Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 163

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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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Side Story, Part 1, Episode 1
Side Story 1. Flowers
I hadn’t been asleep for more than an hour when my eyes opened of their own accord. The reason was unmistakable—something essential was missing.
“….”
There was no warmth. The tender heat that had cradled my body every morning had vanished without a trace. I lay motionless, staring at the empty space beside me in bed.
Cold. My body trembled. I burrowed deeper into the blankets, calling out for the one who should have been at my side.
“…Edi.”
My throat felt raw. My mind was still foggy. I rubbed my heavy eyes and murmured again.
“Edi.”
“Hmm?”
The answer to my second call came swiftly. A man emerging from the bathroom widened his eyes at the sight of me awake.
“You’re up already?”
“…I’m cold.”
Without need for further words, warmth instantly enveloped me. As crisp, refreshing divinity flowed beneath the blankets, Auredhian bent down and pressed his lips to my forehead. His voice, tinged with amusement, whispered softly against my ear.
“What brings you awake at this hour?”
“I was cold….”
“Ah. Did you leave the window open?”
Bang. The moment his words fell, the large window that had been half-open shut with a decisive slam. Auredhian pulled back the blankets and slipped inside, drawing me into his embrace.
Along with his familiar divinity came the body scent I loved most, striking my senses. Even in my half-awake state, a faint smile curved my lips. I pulled his waist close and murmured.
“You smell wonderful.”
“I just bathed.”
“Alone? How stingy….”
“Well…. I remember you washing me at dawn.”
“That’s true, but.”
“Shall we bathe again?”
Hmm. That’s a dilemma. Part of me wants to stay nestled here and sleep longer, but I’m so cold. If I could sink into hot water, it would be so warm and wonderful….
Soft lips touched my crown and forehead repeatedly. His hair, still damp from his recent bath, brushed against my forehead and lips with moisture. Those lips, soft and wet as if melting, traced from my forehead to my cheek, then to my ear.
“Let’s sleep more. You fell asleep late last night.”
“Okay….”
He was right. Yesterday was the day he’d just returned from his inspection of Eastern Belgot, and it had been a full two weeks since I’d seen him. Perhaps that’s why Auredhian, whom I usually feared might shatter or crumble at my touch, was unusually uninhibited today.
Nibble. My right earlobe was gently caught between his teeth. I laughed softly and opened my eyes slightly.
“This won’t let me sleep at all.”
“Don’t mind it.”
“How can I not mind it?”
Fine hairs rose on end. His lips, which had been sucking on my earlobe for some time, slowly descended. Following my jawline down to my neck.
“It tickles…!”
My body twisted involuntarily at the ticklish sensation. As I let out a short laugh, his lips traveled down to my collarbone. Auredhian deliberately kissed only the unmarked places, then buried his face between my neck and shoulder, breathing deeply. His voice emerged, drowsy and languid.
“You smell wonderful.”
The arm around my waist tightened. Surely my body carried the same scent as his. Auredhian had always been satisfied by that fact.
The same bed. The same bathroom. The same body scent. This is, in other words, a happy newlywed life now in its second year.
“My head feels like it’s melting….”
His lips lingered tantalizingly just below my collarbone. My drowsy mind suddenly snapped awake. If he went any lower, it would be dangerous…? Auredhian, who had been teasing the area just beneath my collarbone and around my chest, suddenly changed the subject.
“How about we wash up once more before sleeping, Yeni?”
Whoosh. His actions were half a beat faster than his words. I had been lying on my side just moments ago, watching his gleaming silver hair, but now I found myself looking up at him.
“Ah….”
Fingers much larger and firmer than mine interlaced with mine one by one. With our fingers locked together, he pressed my hand firmly against the sheets.
“Hmm?”
He held me immobilized and applied subtle pressure. Auredhian had a tendency to prefer physical communication over verbal conversation whenever we reunited after being apart for a while. The most direct and certain way to confirm each other’s presence, or so he claimed. When I didn’t respond, he murmured with longing.
“If you’re tired, we don’t have to.”
Despite his words, his eyes were full of reluctance. I blinked a couple of times. Still drowsy, I spoke whatever came to mind.
“If we do… you’ll need to wash three times, won’t you?”
“I don’t mind.”
His answer was immediate. I wrapped my free arm around his neck. As the damp strands of his hair touched my skin, my lips naturally curved upward. I pulled him close and murmured.
“If you promise not to strain yourself….”
This time, there was no response.
* * *
It took a bit longer before we had a proper conversation.
“…Don’t you need to go to your Office?”
“No.”
Normally, I would have dragged him there by force, but today I didn’t want to. Yesterday was our first meeting in half a month.
“Right. Then I suppose we’ll have to stay together all day….”
The perfectly calibrated stimulation and the pleasant aftermath. Tender affection. Everything was so sweet that I thought it wouldn’t hurt to rest like this today. I surrendered my heated, drowsy body entirely to his secure embrace.
“How was the Northern Region?”
Splash. Water rippled softly with each slight movement of my body.
“Mm. My heart ached a bit.”
“Was the situation more serious than expected?”
“It wasn’t that different from the reports…. It’s just that seeing something in writing and witnessing it firsthand with your own eyes feel completely different.”
“Ah. I see.”
Warm, fragrant water splashed gently over my shoulder. His hot hand caressed the area around my collarbone softly. My oversensitized body trembled slightly.
“Oh, ah….”
From all his teasing, marks had bloomed across my skin like flowers in vivid red, and a faint ache spread from them. I twisted my body slightly and whimpered.
“It hurts.”
“It hurts?”
“It stings. Here. And here too….”
“I’m sorry. I’ll go get some salve for you.”
His soft, murmured voice made my mind go blank again. We hadn’t even started a proper conversation yet.
“You’ve worked hard. Let’s rest for a few days, Yeni.”
“Mm….”
It felt like there was something I wanted to say…. Someone’s voice echoed in my head.
“Your Majesty, so when will we hear the news-.”
Right. There was something I wanted to ask about. But I refused to dwell any longer on a situation already grown muddled.
“I love you.”
And so, with that tender and sweet confession as the final words, I surrendered once more to the depths of sleep.
* * *
When I awoke again, the sun hung high in the sky. I opened my eyes drowsily to the sensation of fingertips gently pressing against my lips.
“Time to wake up, Yerenika.”
Sometimes, all of this feels far too unreal. The person who is always beside me when I open my eyes in my bed each morning. The one who holds me tenderly and kisses me. A peaceful midday hour. Returning to the Imperial Palace after a journey—long or short, it matters not. With just that, my mind becomes incapable of thinking of anything else, and I often find myself doubting whether this is truly reality.
“Hold me.”
The moment the words left my lips, strong arms wrapped around my waist and lifted me effortlessly. With a brief sensation of weightlessness, my body was settled properly onto the bed.
“Have I been tormenting you too much…?”
As I clung to his neck like a child, his voice carried a note of mild embarrassment. I laughed softly and tilted my head up to look at him.
“Are you reflecting on your actions?”
“Yes.”
Yet truthfully, Auredhian had never been the sort to push me beyond my limits. Two years had passed since our marriage, and my body had grown incomparably stronger than it was two years ago—and yet he remained almost excessively cautious.
Was that the reason?
“We are eagerly awaiting good news, Your Majesty.”
…
Sometimes I forget that my husband is the master of this empire. Two years of marriage. My husband is the Emperor. Now, in this unstable period when mysterious natural disasters sweep across the empire once every quarter, what is needed for the stability of the empire and the imperial house, and for the peace of the people…
Auredhian tilted his head, noticing that my expression had stiffened slightly.
“What’s wrong? You suddenly seem distant…”
“It’s nothing.”
I quickly shook my head. When I offered a bright smile, a tender kiss was returned. Clear sanctity flowed into me, yet my mind, already beginning to tangle, only grew more complicated. The words spoken by the Bishop of the Alkain Temple in the Northern Region, who had suffered greatly from the recent landslide, echoed once more in my thoughts.
“Would not a healthy heir be necessary for the peace of Belgot? This old man eagerly awaits such news as well.”

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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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