At Dietrich Calypso’s unexpected confession, Celia Brillion was completely speechless.
She had intended to get angry.
Like a child who couldn’t control their emotions.
She wanted to shout at him until her fury subsided, asking if he even knew how worried she had been.
“I like you.”
But at Dietrich’s sincere, unwavering confession, Celia forgot entirely about her anger.
“If you allow it.”
Dietrich gently brushed Celia’s disheveled hair as he continued.
“I want to be your real lover, not a fake one.”
Each word dripped with genuine sincerity.
After a brief pause, Celia took Dietrich’s hand and began to speak.
“Dietrich, as you know, I’m terminally ill.”
She had less than a year left to live.
Even if Dietrich possessed a healing ability, he couldn’t possibly heal her—her internal organs were already rotting away.
That was what Celia believed.
Though she was truly touched by Dietrich’s confession, she couldn’t accept it with simple joy.
“My lifespan… is less than a year.”
“I can heal you.”
“How?”
In response to Celia’s question, Dietrich answered in a calm, deliberate voice.
“My healing ability manifests through physical contact.”
Dietrich interlaced his fingers with Celia’s.
“Simple touch can soothe someone, but to heal wounds or erase physical pain, I need bodily fluids—excluding my blood. And among those fluids, the most effective one is…”
Dietrich brought Celia’s hand to his lips and gently kissed it before continuing.
“My mother, who gave birth to me, said the most effective method is when two bodies become one.”
Celia’s eyes widened.
She understood perfectly what Dietrich meant.
“I won’t do anything you dislike.”
“…”
“I respect you.”
It was hard to trust such words coming from a man who had just moments ago kissed her so fiercely.
Yet Celia knew that if she had rejected his kiss, he would have obediently stepped back.
She hadn’t rejected it because she, too, liked Dietrich.
Two people sharing the same pain, united by the same goal—it was only natural they’d come to love each other.
And so, she couldn’t refuse Dietrich’s confession.
Because Celia felt the same way.
She couldn’t even remember when she had started to like Dietrich.
Was it when she noticed the soft light in his otherwise cold eyes?
When he fed her food by hand?
Or perhaps the moment he offered to be her leash?
“When I first saw you,”
Celia parted her lips.
“I thought your eyes were so beautiful.”
She had never seen such vivid red eyes in her life.
Even when she collapsed after killing the emperor, consciousness fading as she vomited blood, she remembered thinking his eyes—calm yet burning with fury, devoid of any desire—were like embers in a fire.
Perhaps that was why she felt safe enough to let go and lose consciousness in his arms.
“In my entire life, I’ve never seen eyes like yours.”
The eyes of men who looked at her were always filled with desire.
Whether it was the man who called himself a sodomite, the priest who claimed to serve a god, or even the emperor she had killed—they were all the same.
But Dietrich was different.
From the very first moment they met, he had looked down at her with eyes filled only with pure anger and killing intent.
So she thought, dying by his hand wouldn’t be so bad.
At least he wouldn’t do anything strange to her corpse.
Celia wanted to touch Dietrich’s face.
-Just for a moment, may I touch your face?
Recalling the time Dietrich had asked for her permission, Celia looked up at him and asked.
“…May I touch your face?”
“You don’t need my permission.”
Dietrich took her hand and placed it on his face.
“You’re my master, after all.”
Celia finally realized she had become Dietrich’s true master.
She gently caressed Dietrich’s face.
His flawless, smooth skin felt perfect beneath her fingers.
Her hand traced his strong jawline, sharp nose, and firm neck.
She ran her fingers over his broad forehead, straight eyebrows, and long eyelids, finally reaching Dietrich’s moist lips.
Celia imagined a future with Dietrich.
She had always been trapped in the shadows of the past, never daring to dream of a happy future.
She believed revenge was the final destination of her life.
Beyond that, she had never considered anything.
But living with Dietrich didn’t seem bad at all.
Traveling wherever their feet took them, farming quietly in some peaceful mountain—such a life sounded enjoyable.
Simple. Just simple.
She wanted to go somewhere no one knew them, somewhere they could live in peace.
Having someone she could fully trust and rely on—this feeling was truly wonderful.
It was an emotion she had never experienced while alone.
“When Abelon falls, when everything is finally over…”
Celia paused and looked up at Dietrich.
Dietrich waited quietly for her to continue.
He looked so endearing in that moment.
“Would you like to travel with me and live quietly?”
At Celia’s words, Dietrich smiled warmly, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
“Yes.”
“Will you really not do anything I dislike?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then, from now on, don’t do anything. Just stay still. No matter what I do, you must remain still.”
Dietrich nodded obediently, like a gentle lamb.
Enough words had been exchanged.
Celia pulled Dietrich’s strong neck toward her and kissed him.
She plunged into Dietrich’s mouth, which obediently opened for her.
She dove deep, then lightly bit the inner flesh of his lips with her teeth.
Celia stole Dietrich’s saliva and breath, just as he had done to her earlier.
A wet, slick sound echoed through the room.
Dietrich’s hand reached toward the back of Celia’s head, then hesitated, instead gripping the bedsheet tightly.
Seeing the veins bulging in his hand, Celia slowly pulled her lips away from his.
As their mouths parted, a thin strand of saliva stretched between them.
Desire burned fiercely in Dietrich’s eyes as he looked at her.
An animalistic hunger, so full it overflowed—Celia could see it clearly.
His gaze, craving her as if strangling her, made it hard to breathe.
Yet, Dietrich kept his promise.
He didn’t touch her. He remained still.
He prioritized his word over his boiling desire.
Celia felt her heart warm as she spoke.
“You can move now.”
As if waiting only for those words, Dietrich grabbed the back of Celia’s head.
Hot breath rushed into her mouth.
Dietrich alternated between roughly ravaging her mouth and gently teasing her.
The spreading heat made Celia’s toes curl instinctively.
Dietrich was both tender and rough.
One moment gentle, the next, he pushed forward like a beast.
As if they were each other’s only world, they kissed again and again.
Dietrich’s hand slowly slid down below Celia’s collarbone.
At his suggestive touch, Celia unintentionally let out a moan.
Dietrich’s lips moved to her forehead, neck, collarbone, and the fabric covering her.
Overwhelmed by the sensation of heat consuming her body, Celia tightly embraced Dietrich’s strong neck.
Through their pressed chests, they could clearly feel each other’s heartbeat.
Their hearts pounded erratically, wildly.
Then, a heavy sensation against her lower body snapped Celia—drenched in pleasure—back to reality.
What was protruding through his pants looked far too large to belong to a human.
There’s no way it would fit.
Even if her terminal condition were healed, wouldn’t she die instantly if that entered her body?
Not only would she not be healed—her body might tear apart, possibly bursting open.
Celia trembled with a fear she had never felt before.
“…Stop.”
At Celia’s words, Dietrich froze completely.
After a brief pause to steady his breath, Dietrich carefully straightened Celia’s dress.
His hands, smoothing her disheveled hair afterward, were warm.
“I’ll never do anything you dislike. So please, don’t be afraid.”
With those words, Dietrich swiftly lifted Celia and carried her toward the bathroom.
“What are you doing?”
“You probably caught the scent of blood from me, since it still lingers on me.”
Dietrich gently set Celia down inside the bathroom.
“Can you wash yourself? Or should I help you…”
“I’ll do it myself.”
At Celia’s immediate reply, Dietrich twisted his lips into a smile and quickly stepped out.
Soon after, Dietrich returned, carrying a large tub filled with hot water balanced on both shoulders.
He poured the steaming water into the bathtub.
Splash.
The empty tub quickly filled with hot water.
When Celia gave Dietrich a look that asked why he didn’t have a servant do this, he smiled faintly and said.
“I’ll be in the next room. Call me if you need anything.”
With that, Dietrich handed her clean clothes and a towel.
Thud.
Dietrich left, and the bathroom door closed.
Celia undressed and sank into the steaming bathtub.
Her tension released, Celia dozed off almost instantly in the warm water.
The next day, the winner of the hunting tournament was announced.
Male lead is a Divorced Husband
She said to him: “Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change it!”
Liu Changning transmigrated into a female cannon fodder character in a female-dominant novel.
After reading the first half of the novel’s plot, the first thing she did upon transmigration was to divorce the Pan Jinlian-style male protagonist she had just married.
She indulged herself, pretending to be ugly and poor.
But as time passed, the way that man looked at her became more and more unusual…
Liu Changning was dumbfounded: Tell me, what makes you like me? I’ll change!
――
This lifetime, Pei Yuanshao was rejected by the same woman twice!
The first time, she drove him away. Forced by the situation, he endured the waves of anger in his heart, yielding and humbling himself.
That person lay slanted on a rocking chair, her sallow face emotionless: “If you don’t want a divorce, go cook!”
Pei Yuanshao’s face was dark and gloomy: “You!”
The second time, after the crisis in Jinling City was resolved, the new emperor sent someone to pick him up. He turned around, stammering: “I… I have to go. If you keep me…”
That person lay on the kang bed, her back to him, as if she had long anticipated this day, crisp and clear: “Goodbye!”
Pei Yuanshao was so angry his fingers trembled: “You… you!”
The mission of family and country made him restrain himself, averting his eyes and turning to leave this broken household.
Two years later, they met again. Seeing her ethereal face, his body shook like a sieve.
“She was originally a ‘she’!”
At the Qionglin Banquet, the top scholar of the imperial examination, a talented person with exceptional speech and conduct, all the unmarried young gentlemen from aristocratic families looked at her with shy and timid eyes.
The peerless imperial official Pei Yuanshao felt the anger in his heart erupt. He pointed at the woman surrounded by the crowd at the Qionglin Banquet, his thin lips slightly curled: “Little sister, I wants that person to be the wife-master of my Mingde Prince Manor.”
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