Chapter 19
Chapter 19: Surging Waves
“Didn’t I tell you not to drag it out?” Vinea said with a hint of exasperation, her expression betraying her amusement.
Tatar de Tessibania, who had been kneeling on the muddy ground, rose to his feet. As he did, his erect m*mber broke through the water’s surface.
“I tried, but it seems I’ve failed,” he said, rubbing the clear, sticky substance from the Ulnan plant onto himself. A faint warmth began to spread. “This might only serve as a minor amusement, though.”
Vinea stepped back without hesitation. If she tangled with Tatar here, she might not return to the village until the sun had set. Just as she moved to stand, water splashing around her knees, Tatar grabbed her waist with one arm and pulled her towards him. Vinea lost her balance and hastily placed her hands on the ground to steady herself.
Seizing the moment, Tatar thrust himself into Vinea’s exposed entrance.
“Ah—”
The heavy sensation pushed into her, filling her completely. His arm wrapped around her waist, holding her tightly, as if to say there was no escaping now.
“Finish quickly…” Vinea muttered.
“We’ll see. I’ll give it my best shot,” Tatar responded, undeterred.
“You…!” Vinea’s protest was cut short. Tatar pushed deeper, despite seemingly having nowhere left to go. His brows furrowed in concentration. The Ulnan wasn’t supposed to have much effect unless mixed with a specific powder, yet his ar*usal felt like it would burst.
“Could it be… not because of the Ulnan?” Tatar mused, glancing down at Vinea. Her w*t hair clung to her white back in smooth curves, an intoxicating sight that made his ar*usal throb painfully. His hand swept over her w*t hair and up her back, causing Vinea to momentarily lose her support as a shiver ran through her.
“Ah!”
Taking advantage of the opening, Tatar pulled her waist towards him, pressing her back tightly against his chest. The unfamiliar position allowed his m*mber to probe deeper, the heat radiating from their junction contrasting with the cold water around them.
“Ah, ha…”
“Ha…”
Tatar buried his face in Vinea’s neck, inhaling deeply. The damp air filled his lungs, grounding him in the reality of the moment—this was no dream or nightmare.
“Relax. You don’t want to suffer later,” Tatar advised.
“If Your Majesty lets me go—ah!” Vinea’s sentence broke off into a gasp as Tatar intensified his actions. Let her go? That wasn’t something he could do, not with this pl*asure within reach.
Tatar began to move in earnest, his rough movements causing Vinea’s body to rise and fall with the rhythm. All she could do was cling tightly to the arms encircling her chest and waist. Her mind was overwhelmed by the pl*asure coursing through her.
Water droplets scattered light around them, but Vinea couldn’t focus. The sound of splashing water seemed distant, like a melody that couldn’t reach her ears.
Vinea caught a glimpse of her flushed face reflected in the water’s surface. It felt strange to see herself like this, reluctantly giving in to his demands.
“Ugh, ha, ah…!”
“Ha, ugh…”
Tatar’s breath, laced with his own moans, teased her neck, sending shivers down her spine. Each time, she couldn’t help but tense below.
“Are you trying to kill me, ha, burn me alive?” Vinea’s voice was strained.
Tatar was on the brink of madness, driven by Vinea’s involuntary tightness, which seemed to be pushing him to finish quickly. He bit into the back of her neck and shoulder in a possessive gesture, leaving red marks like flowers blooming on her white skin.
Their reflections in the rippling water were indistinct. He wondered if mirrors surrounded them, would they be able to fully appreciate this breathtaking view?
Vinea gasped, unable to catch her breath as he continued to thrust up into her, lifting her slightly off the ground with each motion. His right arm encircled her waist while his left hand gripped her right br*ast firmly, leaving her no room to escape.
The Ulnan made his movements slicker and faster, the plant’s mild effects heating her skin instead of cooling it in the water.
“Ah, T-Tatar, ah…!”
“Ha, Vinea, I’m doing my best, ha, so stop whining.”
As if she had ever complained. But with Tatar’s relentless pace, Vinea could only respond with gasping moans.
“Ah! Ha, Te, ah—”
Vinea’s knees trembled as she clung to Tatar’s arms, her head thrown back, lips parted in helpless pl*asure. Her blue eyes couldn’t fully capture the clear sky above.
Her body convulsed, unable to take any more, but Tatar was focused solely on releasing his own pent-up desire, not giving her a moment’s respite.
“Ah…!”
“Ha, ugh—”
Tatar wrapped his arms around Vinea, holding her trembling body tight. As he pulled out, a thick, white substance mixed with the water, quickly washing away, though the heat of cl*max lingered.
He wanted to sink into the water and rest, but there was still work to be done. Tatar buried his face in Vinea’s w*t hair for a moment before lifting her in his arms.
Despite being cradled in his arms, she only breathed shallowly, her usual defiance momentarily gone. Tatar felt a surge of desire to return to the palace and continue, but he held back.
Vinea, her eyes half-closed, reached up and placed her damp hand over his eyes.
“Do that again, and I’ll stab you in the heart…”
“If you want to roll around in the wedding hall with me, go ahead,” Tatar teased.
“Ha…” Vinea sighed, covering her face with the hand that had covered Tatar’s eyes.
* * *
With a hardened expression, Berdo rose, his hands and the ground around him covered in the dirt he had dug up. To uncover what lay buried below, they would need shovels to properly dig it up, but already his mind was forming conclusions.
He looked down at the earth. The stench was overwhelming, the soil disturbed, and though it hadn’t rained recently, the ground was w*t with dark, reddish mud. Whatever was buried here had once been alive.
“If not for the Empress’s words, I would have walked right past this,” Berdo muttered to himself.
Could it be that examining the villagers’ house exteriors had been for the same reason?
The war had taken many comrades, and now he had to serve the princess of the enemy nation. Though he had buried his resentment deep, the complex emotions still lingered.
Even when he had descended to the village to check on the rumored outbreak, a part of him had wondered what difference it would make. But without the Empress’s guidance, would they have guessed the cause so quickly?
Berdo looked in the direction where Vinea and the others had gone. Just as he was about to head back to the village, he spotted a small figure in the distance.
“Captain!”
“Rondo, where is Her Majesty?”
“She’s coming straight away!”
Berdo grimaced. Leaving the Empress alone without guards was unthinkable.
As he took a step forward, Rondo blocked his path.
“Her Majesty wanted me to give you this!”
“Talum and… Ulnan?”
Berdo was puzzled. Why would she send him plants that seemed useless in this situation? But as Rondo explained what had happened, Berdo’s eyes widened.
“You’re saying none of the children who ate this got sick?”
“Yes! Menil, Shante, Oland, all of them! They were curious about the taste…”
“I see. But…” Berdo trailed off, looking at the Talum and Ulnan in Rondo’s hands.
If the child’s story was true and these plants had any effect, they might prevent a major outbreak.
“Let’s head back to the village.”
“Yes, Captain!”
Saving lives took precedence.
Returning to the village, Berdo quickly mashed the Talum and Ulnan together and headed to the quarantine area. There was no time to test for side effects, and the plants themselves were harmless in small amounts, so it was urgent to see if they had any effect.
“Rondo, give this to the person with the mildest symptoms. If anything changes, report back immediately.”
“Got it!”
Rondo disappeared into the quarantine area with the mixture, and Berdo waited anxiously outside the door. After a while, the door burst open, and the children who had been inside ran out.
“Rondo, what happened?”
“They said their coughing stopped, and their headache is much better.”
“This is a miracle…” Berdo muttered in awe. The symptoms were strange, and the illness progressed quickly, so he had been worried that proper treatment would take too long. It felt like a miracle had descended upon them.
Berdo suddenly remembered Vinea. She should have returned by now, but there was no sign of her.
Worried, he ran to where the horses were waiting. His fellow knights looked confused as he approached.
“Captain, we were looking for you. There’s word from the palace that doctors are on their way—”
“I’m going to find Her Majesty. You stay here and protect the village.”
“Yes?”
Just as Berdo handed the reins of his horse to a knight, he heard children’s laughter in the distance. He looked in that direction and saw a figure approaching, surrounded by children.
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty!”
“What?”
“You know, we were playing house—”
It was the sound of laughter ringing out in the village after a long time, where darkness had settled due to the sudden epidemic.
The one walking towards them, surrounded by children, with a w*t body and arms full of Talm and Ulnan, was the very person he had been about to search for.
“Captain, isn’t that Her Majesty the Empress? But why is she in such a state…”
Berdo immediately grasped the situation. Ulnan that only grows in water, clothes soaked as if she’d been drenched.
Though her appearance was so poor as to be barely recognizable as the noble empress, he felt an illusion that her surroundings were shining more brightly than anyone else’s.
He handed the horse’s reins he had been holding to a knight and said:
“Light has come to the Tessibanian Empire…”
