Llewelyn frowned. She was expecting a letter from Ernel, but it did not come. While investigating the stigma, he might have forgotten to write her.
Perhaps it was because she had so much fun riding her horse, but her daily life in the fortress was too boring. It was rightly said that man is an animal of greed.
She should’ve been thankful that her stigma didn’t re-awaken, but why did she want to keep moving?
Currently, she was confined to the greenhouse, watering the plants. Llewelyn had no talent in gardening and only killed plants.
“Llewellyn, are you there?”
It was Bastian’s voice. She put down her watering can. Why did he come to see her all of the sudden? She groaned inwardly and went outside.
As soon as she left the greenhouse, she was startled. Because Bastian was standing with a horse. Bastian smiled at Llewelyn’s expression.
“Your Majesty, what are you doing here?”
“I heard that you were here.”
“…”
“I saw you riding a horse yesterday, so I brought mine because I thought you were having fun.”
“Huh?”
Llewelyn was puzzled for a moment.
“I’ll give you access to my horse, so you can ride all you like.”
“…Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The horse Bastian brought was famous. It had a bright mane and its coat was a shiny brown. She was a little impressed.
“Your Majesty, thank you very much.”
“I’m sorry that this is all I can do for you.”
She shook her head. Bastian held out his hands, and she took over the reins. She smiled.
“This reminds me of the past.”
“The past?”
“Yeah, you were the one who taught me how to ride a horse, were you not?”
Hearing that , Bastian smiled warmly. Llewelyn hesitated to say another word.
“Maybe, you don’t remember?”
“…”
When Llewelyn couldn’t speak, Bastian’s face darkened. This was the reason he gave her this gift…
“Sorry. I can’t remember my childhood very well.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“Brother.”
“…”
“I will treasure this gift.”
Bastian’s face hardened for a moment. Was calling him “Brother” a bad thing? He forced a smile. Llewelyn thought that she should give Bastian a present too!
Llewelyn, who was contemplating what kind of gift would be good, sighed. What gift could you give a king? He was a man who had everything he wanted. There were always gifts coming to the palace, so Llewelyn could not think of what to give him.
She was given a horse as a gift. Maybe she should give him something meaningful like that. She was deep in thought.
She didn’t know that Bastian would remember the past so well. She barely remembered it. It was just that she was in a good mood that day and did a favor for Bastian. Apparently that was a big deal for her brother.
As she pondered, she remembered that Bastian liked to drink tea. How about giving him her precious black tea? It had been stored in the warehouse. Thinking it would be better to brew it and give it to him, she stood up.
It was getting dark and she thought about having the maids do it, but she dared not call them. How would the maids be able to distinguish black tea from the rest? It would be more convenient for her to go and find it herself.
The hallway was dark for some reason. Her palace was always quiet, so Llewelyn wasn’t scared. Faint moonlight was seeping through the window of the long black corridor.
“You neglected to put your back on it.”
Llewelyn began to walk faster, thinking that she would have to shout at her maids tomorrow. She finally entered the warehouse.
Llewellyn, who barely found her black tea in the moonlight, opened the lid and smelled the tea leaves. It was sharp, yet calming. The scent of black tea made her feel better. She opened the door again and left the warehouse.
“This is kind of scary.”
Since she got her goal of black tea, she was finally able to see how creepy the hallway was. The hallways connecting the palaces were so gloomy. A clear clicking sound echoed down the hallway. Llewelyn looked around.
Tick, tick, tick. The sound of footsteps was clear, but something was strange. Then, Llewelyn realized that there was not one shadow, but two. A shiver crept down her spine.
“Aaa…”
She kept her mouth shut. What was happening? She was so startled that she grabbed the bottle of tea leaves she was holding with more strength. As the men approached her, Llewelyn struggled, but the strong man’s hand neutralized her easily.
“Huh!”
Was he a warlock? She kept moving her body to get away, but the man’s strength was no joke. The sound of a glass bottle breaking was heard, but no one came to help. Just as she was about to scream, someone’s lips touched the nape of her neck.
“Aaahhh”
It was precisely the place where Asmodeus’s brand was affixed. The stigma that had been dormant re-awoke with heat. Llewelyn opened her eyes. What? Did they know that she had a stigma and awakened it? Her body was slowed by the spreading heat. She moved her arms, but it was a vain struggle.
Llewelyn, who was being dragged along, was thrown into the darkness. A gag was placed in her mouth as if it had been prepared in advance.
“Ugh!”
Tears welled up in her eyes. Because of the darkness, she couldn’t see who was assaulting her. Her baggy dress was roughly torn off of her body. As Llewelyn covered herself with both arms, the man licked Asmodeus’s stigma.
Along with pressing her down with great force, he applied force to the stigma, and all the hairs on the back of her neck stood up.
“Ummmm…”
She felt that tickling, burning heat spread. Llewelyn’s consciousness began to blur. It was so obvious what this man was going to do. It was terrible.
“You like it.”
She shook her head at the man’s whisper. Even the hot breath on her neck was terrifying as if it were biting her jugular. As the hand caressing her waist moved further down, she despaired.
“Princess, answer me!”
Then a man’s voice was heard from afar. There was a glimmer of hope in her mind. The weight of the man pressing down on her had disappeared, and a light came on in the dark space. The man ran away.
Llewelyn trembled. Not long after, someone slammed the door open and came in.