TPOP 80

Chapter 80

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Felix returned late in the afternoon. By then, she had fallen asleep again, so she didn't get to talk to him. Actually, it seemed like he had said something, but she couldn't remember. 

Diana didn't have him on her mind at all.

She waited for night to fall, drifting in and out of sleep. There was something she wanted to check.

'The water glass under the bed. Let's test it with that.'

Until now, Diana hadn't known how to properly use the spirit's power. Afraid of drawing attention, she'd never truly tested it. At most, she'd used it for cleaning or washing herself. The power had occasionally burst out beyond her control, but she didn't know how it manifested. She couldn't see it.

But Zoe said she sensed the spirit's energy within Diana. A spirit remained, one that hadn't vanished. What if the voices she heard just before collapsing in the secret room weren't hallucinations?

What if beings capable of helping her still lingered nearby...?

Diana held her breath, careful not to move her body carelessly. A heavy arm was wrapped around her waist. No wonder she felt warm—a hot body temperature was enveloping her back.

Judging by the steady breathing, he was asleep. Diana detached her senses from her body. She focused all her attention on the cup placed beneath the bed, right under this sheet.

The still, silent surface of the water. Something was crouched within it. Sensing Diana's focus shifting toward it, it slid its head out from the cup's wall.

We are always together.

You are the well.

The well of Balestega was not far away. It was right here, beside Diana.

Not everything was lost after all. Relief washed over her like a tidal wave, sweeping through her heart. Diana hurriedly pressed both hands to her mouth and breathed. She nearly let out a laugh.

"Diana."

The man she thought was asleep called her softly. Her excitement was short-lived; her heart skipped a beat.

A large palm brushed Diana's shoulder and slid down to her waist. His hand soon reached below her navel. It was her lower abdomen, where a faint ache lingered even after waking.

Felix kissed the back of Diana's head. Not just once, but twice, three times. Her heart pounded like mad. Thankfully, he seemed unaware of what was happening beneath the bed.

A meaningless question settled in her ear.

"How's your body?"

She ignored it. He must have been receiving detailed reports from her doctor. Why ask when he already knew?

Diana closed her eyes again. His words had broken her concentration.

Just as she tried to speak to the spirit in the glass once more, Felix gently turned Diana over.

His sigh scattered above her head. Diana hunched her shoulders, trying desperately to keep her body from touching him, but the more she did so, the tighter his grip became.

His breath brushed her nose. He would kiss her soon. He would push her down naturally and mount her.

But even after a long while, the soft sensation lingered only on her bridge of the nose. His lips, once smooth without a single rough spot, bore a crack.

Before leaving, Zoe wrote one last message on Diana's palm.

"If you don't know why you collapsed, ask the Crown Prince."

Everyone who came and went from this bedroom, including Zoe, kept their mouths firmly shut about her condition. The more they did, the more Diana's hopes swelled. She must truly have caught some awful disease.

If anything, she hoped it was highly contagious. Diana, who had given up on moving the spirit, tensed her neck.

"What exactly is wrong with me?"

"You hurt your foot."

"People don't get sick for a week just from hurting their foot."

"Probably from not getting enough light. And not eating properly."

He added some reasons. His voice, lower and gentler than usual, held an unusual charm.

But it was still not worth listening to.

"There's nothing wrong, Diana. Your body will recover gradually. If you just cooperate properly."

Lies. This was a lie.

Diana recalled all the promises Felix had assured her of until now. This man hadn't rescued her from prison. Not only did he break his promise to send her to the forest, he burned it down. He wouldn't even tell her why she had collapsed.

He changed his story depending on the situation. A promise made to a lowly puppet like her was worth less than a grain of sand to him.

Following the most logical and reasonable train of thought, everything he would say next would also be a lie.

"The palace has many gardens. You don't need to go to the forest; places with the grass and flowers you love are everywhere. Once you can move freely, I'll send you there. Go and come back. You can stay as long as you wish."

Lie.

"The forest is under maintenance, so you should be able to go out again around autumn. By then, you won't need to stay only inside. There won't be anywhere in Karman you can't go."

Lies.

“Of course, your origins will never hold you back. If anyone dares to shove you into Hilde, I’ll kill them myself.”

Lies.

“That private estate of the Dortes royal family you wanted to visit? If you want it, take it. What good is a mere pass anyway?”

All of this was a lie too.

The man's lips traveled across Diana's forehead, the tip of her nose, and both cheeks in turn. The last stop was, as the most natural progression would dictate, her lips. But instead of pressing in and digging like before, they only lightly brushed the surface.

Not just the words he spoke, but every single thing he did to her was a lie.

And yet, it was strange. She felt as if she had lost something important.

It was as if something had vanished without her even realizing it, and that was why this man was holding back his temper, unlike himself... Diana couldn't even begin to guess.

'I'll have to ask Zoe when I see her again.'

Taking advantage of that moment, the presence hidden in the cup slipped quietly out from under the bed.

"If there's anything else you want, just say it. If it's something I can understand, I'll listen without hesitation."

"......"

"Huh? Diana."

Diana felt the arm's strength preventing her from turning away and sneered. If he wasn't even willing to grant such a simple request, what did he mean by saying he'd listen to anything?

"You don't need to say that."

"Why not?"

"I'm just a blind maid, after all."

Felix, who had been rubbing his lips against Diana's forehead, paused. Regardless, Diana replayed the offers she’d received.

Hugo Christen had said if she wanted to leave this place, she should move to the palace annex.

Zoe had said that once she crossed the border into Karman, Ormance could help her. The pass to Dortes had been lost, but at least she wouldn’t have to flee as a fugitive from Karman.

It was strangely fitting how neatly everything fell into place. If she could just reach the secondary palace, Duke Christen's help would allow her to escape the imperial palace. And if she could only make it to the Karman border, she could seek asylum in the Kingdom of Ormance. It was a choice requiring little deliberation.

But asking Felix to send her to the secondary palace was pointless; his response was obvious.

Since moving his residence to the main palace, Felix had visited the secondary palace only a handful of times. As the coronation drew nearer, he would become too busy to spare even a moment, let alone kindly send Diana to the secondary palace.

'If sneaking out is impossible and formally requesting it won't work, I must find another way.'

The voice she once admired just by hearing it gradually faded away. Instead, the patter of tiny feet from a small spirit hopping around the edge of the bedroom grew closer. There was no need to worry about him seeing it. Spirits only revealed themselves to those who wished to see them.

Could she use that child?

"Right, you're my maid."

Suddenly, Felix's voice thundered in her ears. It was the moment she felt inexplicably afraid of the words that would follow.

"And soon you'll be my wife."

Diana's closed eyes snapped open.

She was confused by what she had just heard. It seemed like words that could never come from this man's mouth.

Wife? Wife?

"You will soon be the most noble woman in this country, Diana. Because you will bear my child."

His lips pressed down hotly, as if to stifle any resistance.

Unbidden heat raced wildly across her tongue. Diana tried with all her strength to push him away. Naturally, the man didn't budge an inch. He wrapped his tongue around Diana's small one and sucked down the pooled saliva. From his strong tongue, she sensed his unwavering resolve not to take back the words he had just spoken.