Chapter 136: Chapter 136
*******
"....."
Heading back to the empty and lugubrious room, Zeleskiaz stood lost in thought.
Low lighting was covering the bedroom as the sun slowly hid to change its red luminescence for the white of the moon.
An urge for violence was lurking inside him, yet the neverending replay of the dismissing graze of her lips kept the reins of his inner beast in check.
The wild instinct had only ignited to the untimely interruption of his pleasurable tangling with the Lady, and the other abominable thirst haunting him took his rage accountable to commit to its bloody cravings... Losing sight of himself for a dangerous moment.
Her touch as she stopped him and her hurried gestures along with the lovely jump to terminate their unplanned encounter... Had barely returned his sanity to its rightful place.
Zeleskiaz’s desire to stay was strong enough for him to stand at the same spot, gazing absently at the curtain she disappeared behind, with a frustrated yearning for a few moments.
It was little before the Lady collapsed that he had already left the blessed balcony that had welcomed him with her presence.
Blankly looking downwards, the Prince touched his lips hesitantly with his fingertips, feeling them heating in the desire to place them on her once again. Yet... Also conceiving new wishes to let them travel to other places besides her elating, chunky and rosy aperture on her visage...
His throat contracted in a swallow to the thought and slowly began to lift his gaze meeting the unsightly puddle of red adorned with misshaped corpses around it.
"... Sh*t..."
The Prince’s eyes widened and squinted in pain to the realisation of how abominable appearance he had gone to visit her with and the appalling attitude he had displayed before returning to his dark bedroom.
The last words he had said in her presence echoed in his head as if the honest intention behind them were new crafted torture that his inner beast had found.
"Haaahh..... Bloody beast..... What have I–..."
Meeting his dirtied hand with dry rests of blood his hair did not manage to absorb, the Prince halted his groaning regrets.
’... What if the Lady fears me from this?’
A fair and delicate Lady... Having to witness a bloodied Prince in the peace of her accommodations...
’I’ve..... I have wronged you, my Lady.....’
Painful throbs started to squeeze his heart as his mind grew blank with the decay of his own blood to the ground. An overwhelming and unique emotion he had forfeited long ago was now choking him in its suffocating grasp as the significance of his actions took clear shape in his insights.
Remorse.
A Crime had been committed and was slowly eating him up.
The guilt of actually staining her views with the blood he carried... to let the disgusting stench reach her and enter the woman’s pure lungs... To have touched the wonderous skin of her visage and limbs with the hands dyed in dry and coarse clot...
All made his whole body go limp in shock and loathing for himself.
Zeleskiaz could somehow decipher that no woman would receive a bloody man with joy. And even though he knew she was no common Lady... Her elegant and precious figure that surpassed any dull woman he had encountered... made it obvious that she deserved much more respect than any other.
To have shown her those sights... only to satiate his lust for her touch...
"She’s sure to raise despise for me..."
Fright came over him like a wave as he declared.
’Haa... Why...? Why does the thought scare me this greatly...?’
"... Feels as... even breathing poisons me..." — He mumbled, confused.
"If she hates..... Me..."
’Hate...’
Frowning in predicament his gaze trembled not knowing the reason behind this overwhelming fear her hate invoked on his spirit.
’I don’t want that..... I don’t want her hate...’
Nonetheless... Even after weeks had passed from the time these tremendous burgeoning feelings had started to enroot deeply inside him... The one question he keeps repeating himself for an answer sounds afresh in his head.
’... So... What is it that I truly want from her...? From this woman...’
Her image flashed through his eyes, lively and gorgeous as she ever looked in his visions... Reminisce with the marvellous hue of her silky smooth and lovely hair, Zeleskiaz’s turmoil subsided... as slowly the question vaguely found a provisory reply.
"Anything... Anything but her hate..... That’s... What I want now..."
’Her voice... Her handwriting... Her smile..... Her touch.’
"I want it."
*******
A delicious but light meal was served for us at dinner.
Mister Sylfinnier and us, ate in peace like we always do with little to say but in a joyful mood, despite our tiredness, obviously.
When the time for him to leave came, I felt relieved by two things. One was that I wanted to be alone, take a bath and finally rest as it should be... And the other for how tired he also seemed to be.
A day like today must have taken a toll on him too since he has great well-founded concerns over his children.
I can imagine how restless he must have been bringing his mute sickly daughter and his dense capricious younger daughter together to a formal visit to the Emperor.
Because we are even staying for longer than three days... And in the main palace to boot.
He even has work to do here, so I truly feel bad for him since he won’t have much time for himself here either.
’How stressful... I pity you, Mister...’
That’s why when he said his good nights, we tried our best to give him an energetic nod so he could rest assured we would be fine on our own.
"... Good night, dear..." — Smiling softly he said and leaning to give a peck on our forehead he lastly said. — "... I love you, rest well, my bird..."
He left calmly after handing something back to Paige, which I believe was the claw why I had almost peed myself before...
Yet, as I watched him walk away through the wide hall... I can’t help but still feel a bit restless about how he was behaving before the meal...
Might be just a feeling, but I will still keep an eye on him to be sure. I don’t want him to grow bothered by useless things and ruin the time I can "supposedly" give him now with Marianne.
Yes, "supposedly". Since this selfish body acts in ways I can’t predict, I can’t be completely sure if I can do the "disappearing" deed again.
Little after he left, a few servants came to arrange a bath in the room.
It was huge and, somehow, it made me wonder if these people didn’t have proper bathrooms here since the building did seem to have an older style of architecture.
It wasn’t as glamorous as the Duchy’s but... It didn’t lose in prominence... Its history must be indeed what gives it enormous value and the vibe of long centuries nesting the Royalty can actually be felt in the air and the surrounding furniture.
Paige entered right after all the busy royal servants started to place things properly and gave an answer to the curious wonder I had when I saw the bathtub.
"My Lady, It has been arranged for you to use the Resting Waterfalls as a show of hospitality. Nevertheless... given how weary this day has made you, we have been instructed to bring the bath to your quarters to ease your strain. Do use it for today instead."
’Oh~ now I get– Did she just say "Resting Waterfalls"...?’ — Having understood the reason, my mind went back in a flash since something was recalled. And so, I asked Marianne for confirmation... To what I got a prompt "yes" kind of energy in response.
’... Wow...’
Her reply had me baffled because if my memory doesn’t fail me... That place... Had some steam going on... Besides the one coming from the warm waterfalls, I mean...
’Heh... Hehe... D*mn..... I wasn’t that much of a fan of the novel but...’
I read enough of it to know that, that place, is the bath Karina began using in her... Third visit (?) To the Palace because...
Hmm?
She... Only went ta stay for a night the two times before I think... So... That third time she stayed for longer.....
But...
’Why, though?... It was never said if the Crown Prince invited her for longer... In fact...’
[ "Well done staying longer, Karina." ]
... At the time, I remember reading that line from the Prince while I was thinking he was arrogant by placing the merit on her when it was "obviously" his doing...
’... But now it seems weird... She was narrating the story so...’
Karina never said who had invited her to the Palace... On none of the occasions she visited...
’What the hell?? That’s really weird...’
Was she just being left in ignorance by her father who was the one receiving the letters and managing all that stuff??... Was it that she just never mentioned it but she did know???... Or...
’... Was that idiot even invited in the first place??’
The doubts started to swirl in my head. When one reads a novel where the main subject is the hot sex between...
Everyone...
One is bound to forget or miss some details or attention to plot holes... But...
’Her narration never gave off the vibe of her not knowing anything...’
Maybe...
’Maybe it is time I make another effort... And start to recall as much as I can from the original novel...’
Feeling bothered by how this flashback seemed amiss, I began to track down my memory while the bath was getting ready. Even during the relaxing time I should have enjoyed in the wide bath, my mind still went into a full trot to untangle the knots between the thousands of novels I had read, that we’re chaotically mixing with "Enchanting Lady Karina"...