Chapter 26
“I told you—I hate the cold!”
Tension mounted as Odette and Eric struggled to agree on where she should escape to.
Their argument had gone in circles, growing more heated with every exchange.
“If you wear fur, you can survive it. Go to Erkan, the land of the nomads. If you hide there, Caesar will never find you.”
“I already told you—I don’t want to live in a country that practices polygamy! I’ve made it clear that I want to live with three beautiful men and one dog.”
“…What?”
Eric blinked in disbelief.
Realizing she had let her true thoughts slip, Odette quickly corrected herself.
“I mean—one man and three dogs. But if I go to Erkan, I’d end up as some warlord’s twelfth wife.”
“Then there’s no choice. Go to Dekan.”
“That’s where Lady Amelia lives. I refuse to get tangled up with her again.”
“The East?”
“It’s a desert.”
As if reaching the limits of his patience, Eric slammed his hands against the table.
“You don’t want the West because it’s full of volcanoes?”
“I’d rather not die in an eruption, thank you.”
Having had enough, Eric stood abruptly.
“Then just go live at Caesar’s estate!”
Instead of responding to his outburst, Odette’s voice softened.
“Forget about me. Please—return Lady Andrea to Caesar.”
“…What?”
“Stop putting it off. Send her back to her family.”
As she debated where to run, something had been nagging at her—something she couldn’t ignore.
She had finally realized what it was.
If she left now, knowing Andrea’s body was still being preserved through dark magic, she would regret it forever.
“Caesar lost his sister. He never even got to recover her body. He’s spent his entire life haunted by that loss.”
“If you’re going to talk nonsense, then leave.”
The moment Eric spread his hands, summoning a shadowy aura, Odette’s divine power activated instinctively.
Bang!
Eric was flung backward, crashing onto the ground.
“Oh! I—I’m sorry. I think my power fires off on its own.”
“…Ugh.”
“Are you alright? Oh no, your hair got burned.”
A thin wisp of smoke rose from Eric’s head.
His eyes, bloodshot with frustration, pleaded with her.
“If Caesar takes Andrea, I’ll never see her again.”
“…Andrea is already gone.”
“I can bring her back.”
“You think you can raise the dead… with animal blood?”
“…I can do it. Just leave. Please—just go.”
Eric grabbed Odette’s wrist, his grip trembling.
His fingers seared against her skin, his own hands burning from the contact with her divine energy.
Yet, he refused to let go.
“Let me go! You’ll die if you keep this up!”
And then—
A sudden thunder of hooves shattered the air.
The ground quaked beneath them.
Crash!
Shards of glass exploded in all directions as Caesar and his black warhorse burst through the greenhouse window.
The wind that followed was so fierce Odette couldn’t even keep her eyes open.
Before she could react, Caesar dismounted in a single, fluid motion and yanked her toward him.
His grip on her wrist was so tight it burned, leaving her skin flushed red.
She couldn’t even scream.
He’s terrifying.
She had been convinced she needed to escape him.
Now, that conviction felt more justified than ever.
Caesar’s stormy eyes locked onto hers, his teeth grinding in fury.
“All this—”
His overwhelming presence made it impossible to breathe.
“…Just to run away from me and into the arms of him?”
“N-no! It’s not what you think!”
“What misunderstanding? I saw it with my own eyes.”
Caesar whirled around and grabbed Eric by the throat, lifting him effortlessly into the air.
Eric dangled limply, his feet barely brushing the ground, like a man sentenced to the gallows.
“Ghhk…!”
“It wasn’t enough that you killed my sister—now you’ve set your sights on Odette as well?”
“…Uck…!”
Eric’s face turned red as he struggled for breath.
“I don’t care how long you’ve hidden behind your dark magic. Your time is up. Now tell me—where is Andrea?”
How does he expect him to answer if he’s strangling him?
Eric’s eyes rolled back, his body convulsing.
Caesar suddenly released his grip, flinging him aside like a discarded rag.
Thud!
Eric collapsed onto all fours, coughing violently as he gasped for air.
Tears and saliva dripped from his chin as he writhed in pain.
“…Answer me.”
“Cough—cough…”
“Where. Is. Andrea?”
Eric let out a strangled laugh, his bloodshot eyes glinting with madness.
“She’s mine. Cough. I already married her.”
“You bastard. Don’t you dare disgrace my sister’s memory.”
Caesar’s patience finally snapped.
He drew his sword.
Eric, still shaking, lifted his head and met his gaze.
“…You should be worrying about Odette.”
Caesar’s grip on his sword tightened.
Eric slowly pulled himself upright, a smirk playing on his lips.
“Or… how about we report both of us to the temple? Let them capture the dark sorcerer and the Grand Saintess at the same time.”
“Shut your mouth.”
Caesar’s voice was like ice.
“Why do you look so repulsed?” Eric sneered. “You could turn us in, claim all the credit, and marry the princess. If you do that, you can take over the entire Empire. Kill my father. Kill the Emperor. Take your revenge. Isn’t that the grand dream you—”
Thwack!
Caesar lunged forward, gripping Eric by the throat once more.
“If that was my goal, I wouldn’t have spent seven years on the battlefield.”
“While you were playing honor-bound soldier… all of Maes’s retainers were slaughtered—urk!”
Caesar lifted Eric with one hand and hurled him out of the greenhouse.
Crash!
Glass shattered as Eric’s frail body was flung through the air.
“Aaaagh!”
Eric let out a piercing scream as he crashed onto the ground in the middle of the garden.
At that moment, Odette went pale, clamping her hands over her ears.
“Aaaah! Please, someone help me! I beg you!”
But no matter how hard she tried to block it out, the screams reverberated inside her skull.
Hot tears streamed down her tightly shut eyes.
Thud! Thud!
A club slammed against iron bars.
“Please… spare me… Hic… Let me go….”
A forgotten memory unfolded before her, vivid and suffocating.
Flames.
The scent of blood.
“Odette.”
Caesar’s voice cut through the hallucination, forcing her eyes open.
“If you ever betray me, you’ll die far more painfully than that maid.”
His words came rushing back to her.
“They’re escaping! Catch them!”
Darkness pursued her.
Fear swallowed her whole.
“N-no… Stop…!”
A blinding light erupted from Odette’s body.
Rumble!
The entire greenhouse trembled as though on the verge of collapse.
A raging vortex swirled, sending flower pots flying and shattering every glass pane.
“Urgh! Odette, stop!”
Caesar staggered back, as if caught in a storm, his boots dragging deep trenches in the soil.
“You have to stop! Come here—now!”
The wind howled in her ears, whipping around shards of glass and debris.
Objects were crushed, reduced to nothing but ruins.
The light radiating from her body grew even stronger, lifting her off the ground.
“Odette!”
Caesar gritted his teeth, using his sword to anchor himself as he forced his way toward her. His uniform ripped, slashed by the airborne wreckage.
“Aaaaagh!”
Summoning all his strength, he finally reached her, pulling her into a tight embrace—and captured her lips in his.
His large hand gripped the back of her head, holding her in place as he pulled her closer.
Their bodies pressed together, deepening the contact.
“Mmnh—haah…”
As if waking from a trance, Odette gasped for breath.
“C-Caesar…”
“Yes. It’s alright now.”
Caesar greedily absorbed her divine power.
“Hnn…”
She felt as though she were being consumed by him.
It was as if her bones and muscles were burning, turning to ash inside her.
A strange sound escaped between their entwined lips.
“Almost there… Just a little more.”
His voice was low, soothing—almost drowsy.
“My… my heart…”
“I know.”
The sudden surge of divine power had put an unbearable strain on her heart.
That meant he had to take more—faster.
Dizzy and weak, Odette clutched at his broad shoulders.
Her vision flickered, alternating between light and darkness.
She teetered on the edge of unconsciousness—until, finally, Caesar exhaled deeply.
“Look at me.”
Tilting her chin up, he peered into her eyes, his gaze searching.
After a moment, he gave a satisfied nod.
“Good. It’s done.”
A quiet sigh of relief escaped his lips, now flushed from exertion.
And just like that—Odette’s world faded into darkness.
