Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 109

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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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Chapter 109
Ch 9. You Arrived So Suddenly
Auredhian Belgot recognized Yerenika at a glance. Whether she wore her hood or not made no difference. Reading the flow of divine essence drifting through the air with keen perception was no difficult feat for him.
Though it seemed slightly sharper than two years prior, I remembered distinctly that faint, ephemeral divine essence unique to Yerenika.
Yet what truly aided me in finding her without hesitation the moment I crossed the border was the necklace. The silver cross pendant swayed gently at my chest, and the silver cross that Yerenika had given me when she left Belgot two years ago guided me the instant I set foot in Lebovni, as though it had been waiting.
The divine essence carrying that peculiar soap-like fragrance led me along the precise path—as though seeking its counterpart. I had never imagined that any divine essence was embedded in Yerenika’s earrings, yet I could not ignore that pull. How could I possibly resist when that longed-for body scent lingered persistently at the tip of my nose, as if asking whether I could refuse?
And in the end, that choice proved correct. In the outskirts of the Capital, Libne—far removed from the royal palace of Lebovni itself—on an evening before a holiday when the streets were unusually crowded, I found her at the entrance of a bustling thoroughfare.
“Ah. There she is.”
Aiven Count, who had been dragged along practically by force at his wife’s insistence, let out a small exclamation. But by the time the Count spoke those words, my thoughts had already come to a complete standstill.
“….”
The Princess I saw after two years was both the same and different from before. Her sweet, pale pink hair—the kind that seemed as though it would melt away the instant it touched my palm—remained unchanged. Her clear, sky-blue eyes as well. Her slender frame too.
Yet somehow she felt unreal. My crimson gaze followed Yerenika as she slowly passed across the far side of the street. She was riding a horse. I found myself murmuring without thinking.
“She learned to ride.”
In my memory, she would have been terrified of horses, yet the Yerenika visible from a distance appeared accustomed to riding. Watching her guide the horse with a comfortable, practiced posture stirred an indescribable, strange emotion within me.
Moreover, even from afar, I could clearly perceive another change. The length of her hair cascading from beneath her hood seemed to have grown longer. The side locks that once rippled between her ear and jaw had fully grown out, now swept behind her ear. Because of this, her slightly flushed right cheek was completely exposed. That pale cheek I had kissed countless times was now faintly flushed by the hot air of the summer night.
Yet the greatest change was in the overall atmosphere that composed her. The bright, bouncy, adorable cheerfulness of a girl had vanished somewhere, replaced by pale skin tinged with a rosy flush, lips gleaming in a soft pink hue. Long lashes cast downward. An expressionless face that seemed indifferent. That calm, settled aura captivated my gaze.
When we meet again, I should embrace her first. I’ll interrogate her about why she didn’t respond later—for now, I need to hold her close and confirm it, to kiss that face that hasn’t even graced my dreams.
All those thoughts vanished the moment I saw her face in full when she turned her head slightly. It wasn’t a mistake. Despite knowing myself to be dull when it came to standards of beauty, I felt as though I’d been struck from behind, my mind reeling. Aiven Count spoke my thoughts aloud with perfect accuracy.
“You’ve become even more beautiful in the meantime, Princess. Truly, I hardly recognize you.”
Aiven Count laughed heartily with a pleased expression. Yet I could not simply be happy at those words. Yerenika was not alone. My gaze fixed on the one riding slowly beside her.
“Are you going there again today? Arthur’s Barrel?”
“Yeah. Why, do you have somewhere else in mind?”
“No. Let’s go there.”
Their conversation reached my keenly attuned ears with perfect clarity. Their voices were leisurely and carefree. And within that brief exchange, I caught several words that grated against me.
Again. A barrel? Surely… a tavern?
My vacant expression lasted only a moment before my brow furrowed without mercy. It seemed Yerenika had grown quite intimate with that Sergei Lebanon after all—exactly as I had worried.
“How irritating….”
I murmured without thinking. He was my in-law, wasn’t he? My childhood friend, they said. Yet the moment my rational thoughts wavered ever so slightly, my focus twisted along with it. The divine essence I had concealed without a trace within my body suddenly dispersed into the air.
“…!”
And Yerenika’s head whipped around to look toward where I stood—it happened almost simultaneously.
“Ah.”
I let out a short gasp and quickly concealed my body in the shadows of the alley. Aiven Count followed with a bewildered expression, entering the corner.
“Why are you hiding, Your Majesty?”
“…I don’t know.”
I truly didn’t know. I had thought that once I found her, I would reach out immediately, yet here I was, lurking from a distance like some stalker. It must be because of that changed atmosphere. I rationalized to myself and cast a furtive glance beyond the alley. Yerenika still seemed to be scanning the spot where I had just been standing.
The noise of a rowdy band of mercenaries passing by drowned out their voices. Yet I could clearly see Sergei Lebanon leaning toward her precariously, pulling her hood up and whispering something to her. Yerenika glanced this way for a moment, then turned her head forward again. Something surged within me.
“You should exercise more caution, Your Majesty.”
Aiven Count laughed tactlessly. I found my gaze toward the Count sharpening with an edge before I lowered my eyes, wondering what on earth I was doing.
Yet my last shred of composure was completely shattered the moment I followed her into the tavern. Yerenika wore her hood, but it might as well have been useless. Her smooth, pale pink hair flowing from beneath the hood captured every gaze within the tavern. I pressed my temples, which throbbed painfully.
“…I’m going mad.”
When Sergei Lebanon, who had been sitting across from her, briefly stepped away, the gazes directed at Yerenika became noticeably more brazen. Auredhian noticed that these stares came from men and women alike, young and old, and let out a hollow laugh. His rivals had multiplied infinitely over the past two years.
It seems I need to be the one clinging to her now. He thought this despite never having truly confirmed that she was his. Yet his body rose from its seat without waiting for his mind’s command. There was no hesitation now in unleashing the carefully restrained aura he had kept in check.
“…Is this a dream?”
And Yerenika, with an air of perfect composure and calm in his eyes, spoke those words. It was her first utterance after seeing him suddenly appear before her. She blinked several times before speaking again.
“It must be a dream.”
“…No, it isn’t.”
Auredhian cut off her words abruptly. The veneer of composure he had maintained—merely tapping the table to hide his urgency—shattered there. His hand moved first.
But Auredhian Belgot was not a man who could ever be forceful with someone within his heart, so his extended hand merely brushed lightly against the back of hers. Even from that small contact, he felt the sacred energy that had been shallowly circulating through his body being drawn in and absorbed into her.
“…You’re lying.”
“That’s not it either.”
Sparks ignited in those clear, sky-blue eyes that had remained composed throughout. At last, an expression tinged with emotion. Yerenika sprang to her feet, pushed back his hood without hesitation, and confirmed his face before roughly pulling the hood back down over his head. She seized his arm roughly.
“Follow me.”
It was fierce momentum. Though the grip on his arm lacked considerable strength, Auredhian followed willingly. Yerenika had certainly changed in some way. The way she slammed the door open and shut, the way she unhesitatingly pulled down his hood and mask—all of it was different.
“You’ve become quite aggressive in the time I’ve been away….”
“Be quiet.”
Even her lowered voice, speaking tersely, felt both unfamiliar and fascinating.
“Is this some kind of joke?”
Yerenika seemed to have many questions. She kept verifying again and again, as if unable to believe what was right before her eyes.
“Is it really you? Auredhian Belgot?”
“Who else could get this close to you?”
“An illusion. A phantom. A mirage. Or perhaps I’m in poor condition and dreaming while standing. Or maybe….”
But Auredhian could not remain as calm and composed as Yerenika had been upon seeing him. The faint scent of soap filled every breath he drew. That face, which had rarely even graced his dreams and which he had childishly resented for its absence, was right before his eyes. No man in this world could remain composed standing before the woman he loved after two years apart. His reason and patience had already frayed there.
“Or perhaps someone who clings to you day and night without fail?”
“What, what are you…?”
Even recognizing his own pettiness, the jealousy grated on him so much that he could not help but voice it.
“Or perhaps some old childhood friend, or an in-law relation.”
In truth, it was little different from silent coercion. Auredhian continued with a persistence masquerading as gentleness.
“Either way, you seem far too intimate with them.”
Tell me what I want to hear.
“This person really….”
“I don’t know if I have the right to say this yet.”
As if you don’t know what I want to hear. Auredhian clearly remembered how he had resolved such petty jealousy before. The words tumbled out.
“May I kiss you?”

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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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