CH 46

Because they made love over and over, she was exhausted and passed out. This, Leonis thought, was how he would keep Celia chained to the house.

Celia was stronger than most women, but she was no match for Leonis in terms of stamina. She would often stay in bed all day when he lost his reason and rushed in.

“Hah, hah….. Angh! Ahhng…. Aahh….”

Celia felt obscene pleasure now that he had used up the aphrodisiac potion, and she lost all ability to think. Leonis felt bad for Celia, but he had no choice for the time being.

Until the perilous period has passed.

It didn’t matter if this act was repeated and Celia fell for it. Because he was confident that no matter how much Celia desired sex, he would be able to satisfy her.

Celia’s stamina was the only thing he was concerned about.

“Hmm, eus, aah! Yes….. ahhh…..”

Beneath Leonis, Celia thrust her lower body into him over and over again, oblivious to his nefarious intentions. She felt like she was going to die each time, but she decided it was worth it, so she let Leonis do it again.

“Haa….Celia….”

His sweet moaning, the way he looked at her with lust in his eyes….. It was almost theatrical.

[TL/N: It means he’s acting like a pathetic and sad role. or It was hard to say no because he looked pathetic. Or we can say acting like a drama queen.]

It only added to the rapture she felt deep inside where he was ramming into her, mercilessly —and the way she lost herself in pleasure as she continued to meet his thrusts with her own could be called poetic in its own way. 

‘Ah….. I’ve used up an entire bottle of that aphrodisiac.’

In fact, Leonis’ use of the aphrodisiac was pointless because his body was immune to poison and medicine, while Celia’s blood was mixed with that of a goddess, so she didn’t need medicines and could naturally detoxify herself.

Unlike Leonis, however, Celia couldn’t tell because she had never felt such bliss before. She didn’t feel like she could have withstood this without the aphrodisiac. Still, she had a sneaking suspicion that if she surrendered herself to her pleasure any further, she would regret it…

‘Let’s think about it the next day! What Leonis is so adamant about!’

How am I to refuse that lovely face when he seduces me with such a nice body? I apologize to tomorrow’s me, but…… I’m sure I’ll  understand. Leonis’ condition has significantly improved.

“Ah! Aaahh…”

Celia succumbed to pleasure as she hit another climax. It was a little unnerving, but she tried not to think about it.

✦ ✦ ✦

‘Darn it….’

As she groaned, her back was the first to hit the floor. As she stared at Leonis, she wore a resentful glare on her face and felt chagrined.

Unlike Celia, who struggled to roll around in bed, Leonis seemed to be fine.

It was clear to Celia that Leonis had been holding back his true desires for her sake until now. But last night, it seemed, he had lost control and unleashed a dam of lust that had been held back for too long. 

“……In your current condition, you won’t be fit to go out until the day of the Imperial Banquet.” The maid said with a sigh.

Leonis, who was already dressed, pretended not to notice Celia’s piercing gaze. Unlike Celia, who had to cancel all of her plans, Leonis had decided to attend a banquet at a social club for only male aristocrats.

The aides believed that neither the first nor the third prince would approach him there.

“I’ll be back soon.”

When Celia grimaced, Leonis approached her, and she accepted a light kiss from him. She quickly put her tongue in the middle of the kiss and pinched his arm.

“Hm! Eumm… Euum…”

Celia pinched Leonis hard enough, but his thick forearm didn’t budge. Leonis was comforted by the fact that Celia was cradled in his arms and kissed her more deeply.

Celia finally felt at ease and let go of her pinch from his arm. Leonis caressed her cheek with his tongue still intertwined with hers.

“When I come back… I’ll let you touch me as much as you want.”

At that, a spark erupted in Celia’s eyes. The maids, who had been filling the bathtub with foam, quietly turned their heads after hearing his words. It was courteous to act as if they weren’t listening.

“You’re not lying, are you?”

“How could I lie to my wife? I’ll get in big trouble if I do it.”

Leonis said this while lightly placing his forehead against Celia’s. Celia gave Leonis a suspicious look before grabbing his face and kissing him again.

“Don’t do anything dangerous…”

Chu~

“Don’t take your eyes off me.”

Chu~

“Have a safe trip.”

Leonis’ cheeks heated up as they kissed and whispered sweet nothings. He was seriously considering not attending the banquet.

He wanted to remain by Celia’s side.

“….I’ll be back.”

Leonis kissed Celia again, disappointed that he had to leave her alone in the mansion, but then raised his head. Celia, who couldn’t get out of bed, could only wave at him as he walked away.

✦ ✦ ✦

Leonis climbed into the carriage, Celia’s gentle kiss lingering on his lips. Every day, he felt the soft touch of her lips on his, but it was never enough.

‘As expected, I already miss her.’

Leonis sighed, his lips smacking together.

He was dissatisfied with having to leave Celia’s side, despite the fact that he knew he should leave the mansion. He wanted to be by her side whenever he could.

However, Leonis changed his mind as he remembered that many people would be after Celia. Count Rowen, who remains close to the Duke’s family –even the Second Prince.

Leonis was unsettled when the servant attached to Celia hinted to him that he was still hovering around her. 

He was aware now that Celia had feelings for him, but she had previously been betrayed by Fabian and had considered suicide. He was worried that the lingering sparks of old love would sway Celia’s heart.

‘I doubt it, but…’

He thought it may be better to kill Fabian just in case, unafraid of what would happen if Celia should find out.

“….Have you heard from any of the dogs?”

“There hasn’t been any movement as of yet. There was a rumor that the First Prince was planning to approach the Duke.”

“…….”

Michael, who lacked the mysterious power bestowed by the imperial family, was quicker to notice than the third prince, Giel. Leonis had already dispatched someone to the location where Celia had told him to confirm the identity of Michael’s biological father.

Still it was not enough to confirm the man’s identity, but Leonis left his subordinate to monitor and track his movements. 

‘The monsters must have been released into the Duchy by Michael. If the curse returns to the imperial family after I die, the other princes will be in big trouble….’

It was like Celia had given him the right answer that could fill in the missing piece to something that just didn’t sit right with him before.

Until now, he had assumed Michael’s erratic behavior stemmed from a sense of inferiority as a result of not inheriting the Imperial Family’s power. I had no idea the First Prince was a product of the Empress’ affair!

Even though it made sense, the only thing he didn’t notice was that everything was portioned out.

It would seem that the emperor was waiting for Michael to manifest his powers; however, that day would not come. As a result, Michael’s plan to return the curse to the imperial family, assassinate them and usurp the throne unfolded before Leonis’s eyes.

‘It would not be strange if they all died.’

The emperor would be driven insane by the curse, and killing him would be the obvious thing to do at that point. Then, Michael could reap the benefits of killing the emperor by sentencing the remaining imperial children to live with the curse. 

The Duchy of Cardian had been cursed for three generations and knew how to control it, but the imperial family was entirely ignorant of how to do this. It wouldn’t be difficult for Michael to persuade the emperor to kill the other children if he was given the proper push.

‘I’m not going to fall for that trick.’

Leonis had no intention of openly taking the side of either prince; he would support neither Michael nor Giel.

Even in the case where Leonis supported Michael, Michael would try to kill Leonis regardless.  Any idiot off the street could tell you that the Cardians pose a significant threat to the imperial family.

This was, however, a situation brought about by the current imperial family.

It was, of course, the law that the empire’s finances could only be strong if the people’s lives were strong.

Taking bribes and ignoring the corruption of nobles destroys people’s lives, leading to a situation where they are unable to pay their taxes properly.

In the short term –even for a few decades– this may not yield severe consequences. But if this were to happen year after year, with no sign of respite, the people of the empire would be faced with the choice to flee abroad or die at home.

The empire’s finances would eventually fall to ruin.

It was a very simple and basic principle, but the nobles failed to grasp it. In their minds, the people were an inexhaustible resource which spit out more the more they squeezed it.

If Leonis were to become the emperor, he would have to cut the corruption out at its roots. As an already well-known murderer, he was not afraid to sully his reputation with blood or tyranny. 

The beheading of the nobles who were already plundering the livelihoods of hundreds of people was nothing compared to dealing with the curse of the gods.

✦ ✦ ✦

The appearance of the Duke of Cardian seemed to perplex all of the nobles. True, they did send an invitation, but it was only out of courtesy.

Their discomfort was only natural as only those who could muster great courage could even speak to the duke. 

But there was no denying it. The Duke of Cardian had truly deigned to grace them with his presence.

No one could stop Leonis from entering this social club even if he didn’t have an invitation, so he was given the best seat in this gathering.

He’d brought two of his closest aides in with him. Prior to this soiree, the nobles in the room had all worked hard to ingratiate themselves with Leonis’ aides since there was no other way to gain Duke Cardian’s business. 

“Nice….”

The young, ambitious man from an unknown family was the first to approach. As he came closer to Leonis, he felt as if a lion’s jaws were slowly tightening around his head.

He couldn’t bring himself to make eye contact, but he figured he could at least greet him.

“Ni-nice to….. meet you. Duke….. I-I am Roy Sicily, son of Viscount Sicily…..”

Leonis’ eyes became calm, as if he had fallen into thought. It was because something came to mind about the Sicily family.

“Your family… is it a branch family to the Montagues?”

The nobleman’s expression suddenly brightened.

And that was the start. One by one, people began to approach Leonis.

Of course, not everyone was able to do so. Unsurprisingly, only those who were relatively innocent, good people, and those who were strong enough could bring themselves to face Leonis.

When the corrupt nobles made eye contact with Leonis, they often retreated in a cold sweat.

“…It looks like the Duke has become the main center of the banquet.”

“Oh, my. The First Prince!”

“Prince Michael!”

The nobles rushed toward the prince as he entered the hall. Leonis rose slowly as well.

“Your Highness, it’s been a long time.”