Chapter 45

Translation by Watermelon and Doldrums


Who the Hell Are You?


His chilling voice rang through her ears, but Llewelyn's face did not change one bit. She was still gazing at Almondite with a sweet expression.

“Reveal who I am, whatever do you mean by that?” 

“The Llewelyn I know would never seduce anyone like this.”

“...”

“I knew something was out of place.”

Almondite raised his hand and grabbed Llewelyn’s chin, forcing her to look up. Llewelyn's eyes, shining with lust, were cold rather than hot, and so were Almondite’s. His turquoise eyes seemed to see right through her.

“I thought it was weird from the beginning. Did you mean to ridicule me by throwing away your body? Don’t make me laugh.”

His thumb gently grazed the tip of her chin, and went up to stroke her lips. Llewelyn stared at Almondite. He had spoken with a resolute voice, but as soon as he caught Llewelyn's gaze, his eyes fluttered, uncertain. Noticing it, Llewelyn let out a small laugh.

“Your words might say that, but your actions make me think you’d very much wish I was in earnest, Almondite.”

Llewelyn's red lips parted open. She stuck out her tongue and licked his fingertips. He flinched at the tickling feeling and withdrew his hand. The corners of her half closed eyes arched in a bewitching curve.

“It’s really me, Almon.”

“...”

“Why are you like this, you had no issue holding me last time? I remember you telling me that you wished you could satisfy me with your mouth. Why the sudden change of heart?"

Llewelyn's voice had an eerie echo to it. He looked at her seducing him with a terribly alluring look on her beautiful face. Her sweet scent wafted up to his nose and Almondite's eyes fluttered as he inhaled. Llewelyn whispered,

“Maybe I’m just not the person you think I am?”

“Llewelyn.”

Almondite slowly closed his eyes. When he reopened them, they had turned cold again.

“Whatever this is, this is not who you are.”

“......”

“So I won’t have you, not like this.”

"Fine. Suit yourself."

A great anger welled up within Llewelyn’s heart. Rotten bastard! She had debased herself by attempting to seduce him, only to get turned down?

Llewelyn adjusted her posture and returned to her seat opposite him. The back of her neck was hot. Had it been nothing but pure fabrication that the stigma had a cooldown period? Because it seemed that with great stimuli, irrespective of her own will, the stigma manifested more often than before.

Especially when it came to Almon's touch.

Llewelyn tried her best to conceal her discomfort. When the stigma was fully awakened, she had a hard time thinking straight. Whether her current behavior had stemmed from a rational reflection or she merely wanted to sleep with this man, she was now too far gone to detangle her original intention.

What was certain was that once the stigma was awoken and her body excited, she became more provocative and daring. Llewelyn grimaced. The stigma that had appeared suddenly was showing no sign of subsiding anytime soon.

“...Ugh…”

“Llewelyn.”

“Don’t say a word.”

Llewelyn tried to keep her sanity. At any rate, she'd have to call for Tristan as soon as she returned to the palace, like he had asked her to.

But wait, Tristan was now investigating the assassination attempt. In this case…should she call Ernel? But wouldn’t he still be at the scene too? As the victim of the accident, only Llewelyn had been allowed to leave the premises, in order for her to catch a break. 

Almondite, who was sitting across from her, had already noticed her strangeness, and was observing her quietly.

Llewelyn was breathing erratically and her throat had gone completely dry. Soon enough, the carriage stopped its course, and Almondite got out of the carriage. He offered his hand to Llewelyn, who weakly took it.

“Good grief, you’re burning up!”

“Don’t call the doctor”, said Llewelyn cautiously. 

As soon as she got off the wagon and entered the palace, she saw the maids who had come to greet her.

“Princess!”

“Your Highness, are you okay?!”

The maids followed her around, worried about her health. After letting out a feverish sigh, Llewelyn said,

"I'm fine. Although I wish to rest alone, so could you stop shadowing me and return to work? It aggravates me to have people following me around when I’m indisposed”.

Llewelyn spoke rather kindly despite being at her wits end. Upon hearing her words, the maids stopped fussing around her and left her alone. She was starting to hyperventilate.

“Isn’t it time for you, Duke Biserk to leave as well?”

As Llewelyn looked behind her shoulder before entering her room, Almondite replied, 

“Before that, I think you should explain your condition to me.”

“What is there to explain? If you won't sleep with me, just go away."

Almondite's eyes widened at her annoyed words, while Llewelyn continued to rub the back of her neck.

"Pardon?"

That was all Almon could utter. She knew her declaration must have seemed absurd to him, but her condition was getting worse and worse. Llewelyn bit her lip hard, regretting not leaving Almondite’s side sooner. Should she tell him about the curse? But she didn't want to show him how vulnerable she was.

When her mother had died, he too had abandoned her, leaving her to fall prey to the constant harassment she had to suffer at the royal palace. Until she too had eventually given up on herself. And if that wasn’t enough, this dreary curse was now forcing her to copulate at random, with the first passing man. Even she couldn’t help but admit that her life was miserable.

She couldn't tell this man. They knew each other all too well. She had loved him, and had missed him most ardently, and precisely because of that, she couldn't tell him.

As Llewelyn entered her room, Almondite spoke,

"Alright."

“......”

“Alright, I’ll sleep with you.”

Hearing his reply, Llewelyn looked back again, and once she saw Almondite’s expression, she suddenly realized that he hadn’t succumbed to her advances. Rather, he must have noticed that something was amiss.

Llewelyn bit her lip. He was quick to catch on. “Whatever”, she replied while wishing she was rid of him. However, Llewelyn knew how painful it would be for her to delay it any longer. Since she was bound to suffer anyway, she might as well get done with it sooner rather than later.


Llewelyn took off her golden feather cape, revealing her white dress underneath, which fairness paled in comparison to her porcelain skin. Almondite couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

Her alabaster skin was slightly rosy as if she actually had a fever. With her flushed cheeks, Llewelyn stared at Almondite, breathing unevenly. Who wouldn’t fall for that look? Almondite then recalled all the men gravitating around Llewelyn.

He was relieved that he was the one in this position.

With the way she was right now, it was far too dangerous. His shrewd sense knew that if it hadn’t been him here, at that moment, she simply would have chosen another man.

A strange tension enveloped the man and the woman as they were about to begin their love affair. It was Llewelyn who broke it first, trying to take off her dress. But the intricate way the clothes had been placed on her body caused her to struggle in vain. Almondite approached her and untied the various knots and laces for her, thus exposing her immaculate bare shoulders. Her soft breasts appeared under her delicate and slender collarbone.

Although Almondite was taking his time, Llewelyn’s hands were burning with urgency. She reached out and loosened his buttons one by one.

They busied themselves with taking off each other's clothes. What started as peculiar excitement, quickly turned into a time of agonizing over how to take off the garments as fast as possible. He took off the tailcoat, this time revealing a white shirt under it.

Llewelyn's gestures became skittish. She herself only had her underwear left on, so how come he was still wearing so many clothes? Seeing Llewelyn's displeased look, Almondite let out a small laugh.

She pulled hard to undo the remaining buttons, revealing his bare chest. Unlike Tristan, his body wasn’t huge but his torso was still quite large.

Llewelyn looked down at his chest. His hard body was marbled with glistening scars, making it look like he had been scratched on multiple occasions. She ran her finger along the outline of one of the scars, stopping him in his current endeavor, preventing him from removing the last button of her chemise.

They didn't say anything to each other, but both noticed their breathing becoming faster. Llewelyn placed her palms on the man's chest. She could feel his heart pounding. Llewelyn's gaze, glossing over his scar, turned to his wounded arm.

"It's fine. It looks better now.”

“......”

To support his claim, he exhibited the wound, from which blood had been flowing out a couple hours ago, showing that the skin near the gash had already started to scab over. Llewelyn sighed in relief.

Seeing this, Almondite smiled and leaned forward to kiss her. His lips met hers and her tongue intertwined with his. As if rolling candy in his mouth, he played with Llewelyn's sweet soft tongue.

Reluctantly pushing his concerns aside, he wistfully kissed her. For a moment their eyes met, and immersed in Llewelyn’s, he bitterly said,

“Right, you’re so far gone that you welcome my kiss without so much as a hesitation.”

“......”

“If it weren’t for whatever’s causing this, I doubt you would have ever come to me.”

He looked utterly miserable, causing Llewelyn's words to die in her throat. He was right. And because of that, she couldn't say anything to her bitter childhood friend, to the person she despised yet missed the most.

He lifted Llewelyn and lay her down on the bed. There, sprawled on the cushy eiderdown, Llewelyn looked up at Almondite straddling her body.

Despite the bright light, his eyes remained pools of darkness.

“Alright, let’s do this.”

“Almon, hurry.”

At Llewelyn’s pressing words, he removed her underwear completely, kissing her slender neck before biting her collarbone. As his hands fiddled with her soft, supple flesh, hot breath poured out of Llewelyn's mouth.

As the design of his actions became more apparent, Llewelyn's reason evaporated. She entrusted her everything to him. The hot sensation in the back of her neck spread all over her body. Unlike Llewelyn’s growing impatience, Almondite deliberately carved his way down her white flesh.

“Ugh… Please, hurry.”

Although she was urging him, Almondite remained assiduous in his fleshy ministrations. His fingers ran between her thighs, rousing a reaction from her most delicate part. Almondite kissed Llewelyn as his fingers stimulated the sensitive areas. He could hear the thick sound of her jagged breathing getting heavier.

“Oh, Almon…”

“Yes, Llewelyn.”

He was happy, yet his voice resonated with discouragement. Only the heat radiating from his bare skin betrayed that he was also excited.

“You must know,”

“......”

“I didn’t want to hold you like this.”

“Mgh!”

With these words, he granted Llewelyn's request at last. Llewelyn gasped for her breath and looked at Almondite. She felt sweat dripping down, as sweet pain and pleasure flowed from every part of her body, all but her nape.

He lovingly held a breathless Llewelyn, showering her with kisses. A thought came to her mind as their bodies pressed together,

Does this mean you wanted to hold me?

In what ways?

Did you wish for me to become your bride one day?

She had been meaning to uncover the nature of his feelings a long time ago, but Llewelyn couldn't bring herself to ask the question. She looked up at the man who had fallen for her, experiencing a perverse sense of satisfaction. This time, Llewelyn was the one to kiss him, causing his face to collapse.

“Llewelyn…”

Panting, he yearningly called out for her. Her erratic breathing in sync with his own, Llewelyn raised her hand and wrapped it around his neck. The moment they reached the end of their bliss, Almondite delicately hugged her, as if he was afraid to break her.

After they were done, they lay facing each other. The heat had subsided once again.

Almondite, lying next to her, looked down at Llewelyn as she was catching her breath, a languid expression on his face. She looked up at him with her amber eyes, no words being exchanged between them. Almondite tenderly caressed her body.

Llewelyn gently took his hand, enjoying the feeling of warmth that came with the touch. It was like being loved. His large hand tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, before she asked,

“Why did you leave?”

“......”

“You could have said something.”

Almondite stared at Llewelyn. He lifted his hand from her hair as he looked into her eyes, dark with resentment. He was a sinner.

“You will find out soon.”

“......”

“Although if it was up to me, I wish you would never know.” he added meaningfully. 

The expression on Llewelyn's face disappeared. This was why she couldn't forgive Almondite. If her situation wasn’t dreadful enough as it was, to make things worse Almondite clearly knew something yet wasn’t intent on telling her. 'Her forgiveness' didn't seem to matter that much to him.

She got up.

“Llewelyn,”

“I’ll go wash up, leave before I return.”

“......”

Llewelyn had spoken bluntly, but he didn't answer. She wanted to wash her body clean of any remaining traces of their love affair. Because she had sent the maids away, she had to walk to the bathroom on her own.

Llewelyn put on her slip and covered herself with a sheet. She opened her door and walked out, then got suddenly startled. Tristan was standing in front of her room.

Chapter end