Lola had not partaken of any sustenance for a considerable time, and her stomach now lay barren, utterly devoid of any contents, persistently throbbing with pain. This suffering could be attributed to Caesar, the sadist who delighted in wielding his whip, a cruel tyrant who relished in administering punishment, and who nearly marred her precious visage. In truth, this was not Lola's first encounter with hunger. Between the ages of three and eighteen, Lola had mainly lived in starvation, particularly during her growth period. Her stature barely reached 160 centimeters, undoubtedly linked to her lack of adequate nourishment during her formative years. In the government residence, meals were strictly regimented, with a precise distribution of daily nutrients. The provisions scarcely provided sufficient sustenance for muscular growth. Even the Alphas, subjected to such dietary restrictions for years, could not attain significant stature or the physical prowess they were capable of. The
After being scolded, Lola sat quietly. Caesar's gaze returned to her frail body, focusing on her delicate shoulders, slender collarbones, and the bruised wounds left by shackles. She looked like she could burst into tears at the slightest touch. Francis approached Caesar and spoke in his characteristic lazy tone, "Tell me... General, can you investigate this case without any personal bias? The Prime Minister might not know, but you should know who left those marks on Lora's neck, right?" Caesar narrowed his eyes slightly, "Do you want to know?" His voice was low and sounded like a territorial beast. Francis didn't pursue the topic further. After all, he wasn't an Alpha but a Beta who failed to differentiate. Francis straightened up and casually said, "Perhaps it's unnecessary. I respect personal privacy." "...However, since the Prime Minister entrusted me with this task, I think I should give it my all, right?" Francis caressed the eagle's head on his cane, "General, you can consi
Upon the exchange for handcuffs, the tension within Lola's demeanor dissipated considerably. The abrasions on her wrists were painful. Although Lola prided herself on her high pain tolerance from childhood scuffles, she struggled to endure the constant friction between the heavy shackles and her skin for extended periods. Compared to the pain, the unhealed wounds tormented by the shackles resembled cruel torture. Liberated from her restraints, Lola could now pace freely in her solitary cell, sleep on the narrow, damp bunk, and even approach the bars to chat with the correctional officers, play cards, and coax them into sharing their pine nuts. The only inconvenience was the effort required to maneuver her underpants when using the bathroom. She had first to lift her skirt, hold it in place with her teeth, and then pull the left side up after cleaning herself, followed by the right, repeating the process several times before the underpants were properly in place. Once completed, she
The room was silent, with the tranquility that hadn't been experienced since the prison was built and put to use. Caesar stood still, composed like a statue made of jade. Francis' cane clattered to the floor. Eugenie's grip on Lola's hand loosened. Under the influence of the drug, Lola's brain was severely numbed, leaving her expression blank. Her blinking slowed, her lips relaxed, and her breathing became steady like a delicate doll's. But the words that came from her mouth were far from delicate: "...General Caesar also wants me to kiss him, but a simple kiss won't do. He wants me to do it like I'm eating a roast piglet, and he even wants me to lift my skirt—" Before she could say any more, Caesar strode over, his face grave, and forcefully covered Lola's mouth. "Shut up." Francis seemed intrigued. "General Caesar, this seems to be the most important part." Eugenie subconsciously rebutted, "...This is false." Caesar's face was expressionless as he looked down at Lola, her mout
For Lola, scaling the wall was as effortless as savoring succulent skewered kebabs, provided no external interference marred her. As Lola had just maneuvered half of her body over the wall, her ankle was seized by a man. Compared to her, the individual behind her could only be described as colossal in height and stature, including the hand now effortlessly clutching her ankle. Lola Inappropriately thought perhaps his palm was larger than her foot. The cold penetrated through his black leather gloves, chilling her as she wore the standard-issue gray and white pajama pants. Due to her movement, the pants rolled up to her calves, revealing a slender ankle he now grasped firmly. Lola suspected that he could easily snap her bones with just a bit of force. She shuddered, recalling Caesar's whip from the other day. Caesar: "Come down." Lola tried to kick him: "I won't come down." Caesar remained silent, tugging her downward. Lola wanted to scream but dared not; she could only thrash ab
At long last, Lola savored the much-anticipated roast suckling pig; however, to her chagrin, she could not indulge in an entire one. Presently, six individuals of the Asti clan remained under "house arrest" within the official residence, the youngest being three years younger than Lola named Ollie. As a child, a fever had left Ollie's mind somewhat addled, giving her an air of befuddlement. Lola took an entire roast suckling pig leg and a portion of carved meat, accompanied by lettuce cups, which she generously shared with Ollie. Oblivious, Ollie inquired, "Where is Miss Angela?" Perhaps influenced by the rumors, the dining hall's restrictions were less stringent that day, and the murmurs were louder. With one hand cradling a plate piled high with food and the other protecting Ollie, Lola ensured the crowd did not jostle her. The two of them were recognized as a pair with intellectual impairments after testing and observation, and as such, no one typically sought to trouble them. A
Eight years past, in pursuit of territorial conquest for the empire, Caesar was struck in his right arm amidst a fierce firefight, from which three bullets were extracted. Four years ago, in a bid to safeguard the Prime Minister, Caesar was inadvertently injured, a sizable shard deeply embedded in his right leg. Yet these wounds paled compared to the torment inflicted by the noisy little sparrow, who clutched a lightning rod and bellowed through a megaphone. "Caesar, my darling—" "Father of my child—" "My heart and soul, my sweet treasure, my honeybee—" ... Never before had Caesar endured such intense, crushing agony. He would rather face the battlefield alongside imperial generals or engage in deadly combat with the most ruthless drug lords than continue to bear this soul-crushing torture. Especially when, upon seeing him, the small girl on the lightning rod became even more excited, waving her handkerchief at Caesar like a devotee of a 500-episode primetime soap opera: "Caesa
Lola didn't really consider her life to be free now. Although she had left the government residence, her life in the Bush household had not improved. It had become even more strict.Due to the Bush family's hereditary bad smell, the family's offspring were scarce. The current heir, Bush, was a spoiled and arrogant young man. Even after being slapped by Caesar and warned, he had not changed his ways and continued to torment Lola sadistically.The wooden room Lola was assigned to in the Bush residence was located in the basement, along with other Asti people working for the family. Among the nobles, the working conditions for the Asti people remained poor. They mostly worked in planting, sewage cleaning, and garbage collection. Their daily lives did not intersect with those of the arrogant nobles, who enjoyed the Asti people's care but thought they would dirty their view.On her first day at the residence, the other Asti people in the basement helped her settle in and make room for her
Lola only found out that Emilia had come to find her after she finished her class.She threw a whole piece of chocolate into her mouth, chewed it a few times, and swallowed hard: "Where is she?""She went to the back mountain with Instructor Angus."Lola drank a whole cup of hot cocoa and ate two more pieces of chocolate. She checked her schedule. There were no classes today, she could rest now.But, by next week, Lola has to leave here to continue her studies as a student.What an unfortunate event.Yes, Lola still needs to receive a university education now. She passed the written exam smoothly and is now a student at a certain university in the empire.However, due to her special status, she doesn't have to live in a dormitory. She only needs to go there when she has classes.It's a holiday now. After the holiday is over, Lola has to leave here temporarily and focus on studying at school.Also, she needs to receive he
Besides blood, there were also bone marrow, semen... oh, the latter was not a necessity.Caesar's identity was special, and he naturally knew what this meant. To some extent, the permanent marking was actually restraining the omega, but Caesar made the same promise to her.He shared blood and life with her.The nightingale that grew up in the dark eventually perched on a large tree.The tree provided its sap for her nourishment.......After Lola successfully enrolled in school, Caesar's mood did not improve.For some reasons, Emilia was ahead of Lola in grade, so she couldn't take care of Lola all the time. And Lola's physique was such that it was best not to bleed...Unfortunately, the school Lola attended was a mixed one. Although she chose politics as her major, there were many alphas who would go to the battlefield in the future.The school had strict security, but privately, Caesar would still send Salleri 's guard
Emilia took two minutes to understand the meaning in Angus' words. When realization dawned, she pressed her hand, covered in wolf fur, to Angus' face."You're dreaming," Emilia said. "I won't let you permanently mark me! You filthy creature."The young miss felt her dignity was severely challenged - she would rather have the wolf pack get used to her scent...she would rather reluctantly pet these frenzied carnivores than be permanently marked by him.For an omega, that meant eternal commitment.Angus sighed, "Very well then."He lowered his eyes slightly. In his field of vision, Emilia was still angrily touching the wolf pack, her hair and chest heaving with agitated breaths. Emilia didn't like the beastly smells on her. She asked Angus, "Is there another way?"She said, "Anything except a permanent mark...I'll do."Angus looked conflicted. "Yes, miss. But that may still offend you.""Nothing's more offensiv
For Emilia, what happened after wakening was like an uncontrolled, bittersweet nightmare.The source of the nightmare was Angus, kneeling on one knee at her feet, wiping her feet with a soft cloth.The liquid on her feet had been carefully wiped clean by Angus. The room was filled with the scent of roasted coffee beans. Emilia clenched her hands tightly on the silk sheets, staring at Angus. He was still alive.Not just alive, he was well and present before her as an enemy, silently bent over and wiping, just like before.The difference was Emilia. She raised her foot slightly, trying to kick Angus's shoulder, but the pain made her gasp and ask him, "How dare you?"How dare you deceive me? You pledged loyalty to me.I thought you were dead. I sent many people out to find you. I wanted to avenge you.Angus lifted his face, gripping Emilia's foot, looking straight into her eyes. He said nothing. After a moment, he leaned to the side and lightly kissed the top of Emilia's foot.Enraged, E
The confessional was dark and damp, and there seemed to be a faint gloomy scent floating in the air. The choir's prayers were fading away in the distance, and the temperature had not yet receded. Emilia let down her skirt to cover her sweat.Emilia asked, "Do you know what you are doing?"Emilia had her back to Angus, and she could only see Angus's face in the dim shadow of the pillar. He lowered his eyes slowly, "I know that I cannot walk with you in the light, but you cannot take away my right to love you."Emilia turned around, holding the silk handkerchief that she had used to wipe her sweat. She was somewhat annoyed, "Angus!"Angus did not dodge or avoid. He met her gaze. Emilia raised her hand, and gritted her teeth, "You still have one more chance to correct yourself."Angus said, "I promise my loyalty and love to you. If you think loving you needs to be punished, I have no complaints."Emilia was so upset by his words that she wanted to slap him, but her hand hesitated in the
Emilia noticed Angus' covert actions for the second time at the cusp of spring and summer.For a long stretch of time, Emilia and Angus maintained this secret relationship, hidden from others.As the relationship with the Asti people became increasingly strained and terror attacks were intermittent, the Duke of Salleri was increasingly busy and rarely at home. The daily routine of Lady Salleri was composed of eating, sleeping, reading, and urging Caesar — she hoped that Caesar would return soon and find a suitable omega.In comparison, the Salleri clan placed more emphasis on familial relations.No one paid particular attention to Emilia, nor would they believe that Emilia would have any relations with an Asti person.On horseback, in a small cabin, amid forest flowers, Emilia savored the joy of secret rendezvous with her lover — she wanted to refer to him as a lover, a term that seemed too intimate, but she couldn't find any other word that suited him better.In the past six months,
Winter came, particularly early this year.Angus didn't have much feeling for winter. In the Asti isolation zone, there was no equipped heating system. The lowest temperature was not more than minus ten degrees, and most people could keep warm by relying on fireplaces or self-installed heating pipes.Further north, when the temperature drops to minus twenty or even thirty degrees, the harsh weather and snow become extremely lethal.Every year when the snow melts, many elderly people pass away.And Emilia likes snow. The ancestors of the Salleri estate originally lived in the far and cold north, close to the Arctic. The cold gave them high cheekbones, a more three-dimensional appearance, skin as pure as snow, and hair as silver as moonlight.Once, the Salleri family was called the King in the Snow. Later, as time went by, the nickname changed, becoming the Grim Reaper in the Ice and Snow, the Devil.The entire family has the trait of pride, and Emilia is no exception. They also have an
Emilia was not sure if Angus dared to continue to deceive her.After all, in Emilia's memory, Angus had never lied to her, except for the exception just now, but Emilia couldn't rule out that it was her own stubbornness that caused it.Emilia slowly gathered a breath in her chest, she stared at Angus's face, hesitated for a few minutes, and then Angus leaned in.He seemed to no longer intend to persuade her with words, it was still a war of tongues, but it was no longer about language and argument but about flexible and exquisite skills.Emilia grabbed Angus's hair hard, she warned him: "This is your last chance, if you can't satisfy me, I will kill you."She emphasized the word 'kill'.There's no way, alpha and omega are naturally endowed with certain differences in body size and strength, and Angus's fighting skills are indeed more proficient than Emilia's. Excluding the master-servant relationship, if they really had to fight, Emilia was no match for Angus.But Emilia can suppress
Angus had little memory of his foster parents; they were a couple as ordinary as they come, living in the isolation zone like all other Asti people, cut off from the outside world. Most Asti people lived this way, many never left the isolation zone until their death. In dark, cramped houses, with narrow spaces between buildings that barely let sunlight in, roaches, ants, and rats were frequent visitors. The area's basic sanitary conditions were poor and neglected, relying on conscientious people to organize free volunteer groups. Whenever a flu outbreak occurred, it was devastating. Every autumn and winter, people died from the flu. It seemed as if the world's suffering enjoyed preying on the poor. The "medicine" and food in the isolation zone had to be transported from the outside, but those in charge of the isolation zone didn't take the needs of these pitiful people to heart. Even the people caring for livestock on the farms were more diligent than these officials. The "medicine"