CH 111

The ancient Eugendiph clan dreamed of great prosperity, and coded into its blood a strong desire to procreate. The silver lining was that if an heir was unwanted, a child succeeding the blood would never be born. It was the clan’s means to ensure only a partner of suitable standards could conceive.Still, Estian was not confident he would be able to control himself if he were to take Cecile right then and there. He wanted to applaud whoever it was that had planned to send Cecile to him for the purpose of conceiving an heir. Clenching his jaw, Estian had to admit that their plan had succeeded.

“Cecile, my wife, is my affection what you currently desire?” Estian murmured, as he slowly traced his finger over her lips.

“No,” Cecile said quietly. She reached out a hand with a groan, and gently tugged on Estian’s collar to pull him down to her side.

Estian yielded without resistance to Cecile, and the two lay on the bed gazing at each other in silence. When Cecile released his collar, thinking that she was about to get up, Estian reached out to grab her. Instead, he felt the touch of a slender finger gently tracing his face. He watched in silence as Cecile examined him unhurriedly.

‘He’s not hurt anywhere,’ Cecile thought with relief. She had been gnashing her teeth in anger when she stormed to the main palace. However, when she heard Estian’s faint groans drowned by that strange sound, only one wish remained.

“I wish for Your Majesty to be safe and unharmed,” Cecile whispered. With their gazes intertwined in the darkness, it was as if the world had disappeared and only the two of them remained. It was a comfortable silence. Suddenly, the moment was broken. Cecile squirmed in surprise at Estian’s sudden embrace and stuttered, “Eh? H-hang on! Why…!”

“If you wish for my safety, Cecile… then please, stay like this.” The intimidating aura Estian expressed moments before was all but gone, and his voice sounded like that of a man resigned to his defeat.

* * *

“Somebody please, help this poor spirit…” Aled muttered tiredly to itself. How long had it been traveling? The spirit wasn’t sure how much time had elapsed since its arrival in the spirit realm. It was making its way towards the remote outskirts of the spirit realm, after being told that a spirit living out there possessed knowledge of Eugendiph’s blood.

When the spirit first arrived in the spirit realm, its fellow spirits had welcomed its return; at least that’s what Aled chose to believe. They greeted Aled and asked after what the spirit had been up to, with one spirit exclaiming, “Wow! You haven’t perished? Incredible.”

After the pleasantries were exchanged, Aled finally broached the purpose of its travels. Attempting to sound casual, Aled asked, “By the way, does anyone know about Eugendiph’s blood?”

“Why would you bring up that accursed topic!” One spirit immediately scolded.

“Right? It’s long disappeared from this world!” Another spirit exclaimed.

The spirits flapped their wings with agitation and alarm. Aled couldn’t bring itself to break the news… Not only did the blood still exist, it was alive and well. The spirit knew that if this fact was revealed, it would overturn the spirit realm. During the reign of the Eugendiph clan’s tyranny, the spirit realm had suffered great losses. If it were revealed that a carrier of their blood survived, the spirit realm would mobilize to wipe the remnants out of existence.

‘If they knew the truth, they’d immediately force me to lead the charge to eradicate the emperor… but he seemed to have good control over it. There’s no need to bring trouble on myself. I’d rather live a long and frugal life in this harsh world!’

If Estian showed signs of being swayed by that accursed blood, perhaps Aled would’ve sided with the other spirits in eliminating the emperor. However, nothing had happened so far, and it didn’t seem there would be any changes in the future.

Aled had just moved into its new home—the Forest of Tetin, was it? It was a magnificent jewel of the highest quality crafted from human workmanship. Truly the perfect candidate to become Aled’s new cozy residence. That jewel was currently in the empress’s palace. Undoubtedly, it would be the first thing Estian destroyed if the spirits attacked. Aled didn’t want to end up homeless. Besides, if the spirits were to wage war on the emperor, Aled would surely be among the first to die.

“I think I’m almost there. This fellow sure does live far away,” Aled grumbled to itself.

It had taken a lot of cajoling to get the spirits, who were reluctant to discuss Eugendiph’s blood, to reveal there was a fellow spirit that was knowledgeable about the topic. While Aled had been lost in thought, it had passed over dozens of mountains, and before long the house it was searching for came into view.

“What in the devil’s name…?”

Aled’s face twisted into a frown at the sight—it had journeyed a long distance to reach its destination, only to be greeted with a sign with large print that read: No Entry For Aled. Without a second of hesitation, Aled kicked the sign over and thus the sign was no more.