Ivan swept Alicia’s hair that was still wet with water. He kissed her on her forehead reassuringly.“Don’t worry. I swear I will capture them.”No matter who they were, or where they hid, he’d find them and kill them. He thought of ripping all of their skin off their bones. He had given up so much to get her back, after all. He had gone through hell itself, and to take her away from him like this, he’ll not accept such a thing.He grasped Alicia right onto his body. He promised himself over and over again that he would never let go of this warmth from her body ever again.“First, let’s warm up our bodies for a moment here then go back to the palace.”Hearing his words, Alicia nodded without much strength left in her body.“But who could that be? Who would do such a thing to me…”No matter how much she thought, there was no one that would hate her enough to do this.The best guess would be Seraphina Rissel from the previous banquet. However, she wasn’t seen even once outside after that
At her sudden words, Ivan’s eyes bulged, doubting the words he had heard and looked at Alicia with endearing and cautious eyes.“…What do you—”“Right now, Ivan, I want you to embrace me, touch me.”She wanted to feel alive and the only way to confirm that she was alive and breathing were the nerves and hot blood electrifying her body whole.“But to do that… your current condition is…”“Please, Ivan.”Alicia’s curled fingers stretched out and wrapped it around his neck. She swept her soft hand on his hardeTed back neck, moving it towards his tousled hair, tangling her fingers and pulling him towards her.His head naturally followed the gravity of her pull—his hardeTed lips pressed onto her soft lips. She was on the offensive; she wanted him. Her tongue dug between his closed lips and coiled itself around his.Ivan’s eyes remained open; he had rendered himself in surrender to this woman. His heart fluttered at her taking the lead.Ivan’s body reacted to her touches, his hip area rockin
“Hmmph!”Alicia’s body shook, engulfing his throbbing manhood in one movement. It had touched the deepest parts of her. She placed her hands on top of his thighs and threw her head back as she moaTed.Ivan stroked her back slowly for she was barely able to breathe. He gave her time to get used to the feeling while lightly grinding his hips in pleasure.“Go ahead and move as much as you want.”Up till now, the one who had taken the lead whenever they were consumed with passionate love was Ivan. Though she sometimes moved her hips together in slapping rhythm with him, there had never been an instance where it was her taking the lead.Not long after, Alicia realized that this position allowed her to move however she wished. She was in charge and the one to move her body to feel the induced pleasure.She raised her hand and lowered it onto his muscled ch*st and began her movement. Her hips moved, sliding her flower up and down his shaft by the motion of her hips while keeping her upper bo
She could not remember much of what happened after deep sleep overtook her. Half-awake, her consciousness slowly came back to its senses, noticing that she was in the arms of someone.A large hand stroked her face with profound gentleness.“…Ivan?” she said, unwittingly calling out his name.She saw the man’s lips tug to a smile.‘Why’s he smiling so happily?’ Alicia wondered.“Go on. Sleep a little more. We have a long time till we arrive back at the palace.”Alicia came to notice that she and Ivan were currently inside a moving carriage and that she had on a white sleepwear and a blanket wrapped around her. He may have carried her to the carriage while she was passed out in a peaceful sleep.She blinked her tired eyes several times as Ivan leaned over to kiss her, as if soothing her to go back to sleep.“Mmn.” Alicia nodded, following his recommendation and let sleep flood in. His warm embrace allowed her to drift away comfortably.Ivan smiled, wondering what she was dreaming of.Ev
Many years had passed since the name of the late king’s son came out of Ivan’s cold lips. Count Clovis, the eldest son of the late king, spent his days in solemn silence ages ago when he and his followers pushing to elect him as king were suppressed.Basil was unsure why Ivan suddenly spoke his name out of nowhere.“Do you find him suspicious? Or perhaps you’ve something?”Ivan shook his head. “No. That’s not it.”“Your Majesty, on that day, the count attended in the early morning for a moment for the sake of formality before heading back to his place. His wife stayed behind but she did not go anywhere close to the like, merely spending the hours with other noblewomen inside the tent. Under these circumstances, I find nothing suspicious at all,” Basil argued.“I understand.” Ivan let out a deep low sigh. “In anycase, the possibilities remain. Investigate them all. You aren’t allowed to let any single person pass.”“Understood, Your Majesty.”Basil bowed and left.Thereafter, Ivan went
“What are you talking about?”“The person who shoved me behind my back. When the person approached me from behind, I smelled a certain fragrance from their body.”Ivan’s surprised gaze turned towards her. “You smelled a fragrance? Do you remember what fragrance it was?”“Yes. It was the smell of a mintbus. I’m definitely sure.”“If it’s a smell of mint, then it wouldn’t be a commonly used perfume…”Mints weren’t usually used in making perfumes. It was often used as medicine to relieve pain. This could be used as an important point of evidence.“It would have been great if I remembered that information sooner, but for some strange reason, I only remembered it after calming down.”As she spoke as if she was blaming herself, Ivan stroked her back reassuringly.“You’ve done well just by remembering it now. It’s normal that you wouldn’t be able to remember all the details when it all happened so suddenly.”“Would this be of help at all?”“I’m definitely sure it will help. We’ll use it in a
Alicia left the palace and searched for Ivan, who had yet to show his presence after lunchtime. They had spent every minute, every hour, every day together after the competition. His disappearance left a large gaping hole in her heart, oddly enough.Looking around the places he’d likely be at, she suddenly found herself in the garden where she and Ivan first met when they were but innocent children who knew nothing of the intricacies of the world.She stepped foot inside the garden and saw his graceful figure resting on the grass and sleeping peacefully. He developed a habit of scaring off his caretakers when they got near while pretending to sleep as a small child. The habit seemed to have continued on to his adult life.Alicia approached Ivan with precise wariness and sat next to his sleeping figure, wondering whether to let him be or wake him up. But a hand suddenly stretched out and grabbed her.“Ah!”The small shawl wrapped around her shoulder fell to the ground as her small body
Alicia gazed into his purple eyes, prodding for any hints. His unexpected response surprised her. It was the first she heard Ivan viewing Dimitri in a positive light.“…Do you really think so?”Ivan did not reply and made a somewhat vexed face. He traced his hand around her neck and lightly pulled her face toward his chest.He had no plans—or what seemed like one—to work anytime soon, and so Alicia said with slight hesitancy, “Basil left the documents with me before leaving. If you don’t finish your work, the blame will fall on me.”“…Why did you take it from him?” Ivan clicked his tongue.A fit of slight meager anger crossed Alicia’s face sensing that Ivan was blaming her for taking the responsibility.“You’re the one exploiting and overloading Basil with piles of work! Why do you continue to overwork him like that?” Alicia criticized.“Actually…” Ivan quickly pulled out an excuse card, “Alicia, part of that… well… Basil brought it upon himself.”“What do you mean?”“…In the past, wh