Chapter 108
When the Emperor’s body toppled onto the box, the contents rolled out onto the red carpet of the audience chamber.
It rolled and rolled, the cloth slowly coming loose as it went.
Was it a stone—or a real head?
Even the arrogant-faced Lynus, the Supreme Commander pinned beneath the foul-smelling Emperor, and everyone else in the chamber held their breath as they followed it with their eyes.
It was the Emperor’s real head.
Unexpectedly, the witches had kept their promise.
The severed head actually looked cleaner than the perfumed body meant to hide the stench of decay. Its eyes were open, the pupils moving left and right as if searching for something.
Meanwhile, the powerless body trembled and struggled weakly, its arms shaking. For a fleeting moment, the commander thought it looked like a dying giant insect.
“Bring my body here.”
The order came from the Emperor’s mouth.
Soldiers hurried over and lifted the Emperor’s thrashing body. Supporting his arms, they guided it toward his head. The sight of the headless figure staggering forward looked pitiful.
But the pitiful scene soon grew worse.
The body and head were finally brought together—yet they would not reattach. Even though the cut surface was not slanted, every time the head was placed on the neck, it simply rolled off again.
“Eek… it’s a witch’s curse!”
The cowardly second prince shrieked, clutching his own head with both hands as he watched his father’s head repeatedly roll away. He looked as if he feared the witches might steal his head next.
After several attempts to reconnect it, the Emperor eventually gave up. He picked up his own head with both hands and tucked it under his arm.
Then he glared around the room with a furious expression.
“Where is the missing one?”
His youngest son, the fifth prince, Dorian, was nowhere to be seen. Only after the Emperor asked did someone rush into the audience chamber.
“And where have you been until now?”
The Emperor’s voice was sharp. Dorian flinched and bowed his head deeply.
“My apologies, Your Majesty. I heard of your return far too late.”
“You call that an excuse?”
The Emperor scoffed.
None of his sons pleased him, but the one who disappointed him most was the youngest—Dorian.
He had not disliked the boy from the beginning. In fact, Dorian had once been the child he expected the most from.
In the name of the gods, he had personally ensured that Dorian was born strong, blessed with an exceptional talent for divine power. Under normal circumstances, he should have grown into a successor so powerful that his brothers couldn’t even compare.
But his personality failed to match his gifts.
Divine power required constant devotion and discipline, yet Dorian never trained. Instead, he spent his days wandering the palace gardens, supposedly researching, while staring at trees and flowers.
Even now, yellow pollen clung to his black clothes, proof that he had just come from the garden.
“You always disappoint me.”
When the Emperor said this coldly, Lynus snickered.
“Well, insects are naturally drawn to plants. That’s where they belong.”
Dorian didn’t even attempt to argue with his older brother. His shoulders drooped miserably. With his slumped posture, he looked about three years younger than his actual age.
“Lynus, come with me.”
The Emperor stood up, holding his own head under his arm, and called only his eldest son.
Lynus straightened proudly and followed behind his father.
As he passed Dorian, he deliberately rammed his shoulder into him, but didn’t bother offering even a token apology.
Dorian rubbed his sore shoulder and watched his father and brother walk away with a lonely expression.
* * *
After cleaning up the castle kitchen, Alnazir returned home with Fay and successfully finished making the cake with her help.
This time, the cream did not explode.
“Hm.”
Alnazir stood studying the finished cake with a serious look, clearly pleased with its appearance.
Meanwhile, Fay quietly went to a shelf and took out a contraceptive potion. She had decided to trust his words, but it was better to be prepared just in case.
After all, unexpected situations could happen even when neither of them anticipated them. She gulped down the potion and soon finished eating the cake as well.
Before they realized it, it was already late at night. From eleven o’clock onward, Alnazir checked the clock every five minutes.
“Why do you keep looking at the clock?”
“When that hand reaches twelve, I’ll finally be able to touch you as much as I want.”
Fay had no response. She was too nervous about what might happen afterward to agree and too intimidated by his intense gaze to lie and deny it.
After all, saying he couldn’t touch her because it was her birthday implied that once her birthday was over… he could touch her freely again.
At least, that was how he seemed to interpret it, judging by the anticipation in his eyes.
As midnight approached, Fay suddenly felt anxious about what he might do once the clock struck twelve.
Before her birthday ended, she decided she had better make a quick escape.
Discussion
0 CommentsNo comments yet.