Darkholm Translation

CHAPTER 021 In the Lotus Palace, one of the residences within the Helterd Imperial Palace, where ten empress candidates reside. Bedroom of the 11th wing. "What is this?" The head maid, Bridgette, showed her finger, which had just swept across the top of a wardrobe, to the maids in front of her. Three young women gulped, exchanging nervous glances. Honestly, it was a tiny speck of dust that one could only see if they looked very closely. However, none of them dared to speak up in front of the meticulous headmaid. "Have you forgotten that cleaning must be done twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening?" "N-no, ma'am. We certainly cleaned both this morning and this evening." In response to Bridgette, the Imperial Head Maid’s question, one of the maids mustered up the courage to answer. The head maid coldly grabbed the chin of the youngest-looking maid among the three and spoke icily. "I'll ask you again. Did you clean the bedroom t...

CHAPTER 020 "How did you follow me…? It's dangerous to come down from the mountains. Your mother will worry." Arabelle whispered gently as she quickly exited through the castle gates. The round burlap sack she was holding jostled slightly in her arms. As a pair of black eyes peeked out from between the blankets and looked up at her, Arabelle stroked the damp nose with her finger. “Still, being with you makes my heart feel like it's working properly again. Thank you.” She thought her heart would burst when she fled from the Emperor's bedroom. When his red lips approached, she closed her eyes instead of avoiding them…! She almost forgot she was conducting a healing experiment for His Majesty. She had paced back and forth and buried her head in a pillow, but her racing heart wouldn’t calm down. She went out to the garden for fresh air and discovered a small bundle rolling under the willow tree. “If you enter the mountains, your mother will catch your scent and come s...

CHAPTER 019 “Please, spare me! I beg you, please spare me!” The terrified screams of the nine-year-old Crown Prince Maxwell echoed. He needed to run, but his feet felt glued to the ground. A sharp arrowhead was aimed at Maxwell’s heart, and a tall man was drawing the bowstring. “Please, Your Majesty… Grandfather!!!!” Maxwell knelt and pressed his forehead into the grass, pleading. “Stand up.” The stern voice of Maxius, the 26th Emperor of the Helterde Empire, pierced through the chilly late autumn air in the mountains. It was the day the Emperor had taken his grandson, Crown Prince Maxwell, on a hunting trip to the nearby mountains. As they reached the mountainside, the Emperor dismissed everyone else and set off on horseback with only his grandson. The Emperor’s love for his orphaned grandson was widely known. His entourage watched the two leave for their walk with warm smiles, not following them. After his eldest son, the former Crown Prince had met a gruesome end at the hands of a b...

CHAPTER 018 Arabelle didn't have the luxury of savoring the taste of the ripe peach in her mouth. Trying hard not to think about the dizzying situation, she chewed diligently to create juice. Spotting a fork and spoon beside the fruit platter, she hastily grabbed the spoon. As she turned away from the Emperor to bring the spoon to her mouth, a large hand grasped her wrist. Startled, she looked at the Emperor with wide eyes, but he spoke calmly as if nothing was amiss. "You didn't use a spoon in the cave. We should replicate the conditions as closely as possible. We don't know how the juice and your hand interacted." Unable to respond due to the peach juice in her mouth, Arabelle's eyes began to wander. Back then, the situation was urgent... and it was a black panther. Now, it was the Emperor himself. As she looked down at her hand and then raised her head, the Emperor's enchanting face was close enough to touch. Tilting his head to the side, the Emperor ga...

CHAPTER 017 "Does it still hurt a lot?" "Honestly, the pain has gotten a bit worse since earlier." The Emperor replied with a slightly exaggerated grimace to Arabelle's question. As soon as they entered the Emperor's bedroom, Arabelle began to move busily. She helped the Emperor sit on the edge of the bed, went to the bathroom next to the bedroom, brought a basin of water, and carefully cleaned the wound on his shoulder. She diligently ground the herbs she had brought and gently applied them to the torn area, not forgetting to blow on it with her breath, 'ho, ho.' Every time her ticklish breath touched him, the Emperor's long throat bobbed, but Arabelle, thinking it was due to the pain, blew even more earnestly. Focused entirely on the Emperor's injury, Arabelle didn't notice that the chest wound he claimed to have sustained while riding wasn't there or that his large pectoral muscles swelled and subsided with each touch of her hand. ...