Three years had passed since Aslan began living as a hostage in the capital.
He had watched closely as Hestia grew into a young lady, more closely than anyone else.
Would he have regarded her as a sister if they had met every day?
Whenever Hestia visited, which was not often, she seemed to have grown taller and become more beautiful.
And just as she had changed, so had he. From a boy to a man.
He had grown much taller, and his physique had become broader and firmer, thanks to his daily training.
Hestia joked that looking up at him now made her neck hurt, and each time, Aslan would lower himself without any complaints to meet her gaze.
Staring into those purple eyes, Aslan often felt a possessive desire rising within him, which he struggled to suppress without showing it.
But it lingered, coiling inside him like a serpent.
‘Hestia.’
Her name, unutterable, warmed his body like a blaze.
Around that time, Aslan learned that Yorgos, who had just ascended the throne, had considered engaging Hestia to Kalati before she became a saintess.
And he couldn’t help but think, what if she hadn’t become a saintess?
Would they have been together much sooner?
It was around that time that the incident occurred.
“Seal the city gates! Prevent anything from the north from crossing into the south with all our might!”
Even Aslan, isolated in the royal palace, heard about the unusual severity of the winter in the north.
Yorgos, who seemed to have forgotten Aslan’s existence in the palace, summoned him.
“How long have you been in the capital?”
“It’s been three years, Your Majesty.”
“Three years… Hmm, then it’s time for you to return.”
Aslan doubted his ears. He couldn’t understand why Yorgos would release him from hostage without any conditions.
Yorgos continued.
“The situation in the north is unusual. The severity of the winter is different this time.”
Yorgos’s face, wrinkled with concern, looked much older than his age.
Aslan felt unease stirring within him, an inexplicable anxiety.
But he calmly asked.
“Is this reliable information?”
“It’s directly from your father. He sent a messenger who is waiting outside. Meet him on your way out.”
Only then did Aslan slightly furrow his brow.
He knew his father, Wayne Kalati, better than anyone.
He wasn’t one to show weakness, no matter how dire the situation.
If he personally reported this, it meant the winter’s severity was indeed grave.
It felt as though someone was strangling him.
Aslan coughed and cleared his throat, barely managing to ask his next question.
“What’s the situation?”
“Instead of rain, ice falls, and daily snow-laden storms blow. No matter how many clothes you wear, the cold seeps into your bones. There are countless deaths from the cold every day, and the ground is too frozen to bury the dead.”
Wayne Kalati was not one to miss early warning signs.
This meant the weather had changed abruptly, without any forewarning.
Aslan’s expression grew serious.
“Even the beasts are appearing more frequently, but we don’t have enough forces to fend them off.”
Aslan asked sharply.
“Does His Majesty not plan to send reinforcements to the north?”
Yorgos didn’t answer immediately. He tapped the armrest of the throne, deep in thought, then gave Aslan a noncommittal reply.
“I’m considering it.”
Aslan swallowed a bitter laugh internally.
As always, this king seemed to be calculating the costs and benefits fiercely.
Reading Aslan’s mind, Yorgos continued with dissatisfaction.
“Don’t look at me like that. I have no choice but to ponder deeply in my position.”
Yorgos vented his long-accumulated frustration on Aslan.
“My single decision can stir up hundreds, thousands of people. I have already stretched our resources thin to support the north. There was a lot of criticism for that too. It’s difficult to sustain it any longer. Isn’t it just like pouring water into a bottomless pot?”
Yorgos’s words were true. No one knew the end of this winter.
“I need an undeniable reason to act. Otherwise, I can’t easily make a move.”
At that moment, a lightbulb went off in Aslan’s head.
‘A reason to move the king.’
Aslan involuntarily held his breath. Only one person came to his mind.
‘If it’s that person…’
He felt they could help him, Wayne, and the north.
His fists clenched with force.
As Aslan left the audience with Yorgos, familiar faces greeted him outside.
“Prince!”
“Din? And Martin?”
“It’s been a long time.”
“Yes, it’s me, Din! You’ve grown so much!”
The long-lost friend, large in stature yet with tears welling up in his eyes, greeted him warmly.
Aslan simply chuckled at the sight.
Though it had been a long time, Aslan exchanged a light fist bump with them.
“It’s good to see everyone well.”
“Only the face is well, just the face! My body is a total mess!”
Din, more jovial than Martin, made a pained face as he joked.
It was Din’s own way of expressing familiarity.
But Aslan’s expression darkened slightly.
As if swallowing something bitter, Aslan spoke with a raspy voice.
“Sorry, I only…”
Uncharacteristically trailing off, Martin elbowed Din to signal him to be careful.
“Don’t say that. We don’t think that way at all.”
Din, a bit flustered, spoke again.
“I knew you’d say that. We’ve been saying for the past three years that you would be digging yourself into a hole here.”
“Aren’t you being too disrespectful to the Prince, Officer Din?”
“Oh, just speaking figuratively.”
Din rubbed his head and bowed slightly to Aslan.
“You must have had the hardest time, Prince. So, don’t blame yourself.”
No one blamed him. They just understood.
Aslan nodded, understanding Din’s sincere message.
His heavy heart didn’t lighten, but he acted this way so Din and Martin wouldn’t feel too sorry or uneasy.
Aslan took a deep breath to steady himself and asked.
“What’s the situation outside?”
“…It’s serious.”
Din immediately sobered up, his usual playfulness gone.
‘So the king wasn’t exaggerating.’
Aslan gestured for the two knights to follow him.
Discussing such matters here didn’t seem appropriate.
Aslan led Din and Martin to the palace where he was staying.
“Have you been living in… such a place? How could they keep the only heir of the Kalati duchy…!”
“It’s been bearable.”
He had visitors.
He almost said it hadn’t been as lonely as they thought, but swallowed his words.
Instead, he changed the subject.
“Tell me. What’s the situation in the north, in Kalati?”
Din’s thick eyebrows nearly met as they narrowed together. He spoke in a hushed tone, almost like a whisper.
“The biggest problem is that His Grace the Duke has been injured.”
Aslan’s jaw, which had been tightly clenched, tightened even more, making his jawline protrude. His lips turned white, drained of blood.
“…What?”
Aslan’s reaction was delayed, caught off guard by the unexpected bad news.
His golden eyes slowly moved as he scanned the expressions of the two knights.
Din’s face was full of sorrow, and Martin’s, usually expressionless, looked darker than usual.
Seeing the reactions of the two, Aslan’s hope that it was nothing serious crumbled disastrously.
For a moment, Aslan was stunned, showing no reaction. Then, he grimaced.
It felt as though an invisible hand was choking him.
His father had always been the one to stand at the forefront, protecting him and Kalati.
Aslan had grown up watching his father’s steadfast back.
Following his father always meant safety.
But now, him, to be in such a state.
Suddenly, his breath tangled.
Aslan frowned, rubbing around his throat.
His touch became increasingly forceful.
As he scratched relentlessly, his skin quickly reddened.
“Prince, you’ll hurt yourself. Stop that.”
When Din and Martin grasped his wrists and applied pressure, Aslan finally stopped the self-harming behavior of scratching his neck.
Still feeling restless inside, he barely managed to cling to his rationality and inhaled slowly, then quietly asked.
“How is his condition?”
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.
