A Blend of Romance and Fantasy - Chapter 78

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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78.
After finishing that long tale, it felt as though all the air trapped within me had escaped at once.
Of course, there were parts I had kept hidden even then. Yet it was as refreshing as if a stone lodged deep in my throat had finally fallen away.
It was a story I hadn’t spoken of in years, a past I had never wished to share with anyone.
Leonard gazed into empty space for a moment before slowly turning his eyes toward Charlotte.
“….”
Charlotte remained silent for some time, her lips pressed firmly together.
Under ordinary circumstances, such an absence of reaction would have terrified me.
But strangely, now I felt less the urge to flee and more the desire to hear what she would say. It was an emotion unfamiliar enough to surprise even myself.
Then it happened.
A light touch brushed against Leonard’s side, and a gentle warmth carefully leaned against him.
Charlotte was holding him—very softly. It was quite different from the embrace in the Greenhouse Garden before.
That time had been bewildering, but now I felt a sense of stability. A sensation I had forgotten long ago… or perhaps something closer to unfamiliarity.
“You’ve endured so much.”
Then a soft whisper brushed briefly past his ear.
Those few simple, unadorned words shook Leonard’s core more deeply than any other comfort could have.
Moments later, she drew back ever so slightly and slowly examined his face.
Her bright, jade-green gaze held neither pity nor sympathy.
“But tell me—surely you don’t actually believe you’re truly such a terrible person?”
“What do you mean?”
“That you’ve committed unforgivable acts and therefore deserve to die at any moment. That sort of absurd thinking.”
“….”
When he said nothing, Charlotte’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Leonard, don’t judge yourself.”
“….”
“There’s no one who can draw a clear line between good and evil, between justice and injustice. Only God knows such things. Don’t blame yourself so harshly. We’re all simply doing our best to live.”
Charlotte then hesitated briefly before adding in a quiet but resolute voice:
“What I mean is—your fault lies nowhere. So live selfishly.”
-Your fault is not your own.
At those words, Leonard drew in a sharp breath.
Once more, James’s image flickered before his eyes.
The friend and liege who had bled to death because of my failure—the protagonist of this world.
The one who had allowed me to live as a human being.
Leonard slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again.
“…You resemble him far too much.”
“Who?”
“James Blackwood.”
But Charlotte started in surprise and quickly withdrew from his embrace. The warmth that had filled his arms rapidly slipped away.
“Me, resembling the protagonist of a fantasy novel? That’s impossible! From what I’ve heard, he sounds like a truly virtuous man. I’m nothing like that. I rewrote the original story to create a peaceful retirement and then practiced polygamy… ahem.”
Charlotte trailed off, catching Leonard’s expression, and let out an awkward cough.
“So you wanted to enjoy a happy life. Yet James Blackwood desired peace for the Empire.”
“That’s not what I meant. I simply meant a person who….”
A person who allows one to live as a human being.
Someone who instills hope that the harrowing years clung to and endured might one day become bearable.
I had thought such a person as James could never be encountered again, yet they existed in this world.
Right before my eyes. As someone who came from the same world, no less.
I had heard it was rude to compare someone to another.
Yet Leonard could say with certainty that he did not love this woman who shimmered like a star because she resembled James.
She had first caught his eye with her brilliance, and as he came to know her better, James’s memory surfaced.
“….”
A thin silence passed between them. Charlotte narrowed her eyes and asked.
“A person who what? You know what they say—you have to listen to the end of a sentence to avoid misunderstanding, right?”
“….”
“Leo… um, ah. Leonard?”
Suddenly Charlotte’s flustered form filled my vision. Before I knew it, I was caressing her cheek.
Startled, she rolled her eyes and steadied her breathing. Such a sight was almost unbearably tempting.
“Charlotte.”
“Ah, yes. Yes.”
“May I kiss you?”
“…!?”
Her surprise seemed to shake the very air.
Yes. I knew she would be surprised—that’s why I asked. No one in their right mind would refuse in such a situation.
Yet I waited patiently for her consent.
Each time those large eyes wavered, the rising emotion anchored my feet to the ground as if nailing them down.
“….”
At last, Charlotte’s head tilted gently downward, and a whisper-soft voice spilled out.
“Who asks before doing something like that?”
“But it seemed wrong to rush.”
“….”
“Charlotte.”
Whispering his request, he gently squeezed her hand. Charlotte’s breath trembled slightly, and her round head nodded softly up and down.
He carefully raised his hand to lift her chin. At the sight of her flushed face and quivering lips, laughter burst forth unbidden.
And then their lips met urgently.
* * *
At first, I wondered if this was real.
A kiss? Between us? Why? It wasn’t as though we were displaying it for others at a wedding.
But the doubt was fleeting.
When our gazes intertwined while he held my chin, the meaning of the two flames burning between us became clear.
Longing.
In place of the emptiness I had first perceived, a vast, concentrated passion now burned.
A sharp thrill seized my heart. Those eyes were precisely what I had desired.
Before I could savor the victory, my waist was grasped firmly. Breath mingled, faces drew near, and warm air locked seamlessly between us.
Soon, soft warmth invaded my mouth. The sensation of being tightly enveloped blurred the world around me.
Was this the second kiss? I can’t breathe. I can’t think straight. Are all kisses like this?
My vision blurred as an exquisite sensation overwhelmed my lower back. My heart pounded roughly, my breath quickened, and my legs threatened to give way when he withdrew his lips.
He gently bit my lower lip before releasing it and stepped back.
As embarrassment consumed me and I bit my lip, my wrist was suddenly seized.
“Leonard?”
“….”
At the sound of his name, another kiss fell upon me. This time, brief and light.
Before I could ask why, I was drawn by him out of the Office.
And in that moment, I sensed it.
What would happen next.
“No one is to enter the Bedroom.”
“Yes?”
“Until tomorrow morning.”
I understood perfectly what those words meant.
The Maidservant and Attendants outside the door stood frozen, their eyes wide with shock.
As they all remained speechless and rigid, Abigail and Thetis nodded with keen understanding.
After that, I was drawn by him toward the Bedroom. I felt moisture gathering in my grasped hand.
I could refuse if I wished. Leonard would never force anything upon me if I expressed reluctance.
Yet I said nothing.
It would be more accurate to say I chose not to speak.
The dense, vast emblem fluttering before my eyes.
Gazing upon the back of the man bearing the forest, the great sword, and the ashen wolf, I desired no thoughts whatsoever.
As we reached the golden door, the Attendants slowly opened it. The opening seemed like the entrance to the Tiger’s Den itself.
Before I knew it, I had stepped inside the Bedroom.
In the profound silence, he fixed his gaze upon me and spoke.
“…You may come to regret this, but will you be alright?”
Unlike his gentle question, his eyes burned with intensity. Those crimson eyes, gleaming with fierce longing, were terrifyingly vivid.
Intoxicated by the eerie yet sweet sensation, I drew closer to him.
“Did you not know? From the moment I arrived in this country, I have been regretting everything.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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