The Nymph Wants to be Plundered - Chapter 103

“……”

An eternity of silence enveloped them. Cassis stood motionless, not even a flicker in the arm that held the candelabra.

But Polyxene had no intention of backing down, no matter how humiliated she felt. Cassis had only grown more devastatingly handsome since she’d left the capital. That fresh, leafy scent that had brushed against her nose when she pressed into his embrace earlier—it was intoxicating. Was that the unique fragrance of the World Tree? There was something faintly floral mixed in, a hint of tart sweetness.

She wanted him. Badly. Swallowing the excess saliva pooling in her mouth, she let her eyes droop seductively as she confessed her desire.

“It’s the Aika Festival, Your Majesty. Ah, just for today—won’t you be my Cassis? You could do that much for me, couldn’t you?”

Finally, his lips parted—but the words that followed were the height of disappointment.

“You have the face of someone who would never be satisfied with just a single day.”

The moment she heard his blunt refusal, a sharp pang shot through her chest, but Polyxene refused to be cowed. If anything stood between her and bedding Cassis, she’d burn it all down—her tenacity was unmatched.

“My name is Polyxene . Cousin to Lord Iel, whom Your Majesty trusts above all others. If you hold me, you won’t forget me…!”

“Whatever your resolve, it holds no power to move me.”

He was cold. No—frigid, like a slab of ice. Then again, even the women who had once shared his bed could barely speak to him after his coronation. A strange defiance surged in Polyxene , and she gripped the sun-patterned ornament on the shoulder of his white ceremonial robes so tightly her fingers ached. She clung to it, desperate to press her fevered breath against him—one last, reckless attempt.

However, the powerful tug on her hair forced her to stagger backward clumsily. The sylphs who tended to the World Tree nearby, acting unusually on their own accord, had stepped in to stop this woman behaving so recklessly.

“T-this is… Hng…!”

“…Enough, sylphs. Why act without my command?”

Cassis let out a quiet sigh. Reluctantly, the sylphs released her, but the recoil sent a loud noise echoing through the hall.

Thud!

Polyxene , now sprawled on the corridor floor, stared dazedly at Cassis standing motionless before her. Dressed in a dazzling, immaculate ceremonial robe—so pristine it bore no trace of her—he was so breathtakingly handsome that one could easily believe he was the son of the goddess Theia.

Despite being rejected repeatedly and the shock of landing hard on her backside, Polyxene was too exhilarated to care.

The temple of Theia was right before them. If the goddess were to gaze upon the clamor of Jupiter Castle, stirred by the festival, surely she would gladly bless their union. Right?

Schemes be damned—this was an all-out physical assault now. Staggering to her feet, she swayed her chest forward and stretched out her arms.

“Your Majesty…! I know—I know how exhausting the burdens of kingship can be. Just forget everything and rest in my arms for a single day. Hmm?”

“…….”

Having said all he intended to, Cassis had no interest in humoring her further. His lips pressed into a tight line, but from her side, lust—shamelessly cloaked in false sincerity—burst forth in a ravenous roar.

“I know why… I know why, ever since you seized your noble destiny, you’ve kept women who tempt you with cheap words at a distance… Isn’t that right? You despise their filthy greed—their hunger to share your glory, your crown! But I’m not like them. Not the same. I have true feelings! So…!”

Cassis didn’t even bother to glance at Polyxene as she babbled her nonsense. Whether she was a schemer or not, she wasn’t worth a shred of his attention—pathetic, insignificant. The real problem wasn’t her.

His thoughts were on Iel, not the woman before him. It seemed he would have to have a long-overdue conversation with him. And perhaps… he might even have to cast Iel out from the Hall of Glory.

“Nothing lasts forever,” wasn’t that what he had once said?

Once again, he found himself thinking that the World Tree’s words held truth.

And then—

Whoosh!

“Hah?”

A sharp exhale escaped his lips—a rare slip from a man who seldom showed surprise.

The roots of the World Tree, silent and unmoving until now, had suddenly lashed out from beyond the open doorway, snatching Polyxene away in an instant. So fast that even he couldn’t react in time.

This was serious.

Not a branch—but a root had moved.

Unlike ordinary plants, whose roots anchor them in place, the World Tree existed far beyond such limitations. It could move—though it rarely chose to.

And so, the legend held. Those who disturb the peace of Jupiter or defy it will earn the World Tree’s wrath, banished beyond the city walls forever.

Cassis, still relatively young, had never witnessed it in his lifetime. But Iel, or perhaps the elder senators with their decades of experience, might have seen it once or twice.

So why now, of all times—?

“Hm?”

Suddenly, Cassis frowned.

The empty corridor before him rippled—then changed.