Chapter 43

Elise couldn’t bear to release herself from the tight embrace. A presence seemed to press against her skin, sending shivers down her spine. Ivetsa had once told her that it was a clear sign of a man’s arousal, even if he didn’t have any romantic feelings.

“Do desire and feelings always go hand in hand?” Elise had asked Ivetsa, seeking to understand.

The answer had surprised her. “Not necessarily, Your Highness. Desire can exist even without emotional attachment.”

Initially, Elise was taken aback, unsure of how to react to this revelation. But after experiencing it a couple of times, she realized these moments were opportunities she couldn’t ignore.

‘Should I lead him into the bedroom like this?!’ Elise wondered, feeling a mix of excitement and hesitation.

Trying to push him away, she found him resolute, unmoving like a steadfast tree. He sighed softly, urging her to listen to what he had to say.

“I didn’t mean to avoid you. My knight duties have kept me occupied during the evenings,” Rezette explained.

“But Ruben said you find time to spar with the other knights. Can’t you spare some time for our promise? Time-wise, it should be similar, right?”

“Similar?” Rezette looked at her, a blend of surprise and amusement in his eyes. He narrowed his gaze briefly, then returned to his usual indifferent demeanor as their eyes met again.

“Well, it’s not quite the same,” he muttered, struggling to explain.

“You keep doing this…” Elise expressed her frustration.

“Sparing with the knights is part of my duty. It’s different from this,” he clarified.

Now Elise understood why he reacted this way. Whenever there were many things to address, but it felt bothersome or tedious to explain, he would choose to close himself off and hide his emotions like that. It seemed easier for him to end the conversation and let her think what she wanted. Every time he acted like this, Elise found him puzzling. Were all men so difficult to understand?

A transparent drop of water welled up precariously in her golden eyes.

“…Am I bothersome to you?” she asked, her voice quivering.

“It’s not like that,” he replied.

“Is it that my promise with you is not your ‘duty’?”

“Your Highness.”

“Don’t call me that. Why do you address me as ‘Your Highness’ when you won’t even obey my orders? Is it just about maintaining formalities?”

Elise’s tears threatened to spill over, and Rezette found himself torn between conflicting emotions. Part of him was drawn selfishly to her beauty, desiring to witness more of her vulnerable side. Yet, another part, like the day he plunged a dagger into his own body, urged him to stop such extreme actions. Elise’s voice trembled as she began to sob.

“Do you really find me pretty?” she asked.

“Of course, you are,” he replied.

“Liar.”

“No matter who you ask, you’ll get the same answer.”

“What others think of me isn’t that important. It’s about your taste,” Elise retorted with frustration. “I don’t want to act shamelessly in front of a man who doesn’t even like me. I know some people would do anything to please someone they like, but isn’t it different when it’s me?”

The discussion about tastes was amusing. Would she really be so infatuated as to be obsessed like this?

But then, her attention was caught by the man standing before her. He tilted his head slightly, seemingly contemplating what to do. The sunlight streamed in from the window, casting a slanted line across his face.

With a nose that appeared sculpted by the gods, a resolute mouth exuding silent authority, and a sharply defined jawline emanating masculinity, her gaze moved from one captivating feature to another. Reflected in his sapphire-blue eyes, she saw herself exposed, with high saturation like sapphires.

Every time she looked at him, he seemed like a perfectly chiseled statue. His exquisite looks, impeccably toned muscles, and strong presence overwhelmed anyone who beheld him.

In the end, Elise failed to find any flaws in him, and her melancholy only deepened. Elise sighed in resignation. Enough, she thought, I should give up. She bit her lip and turned her head, hoping to avoid him.

“…I’ll go in now. Lady Pettinson said the seamstress would come in the afternoon…”

“You won’t escape from me that easily,” he remarked.

Confused, Elise asked, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’m aware of my preferences.”

Suddenly, a strong arm enveloped her waist, and Rezette locked eyes with her as he patted her back gently.

“The seamstress will be handled. You need not worry about anyone touching your body without my permission in the future.”

Elise fell silent, feeling as though he had taken control over her without her consent. Even when Rezette Kyrstan appeared disinterested in her, he seemed to understand her troubles with an eerie accuracy. He effectively silenced her, leaving her unable to find the right words to say.

After a moment of internal struggle, Elise reluctantly nodded once again. “Okay, if you insist, thank you, but…”

A subtle smile formed on Rezette’s lips as he noticed her annoyance. He knew he had to confirm certain things without raising her suspicions.

Elise’s defensive demeanor made Rezette wary of asking directly about any marks left by the emperor. Instead, he decided to investigate on his own. With her leaning against him, he saw an opportunity to find out the truth. His hand moved gently beneath her neck, where he felt the button holding the collar together from behind.

“Then let’s take a look,” he said with a smirk.

Elise’s eyes widened in surprise. “What?”

“Inevitable circumstances,” Rezette replied.

He undid the button at the back of her neck, causing a shiver to run down Elise’s spine as his rough fingertips brushed against her skin. The surroundings didn’t matter – the cooling food on the table, the blinding sunlight – she couldn’t hide or be concerned about such things.

Elise clutched his clothes, knowing she had to act when the opportunity presented itself. They were alone in the room, and nobody would enter without permission. She pressed herself closer to him.

Rezette slipped his hand between the open collar of her dress, causing it to slide down her snowy-white shoulders like falling petals.

With sensitive finesse, Rezette traced his fingertips over her skin, searching for the hidden magic. His touch explored the clavicle, the scapula, and the spine, hoping to find its source.

“I found it,” he whispered as he located a cluster of magic threads below her left scapula, invisible to the naked eye but chilling to the touch.

Drawing Elise closer, Rezette rested his chin between her shoulder and neck, revealing her delicate back waist embraced by the corset. He sensed more traces of magic there, larger and stronger than the ones near her scapula.

“This one has a much larger area,” he thought, realizing that the strange magic that had been troubling him flowed from this spot.

He narrowed his sapphire-blue eyes, realizing the source of his discomfort and displeasure. It wasn’t just because Argan was a rival of the Van Yela Empire. It was because someone had marked Elise’s body before he could, and that fact didn’t sit well with him, even if it was her twin brother.

Resolute, Rezette gently scraped off the magic from her skin with his fingertips. The threads unraveled easily. However, her waist proved harder to inspect due to the tight corset, securing her from chest to waist with criss-cross straps.

Rezette held the knot in his hand, his gaze fixed on the woman in his arms. She had trembling lips and determined eyes that refused to back down, with a flushed, round earlobe. Elise looked up at him, her eyes moist, and smiled slightly, catching him off guard.

“More, Rezette,” she whispered.

He hesitated, unsure of what to do, but she urged him on, “Get closer.”

Elise’s hand, resting on his waist, moved up his back, pulling him closer. Something inside Rezette snapped, and the purpose of exploring the magic on Elise’s body faded from his mind like a forgotten dream.

He leaned in, his lips grazing her earlobe that stretched down like a delicate line. The air was filled with the fragrance of flowers, and as he deeply inhaled her scent, she trembled slightly. Her veins pulsed rapidly along her long neck, driving his body into a heated frenzy. The member that had been half-awake before was now painfully solid.

His lips trailed lower, kissing the skin above her corset, which yielded slightly under his touch. The taste of her skin was tantalizingly sweet, and he couldn’t resist pressing his tongue against it.

Elise’s chest heaved, her breaths trembling as he caressed her skin. The intoxicating scent overwhelmed him, clouding his judgment. The primal instincts he had suppressed for so long suddenly surged back, awakening like a dormant beast.

Almost without thinking, Rezette placed Elise on the table, parting her legs with a fierce desire to explore her tantalizing flesh. His predatory nature, long suppressed, roared to life.

He was lost in the moment, his hand firm on her nape and the other venturing under her dress. Elise shivered, her breath caught in anticipation.

Then, a distinct sound pierced the air, a click that seemed to lock something shut.