“So when you’re hungry and see a sumptuous feast, naturally you’d crave those dishes, right? I’ve been stuck in this remote corner of the capital’s outskirts for a long time, without any chance to see men, let alone someone as handsome as you.”
“So now I’m like tasty food to you?”
“Sort of, that’s what I mean.”
I pressed my fluttering heart and met his gaze squarely.
“So you’re saying you want to ‘eat’ me?”
“Yes.”
The truth.
“You’re implying that anyone would fall for a handsome man?”
“Exactly.”
Again, the truth.
Just then, the high-quality carriage jolted heavily, signaling we were entering a rough patch of road.
“Anyone you like, you’d want to ‘eat’ them?”
“Of course.”
Weird question, but my answer was still true.
To enter Lesothia, you have to pass a cliff so tall you’d have to bend completely backward to see its end. The cliff face is adorned with hundreds of elaborate temples, graves, and faces of gods, carved so beautifully that the first Emperor Wesley Schneider reportedly stood beneath them, immobile with awe for a long time.
A legend persists about an oracle he received there a thousand years ago, still believed today.
The buildings, mostly high-relief carvings in the middle of the cliff, have influenced Dermaier’s architectural style to this day. Hence, Dermaier’s palaces are known for their dazzling fronts, delicately carved columns, and magnificent halls.
I flung back the half-drawn curtain of the carriage window and pointed out.
“See that?”
At my fingertip was the famous god of beauty, Aiphenetes. He looked from the beautiful male deity to me and chuckled.
“So, what now? You’re saying you like that god?”
“Yes, exactly. If Aiphenetes were human, I would have liked him just as much as you.”
Undoubtedly the truth.
“Ha!”
He laughed as if in disbelief and shook his head. Leaning back in his seat, he closed his eyes deeply.
“Fine, do as you please. As I said yesterday, no matter what you do, you’re mine.”
“How can you say something so forceful…”
“It’s certain that you were my awakening’s assistant.”
After concluding the conversation with those strangely unsettling words, he didn’t seem inclined to talk further, keeping his eyes closed till nightfall.
With his eyes closed, Riccardo emitted a completely different aura.
He seemed harmless. In many ways.
He didn’t seem to be sleeping, but as he showed no sign of opening his eyes, I openly admired his face. A human so tragically beautiful that even the deity Aiphenetes would envy him.
His words were true; I liked him. But it was a limited feeling, only experienced when our eyes met.
This intensely clear emotion had naturally arisen from the moment I first met him. But after Riccardo left, I realized that his absence was bearable.
I couldn’t close my mouth in awe at the incredible sight.
“Wow.”
Dermaier’s buildings, influenced by Lesothia’s architectural style, were impressively laid out before me.
The fluidity of the lines was Lesothian, but the scale was immense.
The dazzling facade of the mansion was symmetrical, thanks to delicately carved white pillars.
But every detail was unique – massive yet sharp, curved yet pointed, much like Riccardo himself.
Walking through the corridors, I stretched my neck and absorbed every detail, from the floors to the ceilings, like a tourist on a grand tour.
“Indeed, the imperial dukedom is remarkable.”
While contemplating this, I found myself locking eyes with Riccardo, who was watching me as if I were some fascinating creature. I awkwardly stretched my neck, pretending to be looking elsewhere.
Passing the corridor, a forest appeared.
“Ah, it’s not a forest, but a garden.”
Despite its vastness like a forest, the well-blended trees and flowers indicated the touch of a skilled gardener. The path was a straight walkway, wide enough for carriages.
“This path isn’t meant for walking.”
“Ah…”
“I thought carriages would be too tiresome.”
During our journey to the empire, Riccardo subtly observed me. Except for the first day, he didn’t share the carriage with me, which I knew was his way of showing consideration.
Remembering the sharp and sensitive Riccardo of the past, it was hard to reconcile him with the polite and well-mannered nobleman he had become.
His words were true; I would have been sick of carriages. Though we stayed at lords’ castles intermittently, it felt like an eternity traveling by carriage.
“The weather is nice, too.”
As Riccardo said, the sky was clear. The surrounding flowers, their names vaguely familiar, were in full bloom. The year-round mild climate was palpable. What were those flowers called again…?
Then, Riccardo lifted his hands and swept back his hair.
That single motion turned the relaxed atmosphere sharp.
“I’ve been thinking.”
His suddenly sharp voice instinctively turned my head.
“About what you said, that I went to save you seven years ago.”
His deep voice echoed as I looked around the garden. I suddenly remembered the flowers blanketing the field in white and red – cyclamens.
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.
