Chapter 72
Still, her father had come to see her. It was her duty to greet him, the father she was meeting for the very first time.
“Allow me to greet you properly.”
“There’s no need to rise. You must be weary after your long journey.”
When Prina started to rise from the bed to give a proper bow, the King stopped her. His gaze seemed to flicker across her body for an instant. Caught off guard, Prina remained perched on the edge of the bed. Dressed in nothing but the thin negligee, she became acutely aware of her appearance. She glanced around to see if there might be a shawl to cover herself with, but nothing was in sight.
Prina hurriedly covered her front with her hands and lowered her head.
“Do you know that this is where your mother once stayed?”
“My… birth mother?”
It was the first she had ever heard of it. Had her mother not lived in the palace?
“Yes. Bianca stayed here when she was carrying you in her womb.”
That explained it, the strange familiarity. Prina glanced around the room she now occupied. She could not, of course, recall what it was like to be inside her mother’s womb, but hearing this story about her birth mother filled her with an odd sensation.
So her name was Bianca. What thoughts had her mother carried while staying here, pregnant with her? The question arose unbidden.
She had been told her mother died after giving birth to her. Then, had she drawn her final breath in this very place?
A chill swept over Prina, as if death itself lingered in the air.
“You resemble Bianca very much. Though you are far more beautiful. If Bianca had been as beautiful as you, you might never have been born at all. She would still be in the royal palace.”
“What does that…?”
Even as she listened, she could not make sense of his words.
“What else could it mean? I’m saying, Prina, you are that beautiful.”
“…Pardon?”
“Still, it would be best if you wore a veil. That would put both our hearts at ease.”
The King, leaning back in the armchair, wet his lips with wine before rising to his feet. He walked toward Prina’s bed.
“Shall I hold you once?”
The words did not sound like those of a father. The fine hairs on her body stood on end.
What was happening?
Prina’s gaze darted about in confusion. Shock froze her body where she sat. Standing before her, the King caressed her cheek, her earlobe, and her hair.
“Hide what is ominous. Reveal what is beautiful. That is how you pay me respect, Prina.”
The sensation, like insects crawling across her skin, made her recoil, curling up and edging backward on the bed. She wanted to deny it, but his touch unmistakably carried a vile, carnal meaning.
It was entirely unlike Hunter’s touch. It made her skin crawl, her stomach turn.
“Why… why are you doing this?”
“Why? I am bestowing you with my favor.”
The King shrugged off his gown and climbed onto the bed.
“B-But… you’re my father. Why would you…?”
“Who told you I was your father?”
“What?”
“You seem mistaken. You’re not my daughter. You’re simply the woman I will take for myself.”
Panting heavily, the King lunged at her. Shocked, barely comprehending his words, Prina began to struggle.
“I never lay with your mother. That filthy wench bedded some other man and birthed you.”
“Th-that’s absurd… Ngh—ah!”
“Be grateful that your beauty spared your life. I knew you would grow into something this lovely.”
No matter how hard she fought, she could not resist his overwhelming strength.
Her mother had lain with another man. The one who claimed to have sought her out now looked upon her not as his daughter, but as a woman to be possessed.
And so, he was not her father. She had no family.
In truth, she never had one.
Everyone she met either died or turned monstrous. Perhaps it was because she truly was some cursed being. No one had been different… except for one.
The King shoved Prina down roughly, tearing at her negligee and forcing her legs apart.
“So you too should open your legs for me, and— guh.”
In an instant, the light in his eyes went out. His body collapsed.
It was a sight all too familiar. And then…
A pair of blazing golden eyes stared at her.
“Finished playing?”
It was Hunter.
“Then let’s go home.”
He extended his hand. He did not come closer, only stood waiting with his hand outstretched.
Only Hunter had never changed. Only he had found her again.
Only one being accepted her, no matter her form.
And she…
She had promised to love him, no matter what form he took.
Hadn’t you, Prina?
“It’s alright. Get up, Prina. You saved me, so now I’ll save you too.”
But the voice was not Hunter’s.
Turning her gaze to the source, she saw Lucky in the corner of the room, watching everything unfold, his eyes gleaming just as before. Golden, like Hunter’s.
“Follow me, Prina. I may not be your happiness, but I am your last remaining fortune.”
Lucky had said the same before. That he was her last remaining fortune.
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