Her lack of strength was horrifying, and the fear of slowly passing time kept her from sleeping at night.
Then Ines spat at Lena again. Ines wiped the spit with her palm and rubbed it back on Lena’s face.
“Why, are you so scared?”
“…….”
“But don’t worry too much. You’ll go mad soon anyway.”
Then the knight approached Ines with her handkerchief.
“Thank you.”
Noah closed his eyes tightly at the sight of her calmly smiling at the knight. It was hard to fully accept the situation. What was he seeing right now?
“Sir Knight, will you seat this person back in the chair?”
The knight, who had not seen the situation moments before, blushed slightly at Ines’s gentle request and beautiful smile.
Ines, who had wiped her hand on her handkerchief, sat back down in front of Lena.
“So, Lena, poor Lena Mariere. Get a grip and face the situation.”
Lena, whose arms were tied with rope, twisted her body in pain and struggled.
“My name is Ines Swelden. Remember my name. I’m not saying that everything will be fine if you just listen to me. Because that’s not the truth. But if you keep going like this, everything you’ve just heard will become your reality.”
Lena did not respond and gasped for breath with her chest heaving.
“So take Prince Carson’s hand. Tell him the truth about everything and ask for mercy. That’s the only way for you and your precious ones to live.”
Ines’s face, saying that only following his will was the only hope left for Lena, shone with conviction. Ines got up lightly from her seat. Then she smiled at Noah.
“I think it’s time to go.”
Noah led her without a word.
(This is a time divider.)
After Ines left for Swelden’s mansion, Noah headed to Carson’s office to report. But until he stood in front of the door, he found it hard to decide what to say first.
“Your Highness.”
“Don’t call me like that.”
Carson replied without even lifting his head in the direction of Noah’s entrance.
“Yes, Earl.”
Even after Noah’s answer, there was a long silence until Carson took his eyes off the documents and looked at him.
“What’s the matter?”
“It’s….”
Carson thought Noah’s behavior was strange. Though he hadn’t known him long, Noah was a quickwitted and discerning person.
“Lady Swelden has left the mansion.”
He did not answer but stared at Noah.
“And Lena Mariere has expressed her intention to reveal everything.”
Carson doubted his ears. Even though he had kept her locked in a room for a week and interrogated her all day, she had not answered anything.
After catching Lena, the police had been pressuring Carson to hand her over.
He had intended to hold on to her as long as possible and find out who was behind her, but it had become impossible to detain her any longer.
Carson could not torture her himself, but the story would change if she went to the police.
There was no place in the empire that the Empress’s hand did not reach.
If the police decided to hide things and make a new plan, there was no way for Carson to find out. But just now, Ines had met her, and Lena had opened her mouth.
“What did the two of them talk about?”
“That’s….”
“Noah.”
“It was nothing. That is, they talked about something we already know….”
Noah was at a loss as to what to say and how. According to him, Lady Swelden had not said anything special to Lena. She had simply conveyed the bad reputation and ominous rumors of Rompfield to Lena.
“What do you know?”
“About Rompfield.”
“Rompfield?”
“Yes, if she keeps her mouth shut, she will end up in Rompfield…. But I’ve told her that several times as well.”
As he spoke, Noah fell into thought again.
“Noah, so what’s the big deal?”
“Your Highness, what I mean is, Lena Mariere spat at Lady Swolenden and…….”
“She spat? You mean you just stood there and watched?”
“I told a knight to bring a handkerchief. Anyway, Lady Swolenden changed her mind because of some horrible things she said.”
The more Carson heard, the more he stood up from his seat, unable to comprehend the words.
“Lead the way. I’ll go and see the woman myself.”
“And then.”
Continuing, Carson looked at Noah.
“Her Highness saw Lady Swolenden off.”
“Louis?”
“Yes, she came to the carriage herself.”
For the past few days, Louigianne had hardly moved in her room due to the shock of that day. Carson would visit, and she’d show a smile, but it was clear her surprised heart had not yet settled.
That child left her room to see off that woman herself.
“What…… did they talk about?”
“They embraced deeply without any particular conversation and parted right away.”
“Does that make sense?”
Noah knew what he was saying sounded odd. However, he had seen nothing else, so it couldn’t be nonsensical.
As Noah remained silent, Carson roughly brushed his hair back. Instead of interrogating Noah further, he hastened to meet Lena.
(This is a time separator.)
As soon as Carson entered the room, Lena rushed to him, knelt, and sat down. Her arms were still bound. Lena, who pressed her cheeks and lips to his shoes, clung to him.
“Your Highness, I’ll tell you everything. So, save Jason, please save Jason.”
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.
