180. Taking You
2024.03.28.
Around the hut occupied by Emperor Igor, the Imperial 1st Knight Division led by Solen Racha had formed a siege.
The bodies of mercenaries hired from a third country, whom they had used to evade pursuit, were scattered around the hut.
Yuan was dragged directly onto a massive warship and locked inside a cabin alone with the Emperor.
Eugene Kimfri and Hille had long since fallen into Solen Racha’s hands.
Resistance was meaningless. Both the Emperor and Solen Racha were Sword Masters, and their opponents were the elite of the Euphris.
Yuan sat in the center of the cabin, tied to the bedpost, facing the Emperor who stared intently at her.
Each time Hille’s horrifying screams echoed from outside, her heart pounded faster.
Eugene must have been suffering just as much as Hille, yet his voice never reached her—this silence was even more unsettling.
Yuan made no effort to hide her extreme tension, struggling to meet the Emperor’s gaze.
His thick golden beard, the scars scattered across his heavy facial skin, and those same icy blue eyes as Bollonico.
The memories bubbling up from the past made her tremble, but she had to snap back to her senses.
She suppressed her intense disgust and hatred deep within.
If only he would try to embrace her, she would unleash all her power at that moment and plunge with him into the sea. Yet the Emperor, for some reason, simply remained still, silently watching her.
The longer he stared, the more nauseated she felt, as if she were about to vomit at any second.
She felt a strange sense of déjà vu. This dizziness—this queasiness—was different from the seasickness she had experienced before being captured by the Emperor.
Instinctively, her eyes dropped to the floor, landing on the pitch-black tip of the sword hanging from the Emperor’s thick waist.
The moment she became aware of the sword, her heart began racing as if she had just run a great distance.
It was as if she could hear a hallucination—the sword humming, calling out to her.
“Do you know this sword?”
“!”
Yuan startled, lifting her head. The Emperor greeted her with the most merciful expression imaginable.
“This is the sword that pierced your sister’s heart twice.”
Yuan forgot to blink, her pupils dilating.
“Worried something might happen, I opened her heart, but nothing occurred at all.”
“……”
“Disappointed, I simply stabbed her again. I hoped she would either revive, or the sword would become complete, or she would turn into a monster… I expected something, anything, to happen…”
She died. What a pity.
Hearing him mutter like a child who had lost a toy, Yuan momentarily felt her vision blur.
She bit her tongue hard to suppress a scream. It was fortunate her body was tied to the pillar.
It was fortunate she hadn’t lost control, screamed wildly, and rashly strangled that demon, ruining everything.
She lowered her head, trying to hide her eyes, blood vessels rupturing and turning them bloodshot.
She must not fall for his tricks. She must not react as he desires. She repeated this endlessly in her mind.
“Did you heal my nephew’s illness?”
Igor asked with a voice dripping with deep interest.
“It must have been you. That’s a special power not just anyone can possess.”
“……”
“I’ve thought about it for a long time. What is the Pelliese treasure? I’ll tell you this much—despite possessing this mysterious sword, I am still incomplete. Half of those who roam the canyons, hunting monsters to earn merit for this nation, still distrust me and fail to serve loyally as proper dogs.”
The Emperor raised Yuan’s chin with the scabbard. He briefly looked surprised at the sight of her trembling and weeping, then stretched his lips into a delighted smile.
“Indeed, this is exactly to my taste. If you intended to move me, you’ve succeeded.”
The Emperor strode forward and sharply pulled aside the curtain drawn across the cabin.
Staring at the darkness outside, as if measuring something, he spoke to Yuan, still smiling.
“You proved your power through my nephew. But you haven’t fulfilled your purpose yet. As planned, you will serve me.”
Yuan tightly clenched her bound hands.
“Clade Euphris—right before my nephew’s eyes.”
“!”
“I will take you, and I will kill you—right before Clade’s eyes.”
The Emperor laughed heartily, genuinely delighted.
“How long I’ve waited to see my beloved nephew shattered into pieces. You will see it too. You will see how wretched and beautiful the face of someone who has lost something precious truly is.”
“This is pointless.”
Stunned by the Emperor’s unimaginable declaration, Yuan’s tongue had frozen completely, but she responded with a broken laugh.
“Hmm?”
“The Crown Prince does not love me.”
“Really?”
The Emperor leaned his face close to hers, clearly amused.
If only he had kissed her filthy mouth, or bitten her hand again like last time, or forcibly pulled her into an embrace—she could have unleashed her pain instantly.
Facing Yuan, grinding her teeth, the Emperor, who had no idea her abilities were more than one, said this:
“You should ask Clade about that.”
***
The massive warship illuminated at night lit up everywhere, as if drawing everything nearby toward it.
On the slowly advancing ship’s deck, Eugene Kimfri and Hille were bound and tied to pillars.
Had it not been for the 1st Knight Division Commander, Solen Racha, they would have permanently lost at least one limb by now.
Beside Hille, who had screamed in pain until losing consciousness after being beaten for a long time, stood Eugene Kimfri, enduring blows while stubbornly demanding news of the Crown Prince Consort’s safety.
Solen Racha’s sharp gaze turned toward Eugene, who, despite being bound, maintained a rigid posture.
“A clever man made a foolish mistake.”
“What do you intend to do with her?”
“It depends solely on His Majesty’s will.”
Solen Racha snapped, as if the question wasn’t even worth answering.
Gumnus Yotpa, who had fought alongside Bollonico and was severely injured even before the hunting festival, chattered excitedly nearby.
“It’s all because of that damned witch-like woman. Since the Crown Prince has rebelled, that woman is now a criminal. Once His Majesty takes her, we can do whatever we want with her, right?” His words deliberately provoked Eugene.
“Shut up.”
Gumnus Yotpa’s momentum faltered at Solen Racha’s warning. Yet, no one could stop their attention from being drawn to the cabin where the Emperor and Yuan had entered.
Eugene Kimfri swallowed his fury as he recalled the corpses of those who had been brutally killed around the hut.
Who could have known the Emperor would be waiting at the first rendezvous point, where they had planned to smuggle Yuan out and regroup with the other guards?
His head throbbed painfully as he tried to figure out where the leak had occurred.
He quickly scanned the faces of the 1st Knight Division members, men he had once trained with.
Unlike a few hardcore loyalists of the Emperor, including Gumnus Yotpa, most stood stiff-faced, silently holding their positions.
Their expressions showed both sorrow over the 2nd Knight Division Commander’s betrayal and utter shock and confusion at the fact that the instigator was the Crown Prince himself.
Those who truly served Emperor Igor with sincerity would have shown anger first.
Though injured, Eugene kept his face composed, carefully studying each of their expressions.
Some vaguely knew the truth but deliberately pretended ignorance; others firmly followed the version of truth someone else had told them.
“……”
It was a crack. Even if it cost him his life, it was worth pursuing.
“Over ten years ago, a rebellion occurred in this country.”
“Eugene Kimfri.”
“Most believe it started in the south, but in fact, it began here in the north—right in this canyon. Do you all know this?”
“Eugene Kimfri!”
Eugene Kimfri spat a thick, bloody glob of saliva at Solen Racha’s feet as he abruptly stood up.
“Shall I calmly explain, step by step, who started the rebellion first?”
His eyes, now stripped of all decorum, reflected the deck’s bright lights, flashing sharply.
***
Since the founding of the Empire of Euphris.
The monster hunting festival, held grandly every single year without exception, had instantly turned into an event not of hunting monsters, but of hunting humans.
Upon learning that Emperor Igor had fled his villa, Clade’s group captured all the remaining stragglers in the annex and were preoccupied dealing with the Emperor’s hounds who had arrived late.
Clade cut down and separated enemies with impeccable precision.
A few northern nobles, stunned by his overwhelming prowess, had already surrendered and willingly become prisoners.
Eddie mocked them as northerners who always tried to gut anyone strong first, but Clade’s face showed no expression of victory.
He hadn’t spent ten years crawling underground just to cut down these insignificant men.
Even if he slaughtered every single person here, it wouldn’t be worth killing Igor alone.
Moreover, most of the Imperial 1st Knight Division led by Solen Racha was nowhere to be seen.
This meant the Emperor hadn’t simply fled—he might have deliberately escaped with only a few left behind, indicating a breach in their intelligence network.
‘Eugene Kimfri…’
Though they had planned to keep changing rendezvous points while fleeing, if Solen Racha himself had moved, and if he was chasing Yuan, there was no room for comfort.
The tip of Clade’s otherwise elegantly poised sword began to show signs of impatience.
In truth, ever since the Emperor was not in his own chamber, Clade had struggled to maintain his composure.
He had spent the entire day searching the canyon, chasing an Emperor whose whereabouts were unknown, cutting down enemies, but as the number of injured left behind grew, he could only think that something had gone terribly wrong. Could it be… could it be…?
A falcon from Marquis Rev’s estate, used for delivering messages, cried out loudly, circling around Eddie.
No sooner had Eddie unfolded the short letter than cheers erupted from within the canyons.
“Execute the traitor!”
“The pride of the North has arrived!”
“Sir Solen Racha has come!!”
A massive number of cavalry, their purple cloaks fluttering, surged toward the grand villa and the canyon entrance.
Eddie and Lancelot exchanged glances, then looked at Clade.
Clade, not greatly flustered, redirected his steps down from the canyon. And then—
“Clade Euphris!”
A thunderous voice, loud enough to shake the entire canyon, split through the group. The knights heading toward the grand villa began murmuring.
“Are you looking for me?!”
The Emperor Igor’s voice echoed from the peak of the canyon.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
