Celia met eyes with Dietrich.
Dietrich kept her close because she possessed an ability, and because she was terminally ill.
A terminal illness with only about a year left to live.
Disposable, to be used freely and then discarded—terminal.
Yes. What did he care whether she had an ability or not?
With her life nearly spent, she had taken the Emperor’s life, driven solely by the conviction that she would kill even the ruler responsible for the kingdom’s ruin.
Yet Abelon still stood.
This vast and terrifying empire was not a nation that would fall from the mere death of its Emperor.
Celia could not bear to witness that sight.
That day was when a knight had carried her on their back, fleeing. After the Dylan incident, her father had assigned only female knights as her guards, believing that with only women around, they would not dare touch Celia.
When she asked, still half-awake, what was happening, the knight said nothing but repeated urgently that they had to escape immediately.
As she stepped into the corridor, she saw her father’s head roll right up to her feet. Until his very last moment, his eyes had been fixed on her, still worried for her safety.
The clanking armor, the sword stained with her father’s blood, and… Abelon.
—His Majesty the Emperor ordered that every living person in sight be killed! Slaughter them all, even infants!
The crest on the chest of the shouting knight bore two white serpents coiling around a sword—the emblem of Abelon.
Celia slowly closed her eyes, then opened them again, calming the storm within her heart.
She didn’t know whether the Three Dukes were truly her enemies, as Dietrich claimed. Perhaps Dietrich himself was the real enemy.
Only now, at this very moment, did Celia clearly understand what she truly desired.
She wanted Abelon utterly destroyed.
Before her life ended, she wanted to see this filthy kingdom crumble—witness its ruin with her own eyes before she died.
She had thought it impossible to destroy such an empire alone, but seeing that the Emperor still lived after her assassination attempt, perhaps it wasn’t entirely impossible.
‘Instead, I’ll need to act more thoughtfully and invest greater effort.’
—You’re not actually going to enter the Crown Prince’s private chamber, are you?
Dietrich’s words were misleading. Right now, she was nothing in this palace. Though cleared of suspicion for the Emperor’s murder, she had unwillingly become the Crown Prince’s concubine.
Even if she had declared at the banquet that she wasn’t the Crown Prince’s concubine, nothing would have changed. People always listened to those in power.
In this Abelon, she was nothing.
That was her current position.
“Where exactly would I go in this palace anyway?”
Celia said this and released Dietrich’s hand.
For a brief moment, she saw Dietrich’s brow tighten.
Ileon still held her hand. The reason Celia let go of Dietrich but not Ileon was simple.
Because Ileon was the Three Dukes’ patriarch—someone who seemed more like an Emperor than the Emperor himself.
Likely, Ileon was the most knowledgeable and most powerful figure within Abelon. No wonder even the Crown Prince dared not speak against a single word of his.
Ileon smiled faintly and offered Celia a suggestion.
“I plan to stay in the palace until the Emperor’s coronation. There’s a reception hall in the palace reserved exclusively for the Three Dukes’ families. If you don’t mind, Lady Celia, perhaps you could stay there as well?”
Ileon’s words implied he wished to place her under his protection.
This open offer was beyond Celia’s expectations. But accepting it too readily would make her seem less interesting.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’ll be fine.”
Celia released Ileon’s hand.
Ileon looked down at his now-empty palm, his expression tinged with regret.
“After all, I am currently the Crown Prince’s concubine.”
With that, Celia turned away from the two men. She felt their persistent gazes clinging to her back, but instead of turning around, she began walking toward the palace wing where the Crown Prince resided.
[This is the timeline separator]The Crown Prince’s maid wore a face frozen in terror. The moment she spotted Celia, she rushed over and quickly guided her to the Crown Prince’s chamber.
“Where have you been? His Highness has been raging, searching everywhere for you.”
“…….”
Celia once again thought men’s words were never to be trusted. Hadn’t Dietrich just said she should wait in the chamber first?
As she stepped into the room, the sharp scent of strong wine stung her nose.
The room was large and spacious, but wine bottles were scattered carelessly across the floor.
Celia scanned the opulent furnishings until she spotted Jeremy.
On the massive bed by the window, Jeremy lay sprawled, his upper body exposed. With his face buried in a pillow, he spoke in a cold voice.
“Didn’t you hear me say to bring Celia here immediately?”
“I’ve, I’ve brought her now.”
At the maid’s words, Jeremy lifted his head. His violet eyes flickered unnaturally.
At the same time, the door behind Celia slammed shut.
The maid had closed it from the outside.
With the light from the crack vanishing, the room grew even darker.
Celia used the moonlight seeping through the open window as a guide, gradually adjusting her vision.
She saw Jeremy rising from the bed. He clutched his forehead, his drowsy expression clearly indicating he was still drunk.
“You’re late. What’s so hard to accept about me calling you my concubine?”
Jeremy staggered toward Celia. Swinging his arm through the air, he pulled her toward him and laughed darkly.
“What a slender waist you have. No other man’s hands have touched you, have they?”
“…….”
“No matter how much you scowl, the fact that you’re my concubine won’t change.”
Jeremy giggled drunkenly, his pupils unfocused.
His eye color and hair resembled his mother’s, but his smile was strikingly similar to the Emperor’s.
Jeremy buried his face against Celia’s collarbone and murmured.
“When I come to my senses, the first thing I’ll do is shackle your ankle. So you can’t go to another man.”
Suddenly, a faint pain tingled at her collarbone. Jeremy had bitten it, leaving his mark.
Celia’s eyes darkened. She hesitated briefly on whether to use her ability. Because she was terminally ill, she could only use it when absolutely necessary.
“Even without shackles, I won’t go anywhere.”
Celia spoke the truth. Without any chains, she had no intention of leaving this palace. Not until she saw Abelon reduced to ashes and utterly destroyed would she leave—even if someone ordered her to.
“What did you talk about with Ileon earlier? You dared to leave me behind. There’s no guarantee you won’t do it again.”
Jeremy stared at his mark on Celia’s neck as if he wanted to devour it.
Celia found Jeremy utterly ridiculous. Wasn’t he just leaving a mark on her collarbone out of insecurity?
“Nothing important.”
“Then why didn’t you return for two whole hours!”
Jeremy suddenly roared, gripping Celia’s wrist. He yanked her forward and threw her onto his bed.
“I need to have you right now. That’ll ease this filthy feeling inside me.”
Jeremy climbed on top of Celia, his hand sliding up her thigh.
Why were men so desperate to possess her body? Celia was utterly sick of them.
‘As expected, using my ability is the better choice.’
Even drunk, a man’s strength was hard to resist.
Even if it strained her body, she couldn’t let this filthy man trample over her. Celia reached out and roughly grabbed Jeremy’s head, which was bowed over her neck.
“Haa.”
Jeremy didn’t react angrily—instead, he let out a sigh-like moan.
Celia, wondering if his judgment was truly this impaired from the wine, decided firmly to use her ability.
Just as Celia prepared to activate her power, the curtain by the window fluttered, and a dark silhouette appeared before her.
Following the gleaming, slick military boots upward, familiar eyes appeared from beneath a black hood—eyes red like blood.
“!”
It was Dietrich.
Jeremy, completely unaware of Dietrich’s intrusion, remained focused solely on violating Celia.
Dietrich frowned, then sharply brought his hand down diagonally onto the back of Jeremy’s neck.
Thud—
With that single motion, Jeremy’s eyes closed, and his body collapsed limply like a corpse.
Dietrich laid Jeremy, who had been crushing Celia, onto the hard floor of the bed. He then tossed a blanket carelessly over Jeremy’s body and spoke.
“He’s unconscious. He won’t wake for half a day.”
Celia looked up at Dietrich with suspicious eyes.
“Why go this far? If you’re caught, you’ll only suffer.”
“…….”
Dietrich’s gaze shifted from Celia’s face down to her collarbone.
The red bite mark on her collarbone.
Without a word, Dietrich stared at the mark, then spoke in a low voice.
“Because I’m sorry.”
“…….”
“That’s why. There’s no other reason.”
Having spoken, Dietrich turned his back to her.
“Climb on. I’ll take you somewhere safe.”
Somewhere safe? Was there even such a place within Abelon?
Though he couldn’t have read her thoughts, Dietrich continued.
“There’s a stable on the outskirts of the palace. It houses only old and sick warhorses, and I’m the only one who tends to them.”
“…A stable?”
“Yes, a stable. Stay in my quarters attached to it until the chaos dies down. By the way, no one else can enter. The horses are extremely fierce—they’ve only been handled by me. But if you come with me, you’ll be fine.”
Celia found it strange—she had never heard Dietrich speak so much before.
Dietrich turned, then personally helped Celia into the black robe he had been wearing.
It fit him perfectly, so on Celia it was so long that the hem dragged along the floor. Still, it was far better than wearing the white mermaid dress.
“Now, climb on.”
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.
