Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 122

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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 122
Tears welled up in my eyes. Raulus seemed to notice that my expression had grown grave. His tone immediately shifted to something playful and irreverent.
[And you think Hades will take pity on you while you sit here fretting endlessly?]
“What… what do you mean?”
The tears that had been threatening to spill vanished instantly. Was this comfort, advice, or a curse? I looked at Raulus with eyes gone cold, and he continued with solemn gravity.
[Isn’t it better to face death together than for you to be dragged away alone and meet a dog’s death?]
“So it is a curse after all?”
I shot Raulus a sidelong glance. Yet at the same time, a laugh escaped me. I pulled Raulus closer into my embrace.
“But you’re right, I suppose.”
[Of course I am. I’m quite wise, you know.]
“Fine. I’ll grant you that this time.”
I lifted Raulus into my arms and rose to my feet. The earth beneath the tree lay overturned from all my pacing and deliberation. I swept the disheveled ground with my foot. After two days of aimless vacillation, my resolve had finally crystallized. Yes. Clinging to the notion that I must face this alone was a cruelty to myself and to Auredhian alike. It was time to be honest. I despised solitude. I cherished companionship.
Perhaps my heart had already tilted in one direction from the very moment I discovered Auredhian in the midst of that raucous tavern.
I murmured the words to myself, etching them into memory.
“Yes. Let’s go back.”
But before I could even tell Auredhian of my decision, an unexpected visitor arrived at the Western Palace.
* * *
It was late afternoon. An hour drawing close to evening when I had expected no one would call. I had been waiting for the right moment to confess my resolve to Auredhian. And despite all my careful timing, that moment arrived with startling abruptness.
Tezebia arrived at the Western Palace without warning.
“Y-Your Highness…!”
When Maidservant Merry burst open my chamber door with eyes wide as a startled rabbit’s, I had already spotted Tezebia’s crimson hair beyond the window and was hastily concealing myself—or rather, concealing Auredhian.
“Yerenika…”
I unceremoniously shoved him toward the wardrobe at the back of the bedroom. Auredhian stumbled backward several steps under the sudden force of my push, his violet eyes flooding with bewilderment.
“Why… why?”
“Hush.”
The dressing room was pitch dark. It was less a proper dressing room and more a makeshift wardrobe space adjoining the bedroom—cramped and shadowed. I was grateful it wasn’t crammed full of gowns.
“What, why? What’s happening—”
“Hush, hush. My sister seems to have arrived.”
I pressed my index finger to his lips and called for the maidservant.
“Merry, where is my sister—”
“Yerenika?”
“Oh!”
Bang. Quick-witted Merry immediately shoved me into the dressing room. The door slammed shut. I had nearly come face-to-face with my sister as she entered the bedroom. My heart hammering, I listened to the conversation between Tezebia and Merry.
“T-Tezebia, Your Highness.”
“It’s been so long, Merry. Where is Yerenika? I thought we might have tea together.”
“Aunt!”
Heavens. I let out a low sigh. Brizni had come too. It was now abundantly clear that Brizni must have told Tezebia everything about Auredhian. Only then did I realize the full scope of the situation, and I felt Auredhian’s lips curve upward against my finger. I glanced up at him and mouthed silently:
‘Don’t laugh.’
He nodded, though it was plain he found it nearly impossible to suppress his amusement. I sharpened my hearing to its fullest and listened to the conversation beyond the wardrobe.
She nodded, nodded. He seemed to have difficulty holding back his laughter, but he obediently nodded his head. I sharpened my hearing as much as possible and listened to the conversation outside the closet.
“The Princess went out for a stroll a moment ago….”
“Is that so? When?”
“About half an hour ago.”
Merry seemed slightly flustered, but she answered with the composure befitting a maidservant who had spent years in the palace. I pressed a hand to my chest, only to stiffen again at Brizni’s innocent voice.
“Auntie! I know where you like to play!”
Pitter-patter—the sound of small, eager footsteps echoed, followed by a confused voice.
“Huh? It’s not there today.”
“Brizni?”
“We were supposed to swing today….”
‘You promised to push her on the swing?’
I formed the words with my lips, asking Auredhian Belgot silently. The darkness was so complete I couldn’t tell if he understood. Eventually, I fumbled for his chest and shoulder, found his neck, wrapped my arm around it, and pulled him down toward me.
A soft exhale.
“…Ah.”
But in the darkness, I had miscalculated the distance. His breath suddenly drew close, and the sharp line of his nose grazed dangerously against mine. His clean scent enveloped me. I reflexively drew in a short breath, then clamped my mouth shut. I felt his hair brush against my forehead.
‘You’re… too close….’
My heart began to race uncontrollably. I regretted pulling him so urgently and carefully unwound the arm I’d wrapped around his neck. I tried to create distance by shifting my feet.
Creak.
“Hmm? Did you hear something just now….”
“…!”
Panicked, I immediately returned my feet to their original position. Tezebia’s murmur sounded magnified a hundredfold to my ears. I froze, a silent scream caught in my throat.
“Did you hear that sound just now?”
“I… I didn’t hear anything….”
‘Oh no.’
My spine tingled with dread. My eyes blinked rapidly of their own accord. And in the next moment, I truly could not move.
“…!”
Our foreheads touched. My eyes still hadn’t adjusted to the darkness, so I saw nothing. His shallow, languid breath grazed my lips. The instant I realized that the slightest tilt of my head would bring our lips together, I froze completely. A whisper of fabric brushed softly. A dizzying sanctity filled the narrow space. My heart began to pound.
Whether it was the tension of knowing that if my sister outside discovered this situation, it would be catastrophic, or the anticipation of the profound and overwhelming sensation that might come next, I couldn’t say….
“How is Yerenika these days? I haven’t been able to pay attention lately….”
“She is always bright and well. There’s no need to worry, Princess Tezebia.”
“I see… Are there any visitors? Anyone she’s been meeting? Anything like that?”
Outside, the conversation between Tezebia and Merry continued. My heart seemed to shrivel to the size of a bean. Yet simultaneously, as if the outside conversation belonged to another world entirely, soft lips hovered just beneath my eyes.
“….”
I couldn’t bring myself to open my mouth and whisper. That barely-touching sensation—neither quite touching nor quite not—was somehow harder to bear. My fingertips trembled and twitched.
His lips moved slowly. The sensation of sliding along the bridge of my nose was far too stimulating. And yet I had already experienced sensations far deeper and more intense than this several times before.
“Tell me honestly, Merry. What exactly is Yerenika doing here these days?”
“P-Princess Tezebia.”
“And it’s strange how Brizni keeps visiting the Western Palace so often….”
The sensation that had slowly traced down to the tip of my nose stopped just above my lips. He lingered near my lips, tracing their outline, deliberately avoiding direct contact. He was the man who knew best what touches, what stimulation I craved.
My expression twisted helplessly. He always indulged me so readily—but of course he would choose this moment to torment me. I felt my lips contort, and Auredhian Belgot let out a soft laugh. I could picture his expression without seeing it: that loose, captivating smile that seemed to enchant everyone who beheld it.
After lingering at the corner of my lips for some time, they finally withdrew without touching where I wanted them most. Auredhian Belgot whispered softly against my ear, unable to hide his amusement.
“We’re on the verge of being discovered.”
“….”
“It seems I can’t keep you confined here much longer.”
“Be quiet… ah.”
He gently nipped at my earlobe. A soft gasp escaped between my parted lips as I tried to silence him with my hand. It didn’t hurt, but the sensation was enough to make me shudder involuntarily. My eyes filled with reproach. In the darkness, I flailed my hand and pushed against what I assumed to be his cheek and jaw.
“…You’re too much.”
“What is?”
“Are you doing this on purpose right now?”
Even in a whisper so faint it was barely audible, petulance colored my words. Auredhian Belgot, whom I thought would yield obediently, gently brushed his lips against the tip of my chin.
“Not particularly on purpose.”
“Then what is it?”
“You expect me to do nothing when we’re alone together in this cramped, dark space? Isn’t that asking too much of me?”
I really needed to set the record straight. Over these past few days, Auredhian Belgot had become not only more persistent but also increasingly shameless. Not that I minded entirely, but still….
“At least allow me this much.”
This man seemed oblivious to the fact that even such a light touch was dangerously stimulating in this moment. My face contorted absurdly. Outside, Tezebia was gently interrogating Merry, and Brizni was darting about the room… and here I was, trapped in this narrow wardrobe….
Overwhelming guilt and shame bloomed within me. Yet perhaps the real problem was that I, even amidst it all, felt a primal hunger stirring.

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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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