Amelie brought up another story to avoid being conscious of Serwin’s body.
“According to Lira, there was a period of prosperity even before the empire was formed.”
“Really? Empire historians say that there was no civilization on the continent before the Empire.”
Serwin turned to Amelie and sat down. As he rested his arms on the back of the sofa, the sleeves of his clothes slid down, revealing his thick forearms. Amelie stared intently at his arm involuntarily.
‘He really has a great body.’
His body was well-trained, and his muscles were as beautiful as the body of a movie star. It was her first time seeing such a body, so it was unavoidable that her eyes stayed on that side.
“It collapsed instantly due to the disaster, and no one knew about its existence. It is said that the demon faith was at its peak at that time—”
While talking, Amelie kept glancing unconsciously at Serwin’s body. Serwin, who was watching this scene, couldn’t hide his smile. As he laughed, Amelie’s ears turned redder.
“Do you like the new pajamas?”
It’s true that he changed his pajamas on purpose! He’s trying to seduce her! Amelie glanced at Serwin.
“Is it fun to tease me?”
“This is an outfit for you, I just hope you like it.”
“Uh…”
There was a spontaneous groan.
Amelie was not immune to this blatant temptation. The people she dated when she was Lee Sooyeon were as lively as she is now, so they never seduced her in this way. Gradually, Amelie’s face grew red.
“Answer me. How is it? Do you like it?”
Serwin grabbed Amelie’s hand and brought it to his chest. The elastic feel of the skin and the beating of his heart were transmitted through his palms. Amelie panicked at the blatant touch, as if touching his bare skin, even with the thin fabric in between.
‘T, this pajama is the problem!’
As Amelie pulled the strings, Serwin smiled and thought she had finally crossed the line. However, contrary to his expectations, Amelie’s response was the opposite. Amelie opened his collar, took the comforter from the bed, and put it over his head.
“Amelie? Amelie… I can’t breathe.”
Serwin protested, but she couldn’t hear it. All she had in her mind was the idea of covering up this desired body.
“You can’t expose your bare skin like that. A grown up bachelor! It’s a big crime to do that with that body!”
“Wait, Amelie, calm down!”
She found the ribbon and tied it tightly to prevent the comforter from loosening. Serwin managed to pull his head out of the comforter, but his body was curled up in the comforter and tied up.
“Are you going to do this? Untie this.”
“I don’t want to. You’re just going to be lewd with your body again!”
Serwin looked up at her with dissatisfied eyes. He never thought he’d get rolled in a comforter at this age.
“What the hell is the problem? I’m just trying to make you like me more.”
“That’s the problem! Because you’re seducing me like that all of a sudden—”
Amelie fanned herself to calm down. Her face was so hot that she couldn’t stay still. Serwin smiled triumphantly at what he saw.
“Why are you laughing?”
“No, you seem to like my new pajamas.”
“Your Majesty!”
Why do her thoughts always go in that direction? Amelie was terrified.
As she continued to feel like he was swaying her, Amelie decided not to deal with Serwin anymore.
“That’s enough. I’m going to bed. Your Majesty, please reflect on yourself there.”
“Huh?”
Serwin looked at her with an absurd expression, but Amelia took the blanket out of the drawer and climbed onto the bed.
“Amelie, I won’t tease you anymore. Please untie this. It’ll be cold to sleep with just a blanket.”
“I don’t know.”
“Just take the comforter, and you can tie me back with the blanket.”
“Good night.”
Amelie closed her eyes. He said something more, but she just pretended not to hear it. He thought she would fall asleep, but she fell asleep quickly when she put her head on it. It was because she barely slept last night.
Moments later, only the sound of Amelie’s breathing echoed in the bedroom. Confirming that she had fallen asleep, Serwin simply lifted the comforter and got up. He could have gotten up early, but he waited until she fell asleep because he thought Amelia would run away.
He went to bed and put the comforter on Amelie. Maybe it was cold with only her blanket, so she dug into the comforter.
Anyway, he can’t figure it out.
He thought, at best, that she would cry, but he didn’t expect a blanket roll. She always went beyond his own expectations. Her unexpected actions often surprised and amused him.
“Good night, Amelie.”
Serwin lay in bed hugging her. Perhaps because Amelie had disturbed her sleep last night, he too fell asleep quickly. A faint smile lingered on his lips for a long time.
*****
Serwin’s temptation didn’t end there. When he realized that she liked the way he looked, he took advantage of it. He wore a perfect outfit for his body and only pulled half of his natural hair back to show more of his face. And every time they look at each other, he smiles and praised Amelie for being pretty and cute.
Serwin, on the other hand, no longer pesters her, saying that he wants to be together with her, or clings to her all the time. It was as if he had returned to the Serwin when she first came to the Imperial Palace.
Then, when Amelie seemed to be off guard, she held Amelie’s hand with a pitiful look on his face. Then Amelie became weak and had no choice but to hug him tightly. Serwin didn’t miss the gap and hugged her tightly with his firm arms. If she wants him to approach her, he ignores her, and Amelie can’t get herself together because he acts like a man when she thinks he’s cute.
‘Are you really dating for the first time?’
Serwin did the push and pulled so well that she started to doubt herself.
After a few days like that, Amelia felt a sense of crisis. At this rate, it seems like she will get to stamp the marriage certificate? Just in time, when the jeweler contacted her, she rushed out of the palace with only Lira. It was hard to escape Serwin’s evil hand. When they’re together, they’ll naturally go on dates— and just thinking about how many people will hear put a strain on her heart.
“Should I have invited him along? He won’t be disappointed, right?”
As Amelia groaned, Lira, who was watching the scene, said a word.
“From my point of view, I think you’re going to fall for him soon?”
“Huh?”
Lira’s words were right on target.
Before, she didn’t even realize he was a man, but now, just looking into his eyes makes her heart skip a beat.
“Make a careful decision. Marriage is a reality. You wouldn’t be welcome if people knew you were a witch.”
“That’s true.”
Amelia sighed.
“Do Lira and witches hate the Emperor because of witch-hunting?”
“That’s right.”
“But that’s not what His Majesty did.”
Although it was the time when Serwin ascended to the throne, all important decisions were made by the Regent King.
In other words, there was a good chance that the Regent King was also behind the witch hunt.
“It doesn’t matter to the witches. The fact that the Emperor of the Empire did a witch-hunt is important. I have seen the disaster with my own eyes, but the other witches will think of you as a traitor 20 years ago when they see you with the Emperor.”
“Traitor—”
Combining the information gathered so far, there were a total of three witches in the Imperial Palace twenty years ago. The first is the witch who sealed the disaster on Serwin’s body. The second is a witch who fell in love with the regent king and helped him hunt a witch. The third is a witch who is believed to be the owner of the pendant.
The three may be different people, but they could all be the same people.
“Tell me about the traitor witch.”
“I was young at the time, too, so I don’t know the details. Because I only heard from Brillai. Are you still curious?”
“Yes, I’m curious. You don’t have to be exact, so just tell me what you heard.”
Nodding, Lira began to talk.
“Once upon a time there was a witch named Hazel. In the year of the reign of the Regent King, she was a young witch, not yet twenty years old, who had come to the capital.”
Hezel is said to have been a witch who did not know much about the family or witch society. In addition, she had little magic skills, so she had no choice but to get a job as a maid who did chores at the palace for a living. At that time, the manpower shortage at the palace was serious, so they hired anyone regardless of their identity as long as they had a recommendation letter.
She fell in love with Albert, the regent king, while working as a maid, but could not be married to Albert due to her lowly status. Moreover, Albert had another lover.
“You mean the former Marchioness Lewin? Was her name Adria?”
Amelie recalled a story she had heard from Mrs. Enard before. A scandal in which the regent king had an affair with a maid, and the Marchioness grabbed the maid by the hair.
“Oh? Then the maid was a witch. Is it quiet?
Amelia opened her eyes wide.
“In the circumstances, it is. Anyway, she must have been kicked out of the Imperial Palace because of it. She must really have power as the former Marchioness.”
“I guess so.”
The former Marchioness and the Regent King had been dating since they were young. The relationship ended when the Marchioness got married, but after the death of the former Marquis, the relationship between the two began to close again. In the midst of this, Hazel appeared, so to the former Marchioness, Hazel must have been like a thorn in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Hazel, who wanted to remain with the Regent King, is said to have taught him how to tell the difference between a witch’s hideout and a real witch when he started a witch hunt. Her love was more important to her than the well-being of her people, and as a result, many witches were killed.
“Not long after that, the Regent King died, and Hazel ran away somewhere.”
“Ah—”
“Brillai was making money by fortune-telling in the capital, so she happened to get close to a traitor. I was lucky. If Brillai-nim hadn’t been informed about the witch hunt in advance, the witch’s life would have been cut off. Anyway, it is said that most of the witches died due to the massive witch hunt, and some witches went to the capital to punish the traitors and were killed by the knights.”
“So that’s why Brillai-nim knows a lot about traitors?”
“That’s right. Being recognized for her work at that time, Brillai-nim was able to become a great witch, and she played a big role in establishing the surviving witches after that.”
“I see.”
Amelia nodded.
“Then the traitor and the witch who sealed the disaster must be different people.”
According to Serwin, the witch who sealed the disaster killed the Regent King. Then it was less likely that the witch who loved the regent king and betrayed her people and the witch who sealed the disaster were the same person.
“So I want to know whose pendant it was. Whether it was a traitor, a witch who sealed the disaster, or another witch.”
“We’ll find out.”
While talking, their carriage arrived at the jewelry store.
Amelie brought up another story to avoid being conscious of Serwin’s body.
“According to Lira, there was a period of prosperity even before the empire was formed.”
“Really? Empire historians say that there was no civilization on the continent before the Empire.”
Serwin turned to Amelie and sat down. As he rested his arms on the back of the sofa, the sleeves of his clothes slid down, revealing his thick forearms. Amelie stared intently at his arm involuntarily.
‘He really has a great body.’
His body was well-trained, and his muscles were as beautiful as the body of a movie star. It was her first time seeing such a body, so it was unavoidable that her eyes stayed on that side.
“It collapsed instantly due to the disaster, and no one knew about its existence. It is said that the demon faith was at its peak at that time—”
While talking, Amelie kept glancing unconsciously at Serwin’s body. Serwin, who was watching this scene, couldn’t hide his smile. As he laughed, Amelie’s ears turned redder.
“Do you like the new pajamas?”
It’s true that he changed his pajamas on purpose! He’s trying to seduce her! Amelie glanced at Serwin.
“Is it fun to tease me?”
“This is an outfit for you, I just hope you like it.”
“Uh…”
There was a spontaneous groan.
Amelie was not immune to this blatant temptation. The people she dated when she was Lee Sooyeon were as lively as she is now, so they never seduced her in this way. Gradually, Amelie’s face grew red.
“Answer me. How is it? Do you like it?”
Serwin grabbed Amelie’s hand and brought it to his chest. The elastic feel of the skin and the beating of his heart were transmitted through his palms. Amelie panicked at the blatant touch, as if touching his bare skin, even with the thin fabric in between.
‘T, this pajama is the problem!’
As Amelie pulled the strings, Serwin smiled and thought she had finally crossed the line. However, contrary to his expectations, Amelie’s response was the opposite. Amelie opened his collar, took the comforter from the bed, and put it over his head.
“Amelie? Amelie… I can’t breathe.”
Serwin protested, but she couldn’t hear it. All she had in her mind was the idea of covering up this desired body.
“You can’t expose your bare skin like that. A grown up bachelor! It’s a big crime to do that with that body!”
“Wait, Amelie, calm down!”
She found the ribbon and tied it tightly to prevent the comforter from loosening. Serwin managed to pull his head out of the comforter, but his body was curled up in the comforter and tied up.
“Are you going to do this? Untie this.”
“I don’t want to. You’re just going to be lewd with your body again!”
Serwin looked up at her with dissatisfied eyes. He never thought he’d get rolled in a comforter at this age.
“What the hell is the problem? I’m just trying to make you like me more.”
“That’s the problem! Because you’re seducing me like that all of a sudden—”
Amelie fanned herself to calm down. Her face was so hot that she couldn’t stay still. Serwin smiled triumphantly at what he saw.
“Why are you laughing?”
“No, you seem to like my new pajamas.”
“Your Majesty!”
Why do her thoughts always go in that direction? Amelie was terrified.
As she continued to feel like he was swaying her, Amelie decided not to deal with Serwin anymore.
“That’s enough. I’m going to bed. Your Majesty, please reflect on yourself there.”
“Huh?”
Serwin looked at her with an absurd expression, but Amelia took the blanket out of the drawer and climbed onto the bed.
“Amelie, I won’t tease you anymore. Please untie this. It’ll be cold to sleep with just a blanket.”
“I don’t know.”
“Just take the comforter, and you can tie me back with the blanket.”
“Good night.”
Amelie closed her eyes. He said something more, but she just pretended not to hear it. He thought she would fall asleep, but she fell asleep quickly when she put her head on it. It was because she barely slept last night.
Moments later, only the sound of Amelie’s breathing echoed in the bedroom. Confirming that she had fallen asleep, Serwin simply lifted the comforter and got up. He could have gotten up early, but he waited until she fell asleep because he thought Amelia would run away.
He went to bed and put the comforter on Amelie. Maybe it was cold with only her blanket, so she dug into the comforter.
Anyway, he can’t figure it out.
He thought, at best, that she would cry, but he didn’t expect a blanket roll. She always went beyond his own expectations. Her unexpected actions often surprised and amused him.
“Good night, Amelie.”
Serwin lay in bed hugging her. Perhaps because Amelie had disturbed her sleep last night, he too fell asleep quickly. A faint smile lingered on his lips for a long time.
*****
Serwin’s temptation didn’t end there. When he realized that she liked the way he looked, he took advantage of it. He wore a perfect outfit for his body and only pulled half of his natural hair back to show more of his face. And every time they look at each other, he smiles and praised Amelie for being pretty and cute.
Serwin, on the other hand, no longer pesters her, saying that he wants to be together with her, or clings to her all the time. It was as if he had returned to the Serwin when she first came to the Imperial Palace.
Then, when Amelie seemed to be off guard, she held Amelie’s hand with a pitiful look on his face. Then Amelie became weak and had no choice but to hug him tightly. Serwin didn’t miss the gap and hugged her tightly with his firm arms. If she wants him to approach her, he ignores her, and Amelie can’t get herself together because he acts like a man when she thinks he’s cute.
‘Are you really dating for the first time?’
Serwin did the push and pulled so well that she started to doubt herself.
After a few days like that, Amelia felt a sense of crisis. At this rate, it seems like she will get to stamp the marriage certificate? Just in time, when the jeweler contacted her, she rushed out of the palace with only Lira. It was hard to escape Serwin’s evil hand. When they’re together, they’ll naturally go on dates— and just thinking about how many people will hear put a strain on her heart.
“Should I have invited him along? He won’t be disappointed, right?”
As Amelia groaned, Lira, who was watching the scene, said a word.
“From my point of view, I think you’re going to fall for him soon?”
“Huh?”
Lira’s words were right on target.
Before, she didn’t even realize he was a man, but now, just looking into his eyes makes her heart skip a beat.
“Make a careful decision. Marriage is a reality. You wouldn’t be welcome if people knew you were a witch.”
“That’s true.”
Amelia sighed.
“Do Lira and witches hate the Emperor because of witch-hunting?”
“That’s right.”
“But that’s not what His Majesty did.”
Although it was the time when Serwin ascended to the throne, all important decisions were made by the Regent King.
In other words, there was a good chance that the Regent King was also behind the witch hunt.
“It doesn’t matter to the witches. The fact that the Emperor of the Empire did a witch-hunt is important. I have seen the disaster with my own eyes, but the other witches will think of you as a traitor 20 years ago when they see you with the Emperor.”
“Traitor—”
Combining the information gathered so far, there were a total of three witches in the Imperial Palace twenty years ago. The first is the witch who sealed the disaster on Serwin’s body. The second is a witch who fell in love with the regent king and helped him hunt a witch. The third is a witch who is believed to be the owner of the pendant.
The three may be different people, but they could all be the same people.
“Tell me about the traitor witch.”
“I was young at the time, too, so I don’t know the details. Because I only heard from Brillai. Are you still curious?”
“Yes, I’m curious. You don’t have to be exact, so just tell me what you heard.”
Nodding, Lira began to talk.
“Once upon a time there was a witch named Hazel. In the year of the reign of the Regent King, she was a young witch, not yet twenty years old, who had come to the capital.”
Hezel is said to have been a witch who did not know much about the family or witch society. In addition, she had little magic skills, so she had no choice but to get a job as a maid who did chores at the palace for a living. At that time, the manpower shortage at the palace was serious, so they hired anyone regardless of their identity as long as they had a recommendation letter.
She fell in love with Albert, the regent king, while working as a maid, but could not be married to Albert due to her lowly status. Moreover, Albert had another lover.
“You mean the former Marchioness Lewin? Was her name Adria?”
Amelie recalled a story she had heard from Mrs. Enard before. A scandal in which the regent king had an affair with a maid, and the Marchioness grabbed the maid by the hair.
“Oh? Then the maid was a witch. Is it quiet?
Amelia opened her eyes wide.
“In the circumstances, it is. Anyway, she must have been kicked out of the Imperial Palace because of it. She must really have power as the former Marchioness.”
“I guess so.”
The former Marchioness and the Regent King had been dating since they were young. The relationship ended when the Marchioness got married, but after the death of the former Marquis, the relationship between the two began to close again. In the midst of this, Hazel appeared, so to the former Marchioness, Hazel must have been like a thorn in her eyes.
Meanwhile, Hazel, who wanted to remain with the Regent King, is said to have taught him how to tell the difference between a witch’s hideout and a real witch when he started a witch hunt. Her love was more important to her than the well-being of her people, and as a result, many witches were killed.
“Not long after that, the Regent King died, and Hazel ran away somewhere.”
“Ah—”
“Brillai was making money by fortune-telling in the capital, so she happened to get close to a traitor. I was lucky. If Brillai-nim hadn’t been informed about the witch hunt in advance, the witch’s life would have been cut off. Anyway, it is said that most of the witches died due to the massive witch hunt, and some witches went to the capital to punish the traitors and were killed by the knights.”
“So that’s why Brillai-nim knows a lot about traitors?”
“That’s right. Being recognized for her work at that time, Brillai-nim was able to become a great witch, and she played a big role in establishing the surviving witches after that.”
“I see.”
Amelia nodded.
“Then the traitor and the witch who sealed the disaster must be different people.”
According to Serwin, the witch who sealed the disaster killed the Regent King. Then it was less likely that the witch who loved the regent king and betrayed her people and the witch who sealed the disaster were the same person.
“So I want to know whose pendant it was. Whether it was a traitor, a witch who sealed the disaster, or another witch.”
“We’ll find out.”
While talking, their carriage arrived at the jewelry store.
