Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 32

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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 32
Auredhian Belgot’s voice had turned rigid and sharp. I held my breath instinctively.
This was no misunderstanding. From the man half-embracing me from behind, I felt a keenly honed presence—a palpable aura of danger.
Auredhian Belgot reached out. Without hesitation, he seized the transparent orb I’d nearly touched. I reflexively opened my mouth.
“Don’t touch that—huh?”
But nothing happened. His hand remained unscathed. I stared blankly, alternating my gaze between his hand and mine. The difference was unmistakable.
Auredhian Belgot rolled the orb in his palm, muttering low.
“Such foolish games…”
A small commotion nearby drowned out the rest of his words. I tried to turn and see his face, but his firm embrace prevented it.
Auredhian Belgot silently lifted my hand. My fingertips were swelling increasingly red, throbbing as if pricked by countless needles. I stared at them in bewilderment.
“What is this…?”
But I hadn’t even touched it.
Yet the moment Auredhian Belgot wrapped his hand around my injured fingertips, the burning sensation vanished instantly.
A cool, overwhelming sensation flooded through me, washing away the pain. My fingers returned to perfect condition as if by magic. There was no need to understand how—it was the power of the sacred.
A low voice resonated at my ear.
“Radin.”
He wasn’t speaking to me. I immediately recalled the name he’d called—the Knight who had been instructed to follow us when we left the Imperial Palace. But his voice didn’t stop there.
“Lugie. Selbier. Eliga.”
Unfamiliar names, yet I could tell they were also knights under the Emperor’s command. The moment I spotted the white horse waiting obediently at the distant alley entrance, my suspicion became certainty.
“Ah…”
A chill swept over me, as if every hair on my body stood on end.
So Auredhian Belgot had been vigilant all along—from the very beginning until now. He’d stationed four Knights in ambush behind us. My mouth fell open.
“What is this…”
And in the next moment, the hand I’d been holding released me. As the warmth drained from his touch, a sudden chill rushed in.
Fortunately, the cold didn’t linger. A firm hand settled upon my shoulder.
“Your Majesty…?”
“We should leave this place.”
“Pardon?”
“There seem to be rats about today.”
Rats? My eyes widened. Surely he didn’t mean actual squeaking rodents. Surely not. I shifted my gaze nervously. No, surely not…
That Soleia had followed us here…
…
The thought drained the blood from my entire body.
Now that I considered it, Auredhian Belgot’s demeanor had been subtly strange all day—ever since the moment we spotted Soleia Elad in front of Bellirook Palace.
I grasped the hem of his robe. The chill that had been piercing through my body vanished immediately. I turned and pulled him into a tight embrace—half an unconscious gesture. Sacred power flowed into me like a rapid battery charge.
Auredhian Belgot let out a short laugh.
“What does this mean?”
“It means I like you, Your Majesty.”
I answered vaguely, burying my face in his embrace. Dependence is a poor habit, yet in this man’s presence, I inevitably found myself seeking his warmth. My body instinctively sought the means to elevate my condition to its peak.
Auredhian Belgot didn’t push me away. With my face buried against him, I couldn’t see his expression. All around us was chaos and tumult, yet the ground beneath our feet remained serene.
I counted to exactly three before pulling away from Auredhian Belgot. My energy surged back, threatening to overflow once more.
I grasped his hand firmly and shook it with determination.
“That’s enough. Let’s go now.”
The moment the words left my lips, hands wrapped around my waist as if they’d been waiting. Auredhian Belgot issued an order in a voice so cold it was startling.
“Seal off Ugel Square. Radin, contact the Magic Tower.”
His voice wasn’t loud, yet somehow it carried. I glanced around, unable to discern who might be listening. A rowdy group chattered past behind me with a thunderous clatter.
“…!”
The next instant, a light floating sensation swept through me as my vision suddenly rose. Just as he’d done before, Auredhian Belgot lifted me effortlessly into his arms. I reflexively wrapped my arms around his neck.
“You said it yourself earlier. That you wanted to visit the temple.”
“I did?”
The man who’d been vigilant of his surroundings moments ago spoke to me as naturally as if nothing had happened. Had I really said I wanted to visit the temple? My mind felt scattered as I tried to recall.
Now that I thought about it, I might have mentioned something like that before we left…
“Since we’re out anyway, shall we go today?”
No, this isn’t what’s important right now! I opened my mouth urgently.
“Wait, Your Majesty. Sightseeing is over. Can’t we just return to the Imperial Palace now… ugh.”
But Auredhian Belgot seemed to have already stopped listening to me. The alley that had taken me so long to traverse was covered in mere steps with his stride.
My struggling through the crowds seemed utterly meaningless as we emerged from the alley in mere seconds.
While I was still stammering, Auredhian Belgot set me lightly atop Lyud. He then mounted the horse without hesitation, seized the reins, and kicked Lyud’s flank.
“Hyah!”
The horse let out a loud neigh and began to move. It was a speed similar to when we’d galloped out from Lebovni Royal Palace. I opened my mouth to protest but nearly bit my tongue and closed it instead.
Ugel Square receded rapidly into the distance.
* * *
Whether it was because the distance was short or because Lyud galloped like the wind, it didn’t take long to reach Raulus Temple.
Within minutes of leaving Ugel Square, we stood before the massive gate leading to the temple. The enormous arched entrance soared to dizzying heights. Its width was equally impressive.
I recognized that the carvings etched into the solid marble resembled the murals depicting Belgot’s founding mythology that I’d seen in Ugel Square.
“Pass through, Lyud.”
And Auredhian Belgot seemed intent on proceeding straight through the entrance.
“Stop, please!”
But the figure guarding the entrance hastily blocked our path.
A priest dressed entirely in white save for a small embroidered cross. A Novice Priest, perhaps?
“From this point forward, you cannot bring a horse inside. First, please state your name, identity, and purpose of visit—”
“Open it.”
A low voice cut the Novice Priest short. Auredhian Belgot didn’t elaborate. His left hand, which held the reins, rose sharply. I didn’t see what happened next as I instinctively pressed against his right arm, but it seemed he’d pushed back his hood.
“Your… Your Majesty…!”
The Novice Priest looked as though he might stumble backward in shock. And rightfully so. The moment a rude intruder attempting to breach the temple was revealed to be the Emperor himself was quite the revelation. Of course, I remained as suspicious as ever.
The Novice Priest quickly composed himself and spoke hesitantly.
“But, Your Majesty, the person accompanying you is…?”
“Irrelevant.”
And Auredhian Belgot now seemed somewhat irritated. That irritable tone caught me off guard. The man I’d observed until now was decisively firm, but not the sensitive type.
So what had made him like this?
I grunted and twisted my body to look back at him. I heard Auredhian Belgot exhale a sigh. His following words carried a subtle edge.
“He is my guest. I vouch for his identity in the name of Belgot.”
“Ah.”
The Novice Priest bowed deeply, uncertain where to place himself.
“I have committed a grave discourtesy toward an esteemed guest. Please, do come in.”
Auredhian Belgot did not respond. Embarrassed on his behalf, I opened my mouth to offer a greeting in his stead.
“Thank you so mu— Ow!”
Before I could finish, a strange cry burst from my lips. Auredhian Belgot had kicked Lyud’s ribs again. I scrambled to grab his arm and cried out.
“No, can’t you go a little slower? What’s the rush, I— …”
But even those words did not escape my lips completely. We had barely passed through the entrance and galloped a short distance when a colossal temple revealed itself in the distance. Impossibly tall steps rose before it, and atop them stood a temple of pale jade. Two wolf-shaped sculptures stood sentinel on either side, as if guarding the sacred structure.
Auredhian Belgot pulled the reins. Lyud, who had been galloping forward, came to an abrupt halt with a short neigh. His massive body lurched heavily.
Auredhian Belgot, who had kept his mouth firmly shut until now, suddenly asked.
“Are you all right?”
“Pardon?”
I turned to look at him in confusion. This time, I could see his face clearly—it was still slightly tense.
“I’m fine, though…?”
“Are you?”
Lyud’s body shifted once more. The man who had dismounted first extended his hand. I obediently took his arm and stepped back onto solid ground.
Or tried to.
“Ugh.”

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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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