Beguiling the Enemy’s Patriarch - Chapter 65

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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 65
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That night, sleep eluded me once again. It wasn’t as though I’d deliberately resolved to keep my eyes wide open—truthfully, I’d scarcely slept properly in recent nights.
With my days and nights inverted and my body naturally heavy with exhaustion, the accumulation of fatigue was inevitable. Perhaps it was because I’d suffered through nightmares, barely recovered, only to be struck by successive shocks without respite. My body hung limp and utterly drained.
Eventually, I forced myself upright from the bed. Sleeping at night still frightened me somewhat. The room was dark. I threw off my blankets and descended from the bed, hastily slipping on plush fur slippers and draping a thin cardigan over my shoulders. Since I couldn’t venture beyond this floor anyway, I thought I might at least step out onto the terrace.
The glass door slid open with a soft whisper, and a warm spring breeze drifted gently through.
“It’s not cold at all…”
I released the cardigan hem I’d been holding and stepped onto the terrace. The rounded terrace was still scattered with crumpled scraps of paper I’d carelessly thrown about that afternoon. Since I’d rushed back to my room afterward without allowing the maidservants inside, there hadn’t been time to tidy up.
“…Sigh.”
A long breath escaped me. This endless worrying truly didn’t suit me at all. I moved a chair away from the small table and stood before the terrace railing. The garden at night was pitch-black. Except for small lanterns glowing in scattered places, darkness had settled completely over everything.
Night. My body trembled slightly.
[Come with me, Eun-seo.]
“…Ah. Really.”
I blinked at my eyes, which had begun to ache sharply. I shook my head, trying to chase away the memories surfacing in my mind. This was precisely the problem—memories from that night, vivid and fresh, returned each time darkness fell. That night’s nightmare.
Soleia’s nightmare hadn’t visited me again. So what tormented me every night afterward wasn’t that dark magic. This was merely a nightmare in the truest sense.
Clearly, as my body weakened, so too did my spirit. Under normal circumstances, I would have dismissed such a dream with a casual laugh and forgotten it entirely, yet here I was, dwelling on it for days. I shook my head as vigorously as I could, repeating to myself over and over.
“Begone, wicked thoughts. Begone, wicked—”
“Princess?”
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
At the sudden sound of a voice, I shrieked and leaped from where I stood.
“What, what, what, what is it!”
My heart plummeted to my feet. I clutched at my wildly beating chest and turned my head toward the source of the voice. The moment I identified who it was, a small gasp escaped me.
“Oh.”
Even in the dark night, there gleamed a solitary silver light. On the terrace directly beside mine. I blinked blankly for a moment before murmuring softly.
“Am I seeing things…?”
“Seeing things?”
A laugh tinged with amusement drifted over. A hallucination that speaks! I let out a silent scream and stared at the man leaning against the terrace railing.
Silver hair fell softly, swaying gently in the spring breeze. Crimson eyes that appeared nearly black in the darkness. A transparent wine glass held loosely in his hand. Each time Auredhian Belgot turned his hand slightly, the wine within the glass rippled.
I murmured blankly.
“Your Majesty…?”
He seemed equally startled to see me. Auredhian Belgot slowly composed his expression of surprise and asked.
“What are you doing out here at this hour instead of sleeping?”
“I, I couldn’t sleep… But what are you doing awake at this hour, Your Majesty?”
The time had long passed midnight. It seemed he smiled faintly.
“Well, I suppose I could say I couldn’t sleep either.”
“Yes, that’s certainly possible.”
I readily accepted this and nodded. If I was this confused after hearing Soleia’s words, then the mind of the person who’d actually had that conversation must be far more than troubled—perhaps utterly shattered.
I moved closer to the railing nearest to him. The distance between us seemed both near and far. I rested my arms on the railing and propped my chin on the back of my hand, looking up at him.
It had been four days since that brief tea time when I’d rejected him. My heart began to beat steadily once more, yet today, having overheard that shocking conversation this afternoon, concern outweighed any thrill. The man, oblivious to my turmoil, asked in his usual gentle tone.
“Why can’t you sleep?”
“Mm. My mind is still a bit scattered, you could say.”
I watched as Auredhian Belgot paused mid-sip, his glass suspended in air. I propped my chin on the back of my hand and smiled softly. It was half habit, that smile. Auredhian Belgot clicked his tongue briefly.
“You’re not saying you’re fine today.”
“I don’t lie. If I say I’m fine, then I’m fine. If I’m not, then I’m not.”
“Is that so….”
His expression made it clear he didn’t quite believe me. With a soft clink, Auredhian Belgot set his wine glass down on the table.
“Princess, step back three paces.”
“Pardon?”
“Quickly.”
I retreated with a bewildered expression. One step. Two steps. Three steps. The moment I’d taken exactly three paces backward, Auredhian Belgot—who had been leaning against the terrace railing—straightened himself. He grasped the railing, and in the next instant, his silver hair caught the wind and billowed dramatically.
A figure who had been beyond the railing crossed the distance I’d just vacated in a single blink. The gap that had seemed too wide to close, separated as it was by the railing, collapsed into a single stride. A clean, refreshing scent brushed against my nose.
I gasped involuntarily, then held my breath as I felt myself lifted with a gentle, shimmering motion. Auredhian Belgot, who had crossed the distance as easily as if it were nothing, curved his lips into a smile.
“Why aren’t you fine today?”
“I… yes…?”
I opened my eyes wide and looked up at the man before me. His crimson eyes, which had seemed half-swallowed by darkness from a distance, now gleamed with striking clarity. As always, his face held that half-relaxed, languid, defenseless quality.
If not for the faint weariness etched in his gaze, and if I hadn’t overheard that afternoon conversation, I would have thought his face was no different from usual. I averted my gaze ambiguously and mumbled.
“It’s nothing. I haven’t slept well for several days, so my head aches a bit….”
“You haven’t slept?”
His voice immediately took on an unusual edge. Two hands, cooled by the night air, touched my cheeks. Auredhian Belgot lifted my lowered head and examined my face intently. His crimson eyes reflected nothing but me. There had been a time when this feeling was incomparably precious—when only I existed in those eyes.
I forced a bright smile to hide the bitterness creeping into my heart.
“If sleep came easily, that would be strange. I got thoroughly scolded in my dreams.”
“Is that so….”
“Besides, I sleep a lot during the day, so it’s fine.”
“Your eyes are red for that to be the case.”
This man’s perceptiveness was as sharp as ever. It had been days since my eyes felt dry and sore from lack of proper sleep. Was it showing that much? I lifted my hand and rubbed my eyes.
“This is nothing. Except that time moves slowly at night, it’s actually quite peaceful and pleasant….”
“Your sleep schedule has reversed. That’s not a good state.”
“It’s better than someone who cuts sleep entirely and works…, isn’t it?”
The hand against my cheek was cool. Its temperature was far lower than usual. I instinctively tried to grasp that coolness, then realized my own hands were even colder and withdrew them.
“This is nothing. Please don’t worry.”
“…If it’s not because of that.”
His voice continued slowly, low but tender.
“Then what’s making you not fine?”
This time, I awkwardly averted my gaze. Those reddish eyes clung persistently to me. Well. I heard that afternoon conversation you had with Soleia Elad, and it seems the day I’ll have to leave here really isn’t far off. I swallowed the first part and let only the rest spill out.
“Could I stay at the Temple for a while?”
“What?”
Surprise flickered across his previously relaxed face in an instant. I moved my reluctant lips to continue.
“I know it’s an unreasonable request. I know civilians can’t stay at the Temple for long, but it would only be temporary.”
Auredhian Belgot fell silent for a moment. A brief silence descended between us. After an awkward stillness passed, it was Auredhian Belgot who spoke first.
“Only temporary.”
“Yes.”
Perhaps this was the moment. The time had come to tell him what I’d been contemplating all evening. The situation arrived sooner than I’d anticipated, which was somewhat disappointing, but what could I do? There was no other choice. Besides, I suspected he’d already considered this possibility himself. I steadied my resolve and spoke with determination.
“I intend to return to Lebovni.”
“….”
“You promised, didn’t you? That you would send me back the moment the King of Lebovni opens the Glucaman Road.”
As I continued speaking calmly, Auredhian Belgot uttered not a single word. I concluded my statement in an equally composed tone.
“I believe the time has come now. After all, Lebovni should be prepared to open the Glucaman Road at any moment. Azekien may present some complications, certainly, but your promise to me was contingent upon Lebovni’s cooperation alone. As long as Lebovni acts favorably, my value as a hostage has effectively ceased to exist, hasn’t it? Am I mistaken?”
An answer came—or rather, it didn’t, which was peculiar in itself. I continued speaking and ventured a cautious glance upward at him.
“So there should be no problem whatsoever with my returning to Lebovni now…. Your Majesty?”
The relaxed, gentle expression that had graced his features moments before had vanished entirely. His strikingly handsome face had hardened visibly, as though carved from stone.
“Ah….”
It was a face I’d glimpsed fleetingly several times before. The weariness that had lingered in his eyes transformed instantly into a sharp, piercing light. Without thinking, I reached out my hand once more.
“Why are you like this?”

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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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