Free Web NovelChapter 235: Interlude – The Empress’s Sigh
The next morning, sunlight poured through the window, illuminating the messy bed sheets and the blankets crumpled on the floor.
Elisha rubbed her aching lower back and shot me a glare. “I did ask you to be forceful, but still, Dale, you handle women far too roughly.”
“But...”
I complained internally. You told me to do it like that! You asked for it. Why are you looking at me like I’m some kind of trash now? Why?
Looking at my expression, she teased me. “My, my! Are you trying to shift responsibility onto your professor?”
“Oh, so now that you’re losing the argument, you’re hiding behind your title?” I replied.
“Hehe. It’s a long-standing human behavior.”
I shut my mouth. There was no winning against someone this shamelessly unfazed.
Elisha leaned against me, a mischievous smile playing at her lips. Our skin touched, and her soft breasts wrapped gently around my arm. Though they were not quite as ample as Iris’s, they were still far above average.
With a playful gesture, she tapped the tip of my nose. “Just teasing.”
Her gaze dropped to the bright red rope marks on her wrists, and her cheeks flushed. “It was the perfect first time. Enough to make me forget the regret of not giving you my first kiss.”
“Are your wrists okay?” I asked.
“Oh? Worried about me? After handling me so violently last night?”
“No, it’s just...”
“Hahaha! Hard to believe you’re the same man from yesterday.”
***
This gap really is too much to hold myself back, Elisha thought.
Giving in to the temptation rising inside her, she pulled Dale toward her and kissed him. The memories of last night naturally rose in her mind.
It had been an incredible night. Once the mood had set in, Dale attacked her like a starving beast. He had tightly bound her hands and feet, rendering her immobile. While she could have broken free from the spider-silk whenever she wanted, she had chosen to remain helpless under him as he ravaged her. Just recalling it sent a tingling shiver down her spine.
After breaking the kiss, Elisha lightly trailed her fingers across his chest. Her fingertips grazed firm muscles, and Dale twitched every time she brushed over a sensitive spot.
And yet this same man is now blushing like he doesn’t know what to do. Is this what it feels like to take a big bite of something salty-sweet? she thought.
The contrast between last night’s ferocity and today’s gentleness filled her with a warm, indescribable delight.
She suddenly said, “This is bad.”
“What is?”
“I thought I couldn’t possibly love you any more than I already do. Seems I was wrong.”
Dale was speechless.
“Heh. At this rate, I won’t be able to live without you. You’d better take responsibility to the end.”
Elisha kissed him again. It was not the passionate, devouring kind from earlier. This was a series of soft, pecking bird kisses. Those ticklish little kisses only stoked desire even more.
Barely suppressing the heat rising in him again, Dale hurried to change the subject. “Ahem! Anyway, since we finished what we came here to do, can we head back today?”
“Hmm. Probably not today. We’ll need to stay at least a few more days.”
“What? A few days?”
The Church of Eternity had fled, and the Apostles of Ruin who tried to assassinate Empress Camellia had been dealt with. There was no reason to linger in the palace any longer.
“This was no small incident. And even if it was to stop the assassination, you learned the location of the Imperial Family’s secret passage. Some additional silencing procedures are necessary,” she explained.
“Ugh.”
“Worried about your other lovers?” Elisha teased.
“I-I mean...” Dale trailed off awkwardly.
Elisha let out a small laugh. “No need to look so troubled. I know perfectly well you’re not in a situation where you can devote yourself to only me.”
“Sorry,” Dale said solemnly.
Even so, talking about other lovers in front of a woman who had just given herself to him for the first time was undeniably wrong. Lowering his head under the weight of guilt, he felt Elisha gently cup his cheek, her expression warm.
She did not show even a hint of regret. “Don’t apologize. I knew everything, and I still chose to be with you.”
“Elisha...”
“Besides, being stuck here means I get to monopolize you until we return. It works out perfectly.”
With a sly grin, Elisha pushed Dale onto the bed. Like a snake, she slipped under the blankets. A little bump formed, then her head poked out from beneath it.
“You worked hard last night, so today I’ll be the one serving you,” she said.
She opened her mouth with a playful ah, and before he even noticed, spider threads shot out from her fingertips and wrapped tightly around his wrists.
Dale stared up at his bound hands and let out a helpless laugh, thinking, So, that was your kink. A switch in roles was on the table too, huh?
* * *
For several more days, Elisha and I remained in the Imperial Palace, undergoing additional questioning. Only after about a week were we finally allowed to return to the academy.
As we were packing, Empress Camellia appeared in our room. “You’re leaving today?”
We were seeing her after a week. She looked as relaxed and composed as ever, as if nothing unusual had happened.
I hurried to kneel on one knee, but she shook her head. “No need for formalities.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Perhaps because of what had happened before, an awkward atmosphere lingered in the room.
Camellia let out a quiet sigh and continued, “When do you plan to depart?”
“As soon as we finish packing.”
“Is that so?”
Camellia reached into her robe and pulled out a jewel shimmering with rainbow light. She held it out to me.
“This is?” I asked.
“It’s a gemstone called the Seven-Colored Stone, created through my blessing. If you pour your mana into it, you may call upon me once, no matter where you are.”
It was essentially a type of summoning stone.
I stared at her. “Why are you giving this to me?”
“Did you not save my life? In return, should you ever fall into danger, I intend to save your life once as well.”
The gemstone allowed me to request the Empress’s aid without condition. In a sense, it could be the most valuable item in the entire Empire.
Camellia turned toward Elisha. “And....”
She presented her with a luxurious lacquered box.
“What is this?” Elisha asked.
“The Emperor’s Blessing.”
Elisha’s eyes widened the moment she received the box. “T-the Emperor’s Blessing?”
The Emperor’s Blessing was an elixir traditionally reserved for members of the Imperial Family. It was said to increase mana and even transform one’s very constitution. For someone like Elisha, who grew up in a nameless rural village, it was a treasure she would never have dreamed of touching.
Completely uncharacteristic of her, she stammered, “W-why would you give me something so precious?”
“Was your contribution in capturing the traitor not great? My life is the most precious treasure in the world. Having helped save it, you are rightfully owed a fitting reward,” Camellia explained.
Elisha trembled faintly as she held the box.
***
For Elisha, who had been quietly despairing at the widening gap between her and Dale, this was the one thing she needed most.
“And also.” Camellia lowered her head slightly toward Elisha. “Blinded by emotions I felt for the first time, I committed a mistake.”
“Your Majesty?”
Camellia offered a genuine and sincere apology on top of the priceless elixir. “I apologize for my disrespectful conduct toward you.”
Elisha blinked, stunned, as if wondering whether she had fallen into a dream. “Ah! I...”
“Will you accept my apology?”
Elisha nodded, without even needing to think. “Of course.”
She hadn’t considered Camellia’s behavior rude to begin with, so there was no reason to reject the apology.
“Then take care on your journey home.”
With everything said, Camellia turned and left. Elisha and Dale stared blankly at her retreating figure, as if a storm had just passed through the room.
***
Unlike the extravagant audience chamber filled with art, Camellia’s private chambers were surprisingly modest, hardly fitting for someone titled the Empress. Entering her room, she let out a long sigh of relief, placing a hand over her chest. Judging by Dale’s and Elisha’s softened expressions, she could guess the gift-based peace offering strategy had worked nicely.
At least I’ve made up for some of my mistakes, she thought.
Beaming triumphantly, Camellia exhaled through her nose with satisfaction. “Heh. Now that they’ve fallen for my scheme, winning Dale over is only a matter of time.”
Just then, a knock at the door interrupted her revelry.
“Come in,” she said.
The knight who had escorted Dale and Elisha to the palace stepped inside.
“Has the investigation been completed?” she asked.
“Yes, Your Majesty. As ordered, I investigated Dale Han’s reputation and interpersonal relationships within the academy.”
“Well done.”
Through the recent incident, she had learned that Dale’s relationship with Elisha Baldwin was quite deep, meaning it was hard to pry him apart from her. But just because a castle wall blocked the path, it did not mean one could not invade the castle.
A sly smile curved Camellia’s lips as she thought of Elisha’s face. She clenched her fist, enthusiasm radiating from her. Heh. Just wait. Whatever I desire will eventually become mine!
“Um, however, there is a bit of a problem,” added the knight.
Camellia tilted her head. “A problem?”
The knight spoke with an awkward expression. “According to the Hoover family, Dale Han is also romantically involved with the Saintess of the Holy Empire.”
“What?”
“And we confirmed information that he is quite close with a fourth-year cadet named Laneige Maram as well.”
So, the castle wasn’t blocked by just one wall, but three? she thought.
