Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 52

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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 52
It was my name—a name I never thought I would hear from this voice. I stood frozen, retracing what had just happened. Unless I had finally lost my mind, this man had just called my name…
Before I could even process that reality, his voice continued, gentle and soothing.
“I won’t go anywhere. Just wait a moment.”
His tone was composed and steady. I felt my trampled mind returning, piece by piece.
He won’t go anywhere…
I repeated those words like an incantation, my trembling fingertips curling inward. The tension that had gripped my arms drained away. As if waiting for that moment, a gentle hand grasped me and pulled me close. And in the next instant, the face of the man I’d called out to countless times filled my entire vision.
Auredhian’s expression was strikingly rigid. My tear-stained face reflected perfectly in his crimson eyes.
My vision wavered so much I couldn’t see clearly, but I was certain my appearance was a complete mess. My attempt to lift a hand and wipe away the tears failed as my body refused to obey.
“What… is this.”
Auredhian let out a short groan and placed his hand against my cheek. Wet tears clung to his fingers. I blinked, trying to focus my vision. My entire body trembled excessively. My vision kept tilting and righting itself repeatedly.
“Something is wrong with Bellirook Palace…”
I heard Auredhian muttering something under his breath.
“I ordered you to examine it so thoroughly.”
His crimson eyes seemed to deepen in color for a moment. It was an oppressive light I could barely withstand in my current state. A raw holiness similar to what I’d experienced once in the Temple before made my breath catch. My vision darkened in patches.
“Your… Your Majesty…”
“Ah.”
Auredhian blinked. The pressure constricting my lungs instantly lightened. I fumbled to reach out and grasp something on his body.
“This is strange…”
That thought only occurred to me now. I stared blankly at the large hand that entwined with mine and thought. Even though we were touching, my condition was recovering slowly. Normally, I should have been fine the moment we made contact.
Only after that doubt arose did I realize how severely weakened I had become. My mind had been clear, so I hadn’t felt it. Seeing this man only once every three days was clearly insufficient. I must have been plagued by nightmares every night. The damage was accumulating faster than I could recover.
And even now.
My body swayed as the tension suddenly released.
“Yerenika—”
His urgent cry grew distant in my ears. Would it be alright if I lost consciousness now? What if I was swallowed by nightmares again? Despite all that anxiety, my mind could no longer hold on. With a dizzying sensation of falling off a cliff, the world went dark.
* * *
The Imperial Palace was thrown into chaos from early dawn—from the moment the Emperor, who had gone out for his usual dawn training, returned carrying the unconscious Princess of Lebovni.
The servants of Belgot Palace, who had been busy preparing for the new morning, instinctively held their breath under the terrifying pressure their master was emanating. The small woman cradled in the Emperor’s arms looked as if she were dead. Her soft, pale pink hair, which always shimmered brilliantly, hung limp and lifeless.
The Imperial Palace’s physician, summoned at dawn, hurried after the Emperor. Even after their figures completely disappeared on the third floor, the servants dared not speak, only exchanging nervous glances.
About thirty minutes later, the Emperor reappeared after taking the Princess to her bedroom. The expressionless, cold-faced man swept his gaze around. The servants, who had been watching from a distance in fear, immediately bowed.
“Find them.”
Auredhian Belgot, the lord of Belgot renowned for his kindness, gentleness, and compassion, issued a command in a cold voice his servants had never heard before.
“Whoever cast that corrupted magic on Bellirook Palace.”
“Pardon?”
Felix, the Emperor’s direct aide, found himself questioning without thinking. The palace had already been inspected twice over. There shouldn’t be anything left to find…
“Hah.”
However, the moment the Emperor glanced back at him, Felix felt the urge to bite his own tongue. The crimson eyes that fell upon him were nothing like his usual languid gaze. The clear, refreshing aura that always surrounded him had transformed into hundreds of sharp, jagged blades. Felix felt the oppressive weight bearing down on him from all directions and immediately lowered his head.
“I shall obey your command, Your Majesty.”
Auredhian Belgot did not respond. He simply tilted his head slightly as if displeased. His violet eyes remained darkly downcast.
In his five years serving the Emperor, Felix had rarely seen him with such eyes and such an expression. Auredhian was not someone one could call particularly affectionate, but he was neither difficult nor ill-tempered. Yet from his five years of experience, Felix also knew that this was not the entirety of his master.
What appeared lenient and generous was, in other words, proof that he had never cared in the first place. That was why every servant in Belgot Palace understood one thing: once or twice a year, when the Emperor truly lost his temper, one must never, ever touch him.
After a terrifying silence, the Emperor’s tightly pressed lips slowly curved upward. Auredhian spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.
“No.”
“Y-yes…?”
“I’ll handle this myself.”
The servants’ faces drained of all color at those words. Yet Auredhian lacked the kindness to spare them a glance.
“Seal Bellirook Palace. Not a single rat escapes.”
“Y-your Majesty….”
Felix understood the implication, and felt the blood in his veins turn to ice. Even a fool would know this wasn’t merely about closing the palace doors. And his master’s orders didn’t end there. Auredhian Belgot spoke slowly, deliberately, as though spitting out each word.
“And bring me Soleia Elad. That woman. Before my eyes. Now.”
“I-I shall obey your command.”
Felix couldn’t bring himself to meet those eyes and bowed deeply. Nor did anyone else in Belgot Palace dare to straighten their spine until their lord’s silhouette finally vanished beyond the stairs.
* * *
Soleia Elad. The woman who had dared to cause trouble within his own palace. The woman who had crossed a line that even her status as a power at the Magic Tower could excuse.
The news his secretary brought, trembling violently, only stoked Auredhian’s fury further. Soleia Elad had accepted a mission from the Magic Tower and departed for the Southern Region.
So she truly had something to hide. The way she’d slipped away at such a convenient moment proved it. She was a woman of sharp instincts and cunning beyond measure. If that were the case, then Bellirook Palace was what needed to be dealt with first. There might still be hidden rats lurking about….
Auredhian entered the bedroom with a visibly hardened expression. But then he sensed the sharp, restless energy still circling around him. He let out a low groan and stopped in his tracks. The sky-blue eyes that had trembled beneath his oppressive presence came vividly to mind. Merely recalling those eyes caused the roiling turmoil in his heart to settle somewhat.
Auredhian ran his fingers roughly through his hair, composing himself. His sharp, rigid gaze gradually softened, and the anger faded from his features. Once he judged that the sharp edge had been sufficiently dulled, his feet moved again. He approached the bed and lifted the lowered canopy. The motion carried a hint of urgency.
Inside the canopy, long strands of pale pink hair lay scattered across the pillow and sheets, catching his eye first. Between those delicate threads—so fine they seemed they would dissolve at the slightest touch—lay a pale, ashen face. A slender neck. A thin, fragile body buried deep beneath the blankets.
Auredhian slowly sat on the edge of the bed. His bed was far too large and vast for her.
‘…So small.’
Seeing her lying there, she seemed so small and frail that a mere tap would send her tumbling. When he’d held her unconscious form, he’d been startled by how much lighter she’d become compared to when he’d first brought her to Belgot. He’d thought her light, light indeed, but it wasn’t until this early morning that she’d felt so insubstantial—like paper.
Certainly, he’d noticed over these past few days that her condition seemed poor. Auredhian regretted not pressing the matter further then. He should have taken immediate action at that moment.
His cool fingertips traced through the pale pink hair that had slipped beneath the pillow, brushing it gently aside. The faded rose-pink that had lost its subtle luster made his chest ache. How could it not? He’d already admitted to himself that he was falling. How could his heart not sting at the sight of her like this? Auredhian exhaled a sigh—he’d lost count of how many—and sat closer to the Princess.
Yerenika would never know how startled he’d been when, as he was beginning an ordinary day, he saw a color that had no business being there. When she’d clung to him in that state, in that condition, Auredhian had felt as though the world had turned upside down.
His gaze drifted toward her feet, buried somewhere beneath the blankets. No matter how much he pondered it, he couldn’t fathom what she’d been fleeing from so desperately that she’d forgotten to put on shoes before running out.
Yerenika had spoken only a few words before losing consciousness.
“Hah, it was…. A dream….”
A dream. She’d definitely said it was a dream.
He didn’t believe the Princess of Lebovni had simply thrashed about in her sleep and fled the palace at dawn. Despite her small, delicate appearance, she possessed a spirited and resolute nature. If she’d been so gripped by terror that she’d lost all reason, then it wasn’t merely a nightmare—there had to be something more that threatened her.
His reddish-purple eyes slowly lowered. Beneath half-closed lids, his pupils gleamed darkly with an unrefined sanctity. Raw divine power suddenly extended sharply into the empty air.
“Mm….”
The moment Yerenika whimpered and stirred, that sharp aura instantly dulled. Auredhian hastily contained the divine power swirling around him and bowed his head toward her. Slowly—so slowly it was almost painful to watch—Yerenika’s eyes opened.

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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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