Ollentia frowned deeply and looked at Dimitrius, who continued speaking.
“I could feel the sacred power. You may not be aware of it, but you’re definitely born with it. Being half-human, half-demon, I can distinctly sense the presence or absence of sacred power.”
“That can’t be. I’m just a normal person.”
Ollentia looked down at her hands and cocked her head. No matter how much she thought about it, sacred power seemed incompatible with her. The only doubtful thing was her being the contractor of Pietà, nothing else.
Seeing her flustered, Dimitrius spoke in a subdued voice.
“If you say so, let’s quickly leave. It’s late at night.”
Apparently, he had torn the hem of his cloak and tied it to a tree branch when entering the forest. Ollentia had thoughtlessly followed only the white light.
Fearing she might lose her way, Ollentia scurried after him.
“Ah! Wait for me!”
Then, she tripped over a stone and staggered. With darkness all around, she flailed her arms as she continued to fall, fearing her face might meet the ground directly—her face that she had cared for 23 years.
At that moment, a large hand scooped up Ollentia’s waist. His strength was as formidable as a fisherman catching a shark.
Caught unexpectedly in Dimitrius’s arms, Ollentia caught her breath shallowly.
Brilliant moonlight poured over their heads.
The bitter scent of trees.
His perfume and his broad chest were still the same.
Was this the third time? She felt embarrassed to be so recklessly in a man’s arms.
Ollentia, mortified, couldn’t open her eyes.
She fidgeted with the hand resting on Dimitrius’s chest. Her heart felt like it was about to burst.
Then Dimitrius, fixing Ollentia’s disheveled hair, said.
“I can’t always carry such a clumsy lady in my pocket.”
It seemed like the Dimitrius she knew.
‘Why is my heart beating so fast? And carry in his pocket? Me?’
So flabbergasted, Ollentia didn’t stop him from fixing her hair. She just blankly stared at him. Her hand was on his chest, and her head tilted back, it felt odd.
‘It’s like… expecting a kiss.’
She had no experience, but it seemed like a scene from a romance novel’s illustration.
Finally, startled, she pushed Dimitrius’s shoulder.
“Get away!”
Dimitrius, who had merely saved her from falling, grumbled.
“That’s harsh for someone who just caught you. You nearly had your ‘proud’ face smashed against the ground.”
Ollentia rubbed her arms, feeling goosebumps, and said.
“It won’t happen again.”
“What are you saying? You won’t trip again?”
“Yes. No more falling over stupidly. I’ll take care of everything!”
Ollentia’s voice was full of agitation as she fumed. Her chest heaved with each breath.
She disliked continually receiving Dimitrius’s help. If Sokor saw this, he’d treat her as someone needing protection again. She detested that.
“Maybe I should just let you fall next time. You might come to your senses then! Right?”
Through such experiences of getting hurt and healing, she might gain the strength to face Sokor.
What Ollentia wanted was to become a wonderful adult, someone with strength.
However, Ollentia had no reason to be angry with Dimitrius. As he said, Dimitrius hadn’t done anything wrong; he had only helped her.
In the end, she had made another foolish move.
‘Ah, why did I do that… I just got carried away all of a sudden.’
Embarrassed, Ollentia bit her lip for no reason, and Dimitrius, blending so well with the solemn forest, said,
“If left alone or unguarded, you might get hurt like before.”
‘Before? When?’
Realizing Dimitrius’s gaze was directed towards her neck, Ollentia laughed resignedly.
“Ah, this… It’s okay. I didn’t think it was a serious injury, so I didn’t call the family doctor of the Orodor Counts. My uncle didn’t even know? Whether I had an injury on my neck or not. It’s too much. Even my uncle didn’t know what happened to his only niece on the train.”
It was fortunate that it was just a slight scratch. The wound might last a while, but it didn’t seem to leave a scar.
As Ollentia finally smiled, returning to her usual self, Dimitrius started walking again. She followed him, but suddenly Dimitrius’s torn cloak was draped over her shoulders.
Ollentia, now covered in the huge cloak, looked at Dimitrius with baffled eyes.
“Aren’t you cold?”
Dimitrius, seeming slightly uncomfortable, shrugged his shoulders and said,
“The cloak is a bit inconvenient. I’m discarding it. To the lady.”
‘Always with such words!’
Honestly, it didn’t seem like he was discarding it because it was inconvenient, but rather because he was concerned about her thin attire. She was in a protected area where no one else could enter, so her clothes were indeed quite light.
Pondering what to do, Ollentia wrapped the cloak around herself and strode confidently. She looked like a snowman, the kind made by people in the Belial territory of the Bonnus Empire, where snow falls exclusively.
The Villainous Demon Lord Laid an Egg for Her (Female-Dominated)
Several months after transmigrating into a book, Yu Wu found herself facing the demon lord Li You, who could no longer conceal his dragon horns. With one hand on her aching waist and the other gripping a sharp sword, she stared at him.
The demon lord’s eyes were red with fury:
“This is all your doing! Today, I won’t rest until I kill you!”
Yu Wu rubbed her temples. Putting aside the taboo against bloodshed during pregnancy, wasn’t it this very man who willingly walked into her trap that day?!
Warnings:
- Male pregnancy.
- Height ratios are set to mirror typical male-female height proportions.
- Characters include a foot-loving demon lord and an eldest daughter from an immortal family’s concubine lineage.
