Chapter 135

“The woman I love…”

Rezette’s raw emotions surged forth, unfiltered and unrelenting, making Elise shiver. Fear laced her reaction, yet an undeniable warmth ignited in her chest, spreading like wildfire.

“Has no one ever told you that such thoughts are wrong?” Rezette asked, his voice low.

Elise remained silent.

“No one, I see.”

When Elise failed to respond, Rezette’s expression went blank, as if a slate had been wiped clean. Yet behind that facade, his thoughts churned relentlessly.

Had he known Argan to be such a merciless place, he would have taken her—abducted her—three years ago, the day he first laid eyes on her. The memory of nineteen-year-old Elise surfaced vividly. Her curious gaze flitted about the imperial banquet hall, a place that was essentially his backyard. The scene had been absurd—a world of opulence where one could have everything, and yet its ruler was denied even the simplest joys.

Even if the empire hadn’t fallen, Elise would have withered away in that wretched tomb of a bedroom.

She deserved better than such contradictions.

Rezette clenched his fists, his pale blue eyes darkening with a flicker of yellow sparks. His thoughts turned dangerous. If I had known, I would’ve stormed the imperial palace myself.

The air around them thickened, heavy and twisted, pressing down like a storm about to break. Elise froze as she felt the shift, her breath hitching.

“It’s not too late, even now—”

“No, Rezette!” she cried out, her voice breaking with urgency. “What you’re saying, what you’re thinking—it’s not right. Calm down. There’s no need for that…”

“No need?” The words barely grazed his ears.

Rezette fought against the urge to shake her frail shoulders, to force her to understand the depths of his resolve. Instead, he closed the space between them and captured her lips. The kiss was not gentle—it was a searing claim, born from desperation and an ache too long suppressed.

“Mmm…”

The metallic tang of blood filled Elise’s senses, sharp and dizzying. Her lips throbbed from where they had been bitten and claimed repeatedly.

Was that what drove this desperate kiss?

…Love.

Her heart pounded wildly, betraying her composure. Though fleeting, it was the first time that word had escaped Rezette’s lips.

“The woman I love…”

Her ears burned as she struggled to keep up with the torrent of his kisses, overwhelmed by his intensity. But clarity came rushing in—a bitter, cruel truth.

He didn’t understand.

Elise had returned to end things, to bid farewell and sever the contract between them. Yet Rezette acted as if they had never parted, as though the distance between them had been a fleeting dream.

With every kiss, he reopened the wound she had tried so hard to heal.

From the start, contracts and deadlines were meaningless to Rezette Kyrstan. His world operated on a simple principle: possess or do not possess. Discarding what he had once claimed was never an option.

The moment Elise became entirely his, she had unknowingly stepped into his impenetrable stronghold. Her erratically pounding heart screamed warnings at her mind, but it was too late.

“Who gave you permission? A promise is a promise! It’s already too late!”

Elise’s voice trembled, her words more desperate than defiant. Yet when Rezette’s lips descended toward hers, she couldn’t push him away.

Rezette had been the first—first to rage on her behalf, not with pity or sorrow for her cruel reality, but with raw, unyielding indignation. He was also the first to scold her unapologetically, cutting through the walls of her carefully built composure with brutal honesty.

And so, she confessed everything unnecessary.

Was it comfort she sought? Did she long to lament once more that he was her first? Or deep down, had she foolishly hoped he would rage for her again, carry her burdens in his fury?

Foolish, indeed.

But even her self-reproach crumbled under the weight of his intensity. His lips met hers, and resistance became futile. The outcome was inevitable.

His grip on her nape was unyielding, anchoring her in place, yet his kiss was paradoxically gentle—sweet, even. His lips and tongue explored her with a deliberate tenderness that left her breathless, her mind unraveling with every touch.

The metallic tang of blood, once sharp on her tongue, faded to a distant memory.

It was always like this. No matter how stormy their beginnings, she always melted in the end. Rezette’s insatiable hunger would relent just enough to let her catch her breath, his fingers threading softly through her hair.

The shivers starting at his fingertips cascaded down her spine and pooled between her thighs, the unbearable, ticklish sensation making her body tremble. Her thighs pressed together instinctively, trying to contain the overwhelming heat.

Before she could fully process, she felt the unmistakable press of his growing desire against her abdomen—a dangerous, intoxicating weight that made her lightheaded.

A faint, involuntary sigh escaped her lips, unbidden and utterly revealing.

Rezette shifted his posture, effortlessly lifting her higher.

“Mm…!” Elise gasped, her voice trembling.

Her thighs tangled tightly with his, the friction between them becoming impossible to ignore. Without realizing it, she clamped her legs together, the vivid sensation of him filling a path she hadn’t even known existed flooding back to her. It was so overwhelming, so visceral, that it almost felt like a dream—a memory from just a month ago, now rushing to consume her.

The relentless pounding below, accompanied by the obscene sounds echoing in the air—sounds she could hardly believe came from her own body—resurfaced like a tidal wave.

In a fleeting moment, their lips parted, his mouth tilting to adjust the angle. Her gaze locked with his stormy eyes, dark and electric, like a flash of lightning piercing through her. His guttural groans, low and raw, carried an unrestrained passion that reverberated deep within her.

To Rezette, she was already laid bare, exposed, offering herself up shamelessly under his piercing gaze. It was as if he had undressed her entirely in his mind, leaving nothing hidden.

A traitorous voice deep inside her whispered seductively.

Wouldn’t it feel even better if he pushed further—if he reached your very core?

“No…” Elise protested weakly, her voice cracking.

No? But you crave it, don’t you?

Her mind screamed protests, frantic warnings that this was a dangerous path. But her body betrayed her, burning with a familiar, maddening anticipation, refusing to yield to reason.

“This can’t happen… it’s dangerous,” she thought desperately, her inner resolve crumbling under the weight of desire. The baby—

“Ugh, stop…” she managed, her voice barely above a whisper.

Her fleeting clarity was swiftly consumed as Rezette captured her tongue in a fierce, possessive kiss. It was unyielding, leaving no room for argument, only the raw intensity of his longing.

Elise’s struggles against the unbearable pressure of his hardened abdomen pressing against her lower belly were met with his unrelenting strength. His hands gripped her waist, lifting her effortlessly.

Even in the urgency of his actions, his touch carried an inexplicable tenderness. The desperate intensity of his kiss spoke of something deeper—a longing so profound it felt almost like an illusion.

Why did his touch feel like a plea? As if every movement, every breath, silently begged her not to pull away?

The feverish movements, the raw weight of his desires, and the sheer intensity of his passion tore Elise’s tangled thoughts apart. Even her ragged gasps were swallowed whole by his voracious hunger. Powerless to resist, she surrendered entirely, her body betraying her resolve.

By the time their lips finally parted, leaving her breathless from the frenzied entanglement, a warmth had already pooled between her thighs.

Realization struck like a bucket of cold water, jolting her back to reality. Along with it came a torrent of self-reproach.

This is madness.

How could her body betray her so utterly, yielding to his touch so easily? His presence, still pressed intimately against her, was impossible to ignore. The chill of anticipation ran down her spine, a sensation she wished desperately to disown.

Her cheeks burned crimson, shame flooding her senses.

“What… what have you done to me?” she demanded, her voice trembling.

Rezette studied her flushed face for a moment, his expression unreadable. Without a word, he pulled her closer onto his lap, his strength undeniable.

“Are you blaming me?” he asked. 

She felt like a rag doll in his grasp, drawn to him effortlessly. Reflexively, she pressed her hands against his chest, attempting to create even the slightest barrier between them. His silver hair fell in a curtain around his pale face, and he caught a loose strand, bringing it to his lips for a tender kiss.

The heat from their earlier encounter lingered between them, an unspoken tension crackling in the air. Rezette’s clouded gaze never wavered from hers.

“You’re blaming me for your feelings?” he pressed.

“No, I—” she began, faltering under his scrutiny.

“You can’t push me away from your heart, yet you still want to hold me accountable?”

“I never said I loved you,” she shot back, her voice unsteady.

Rezette’s lips curved into a faint, knowing smile. “Then I suppose your body speaks more honestly than your words. Do you think I wouldn’t notice? Your expressions, the sounds you make—they give you away.”

“Don’t… don’t be cruel!” Elise gasped, her voice cracking as she glared at him.

“There’s nothing shameful about it,” he murmured, his voice soft but unyielding. “Why is admitting it so hard for you?”

Elise’s breaths came unevenly, her glare faltering as his words struck a nerve. Admit it? What good would that do now?

It was far too late.

“Well, what stops me from seeing you as nothing more than someone to fulfill my… needs? Just as you seem to think I care only for your body?” Rezette’s voice was calm, yet it carried a sharp edge.

His lips curled into a sardonic smile. “If I had truly seen you that way, I would have taken you the very first time you undressed in front of me.”

Elise stiffened, her breath catching. “…The lake,” she murmured, understanding immediately.

“That night,” he confirmed, his voice softer now, almost reverent.

The cool air surrounding them seemed to echo the moonlit breeze from that moment. Elise could feel it—the same vulnerability, the same fragile tension.

Rezette’s gaze wandered slowly, trailing from her shoulders to her collarbones and downward, his eyes piercing as though stripping away each layer of fabric. She felt unbearably exposed under his heavy scrutiny.

His gaze lingered on her heaving chest before his throat moved, swallowing thickly as if parched.

“I could’ve had you then,” he said simply, his tone devoid of pretense.

Elise’s lips parted, but no words came.

“And after that, there were countless opportunities,” he continued. “Elise, I wasn’t always a beast driven by lust. I…”

“Stop.”

Her hands flew up, clamping over his mouth. Shaking her head forcefully, she bit her lip. She couldn’t let him say it. She knew what was coming.

For a fleeting moment, his stormy blue eyes softened. There was no madness there, no possessive desire. Only a raw, desperate plea.

Choose me, his gaze seemed to beg. I’ll bare my soul if only you’ll stay.

Rezette removed her hands with ease, his strength effortless.

“I love—”

“Stop. Please,” Elise interrupted, her voice trembling.

Reality crashed down around her, sharp and unrelenting. She couldn’t let herself hear those words. There was no point. She could never accept them.

Rezette’s expression darkened faintly, a crease forming between his brows. “Why not?”

The confusion in his voice was genuine, almost childlike, yet laced with disbelief.

“Why can’t I even say it? Because no matter what I do, you’ll never stay with me?”

“Yes,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “Eventually, we’ll part ways, and after that… we’ll never meet again.”

His lips tightened. “As long as you have somewhere to return to?”

Elise hesitated, her throat constricting. “…Yes.”

Ah.

Rezette let out a soft, wordless sound of realization. Elise’s heart clenched as she licked her dry lips, her chest burning as if she’d swallowed fire.

Why do I feel so uneasy?

Rezette was never one to speak empty words—or make empty threats.

“When I said I should’ve struck the capital myself instead of dealing with your worthless allies…” His voice trailed off, calm yet laced with something ominous.

Her breath hitched. Could he have been serious?

Rezette murmured, almost to himself, “So, the only way you’ll stay is if you have nowhere else to return to.”

A chill crawled up Elise’s spine. His tone was soft, almost lazy, but his words struck her like a thunderclap, their weight sinking into her mind with terrifying clarity.

“…So, as I warned,” he continued, his voice dropping lower, “I’ll destroy every impurity that stands in my way.”

It wasn’t the voice of a man. It was the voice of a dragon.

Elise’s breath hitched, and a dark suspicion began to claw its way through her. Her lips parted before she could stop herself.

“Rezette. Do you… realize how eerily similar you sound right now?”

His gaze sharpened, the faint flicker of yellow in his pale blue eyes igniting ominously. “To what?”

“To Sameshita…” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

The memory of the dragon overlapped with the man before her. His eyes—the flickering irises—were unmistakable, a volatile mix of madness and feral rage. That faintly yellow gleam was more than a warning; it was a promise of destruction.

Elise’s throat tightened. The look in Rezette’s eyes now mirrored the cruel, unyielding nature she’d seen in the dragon.

“Sameshita?” Rezette repeated, his brow furrowing deeply, irritation flashing across his face like a crack in a frozen lake.

A bitter scoff escaped him, sharp as a blade. “Perhaps killing that wretched thing would finally keep his name out of your mouth.”