CH 48

“Pink….”

High Priest Hellion abruptly sat upright at the desk. He seemed to have dozed off while working. This rarely happens, though…

He jumped up from his seat and frowned.

“High Priest?”

Hellion’s subordinate priest didn’t seem to notice that he was dozing off until just then. Hellion was perplexed when he looked at the priest. He was debating whether or not he should inform the Pope, who was stationed outside the capital at the church’s headquarters.

‘No, not yet.’

The dream was not merely a story.

If what he saw in his dream was true, the mysterious power that has been passed down in the  imperial family was obtained by killing the divine beast.

‘The imperial family claimed it to be a God-given power, a divine right, but the church had always doubted it….’

The priest had confirmed that the imperial family’s power was close to divine power, but he was split on whether or not the imperial family was blessed by the gods.

He had not received any oracles, and the divine beasts had disappeared completely after the emperor gained power.

It used to be that the appearance of the divine beasts coincided with the advent of a new emperor. 

Furthermore, the church had lost its divine beast, while the emperor received God’s blessing. This was a difficult pill to swallow for the church who refused to announce or acknowledge this turn of events to the rest of the world. It would be akin to saying that the imperial family is more beloved by God than the church.

The imperial family, on the other hand, heavily promoted it, and the people appeared to be more devoted to the imperial family than in the church.

At least, it was until the nobles’ expropriation became worse.

‘…God is planning a new empire.’

It’s likely that the woman who blessed the new emperor is a saintess who would awaken a new divine beast. He reasoned that he should find her and protect her as soon as possible.

“The oracles have spoken. It’s about the new saintess…..I need to contact His Holiness, The Pope.”

He had to let him know that the God of Heaven that he was giving the Empire another chance.

✦ ✦ ✦

She felt as if she had been having a strange dream. It was a dream in which a tiger the size of a house was fighting a dragon. Wasn’t there a black knight with a spear over there?

‘Who won?’

The white tiger’s eyes returned her gaze after the fight. Its fur was gleaming.

‘It was just a dream, but I think I should give its fur a stroking!’

Celia’s tongue clicked as she remembered the fluffy and soft fur.

Although the curtains were drawn on her window, it was already dark in her bedroom. It seemed the evening had passed.

“Leon…..”

Because he went to a men’s club, she didn’t think he’d come back so early. Although he left around lunchtime, she assumed he had yet to return.

“Ugh…..”

Celia was sleeping soundly in preparation for Leonis’ return, when he would entice her into taking a bubble bath with him. She rolled over to save her waist, but it seemed she couldn’t do it tonight. .

‘Phew.’

It’s not just today, but Celia was disappointed while she tried to soak in the bubble bath when Leonis returned.

She had already finished her dinner. Still, she waited for Leonis. Only a few of the duke’s servants remained at this point, but she dismissed them for the night and gave them the order to leave her and rest.

‘You must have eaten…..’

She guessed that he may have encountered either the first prince, Michael, or the third prince, Giel, at the banquet today. Or perhaps, he would run into both. In any case, he would be forced to  remain in the capital and attend the Imperial Banquet at one of their requests.

‘Dress is prepared.’

He brought a dress from the Duchy of Cardian because she had come to the capital specifically for that. She knew the maids had a hard time packing their bags because it wasn’t just one, but dozens.

She knew it would take a lot of effort to put it back on a hanger and clean it after arriving at the duke’s mansion in the capital.

“Eum….”

The Imperial Ball is only two days away after tonight’s sleep. The emperor, as well as the emperor’s three sons and Princess Amelia, were present.

If she had been the Celia of the past, she would not have been able to look the emperor in the eye without recalling the treason she would later commit. But things were different now.

Because she was mixed with modern way of thinking, in her eyes the emperor was not an untouchable person; rather, he was a corrupt emperor who felt no guilt in squeezing his countrymen of their very life’s blood.

Even when she was just the daughter of the Marquis of Montague, she was aware that the Montague estate and the other nobles’ estates were on different levels.

The Marquis of Montague was a man who could not abandon his aristocratic way of thinking, but he was also a man who valued high character and honor. It was a shame to see the poor dressed in rags, starving, and corrupt officials emerge from the estates of the families that had produced numerous paladins and priestesses.

Thus, the estate of the Marquis of Montague was well-perceived by the people compared to the estates of other nobles. 

The people who lived there admitted that the estate of the Marquis of Montague was worth-living without being exploited. 

Nobles would be admired in this world even if they only followed the basic principles of punishing criminals and preventing officials from engaging in corrupt behavior.

‘The Middle Ages.’

Celia’s eyes darkened as she remembered the beggar begging in the darkness of the alleyway. Even in this magnificent capital, the slums were expanding.

They will suffer and die if war breaks out.

The most powerless are always the first to be sacrificed in any war.

Celia believed that war should be avoided at any cost.

‘In the original, there was also a war.’

When Leonis murdered the emperor and three princes before killing himself, the remaining Duke’s family raised an army and each declared themselves to be the rightful new emperor.

All five families raised their flags, splattering blood across the continent. It was a strategy that would allow them to emerge victorious from the battle and marry Princess Amelia –solidifying their claim to the throne……

‘But there was a fatal flaw in that strategy…..’

No one knew that Amelia had previously taken an ancient artifact from the Imperial Palace’s underground treasure bunker and would use it to destroy the continent.

‘Wait, what was that? How come I don’t remember it?’

Celia, who was agonizing over it, tapped on her head, as if she were trying to coax the information out. She was about to try patting herself on the cheeks, but she decided against it. She had noticed a shift in her strength in recent days and feared that it might be too painful. 

She was contemplating whether she should give the hand that gently tapped him on the head, but his fist was wrapped around her fist.

“I’ve been waiting for you! You’re late!”

“I’m sorry.”

He was hesitant to say it out loud because he didn’t know how to avoid hurting his opponent. He was afraid that if he said it out loud, Celia’s fondness for him would wane.

“Have you been waiting a long time?”

“It hasn’t been that long since I’ve been idling all day. I didn’t even hear you coming……”

“I thought you might be sleeping because the lights in the bedroom were off.”

So it appeared that the carriage arrived quietly, and it was quiet when it entered through the front door.

Celia pouted and hugged Leonis as he grinned.

“Why?”

“I was going to have my way with you a lot while taking a bubble bath, but my waist……”

“That’s unfortunate.”

He wasn’t as disappointed as she had expected. Celia glanced at him and Leonis sighed as he ducked his head.

Chu~

“Next time…”

Chu~

“You can touch me as much as you want.””

Chu~

“Or… Shall we go to the bathroom now?”

“Then it wouldn’t be me in charge, but Leon!”

Celia exclaimed as she wriggled free from his arms. Leonis kissed and hugged her again.

“It makes no difference who will touch whom. It will make you feel better.”

She felt as if she were being caught up in his trap.  It seems that he intended this from the beginning……. But, Celia was not the type to turn down sex with Leonis.

“My back still hurts.”

“I’ll be gentle.”

Celia nodded at Leonis’s whisper.

✦ ✦ ✦

It wasn’t that she was mocking the devastated romance fantasy novel with the rated 19 male protagonist. Celia had never looked down on him until the first time he did it, but she was frustrated by the current situation, in which she couldn’t move a single finger.

‘What is this man…’

Celia’s back was safe, just as she had hoped.

The ecstasy, however, was felt from head to toe and made her entire body tingle. Celia was panting, her breath was shallow, and her body was sensitive –even the texture of the blanket that surrounded her skin was stimulating.

“Ugh….Yes….Uhhh…..”

She would have stuck out her tongue and said, “it’s very strong,” if he had used the potion. Leonis, on the other hand, didn’t use a single drop of the aphrodisiac.

Celia had no agency of her body, which was being toyed with, teased, and thrusted into……. Yes, yes, yes. She had no choice but to respond to Leonis’s ministrations in this way. The pleasure was endless; Leonis’s touch made her feel so good that she teetered on the brink of insanity each time he plunged within her and moved about; she could fall for it if he asked her to do it again.

“It’s still flinching. Cute.”

Leonis grinned, his tongue licking Celia’s trembling body. Celia looked at him with a mixture of shame and cheekiness.

Leonis grinned and gently licked her stiff nipples with his tongue.

“Hikk, heuu.…..”

The unbearable stimulation made her entire body tremble to the point where it felt as if he were trapped in her –as if she had clamped down when he was inside her.

“Haa, Celia……”

Leonis moved his waist at a torturously slow pace. Celia’s body trembled and wept as she felt the movement draw a circle inside her while his member rubbed her.

“Ye-Yes…. Ah, good…..Aghhh, akh…..”

He could tell her insides were stretched to the limit. Celia wiped her tears and swallowed her moans as soon as she realized what she was feeling. Leonis’s arms held her, and his penis made her feel joyful while also making her feel a little lewd.

“……Celia, open your mouth.”

Celia opened her mouth reflexively in response to Leonis’ whispers. Then his tongue pierced the gap between her lips and violently snatched her breath away.

The sweet stimulation came rushing in. She gasped in ecstasy and felt the familiar fluttering in her lower waist.

“Ummm, Uhh…..”

‘I have to attend the imperial ball tomorrow morning, no, two days later; can I dance with this body?’