I Transmigrated into the Nameverse, and My Name Came with a Time Limit - Chapter 33

From that day on, whenever Karl felt the urge, he frequently ravaged Tilda’s body under the excuse of treatment. Even during intercourse he treated Tilda like a mere courtesan, and crude insults and verbal abuse became routine. Enduring those hellish days, Tilda secretly swallowed her tears alone.

Then one day Karl’s body also manifested Tilda’s Name. Once both Names had appeared, marriage became unavoidable. Moreover, he was destined to become Emperor, so there was no room for objection. But Tilda felt no joy at becoming Empress. The thought of living as the wife of that demonic man for the rest of her life was unbearable.

After their lives became bound together, Karl’s cruel insults and humiliation disappeared. However, the obligatory bed they had to share regularly in order to survive still remained a nightmare.

Around that time she accidentally learned two things. Karl had been so obsessed with Frida that he was desperate to place her on the throne as Empress, and Frida had long been in a secret relationship with Benedict.

The shock was so great that Tilda remained bedridden for several days. While Tilda had been forced to spread her legs and endure every humiliation from Karl, Frida had been secretly embracing the man Tilda loved and smiling happily in his arms. When those two eventually married, Tilda swore revenge.

‘I will never let any of you go!’

Fortunately, the position of Empress was quite useful for secretly plotting revenge. From that day onward Tilda busied herself gathering allies. She didn’t care how many mistresses Karl rolled around with. Aside from the regular bed they were obligated to share because of the Name, the two rarely spent time together.

After briefly recalling those old memories, Tilda stared at the girl before her who looked as though she might faint at any moment. What would have happened if Karl’s body had never manifested Tilda’s Name? Most likely, she would have faced the same cruel fate as this Lady Wittgen.

Tilting her head slightly to the side, Tilda carefully observed Mina.

Would you manage to escape your harsh fate? Or would you, like so many others, drown in the waves of cruel destiny? No one could know the answer.

“W-What should I possibly do…?”

When Mina stammered again, Tilda returned from her momentary thoughts. She remembered the rather sorrowful expression Karl had shown earlier in the audience chamber.

How ridiculous. Perhaps he was reminiscing about Frida again. Tilda twisted her lips.

“Do you want to know how you can live?”

Seeing Mina nod vigorously, Tilda continued in a gentle voice.

“It is very simple. From this moment onward, you must throw yourself at Leonhardt with all your strength.”

“…Pardon?”

Clicking her tongue inwardly at the blank reaction, Tilda kindly continued her explanation to the startled Mina.

“There is only one way for you to remain alive. You must make your Name appear on Grand Duke Tessen’s body as quickly as possible. So you should hurry and ask Leonhardt to take your chastity. Now you understand what I mean, don’t you?”

Mina barely steadied her trembling body and swallowed a shocked breath. The only thing ringing in her ears was that she absolutely had to sleep with Leonhardt. Her lips began trembling.

“W-With Grand Duke Tessen…?”

“Yes. Do I need to be more precise? If you hurry and roll around with that man, then your Name won’t appear on Leopold.”

When Tilda answered with a faint irritation in her voice, Mina flinched and shrank her neck like a turtle.

Only then did Mina realize. The Empress had brought her here under the pretense of giving advice about the Name solely to say this.

“Y-Yes!”

“So from now on, you must stick close to Grand Duke Tessen at all times. And you must sleep with him frequently. Use every possible method to seduce him. That is the only way you can live without being locked in an underground dungeon.”

As if she had finished saying everything she wanted, Tilda waved her hand dismissively at Mina. It seemed to mean that she could leave now.

Struggling desperately not to collapse on the spot, Mina managed to bow and leave the Empress’s palace. She didn’t even know where she was heading. She simply trudged forward aimlessly along the winding corridors.