#25
“Wait a minute. Winfrid, isn’t that my knife?”
It was hard to believe. Who are you to question? She almost demanded in front of her sister who was claiming ownership, but the more she returned to her bedroom and thought about it, the more it all seemed to fit together. Brother’s woman.
Between siblings…. Such an unethical relationship!
Could it be, could it be, that was the reason sister refused marriage so adamantly….
It gave her goosebumps. She thought. She wasn’t sure about sister. But brother’s feelings for sister were undoubtedly those between a man and woman.
So perhaps that day, when brother heard the news of a marriage proposal from the old man, he may have sought out sister’s dagger again for reasons Winfrid himself still couldn’t fully comprehend. He must have realized immediately that it had gone missing after he took it, but of course, he wouldn’t have been able to ask anyone about the dagger’s whereabouts.
How could he say it? That he had taken his sister’s possession without a word. That he had kept it hidden in secret for so long!
He must have been anxious. Not understanding the meaning of the theft, and with no way to catch and punish the culprit, he must have felt like he was going mad with anger he couldn’t reveal. Moreover, now that his sister was leaving, he must have felt like he would be left alone, shattered and broken into pieces without even a token to remember her by!
Was his face expressionless? Or contorted? Did he grit his teeth! Ah, how his brother’s face must have crumbled in that moment! He became unbearably curious. And he came to his own conclusion. That night, brother’s fit was not a fit. It was not some aftereffect of battle that weaklings sometimes experience. Brother simply.
Lost his mind.
How could this be…. How could it be so successful…! His whole body trembled with joy so great he felt he could leap. His only regret was that he couldn’t appreciate the fire he had started in that moment.
Ah, brother. Brother! You were indeed no different from me….
…He thought things had taken quite a strange turn since that day. Brother had a fit and sister did something. And Winfrid himself learned too much, and now he even….
Desires an even bigger fire.
So the boy decided to stir up trouble between the two. He felt there was no other way to quell the excitement, the guilt-stained heart.
Amidst it all, there was still a conscience that pricked one corner of his heart. Brother’s pain. Thinking of how brother had lost his mind and raged in agony over losing just one dagger made him dizzy with unbearable feeling, but one part felt uncomfortable. But he quickly changed his mind.
Come to think of it, brother’s pain doesn’t stem from emotions that betray God. It may be mischief for my own pleasure, but if it can burn away the seeds of sin brother might commit, it may not be such a bad thing.
So what he stole from brother was merely a token of ugly, impure affection.
“What token did you receive from him?”
Suddenly his lips moved of their own accord. Griselda, who had been lying down hesitating a bit, asked Winfrid without even opening her eyes.
“…Him?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know…. Is there another ‘him’ besides your dead husband? I didn’t know, this is new. Who the hell is this other bastard?”
“……”
The boy couldn’t hide his displeasure. He had no intention of hiding it. Even emphasizing “dead” was clearly intentional from the start. He watched as the woman visibly became frightened.
The two were silent for a moment. Winfrid, who had calmed his heated feelings with Griselda’s restless signs, spoke first.
“…I’m talking about tokens.”
“……”
“You must have received at least one lousy thing when you got married.”
Again, there was no answer.
Quite some time passed. Winfrid, who had waited rather persistently, got up from his seat. He left the room without saying goodbye to Griselda and slammed the door shut. He stood by the door for a moment. There was no sign of Griselda following him out.
For some reason, he felt hungry.
Maybe I’ll go to the kitchen. He walked aimlessly with large strides to fill his suddenly empty stomach. Low curses like “fuck” and “damn” kept flowing from his lips, but even he didn’t know the reason for the swearing.
He just felt uncomfortable, as if only the eerily quiet hallways or the torches burning secretly like an arsonist’s spark were illuminating just him. Enough, I know too, Winfrid muttered too quietly to be heard. He was disgustingly hungry.
But the angry silence didn’t last long. Because a woman’s shrill scream came from behind him. Winfrid stopped abruptly in his tracks.
“That woman…. She’s at it again.”
He muttered, turning his shoulder towards Griselda’s room.
Slowly returning to the room and flinging open the door, he saw Griselda curled up in a corner under the bed, trembling. Even in the darkness, he could see her pale blue face and wildly heaving chest with unfocused eyes. Griselda was even drooling from the corners of her mouth. Winfrid found a towel and approached her, as if used to this.
“I’m, I’m sorry…. I was wrong….”
“Hey, can’t you get a grip?”
“…Young lord, I’m sorry…. Young, young lord…. For, forgive me….”
“Crazy woman…. Is it your mother this time? What the hell did you do? Huh?”
“…I, I was wrong….”
He crouched down in front of Griselda and roughly wiped her dirty face. He pulled out her limp body that was shaking uncontrollably and barely managed to hold her. Thankfully the bed was right in front of him, otherwise he might have dropped her on the floor as his arms were trembling. Anyway, she really was a madwoman. Hopelessly mad… his woman.
Winfrid quietly gritted his teeth as he forcibly laid out her body that had stiffened with fear. What if I gave you a ring… would you still reject it? Of course, he didn’t wait for an answer that would never come.
It can’t be filled.
The night grew deep.
04. Flower Nail
I don’t want to see your face, I don’t want to touch you. Even brushing against you disgusts me!
…….
Is this love?
…….
Do you love me?
…….
I thought I knew everything because I knew nothing. How meaningless and worthless is a confession that receives no answer? They say the patina of passing years colors faded memories, but memories can also fade helplessly in the face of belatedly realized cruel truths. The feast lasted three days.
Thousands of guests and thousands of horses. Dozens of skilled cooks baked bread without rest, and wine poured like cheers. Dirty bodies striving to cover themselves in pure white. The sky, piercingly blue and impossibly high, and the wind.
Angelica.
Kretzman.
My wedding was beautiful.
***
After being empty for a long time during the civil war, I returned to the bedroom in the deepest part of the night.
I remember the guards stationed at the doorway staring at me with strange looks as I hesitated to enter. Just as their gazes began to show suspicion, I was finally able to open the door.
“…Where did you go.”
As soon as the guard who confirmed my entry closed the door, there was an arm pulling me in. Suddenly yanked backwards, I stumbled into the familiar embrace. Johannes seemed to have just hastily put on pants. The back of my head bumped against Johannes’ bare chest, and his smooth chin rested firmly on the crown of my head. Thanks to this, even when I tried to look up, I couldn’t see Johannes properly. Only his breath landing like feathers on the bridge of my nose tickled.
“What were you doing outside? I could hear movement but you didn’t come in for a long time, so I wondered if it wasn’t you.”
I couldn’t answer easily. As he said, I had been unable to enter the room for quite some time. Because a pale anxiety like that of a prisoner facing the gallows had bound my ankles tightly.
It was a moment when I couldn’t get my bearings. The future that was approaching darkly moment by moment, no longer clearly visible. I couldn’t shake off the complicated feelings wrapped around my body like an illness, the fishy smell that wouldn’t wash away no matter how much I scrubbed.
I had to tell Johannes. If nothing else, the fact that I was the one who had summoned the devil. But I couldn’t easily make up my mind.
How should I say it? That I am the cause of your suffering. That I don’t even know how to undo it. You would probably be surprised. Would you be sad? Angry? What should I do? If by any chance you were to leave me because of it…. Ah, I don’t think I could bear it. As I tried to confess my sin, terror that seemed to tear deep into my flesh overwhelmed me. The path I had to walk was so distant, and even stepping back was daunting.
I was so selfish.
“…It was a bit… hot inside so I thought I’d get some fresh air for a moment.”
I opened my mouth, which was reluctant to part, while caressing the firm arm wrapped around my chest. At that moment, I tried to tell Johannes. Let’s talk now, even if it ends here, parting is better the sooner it happens. That was my feeling. But just then.
“No, actually….”
The tightly wrapped arm tensed, and then,
“In the inner chaaaamber…!”
My body was suddenly lifted up. The end of my startled words trailed off ungracefully. The tangled thoughts in my head turned stark white in an instant. The dark interior flew away, and Johannes’ cheek pressed close to my ear.
Johannes strode towards the bed without a care and tossed me onto it. Before I could raise my surprised head, Johannes collapsed on top of me. Ah! As I screamed with my pressed body, a soft low laugh settled on the nape of my neck.
“Were you hot? Is that why you left me alone again? Hm?”
He asked gently as he hugged me and half-rolled to the side. The lowered voice, the lingering laughter. On the wide bed, if some omnipotent being had looked down from above, we probably looked like well-matched spoons from head to toe. I struggled to escape from the embrace of intertwined limbs.
“I, I was, so careful, not to, wake you, when I left!”
“You’re making excuses. How daring of you to complain. Do you know how surprised I was to wake up in the middle of the night and find you gone?”
“I, didn’t know, you would, wake up!”
“The guilty have no right to speak.”
“Ah!”
The unsettling foam of the waves that had swept through my mind dissipated with a short scream. They’ll hear everything, please be quiet, a voice as innocent as a boy’s scolded me. Johannes held me even tighter and rolled over again like some ruffian.
I had to lie motionless under him for a while. A pleased moan flowed like water by my ear.
“I’m sorry, spare me, spare me….”
The weight pressing down on me only retreated to the edge playfully after I had pleaded like that several times. Puhah, after taking a long deep breath and slowly turning over, I saw Johannes’ face lying stretched out just like me. In the dim inner chamber, only his slightly narrowed eyes were shining. Somehow it felt a little dizzying.
At that moment, Johannes’ hand suddenly rose.
“You managed to go out at this late hour.”
Johannes said as he brushed back my disheveled hair that had fallen to the side. I felt breathless at the warmth in his gaze. My insides alone pounded rapidly. So even then I.
Should have spoken.
“…If they try to stop me, how much can they really….”
But.
“…Stop you. When you say you’re going to the inner chamber…. If they even try to stop that, I, I absolutely couldn’t live. How could I live with that.”
“……”
The hastily made-up excuse came out in broken pieces. As if noticing that fact, Johannes was silent for a moment.
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.
