Chapter 112
“You’re going to override the pain with pleasure, aren’t you?”
“…No?”
“Yes, you are! You hesitated just now!”
“Fay, stop squirming—you’ll push me out.”
He lifted her, settling her on his lap. She tensed her hips, refusing to sink all the way.
Her struggle was almost pitiful. He wanted to indulge her, pretend to yield. But instead, he gripped her firmly and pulled her down.
If he penetrated deeper, spilled at the very entrance of her womb… maybe this time.
“This is—impossible—hngh!”
“See? Feels good, doesn’t it?”
Infuriatingly, he was right. Overwhelming, yes. But pleasure was greater than pain.
Her vision flickered; her body trembled uncontrollably. Yet she was still doubtful, should she let herself be so thoroughly breached for fleeting ecstasy?
Thrusting, withdrawing, thrusting again. Each impact against her depths whitened her mind further, scattering coherent thought.
“I’m—hah—breaking—!”
Tears welled unbidden as she collapsed against him, shaking.
“Never.”
Even her sobs didn’t stop him. He held her close, stroking her belly soothingly—but never stopping.
Soon, he felt certain, his child would take root there.
* * *
The morning air was chilly, but the sunlight was warm, and with no more threats from enemy forces, it felt like the start of a peaceful day.
Zynie, however, had been sulking since early morning.
She had a task she performed regularly: sending Donovan to the Empire to observe what was happening there.
It was the most powerful enemy threatening the city. Of course they had to stay vigilant, and daily surveillance was reasonable. Still, Zynie had grown increasingly dissatisfied with this duty over time.
“Lynus had a huge argument with the Chancellor. The Chancellor leads the anti-Lynus faction. You know that, right?”
Just this morning she had delivered what she considered a very important report—news that a bloody struggle might soon erupt within the imperial family.
Virelda’s response had been extremely simple.
“Got it.”
That was all.
Not a single word of thanks or acknowledgment for her effort. Zynie was furious that Virelda refused to recognize her hard work.
“Why?”
Virelda, who had been absentmindedly eating an apple, noticed Zynie’s dissatisfied expression and asked.
“Do you have anything else to report?”
“No.”
“Then go back. Keep watching what the princes are doing.”
“How long are you going to keep working me like this?”
At least praise me a little! Zynie wanted to say it outright, but strangely, speaking that way in front of Virelda wasn’t easy. Virelda always treated her so coldly that it seemed to twist Zynie’s feelings in response.
“You’re saying you don’t want to do it?”
“……”
“Then don’t. I’ll have someone else handle it. You can go get some more sleep.”
By then Virelda had almost finished her apple and nodded calmly. There wasn’t even a trace of hesitation or regret in her expression.
There are plenty of witches I can assign work to. You seem to think you’re special, but you’re not special at all.
To Zynie, who was already upset, the words sounded even harsher than they were. Tears nearly burst out of her eyes before she could stop them.
The Empire already suspected that witches might be spying on them through summoned creatures. Because of that, they were always wary of animals like cats or birds. When they felt unlucky, they even captured suspicious animals and tortured them with divine power.
Donovan had been in danger several times. She had nearly lost the crow she treated like family, and it had frightened and saddened her deeply. But she had never told Virelda about it, trying to act mature.
And yet she was told to just go sleep more!
Zynie tried to hold it in, but her sadness kept pushing through.
“No. I’ll do it!”
In the end she shouted loudly and slammed the door behind her. Her footsteps echoed angrily as she stomped down the hallway and out of the castle.
Her feelings were too hurt to go straight back to her room. She decided she would go to Faye’s house instead. If she didn’t complain to Faye about the outrageous things Virelda had said to her, this anger wouldn’t fade.
“Broom!”
She called her broom irritably and jumped onto it.
Meanwhile, at that very moment, the man and woman at Faye’s house were passing the time without any idea of what was happening.
Alnazir had become fascinated with tracing a curved line in front of him with his fingers.
It was the line that ran from Faye’s spine down to her thighs as she lay facedown on the bed, catching her breath.
“That tickles.”
Even when Faye frowned, he only grinned and continued his teasing touch. His gaze was almost provocative, daring her to try resisting if it tickled.
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