CHAPTER 064
Maxwell dismounted from the horse and opened his arms toward Arabelle. As she leaned into the Emperor's embrace, his large hands wrapped around her slender waist and pulled her close to him.
His arms encircled her back and waist, holding her tightly yet gently against his body, causing her small feet to dangle in the air.
Their eyes met at the same level, gazing into each other. Her clear eyes captured the intense ruby red of his, sensing his thirst, while his sharp gaze held her moist, soft brown eyes, tasting her excitement.
It was as if they were the only two people in the world, surrounded by a serene and almost silent lake, which felt cozy and warm.
The Emperor's eyes traced an arc as he leaned closer to Arabelle's face, his sharp nose gently brushing against her rounded one, his warm breath touching her lips.
As the Emperor tilted his head slightly more, his long eyelashes softly fell, casting shadows on his cheeks.
The Emperor carefully captured her lips, not wanting to break the girl's anticipation, and she shyly accepted his deepening kiss, quenching his thirst.
The sound of their breath, slightly wet and excited, spread softly over the lake.
***
"Then, do you stay here every time?" Arabelle asked, looking at the Emperor as he rowed the boat.
The Emperor nodded silently.
This place was where he hid whenever he transformed into the cursed black panther once a month. Most of the lake had turned into cold glacial water, but a small part of Inis Lake was still warm spring water.
People believed that the lake, now called Glacier Lake, ended where Arabelle and the Emperor first landed. However, the coniferous forest and the division between the glacial water and the hot spring were intentionally created to conceal the truth.
Once a month, when the white moon meets the black moon and they perfectly obscure each other, the curse forces him to live as a black panther for two days.
Though the continent now only had one white moon, there was once a twin moon a thousand years ago. For some unknown reason, the twin moon lost all its light, became a black moon, and wandered the dark sky, forgotten by people.
On the day the twin moons meet, the black moon reveals its existence only when the white moon disappears.
"I did everything I could to find a clue to break the curse. I brought in ancient historians, anthropologists, scientists, and even dark magic practitioners and psychics from all over the continent, but it was no use."
The Emperor's red eyes, now clouded with melancholy, gazed at the lake, where small bubbles of mist popped.
"I claimed it was to capture the black panther monster and had them share their experiences and knowledge. In the end, I even disguised my identity in a distant place so they could study my body."
The Emperor could feel his body increasingly affected by the curse as time passed. Recently, his body began to react strangely even on nights when the white moon wasn't hidden by the twin black moon.
The gentle gaze watching the Emperor, who seemed the strongest in the world, softened with tenderness.
She captured the lonely and weary expression he didn't want even his reflection in the mirror to see.
"The reason I built a hideout near the Inis hot springs is that the black panther finds calm near warm water. In other words, I don't go wild when I'm in beast form here. The scent of conifers, which the black panther dislikes, serves as a good boundary to keep the beast from leaving this place. No matter how high and thick the stone walls are, a monster can escape if it wants to."
"Then, when you were injured on the mountain behind our estate..." Arabelle began carefully.
The Emperor responded with a bitter smile. "It was to meet a shaman who had supposedly faced the last black panther. It was a trap, and I was severely wounded by Count Coral's soldiers. The Emperor nearly lost his life to a loyal servant of the Empire hunting the black panther... My knights are as skilled as I am; they weren't easy to deal with."
Arabelle's large eyes glistened with tears as she looked at the Emperor, who was joking with a raised eyebrow.
She couldn't imagine the fear and despair he must endure. Not wanting to show useless, expensive pity, Arabelle bit her lower lip, holding back her tears.
"In three days, I'll come here before sunset and surrender myself to the cursed transformation. I'll have to hide and curl up like I'm dead for two days."
The Emperor spoke nonchalantly, raising one eyebrow playfully, as if it were no big deal.
Arabelle struggled to suppress the hot lump in her throat and asked, "Why... didn't you call for me? I thought you would call me on the night when the twin moons met last month. But you said you went on a secret trip to the provinces for three days... Isn't the reason you brought me to the palace that I might be able to help?"
It had been almost two months since the Emperor and Arabelle returned to the palace. Last month, when the twin moons met and the white moon disappeared, the Emperor hadn't called for Arabelle.
The Emperor extended his arm over the boat and dipped his hand into the lake. As he traced a low circle in the water, creating ripples, he spoke in a low voice.
"No one wants to show their beloved their ugly side."
For the first time, the Emperor's red eyes avoided Arabelle's gaze and looked at the ripples he created in the lake. He knew how horrifying and grotesque the transformation into a beast was, even to himself in the mirror.
It felt like the sky and earth were closing in on his body, crushing and distorting every bone, while giant hands wrenched his head out and slammed it into the ground.
He had certainly brought Arabelle from the Kander estate to use her. The fatal injury that had nearly cost him his life had healed without a trace the next day because of her, and a ray of hope had entered his seemingly endless despair.
He couldn't afford to lose her, who was clearly connected to the curse and might even hold the key to breaking it. And yet...
The Emperor gazed at the small shadow floating on the water, lost in thought. He didn't want to show her his cursed, suffering self.
The thought of her being saddened because of him... that realization was more painful than the curse itself. Worse still, he feared that she might be frightened or disgusted by his ugly form.
The rational part of his mind fought desperately to hold onto his humanity as the instincts of the beast began to gnaw away at his reason.
Last month, for the first time, he had tried to climb over the wall that separated him from the outside world when he transformed into a beast.
The primal urge to tear, bite, and destroy excited every part of his body, and the faint scent of wild animal blood made his muscles twitch. The Emperor, who had never cared about how others viewed him, was afraid.
Afraid that Arabelle would avoid him if she saw him transformed. Afraid that he might not recognize her in his beastly form and accidentally harm her.
Suddenly, two slender arms wrapped around his face, pulling him into a warm embrace, and soft lips pressed against the top of his head, taking away his fear. Arabelle stood in front of him, cradling his bowed head, and didn't move.
"Maybe... I'll have to live with this curse until I die," the Emperor said, letting his arms fall limply to his sides as he tried to hug her waist.
"But please forgive my selfishness for not being able to let you go."
It was a terrible selfishness. Even though it was clear that he would bring her sadness and danger, he couldn't bear to let her go.
Arabelle knelt in front of him, cupping his lowered face in her hands. Her clear eyes met his unwaveringly.
Her small but firm voice reached the Emperor's ears.
"Promise me that no matter what happens, you will never let me go, that you will never leave my side."
Though she was asking the Emperor to make a promise, it felt as if she was making the promise herself.
That she would never let him go, that she would never leave his side.
The Emperor's once dim red eyes regained their light as he nodded obediently in her hands, like a good child.
The two silhouettes reflected on the lake slowly overlapped and became one.
***
At the empty lakeside in the palace, where the guards on patrol had left their posts, a small sound broke the stillness.
"It seems the palace staff believe the Emperor is spending time with the Empress candidate at the far end of the lake. They set up tents and brought food there all morning."
"Since the Emperor isn't visible there, it seems he's taken the Empress candidate to the beast's hideout, Inis Lake."
"Do you think he told her about his curse? I've heard she's the only candidate the Emperor favors. She's also a strong contender in the competition."
"There's no way... A man so full of pride and arrogance wouldn't want to reveal his flaws. Especially since he doesn't trust others. He would never reveal his weakness."
The two figures, a man and a woman, cloaked in long mantles that covered them from head to toe, spoke quietly. They had arrived at the palace from the volcanic island of Beos.
They glanced at the moon, not yet full, hanging in the sky.
"This is getting interesting. I'm curious to see if the Empress candidate with the Emperor will survive tonight."
"Tonight is the night when the two twin moons, not yet full, meet, which happens only once every three hundred years. It's unfortunate for the Empress candidate. She will have to witness the terrifying moment when the Emperor transforms into a beast."
"That's not all. She might lose her life being near him. Lord Caligo said this lunar eclipse would make the beast more violent than ever. She might be killed by the beast, or if not... she'll be killed by the Emperor for knowing his secret."
"The energy of the black twin moon is so strong tonight that even the unknown force that has been interfering with the curse recently won't be able to stop it."
"Let's go near the coniferous forest and wait. Tonight might be the night we capture her and bring her to Lord Caligo."
The two figures walked away, their conversation fading into the distance.
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