she didn’t leave. If threats and coercion had failed, then persuasion was the only path left.

“If I swear not to send you away,” he continued, his gaze locked on her, “and to do everything in my power to raise the child as… as something resembling a human being—” He broke off, struggling against the bitterness lacing his words, then pressed on, “—and if I vow to protect you and the child from anyone who might harm you, will you then take my hand?”

Elise didn’t respond immediately. Her silence wasn’t hesitation but deliberation. 

Rezette studied the delicate line of her profile as she pondered, her half-lowered eyelids betraying the denial already forming in her thoughts. The answer lingered unspoken, yet he could see it as clearly as if she’d said it aloud.

A sigh of bitter resignation escaped his lips. “So, you truly intend to leave me behind.”

Elise turned to him at last, her voice soft yet steady. “…I’m not abandoning you. Nor are you abandoning me. I’m simply returning to the way things were. If I go to Rotiara, you’ll never let me leave again.”

His expression hardened, the sharp edge of his jaw tightening. “Do you love the South that much?”

Her discomfort flickered, giving way to something sharper—curiosity. She regarded him with quiet intensity, as though trying to decipher why he would ask something so self-evident.

Rezette’s fists curled at his sides. When he finally spoke, his words were low, biting, and heavy with suppressed anger. “How safe and healthy were you in Argan?”

The silence that followed pressed down on him like a weight.

Over the next three days, Rezette wrestled with the puzzle of her choices. He replayed the fragments of her life again and again in his mind, searching for connections hidden beneath the surface. In the South, her cherished homeland, she had withered like a flower deprived of sunlight, becoming little more than a walking shadow. Yet in Rotiara, an enemy nation, she had regained her strength—only to falter again now with the child.

It seemed an unsolvable riddle. Yet there had to be a cause, a thread connecting it all.

Elise was like a fruit: her beauty was the skin, her spirit the flesh, but her core essence—the very seed of her existence—was the magic that overflowed within her. Without that magic, she became hollow, just as she was now and as she had been before.

The answer struck him like a cold blade. Someone had drained her magic, stolen the life force that sustained her. And only one person could have dared to commit such a violation.

The Emperor.

Her twin.

Rezette gently turned her to face him, his large hands framing her delicate features. He pressed his forehead against hers, the coolness of his skin brushing against her warmth. His nose grazed the bridge of her nose before his lips followed, lingering there. Her uneven breath quivered against him, making her fine lashes tremble with unease.

It took several deep, steadying breaths before he could force the words out.

“Why do you want to go back there?”

Elise blinked up at him, confusion clouding her gaze. “I don’t understand what you mean…”

His voice dropped, edged with barely restrained anger. “Why do you want to return to the brother who’s been draining your life away?”

Her body stiffened in his grasp, a flicker of guilt flashing across her face. “…How do you know?”

The quiet admission ignited something volatile in Rezette’s chest. She knew. She had known all along. That realization made his blood simmer with fury.

“You know,” he said, his voice dangerously soft, “and yet you still want to go to him?”

Elise hesitated, her words slow and measured, as though trying to make him understand something she couldn’t put into words. “It sounds strange when you say he’s draining my life… But Andrei is the ruler of my country. He’s my ruler, just as you serve Van Yela. And more than anything, he’s my only family. It’s only natural that I miss him.”

“Your only family?” Rezette echoed, his tone sharp.

Elise nodded absentmindedly, then stopped, her lips parting slightly in realization. A small, almost imperceptible sound of recognition escaped her. “Ah… now it’s two,” she murmured, correcting herself. “But still…”

Her quiet amendment only deepened the storm gathering in Rezette’s chest. It was clear to him that this “new addition” to her family wasn’t him. No matter how he looked at it, her words left no room for him in her heart.

His jaw tightened as he stared at her, his expression darkening.

“Why are you looking at me like that again…?” Elise asked, her voice tinged with uncertainty.

“Because it’s absurd,” he said flatly.

The bitterness in his voice stung even him. It wasn’t just absurd—it was unbearable. The fact that even a being no larger than a fingernail had taken precedence over him in her heart gnawed at his very core.

He questioned whether she had ever truly considered him her husband. Had their vows meant nothing to her? Would reciting the words they exchanged at the altar make her understand that, on this earth, he was the closest person to her?

Thinking back, Rezette realized her claims of affection had likely been lies as well. The tender looks she occasionally gave him? They had to be mere acts, calculated performances.

But none of it mattered anymore.

After three days of complete indifference and four more of relentless rejection, love had become a luxury too extravagant to consider. What now consumed him was a burning compulsion—a need to prove his value to her, to make himself indispensable in some way.

“You said the child is precious to you, Elise,” Rezette began, his voice strained but steady.

“…And what of it?” 

“Then you will need me.”

Elise said nothing.

“Who else can warm you,” Rezette pressed, his composure beginning to fray, “and calm the storm within you? You already know this.”

His words came faster now, tumbling out as his restraint slipped. Rezette had never begged anyone for anything in his life. Yet here he was, grasping at what little control he had left. He forced himself to pause, taking a deep, steadying breath.

“Embarking on a perilous journey to a land of certain danger is not the way to protect the child. I can assure you, no one in Argan will show kindness to someone like you. Certainly not the Emperor.”

Elise, still held in his arms, finally frowned. Her voice was sharp as she retorted, “Andrei doesn’t threaten me as you do. He doesn’t spout nonsense about killing an unborn child, either. The greatest danger to me right now is you, Your Grace.”

“Oh, so the Emperor is your devoted protector,” Rezette bit out, his patience snapping.

She moved, trying to pull away, but he tightened his hold, dragging her closer.

“And that’s why he kept you confined to the palace for over twenty years?” he demanded.

“That’s because there’s something wrong with me,” she whispered, her voice faltering.

“And that alone justifies cutting you off from the world?” Rezette’s tone sharpened, laced with disbelief. “Don’t be naive, Elise.”

His gaze bore into hers, unrelenting. The Emperor, Andrei, must have had a reason for siphoning her magic. Perhaps he needed it—needed her—to sustain himself. Without her, perhaps he couldn’t wield magic at all.

“If he were to lose you, Argan would crumble to nothing,” Rezette said, his voice low and unyielding. “The power of Gallian faded into history long ago. Without his sister, the kingdom’s lone mage is nothing more than a hollow shell. So they hid you away, ensuring no one could ever discover you.”

“That’s not… That’s not true.”

Elise’s eyes wavered violently, her defiance faltering under the weight of his words.

Rezette chose not to press further. Her reaction betrayed the truth; there was no need to interrogate her further.

“All of Argan’s magical essence resides within you,” he continued. “They lived in constant fear that someone might covet you.”

“That’s not…” Elise began, her voice trembling, but Rezette cut her off.

“So they trapped you, ensuring you wouldn’t even be curious about the outside world.”

He could see it now—Argan’s greatest secret, hidden in plain sight. If someone captured the Princess, the kingdom could be subdued completely. Conversely, her return could restore Argan’s former glory—at the cost of her life.

Now, as Argan’s dormant power stirred, seeking to rebuild the empire, the Emperor’s determination to retrieve his sister became painfully clear.

“Do you have any proof,” Rezette asked, his voice sharp and deliberate, “that the Emperor doesn’t see you as a mere source of magic?”

“Stop it,” Elise snapped, her voice rising in desperation.

“Can you guarantee he wouldn’t view our child as an obstacle?” Rezette pressed on. “Is there no chance he’s even worse than I am?”

“Don’t talk about my brother like that!” Elise shouted, her eyes blazing. “And stop calling it our child only when it suits you!”

“I asked first,” Rezette growled, his patience wearing thin. “Answer me, Elise.”

Their confrontation spiraled into another deadlock, the tension crackling between them like a taut wire. Neither would yield, their exchanges growing sharper and more volatile by the day.

Elise clenched her teeth, her body trembling with suppressed rage. “No. I won’t say a single word you want to hear!”

Rezette’s expression darkened. Without warning, he seized her face and forced his lips onto hers. Elise struggled against him, her fists pounding against his chest, but her lips parted just enough for him to invade.

She bit down on his tongue, and the sharp tang of blood spread through their mouths.

Elise gasped, startled by the metallic taste seeping into her mouth, but Rezette didn’t flinch. Instead, he tilted his head to deepen the kiss, taking advantage of her momentary hesitation. Their tongues entwined, and he pushed the mingled saliva and blood down her throat.

What was there to hesitate about? Blood was just another bodily fluid.

For now, Elise needed him—more specifically, the strength imbued within his body. If her magic was being drained, it had to be replenished to maintain balance.

But in truth, Rezette wanted to take all of her—her blood, her flesh—and replace it entirely with his own. That way, at least, she wouldn’t collapse and die before he could intervene.