TPOP 88

Chapter 88

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Cold sweat ran down her spine. Diana retraced her steps, wondering if she'd accidentally spoken aloud. Thankfully, she hadn't made any mistakes, but a foolish anxiety that her thoughts might have been read too made the back of her neck go cold.

A hand approached in the darkness and took the glass bottle from Diana.

"I asked if it was fun. You've been stirring pigment without moving for at least three hours."

"...Because you instructed me to."

Had he been watching the entire three hours? She hadn't even noticed the time passing.

Her legs were numb from crouching so long. As Diana awkwardly rubbed her calves, Felix wrapped his arms around her back.

“……!”

Diana instinctively curled into a ball. It was a reflexive rejection response.

Felix, who had lifted her onto the sofa, froze. Goosebumps covered the slender neck exposed beneath her rolled-up wheat-colored hair.

Diana turned pale at the soft chuckle above her head.

“I, I’ll go back.”

"They’re cleaning the room. It won't do any good if you leave now."

The man reeked of blood. Felix ignored her resistance and forced Diana onto his lap. The shirt and robe he wore felt unpleasantly cold.

'The position...'

She was straddling him, her thighs spread wide. She had embraced him countless times in this very position. The moment she remembered that, her body trembled against her will.

When Diana squirmed her hips, trying desperately not to touch him, Felix pressed her back down hard. He snapped.

"I'm not going to fuck you, so stay still."

Liar. He was the kind of brute who'd lift her skirt and shove himself inside the moment she let her guard down. Diana managed to create a small gap, preventing their lower bodies from touching. In the end, Felix grabbed both her arms and pinned her in place.

"Stop trembling like that. If you keep reacting like this, I can't guarantee I won't change my mind."

Diana froze completely at the cold warning. Her pupils darted around beneath lowered eyelids. It was the reaction she showed when she was scared stiff.

Damn it, it's been weeks since he touched a single thread of her clothing, and she's still like this? What was he supposed to do?

Felix summoned his patience, choosing instead to admire her face from a foot's distance rather than embrace her.

His Diana was, as always, exceptionally beautiful today. 

Felix continued to caress Diana's cheek with his warm hand. Her skin was incredibly soft and smooth; he simply had to stroke it at least once a day to feel satisfied.

The withdrawal symptoms had been intense these past two weeks since the body he'd held close to sleep for months had vanished. Felix realized his bed, which he'd used perfectly well his entire life, was now pointlessly large. It wasn't exactly a welcome realization.

After several more minutes of silence, Diana, who had been holding her breath in his embrace, finally spoke.

"Your Highness."

"Title."

"...Master."

Meanwhile, Felix's hand had moved from her cheek to her neckline, then down to her collarbone. The curve of her breast was almost visible beneath the maid's uniform, fastened at the front with a string. It was precisely that area where Diana's warm, skin-like scent lingered.

Distracted by the deep hollow, Felix belatedly registered her voice, quieter than the chirping of grasshoppers.

"Shouldn't you move the gallery on the third floor?"

"Why the gallery suddenly?"

"It seems Prince Eisen knows of its existence."

Felix, who had been rubbing her straight collarbone, glanced up. Diana endured the hand hovering precariously over her chest and swallowed dryly.

Ultimately, leaving the palace was impossible without breaching this man's defenses.

He must ascend the throne as planned, and no scandal could occur within this palace. While the world's attention—and Felix's own focus—was fixed on the Emperor in the main palace and the imperial throne, this was Diana's moment of opportunity.

Diana suppressed her fear and touched his chin with her fingertips. She felt around where his eyes should be, then lifted her head. She couldn't tell if their gazes truly met, but the man took a short, sharp breath. For reasons unknown, Felix liked the moment when Diana read him with her fingertips.

Diana prayed her voice wouldn't falter.

"I thought he might come to the secondary palace... to steal the paintings. Maybe send soldiers while the main palace is in chaos."

"How did you know that?"

"I heard it when I went to report to His Royal Highness. After that, it seemed like the information I brought wasn't needed, so I didn't mention it."

Contrary to her worries, the lies flowed out smoothly. But Felix wasn't easily fooled.

"Then why report it now?"

"......"

"If you were going to confess, you should have done it earlier. How much time has passed? Why now?"

While she was the one lying, Diana found his reaction utterly absurd. Was he really in a position to interrogate her like this?

"I was treated badly."

She chose her words carefully, but nothing good came out. It was too late to take back the words that had burst out impulsively. Diana reluctantly added.

"...But after I came to the villa, you saved me."

It was torture to force out words that simply wouldn't come. Because it was a truth she refused to acknowledge. Ultimately, she didn't want to accept what it meant: that this man had no intention of killing her, and that he raged disproportionately over her minor injuries.

Diana didn't want to understand her master. She didn't want to give him any opening. So the words flowing from her mouth now were nothing but blatant lies.

"I heard the situation inside and outside the palace is chaotic. That's all."

"So, you're concerned about me?"

"...Is a whore not entitled to do that?"

"Diana."

When he called her name, Diana instinctively knew what would follow. Felix covered her lips.

Her lower lip parted quickly, her mouth opening naturally. There was nowhere to escape from the tongue thrusting in forcefully.

His kisses were always brutal and rough. She hated gasping for breath while swallowing the saliva pooling in her mouth. She hated the subtly sweet taste of his tongue, and his excited breathing. The only reason she couldn't push him away was because she was used to it.

That was all.

Felix asked in a strangely heightened voice.

"Stop torturing yourself and answer. Are you worried about me?"

"......"

"Worried about master?"

Suddenly, Diana thought he might be smiling. A silly thought, that a faint trace of laughter might be lingering at the corners of his eyes.

"...Because you’re my master."

The moment she gave her answer, his lips pressed against hers again. The man was quick-witted; he must have realized that ambiguous reply implied consent.

Diana received a relentless barrage of kisses, her nape held captive by his large hands. Each time his lips brushed her sensitive skin, her stomach tingled and her heart pounded. Her body, accustomed to stimulation over the past months, reacted before her mind could catch up.

Before she knew it, her tightly pressed lower body was crushed by a heavy, substantial weight. As she trapped his lower body, which had instantly hardened with rushing blood, between her legs, her mouth went completely dry.

Felix stroked Diana's neck soothingly, then patted her slender waist. His voice carried a deep, husky tone.

"How's your body?"

"...Nothing special."

The man checked Diana's condition as if it were a habit. It was a strange question every time she heard it.

She had once asked what illness she had, but no one had given her an answer. Even her personal physician, who still visited Diana faithfully every other day, only spoke in vague terms, saying it had been "a severe fever."

For some reason, though, after moving to the palace where she could breathe freely, the throbbing abdominal pain and the chills that used to come and go had lessened considerably. A full month had passed since she’d been bedridden, so it was about time she recovered.

That also meant the man hadn’t held Diana for a whole month. He had taken her hand, but he hadn't made her moan, nor had he lingered on a kiss beyond what was necessary.

What on earth had happened to her body?

"Yes. The physician was positive about it. For the first time."

Today, Felix didn't point out Diana's impertinence. His tone was milder than usual.

In truth, his mood wasn't too bad today.

Though he was returning from hunting down and killing a maid lurking in Diana's room, observing Diana mixing the pigments he needed was a special task. This was partly thanks to the attending physician who examined her this morning mentioning that her physical condition had now recovered to a certain degree of normalcy.