Lola's tearful red eyes and cold hands did not evoke Caesar's empathy. The heartless man who could not understand Lola picked her up from the rose bushes.Her feet were covered with wet, muddy soil, and there were traces of scratches from the roses on her calves. The marks were few and fortunately, they did not bleed, just faintly tinged with red.Like a fallen flower, the scent of jasmine on her had faded to the point where it was almost unnoticeable. After a night soaked in dew, Caesar brought the lonely, muddy, and rose-scented creature back to his bedroom.This was the first time in three months that Lola had entered his bedroom. Since the first night when she had come, Caesar had forbidden her from entering his room.Lola hugged Caesar's neck, and sat on his leg, shivering, and sneezing nonstop. The tip of her nose was red, it was unclear whether it was due to the cold wind or from crying for too long.Lowering her eyes, Lola silently stared at the layout of the room. Caesar's be
Lola, with tears in her eyes, wrote a billion on the check. Before she could finish drawing the last circle, a pair of large hands reached from behind, grabbing her hand and mercilessly pulling the check away, tearing it in half.Lady Salleri called out, "Caesar!"Lola's crying choked a little, and she softly said, "General~"Caesar politely nodded to his mother and then carried Lola away. Lola's stomach was just propped up by Caesar's shoulder. Her head was facing down, and a strong urge to vomit and dizziness came over her. However, it didn't affect her ability to communicate with Caesar in a soft voice: "I was just trying to tell Lady Salleri that my love for you cannot be erased by a mere check...""To show my sincerity, I was even prepared to write a high price on it and then tear it apart in a whoosh...""General, you smell so good today. What kind of aftershave did you use?"...No matter how much Lola chattered, Caesar didn't speak. She was mercilessly thrown back into her roo
After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Lola decided to accept this label quietly. She had been educated in traditional aristocratic ways and later attended military school, where she had received rigorous counter-surveillance training.It was challenging for Lola to discover more details from Caesar's clothes, as they were nearly spotless, except for the occasional barely noticeable stains.Caesar's clothes carried only his pheromone scent. Lola closed her eyes, covered her face with his shirt and trousers, and tried to find more information. For example, there was a tiny, almost indistinguishable trace of Mayflower pollen on Caesar's pants hem. The Mayflower, deep blue and cold-resistant with a long blooming period, had once won a horticultural society garden excellence award. Many aristocratic families liked to plant this flower in their homes... But it was June to August, and it was impossible for the flower to bloom at this time unless cultivated deliberately in a greenhouse.
Caesar inquired, "Have you, perchance, doused your mind with water whilst bathing?"Lola, with a pitiable expression, implored, "Please, release me. I understand your reluctance, as our liaison is terribly immoral; I fear you may not wish our tryst to be discovered—"Caesar, at the end of his patience, declared, "Utter another word, and you shall join them."Submissively, Lola raised the car window, shrinking within the vehicle and resting her face against the glass, peering at the scene through it. Her heart pounded rapidly as the car radio, still on, broadcasted the day's news. A promising candidate with a groundswell of support was speaking.George Lampard—approachable and humble, hailing from the slums, excelling academically, maintaining a modest and stable image throughout his political career while also exhibiting an extraordinary iron-fisted prowess in governance.The ideal Prime Ministerial candidate, and an exceedingly obedient puppet.Lola's fingertips grazed the glass edge
Lola said, "You really don't have a single romantic in your body, do you, my dear General Caesar?"Caesar: "No one would be romantic with a little piglet."Lola turned around and punched Caesar's chest three times, saying, "Shut up, shut up, shut up."Lola gently tiptoed, barely touching the ground, spinning leisurely a few times. She hummed a song, an ancient Asti lullaby for lulling children to sleep.Caesar listened quietly as she finished humming, then asked, "What do the lyrics mean?"Lola looked down and replied, "Sleep, my baby, don't be afraid, close your eyes. When the sun rises, we'll all be safe."The air in winter was thin as if the oxygen had been frozen. Caesar looked down at Lola; her hair was shining brilliantly in the sunlight, like flowing gold.Caesar smiled, saying, "You should know, you're not an Asti."Caesar's tone was firm and unhurried, "Forget those foolish things, Lola."Lola instinctively hugged her arms, her shoulders slightly shrugging as she sneezed."It
during these days, Lola and Caesar sat down together for dinner for the first time.Lola didn't follow any table etiquette, but Caesar was obviously used to it. According to etiquette, frequently staring at a lady while eating was considered impolite. Lola endured it for half an hour. Thirty minutes, Caesar glanced at her fifteen times, with the longest gaze lasting 62 seconds and the shortest, 7 seconds.She couldn't take it anymore. She put her knife and fork back on her plate, the silver spoon and the clean white porcelain clashing, making a crisp, pleasant sound.Lola looked up, her brown curly hair with one stubborn strand sticking up, and confronted Caesar, asking, "What are you looking at? Is there a flower on my face?"Caesar replied indifferently, "No, I've never seen a young lady with such a big appetite."Lola leaned on the table with her elbow, holding her face, a look of longing in her eyes, "Wow, you actually called me a young lady, not a little piglet. Do you like me?"
Caesar could clearly feel Lola's hand trembling. She had always been unable to bear too much pain or blood loss, not because of being delicate, but because her unique nature prevented her from having a normal constitution.Under the moonlight, which was not much different from when they first met, Lola took a deep breath. Tears fell from the corners of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. But her voice was still suppressed and calm, "Can you let go of me now?"Caesar took the bunch of roses with the note attached, releasing her hand and looking at her silently. Lola's handwriting was beautiful, intelligent, and neat.Caesar had never been one for personal rituals; he wouldn't celebrate his birthday with lavish parties or stay up all night. On the contrary, every time his birthday approached, Caesar would be bothered by the need to refuse gifts.However, today he would not refuse this early gift.Lola gently gasped, her intact hand searching her body for a while, finally remembering sh
Lola covered her head, not giving up on chewing. She was too hungry, and the paper pulp only provided a feeling of fullness but couldn't provide the calories needed to maintain her body's normal functioning. The cold smoked meat didn't taste good, but Lola didn't mind; as long as she could eat, it was fine.A little grease stained the corner of her mouth as she struggled to swallow the large bites of meat. The sound of a male voice grew clearer beside her ear.The cafeteria manager was jolted awake by Caesar's grip and stuttered an apology. Caesar released his hand, politely explaining that his companion had somnambulism and would involuntarily come out to roam at night...Lola ate too fast, not chewing completely, and it hurt a little when she swallowed hard. But it was fine; she could endure worse hardships.After the submissive manager left, Caesar finally looked at Lola, who was curled up. She looked awful. She had rushed out in her nightgown, her hands smelled faintly of cured me
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"