Chapter 3: The Price of Hope

“Kylos?”

Her parted lips trembled, a silent gasp escaping. Kylos Lahardian. The master of the vast North desired her burning at the stake?

Her sky-blue eyes, adrift and unfocused, stared blankly at the floor.

While she didn’t share a deep friendship with Grand Duke Lahardian, their paths had crossed frequently since her days as Princess Consort Camilla’s lady-in-waiting.

Princess Consort Camilla was Alix’s aunt and Kylos’s maternal aunt. Each time he visited the capital, the Grand Duke would stop by the Princess Consort’s palace, and they had naturally become acquainted.

His dark, shimmering violet eyes, sharp jawline, and jet-black hair like ebony naturally came to mind. The last time she had seen him was months ago, at a banquet.

Though their encounters were brief, usually just a few exchanged words, she had always considered him a man of integrity and fairness, despite his stoic demeanor.

He had always inquired about her well-being with a gentle caution, leading her to believe him a good person.

Yet, for such a man to demand her execution by fire… ‘Did he truly believe her to be a witch?’

Her eyes, devoid of hope, clouded over like a lake under the shroud of night. Lost in despair, she didn’t even notice Alix intently observing her face.

“He might be lashing out because of his grievances with the Empire,” Alix growled, raking a hand through his hair.

“My head aches just thinking about it. I don’t understand why he blames me for the autonomy of his territory faltering, simply because he’s too incompetent to govern it properly.”

She was well-aware of the Grand Duchy’s situation, having often heard about it from Alix.

Kylos, who had inherited the Grand Duchy at a young age after the previous Grand Duke’s accidental death, seemed to have faced numerous challenges in governing his territory.

There had always been frequent clashes with the Empire, and recently, he was particularly dissatisfied with the newly introduced tax system.

Furthermore, the autonomy his great-grandfather had secured was now in danger of reverting to the Empire.

‘Had he, caught in an impossible situation, redirected his wrath towards the Empire and the Emperor?’ ‘Perhaps that was why he was obstructing Alix, who was trying to save her.’

Chewing hard on her lip, lost in thought, she finally shifted her gaze when a hand lifted her chin.

He gazed at her tear-filled, watery eyes with what seemed like pleasure, then offered his usual gentle smile, attempting to soothe Selonia.

“Nothing will happen to you,” he assured her. “I’ll do my best, so don’t worry too much.”

His fingers, which had been caressing her chin, then traced her closed lips with a lingering touch. She couldn’t refuse him this time either. Her only refuge was in her lover’s embrace.

As she obediently parted her lips, Alix, as if he had been waiting, entwined his tongue with hers. With a wet, sucking sound, his thick fingers lifted her undergarments and mercilessly delved into her.

A searing pain flared, but her heart ached so much more that she could barely register the physical discomfort. He probed until she was somewhat moistened, then withdrew his fingers and brought them to Selonia’s mouth.

“Selly.”

Alix’s voice dropped, rough and low. Selonia glanced at his shimmering golden eyes, then instinctively opened her mouth.

Alix, having satisfactorily probed her mouth, unbuckled his belt with a twisted smile. Selonia stared blankly at his face, consumed by desire for her.

A fundamental question gnawed at her: ‘Was his desire for her, even in this dire situation, truly a good thing?’

Yet, perhaps he didn’t read the turmoil in her wavering gaze, for Alix simply grasped the back of her head and slowly guided her down towards him.

“Haa… good.”

“Hmph. Ugh…”

Though her body once ignited at his slightest touch, it now felt only cold. Still, there was no way she could refuse him now.

She knew full well that Alix was the only one left in the world who was on Selonia Brien’s side. Nausea churned within her, but she endured.

‘Perhaps if Alix was pleased, he would exert more effort to save her.’ This hope drove her. A part of her felt that this thought was unsettling, but this was not the time to delve deeper.

As she looked up at him, suppressing her revulsion, a short groan escaped him, and the trapped air began to flow from his lips.

“I’ve always said it, but you’re especially beautiful when you’re like this, Selonia.”

His golden eyes, which had gleamed with a chilling light, soon darkened. He let out a fervent sound, seemingly content with her appearance, her mouth marked with his traces, gasping for breath.

Alix then roughly gripped Selonia’s thighs and began to fully unleash his desire. Tears streamed from between her trembling pink eyelashes.

***

How many days had passed? She had lost track of the dates long ago. In any case, she couldn’t take a single step outside Belua Palace until her fate was decided.

Naturally, all the palace staff, except for one who brought her meals, had been transferred to other departments. ‘How much longer must she wait?’

‘Would the witch trial truly happen?’ If she could appear in person, she wanted to defend herself, but Alix had only told her he would handle everything, claiming that her intervention would only complicate matters.

The only glimmer of hope was that Alix visited her every day. ‘If only she could know anything about the situation.’

She regretted the past six years, during which she had only clung to his love, complacent in the comfortable life of the detached palace, never thinking to cultivate her own allies or power.

Lying blankly in bed, she took a few spoonfuls of the bland soup placed before her, then rose. She wondered if a walk might improve her mood, even slightly.

While access to the garden was restricted, she could surely stroll slowly down the corridor. She found a simply designed dress in her wardrobe, put it on, and cautiously turned the doorknob.

This was her first time leaving the bedroom since being accused of witchcraft.

Although she knew she was innocent, she feared that the public’s scrutiny, which had constrained her for over six years, had now spiraled into uncontrollable condemnation.

Her hard-won courage felt wasted, for the silent corridor was utterly deserted. She stepped into the chilling corridor, where the air was cold due to the increasingly frigid weather.

The air, a stark contrast to her warm bedroom, brushed against her cheeks, clearing her muddled mind, if only slightly.

‘Why did her confinement in Belua Palace now feel more liberating than the years she had spent here as the Emperor’s lover?’

Perhaps it was because all the watchful eyes, scrutinizing every move of the Emperor’s mistress, had vanished. Or perhaps, trapped in an impossible predicament, the inability to do anything at all brought a strange sense of relief.

Selonia gazed idly at a frost-covered window in the corridor, then slipped off her velvet slippers and stepped barefoot onto the marble. The bone-chilling cold jolted her weary body awake.

She knew walking like this for too long could give her a fever, but what did it matter? If the biting cold could, even for a moment, grant her a reprieve from thought, that was enough.

Her pale feet moved, step by step, down the corridor. The footfall-less silence, contrary to her expectation, did not last long.

Piercing the stillness, the sharp click of high heels grew steadily louder, approaching from a distance.

“Oh, my. What a coincidence to run into you, Lady Brien.”

A familiar, yet far from friendly, voice reached her ears. Selonia, who had been idly gazing at her long pink hair cascading over her chest, struggled to compose her dismayed expression before lifting her head.

‘Of all times, why did they have to meet when she was walking barefoot like a madwoman?’ The woman before her was Lady Vanessa, daughter of Duke Bernac.

There had once been talks of a marriage between her and Alix, who was then the Crown Prince, but these plans had naturally fallen through when Alix ascended the throne and began keeping Selonia by his side.

Because of this, Vanessa had utterly loathed her, seemingly desperate to devour her every time they met.

Unlike Selonia, who was haggard, disheveled, and even barefoot, Vanessa was impeccably dressed, her lustrous golden hair elegantly braided and coiled, and adorned in a magnificent dress designed from green velvet.

“Aren’t you Lady Bernac? Access to this area should be restricted.”

Although all the staff working in the detached palace had been transferred, there would surely be Imperial Guards stationed outside to prevent her escape.

‘Why, then, had Vanessa Bernac managed to bypass those guards and enter this far?’

Selonia spoke calmly, concealing her bewilderment, and Vanessa’s eyebrows arched, as if displeased with her composure. With a sharp click-clack of her heels, she advanced closer to Selonia.

“Selonia Brien.”

Her name was uttered through lips that curved into a hateful smirk. She looked down at Selonia with an expression far more confident and self-assured than usual.

“I heard your execution by fire is the day after tomorrow. How unfortunate. I won’t be able to attend that day.”