Chapter 4
Chapter 4: His Empress, His World, His Vinea
Tatar de Tessibania buried his head into Vinea Madretta Veshnu’s round shoulder, biting softly into her tender skin. A sharp pain flared, but it was soon overwhelmed by the sensation of his hand moving between her legs. It wasn’t difficult for him to invade her now, given how w*t she was from his earlier teasing. His finger rubbed against her rounded flesh, and Vinea’s lips parted as short, broken breaths escaped her.
“Ha…!”
Unable to hold back, a gasp of pl*asure slipped out as his middle finger slid in deeper.
“Ah, ah! Ha…!”
The embarrassing sounds of their movements were quickly drowned out by Vinea’s moans. Each short thrust left a lingering pl*asure that felt eternal. The more he repeated, the wetter his fingers became, drenched as they were with her ar*usal.
“Damn…”
He couldn’t hold back any longer. This was his limit. Vinea’s half-lidded, unfocused eyes, her enticing scent, her trembling hips, and her soaked lower body quickly eroded his patience. F*replay was over. It was time to satisfy his desire.
As his long fingers withdrew, Vinea caught her breath.
“Haa…”
No matter how many times she experienced it, the sensation never became familiar. Perhaps it was because their bodies reset with each return. Through her blurry vision, she watched his face, noting the tense lines of his brows and the veins standing out on the back of the hand holding his erect*on. She could clearly see how much he was enduring, but Vinea thought such patience unnecessary.
Since the twentieth return, when she had truly accepted him, nothing they shared had frightened her. The pain and pl*asure of their first night together were the same each time they started over.
Just as he considered her his world, Vinea lived for him. Their bond might be more of a clinging obsession and a shared greed for life than affection, but they needed each other. He was both her husband and the emperor of an enemy nation, her only companion through their repeated time loops.
‘I will escape this hell with you.’
No matter how many more times they had to die or how many more people they had to kill. Vinea placed her hands over Tatar’s, feeling his large, hard m*mber against her palm. She had no doubt she could take all of him. Her body might be experiencing the first night, but her mind remembered countless nights spent together.
It didn’t take long to realize how arrogant that thought was. As soon as Vinea’s fingers brushed the flushed tip of his m*mber, he grabbed her wrist, pinning it firmly against the soft bed.
“…Do you even realize my current state?”
With his other hand, he guided his length into her. Vinea’s lips parted. Ah, she had made a mistake. She had forgotten how much the first night always hurt, how she ended up bedridden for days afterward.
“Ha…!”
“Vinea, my…”
Her pained moans no longer reached his ears. All his focus was on his lower half. The tight, hot space he thought he had prepared enough for still felt like it was going to snap around him. But that didn’t stop his movements. He pushed himself deeper into Vinea, breathing heavily.
“Haa…”
Could human consciousness be so completely consumed by pl*asure? At this moment, the endless time loops seemed insignificant compared to the body beneath him. All stray thoughts sank to the depths of his mind, washed away by waves of desire.
He pulled back his hips. Just as he was about to pull out completely, he drove himself back in deeply.
“―Ah!”
Vinea’s back arched. Seizing the moment, Tatar wrapped his arms around her, pulling her body tightly against his. Her ample br*asts were pressed against his firm chest as he moved again. Each upward thrust and downward drive plunged deeper.
Their bodies moved in unison, as if they were one. Tatar kept pulling Vinea closer to him, not letting her slip away. Their synchronized movements soon grew erratic with his increasing desire.
Every time she lowered herself, he thrust up, his m*mber reaching the deepest parts of her. Vinea couldn’t hold back her cries.
“Ah, ah! Ha…!”
Her moans, uncontrollable and incessant, echoed through the room. Tatar, too, was panting heavily. He was losing control, his thrusts erratic and desperate.
“Haa, Vinea, uh, Empress―”
His unfocused silver-gray eyes gazed at her trembling form in his arms. It was impossible to discern whether he was holding his world, his desire, or his god. Irregular breaths burst from him, each upward thrust now beyond his control.
He wished this moment wouldn’t end. He hoped it would outlast the seemingly eternal time loops. All his worries felt insignificant in the face of this pl*asure. Just for this, it was worth kneeling at her feet.
“Hah, ha, Your Majesty!”
“Call my name, Vinea. Hah, hurry.”
“T-Tatar, please, ah, please…!”
You need to tell me exactly what you want. But he didn’t say that aloud. What she wanted most was exactly what he wanted too. His movements grew faster and stronger. As his pace quickened, it finally reached its peak. Vinea’s mouth opened silently as she gasped for air. At the same time, his m*mber erupted, releasing his cl*max.
He held Vinea’s trembling body, pressing his still-shaking lower half against her soft thighs, trying to dissipate the lingering heat. Holding her as she slipped into unconsciousness, Tatar whispered into her ear.
“My Empress, my Vinea. My world…”
He gently brushed her disheveled platinum hair back, his gaze shifting to the moon outside. The full moon, always the same in time and form, no longer evoked any sentiment. His moon, his sun, his day, and night were all directed at one person, and that was all that mattered.
His gaze returned to Vinea. When they spent the first night after each return in this haze, his Empress would always be busy the next day. Searching for a way to end the time loops as if it were her sole purpose in life.
‘Why is it that while my world is so simple, her world remains so complicated? Is it that hard to make me her moon, her sun, her day and night? It’s so easy for me.’
Twisted thoughts kept surfacing. At times, he wanted to kneel and lick her feet obediently, and at others, he wanted to bring Vinea, who was determined to end the time loops, down to despair and make her wholly his.
May you lose all hope. Fall into despair, and eventually, fall completely to me. And if that wish doesn’t come true, I’ll make sure you end up that way.
‘Does my Empress know what I’m thinking?’
I hope she does and at the same time, I hope she never finds out. Because having one truly mad person was enough.
The first night after a return. The seventy-seventh time experiencing this night, yet it felt particularly difficult and harsh. Especially for him. Tatar closed his eyes, leaning on the sound of Vinea’s even breathing.
* * *
Long eyelashes fluttered, revealing the blue eyes beneath. Vinea Madretta Veshnu sighed. After being thoroughly teased by Tatar de Tessibania the previous night, there wasn’t a part of her body that didn’t ache. The one who had shared his body with her was already up and out of the bedroom, nowhere to be seen.
It was obvious why he had hurried away. Though Tatar had only been Emperor for a month, the endless repetitions of their time loops meant he had ruled for decades. Yet to those living in the present, and to the nobles of Tessibania, he was merely a young, inexperienced emperor.
Those eager to seize more power before he fully settled into his role occupied more than half the seats in the council. The war, which had lasted a hundred years, had severely weakened the royal authority. Though they had already gorged themselves on power, these nobles still hungered like wolves even after the war had ended. Unable to bear it, during the tenth time loop, Tatar had decapitated all of them in the council chamber.
When he saw their heads attached and their faces walking back into the council in the next loop, his own expression had contorted in fury.
She pulled the long, trailing cord on the right side of the bed, and soon, the servants entered the room. They brought in washbasins, fresh clothes, and a jewelry box. Leading them was a woman with a purple brooch pinned to her chest, a symbol of her position as the head maid.
“I am Mego Attilda, the head maid responsible for your residence in the Baloua Palace, Your Majesty. I will do my utmost to ensure you lack nothing.”
Though she was over fifty and had dedicated her life to the palace, there was no trace of the arrogance typical of those in her position.
“Very well.”
Vinea’s response was cold and brief. Despite this being their first formal introduction, she didn’t spare the head maid a second glance. The corners of the head maid’s wrinkled lips tightened slightly.
Under her direction, the servants began to help Vinea dress. Although Vinea had only been the Empress of Tessibania for a day and had once been a citizen of an enemy nation, she accepted their service naturally, as if she had been attended to by them for a long time.
“I shall have breakfast prepared for you in the room.”
“That won’t be necessary. I intend to visit His Majesty.”
“His Majesty is currently attending to state affairs. Perhaps you might like to explore the palace? The Baloua Garden, which can only be seen in the Tessibania Palace, is particularly beautiful.”
Vinea turned to look at the head maid, her blue eyes piercing as if seeing through her. The head maid flinched and lowered her gaze.
Vinea stood and nodded towards her.
“Take me to where His Majesty is.”
“…Understood.”
As Vinea followed the head maid, fatigue showed on her face. Despite the repetitive nature of the time loops, she couldn’t let it seem as if the new Empress knew her way around the palace too well on her first day.
She knew what the head maid, who had lost her nephew in the war, might think of an Empress from Veshnu, yet she entrusted her with guiding her through the palace.
They walked for about ten minutes from the Empress’s palace to the main palace next door without exchanging a word. Vinea could feel the curious glances of the servants following them. No doubt they were eager to gossip about how cold and unpleasant the new Empress was.
But paying attention to every little thing would make enduring the countless repeated time loops impossible. She had learned long ago that even killing them all repeatedly was too exhausting a task.
Soon, Vinea stood in front of a massive door adorned with brown leather.
“His Majesty is inside.”
The head maid didn’t explain what he was doing, who was with him, or the purpose of the room. A newly arrived Empress couldn’t possibly know these details, yet the head maid, unaware of her transparent intentions, stepped back silently.
Vinea turned to the door. It swung open soundlessly, and eleven pairs of eyes from within the council chamber turned to her in unison.
