CH 16.13

Shadows fell across the silhouettes of the two people lying on their backs. The air was damp and humid in a room that should have been warm with sunlight.

She pulled her arm back and tugged at his hair.

“… That, stop…”

“Hmph.”

Her scalp tingled from the repeated tugs, but Lucas only got hotter.

With a long, lingering smile, he turned her around. With her face buried in the pillow, Lila moaned at the deep sensations.

Lucas moved quickly, his grip tightening around her curves.

He lifted her body lightly. With only her lower body exposed, Lila fumbled with her hands, gripping the bedding tightly.

Lucas’s crimson eyes narrowed as he watched her move as she had learnt to do.

“Lala…”

Eyes still closed, Lucas tilted his head back, biting his lip hard as his climax whitened before his eyes.

He moved his hips frantically towards his climax, his muscles glistening in the sunlight as they were drenched in sweat. Sweat dripped from his body with each movement, falling down to his pure white naked body.

“Haa…”

Tugging at her waist, Lucas let out a long breath. He didn’t want to fall, but he felt the limits of his strength.

“Lala?”

Lila whimpered, her breath coming in small gulps.

“No more…”

The sight of her whimpering like a child made him shudder again, but he smiled sheepishly and patted her on the back.

Lucas looked down at Lila’s face, which was immediately red with exhaustion, and pulled away.

At that moment, Lila shivered violently. She must have felt him in her sleep, Lucas thought with an odd sense of satisfaction.

Lucas rang the magic bell on his bedside table and sat up in bed, lazily running a hand through his hair.

Soon there was a gentle knock on the door.

“Duke.”

“Come in, Vincent.”

Lucas, his canopy obscuring Lila’s form, rose to his feet. His sweaty body shook with every movement.

Entering the room, Vincent saw his nakedness and casually handed him a robe.

“Get the birth control pills. And bring the water in the thermos so she can drink it as soon as she wakes up.”

“Yes, Duke.”

Leaving Vincent to leave the room quickly, Lucas languidly walked over and sat down on the couch in his bedroom.

The more he wanted, the more he seemed to want.

Lila’s body was like that.

Drunk or not, he was thirsty. Wetting the inside of his dry mouth with his tongue, Lucas let his gaze drift to the bed canopy.

The image of her body on the other side of the curtain came to him of its own accord. It was funny how he could feel himself getting hot just thinking about her.

What on earth would he do without her…

While his mind was wandering, Vincent returned. He popped the pill that was handed to him into his mouth.

He had been taking them ever since he’d been with Lila. He hadn’t recommended it to Lila, as contraception is enough for one person. She just needed to take care of herself.

Lucas approached Vincent as he set the tray with the kettle and cups down on the nightstand.

“Don’t wake her today. And make sure Michael doesn’t come over.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Oh, and tell Owen to have the regional leaders assembled by tomorrow.”

“Yes, Duke.”

Having said all he had to say, Lucas waved and disappeared into the canopy. He slipped out of his robe, watching Lila sleep soundly.

Clinging to her back, he inhaled deeply. The sweet scent clung to his nostrils.

“Good night, Lala.”

With that, Lucas’s eyelids closed.

* * *

Among the hydrangeas in the palace gardens, Theobald swept back her pale purple hair.

Dark blue eyes, sparkling in the sunlight, looked up at him. She was smiling brightly.

It was just the two of them, and Theobald curled his lips in satisfaction. His mood, which had been icy, was suddenly warm.

“Lila.”

The moment he said her name, Lila’s head snapped around. The mauve hair in his hand slipped away like a grain of sand.

The mauve hair, glistening in the glittering sunlight, turned to a silver-haired man who glowed even more brilliantly.

Theobald stared at the two of them in a daze of unbearable loss, his heart tingling at the sight of her looking at Heinrich, her face even brighter than when she was with him.

Knowing that if he stood and watched, she would not return, Theobald walked away.

He was not surprised by the instantaneous change of scene; it was familiar, and he made his way across the ballroom to the terrace.

Ignoring any indication of occupancy, he pushed open the door to the terrace. On the terrace was Heinrich with her, his face flushed.

It was unpleasant.

He had used his scent as a free hand to entrap her. A deep satisfaction settled over his face as he turned the blush from Heinrich to himself.

Theobald reached out in a dark arc. Her body was warm against his fingertips.

He turned his head to find Heinrich and Alfonso glaring at him. He was very pleased, too.

He was quite happy. With her in his arms, he could enjoy their stares.

The scene changed again. He went to see her in another man’s mansion, but Heinrich refused him. And then the scene changed again, and Theobald saw Alfonso say the same thing to him, and his eyes glazed over with uncontrollable rage.

When he opened his eyes again, she was at his side. Locked in his bedroom, he watched the back of Lila’s head as she stared blankly out the window, then staggered towards her.

“Lila…”

Theobald hesitated with one last step, wanting to see her face, but he hesitated.

The end of this dream was always the same. But still…

“I miss you…”

He couldn’t help but grab her shoulders and turn her around. Just to look at her, if only for a moment.

With Lila sprawled on the reddened bed in his arms, Theobald stirred. He thought the dream had ended as usual, and he was frustrated again.

But as he fretted and fretted and fretted, his God came to him.

A black wolf with red eyes.

“I cannot interfere, but if you will sacrifice your magic, I will help you.”

How?

“I’ll turn back time.”

Really?

“But if I turn back time, you will not be able to use your magic. That’s the price.”

Theobald, not easily dissuaded, thought of her growing cold in his arms.

“I will, so please…”

Help me. My flower…

For the first time, the end of the dream changed.