CHAPTER 040
"Is there only one exit here?"
The emperor asked, his gaze moving from the thick curtains covering the glass windows to the staircase leading downstairs.
"No, Your Majesty. There is an emergency exit in my office on the second floor that I and the staff use," replied the jeweler, who had met the emperor a few times at the imperial palace. He hurriedly led the emperor and Arabelle to his office.
"Can't I say goodbye to Sir Timothy?" Arabelle asked, still nestled in the emperor's arm, looking up at him with wide eyes.
"I'm afraid if we delay, our identities might be discovered, so we must leave immediately," the emperor replied in a low voice. "Besides, Sir Timothy has likely already left."
Arabelle nodded, understanding, and followed the emperor toward the emergency exit in the office.
The emperor glanced down at Arabelle, almost entirely enveloped in his cloak, and thought. He doubted Timothy had left the first floor and had no intention of letting the two meet again.
Timothy's father, Count Coral, was one of the few loyal subjects whom the emperor thought would be a bitter loss if betrayed. His only son, Timothy, was an honest and pure young man, befitting his father's character.
The emperor didn't want to show Timothy the same expression he reserved for cunning hyenas, nor did he want to reveal his blood-red eyes to the blushing lady in his arms.
"Deliver the purchased items to the address written on the paper," the emperor ordered before he and Arabelle exited through the secret passage into the street.
"Your Majesty..."
"Hmm?"
"You can let me go now," Arabelle said softly, struggling as her face kept bumping into the emperor's firm chest.
Arabelle's body, pressed against the emperor's by his arm, was stiff, her hands wandering aimlessly to avoid touching the emperor's lower waist due to their significant height difference.
The emperor looked down at Arabelle, who was so close that her small body seemed to cling to his side. He slowly loosened his grip around her shoulders.
As soon as Arabelle pulled away from the emperor's embrace, both of them halted, feeling the sudden chill in the air.
The emperor frowned slightly, sensing a coldness he hadn't felt even in the freezing winds of the Northern Continent.
Not wanting to acknowledge the emptiness beside him, the emperor cleared his throat and said, "Shall we head to our next destination?"
He offered his arm to Arabelle with a gentle smile.
***
"Where was it again...?"
Escorting Arabelle through the darkening square, the emperor muttered to himself, uncharacteristically looking around. Passing by two large jewelry stores, Arabelle glanced at him curiously.
Before leaving the palace, after a covert investigation meeting, the emperor mounted his horse while Deputy Commander Peter began explaining something to his subordinates loudly, almost as if the emperor were meant to hear.
"That café is a must-visit dating spot for young couples. It's got everything that attracts ladies—a beautiful interior, sweet desserts, and even a flower shop next door. Perfect, right? You must visit this weekend."
"And the place is called..."
The emperor subtly leaned in the saddle, memorizing the café's location that Sir Peter was sharing.
Surprisingly, it wasn't easy to find. The emperor's primary purpose in the capital was to suppress traitors or major criminal organizations.
Though he claimed to read public sentiment while undercover, he'd never done anything as trivial as looking for a couples' café.
The city's buildings were color-coded by block according to his urban plan, but the boundaries became less clear as he moved further.
"Aren't you going to stop by this jewelry store?" Arabelle asked softly. The emperor ignored her, his mouth parched as they neared curfew and the shops began to close.
Finally, as they turned into a side alley, the emperor's expression brightened. The sight of a quaint café and flower shop adorned with small flower-shaped glass lamps brought him more joy than discovering an oasis after being lost in the desert for three days during the war with the Western Continental Alliance.
Due to strict regulations, flower shops were rare in the imperial capital. He made a mental note to investigate how this one got its license, as Arabelle's curious face reflected in his eyes. Her wide eyes sparkled with delight upon seeing the variety of flowers.
"May we take a look around for a moment...?" Arabelle asked timidly, looking up at the emperor, not suspecting that he had brought her there on purpose.
The emperor's eyebrow arched playfully, and he nodded readily. "We've bought enough jewels for the investigation. A late-night snack before heading back wouldn't be bad."
Arabelle's innocent face lit up with joy.
As expected, she seemed more interested in the flower shop filled with fresh blooms and plants than the charming café.
They ordered the most popular dessert, a sweet bread baked on a stove and drizzled with honey-like spun sugar, and waited. Arabelle's gaze remained fixed on the flower shop visible from the café.
The emperor chuckled and said, "Let's take the dessert to the flower shop. It looks like they're about to close."
Arabelle, unable to contain her excitement, nodded eagerly, clenching her small fists.
The emperor handed Arabelle the dessert bread, which was almost as big as her face, and entered the flower shop with her. Her tiny feet quickly carried her to the pots of small flower trees.
"It would be beautiful to plant these in the villa gardens."
"The villa receives fresh flowers daily."
"Cut flowers wilt and die in a few days. Flowering trees planted in the ground can be tended and enjoyed for a long time," Arabelle replied.
Arabelle had often thought about how nice it would be to plant flowers and flowering trees in the villa gardens. Cut flowers delivered daily would wilt within three days, but flowers rooted in the soil would bring joy for a long time, attracting butterflies and dragonflies.
The villa garden was peculiar. Even the palace gardens viewed from a carriage window were similar. The garden, named for its lotus ponds, had no living organisms, not even lotus flowers.
Every part of the garden was covered with meticulously manicured lawns and marble, with no flowers or trees to be found, except for the distant cherry grove behind the unused part of the villa.
The gardens were decorated with elaborate and magnificent sculptures instead of real plants.
The emperor spoke, his gaze on a purple sage tree, "If you wish..."
Arabelle turned to him, surprised, to find his face close to hers.
Amidst the purple and white blossoms, his handsome face smiled, sending hundreds of butterflies fluttering in her chest.
Perhaps it was the scent of the flowers. Arabelle's wide eyes were locked onto the emperor's crimson ones, unable to move.
"In return," the emperor said, leaning closer to her pink lips, "May I have a bite of yours?"
His crimson gaze lingered not on the dessert bread but on Arabelle's lips.
The courteous request to eat the bread sounded so sensual that the owner and customers in the flower shop involuntarily swallowed hard. It felt as if he was asking to taste something else, causing the women's faces to flush.
Arabelle's long eyelashes trembled as she gave a shallow nod. Without breaking eye contact with her wide eyes, the emperor brought her hand closer to his mouth.
“W-wait, Your Majesty. This is the side I bit into.”
Arabelle hurriedly tried to turn the bitten side away, but the emperor's hand, which was wrapped around hers, tightened gently.
As Arabelle took a step back in surprise, the emperor's other hand swiftly encircled her waist, pressing their bodies together. A hushed gasp echoed around them.
Ignoring the prying eyes, the emperor fixed his gaze on her slightly parted, soft lips and wet his lower lip with his tongue.
“We’re past that stage already.”
The emperor opened his lips and took a big bite from the side of the bread where Arabelle had bitten, his intense gaze never leaving her small lips.
At that moment, the once composed and dignified man who had captivated everyone’s attention in the flower shop exuded an intoxicating aura of sensuality.
A perfect, cold statue now radiated the pheromones of a dominant male, creating an invisible barrier around the woman in his arms, separating them from the rest. It sent a clear warning: anyone who dared to look at the woman would have to pay with their life. The atmosphere in the shop was dominated by this man's presence, making everyone unable to take their eyes off him or direct their gaze toward the young lady in his arms.
The man's focus on the woman was so captivating and obsessive that it gave those secretly watching a chill down their spines.
The emperor savored the sweet bread slowly as if he were relishing something else entirely. After swallowing, he curled one side of his mouth into a smile and whispered so only she could hear.
“Haven’t we already shared something more intimate than this? Ah, I’ve shared your food, but you’ve yet to share mine.”
Arabelle stared at him blankly, not understanding his words. But soon, her face flushed a deep red.
The emperor was referring to the moment in the cave when he had chewed the fruit to feed the dying leopard. Realizing this, Arabelle's eyes wavered uncontrollably as she avoided his gaze.
Taking another bite of the bread, the emperor brought her delicate fingers to his mouth, sucking them along with the bread. His hot lips and tongue encircled her fingers, teasing and licking before his sharp teeth lightly bit down.
Each time the moist warmth slowly slid over her skin, a tingling sensation spread up and down her spine.
The heat from her bitten fingers traveled relentlessly to her heart, making her throat burn with unfamiliar sensations. Arabelle looked up at the emperor, unsure of what to do.
Her trembling, clear eyes, pleading for help, only fueled his possessiveness further.
The desire to taste more of her overwhelmed his rationality, but he felt her body stiffen in confusion and fear.
He vowed never to scare her again. Slowly, the emperor released her fingers, straightening his back and shoulders.
“Seems I’ve eaten all the bread. I’ll buy more for you to eat when we return.”
Trying to conceal his sudden discomfort, the emperor moved slowly into the cafe.
As the server in the cafe packed twelve pieces of honey-glazed bread into a box, they couldn't help but steal glances at the man who had just created such an erotically charged, dreamlike scene.
The emperor reached out to take the box from the server when…
“Seize them!”
“They're the jewel smugglers!”
Shouts from soldiers echoed from the alley, followed by the rapid clatter of approaching footsteps.
And then,
“Don’t come any closer!”
“If you don’t let us go, no one will leave here alive!”
Desperate, frantic shouts rang out from inside the flower shop.
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