Chapter 66

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 66

Chapter Title: His Kiss and Her Soul (10)

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“Are you alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“For saving me, your lips...”

Too embarrassed to say kiss outright, Roxiana pursed her lips before finally managing to get the words out.

“I heard you disliked women. But even so, using your lips like that... doesn’t it bother you?”

He tilted his head at her awkwardly phrased question, brushed his lips with long fingers, and let out a soft chuckle.

“You know, it’s not that I dislike it. Quite the opposite, actually. Why would I hate using this power that’s only ever killed everything in its path to bring someone back to life?”

“Then... is there no other way besides using your mouth... besides your lips, Your Highness?”

“There is. Rubbing the princess’s bare skin with my hands works too. Though it takes longer since you have to massage the entire body thoroughly. Is that the method you’d prefer?”

Roxiana flushed crimson at the image that conjured, her ears turning red as she frantically shook her head. Floyd gave a small laugh at the sight.

Suddenly, the thought of Lucas, who had plunged such a sweet and innocent woman into despair, reignited the anger that had briefly subsided.

Floyd bent at the waist and lowered his head, resting his forehead lightly on her shoulder. He felt Roxiana gasp in surprise.

“Princess, I’m furious right now.”

“...”

“Lucas Pellur reduced your family to that state, and here he is, probably eating and sleeping like a king.”

Roxiana had been angry for exactly that reason, so it was both surprising and comforting to know he felt the same.

Someone else shared this emotion—this rage and hatred she’d never been able to express to anyone. Someone was angry alongside her about what had happened to her family.

Realizing that his past displeasure hadn’t been directed at her but at her circumstances made her chest tighten with emotion. She’d sworn not to cry anymore, yet her eyes stung embarrassingly.

To her, Floyd whispered,

“The one who should be suffering nightmares right now is that bastard, not you risking your life in agony. That’s a bad deal, Princess. Don’t let those scum shake up your every day.”

His words echoed something her second brother Ian had once said.

-“He’s probably fast asleep right now, not giving you a single thought. If you’re the only one fuming and losing sleep over it, you’re the one who loses. So just forget it. That’s how you win.”

Roxiana posed the question she hadn’t been able to ask Ian back then.

“Do you really think that? That even after they pushed me into this despair, living well without thinking of them is winning? Do you truly believe that?”

“Who knows. Winning, losing... I’m not really sure about that.”

Floyd lifted his head from her shoulder and met her gaze. His eyes no longer wavered. Fixing them solely on Roxiana with unyielding resolve, he spoke firmly.

“They’re convinced you’ve been sold into slavery to some perverted old man, living a hell you’d rather die than endure. But imagine if you appeared before them one day, looking happier than ever, smiling like you want for nothing more.”

“...”

“What do you think they’d feel seeing you like that? What faces would they make? Ever thought about it?”

She hadn’t.

She’d only dreamed of clawing her way up to their level, snatching everything they had, and dragging them into the same hell she’d suffered. Never like this.

So Roxiana imagined it.

Elise, you must believe I’m writhing in pain right now. What if I showed up before you in a beautiful dress, beaming with joy? What face would you make?

Would you be glad? Or cry? Like when you told me about my family’s end, laughing and sobbing like a demon?

No, you wouldn’t.

Elise knew Roxiana well, but Roxiana knew Elise just as well. She knew how Elise lost her temper impatiently when things didn’t go her way, how she fumed so much she couldn’t sleep.

Roxiana knew Lucas better than he knew her. She knew how he’d gnash his teeth, stamp his feet, and rage until he wore himself out when plans went awry.

I see.

She’d found the way to reach them.

I need to smile. I need to be happy. I need to thrive. That way, they’ll rage at the sight of me without noticing the ground crumbling beneath their feet.

Floyd watched Roxiana lost in thought, then flashed a grin when their eyes met.

“Feels good just imagining it, doesn’t it?”

“Is that how Your Highness always lives?”

“There was a time when I burned with the sole desire to incinerate everyone responsible for my mother’s death—even my own soul if needed.”

Roxiana couldn’t picture this man, laughing so refreshingly, having gone through such a phase.

“These days, I’m mostly enjoying myself, mostly cheerful, pondering briefly, and only rarely—very occasionally—thinking of those bastards. Then, when I hear they’re stomping around in fury over my achievements, it makes me ecstatic. On those days, I raise a toast.”

He twirled a strand of her hair around his finger and pulled gently. Gazing at her from so close their noses nearly touched, he said,

“Don’t let those scum devour your soul, Princess. It’s far too precious—and too good—for the likes of them.”

+++

Even as she parted from Floyd and headed to her bedroom, Roxiana felt as if he were still with her. His life force, transmitted through his kiss, had deeply imprinted itself on her body.

The scent of sea, forest, and earth mingled on his skin, accompanying her. In that fragrance, she felt safe.

Don’t let them devour you.

She had been devoured, from the moment she learned of her family’s deaths up to now—chewed up and swallowed by them time and again. They slept soundly in bliss while she shattered in endless pain.

That’s exactly what they want.

Sorrow. Pain. Despair. Rage. Hatred. They’d love to see her drowning in those, flailing helplessly. And until now, she had lived exactly as they desired.

Floyd had made her realize it.

Finally, Roxiana imagined.

When I stand before them someday, what should I look like? A wretched figure who clawed her way up from hell? Or as happy as I was in Kanta—no, happier still?

Which would they hate more? It was obvious.

Roxiana recalled Floyd’s parting words.

-“I know you’re not in the mood, but force yourself to enjoy it. Force a smile. If winning or losing against them matters to you, then smiling is how you win.”

She wanted to win. She didn’t want to lose to them, and she believed her family wouldn’t want that either.

Opening her bedroom door, she found the wolf had returned. Even seeing how enormously he’d grown, Roxiana wasn’t startled.

“You’re back. You’ve gotten so big.”

The wolf now reached her waist, and standing on hind legs, he’d tower over her.

His build looked fierce enough to take on a lion or tiger, but his eyes on Roxiana remained as gentle as ever. She approached Lion, knelt, and embraced him.

He carried an oddly pleasant scent.

“I’ve decided to smile, Lion.”

Roxiana tugged her lips upward. Burying her face in his fur, she forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

“Lucas laughed while showing me my parents’ heads. Elise laughed as she branded me a slave. Every day, I picture their smiling faces. So, Lion... I’ll smile too.”

Her mouth smiled, but her eyes burned fiercely.

“Lucas and Elise. I’ll smile endlessly so that the last image they think of is my smiling face.”

+++

At dawn, a crowd gathered at the Grand Ducal Palace’s entrance to see off Floyd and his knights, who were departing at Enilta Palace’s request to subjugate magical beasts.

Wagons loaded with supplies and throngs of people crowded the main gate. Floyd sat astride his red horse, looking down at his retainers.

“I’ll be back soon, so no mischief while I’m gone. Don’t give me headaches.”

His retainers, accustomed to such unlordly farewells, bowed or pumped their fists, shouting, “Win and return!”, “We’ll await news of victory!”

Floyd, raising his own fist in reply, spotted Roxiana in the distance.

She stood under a tree far from the crowd, hands neatly clasped.

Their eyes met, and a soft smile spread across her face—natural and sweet, as if it had always belonged there.

Roxiana bowed her head slightly in greeting, smiling radiantly.

Floyd burst into hearty laughter. His booming laugh echoed across the dawn sky, leaving everyone puzzled as they looked up at him.

Floyd shouted,

“What a great sight to start the morning! This subjugation will be a breeze. Everyone, let’s move out!”