TPOP 84

Chapter 84

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Diana deteriorated day by day. The more she broke apart, the more the distance between them widened beyond repair.

She could no longer be left alone.

The gap had to be filled. Somehow.

An urge surged to press his body against hers without leaving a single space.

Felix held Diana as if restraining her and laid her down on the table. The pure white silk, which he had been certain would suit her perfectly, cascaded like a waterfall beneath the table.

Felix devoured her lips while unbuttoning his trousers. The moment he pulled her small hand to rub against the pillar, his penis instantly hardened and rose. The doctor had advised that her recovery was slow, so she should avoid strenuous intercourse and rest for at least a month. Barely two weeks had passed, making proper intercourse difficult.

Felix gripped both her hand and his hard shaft, rocking it up and down. The mere fact that Diana's fingers clung to his skin ignited his pleasure.

He didn't want to see the expression on her face as she looked at him. Felix closed his eyes and sucked on her dry lips. He explored every inch he could reach—her even teeth, her delicate gums, the bumpy roof of her mouth. There wasn't a single spot he didn't find sweet, not a single part he didn't want to possess.

"Diana, ha..."

The sound of his growling breath so close caused Diana's expression to crumble.

Felix came in her hand. A few drops left a messy stain on her beautiful silk dress.

Even without direct penetration, Diana's breathing was ragged. As if the very lust boiling within him was poison to her.

The gap hadn't closed at all. Instead, a premonition overwhelmed her that the rift seemed even deeper than before. Felix found a handkerchief and wiped her hands. Then he realized his own hands were still trembling slightly.

A tear fell from Diana's cheek. It drew a dull ripple, as if it had fallen directly into his heart.

"You don't need a wife... You just need a maid to play with, don't you?"

"Diana."

"You don't see me as a person, Master. You never have."

Diana's small face was drenched in tears.

Looking back, Diana had wanted only one thing. She wanted to be recognized as an equal human being. Not to be hidden and cherished like a precious jewel, but to be seen as a human being with emotions and pride, just like him.

But perhaps she had hoped for too much, since this man lacked any universal, common emotions to begin with.

Yes, who was she to hope? She shouldn't have dared to hope.

Forgetting her place and letting greed take precedence, she was surely being punished.

Diana closed her eyes helplessly. She heard him calling her name, but she no longer had the strength to listen.

If she remained trapped here, her future was clear. To escape the demon, she would throw herself anywhere. Even if death lurked at the bottom of the cliff she leapt from.

So the man was slowly killing her. Diana sensed the end was near.

***

She was caught stealing bedding, caught sneaking the window key, caught hiding a fork or knife at mealtime only to have it taken back. By the time her attempts filled all ten fingers, both Emile and the doctor had given up on her.

Despite failing every single time, Diana refused to quit. If she could only see straight ahead, she might not have been caught—it was a pity.

Felix threw in the towel the day Diana finally stole a knife and slashed her wrist.

She didn't succeed, though. It was sheer luck she didn't know how deep to cut or where. The blade grazed her artery at an angle, barely grazing the surface.

The only problem, if you could call it that, was that Felix was watching.

That day, the rage he'd suppressed for weeks exploded.

"Must you rebel like this, Diana?"

Felix roared, squeezing her tiny wrist with all his strength. The moment he saw her dejected expression, breathing became as difficult as if his lungs were filled with water.

This woman wasn't cutting herself because she wanted to die. She intended to make him suffer. She knew, cunningly, that the more wounds she inflicted on herself, the more his insides would burn. He loathed the sight of himself, pathetically fidgeting in response to this transparent ploy.

“Yes, it's your body, so you have some claim to it. But whether you're an empress, a maid, or a street beggar, you're still my person and my property. If you want to reject even that, then come back after erasing that mark on your chest!"

"Then give me the branding iron."

"Damn it, Diana."

"If I could erase this, I'd do it right now... ”

The amount of blood spilled was considerable. Felix’s hands were also covered in blood as he applied pressure to her wrist. Red, a deep crimson. Once, it had been the intense color of life he had loved.

But now, it was utterly horrifying. Diana violently shook the wrist he held. The blood, which had been slowly stopping, gushed forth again. Above it, droplets that weren't blood splattered. Diana's wrist was damp with warm moisture. That moisture slowed the clotting.

Felix yanked the tourniquet as if snatching it. Maids who had rushed over upon hearing the urgent bell toll quickly grasped the situation and summoned the attending physician.

Even after the physician arrived, applied a styptic powder, and bound the wound with bandages, the bleeding strangely refused to stop. The color drained rapidly from Diana's face and body. Felix couldn't bring himself to release her as she grew colder by the moment.

For some reason, the blood-soaked face of his mother, who had died in agony, flashed before his eyes. She had been a beautiful, noble woman who had passed on her exquisite features to her son. When Felix stood before her corpse, he felt for the first time that the very structure of his personality was shifting.

No, in truth, it was a restoration. The mask of the gentle Crown Prince, shaped by the Empress's teachings and guidance, had shattered, revealing the raw, unadorned self he had been born with.

Why did that day suddenly come to mind at this moment? Was it because the deafening roar now echoing in his ears resembled the one he had heard then?

If so, what part of himself was shifting now?

Blood still seeped from Diana's wrist, bound in bandages. One thing was certain. Felix now loathed the sight of crimson.

"The annex. Is that where you want me sent?"

The words finally forced their way out. Felix gripped Diana's slender shoulders as if he might crush them.

"Is it enough for you to go and be the maid you so desperately want to be?"

Diana lifted her head as if by some miracle. Her unfocused gaze landed haphazardly somewhere on Felix's chest. Felix grabbed Diana's constantly tilting chin and fixed it facing him. Her voice was barely distinguishable from her breath.

"If I can't leave the palace, then I'll go to the villa."

"You don't plan to keep doing this there, do you?"

"If Your Highness would release me, I wouldn't do this either."

No one enjoyed hurting themselves. There were reasons that made it unavoidable.

But the man, lacking even the generosity to empathize with another's story, burst into a hollow laugh like a madman.

"Release you? Who? Me?"

"Ugh..."

"You?"

He immediately bit into Diana’s lips. For some reason, Felix began fixating on her lips instead of holding her. Through clenched teeth, he spoke. Each word etched into her soul.

“Don’t even dream about it. You’re mine.”

“…….”

“No matter where you are or who you’re with, the fact that you belong to me won’t change. "

Diana laughed out loud. She might look like a madwoman, but she didn't care.

Wherever I am, whoever I'm with, I belong only to myself. 

She pitied the man who didn't understand that.

Why didn’t he know something so obvious?

The crimson blood soaking the bandage gradually stopped. Diana's mind reached its breaking point.

Felix gritted his teeth and kissed her cold face several times. Only then did he regain enough composure to straighten his back.

The attending physician and servants held their breath, waiting for his orders.

After a long moment, Felix tilted his head back, pressing  his throbbing temples, and commanded.

"Bring Bruno."