3. Rudolph’s Confession
Upon seeing me being escorted by a knight, Rudolph rushed over to embrace me.
When he made a display of hugging me and kissing my bloodied wrists, my mind was somewhere else.
He, whom I hadn’t met for a long time, seemed like a wholly different person.
…It’s all just an act, anyway.
I wished I could just ask him directly, but I was too weak to muster a word.
“Poor you. You won’t stop trembling.”
People thought that I was shivering from the cold and fear, which was a blessing in disguise. When I told him that I wanted to retire early, Rudolph arranged an overnight stay for me so that I could calm down.
Fortunately, the long-established inn, which seemed to be used by aristocrats when hunting, had a bath in the room. I immediately asked to take a bath.
“Huff…”
As I soaked in the bathtub to warm my body, the tears that I’d been withholding overflowed. I splashed my face with hot water over and over again so that no one could see that I was crying.
The employees of the inn came to check on me several times, but I asked them to leave because I wanted to stay in the bath.
I called it a bath, but it actually was just a small bathtub filled with hot water. The water got cold after a while, but it didn’t matter.
I hugged my knees with both arms, trying to hold back my welling up tears.
“I’m such a fool.”
I wiped away the tears that wouldn’t stop and looked up at the ceiling. As my vision became hazy from all the tears, I placed my hand on my forehead.
“I want to go home…”
I found myself missing my homeland, which I’d never intended to return to.
This country that I married into detested and abhorred me, and I’m tired of it.
Previously, I thought that I’d eventually be accepted by them. Now, I couldn’t even find the strength to hold on.
“…Ugh…”
As I bit my lip to stifle my cry, I heard a knock.
I hurriedly washed my face with hot water, deliberately splashing the water to create an impression that I was in the middle of a bath.
“…I can go out by myself, so I don’t need any help. I want to take a bath for a little more.”
Before I could give them permission, the door clicked open. When I turned around, to my surprise, Rudolph was standing there.
“Your Highness!!”
I quickly turned my back to him, but he strode towards me. Placing his hand on the edge of the bathtub, he lifted my chin, turning my face towards him.
It must’ve been obvious that I was crying. I decided to close my eyes and pretended that nothing happened.
“Did something happen to you?”
He took my hand and ran his gaze all over my body.
“—! …Please don’t look! I’m all right.”
“Did they do anything to you?”
Are you worried that some thugs may have gotten their way with me?
“There’s no need to worry! They didn’t do anything to me! Not like it has anything to do with Your Highness!”
I quickly shook off his hand and turned away from him, hiding my naked body.
“Diana, what do you mean by that?”
Rudolph’s voice was lower and threatening, but I didn’t falter.
“Didn’t I tell you that I wanted a divorce? So stop bothering… me—!?”
With a thud, Rudolph lifted my body out of the bathtub and cradled me in his arms.
“Kyaaaaah…!! Let go of me!”
He pulled me out so suddenly, my drenched body ended up soaking his body. When I pushed against his chest in embarrassment, he grumbled.
“Don’t move. You’ll only injure yourself even more.”
As he said that, he lifted my hand from the metal crest on his knightly attire.
…Come to think of it, I wonder why Rudolph is still in his uniform?
While I was thinking, he lifted me out of the bathtub and made me stand on the floor. Just when I thought he’d left, I was wrapped in a bathrobe and hugged from behind.
Rudolph buried his face in the nook of my neck and spoke softly.
“You’ll only get cold like this…”
His voice was tinged with remorse.
“…”
I didn’t know what he meant, so I didn’t say anything. Then, Rudolph fetched a towel and started wiping me.
With surprisingly practiced hands, he dried my hair with a towel.
“I’m sorry for making you afraid. Living in this country must be very difficult for you. But still… I can’t divorce you.”
What is that supposed to mean? I did it for your sake!
To begin with, wasn’t he the one who used an aphrodisiac to deceive me?
I swallowed hard and squeezed my voice when he rejected the divorce as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“No, I beg of you. I can’t be by your side.”
“…Diana, I can’t do that.”
“What’s wrong with divorce? As it is, my homeland won’t have any power left to criticize this country.”
Clenching my fist, I stated the truth. In the last battle, my country was defeated by the army led by this man, and was exhausted.
“That’s not the problem.”
At the same time, he didn’t seem to have any intention of yielding, and my heart went amok.
I want to get away from him as soon as possible, before I burst into tears.
“If you need some space for yourself, you may live in a villa somewhere. We can even live separately. Anything but a divorce.”
We should just go our separate ways. After all, I was of no use to him, nor could I bear his child.
“Do you despise me that much?”
He stopped wiping my hair.
“Yes, that’s right. Your touch repulses me. This way, you don’t have to force yourself anymore. There was no love between us from the beginning.”
When I let out everything I’d been bottling in, I felt so refreshed, yet also so sad.
“Diana, do you mean every word of that?”
“I do.”
I spoke ruthlessly as he let go of my hair. I walked forward to get some distance from him.
“…Ouch!!”
With a jerk, I was pulled back into his arms.
His pale emerald eyes were overshadowed.
“I told you over and over again that I liked you—that I loved you… Did they mean nothing to you?”
“T-those are lies—!!”
As soon as I said that, he sealed my lips with his, and I pummeled his chest in panic.
“Nnn! Nnnn!!”
This is assault!!
My pounding hands were immediately caught by him, and Rudolph roughly devoured my lips.
My stupid brain immediately melted by his kiss, and as he moved, I parted my lips, welcoming his tongue in.
“…Mmh…”
His tongue was sloshing inside my mouth, entangling with my own and sucking on my saliva.
Before I knew it, I stopped resisting, surrendering myself to his kiss.
“Uh…”
After the long, long kiss ended, I was breathless, my shoulders heaving.
He cupped my face in both hands. His eyes, nose, and mouth were only a few millimeters apart from mine. In such close proximity, we were breathing in each other’s breath, and it was making me dizzy.
“Diana, does this also mean nothing to you?”
His emerald eyes, which were right in front of me, asked me passionately.
I taunted the liar, feeling my eyes twitch.
“You used an aphrodisiac on me, didn’t you? I was also put on birth control. I won’t believe anything you have to say now.”
“So, it’s about that…”
Sighing, Rudolph looked up at the ceiling.
“I see, so that’s what it was… What a relief.”
Rudolph sighed in relief, and I was in absolute disbelief.
“What do you mean?”
I knew everything about Diana.
Where she went, what she did, who she met, and what was said to her.
However, something unexpected happened.
No, in the first place, I couldn’t see it coming. I didn’t expect my mother to sneak her out of the castle by finding a gap in my surveillance network, and that Diana would be kidnapped.
But when I rescued her, she became abnormally distant from me.
At first, I thought it was because of the shock of being kidnapped. There was also a chance that her abductors may have verbally abused or even used violence against her.
Of course, I’d confirmed that the worst-case scenario didn’t happen.
Oh, I also broke their arms. That’s what they get for touching my Diana.
I wanted to flay them as well, but Raul was being noisy, insisting that it’d be best for me to remain by Diana’s side.
I could almost guess why Diana asked for divorce. After I was insulted, Diana tried to withdraw from the marriage altogether. The woman who told Diana about my reputation came from a family that had just changed its head. They were also the ones who kidnapped her from the monastery.
Apparently, they were planning to take Diana down a notch so that she’d give up on being my wife. However, what Diana did next was beyond their expectation. She fled from the castle.
Furthermore, the monastery where Diana took shelter was within their territory, so they resorted to brute force.
Anyway, thanks to that, I was able to get rid of the nuisance, which meant less hassle for Diana.
Only for her to reject me.
As things stand, doesn’t it seem as though she hates me?
I hadn’t touched Diana in the past few days. As much as I wanted to make love with her and penetrate her deepest part, I was scared because I didn’t understand why she changed her mind.
Even when I saw her crying, I didn’t know how to comfort her.
The reason I shut her mouth when she said she hated me was because I wanted her to know how much I loved her.
However, with Diana’s words, I finally understood her true feelings.
“You used an aphrodisiac on me, didn’t you? I was also put on birth control. I won’t believe anything you have to say now.”
Ah, she still loves me after all.
Then all I had to do was confess my sins.
“So, it’s about that…”
Sighing, Rudolph looked up at the ceiling.
“I see, so that’s what it was… What a relief.”
“What do you mean?”
When I approached Rudolph, who was clutching his forehead, he knelt down in front of me, taking my hands.
“Diana, will you forgive me? …Because of me, you have to live in this country.”
“What are you talking about…?”
…What’s with the sudden, abrupt shift in topic? Is he planning something?
He shook his head, perhaps knowing my feelings.
“I just wanted you, nothing more. At that time, when you declared the defeat of the Kingdom of Killua, I decided to marry you.”
Hold on. What is he talking about?
When Killua’s last stronghold fell, I did declare surrender on behalf of my father and brother.
“Why?”
“…”
Staring at the ground, he placed my hand on his forehead and muttered, “It was…”
“What?”
His voice was so small, it was almost inaudible.
“…It was love at first sight.”
Rudolph buried his face in my hands, his neck and ears burning red.
He’s quick to anger, but also extremely shy.
Rudolph, flushed red, looked up at me as if he’d made up his mind.
“I knew how hard it would be for you to come to this country. Nevertheless, I desired you, so I arranged for the condition of the peace treaty to be our marriage. I… intend to take responsibility for the rest of my life…”
What are you talking about? Was that the reason why?
“What does that have to do with an aphrodisiac?”
“I wanted to make sure that you didn’t feel any pain, and that you have a good impression of our relationship… I only used it the first night. I swear, I’ve never used it since.”
Is he saying the truth? Does he want me to believe that he did it because he was infatuated with me? What if it’s another lie? I don’t think I’ll be able to recover.
“…”
When I didn’t say anything, he seemed restless and started talking even more.
“I was also aware that you were taking contraceptive pills. But it’s for your sake. My mother said that I shouldn’t force you. If I got too carried away and you got pregnant right away, there would be a public backlash. The doctor pretty much said the same thing. We’d just gotten married, you’re too thin, and if you get pregnant, it could be life-threatening.”
I was certainly very upset after my homeland suffered a devastating defeat in the war and had to marry into an enemy country, so it couldn’t be helped.
“…”
While I remained silent again, Rudolph looked up at me, who was just wearing a bathrobe over my shoulders. He reached for the seam of the robe, before sliding his hand between my belly and breasts.
“But you…”
Haa, Rudolph sighed.
Wait. Why are you sighing? Do you have a problem with my body?
“You ended up with such a lewd body.”
He cupped my right breast with his hand and started massaging it to feel the softness.
“Hey…!”
Why are you groping me in the middle of an apology?
When I tried to pull away, his other arm suddenly seized my waist.
Rudolph kissed my navel, blowing on it again and again. Every time his lips moved, I squirmed.
“That day, when you were having a tea party, was supposed to be the last… I spent a year restoring your health and sifting through all the ladies in the kingdom. There’s no one left, Diana. The aristocrats have no choice but to give up.”
He hugged my waist and nibbled on my navel. Then, while letting out a troubled sigh, his lips trailed down my navel.
“Your Highness!!”
By the time I cried out, his lips had reached my pubes, and I could feel his mouth on my cunt, panting eagerly.
“Wait… Nnn… Ah, no…!”
When he ran his tongue through my folds, I jerked my hips, only for him to tighten his embrace, keeping me in place as his tongue crawled deep inside.
“Stop, uh… Haa… Nn… Ah—”
My entire body was delighted by the sudden caress. My defiled body is repulsing. I’m such an idiot!
“Rudolph…! Stop—! Aah…”
“Do you think I can stop? I haven’t touched you in days.”
Rudolph’s slightly coarse tongue slithered across my slit, and when he suddenly sucked on my clit, I shuddered.
This time, my hips gave out and I couldn’t stand. As I knelt down, clinging to his head, Rudolph finally removed his face from my cunt and burst into laughter.
His face is scary yet sexy.
“Why don’t we head to bed?”
Seeing those emerald eyes full of madness, I gulped.
Anonymous says
WHAT KIND OF APOLOGY IS THAT YOUR HIGHNESS
Anonymous says
The one that only happens in p***