Chapter 43
“What are you doing?”
Kylian said in a half-asleep voice.
Anais stayed there, frozen like a child caught doing something bad.
“Uh…”
She only rolled her eyes and stared into his eyes, but he didn’t seem to be awake. His eyes were unfocused, as if he was talking in his sleep for a moment.
“Disgusting.”
Anais laughed out loud at the absurdity of his words. After a while he closed his eyes completely and fell back to sleep helplessly.
She felt bad because his sudden insult towards Lilith nonetheless felt like she herself was being insulted.
Still, she had to do something. So she moved her body carefully so that the springs of the bed would not bounce. She rose from the bed to go in front of Kylian, who had turned over from her. Then, with very slow steps, she moved across from him.
The bed swayed slightly under her weight. But Kylian seemed to be completely asleep.
It was blue all around her. Anais hardened her resolve as she looked at Kylian in the warm blue light. As long as she doesn’t die, she can continue to recover. So this adventure wasn’t such a bad challenge.
She took a deep breath and with the ink-drenched brush she painted his face. By the time she was very carefully scribbling on his face, he opened his eyes.
“…What are you doing?”
Anais was taken aback. As a side effect, he would not even know even if he was carried on his back when sleeping. There’s no way he’ll wake up just because he’s been tickled a little with a brush.
“I asked what you were doing.”
Anais was about to say something. But she couldn’t. Because of the necklace enchanted with silence.
“This rude woman…”
Kylian grabbed her arm, glaring at her with eyes searing with anger. Then he took the ink from her hand. And he tried to take away the brush too.
‘The ink is pouring!’
Forgetting that he couldn’t hear her, Anais felt the bed rocking at his violent movements. She could see the ink in his hand oozing.
‘The ink!’
“Hey. Let go.”
Anais couldn’t understand why he would take away even the brush in this situation. But if he was a sword master, so if he had something to wield, he could use it like a sword. So the brush should never be taken away.
“I told you to let go.”
[ ‘Your Majesty let go!’ ]
When Anais moved her mouth, Kylian forcefully snatched the paintbrush away from her.
Crunch.
The only problem was that the brush broke in two as it fell into his hand.
“Is it not enough to break into my bedroom now and break my things?”
[ ‘I didn’t break it, but Your Majesty did it?’ ]
“Ha. Shameless.”
Anais tried to say what she wanted to say to Kylian, who could understand words through her mouth even though he couldn’t hear her voice.
[ ‘Ack!’ ]
“Can’t you stay still?”
He pressed down on Anais’ struggling body and lifted his arms with one hand. Then he said, laughing at her.
“Why are you keeping your mouth shut? Ah.”
‘…….’
Kylian laughed even louder when he saw the magic tool hanging from her neck.
“Looks good. If you keep quiet like that, you will live longer.”
For a moment, he was dazed as he remembered the prank that Anais had played on him during her lifetime. Then, perhaps he came to his senses, he thought he should kick her out. However, it was unfair for him to kick her out without saying a word, so he thought of saying at least one word.
“What abomination… ugh!”
Anais thought he was going to say something hurtful to her again, so the moment he let go of her arm, she sprayed him with bottled ink. Then he looked puzzled and clicked his lips with the ink that got smeared on his hand.
“This insolent woman.”
‘Kyaah!’
He dipped his hand in ink and applied it to Anais’ body.
‘It tickles!’
“Thank me for not killing you.”
Kylian covered her all in ink, then backed away with a sigh. Then he turned his head and looked around. The bed for his nap was, in a word, a mess.
“Sh*t.”
He felt like he was somehow being drawn to her, which made him feel very dirty. Besides, the thought of finding the image of his wife in Lilith involuntarily made him feel even more angry. He went out of the throne room, running away.
As the door opened.
“Ah… Your Majesty?”
“Wife?”
“Your Majesty’s face… Pfft….”
“Wife?”
He never thought that Anais had really painted something bad on his face.
“Honey, there’s a funny picture drawn on your face.”
Kylian looked at the mirror inside the door when the Empress said so. A monster was drawn on his mouth all the way to her ears.
“Ha.”
He shuddered with shame that his wife had seen such a thing, and he slipped out of there and headed for a nearby room. To wash off the ink.
.
.
.
Meanwhile, Anais also laughed for a moment, finding it funny that the handmaid outfit she was wearing was stained like a spotted dog.
Anais came out of the bedroom and confronted the Empress. The empress looked at Anais, who was in complete disrepair, and then spoke to her.
“Take care of that, I will follow my husband.”
After saying that, the empress followed Kylian.
What she met soon after was Phileal, who was disguised as Leviathan. Here, it seems that the ‘that’ that the empress asked Phileal to take care of was her.
“Woah. You look so ugly?”
When Anais realized she was alone with him, she gave a small smile as she watched Phileal speak carelessly. Then he gestured to the guards nearby.
“I know what you’re talking about. Let’s go wash up first. You’re too ugly.”
He was laughing as if he was having fun, and his seriousness from earlier had gone. Maybe that’s why Anais was a little cheered up.
Kylian looked obviously confused. Anais, who had known him for many years, could feel the change in him. If she keeps reminding him of what happened in the past, maybe one day he’ll realize that she was the real one. More than anything, just seeing that he was angry with her and didn’t cut her, it seemed that he was still the same as before.
“Didn’t you take her as a handmaid?”
Phileal, who was still disguised as Leviathan, asked the empress crookedly.
For some reason, the empress had a twisted judgment. So she left Anais alone for several days, then called her and gave her strange instructions.
“If she is my handmaid, she is my servant. Then shouldn’t she do what I tell her to do?”
“…….”
Anais still had the magic tool hanging around her neck, so she couldn’t speak. The person who spoke on her side was Phileal, who was pretending to be Leviathan.
“But which handmaid cleans by herself? A handmaid does not do such a thing.”
“That’s true of the ones from nobles. She’s originally a commoner.”
“She is originally a saint from the Temple of Goddess Julias. She was the one who gave blessings in the prayer room without getting a drop of water on her hand.”
Anais thought he was a bit wrong, but she couldn’t speak anyway, so she stayed quiet. The original Lilith did not behave like a saint. Of course, she gave blessings to the paladins and other people, but she followed Kylian to subdue monsters, and cooperated with the emperor to do various things. Because of that, the priests for Goddess Julias also looked at her badly.
Although saints were often associated with the imperial family, they had to maintain a mysterious image and high values, and they also had to possess tremendous abilities that were not easily seen. In terms of ability alone, it was true that Lilith was the most outstanding among the saints of her generation.
However, she was not confined to the temple as if she had died for the sake of Goddess Julias. It helped her worth drop, and she was also told that if one day she had a marriage conversation with the next emperor, the temple would not be able to sell her for a high price.
That’s why the priests, who had the actual authority of the temple, hated her. When she was kidnapped, they didn’t even actively seek her out. To them, it would just be a waste of money.
“Not anymore. She just exists for me now.”
“…Aren’t you afraid of death?”
“I had already died and come back to life, chief priest.”
He had to take a step back from the empress’s warning.
“Then, at least for the evening, please release the magic tool from her neck.”
“That’s not allowed.”
“But if the saintess is injured, she will not be able to help the empress and her majesty.”
“There are living sacrifices, right?”
Perhaps because of what the empress said, Anais grabbed Phileal by the wrist and shook her head.
“Come to think of it, not being able to talk is uncomfortable.”
After saying that, the empress spoke, patronizing.
“Get down on your knees. And kiss my shoes. Then I’ll let you go in the evening.”
“…….”
She was taken aback by her saying that, so she stayed still.
“Ah, are you disobeying me now?”
“…….”
Anais was amazed at the sheer malevolence that radiated from the empress for the moment. It seemed that Phileal was also flustered.
“Guard Captain.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Bring them in.”
“…Yes.”
After the captain left, there was silence. Anais felt as if cold water had dripped down her back as the empress smiled happily. Before long, several minutes passed and the living sacrifices came in one after another.
It was clear that they were a product. Because they were wearing the same clothes as the empress.
“Sit there.”
“Help me!”
“He, help… uht… !”
The magic tools enchanted with the silence magic on their necks, which were to be sacrificed by the knights, activated, so no sound could be heard from them.
“You see, Lilith.”
“…….”
“If you don’t kiss my shoes, I will kill them one by one.”
With that word, the soldiers behind the captain threw Anais to the floor. The empress raised her foot on top of her thigh and said,
“So, hurry up.”
Anais looked at the empress blankly. She was just smiling as if she was enjoying the situation. Anais thought it was unfair that she had to choose between her pride and life, but was about to bow her head at her feet.
“What is this?”
A low, angry voice stopped Anais.
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