Free Web NovelChapter 584: Sneaky Elf
Third Person’s POV
Her expression darkened considerably as she realized that no one had ever treated her this way before, not once in her entire life. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Before she was married to the Ice Emperor, she had always been treated like a princess wherever she had gone due to her beauty and grace, with countless suitors running after her for a single glance and smile from her.
And from the moment she had entered the royal palace, people had either admired her, respected her, feared her, or attempted to gain her favor.
Even powerful nobles measured their words carefully in front of her.
As for the Ice Emperor himself, despite his terrifying strength and authority, he had never spoken to her with such blatant disregard.
Forget raising his voice at her and forget dismissing her, he had never even pointed a finger at her in anger.
Yet Ethan had done all of those things within a single conversation.
The more she thought about it, the more surreal the situation felt.
And strangely enough, beneath her irritation and humiliation, there was another emotion forming in her heart.
It was confusing and unfamiliar, and was very difficult to understand.
And for that reason, she found herself thinking about Ethan more and more.
She thought about his cold eyes with which he looked at her, his unreasonable confidence that seemed to fear nothing on earth, his bone-deep arrogance, and his refusal to be intimidated.
And the most important of all, his complete disregard for her status and beauty.
Gradually, an increasingly strong desire appeared within her heart.
She wanted to teach him a lesson, a harsh lesson, and a lesson severe enough that he would never dare speak to her like that again, and would have respect in his eyes whenever he looked at her again.
The thought slowly rooted itself within her mind.
And without even realizing it, that desire began transforming into something far deeper than simple annoyance.
It had changed something dangerously close to an obsession, and she had not even realized it.
Meanwhile, in the room, Ethan did not get up from his white rocking chair.
He shifted it closer to the window and positioned himself where he could see the full expanse of the city spread out before him.
He sat for a long time just staring into the sky with an unreadable expression.
After an unknown amount of time, night arrived, and the pale moonlight streamed through the frost-kissed glass, casting a silver glow across the snow-covered spires and rooftops of the Ice Emperor City.
He had sunk into deep thought as his mind turned over everything that had happened to him since he had awakened earlier that day, the strange circumstances that had caused him to lose his senses after being imprisoned in the Eagle Peak of the Sanctum Realm.
Chaotic and restless emotions swirled within him, creating confusion that gnawed at the edges of his reason.
At the same time, anger smoldered deep in his chest, and irritation prickled beneath his calm exterior as he thought about the blackmail he had to face from Shixea after they had put such devious restrictions inside him.
But beneath it all and running through every other feeling like an underground current was the intense desire to reunite with his family.
The weight of these emotions pressed against his skull, making his thoughts heavy and sluggish.
Slowly and almost imperceptibly, his eyes grew heavy.
The silence of the room wrapped around him like a thick blanket, and before he knew it, sleep claimed him.
A long time passed, and somewhere in the depths of that stillness, a presence crept into the room.
It moved with quiet steps and approached his chair until it stood beside him, observing his sleeping face.
It was none other than the wood elf, Elis.
She had come to inform him that he would begin his academy journey tomorrow morning, and he should prepare himself to fulfill his end of the agreement.
But instead of finding him alert and guarded, she was shocked to discover him asleep and completely defenseless, with no regard for his own safety.
His long purple hair shone under the pale white moonlight like strands of shiny purple silk as it cascaded over his shoulders and chest.
He looked so handsome that she found herself frozen for several long seconds, simply observing the lines of his profile.
She had originally wanted to sneer at him and to wake him with some cutting remark.
But she had now gone silent as she simply looked at this dreamy scene.
Suddenly, an unexpected urge rose within her. freewёbnoνel.com
It was an urge to touch his spotless pale skin, to feel its texture, and to understand how it had defended itself against her leaf crescent spell.
Or that was how, she convinced herself.
Slowly, without fully realizing what she was doing, her hand reached out.
She touched his face, starting from his forehead, which was cool and smooth beneath her fingertips.
Then she traced down the line of his cheekbone to the side of his neck.
Each contact made her breath quicken.
Her face flushed, and the warmth spread across her cheeks and up to the tips of her pointed ears.
She was particularly flustered when she discovered how hard his body was beneath her touch when she pressed her fingers on his skin, even though the texture of his skin remained cool and soft.
Without realizing, she had knelt beside him, and her hand had slipped beneath the collar of his shirt and had started pressing against his chest.
The hard planes of muscle beneath that deceptively soft exterior sent a shiver through her.
Her breathing grew ragged, and her face turned crimson as she had never touched a man like this in her whole life.
And to be honest, she had never wanted to do so until now.
She was lost in her strange, quiet exploration and so focused on the warmth spreading through her body, on the frantic rhythm of her heart, that she did not notice his eyes had opened suddenly.
