Chapter 26: Swelling Breasts

At Ariel’s request, Carlos’ sword did not kill Temi the freckled servant. He wasn’t sure what she planned to do with the servant, but Carlos decided not to pry, convinced that she wanted to take care of the person who hurt her with her own hands. He was rather attracted to her unusual appearance. He didn’t think that Ariel, whom he thought was a saint of soft heart, had such a strong resolve. Still, the rest of the servants had to be punished by him. Leandro had ordered him to slice their necks and bring their heads to him.

Carlos led the servants out to be beheaded by the guards and returned to Leandro’s camp where Ariel would be left alone. When he saw Ariel sitting gently on the edge of the bed, Carlos suddenly remembered last night and the image of her coquettish actions in Leandro’s arms.

His heart felt numb.

Following Leandro’s instructions not to be exposed to any threats in the future, Ariel was instructed to stay in the emperor’s bedroom. It was Leandro’s complete and determined desire to possess Ariel and not hand her to anyone else.

It was acceptable to have a woman in his bedroom for a night, but leaving a woman who was not the empress in the emperor’s bedroom in the day was a perfect source of criticism from the retainers. Although the retainers wouldn’t dare openly slander Ariel upfront for fear of losing their neck if they carelessly offended the wrong person, letting her stay in the emperor’s quarters would definitely bring a negative impact to Leandro.

It was proof of how much Leandro desired Ariel.

Carlos laughed bitterly.

To own or to throw away; to kill or to not kill. Carlos was happy that Leandro, who had always lived a life of choosing between one of the two opposing choices, began to do something different. He thought his master could now escape the terrible wounds of the past and live like a normal human being, but the fact that his target was Ariel made him feel miserable at the same time.

Carlos had a thrilling experience with a woman for the first time in his life. He fell for her at the very instant he saw her when journeying with Leandro on an inspection tour to Ariel’s native land. Her figure was extraordinary and magical, enough to think of her as a goddess who descended from heaven. She shone so brightly that he thought he’d go blind.

After returning home, Carlos couldn’t shake Ariel’s image out of his head for a long time. Already, deep in his heart, she managed to captivate his heart with a single encounter. He grew excited secretly imagining himself being with her until he found out that Leandro had the same thoughts as him.

“…Lord Carlos?”

Carlos shook his head at the sound calling his name. An impossible idea was poison, it wouldn’t do him any good to dwell on the past.

“You’ll be living here in the future. You don’t need to work, and from now on—”

“The servants. Are they dead?” Ariel asked.

It was an unexpected question, so unexpected that she cared not for her safety or the future days, but about the servants who were nothing compared to her. Carlos took a step closer to Ariel in case he misheard her concerns.

“They certainly did harm me, but…”

“But?”

“I don’t think it’s enough to lose their lives.”

“…It was His Majesty’s orders. It’s not something you can interfere with. And didn’t you keep that little girl alive as you wished?”

Carlos didn’t understand her unfound worries about those who came wielding knives towards her. In this dog-eat-dog world, it was enough for her to look down on people. Furthermore, this was the palace, a place full of predators seeking their next prey. She’d become their next meal immediately if she didn’t act.

“But still…”

Ariel tried to get up but stopped moving. It was painful for her. The swelling of her breasts made them more sensitive due to Leandro’s wild foreplay the previous night. Just the wind sweeping her nipples made her crotch wince in pain. It was difficult for Ariel to move her arms as the cloth would rustle and graze her.

“What’s wrong?” Carlos asked, concerned.

“…Nothing.”

The cut on her shoulder throbbed and the chest bit by Leandro tingled. She was a total mess. In addition, her waist, which was full of handprints, made her muscles stiff, making it difficult for her to inhale deep intakes of breath.

“Where are you hurt?”

“Nowhere. It’s nothing.”

Carlos caught Ariel’s shoulder with a worried face for fear that the wound on her injured shoulder had burst again. “The wound… does it hurt?”

Holding on to Carlos, Ariel raised her head and made eye contact with him. Though similar in build to and was a little smaller in height than Leandro, Carlos was a big man compared to others. As she tried to make eye contact with Carlos from a closer distance, Ariel’s neck was bent back painfully.