CHAPTER 093
The warm spring breeze tickled his closed eyelids.
A voice whispered softly in his ear.
It was a strange voice, like a sweet lullaby that made him want to drift into a deep sleep, yet also made him want to open his eyes and look.
A touch softer and more delicate than the spring breeze swept his bangs off his forehead.
Though his eyes remained closed, a smile curved on his red lips.
"…Your Majesty…"
The voice, clear as a crystal, purified his mood and became a bit more distinct.
"Your Majesty, people will talk if they see. Please get up."
The sweet breath that accompanied the troubled whisper made his prominent Adam’s apple bob greatly.
Thin fingers carefully brushed over his closed eyelids.
His head, resting on her lap, nestled further into her embrace, reluctant to rise.
"…"
A shy laugh tickled his heart.
Thick eyelashes lifted, revealing ruby-red eyes.
In the emperor's red pupils, large amber eyes were reflected fully.
The cheeks of the innocent face looking down at the emperor were delightfully flushed.
The emperor reached out, cupping Arabelle’s round head, and gently lowered her gaze.
Even the fine hairs on her slender, translucent neck were lovely.
The emperor looked at his reflection in her round eyes.
Complete happiness.
His expression was filled with undeniable joy and contentment.
He brought his other hand to caress Arabelle’s pink lips.
His thick, long thumb slowly pressed against the soft, pliable lips, eventually slipping inside the boundary between them.
As her trembling breath reached his fingertips, his Adam's apple bobbed again.
"Your Majesty…"
Arabelle called out to him in a pleading tone, her eyes flushed, repeatedly glancing at the guards and maids standing by.
By now, she should have been used to it.
The emperor smiled, seeing that Arabelle was still embarrassed by his public displays of affection.
"Who would dare criticize the emperor and empress for spending time together as a couple?"
When the emperor asked this in a slightly louder voice, the guards and maids answered with silence, not daring to turn their heads.
The emperor and empress were always surrounded by those who guarded and served them.
Even beyond the guards and maids in front of Arabelle’s eyes, soldiers were stationed in unseen places to ensure the safety of the emperor and empress.
"If it makes you uncomfortable, shall we return to the bedroom?"
The back of the emperor's hand lightly caressed Arabelle’s clean neck and slowly descended to her chest.
Arabelle’s cheeks flared red, and her round eyes narrowed as she glanced at the emperor.
"From last evening until this morning… You kept me in bed, so I couldn't attend to the imperial duties."
Arabelle’s entire face turned crimson, seemingly embarrassed by her own words.
The emperor, who was gently stroking Arabelle’s pristine arm, burst into laughter.
The emperor and Arabelle held each other’s gaze for a long time.
"I am grateful…"
The emperor paused to catch his breath before speaking again.
"I am grateful to be with you."
"I am happy to be by your side, Your Majesty. Thank you for not giving up until the end."
Arabelle’s round eyes filled with tears, shimmering brightly.
They had fought the sirens guarding the eighth gate and the twelve-headed hellhound guarding the last gate to finally retrieve the light of Arabelle’s soul.
The sirens’ soul-consuming songs brought them to the brink of danger, but using the gargoyle’s wings, they were able to cut the sirens' hair and defeat them.
The hellhound guarding the last gate, beside the archdemon Abysseoth, was the most formidable opponent they faced.
Maxwell, who had lost Musatre’s sword and was at a disadvantage, was saved by Caligo, who leaped between him and the hellhound.
Caligo, who handed the emperor Hydra’s fangs and Nemean’s claws, was captured by the hellhound’s minions. By the time the emperor defeated the hellhound with the monster’s fangs and claws, Caligo’s body had been brutally torn apart.
Without Caligo…
Their relationship was one where loyalty or trust couldn’t be expected.
Yet, the small white panther had saved the emperor, sacrificing himself.
'Please take the princess with you. Protect her so she can cross the Aether River no matter what. That’s all I ask.'
Caligo had pleaded as his eyelids slowly fell over his unfocused eyes.
"On our way back to the palace, we should place some beautiful morning glories on Caligo's grave. Yesterday, I placed forget-me-nots, so today, blooming morning glories would be nice."
As if understanding the emperor's thoughts, Arabelle spoke quietly.
When Arabelle’s fingers gently relaxed the emperor’s furrowed brow, the tension around his eyes softened as well.
"Do you think Princess Ermior is doing well?"
Arabelle’s gaze turned to the horizon beyond Inis Lake.
The man she had loved with all her heart had betrayed her, and Caligo, who had loved her for a thousand years, was no longer by her side.
Could Ermior, who crossed the Aether River to join the Lumen Saviors and live an eternal life, find happiness?
As they passed through the nine gates, the emperor negotiated with Abysseoth, offering to return the body parts of the most powerful monsters in the underworld that he had collected.
He demanded the fading light of Princess Ermior’s soul from the archdemon.
Unable to absorb Arabelle’s light, the archdemon lacked the power to break the barrier.
Having Ermior’s light was less urgent than reviving his monsters with their body parts.
The negotiations succeeded, and the emperor returned to the human world with Arabelle’s soul and Ermior’s soul light.
In the human world, time resumed from the moment he stepped into the underworld as if nothing had happened.
Sir Jacob, Sir Peter, and five other loyalists were still surrounding the stone gate, waiting for the emperor…
The two brown bears, who had survived under Caligo’s care, wept bitterly upon learning of his death.
Esperell and Beryl, who expressed their gratitude to the emperor, crossed the Aether River with Ermior and the bears.
When the emperor returned to the palace with Arabelle, the people of the palace greeted them as if nothing special had happened. To them, unaware of the two days spent in the underworld, the emperor and Arabelle had just returned from a sweet time at Inis Lake the day before.
"At that time, I felt a bit upset."
"Hmm?"
Arabelle puckered her lips, causing the emperor to look at her with a puzzled expression.
Her small hands gently caressed his face.
"Your Majesty, you fought for your life against the monsters to prevent the destruction of the human world. Yet, no one knows about it, so it somehow feels unfair..."
"They have no reason to be grateful. I didn't fight the monsters to protect the human world. I passed through the nine gates for you. That was my only goal."
At the emperor's heartfelt answer, Arabelle’s kind eyes glistened with emotion.
The emperor's hand, which had wiped away the dew from her eyes, moved down to caress her cheek.
Arabelle's face nestled into his large hand.
"Breaking tradition to hasten our wedding was the best decision I've ever made. Otherwise, we would have had to wait until next month."
He knew how desirable his decision was, even now.
If they hadn’t married two months earlier… The thought was unbearable, and the emperor buried his head deeper into Arabelle’s embrace.
"Your Majesty, it's time for you to go to the office."
Adviser Kyle cleared his throat, signaling his presence before approaching them.
As the emperor sighed regretfully, Arabelle let out a small laugh.
The emperor, who had raised his head from her lap, reluctantly stood up, dawdling on purpose.
Arabelle, as if remembering something, widened her eyes.
"By the way, I baked mountain berry pie this morning… Please try it. Once you return to the office, you’ll be too busy to eat anything until dinner."
She took out a well-packaged pie from the picnic basket.
Arabelle placed a beautifully cut slice of pie on a small plate and handed it to the emperor.
"I baked it all by myself this time, without anyone's help. I'm not sure how it tastes, though..."
As Arabelle shyly lowered her head, the emperor accepted the pie plate.
"Arabelle, if it's something my empress gives me, I would savor it even if it were baked from mud."
Looking at the emperor bringing the pie to his mouth, Arabelle's lips curved into a bashful smile.
As the emperor took a large bite of the pie with a fork, he smiled at Arabelle.
The pie stopped going further into his mouth.
His hand, holding the fork, froze.
"Your Majesty…?"
When Arabelle tilted her head and asked, the emperor's red eyes flashed sharply toward her.
"I did say, if it’s from Arabelle, didn’t I?"
Before finishing his words, the emperor reached out and grabbed Arabelle’s neck tightly.
"Ah… Your Majesty… I can’t… breathe… Your Majesty, why are you…?"
Arabelle’s expression crumbled pitifully as she gasped for air.
The emperor tightened his grip, lifting Arabelle’s body.
Her feet dangled in the air.
"Your Majesty… Please… I can’t breathe… Please…"
Arabelle’s face began to turn pale.
The emperor’s eyes gleamed with hatred and anger, and a chilling voice escaped his red lips.
"Did you think I couldn’t tell my beloved fiancée from a stinking monster?"
As the emperor’s thumb dug deeper into her neck, a shrill monster’s screech erupted from Arabelle’s lips.
The emperor sneered, filled with mockery.
"Did you think Arabelle, who spent the night with me until this morning, would wear a dress that exposed her neck and arms? Her lips would never be so perfectly smooth and glossy, and her neck and arms so unmarked, after a night with me."
Although they hadn’t consummated their marriage yet, Arabelle had to wear dresses that covered her neck and wrists for days after spending time with the emperor.
To hide the conspicuous red marks he left all over her.
After spending the night with Arabelle, there’s no way her lips would be left untouched.
Yet the Arabelle struggling in his grasp had perfectly smooth lips.
"You will pay for trying to feed me the food of the underworld."
The emperor, without hesitation, severed the slender neck with a horn cut from the goat head of the chimera.
"Kwaeeek!"
With a scream of agony, yellow blood gushed out.
Morpfione, who infests a human’s mind, showing them their most desired moments and driving them mad, was decapitated, its grotesque head rolling on the floor.
The writhing head of Morpfione, infested with insects, had guarded the eighth gate.
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