Llewelyn was bewildered by the sound that came out of her mouth. It sounded sweet and wet. She covered her mouth with her hand and looked around. Pamela was sitting, and Bastian was close to her. She realized Bastian was looking at her with a puzzled expression.
“Where do you hurt?” he whispered.
Bastian’s worried gaze turned to her, even though everyone was preoccupied with the divine light. Llewelyn shook her head. Both her cheeks flushed red. She felt a familiar sensation between her neck and shoulder.
The feeling she felt when she was dominated by the stigma.
The stigma began to burn. It became hot between her legs. Llewelyn bit her lip and swallowed a swear word.
The brand of Asmodeus, which she thought to have disappeared, had been revived.
***
***
Fortunately, it was still in the ‘infancy’ stage, so her body was only slightly heated. Llewelyn sighed in relief.
But if she didn’t satisfy her needs, it would be as difficult as before. The burning sensation on the back of her neck made Llewelyn angry and want to scream. She had done it once, so why did the stigma come back all of a sudden?
Didn’t it go away once you did it?
Would she become a slave to Asmodeus’ stigma for the rest of her life? Her heart sank. ‘Why did it have to be like this?’ Llewellyn thought to herself in despair. If she went to the monastery in this state, she could be expelled and sentenced to death.
The curse must be lifted!
Llewelyn wanted to cry. Again, a feeling of helplessness ran through her body. The first act itself wasn’t bad and she tried to comfort herself that it was good, but who wanted to be dominated by sexual desire? Llewelyn forced the unpleasant urge to go away.
Almondite opened his eyes. Ernel smiled and said softly. “May the power of God be with you.”
The people who had been mesmerized began clapping softly. They all marveled at the miracle of God that Ernel had performed.
Ernel reached out, but Almondite stood up on his own, his smile unreadable.
“God bless you, I will be grateful.”
Then Almondite looked at Llewelyn. When their eyes met, he lit up. Llewelyn frowned and turned away from his gaze. The eyes of the nobles watched them sourly.
*
“Princess.”
Llewelyn halted at the voice calling her. It was Almondite. Llewelyn hesitated before continuing forward again.
“Llewellyn.”
He called out her name eagerly. Llewellyn didn’t listen.
“It’s not good to ignore me in front of other people.”
“…”
Despite Llewelyn’s refusal, Almondite was persevering. He followed her, spitting out what he wanted to say.
“How can you let your reputation go down like this in five years? As if you did it on purpose. All nobles reject you.”
It wasn’t worth hearing any more. Llewelyn continued to walk.
“For how long are you going to ignore me like this?”
“…”
“Llewellyn, you are still living in the past…”
At the accusation, Llewelyn turned sharply. She sighed. Why is everyone doing this to her these days?
“Then you can reject me too.”
“… What?”
The man whose arrogance pierced the sky always had a hurt expression in front of Llewelyn. Why? Llewelyn couldn’t understand it.
Almondite said to Llewelyn, who had an indifferent expression on her face.
“How can I?”
“…”
“You know I can’t.”
What is she talking about? Having already done that in the past, she would have cried and shot him, but not now. Llewelyn only expressed contempt with her eyes. She didn’t want to be as excited as last time. Llewelyn cleared her mind.
“Don’t follow me. Don’t approach me like that again.” She said coldly.
This wasn’t a mutually beneficial conversation. The man wanted to keep the conversation going, and she wanted to end it. Almondite whispered. “Give me an order.”
“Huh?”
She was a princess, not a Queen, so to give orders to a high-ranking nobleman? She looked around. The royal palace was a place where the walls had ears. Llewelyn clenched her teeth and muttered. “You really…”
Almondite grabbed Llewelyn’s wrist and dipped her back, their lips barely an inch apart. Llewelyn flinched. Her body burned like it had been scorched by the touch of his hand. His eyes were gleaming with a seductive light.
“Give me an order, my princess.”
His breath came fast and shallow, but his sickly sweet voice hit her hard. Her heart was pounding again and the heat spread.
“Ugh…”
Llewelyn was gasping for breath involuntarily. There was no way the man wouldn’t notice a sound like that. He looked at her as if startled by the sound he had heard. A man who bowed his back and a woman who felt the thrill of his voice unwittingly faced each other.
“Are you fighting?”
Llewelyn and Almondite were interrupted by the sudden voice. She looked back and saw Ernel standing in the hallway. His smile contrasted his narrowed eyes.
“Ernel!”
She pulled away from Almondite, startled. Llewelyn was perplexed. What would he think of Almondite and her after seeing this? It might interfere with her getting into the monastery.
“Oh relax, I do not think less of you both. Love is a good thing.” he said, his brows creasing in concern.
For some reason, when she saw Ernel’s smile, her heart began racing. Almondite asked with a tight expression on his face.
“I am very sorry for interrupting your rendezvous, but I want to see the princess today.”
“Patron, I am not with this person. It was not a couple’s fight.” Llewelyn corrected the biggest misunderstanding instantly. She felt Almondite’s piercing gaze but ignored him. Hearing this, Ernel smiled brightly.
“I see.”
Llewlyn nodded, relieved she cleared it up.
“You seem to be in a difficult situation.” he said slowly, subtly shooting a glance at Almondite.
“Mr. Patron.” Almondite quietly called out his name. Everyone knew it was an expression of displeasure. However, Ernel politely ignored him. As if he had nothing to do with his friendly relationship with Llewellyn, and he smiled at Llewelyn.
“So, would you like to have tea with me? I bought some good tea leaves.”
***
Ernel, who invited Llewelyn to his room, dismissed all the servants and priests who would serve him. As they all retreated from his room, an uncomfortable silence surrounded them. Ernell said with a light smile.
“Sit.”
It was a gentle invitation, but for some reason, his pupils moved frantically, and his lips were slightly curved. When viewed under sunlight or splendid lighting, he looked like a priest full of holiness, but under the dark lights of a twilight evening, he somehow felt different. Why did the priest look this way?
“…”
Her body seemed to be in heat even in front of a priest who was blessed by God. She decided to end this situation quickly.
“Why have you invited me here?” she asked him.
“I just wanted to see you face to face. And aren’t you the one who will come to the monastery later?” Ernel said sensibly.
“I was amazed at the blessings given to Almondite today.”
“Amazed?”
“Yes. It was the first time I had seen such a clean and bright light. I could feel the miracle of God.”
Ernel grinned. Llewelyn wanted to build a friendly relationship with him.
“I was really impressed with the authoritative power that Ernel exerted. It was only possible because Ernel has solidly built up his faith with God. It’s the first time I’ve seen Patron, and it’s an honor to feel what kind of person he is.”
“The princess has high regard for me.”
“Really, the blessing was great.”
But Llewellyn was sincere. Llewellyn smiled brightly as she spoke, and Ernell looked at her.
“Then shall I give a blessing to the princess as well?”