The Wind Calms the Fire - Chapter 29

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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 29
Carrion found himself puzzled.
Were all the women of Zephyros like this?
He had never seen her hesitate when the word “marriage” left her lips.
Could it be that marriage in Zephyros meant something entirely different from what the Empire understood?
He had no intention of pressing her on the matter.
If she were to backtrack, saying something like “Oh, I didn’t realize marriage was such a thing,” it would be troublesome indeed.
He had resolved to make this marriage contract succeed, no matter what.
Only she could calm his seizures.
With her at his side, he wouldn’t have to live in constant dread of when the next fit might strike.
He was bound to a cursed body regardless.
The only difference would be that his captor changed from the curse itself to her.
At least there would be no pain in that.
Besides—Carrion caught himself before the thought could drift further.
He shouldn’t entertain such improper fantasies with her standing right in front of him.
“Your Highness.”
Lea broached the subject carefully.
“About what happened in Heketa…”
When Lea trailed off, Carrion prompted her gently.
“What troubles you?”
“What became of the tax collectors the First Prince sent?”
“That is a matter past.”
“But couldn’t you tell me about it precisely because it’s past?”
Seeing the earnest plea in her expression, Carrion smiled lightly.
“Why didn’t you ask that day?”
“That day… I felt as though I’d be prying into something you had already resolved. It didn’t seem right to question out of mere curiosity.”
It occurred to her that things had concluded more swiftly than expected that day—perhaps they had reached a civilized agreement.
“It wasn’t truly resolved. I would call it more of a postponement.”
As she heard the general situation, Lea’s eyes widened.
Seeing her expression, Carrion spoke.
“You must be disappointed that I couldn’t play the hero.”
Lea shook her head firmly.
“Disappointed? No, not at all.”
Rather, she was impressed.
In the end, he had stood against the First Prince, yet as Commander-in-Chief he had acted with such clear justification that no one could fault him for it.
If the Fourth Prince’s reputation in the Empire was that of a straightforward, typical military man, there was no contradiction in his conduct.
‘Have I been prejudiced against this man?’
Knowing from the future that he would die by the First Prince’s scheme, she had defined him as someone weak against conspiracy and intrigue.
‘This man doesn’t lack political acumen.’
If anything, should he set his mind to it, he could transform into a politician more cunning than anyone.
Lea found herself curious about Enoch’s reaction when he learned of Carrion’s true nature.
The mere thought of him fuming and pacing in frustration brought her a grim satisfaction.
‘Her Majesty was right.’
When Nela first brought up the marriage to Carrion, Lea had thought it came out of nowhere.
“You conducted a siege. And it failed. To begin again, you must change your approach. You must go inside.”
In her previous life, no matter how hard Lea threw herself at it, she could not so much as scratch the formidable Empire.
The Empire was mighty.
Even with Enoch as Emperor presiding over its decline, it would take decades for the realm to truly crumble.
Before Enoch ascended the throne, a small kingdom’s princess like Lea could not wound him even slightly.
But the Fourth Prince was Royal Blood, equal in station to Enoch.
He could delegitimize that man’s authority with ease and harbored no fear of him.
‘I need this man. I must have him.’
His face, which she had always admired as handsome, seemed even more striking to her now.
Feeling her mood grow strange, Lea changed the subject.
“What do you make of the saying that only the inner regions of Gateway Cities represent the true Empire?”
“That statement could be interpreted in many ways, depending on who spoke it. It’s a provocative thing to say.”
“Can those born in Annexed States and Vassal States ever possess an Imperial identity?”
Lea knew from bitter experience that the seemingly solid single Empire was an illusion.
Once Enoch became Emperor and began openly favoring only those of pure Imperial descent, the Empire’s fractures had begun to show in less than a decade.
“To speak plainly, the Kingdom of Zephyros will have a difficult road ahead. We are too late, and we lie too far from the Empire’s center.”
Lea let out a hollow laugh.
“You’re quite direct, aren’t you?”
“The kingdom must know as much themselves. If they weren’t after something specific, I can’t fathom why they’d choose to become a vassal state of the Empire now, of all times.”
Lea fell silent for a moment, gathering her thoughts before she spoke.
“Not long ago, our kingdom faced a grave crisis. A conspiracy to overthrow the nation was uncovered—and the mastermind was the late queen.”
Lea watched his expression shift, then continued.
“She was not my mother, nor the mother of my brother, the current king.”
Carrion nodded. Power had driven brothers to draw blades against one another; this hardly seemed surprising.
“That incident forced us to take a hard look at ourselves. We realized we were frogs in a drying well. We had to choose: open the door to the world, or perish. So we asked ourselves—who can help us? Under the Empire’s shadow, at least we won’t have other packs of wolves circling. Does that reasoning satisfy you?”
“If that’s truly the case, I can understand it to some degree.”
“Of course it’s true. What part troubles you?”
“Is not a nation’s sovereignty a value that transcends all other considerations?”
Lea smiled bitterly.
“Your Highness—if you visited our kingdom, you’d see for yourself. Zephyros is truly small. And our circumstances are too dire to indulge in such principles.”
Carrion felt a flush of embarrassment creep over him. He didn’t think she was reproaching his ignorance.
He simply realized, with sudden clarity, how little he truly knew of the Zephyros kingdom.
“I’ve kept you talking far too long. I should go explain the Gateway City to the rest of our party.”
She rose to her feet and looked up at him, blocking her path.
As she regarded him with confusion, she let out a small, belated sound—”Oh.”
The real reason they’d climbed to the Black Castle today was not yet complete.
When his hand cupped her face, Lea lowered her gaze.
She could see the sharp line of his nose, tilted toward her.
Lea closed her eyes.
It was not her first time, yet the kiss had not grown easy.
She was always grateful that it was dark when she descended from the carriage.
Surely her expression looked strange.
The beginning was always the same.
His lips touched hers with the gentleness of a soft knock.
He covered her lips, holding them lightly.
Then he drew her lower lip softly between his, pressing gently.
He did not miss the moment her lips parted slightly.
He pushed his tongue forward, opening her mouth wider.
The tongue that slipped in traced the delicate membrane of her mouth.
A soft sound escaped her.
As their tongues tangled within, she couldn’t understand why the nape of her neck tingled and her fingertips felt numb.
She felt both embarrassed and pleased by the pleasure this act stirred in her.
Passive at first, she gradually found herself drawn deeper in.
He shifted direction several times, consuming her lips with each movement.
He swallowed her saliva, her breath—all of it.
In a kiss where everything mingled so deeply, there came a moment when the subtly different warmth of their mouths became perfectly identical.
By then, Lea’s breath had grown shallow, and she pushed against his chest.
He released her lips without resistance, as if he had never been so consumed.
With their lips nearly touching, barely grazing, the two remained suspended in that moment.
“Tomorrow……”
Lea murmured.
“Tomorrow.”
Carrion replied softly, echoing her words.
Then Lea opened the carriage door and stepped outside.
She did not know what became of him after she left the carriage.
A sharp exhale escaped him.
Carrion stood motionless for a moment, then lowered himself into the seat with an awkward, uncomfortable shift of his frame.
‘Why doesn’t it grow tired.’
Each kiss with her felt new.
He had to fight with all his strength to keep from doing more than kiss.
He felt his resolve eroding with each passing day.
He despised himself for his weakness to physical desire.
‘Am I, too, cursed to be his son.’
His biological father, the Emperor, was a man of legendary conquests.
Only five sons were officially acknowledged; the illegitimate children were beyond count.
Carrion did not want to resemble the Emperor.
So he had never paid much attention to romantic matters.
At least not before he met her.
He found himself confused.
Whether her kiss tasted sweet because it was a cure, or whether it had taken on some other meaning entirely.
* * *
The next morning, Carrion and his company arrived at the gateway city of Lumina.
“It’s Carrion.”
“The Northeastern Commander is heading to the capital? Why so suddenly?”
“We should investigate whether something has happened in the Northeastern Region.”
People stirred about in haste.
Messenger birds took flight, and couriers galloped away.
Soon word reached those who had reason to take interest in the movements of the Fourth Prince, Carrion.

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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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