As she talked to him, the prior nervousness and tension corroding her body faded. She extended her glass to him.“Don’t worry. I know we’ll argue sooner or later, but I’ll do all my duties faithfully as your wife during this one-year-contract,” Alicia smiled, waiting for another glass of drink.Ivan took back her wine glass.Her icy-blue eyes immediately widened. “Why’d you take it? I wanted to drink some more.”“I gave it to you to relax, not to get drunk.”“I wasn’t nervous. And I’m not drunk.”“You’re not now, but one more drink will send you to the edge. Besides, you’re freer to talk to and you’re open to talking about your thoughts when drunk. It’s not bad, but not tonight.”He set down the glass on the table and approached her.“It’s time,” she thought.Though, originally, drowning in carnal pleasure should have begun as soon as he entered the room, but it had been delayed due to their conversation.He’ll soon entangle his body with hers. She knew what it was now and the fears s
“Hug me, Ivan.”At that moment, she took his breath away but her physical presence reminded him to breathe. He stared at her soft lips and slowly leaned over the bed. The distance of their faces shorteTed as the bed sank a little under his weight.And then… he kissed her.She tasted of wine; it was like taking a sip of eternity, of the sun, of the stars, of the sky…The touch of her lips filled his core with desire as if fire raged within his bones and as if his soul became water…Their lips rubbed, gently. The feel of her lips… the softness… it melted him away, no, ignited his soul.He caressed her hair and cupped her cheek, her neck, and embraced her with all that he could give.She raised her hand slightly and her lips parted a little.His tongue penetrated her mouth.“Ah…”Her tongue had been pushed back.Roughly.Her tongue was covetous, he thought.Instinctively, she pulled back and ran away, but he followed her. Persistently.He twiTed his tongue with hers.His heart pounded.V
Alicia was lost in confusion. Meanwhile, Ivan untied her loose string. Her clothes looseTed and he pulled it down slowly.Her pretty skin descended into view and he sucked in a deep breath admiring her beauty. She had a sort of magic in her that always pulled him in… back then and even now.He leaned forward and sucked her slender neck lightly and she bit her lips to hold back the moan that longed to leak out.But it was hard.It was difficult.The longer he continued, the greater the tingling sensation she felt.And then he sucked her bre*st.Her skin tasted like symphony and her sweat like moonshine. The shape of her consumed him, devoured him and each caress dragged him deeper into the abyss of pleasure.She would become his religion, someone he would worship to the ends of the earth.“Ha…”She covered her mouth with one hand, muffling her constant moans.While he bathed in the suppleness of her skin, her bottom lips drowned in moist alluring fluids.His hands voyaged down to her s
“It’ll hurt at first, My Queen, but soon enough you’ll feel better.”She remembered Mrs. Cessley’s words as the sound of clothes falling on the floor echoed. The subtle movements in the room soon calmed and Ivan’s weight pushed the bedding down and hovered over her body.She was looking not at him, so he cupped her cheek and looked into her soulful eyes he could get lost in.“Um… Alicia? At first… it’ll hurt…”He leaned forward, their forehead touching.“But later on, it will fade and it’ll feel better…”She nodded, but she had little hopes. His skillful fingers touching her made her wet, but a man of his size would tear her apart.She breathed loudly and relaxed as his hands worked to spread her legs. He stood in the middle of her s*x, the thickness of his manhood stroking her swollen lips.And then, he pushed inside her.His manhood making its entrance inside her flesh did not hurt as much as she expected. The memories of the past told her it’d just be as painful, but she was wet th
Where did they go wrong?Alicia sighed.She fell for him when she was young, when she was stupid, when she was naive. If only she was like Helen, maybe she’d not trod the road of misery… and maybe… she’d not lose Ivan to her sister and her life taken away by a thread of strings.“Yes… I’m in pain,” she replied, shooting him with eyes full of complications.Despite the pain, her heart ached more than her body. She thought there was no place he could hurt her for she’d already been torn apart in pieces. But it was a lie. Memories of the bitter past came flooding in and she saw Ivan pouring out his resentment, his anger, his complaint against her.“…You keep hurting me.”She did not realize she had voiced out her thoughts. It came out tearful and rough.Why did she remember those cruel nights she spent him?“…It’s all because of you… you’re hurting me.”“I’m sorry.”Ivan looked at her with a solemn smile and sunken eyes. He wiped away the tears dripping down her pretty cheek.“For any pa
Alicia’s body felt heavy and sore in the first light of dawn. A feather-like weight wrapped around her, causing her unable to move.She slowly opened her eyes and saw a man sleeping innocently before her. He was fast asleep.“…..”Thick eyelashes, sharp nose, shapely defiTed lips, and sculpted face… she stared for a moment, her mind recalling their deeds from last night. Now he laid before her and slept peacefully. Gone was his aggressiveness from before. The thought of it caused her to blush red.The last vestige of memory she remembered was him telling her to sleep. Everything after that was blank. Well, she did sleep thereafter.‘I wonder how much time has passed.’She lifted her head and looked at the window. The sun had risen and her maidservants would soon arrive. She should get up and prepare before they make their arrival… but… Ivan hugged her waist tightly. It would be difficult to wiggle out of his grasp.As she struggled, albeit futile, to escape, a large hand suddenly pres
Ivan placed his hands between her soft legs and looked at her blooming flower.Alicia covered her face and shook her head. “I’m fine… so stop…”“I already saw everything while I washed you clean last night. I’m sure you’d faint from the sight of it.”“……”Her body froze.That’s right.She was full of sticky sweat last night before falling asleep, but now she was clean from top to bottom. Even the area where the bloodstains and white fluid were supposed to be was spotless.She gasped, realizing what he had done.‘…How was he able to clean me thoroughly while making sure not to wake me up?’As the tumultuous shock quietly ran through her eyes, Ivan’s eyes grew stern and serious like a reliable man. With her legs apart and her blooming flower in full view, he examiTed the fleshy area that was red and swollen. He gently touched it.Feeling his warm and smooth hand rubbing up and down her fleshy flower, Alicia bit her lips. His other hand moved towards her cl*t and he breathed hotly on it.
Both Ivan and Alicia flinched at the door’s sudden knock.Alicia quickly shut her eyes from the fervent embarrassment while Ivan’s lips parted slowly.A hint of sadness and anger flashed in his eyes as he said, “Let’s leave this here for this morning. We’ll have many nights together in the future.”He spoke without much hesitation and bashful shame. He smiled lightly and covered her body with a blanket. Afterward, he stood up and put on the robe resting quietly next to the bedside table.“Come in.”As his commanding words echoed, two maidservants entered. They came to collect evidence of their marriage. Ivan carefully handed them a cloth neatly folded away in the corner of the bed to the maidservants, and they who received it bowed respectfully and left the room.As the door closed, Ivan looked over his shoulder and stared at Alicia. She was in the bed with a blanket pulled up to her neck, revealing only her bashful and red face. The tail-end of his lips raised to a coquettish smile s
Epilogue (1) – DimitriTranslator – YueYears later.“…and Elheim truly loved his human woman. But he was a God, pure and divine, so he could not remain too much longer on earth. If he stayed in the human world for too long, he’d lose all his divine powers…”The man who was reading the book out loud paused for a while and looked at a particular direction in his audience. There, there was a little girl with the same hair color as him. He saw her yawning while little eyes narrowed with displeasure, as though wondering why he’d stopped. The man resumed reading the book.“In the end, Eiheim had no choice but to leave the woman he loved and to go back on earth. However, he wept for the love he had to leave behind on the human world and those tears turned into rain. At the same time, a baby was growing inside his woman’s womb, a baby created from their union. This baby was born strong and healthy, and she had an incredible power. She had the power to turn himself into a bird. In the human w
Translator – YueT/N: This is the end, so extra-long chapter for today?Ivan irrupted into the room, sword in hand and a murderous look in his eye… to see Alicia licking her fingers. In front of her there was a huge plate filled with food. There was an abundance of seafood. Next to her was a worker who looked at Ivan with widened eyes.“Ivan?”Alicia quickly took her finger out of her mouth and looked at him. She asked again, nervous.“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”The inn worker looked alternated glances between Ivan and the sword in his hand, his legs shaking.“Oh… it’s just… it looked like your wife was pregnant, so I was only asking if there was anything she disliked so I could bring something else…”Since Alicia had taken her robe and coat off, she was wearing a light dress that showed her bulging belly clearly. It seemed that the inn boy had noticed it and was only asking whether she liked the food.Ivan felt ridiculous for getting angry over something like this.No, more
Translator – Yue“Salerno Inn”Alicia read the old sign that was hanging atop a building. It was an inn, so it definitely offered food and shelter to travelers.“It would take us around two hours to reach your mother’s mansion. It might be faster if we rode my horse together, but you can’t while pregnant… if you don’t want to spend the night in a place like this, then I’ll find another way…”Ivan murmured while trying to assess Alicia’s reaction. He knew that the inn was old and gloomy. He’d spent some nights here before himself but he knew that it was different for Alicia, who’d only lived in mansions and palaces. She might even find this place repulsive.He did not want the news of them here to spread too much, which was why he’d chosen this place as he could keep their identities hidden. But… perhaps he should have thought of Alicia more. Maybe it would be best to go to someone else’s house and reveal their identity so they could spend the night somewhere more comfortable.As he ke
Translator – YueAfter listening to Mrs. Cessly’s words, Ivan immediately hopped on a horse and sprang to port. This time there was no Basil by his side, it was just him. While he galloped top speed, the events from these past six years came to his mind.When he arrived, the ship had already sailed. He was too late, again.He felt an empty space in his heart. He got down his exhausted horse and slowly walked to the edge of the beach. He had a desperate expression on his face.He stood there looking at the horizon when he felt something hot. There were hot tears trailing down his face. All the tears he’d held back all this time suddenly broke free.Despair and desolation surged from inside him. He sobbed and cried.Six years ago, when he’d missed her just like this, he’d managed to hold back his tears since there was still hope of seeing her again in the future. Instead of desolation, he turned his back to this very sea with the hopes of seeing her again soon.However, this time it was
Translator – YueThe Port of Salerno remained unchanged. Tall, imposing walls surrounded the beach. There were numerous houses with scarlet-colored rooftops everywhere. A seemingly endless turquois-colored. Everything was as calm and beautiful as before.There was only one ship resting on the shores. A white, modern, elegant ship.When the Queen’s carriage arrived to port, the usually hectic port city suddenly turned tranquil. The carriage’s door opened and the Queen descended from her vehicle surrounded by her guards. She was wearing a thick coat, hat and gloves all made of silver fox fur, as though she was planning on going somewhere far colder than Ehrlich. A little while later, the ship’s captain approached her.He took out his cap and bowed to the Queen of Ehrlich.“Greetings to the most honorable woman in Ehrlich, Your Majesty the Queen. May Elheim’s light always shine upon you.”A smile came up to Alicia’s lips.“Greetings, captain. I’ll be under your care.”The captain pointed
Translator – YueT/N: The chapter we’ve been waiting for?Mrs. Cessly wailed and started savagely criticizing Ivan.“This is all Your Majesty’s fault. It’s because you allowed the Queen leave for Coulson. Why did you do that?”“All I did was give her a choice.”“A choice?”“I told her to choose. To stay here, or to leave with the baby.”“Why on earth did you tell her that?!”“There’s a reason behind my marriage to Alicia. I lied to her and forced her to come here.”“Ah, I remember the Queen told me something like that. That Your Majesty did not wish to marry her, but Princess Helen. Is it related to that?”Ivan nodded.“Yes. I had no choice. If I had proposed to Alicia, she would have run away from as fast as she could.”Mrs. Cessly looked at Ivan intently with a complex look in her eyes. Seeing that Mrs. Cessly’s head was spinning top speed to find out what could possibly make Alicia want to run away from Ivan, he added in a slow voice.“She definitely didn’t owe me money nor anythin
“Alright. Go ahead, do it. Call me if you need any help as well.”“I will.”When their conversation came to an end, Ivan slowly rose from his seat. Alicia got up as well. Just when he was about to turn around, Alicia spoke.“I wish for you to stop feeling guilty of all that’s happened to me.”Ivan’s eyes focused intently on Alicia. For some reason, she found it hard to look him back in the eye, so she averted her gaze.“I don’t dislike you anymore, Ivan. I’m grateful to you for letting me live my life again and leave this place with my baby.”“Grateful…uh.”While he bitterly mumbled to himself, Alicia nodded her head.“After all, you did put in a lot of effort in saving my life. I’ll make sure I do everything in my power to live a happy life from now on. I’m not completely alone anymore, after all.”Alicia placed a hand on her belly.“Once this baby is born, I’ll only let him see and listen to the most wonderful things. I know I can’t stop the darkness of this world to reach him, but
Translator – YueAlicia’s jaw slowly opened.“When you say, ‘a chance to end this marriage’…”“You never wanted to marry me in the first place. You were forced into it because the Crown Prince threatened to kill your cousin if you didn’t.”“But why are you giving me this? This marriage will automatically end in a year, anyways.”Their contractual marriage had a time period clearly stipulated. Alicia couldn’t understand why he was giving her a choice right now.“If you want to end this marriage, then you don’t need to wait for the time to be up to do so. I’ll make sure you leave this country safely first thing tomorrow if you so wish it.”“Then… what will happen to the baby I’m carrying…?”Alicia’s voice faded. Her eyes darted to the contract clauses. There, she herself agreed on leaving all rights concerning the child to Ivan if she were to get pregnant. With the opportunity he was giving her, she’d be able to flee and hide somewhere far, far away, and he’d never be able to claim his
Translator – YuePatricia’s execution took place the following morning.In spite of being very early, many people gathered around the execution place. People gathered there to insult her for killing her own father, her benefactor and even trying to assassinate her own sister and Queen. She was seen as a true villain, an evil rarely seen before.Patricia listeTed to their insults and taunts until her very last moment.Even though Alicia had said that she’d no longer show any consideration towards Patricia, she did make sure that the most skilled executioner was selected to carry out her punishment. She’d heard of previous rare cases in which the neck was not cleanly cut off in one single strike, forcing the executioner to hack at the neck, which caused lots of pain and anguish before dying.After Patricia’s death, Alicia passed her days in a state of continuous astonishment. She rarely went outside and spent most of her time in her room. However, she did make sure of eating and resting